[Chapter 8]
Qrow favoured himself as an interesting character. He wasn't simple in the way he worked, preferring to stay away from his family and out on the field due to his Semblance. It was always all to keep them safe, because truly, misfortune just seemed to follow him everywhere. He didn't want anyone he loved to accidentally get hurt if he stayed around for too long. But after the Wyvern Incident, his hand was forced in a sense, and here he still was after all this time. At least he was able to keep telling himself that it wasn't going to be for long.
Make sure Ruby was okay and there was no lasting effects or dangers. Make sure Yang was taking the death of Summer in a healthy, or at least, tolerable way. And then pick up any slack his brother in all but blood may have accidentally left. What he did not expect, was for him to start only taking field missions that were either 'Top Priority', Ozpins words, not his. Or just to not get rusty. Instead, he had now been given a job as a weapons combat instructor at Signal academy. He could thank Tai for that one.
And by the brothers he definitely did not think he'd still be here nearly three years later, his sister staying in the house wasn't what was keeping him, she was shown to be mildly trustworthy when she was still there nearly a month later. Pretty sure that threw them all off. The only outlier he supposed that could have made a difference would be Glynda. But that made no sense to him.
He looked over to the blonde walking next to him, her face in her scroll as she seemed to be going over some form of documents. "Why are you staring Qrow?" She suddenly asked, still not taking her eyes of the scroll. "Nothing. Just thinkin." He answered. "Careful, wouldn't want to hurt yourself." The response coming out so naturally that he couldn't help but smirk. Then for the first time, Glynda looked up before sending a pointed stare his way.
"Tai knows about this, right?" She suddenly asked, her stare narrowing in suspicion when Qrow slowly turned away and started whistling. "Qrow. Tai knows about the dog. Correct?" Glynda asked again, irked beyond belief at what that implied. "Whaat? Pffft of course Tai knows." He answered, a bashful smile on his face as he clutched the tiny Corgi closer. "It would be ridiculous if I showed up to Yang's 10th birthday with a dog and Tai didn't know." This did nothing to soothe the angry Glynda next to him.
"Qrow, why in Oum's name did you make me get a huntsman capable dog for a ten-year-old child when her father didn't even know about it." She gave him one last chance to fess up and drop the games, an out that he seemed to have picked up on if they way he sighed was anything to go by. "You've seen the way Tai is Glyn, sure he's gotten better, time and therapy have done him good, but he's hit a roadblock. He has these little moments where he looks so… broken. I went and talked to his therapist for advice on something I could do to help, and this seemed to be the best option." He confessed, the anger displayed on Glynda's face quickly fleeting as she sighed herself.
"That… that's really good of you Qrow. But that still doesn't explain why for Yang's birthday." She followed on, confusion racking her brain, only to get an embarrassed smile in return. "Yang's jealous of Ruby and Gore. I figured this way Yang gets a companion of her own, and Tai gets that little push." He admitted. Glynda couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief, unable to control the small smile that wormed its way onto her. "You're a good friend and a great Uncle, Qrow." She admitted. "I'm aware." A confident smirk on his face as he strode up to the door of Tai's house.
Then after a few knocks, it flew open. The dark-haired woman he knew as his only sister opened the door. A dark red lounge hoodie, black pyjama pants and fuzzy slippers on. All in all, she looked the definition of cozy. A complete 180 to the Bandit Queen he knew her as. "Took you long enough. And wipe that smirk off your face." She turned to let them in, but froze when she saw the bundle of fur in his arms. "Qrow. The fuck is that in your hands." She calmly asked, a twitching smile on her face as she pushed one of her sleeves up.
"Well, you see sis- YANG QUICK COME GET YOUR GIFT!" He quickly decided to throw in the towel and resort to underhanded tactics. Raven's eyes widening in alarm as she made to leap for Qrow. But instead, she was suspended in a purple glow. "I'm sorry Raven. But acquiring the critter took too much effort for it go to waste." She spoke in a solum tone, a weirdly dedicated look on her face. "Shut it Witch, you're only doing this because you want to get in my brothers MMPH!" Her jaw slammed shut as the purple seemed to focus on her mouth.
