#|| Qrow is a walking fire hazard

[skidqrow]

"How to make things worse 101"

"Okay, you wanna know how to make things worse?" Qrow asked, a devilish smile on his face. "Professor Branwen is gonna teach you, kids!"

He shuffled through his desk until he came up with pebble-sized handfuls of white and red Dust. "You have problems with someone, and they don't stop being jerks, they've now made you their problem. You find out which desk they like sitting at each day and sprinkle a little Wind and Fire around the legs of the chair. They sit down, and they've suddenly found themselves in the hot seat. At worst, they walk away with first-degree burns. At best, they start to realize what else you might do if provoked."

With an unfortunate move, two of the crystals sparked together and Qrow's hand went up in small popping flames. "Oh shit!! Gods be good!" He waved his hand frantically, trying to put the fire out before he doused it with the pitcher of water he kept on his desk.

[astraskylark]

It's the most confusing, wonderful, and annoying feeling she has ever felt. And that is what meeting Weiss Schnee is like.

The first time Ruby sees her, she knows.

Her forehead is slick with sweat and the stickiness of salt scented winds from the sea, her white shirt stained with grease and one strap of her suspender hanging loosely off her shoulder. She curses herself for looking like the street rat she is today of all days, the day where the prettiest person she had ever and ever will see decided to step into the shipyard.

Ruby knows. That this person will haunt her thoughts for the rest of her life. That she’ll visit her in daydreams and nightmares, a wanting visitor distracting her-- blinding and binding her to crystal blue eyes that remind her of glacial ice, fractal remnants from books read long before, of places she has understood and felt but will never see.

And she hates it. Hates-- that this one second on a mundane Wednesday afternoon has dictated what her mind will think of every moment after. And she loves. Loves that her every thought she will have will be painted in blue and frost. She likens it to a feeling she had had reading a book years ago. A single sentence in a story that transforms every page after. That one moment of awakening where you feel the words latch on to your skin like an anchor. The words that ground you and take you to every place you will ever wish to see. Words that shackle you to freedom and let you fly while falling. And once those letters leave the page you will never see them again. They’ll follow you wherever you go though, quiet whispers in the day and loud as a foghorn in the night, like the voice at the back of your head except it’s in front you, beside you and everywhere you look. It’s suffocating but it’s also the gasp of air you breathe in after reaching the surface of the ocean after a swim, it’s like drowning but also the moment you gulp down cool water on a summer day, like jumping in a puddle of mud but also having it washed off—watching the dirt brown fall away from your skin like the waves receding into the ocean.

It's the most confusing, wonderful, and annoying feeling she has ever felt. And that is what meeting Weiss Schnee is like.

It wasn’t supposed to happen. Ruby’s a scrappy kid hanging around the shipyard trying to be bigger and better to anyone that says otherwise –-and Weiss is the daughter of Jacques Schnee. A man with more money than the hairs on her head, willing to sponsor the building of a fleet of carracks, enough to form a flotilla—for what or why no one knows. He pays everyone at the yard which includes her dad, uncle and hopefully one day-- her sister and her as well.

He’s a horrible person, an aura of pomp shimmering around him like hot air in a heat wave. Unpleasant would be one word for it, Uncle Qrow would have many more. But he pays them and Ruby has never had the misfortune of talking to him so she isn’t too bothered by him. Until today at least.

She’s seated on the tree trunk that’s going to be the mast, about thirty meters away from them but she can still see the way he stands in front of his daughter, interrupting her and silencing her—a permanent sneer always directed towards her. She can see the arrogance in his eyes and harshness of his words and Ruby wants nothing more than to walk up to him and give him a piece of her mind. But Weiss is there, facing her father and his rebukes head on, a verbal battle of sorts where Weiss seems to winning—if the silent smirks and muffled laughs her father and Oz are trying to hide from Mr Schnee are any indication, so she watches her.

They’re oceans apart, like the difference between the blues of the waves and the blues of the deep sea. So why she finds herself staring at her from across the floor without shying away as she would have usually done is lost on her. Well no, she thinks Weiss is the prettiest and the most interesting person to ever walk the floors of the Beacon (old man Oz had a funny sense with naming the shipyard) so naturally she’s looking at her. Naturally.

But why oh why was Weiss Schnee looking at her as well? For a split second their eyes meet and Ruby can feel every nerve in her body malfunction.

