Author's Note: A new chapter for a new year, hopefully you all enjoy it.

Raven looked back at her portal as it closed, sighing in frustration when Qrow never came through. She had been right, although for once, she didn't take any satisfaction from that fact. Her brother was far from the man she thought he was. Strong as she knew he was, he had failed when put to the test. He had given up, without so much as a single punch thrown.

Shaking her head, Raven refused to think about what her brother had become. He had chosen his path, as she had chosen hers. The only thing left to choose was what to do next.

"W-where are we?" Yang's voice helped to distract her, though not nearly as well as the wailing of Summer's brat.

"Stop your crying." Raven snapped. "You don't have anything to cry about." She was safe and healed, thanks to Raven unlocking her Aura, and now she wasn't under attack from Grimm. Those living in the Kingdoms might not see the Tribe in a positive light, but those outside of the mighty walls that the cowards sheltered behind knew that they were a bastion of safety, at least for those strong enough to survive in it.

The younger girl didn't stop crying of course, although Raven hadn't truly expected her to. She wasn't in pain, that much she was certain of, so the tears had to be from fear. Or maybe anger, if one so young could really feel that. She couldn't tell, nor did she wish to. Crying almost always achieved nothing, it was simply another display of weakness.

The younger girl's crying did serve a purpose for once, however, as Henry slowly stirred awake. Raven's Semblance was certainly a powerful one, Ozpin had sought it for a reason after all, but it was not without its limits. She couldn't simply open a portal to anywhere, only to those she was bonded with. That number was exceptionally small, and usually only limited to those she had begrudgingly formed bonds with through exposure, but once formed those bonds would last a lifetime; whether she liked it or not. She could still feel Ozpin despite how much she hated the man, but aside from him and her failure of a brother, there were only those at the Tribe. Henry was one of those few.

"Raven- what the hell are ya doin' in my tent?" He turned to look at the crying girl who had woken him, before noticing the slightly older child standing protectively in front of her. "Is that… Brothers give me strength, did you really have to get her now , of all times?"

Raven jumped on the chance to dump the girls off on anyone else. "Find them a place to sleep." Turning to leave, Henry practically jumped out of the tent flap behind her.

"Wait just a minute, is that your-"

"My daughter, yes." Raven answered in a clipped tone. The majority of the camp had already been asleep before she left to rescue them, now the rows of tents and paths were even emptier. Despite that, there were still a few awake, those who pulled the night shift for patrols. She kept her voice low so as to not draw too much attention. The Tribe would know come morning, and with no raids on the horizon it was bound to be the biggest gossip, but she wanted to avoid that for just a little bit longer. "The other one… is the daughter of a friend."

"Boss, ya' can't just drop 'em off on my lap an-"

"That's exactly what I'm doing." Raven stopped, turning to look at Henry as her hand fell for her sword's hilt. "Save your bitching for tomorrow, I'm not in the mood for this, not right now."

Henry paused and stepped back a little, whether intentional or not his own hand fell to the gun on his hip, but just by the look in his eyes she could tell he didn't plan to back down. "What's the plan?"

Plan? Raven thought with a dawning realization that there wasn't one. Taking the girls had been the obvious thing, otherwise they would have just become more pawns for Ozpin's eternal war, but as for what came after?

"Drink. Lots of it, too." Raven said. "Then tomorrow morning I'll set them up with something to do to keep them off my back."

"I can fit 'em in with Vernal if ya' want." Though he worded it as a question, she knew he would do it with or without her consent. "She could use a sparrin' partner closer to her own size."

"Do whatever you want." Raven turned, keeping her hand on Omen's hilt as she set off to find something to drink, the worn leather fitting against her hand perfectly. "Just keep them away from me."

"Ya' can't just ignore 'er, ya' know that?" Henry said before she could leave ear shot. "Ya' might have been able to before, but not now. People will have questions, her most of all."

Raven didn't stop to refute his statement. People would talk, but she didn't care. They had talked when she and Qrow left, and they had continued to talk when she had returned alone. It was the nature of the Tribe, of people in general; she'd learned that at Beacon. People loved to talk about so many things, most of which they never understood.