Defeat quickly morphing on her face as she heard the sounds of footsteps charging for the door. "UNCLE QROW!" Yang cheered at the sight of him, a smirk adorning his face as Raven was released. Yang was about to jump at him for a hug, but was forced to stop in her tracks when Qrow presented the creature in his arms. A black and white Corgi that seemed to be in the process of waking up. Its tongue lolling out before regarding the ten-year-old with a tilt of its head.
Her eyes sparkled at the sight of it, the pure adorableness that was the fluffy creature. And when Raven saw that look, she knew it was over. "Happy Birthday Firecracker. Thought you'd want a little friend of your own." He softly spoke, the awe and wonder on her face burning any annoyance the other two had for him. He carefully passed the dog over, watching as the girl gingerly hugged it close. Then a light chuckle escaped him when the dog leaned up and licked her nose, causing the girl to let out a squeak of surprise.
"Now go on, you gotta name the little guy, so go take him to Ruby and you two brainstorm." He told her, watching as she nodded in determination and ran off for the stairs, almost tripping over her own foot before she caught herself. When she was out of sight, he turned around only to meet fist to face from his sister. Forcing him to turn and clutch onto the back of the sofa in order to stay standing.
"Well, stay at home mom definitely hasn't messed with your right hook." He grumbled out whilst massaging his jaw. "What the fuck Qrow. Couldn't you have told one of us you were going to get her a dog? Now that she's seen it it's never leaving." She ranted on whilst stomping over and flopping down onto the couch. "Cause… Cause it was a thing for Tai as well. Try to help him get past that last hurdle." He admitted, watching as Raven dug her head into her hands.
"I hate how much you do for him. And you know what, this one was clever. I'll give you that. You're just lucky he's out getting the cake. Apparently the bakery he ordered from couldn't deliver." She told them both, Glynda deciding to sit down as well whilst Qrow just draped himself over the back of the sofa. "Y'know. It still feels weird seeing you like this." Qrow suddenly spoke up. "like what?" Raven asked confused. "Motherly." He answered with an amused smirk and shrug of his shoulders. "Oh fuck off you drunk shit." She spat out in annoyance.
"I can unfortunately attest that he has not been drinking as much as he used to." Glynda added out of nowhere. "Oh you would know wouldn't you." She responded with a glare, Glynda returning it near instantly. "Ladies, let's not. Not today at least, put a pin it and return to it next week or something." He quickly defused, watching in amusement as Glynda took out her Scroll and went back to checking documents, and the way his sister huffed and turned away.
Then after a moment of silence, Raven broke it. "I hope you know you're buying all the stuff the dog needs." She told him, a glare pointed at him as if to dare him to say no. "Relax, I got all the stuff you need at my apartment in Vale. We'll just use your portal to bring it here." He told her before getting up and heading for the kitchen. "Y'know what, nah. You can bring it all here the normal way." She told him, a smirk on her face as he suddenly doubled back in surprise.
"Sis. C'mon. You wouldn't make your dear old little bro drag that stuff all the way from Vale, would ya?" His attempt at pleading falling on deaf ears as Raven suddenly got up. "I would." Patting him on the back and walking up the stairs, they all snapped to attention at the sound of a loud bang from one of the bedrooms.
Charging up the stairs, they were greeted with the sight of a purple smoke leaking from underneath Ruby and Yang's bedroom door. Not wasting a second, the door was slammed open and a wall of purple smog was waiting. A snarl settled on Raven's lips before she turned to Glynda. "Can you smoke it out?" She quickly asked, Glynda nodding and quickly concentrating. A small swirl starting off before it quickly gathered and was guided out an open window. Glynda's semblance letting go as it spread out amongst the trees.
