A/N: Hi guys! Wow it's been a really long time since I posted to this site. But I am glad to be back :) Thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited/left reviews. Can't believe its been like 4 years haha time has truly flown. I have a real adult job now (crazy) and am in graduate school (even crazier) and I've also moved across the country multiple times for work since last posting, but I was looking back at this writing today when my friends and I were going through our old fanfiction accounts, and I was like "lowkey this kinda slapped I wanna finish this" so here I am :) Yes, it's 2025 and its 4 years late, but yknow what, I'm embracing the whimsy:)

This chapter's a bit of a break from the competition, but it is some time with two of my favorite characters. Hope you all enjoy! Please leave a review with your thoughts!

Big big big shoutout to Writingnerd291 for getting me back into fanfiction and generally being the best friend a girlie could ask for. I know you will not be reading this because you do not know RWBY and this is in fact chapter 72, but in case you ever do venture this far into the RWBY fandom: SLUUUUUUURP!

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Chapter 72: Qrow

Qrow Branwen hated Vacuo. It was too dry, too blisteringly hot, with far too much sand and not nearly enough alcohol. If it wasn't for the impending doom that faced Remnant if he didn't undertake this mission, he would've told Glynda to stick the orders where the sun didn't shine, and yet, it was for the sake of the world, and the sake of his nieces, that he was here. That being said, he thought this job would entail a lot more than babysitting the elderly.

"I'm not sure what benefit you get from staring broodingly into the sun, but if we want to make it to Shade Academy before Grimm destroy us, we ought to get a move on."

Qrow turned at the sound of a cane knocking against the sandy ground. The woman who held it was short, barely over three feet, with silver hair and prosthetic blue eyes, and it had been his mission to escort her safely to Shade Academy. Of course, he hadn't expected Maria Calavera to be on the opposite side of the country of Vacuo, scrounging for cashews at one of the desert's few oases.

"If you're ready, let's ship out,"

Qrow swung his weapon, Harbinger onto his back while Maria pulled out a map. Initially, Qrow had been able to use his scroll as a GPS, guiding him and Maria through the rugged terrain of Vacuo, but his scroll had lost service only a week ago, and he had been forced to rely on Maria's outdated maps.

"Now then," Maria said, waddling ahead, holding the map far in front of her to allow her eyes to adjust. "Explain how I got this power to begin with,"

Qrow groaned. "I told you last night,"

"You were drunk last night," Maria pointed out, "your words were slurred and I have poor hearing. It wasn't a very informative evening."

"Heh," Qrow chuckled. He sighed, inhaling several grains of sand in the process, making his voice even hoarser than it already was. "King Ozma had reason to believe that you're the Summer Maiden."

Maria snorted. "King Ozma was wrong. It's been a long time since I was a maiden."

Qrow closed his eyes, desperately wishing to cleanse his ears of that realization. "The transfer probably would've happened when you were younger. Generally, maiden powers don't transfer to people your age."

"I don't understand why the power would've transferred to me in the first place," Maria protested. "I didn't do anything. I just live my life in the desert. I'm a harmless old woman."

There was a screech from the sand behind her, and Maria whipped around, stabbing the emerging mole crab in the eye with her cane, causing it to shriek in pain and scuttle back into the sand.

Qrow stared at her in shock.

"Mostly harmless," Maria corrected.

"Look," he ran a hand through his messy, sand-covered, jet black hair. "I don't know how or why, but for some reason, you were in the last Summer Maiden's final thoughts before she died. The power passed onto you, and here you are,"

Maria shook her head. "I doubt I was in anyone's final thoughts… unless it was out of annoyance… maybe General Cordovin..."

Qrow gaped at her. "The head of security for the Isle of Tenebris?"

"She has something against cashews."

Qrow blinked, his head spinning. King Ozma had been certain that no one knew Maria was the Summer Maiden. Was that still the case if she had been to Tenebris? Did Salem know who she was? "Have you been to the Isle of Tenebris?" he demanded.

"Oh, stop ruffling your feathers," Maria chuckled, "I went many years ago. Followed my daughter there, actually. She didn't know I had snuck onto the airship. Of course, she'd SCREAMED when I hopped out and yelled, 'SURPRISE'. She'd seemed a little tense that night..."

Qrow shook his head. He didn't know what was relevant to his mission and what was just Maria being… Maria. "Look, I'm not interested in your family drama,"

"I suppose that's only fair," Maria replied with a shrug. They walked in silence for several seconds, and Qrow counted himself lucky that Maria didn't pry into his family drama. "How do you know so much about how the maiden powers are transferred?"

"King Ozma," Qrow replied simply.

"Have you ever seen it happen?"

"No."

"Do you know any of the other maidens?"

Qrow gritted his teeth. He had hoped that they would stay away from his family drama as well, but no such luck. "One or two," he admitted. "The Winter Maiden's under General Ironwood's protection, so she's probably under lock and key behind a bajillion levels of security. The Fall Maiden is in Salem's hands. Cinder Fall killed our last Fall Maiden and stole the power."

"And the Spring Maiden?" Maria pressed after a few seconds of silence.

Qrow felt his fists clench, and he forced them to slowly relax. "I don't know where the Spring Maiden is," he admitted. "Probably somewhere in Mistral. Fighting Grimm. Narrowly escaping death. Being a shitty person."

It wasn't a lie. He didn't know the exact location of the Spring Maiden. He didn't want to.

"Well, being a Maiden sounds like a dangerous job," Maria rubbed her hands together. "Consider me up for the task."

Qrow rolled his eyes, a smile spreading to his lips. As annoying as Maria was, he had to admit, he liked her spirit. "Theodore'll have instructions for us when we get to Shade. He should have a plan to keep you safe."

"Safe?" Maria scoffed. "Preposterous. Safety is for wimps and nerds and losers. I like to live on the edge."

"Heh," Qrow chuckled. There was a rumbling under his feet, and he dove into the sand a second before another Sand Crab emerged. Massive, chomping pincers lunged for his leg, and Qrow jumped just in time, pulling out Harbinger. When the pincer went for his face, he parried it with the sword.

"Over here, crab cake!" Maria cried. The crab spun around angrily, and, sensing its distraction, Qrow plunged his sword into a gap in the monster's armor. The creature shrieked and whined, and it fell to the ground with a thud.

Qrow stared at the dead crab, chest heaving, as Maria hobbled ahead. Living on the edge? he thought, his lip curling into a bittersweet smile. You'll be doing a lot of that with me around…