The kitchens were mostly abandoned by the time she reached them, although a few lingerers stood when she approached; giving her odd looks as she did so. They didn't complain as she took the bottle from their hands however, in fact they were unusually quiet, but Raven couldn't be bothered to deal with it at the moment. Tipping the bottle back, she pushed on through the organized mess that was their camp until she found herself at the entrance to her tent.

Her bottle was half empty by that point, but it had only ever been meant to last her for the walk, so she finished it before tossing the bottle over her shoulder. Once inside she found her own stash and started working her way through that. She'd learned a great many things during her time away from the Tribe, and in that moment she wanted to forget each and every one of them.

Glynda rushed through the familiar campus of Beacon with as much poise and discipline as she could manage, only managing to hold herself back from running due to the many students meandering around the campus' grounds. Had there been no one to see she would have ran to Ozpin's office the moment she landed, as things were, she had to maintain an air of dignity. Never had she hated that fact more than now.

She had called Ozpin in a near hysteria after finding Qrow's weapon but no sign of the girls. He had assured her that they were fine, informing her that Qrow had arrived at Beacon only a few minutes before she had called. The Professor had insisted that she come to the school as soon as possible to discuss the matter, a cryptic request that had worried her the entire Bullhead ride over. She wanted to see the girls again, with her own eyes to know they were safe.

She also wanted to see Qrow so that she could shove his sword somewhere the light should never shine! She'd brought his weapon just for that goal; he was lucky she hadn't left it there for the Grimm to find. The fact he had left without saying anything, and then somehow getting to Beacon in just a few hours was a cause for worry, but she tried to push that concerning thought to the side. There were lots of reasons she told herself, even as the more logical part of her brain told her how unlikely it was.

Ozpin's office was located towards the center of Beacon, near the central tower, a sign of both his position as well as influence. The fact he was the youngest professor to teach at Beacon in decades was impressive enough, but his ambitions for the prestigious Headmaster position were widely known; even to the current Headmaster, although he didn't seem worried by it.

Glynda sighed in frustration, shaking her head. She was distracting herself, something that wasn't going to spare her from the conversation to come. Ozpin's office wasn't empty when she arrived, Qrow sitting in a chair; head in hands as he refused to look up at the door that had opened. She had never known Qrow at his best, and though Ozpin insisted the man sitting before her had once been a powerful and prominent Huntsman, she had never seen it. She had come to see him as the broken man struggling to do what was right, trying his hardest to act like the man they needed him to be. Now however, something was different. That same sadness filled the room, and his shoulders were hunched, but they were also stiffer than she had ever seen them. The fact the girls weren't present had her heart dropping.

"Ruby and Yang, wh-"

"They are alive." Ozpin answered quickly, allowing Glynda to release the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Tears filled her eyes, an outcome she had seen coming but not nearly as traumatizing as she had expected. The relief that washed over her drove her to her knees.

"I am sorry to have kept you worrying." Ozpin continued softly, his voice as calm as ever but this time with a profound sense of sympathy that, while she had heard before, she had never expected to hear directed at her. "That had not been my intention."

"It's fine." Glynda responded, and if the professor noticed the waver in her voice, he didn't show it. "Where are they?"

"That's…" Ozpin, the professor she had idolized during her years at the academy, sighed in a tone that could only be described as defeat. "Complicated."

Glynda was forced to hold back the rather unimpressed glare she felt threatened to surface. Despite how she might have felt, Ozpin was her superior; even if she was only employed as an aide for the young professor. That fact was quickly overshadowed by the fear building up the longer he refused to explain.

"Uncomplicate it." Glynda finally said, desperately trying to keep her tone neutral. The look Ozpin gave her said he'd noticed, but once again he chose not to mention it.

"Yang's biological mother… Raven Branwen," Ozpin's eyes shifted over towards Qrow, either waiting for him to step up or some kind of response; Qrow didn't shift, Glynda wasn't even sure he heard him speak at all. "She has a rather unique Semblance that alerted her to the danger Yang and Ruby were in. Luckily, she made it in time to save them, but… She took them with her when she left."