The sun is high and the air humid—the sound of metal-on-metal rings through the hollow space where Oz is speaking to Mr. Schnee, the distant screech of the birds and the crashing of waves would usually make it unbearably noisy but Ruby can’t hear a thing. She wonders if this what they call a vacuum. She had read about it in a book that was too big for her to understand and a bit too high on the shelf for her to reach.

She wonders if people were supposed to be able to breath after having all the air around them sucked away because she hasn’t passed out yet and she is for sure not breathing so maybe she’s just really special or really stupid. She’s been called both before. Ruby wants to look away—act like their eyes accidently met and avert them and never look at her again. But she can’t and she thinks this is what a compass needle feels like, always facing looking toward the poles, unable to turn away.

Weiss looks away and the moment ends but Ruby still can’t breathe yet she feels so alive because when Weiss had looked at her, she had smiled. Well maybe not smiled but it was different from the scowl she had been wearing a second before and it wasn’t a frown so that counted for something and Weiss is looking at her again now and she is smiling and Ruby feels like someone’s punched her and she’s pretty sure her face is on fire and she’s sitting on wood so now she’s a fire hazard and she needs to get up and do something before everything burns but she’s stuck and she can feel her breton hat slipping off her head and she needs to run now or she’s sure she’ll do something stupid and now Weiss is excusing herself so she must be leaving but no-- she’s walking towards her??

Ruby isn’t sure what exactly transpired in the last thirty seconds but Weiss is standing in front her now and she’s saying something but she cannot for the life of her hear it because her brain is fried. And Weiss is handing something over to her and Ruby can feel a folded piece of paper in her hand and the sensation of folded parchment helps temporarily ground her just a little bit. Enough for her to move her head and look.

It's a crude charcoal drawn doodle of a ship that she recognizes as her own. She remembers sketching it out in the early hours of the day and shoving it in her pocket, the charcoal stencil staining her fingertips. Ruby stares at it, wondering how it managed to escape her pocket and she must have been staring for too long because she hears Weiss clear her throat.

“It’s a good design” she says looking at the piece of paper and then at Ruby herself.  And Ruby has so many questions. The first one being what? The second one being WHAT??

So naturally Ruby just stares at Weiss because she’s sure if she blinks Weiss will disappear and she’ll find herself back in the tiny room Yang and her shared on the modified crow’s nest of the grounded sail boat her family lived in.

Weiss tilts her head questioningly and the action is so adorable Ruby finds herself with the urge to sketch it. “This fell from your pocket. Is it not yours?”. She’s bemused and a little confused and Ruby wants nothing more than to see her smile again and that’s completely normal right? To want a person you just met to be the happiest they can be? She’ll have to ask Yang about that later.

“Oh no it’s fine” she replies a little too loudly, pushing the paper back into Weiss’s hands and Ruby mentally pats herself on the back because she just replied to a question which means that she has successfully conversed and that’s one social point for Ruby. Until she notices the confusion on Weiss’s face. Her mind backtracks and she’s making no sense and really wants to but Weiss is making it so hard for her to think.

“So it is yours” Weiss says and it feels like a question but she says it like a fact and Ruby feels like an idiot but what else is new.

“This is impressive” she continues and Ruby has the urge to tell her that no—it was not impressive and that Weiss is probably too Weiss to be seen talking to her and she needs to stop but it would be rude to interrupt and she’s never met a person outside her family that’s actually understood her designs and the fact Weiss tells her its good and the fact that she isn’t being yelled at for wasting her time and the fact the sky is blue, the air is salty and she’s alive overwhelm her just a little bit.

“My name is Weiss” she says extending her hand towards her and Ruby knows her name, heck everyone in yard knew it but hearing it from Weiss herself makes it much more tangible. Much more real. Like a present given to her on a birthday. Weiss is a person. Ruby is also a person and she thinks about all the moments that have transpired for this to happen and she knows she’s overthinking it but it feels like fate, it feels like it’s the start of something exciting—the feeling she gets when she starts a new book, ready to meet new characters and places and go on journeys with them but no, the voice in the back of her head is whispering, chiding her for naivety, that this is a random coincidence and nothing more—a universal misstep and she’ll probably never see Weiss again.

The thought sobers her up.

“My name is Ruby Rose” she manages to say, wiping her hands on her pant leg before reaching out to shake Weiss’s other non-paper holding hand and if there are any charcoal stains remaining Weiss does a remarkable job of schooling her face to reveal nothing.

Weiss firmly shakes her hand before letting go and Ruby can see a smidge of black at the edges of her palms and she wants to scream into a pillow and never show her face in public again.