A sudden sharp cough got their attention as they zeroed in on Yang who was harshly coughing on the ground. Raven instantly bolted over, Qrow looked into the room fully to see Gore watching over a squirming Ruby. He headed over and knelt next to her. His calmness quickly getting overtaken by panic as he watched scales suddenly darting all over her.
"Oh shit, Oh shit. Glyn I don't know what to do. Fuck, I knew I should have left when things calmed down." His increasing panic becoming very evident making Glynda rush over. She rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder and looked down at the fact that the light squirming had turned to heavy shifting, a groan of discomfort slipping out from the girl as the scales framed her face, then covered over her eyes completely. A pair of purple horns sprouting from her forehead and curled back to go over her hair.
Qrow was on the verge of full blown shut down panic mode. "Qrow. Calm down, this isn't your fault, you've had nary an incident that could be on this scale. So just, look." He registered the voice but not who it came from, with a quick scan of anything around Ruby, he managed to pick up on two things. Whatever was happening, it seemed to only be uncomfortable. It didn't seem to hurt, or at least, it wasn't painful to point of a reaction, small mercies. And the second, Gore was stood next to her. Observing, not a single twitch of his body with his head pointed down at Ruby, so he did the same.
He needed all the restraint in his body when he watched Ruby role onto her front and curl in on herself. The scales travelled down her arms and ending at her hands, turning them into sharp claws that seemed much too big for her smaller frame. A smallish tail much like Gore's had appeared from her lower back, pushing through the gap of her pyjama shirt and pants. Next came an audible tear, followed by wings sprouting from her upper back, forcing Qrow to move back a bit as they stretched outwards. All three of them noticing the extra set of claws that came with the wings before they rested on her shoulders.
Then the noises of discomfort seemed to stop. Ruby pushed herself off the ground and into a seated position, her hands flopping onto the floor next to her. "Rubes?" Qrow carefully called out. Her head snapping in his direction and her face scrunched into something akin to squinting. Her mouth opened a few times as if to test something, a small gargle escaping her before she nodded. "H-Hi." She snarled out. A breath of relief was shared between them all making Ruby tilt her head confused.
A shaky hand suddenly reached out and pulled her into a hug, and after the just as shaky sigh they gave out, Ruby relaxed in their hold. "You're alright." They breathed out. "Uncle Qrow?" She asked back, confusion evident on her as she looked up at him. "Yeah, doubt I'm ugly enough to pull off Raven's look." He joked, refusing to let go of her for a second, even as he received a whack to the back of his head courtesy of the person he insulted. "Look, Like, Blob." Ruby told him, before turning to Glynda. "Blob." Then over to Raven and Yang. "Blobs."
"What colours?" Glynda quickly asked. "Purple. Outline. Dotty." She answered, resulting in even more confusion. Then all of a sudden, her horns started to glow pink around each crevice, and she turned her head around before nodding. "Better." She mumbled. "Ruby. Are you sure you feel fine?" Another voice suddenly spoke, she looked over the purple people to her left, one small and one big, before sniffing and nodding her head.
"Auntie Rae?" She asked, getting a huff in confirmation. She then looked over to the last person in the room. "Aunt Glynda?" She asked again, this time getting a sigh of relief from the woman. "Yes Ruby. That's me. All of us are just a bit panicked right now." She confessed, all of them watching in amusement as she tilted her head confused before ultimately just nodding in acceptance.
"Yang. Okay?" She managed to ask, the girl in question perking up to attention and nodding violently. "Hello?" Ruby asked again making them all sweat drop. "Yes Gem. Your sister is fine. This whole practically blind thing is going to get old real fast." At the comment, all three of them suddenly became alarmed as a single thought ran through their heads. "Oh shit is this permanent?!" A sudden smack to the top of his head courtesy of Ruby's new claws made him wince. "Bad word. Say sorry." She spoke up with her best attempt at an eyeless glare. A snort of laughter being forced out of Raven as Yang attempted to hide a giggle.