They were alive, but gone; no better than being kidnapped. Glynda had known about Yang's mother in theory, able to conclude something was going on due to the differing appearance of the half sisters, but there had been no mention of her by name, nor pictures to go off of. Now that she had a name she could vaguely recall Qrow having mentioned someone by that name in his drunken stupor.

"I suppose we should thank her then." She knew her tone didn't match the sentiment behind her words, she already suspected the answer to her next question before asking it. "Where did she take them?"

"There's no way of knowing." Ozpin replied, confirming her fears. "The Tribe she is a part of… they move around enough to make tracking difficult."

"Can't he find them?" She nodded towards the man still sitting silently in between her and the professor. She tried to restrain the anger she felt, though that had the unfortunate effect of making her voice sound toneless and cold.

"They're better off." Qrow muttered quietly, though given the silence he might as well have yelled it. "I can't… They're safer with her."

The pain in Qrow's voice had Glynda biting back her immediate response, though just barely. "What kind of Tribe is it?"

"A Mistrialian bandit tribe." Ozpin answered quickly.

"Bandits!?" That rage Glynda had been struggling to contain plowed forward. "Ozpin, Sir, you-"

"She said she'd take care of them." Qrow whispered. "Better than I could… and she's right."

"You let her take them?" Glynda felt her hand slide down to the crop on her side, drawing a stern look from Ozpin that warned her against it. He had said little against her outrage so far, being far fairer than she deserved given the circumstances, and so she headed his warning. That didn't stop her from yelling at Qrow however. "You fucking bastard!"

"I couldn't save them, I-"

There was a crashing sound as she threw the man's weapon down on Ozpin's desk. "You could have stopped her ! What good are you if you can't even stand up for the ones you say you care about?!"

"Glynda," Ozpin cautioned her. "Qrow is-"

"I don't care!" Glynda cried, doing her best to ignore the frustrated tears running down her face. "I did everything I could to take care of the girls! I would have-" Her voice cracked as she took a deep breath. "Haven't they been through enough?" Neither of the men before her spoke, one unable to meet her eyes as the other couldn't even manage standing. "Fine. I'll find them, and I'll bring them back myself."

"You're entitled to a certain amount of time off per year." Ozpin replied. "I'll draw up the paperwork."

"Sir… with all due respect, I don't plan on returning." Her eyes fell to Qrow's back. "When I find them, they'll need someone to take care of them."

"You shall stay on the payroll all the same." Ozpin nodded. "Good luck, Miss Goodwitch."

Her scroll, a cheap burner she had picked up at the airport, was out before she had even stepped through the door, booking the next flight to Mistral. She hardly knew where to start, and a distant part of her mind reminded her that Qrow would have been her best bet. She chose to ignore that thought, whatever the man had once been, he wasn't that any more. He couldn't help himself, let alone her or the girls. She could either help him, or Yang and Ruby. She made the obvious choice. It was up to him to sort himself out. She was going to be busy enough searching an entire kingdom.

Her only real lead was a small favor that the headmaster of Haven owed her; which was less a lead and more a place to start. It wasn't nearly as important as what she was about to ask of him, but she hoped that he was as good a man as she remembered him. He was her only real hope of finding the girls before they were corrupted by the Tribe.

Raven opened her eyes blearily, struggling to remember what had happened the night before that left her feeling like she had been hit by a Bullhead. The realization was slow to come, but once it did she considered tipping back the other bottle she could see that was still part of the way full on the floor next to her bed.

Seeing the light coming in through the entrance to her tent, she decided against it. Usually she would have been out making sure the Tribe was up and moving by now. As it was, she was surprised no one had come to say anything to her. Then again, they knew better than to wake her when she had a hangover. There was at least one person in the Tribe who'd lost a few fingers learning that lesson.

Wincing, Raven finally reached for the bottle of alcohol; taking a quick drink to try and limit the pain shooting through her head. The Tribe wasn't quite so barbaric that they didn't have medicine, but that was used for serious injuries, not headaches. It was difficult to say when they would get more, and so the only real way to fight off a hangover was with a little bit of alcohol. The irony wasn't lost on her, but she also didn't care enough to complain.