“Well it was a pleasure to meet you Miss Rose.” And she says it with sincerity but Ruby can’t tell which part of this entire debacle gave any semblance of positivity so she just nods and hopes a giant sea-gull will swoop down and whisk her away. And now Weiss is taking a step back and Ruby can feel a giant clock ticking all around her and she knows once the invisible gong rings she’ll have missed her chance at something—she doesn’t even know what that something is but she can feel it’s very important and for once she’d like be on time.

“Which part did you think was good” she shouts breathless and nervous and scared and surprised.

She wonders if time has stopped because everything freezes but Weiss is smiling again and nothing can freeze in the presence of something that warm. It’s different this time. It’s a look Ruby has seen in the eyes of different people for different reasons. Her sister’s when she talks about the places she’s going to visit on a ship of her own one day, her uncle’s when he talks about all his past adventures and mishaps (though his usually carry a weight that Ruby hasn’t had the courage to ask about) and she thinks this might be the look Yang says she gets sometimes, when she sketches a design that feels just right or when she feels the wind blow past the sails and drag her further and further away from the shore.

It’s pure excitement and joy. The spark in Weiss’s blue eyes is almost childlike, a look she’s seen on kids outside the dockyard staring at the tiny wooden carvings that move, or at the festival where the town gathers for the firework display. Ruby has so much to say and is simultaneously speechless so she’s glad when Weiss speaks.

“I’ve actually—” she starts but is interrupted by a voice calling her name. Weiss stiffens and the light is gone and Ruby wants nothing more than to kick whoever it is.

It’s Mr. Schnee. He’s standing at the same place as before, his posture radiating displeasure and irritation and Weiss seems to notice it as well.

“It’s time to go Weiss, enough dilly dallying” he harrumphs adjusting the cuffs to his expensive white tailored suit that looks so out of place from their surroundings Ruby has to squint to make sure she doesn't get a headache. Weiss takes a deep breath and nods and takes a step towards him before pausing--quickly turning around.

“We’ll talk again soon” she says and Ruby can tell that Weiss wants her words to be true as much as she does. She’s still looking at her—expression questioning and apprehensive and maybe a little hopeful and Ruby belatedly realizes that she’s looking for some reassurance from her side as well so she nods back and holds her pinky out for good measure.

“I pinky swear” she says with as much conviction one would have while making a blood oath of some sort. Pinky swears were important to her and Yang had told her to only use them under life changing circumstances and what was more life changing than making a maybe friend? Weiss is startled, looking at Ruby and her pinky before rolling her eyes, her lips twitching upwards ever so slightly.

“It’s promise”. And she says it so silently Ruby wonders if she actually meant to say it but the wind carries her voice and she hears it and their charcoal smudged pinkies lock and she shakes it up and down for good measure. She takes the piece of paper that once meant nothing but now means much more and shoves into her pocket completely forgetting about the hole it fell though in the first place.

Weiss walks away, a skip to her step. And suddenly the air isn’t salty and the sky isn’t grey and she doesn’t feel out of breath chasing the world anymore. Ruby doesn’t know it yet but according to Yang she stood there for thirty minutes after with a grin so bright, nobody had the heart to call out to her.

[kyria-nico]

Fair Game Valentine’s Fluff

Everyone at Beacon High thinks that Qrow despises Valentine’s Day due to a misunderstanding from his freshman year. Every year, the student council hosts a Valentine’s Day event where students can buy Valentine’s cards and flowers for other students. Every year, Qrow gets none.

Until one year, he does.

Qrow hated Valentine’s Day.

Or, at least, everyone thought he did. Every year, the school council ran a Valentine’s Day event where students could send their friends and partners Valentine’s cards with a candy and a rose attached. In his freshman year, Qrow had received one. He had been happy at first, as he didn’t really have any friends beyond his sister, until he opened it and found that it only read “cheer up emo kid”.

He had ripped it up and thrown it out, and forgotten about it. Until the next year, when the morning announcements mentioned that orders for the valentines would be opening up soon.

“Don’t send one to Qrow! He’ll just rip it up and throw it out!” Tyrian had called from the back of the room, prompting giggles from the rest of the class. Qrow had just rolled his eyes, but the rest of the day he had people asking him why he had ripped up the valentine from last year. Too embarrassed to admit the real reason, he had just shrugged it off. Until Tai and Summer had started badgering him about it.

When they wouldn’t drop it, Qrow had turned on them, practically shouting, “I just hate Valentine’s Day, okay!?”