"Sorry." He grumbled out, clear annoyance on him that washed away when Ruby cuddled up closer to him. "Not. Last. Long." She told them, unaware of the confused looks she was getting. "How can you tell?" Glynda decided to ask, only getting a big yawn in return that displayed her now sharpened teeth. "Tired." She answered, expecting that to clear everything up as she fully relaxed onto her uncle.
"And yep. She's out." He muttered before carefully standing up, not exactly too sure how to react when her wings unfurled and wrapped around him, her claws and tail hanging limply as he walked out of the bedroom.
"Is the mutt okay?" Raven asked whilst kneeling down in front of Yang. She briefly received an annoyed glare before Yang displayed the bundle of fur in her arms. Before she could make another comment, the three still in the room heard the sound of low growling. Turning to the only other creature in the room that could do that, they did not expect to see Gore basically pushing himself up against the wall with his attention locked on the little thing.
"Gore. What's wrong?" Raven spoke up, the Wyvern's attention not shifting from the dog in the slightest. "This happened earlier. I showed Ruby the puppy, then he started growling, so I thought he wanted to see him as well. But then, y'know. Poof." She meekly explained. Raven letting out a sigh as she carefully pat Yang on her head. "Relax little dragon. This wasn't your fault if you're thinking that. Now go watch over your sister with your uncle. I don't trust that he can do it properly." She told her, watching as she gave a determined nod and scurried out.
Gore's entire stance became more relaxed and he looked around confused, only to realise the stern stance of one person and the intrigue of another. "You want to explain yourself?" Raven asked, her arms crossed and foot tapping the floor impatiently. He grumbled out a few noises before heading to the door, quickly being intercepted by a purple glow as the door shut itself. "No no. We're not done. You have some explaining to do." Glynda told him, both of them watching as he suddenly became annoyed.
"Are you… Scared… Of the tiny dog?" Raven decided to ask. And now he seemed offended, pacing the room and making unintelligent noises of aggression. "Well then what?!" Now she was just annoyed, a small dog had managed to frighten a Wyvern, a killing machine in her opinion, and caused something to happen to Ruby that they don't understand. But when he basically crashed to the floor and covered his head with his claws, she tilted her head in confusion. "You don't know?" She mumbled out.
"Alright. This is going nowhere. Raven, when Tai comes back, it's probably best if you explain things to him before he can actually see Ruby. For now though, Gore, Is what is happening dangerous?" She sternly asked, seeing the Wyvern rapidly shake his head in the negative, a weight was lifted off them both. "Good. Ruby said this wasn't permanent, so for now, I will inform one of my colleagues of the situation. Hopefully from knowing the details, he will be willing to take a look the next time this happens." She spoke up, instantly taking out her scroll and typing up a message.
"Next time?" Raven asked making Glynda just send her a raised brow in return before turning her attention to Gore, and then back to Raven. "I see your point. But I swear if you're talking about Ozpin then you lot are going to have to wait for his next reincarnation." She calmly threatened, having already had this conversation numerous times, Glynda just rolled her eyes and headed for the door after closing her scroll.
"No, I've contacted Bart. You know how he gets with something new. I'm sure he could figure this whole thing out after a few days of research." Her voice dying off as she headed down the stairs to meet up with the rest. With huff, Raven crossed her arms and stared forward. Her annoyance turning to mild amusement when Gore stopped at the door and looked back at her. "Yeah, Yeah. I'm coming. Don't make me sic the dog on you." She mused, barking out a laugh when he growled and bit back at her.
In the front room, Qrow was sat on the corner seat of the couch, his head leaning back as he attempted to just continue on with the day. However his current predicament seemed to want the complete opposite. Sprawled all over him in a position that looked a decent bit uncomfortable, was the recently scaled up Ruby Rose. A crazy want to stay attached to him in her sleep, no matter how hard he tried to get away from her.