Moving through her tent she slowly got dressed; making a mental note to have someone wash her outfit from the day before. It smelled like booze, which reminded her far too much of her brother for her liking. Thankfully she had more than one change of clothes, and those were clean enough to wear at least.

True to form, the Tribe had been up for what looked to be a couple hours. A few nearby members gave her those same odd looks from the night before, but she continued to ignore them, making her way towards the training grounds. She arrived just in time to watch Yang land face down as Vernal smiled wickedly behind her. That smile fell away quickly as Henry swept her legs out from under her.

"Pay attention." The stick in his hands was far from a weapon, but judging by the way Vernal glared up at him, you would have thought her life in danger. "Just because you beat the one in front of ya, doesn't mean there ain't more. Don't let your guard down."

Yang was back on her feet surprisingly quickly for a girl who just unlocked her Aura. She was also glaring at Vernal with a rage that made it clear who her target was, even if Henry was the one with the "weapon".

Raven sat down on a nearby bench, watching the fight, if one could call it that, start back up again. Despite her superior age and training, Vernal wasn't doing nearly as good as she should have been.

Huh… guess they didn't flake out on your training after all. Taiyang was strong, it came as no surprise that he had shown their daughter a thing or two about fighting. Although that did beg the question of why she hadn't tried to defend herself against the Beowulf's the night before.

She froze. It wasn't exactly a resounding revelation, although it was certainly disappointing. A child being afraid of the Grimm was fine for most, but out in the wilds like they were, it could very well lead to the deaths of countless people. The Grimm honed in on fear after all, and while that might not matter in the cities behind their nice high walls, or someplace that was mostly safe like Patch, it was a matter of survival for them. She'll have to overcome that if she wants to live.

She'd leave that to Henry, however. While she could train the girl, it would be a waste of time. Yang wasn't ready for that kind of work yet, mentally or physically. Once Henry got them up to her standard, she'd take over for all three of them. Speaking of the third girl, Yang's half-sister sat quietly off to the side of the makeshift arena, knees pulled up tight to her chest as she watched her sister fight.

She was also scared, that much was obvious. Raven knew she may not have been the most comforting of people, but Beacon's training hadn't lacked for anything. One of their first classes in their second year was how to read and console civilians in danger. Those lessons hadn't come in handy for much since her Huntress days but it was difficult to unlearn something once it was set to memory. She'd always left that stuff to Summer anyways, or Qrow when she wasn't around.

The girl saw her watching, meeting her eyes for a fraction of a second before she flinched away. Raven's hand fell to her hilt. The girl really did take after her mother, with barely a hint of Tai in her. That made her hate the look on her face all the more. Summer had never shown fear like that. Many things that she was, idiot being foremost among them, Summer had always been brave. Whether it was facing down a horde of Grimm or Raven and Qrow after a night out drinking; the woman had backed down from nothing… except one thing anyways. Or one person, as it was.

She'd always had a crush on Tai, not that the blonde idiot had noticed. He'd been too busy sleeping his way through the academy before settling on her as his final conquest. The smirk that had worked its way onto her face died an ugly death at the thought of how it had all ended, as she turned her mind back to the girl sitting across from her.

It was clear that Summer's daughter hadn't inherited that same fearlessness, not yet at least. She winced and flinched every time something happened between Yang and Vernal; the fighting clearly making her uncomfortable.

"Girl." Raven called out, causing Yang to stop in her fight and look over at her. The pause gave Vernal a window and she struck, driving the blonde to the ground. She didn't sit there however, quickly turning into a violent whirlwind of jabs and kicks that made Vernal regret trying to grapple her. Summer's brat had looked over at her as well. "Come here."

Hesitantly, she stood and made her way around the arena; keeping several feet away from it so as to avoid any trouble, that same look of fear on her face as she came to stop in front of her. Raven stood, looking the girl up and down as she circled around her. She was small, which could be forgiven due to her age, but it was clear she had never had to even think about moving something her own body weight; much less the physical exercise she would need to protect herself in a place like the Tribe.

Raven gestured in the direction she had come from, towards the center of the encampment. The pathway was clear of any tents, though there were many on either side of the few feet that had been established as a walkway. "Walk until you find my tent, then look for the cooking tents, there you'll help them prepare whatever it is they plan on making for tonight. If you get lost, figure it out."