Unfortunately for him, that had happened in the middle of a crowded hallway. The din from the other students had stopped for one terrifying moment, before exploding in laughter and gossip. Qrow had just turned on his heel and walked out of school, completely skipping last period and resolving to forget about it. He had figured no one would remember it.

He had figured wrong.

It was his senior year now, and his “hatred” of Valentine’s Day was legendary. The story of him ripping up a single Valentine had morphed into him burning a massive pile of Valentines while ranting about how Valentine’s Day was just a bullshit corporate holiday designed to sell chocolate and greeting cards.

Now, anyone who looked at Qrow would have no reason to assume that he would feel differently. He dressed mostly in black, with ripped jeans and heavy boots that wouldn’t look out of place at a punk concert, and he had a sarcastic sense of humor that led most to think he was apathetic or cynical. Nothing about his style or demeanor really screamed “romantic at heart”.

The problem, though, was that Qrow actually liked Valentine’s Day.

Sure, he wouldn’t deny that there were plenty of companies trying to make money off it, but that was the case with most things. He had always thought it was sweet that humans had decided it was important to have an entire day just to tell other humans that they were important to them. He had always enjoyed watching people get Valentine’s cards, liked watching the way their eyes would soften or light up as they read the messages their friends or partners wrote for them.

Not that he could really admit to it at this point. The only one who knew was Raven. And she, unfortunately, was not sentimental enough about Valentine’s Day to try and correct people’s misconceptions.

“At least you’re graduating this year,” Raven said when he complained about the story circulating again. “It’s not like this’ll follow you after high school.”

->—

It was the day before Valentine’s Day, and the torture had already started. Qrow stood at his locker, watching from afar as a flustered Tai shoved a gift into Raven’s hands. Raven was staring at it with her customary disdain, but Qrow could tell she was secretly pleased by it.

“It’s sweet, isn’t it?” A voice came from the locker next to him, and Qrow turned in surprise. Qrow recognized the guy as Clover, a junior that was quite popular among students from every grade. Everyone called him the good luck charm of the school, and credited him for leading their famously bad baseball team to the state finals. Qrow had long admired him from afar, not just because he was good looking (although he was), but because he seemed to be the opposite of everything Qrow was. A “lucky clover”, indeed.

He realized he was staring. “Uh, yeah. Sweet,” he said, trying to sound noncommittal, wondering if Clover was gearing up to ask him about ‘the incident’.

“Do you like Valentine’s Day?” Clover asked, and Qrow raised an eyebrow. Didn’t he know the story?

He was so surprised by the question, which sounded genuine, that he answered honestly. “Yeah. It’s not bad, as far as holidays go,” Qrow said, inwardly bracing himself for the inevitable follow-up about him using a flamethrower on a thousand roses in the parking lot, or whatever the current rumor was.

“Do you have one?” Clover asked.

Qrow found himself off balance again from the unexpected question. “Have what?”

Clover grinned, a hint of pink blooming in his cheeks. “A Valentine.”

It was Qrow’s turn to flush at that. He shook his head. “No. I — uh, well, no one’s ever asked me. Guess maybe the universe is trying to tell me I’m better off alone,” Qrow said, letting out a little self-deprecating laugh to try and play the uncharacteristically honest words off as a joke.

“That’s a shame.” Clover had clearly finished with his locker, and yet he was still standing there, his bag slung over one shoulder, a slightly crooked grin on his face. “I don’t think there’s anyone that’s better off alone. Well, I’ll see you around.”

Qrow watched his kelly green backpack disappear into the crowd of students with wide eyes, wondering what the hell had just happened. Had he really just admitted his existential crisis about loneliness to a complete stranger? He rubbed a hand over his face, as if he could wipe the whole interaction from his mind, and threw his books back into his locker. He knew he would catch hell from Summer for skipping bio, but he didn’t really care.

After that, there was no fucking way he would be able to focus anyway.

->—

“Come on, Summer, I promise this is the last time!” Qrow was reduced to begging, clasping his hands together and trying to move into Summer’s line of sight. She kept stubbornly turning her nose up at him. She was trying to look stern, but she really only managed something close to haughty.

“That’s what you said last time,” she said, turning away from him again. “And I told you then that if you skipped bio again, I wouldn’t give you my notes!”

Qrow deflated, grumbling and shoving his hands in his pockets. Tai clapped a hand on his shoulder so hard that he almost fell over. “I suppose you can borrow my notes,” Tai said, as if he were a magnanimous King granting a prisoner his clemency.

Qrow glared at him, brushing his hand off. “Your notes are unreadable.”