In front of them on the floor. Both Yang and the Dog in her arms were staring at the snoring Ruby. A look of wonder in their faces as they watched her mouth comically open and close with each snore.
"She's fine. Right?" Yang suddenly spoke up. Her uncle dropping his head to look over to her then down to Ruby. His hand came to rest on the back of her head and her new tail started to slightly sway. "Yeah Firecracker. She should be fine. According to her and her infinite wisdom. It will go away soon." He managed to answer. Her gaze turning from her sister and up to him. "Why do you look worried then. She's gonna be fine."
His expression soured a bit before softening into a small smile. "Damn, you kids are old." He mumbled getting a shout of indignation from her. "Relax. I just… it's my fault she's like this, so I can't help but be worried." His answered getting a huff of annoyance from his niece, his head tilting up to stare, only getting a pout and a glare in return. "Nuh uh. No one's fault." She told him, the dog in her arms nodding along to the conversation it didn't understand.
A chuckle escaped him before he relented and nodded with a smirk. "Alright. No one's fault. I suppose I can get behind that." He told her before suddenly doubling over in pain. Ruby's wing had twitched and hit him in the unsuspecting gut. "Alright…" He wheezed out, standing up with the girl latching onto him again.
He used her dangling arms and wrapped them around her sister from behind, who had frozen still. Her wings unlatching from him and transferring over to the blonde who still didn't know how to react. Then when the girl had fully encased her and calmed down to a steady breath again, Yang decided to just relax, the dog escaping and rushing over to the nearest safe human, which just so happened to be Qrow.
He looked from his nieces and down to the scuttering animal before looking back. "So. Did you name the dude anything whilst you were up there?" He asked, reaching for the flask that was constantly attached to his hip. Bringing it up and taking a sip, he side eyed his niece whilst waiting for an answer, instead he only got her grabby hands in his direction making him roll his eyes. Twisting the cap shut, he threw it over to her making her kick her feet in excitement.
She started undoing the lid before chugging it herself. Which just so happened to be the perfect timing for Raven and Glynda to walk down the stairs, and for Tai to open and walk through the front door, all of them coming to a stop at the sight before them. A cold sweat dripped down Qrow's face as they all looked between the Ten-year-old and her uncle. The glare his sister pointed his way could only be described as unbridled fury.
"It's Chocolate Milk! Specific request from the girl!" He quickly shot out, the sound of palm meeting face came from Glynda as she just continued to walk down before sitting on the couch. "Kid. Gimme the flask." He quickly spoke, urgency lacing his tone. Yang gave him a pout in return before giving up and handed it over. Without an ounce of hesitation, he threw it over to the blonde adult who was currently stuck between confused, disbelief, and rage. Easily catching it, he took a sip, letting the liquid rest in his mouth before coming to a decision and nodding his head.
He threw it back to his daughter who happily caught it, a serious stare pointed to Qrow making him sigh in relief. "You live for this one." He eerily told him, Raven's own glare letting up at hearing the comment from the admittedly more protective of the two. She turned to Tai, easily getting his attention before she gestured to the kitchen with a nod of her head. He sent her a confused looked before relenting and following after.
She continued to confuse him even more when she closed the door after him, deciding not to think on it too much, he laid the box he had in his hands on the kitchen counter. "Alright. Some stuff happened whilst you were gone, so I'm just gonna rip it all off. You ready?" She started, a raised brow in his direction making him turn to face her and give a weary nod.
"Alright. First, Qrow decided to give Yang a dog for her birthday. She's seen it, pretty sure she's named it. It's staying. The dog scares Gore. He exploded in purple whatever, Ruby's changed. More scales than usual, pretty sure it forces whatever has happened to her to its final state or something. Not dangerous, we think. She's currently asleep, kinda hard to test. Qrow had a mini 'My semblance is the worst.' panic attack again, and, I think that's it." She summed up, the entire encounter being compressed into a few sentences.