The girl looked in the direction she was pointing before looking back at her, as if she expected her to explain further.

"You can't send her away!" Yang called from the makeshift arena she had been sparring in. Vernal, rather than using the distraction as a window to attack, actually stepped back to catch her breath; much to Henry's annoyance. "We have to stay together!"

Raven glared at her daughter for a long moment, watching the girl wilt as her confidence left her in droves.

"She'll do as I say." Raven said again. "And today she'll be helping in the kitchens. Tomorrow, she'll help with packing supplies." She looked towards Henry, making it clear it would be his job to make sure she knew where to go. He sighed, but nodded. "And you'll be helping her after Henry is done with you."

"But…" Yang looked towards her half sister, gaining some sense of courage in the process. "She's too little."

"Then you'll do her work too." Raven replied before looking back down towards the girl.

"You're in charge right?" Yang asked quietly. "I heard them talking about you… can't you get someone else to do i-"

"Everyone pulls their weight." Raven snapped. "I don't care who pushed you out, and the rest of the Tribe won't care either. You either have what it takes, or you don't. They'll figure that out soon enough." Stopping, she turned her eyes down towards the younger girl standing in front of her. "And if you can't pull your weight, you'll have to find someone to pull it for you. Your sister is going to be busy enough as it is, and people won't go easy on her because she's taking care of you. Is that what you want?"

Hesitantly, the girl shook her head.

"Good." Raven nodded once. "Now go." She did as told this time, turning and scurrying off in the direction she had told her to go. Yang was glaring at her, not that she could be bothered to care.

"They won't make Ruby do anything too difficult." Henry clarified uselessly.

Of course they weren't going to make her do anything difficult. She couldn't have been older than five, a child by even their measure. The cooks would probably just have her cutting something for them, or fetching pots and pans they couldn't be bothered to grab.

Yang still looked off in the direction the girl had run off, biting her lip as if debating going after her. Not that Raven would let her get far. She still had training to do, and her own list of chores once that was done.

As Vernal and Yang started fighting again, Henry moved to stand beside her.

"Ya' could've handled that better."

"Don't start with me." Raven growled back. "I'm not going to put up with her sniveling and abandonment issues. I assume you put the two up in the same tent?"

"The sniveling was last night. I've seen raids with more tact than that crap ya' pulled last night. " He replied bitterly. "But yes, I put 'em in the same tent. A few down from your own."

"Move them farther out." Being so close to the center of camp didn't really mean anything, but to some people it was a symbol of status; as stupid as that was. The last thing she needed was people thinking she was giving them some kind of favoritism. "She has nothing to worry about and she needs to learn that people don't just disappear the moment you look away from them."

"I guess…" He paused to run a hand through his graying brown hair. "But ya could have done that better."

"They're orphans, Henry." She glared at him. "There's little more I could do to them."

He didn't bother to correct her on that point. "I'll make sure they know where to go."

Raven nodded, stepping away from the spar as Vernal finally managed to pin Yang. There wasn't much for her to do, but she couldn't stomach watching amateurs fight for long. Seeing their lack of skill on display always made her itch to show how to do so properly, if only to show them up in the process. Qrow had always said it was because she was vindictive, though Summer had said it was her way of showing she cared. They were both wrong of course, she just hated seeing people butcher a skill she had spent her life perfecting.

The various members of the Tribe kept their distance as she made her way towards her tent, and the half empty bottle she had left there.

Author's Note: Writing for pretty much all of the characters in this story is difficult. Yang and Ruby are younger than I am used to writing, but they also have gone through tragedy that has a habit of aging your mentality rather quickly so the balance is something I've struggled with. It's a difficult thing to work with. Not to mention the craziness that is Raven's thought process or Qrows self loathing. Hopefully it's all turning out well.

I'm also in the process of looking to get cover art for this story, but make no promises on when that will be finished. As for now, if anyone would like to offer, feel free, just let me know and I'll gladly shout it out.

The next chapter should be out February second. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed and be sure to let me know what you think in the reviews.

Sincerely, SE