“If he even bothers to take them,” Summer added, and she and Qrow grinned at each other while Tai pretended to be hurt.

“So, you’ll let me copy your notes?” Qrow gave her his very best puppy dog eyes (which were pretty damn good, despite his sometimes edgy appearance), and Summer let out a long sigh.

“Fine,” she said, reaching into her bag and pulling out her notebook, handing it to him with a stern look (although it was somewhat diminished by her fond smile). “But this is definitely the last time!”

->—

Qrow was so absorbed in copying Summer’s immaculately organized biology notes, that he missed the entrance of the student council completely, not realizing what was happening until he heard the first squeals of happiness from the other side of the room. He looked up, surprised to see that Clover was there, standing next to Robyn and James. He had forgotten that Clover was on the student council, although he couldn’t remember what he was. Robyn was the President, James was the Vice President, and Clover was…walking towards him?

Qrow flicked his eyes to either side, trying to figure out why Clover could be approaching him. He intentionally sat in the very back corner of the room, and he always had a couple seat buffer around him in the classes he didn’t share with Tai or Summer. There was a pretty blonde sitting a couple seats in front of him. Surely Clover meant to approach her, not him.

But Clover wasn’t looking at her. He was looking directly at Qrow. Qrow swallowed nervously. What could the school’s lucky clover want with its resident bad luck charm?

“I have a Valentine here for Qrow Branwen.” Clover had stopped right in front of his desk, and was smiling down at Qrow with a gentle smile on his face. He reached into his basket, and the classroom had gone so quiet that Qrow could hear the sounds of Clover’s fingers brushing against the cards. He could feel the stares of the rest of the class on him, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Clover as he placed the envelope on his desk, followed by a bag of chocolates and a single red rose.

Qrow thought he might actually prove the rumors true and set the Valentine on fire, but only because he was pretty sure he was so flushed that his skin was becoming a fire hazard. Even the tips of his ears burned, and his throat dried up, leaving him completely speechless.

Clover winked at him, and then he was gone, sweeping out of the room with James and Robyn following close behind. The room was still silent as Qrow picked up the envelope, sliding his fingers under the little heart shaped sticker and pulling out the card inside. It was decorated with a little cartoon crow sitting on a branch, with a speech bubble that read “Won’t you be mine? BeCAWS I think we’d go together like velCROW!”

Qrow could do nothing but smile like an idiot and bury his flaming face in his hands as the entire class erupted in shock.

->—

The story of Qrow’s sentimental reaction to Clover’s valentine spread through the school like wildfire, and it was the end of the day before Qrow could get away from the crowd of students clamoring to know why he had pretended to hate Valentine’s Day all these years. It had been a hard day. People he knew, even people he didn’t know, kept pressing chocolates and flowers into his hands all day, apologizing for never giving him anything.

Summer practically cried, clinging to his neck and wailing promises to make him a mountain of chocolate and let him copy her notes whenever he wanted to make up for all the years they’d missed. Raven had to step in and physically disengage Summer’s grip on Qrow. She gave him nothing more than a long look, but he understood exactly what it was she wanted to say anyway.

Go get him.

Qrow’s chest felt like it was filled with feathers and his knees felt unsteady and weak as he walked among the hallways, looking everywhere for a glimpse of Clover. He wasn’t even sure why he was looking. One valentine didn’t really mean anything. It could be Clover didn’t know the story, and just felt bad that Qrow never seemed to get any cards or flowers. He was a popular guy, and it would only make him look better to take pity on the weird goth kid. By the time Qrow had circled back to his classroom, he had convinced himself that the whole thing was nothing more than a nice gesture.

He pushed open the door to the classroom, and the leaden disappointment that had started building in his stomach evaporated instantly.

Clover was there. He was sitting in Qrow’s seat, and he stood up so fast he nearly knocked the desk over. Qrow felt frozen for a moment, suddenly completely unsure of how to proceed. “You know, you completely ruined my reputation,” he said, and inwardly berated himself for falling so quickly back to sarcasm.

Clover just grinned. “So you liked it?”

Qrow grinned back. “It was a little cheesy.” Clover’s smile fell a bit. “But, yeah. I liked it.”

“Everyone was so convinced that you’d hate it, I almost chickened out,” Clover said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Qrow tilted his head. “Why did you give it to me? I thought everyone believed those stupid rumors.”

Clover laughed, “I saw you. Last year. That Summer girl you always hang out with was giving everyone else but you a Valentine. You just looked…sad, I guess. I thought maybe you didn’t hate Valentine’s Day as much as everyone said.”