He just continued to stare at her, that same weariness now turned to dumb confusion. "What?" At his lacklustre response, she sighed to herself before re-opening the door. Pointing to Yang and the bundle of fur in her arms. "Dog." She helpfully pointed out, moving on to Ruby who seemed to be waking up, a big yawn whilst in the process of stretching forwards on her sisters back. "Ruby changed." The finally to the concerned Qrow who kept his eyes locked onto Ruby. "Mild freakout."
After finishing and receiving a dumb nod from him, she closed the door again. "Good. You're caught up. Now, this is important. I think… and for once I'm giving you every right to shut this idea down. But I think it might be time we let the kids know." He tilted his head confused, if she thought that was enough context then she was sorely mistaken. At seeing his confused look, she sighed to herself before sucking in a breath. "About my actual standing with Yang. What I am to her."
Oh. This talk.
He had been dreading it for a while now. And by the very sour look his face had just adopted, he knew Raven could see it as well. Don't get him wrong, Raven hadn't done anything in the time she was there that would warrant the weariness. In fact, he was a bit surprised Yang and Ruby hadn't figured it out already themselves, but when both Kids think they're from the mom that raised them, of course they wouldn't expect their aunt to be one of their actual mothers.
No, the main problem with bringing this information to the light, was how much of a flight risk Raven was. Sure, she may have stayed with them for nearly three years now. But they had been a team for over ten. Married for a few as well, even had a kid. Yet she still disappeared. What's to stop her from doing it again. And by the prolonged silence, he could assume she had picked up on his stance on the matter.
But by Oum if the way the light in her eyes just slightly died in front of him hadn't been a punch to the gut. "It's fine Tai. I just… I wanted to know where the topic stood. Wasn't really expecting much." As she reached for the door handle and prepared to leave. He should have stopped her, should have told her he was alright with it, that he might have been able to live with, or even that he would think about it. But instead…
"Sorry." He managed to mutter, the door closing behind her as she joined the rest of the family. As Auntie Rae, and for now, nothing more. He just, he couldn't do that to his daughters. Raven leaving him and the others the first time… It killed them all a little on the inside. If Summer wasn't there for him, Oum knows where he'd be right now. But they didn't have that fall back anymore. Sure Ruby and Yang would have him, Qrow and even Glynda with the way her and Qrow had been attached.
But he was certain it would have been too much for them, watching as the person they had found out was Yang's mom had left again. He wouldn't watch that happen. So for now, everyone in the know would have to live with it. They would have to live with knowing that Raven's relationship with their daughters was built on a lie, and the kids would be none the wiser. And he was fine with that. As long as they were fine. That was all that mattered.
[Chapter End]
All right, this might sound weird, but I need reassurance from you lot. What's the pacing like so far, in your honest opinion. It's a problem I for some reason always find myself having when I proofread what I do. I can write and write and write for as long as I want. But I'm not really thinking too hard when I do. So then when I go back, I always feel like this stuff is too compact. Things aren't drawn out enough or even dialogue ending too quickly. Is that just me? Cause if it is I can at least start working on getting over it if it's just all in my head.
Also, what say you all on the wordcount? Too little? I usually keep going until I reach around 3 – 3.5k words and try to wrap it up. Is this fine? Or do you lot think I should try for around 4-5k like I have here? At a certain point it could purely be a preference thing, but your input is appreciated.
Going past that, if you didn't notice, been three years since Gore was introduced to the family. And three years with no incident, score 1 for huntsman family am I right? To be honest with you, the next few chapters are probs gonna have a few small to medium Timeskips. Filled with important events that I want made aware and then depending on how I write it, a part where there's going to be the most difference to my original. Then when all is said and done, we move to Beacon timeline! But that might be a while away considering I'm going to try and keep to a one chapter every two weeks kinda deal. This one should release on the 2nd of December. Should.
Either way, thanks for reading this one, hope you enjoyed it, and I'll talk in the next.