Qrow’s face got hot at the idea that Clover had been watching him closely enough to get a read on his emotions, his throat suddenly feeling dry again.

“So…what’s your answer?” Clover asked, and Qrow blinked in confusion at him.

“To what?”

Clover laughed again, and Qrow caught himself thinking that he really liked the way it sounded. Qrow swallowed as Clover walked across the classroom, coming to stand directly in front of him. His face was flushed too, and he looked nervous. “Will you be my Valentine?”

After what had happened freshman year, it was the last question Qrow had ever expected someone would ask him, and his stomach flipped at the words. He reached out, taking Clover’s hands in his own, and he smiled with a lot more confidence than he felt. “Only if you’ll be mine.”

Clover dropped his hands, moving forward and pulling Qrow into a hug so tight that Qrow almost felt his feet leave the ground. Clover was practically giggling, and Qrow found he was too, his whole body buzzing with frantic energy that made his chest feel like it was going to explode.

When they finally pulled apart, Clover rested his hands on Qrow’s waist, meeting his gaze with a fondness that made Qrow’s chest feel tight.

“Why me?” Qrow whispered, and Clover looked confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you have everything. You’re popular, you’re handsome, you’re—you’re like a good luck charm.” Qrow couldn’t keep the bitterness from seeping into his voice, the rest of his feeling clear even if he didn’t say it out loud. Everything that I don’t have. Everything I’m not.

Clover shrugged. “I saw you on my first day,” he said, his fingers tightening a little on Qrow’s waist. “You were sitting up on the roof, feeding birds. You had this look on your face, like you were just completely at peace. I think—well, I just knew I wanted to get to know you better.”

Qrow laughed. “And you decided to wait until I was about to graduate to do it?”

“It took me a while to work up the courage,” he admitted, smiling wryly. “But I’m glad I finally did.”

Qrow wrapped his arms around Clover’s neck, pulling him in close and pressing a kiss to his cheek, enjoying the way Clover’s fair skin flushed as he did. “Lucky me,” he whispered in Clover’s ear, feeling his answering laugh as it vibrated in his chest.

“Lucky us.”

[jadekitty777]

Doomsday Dinner Party: Chapter 2

Me? Updating a story from 2018? It’s more likely than you think. I’ve been wanting to write a continuation to this one for a long time.

Day 3: AU Day @taiqrowweek

Rating: T

Words: 9,000

Summary: The world might be over as they know it, but that didn’t mean their still wasn’t time for a road trip.

Ao3 Link: Doomsday Dinner Party (This link leaks to chapter 1, since reading it is kind of required and it’s been a long time)

~

June in the south was miserable and Qrow had not missed it one bit. Especially when that meant waking up with his clothes sticking to him like an uncomfortable, sweat-soaked blanket. It didn’t help that Tai was practically a furnace, and such an extreme cuddler it was as if he was trying to make it into the next Olympic sport.

He carefully wiggled his way out of the other’s grip, his efforts proving successful when he stirred but didn’t wake. As he sat up, he bit back the groan as his entire body ached in protest, every muscle sore from last night’s desperate escape. His shoulders were particularly knotted up, but he didn’t dare try to rub at them. Not with his fingertips still scraped raw from the failed attempts to grab the edge of the concrete wall he’d tried to vault himself over.

Qrow glanced over at Tai, still slumbering away.

He remembered that split second of dread that had shot through him, when he called for Tai’s help and the man, already safely straddled on the fence, looked the other way. He had thought, this was it. Tai was going to jump to the other side and leave him to die. He couldn’t describe the feeling that overwhelmed him when Tai only chucked their bags over before joining him back on the ground to help him over, putting himself in danger to save him.

After every other loss Qrow’d endured – friends, coworkers, his father, civilization itself – he was certain that nothing else could faze him. Oh, how the universe loved to prove him wrong. For the dread he felt when he was in trouble was nothing compared to the all-encompassing terror that engulfed him when it was Tai’s life on the line instead.

He’d almost lost him last night and the thought alone still shook his very soul.

It wasn’t even supposed to be like this. His plan had been simple: Team up with the trained soldier and travel from Montana to Texas. Try to locate his sister in Wichita Falls. Then, get a free pass into the military safe haven in Archer City. He was just supposed to use Tai’s connections to save his own skin, not fall for the guy.

And yet, here he was, a foolish man gently stroking his knuckles across Tai’s face, heart jumping at the little smile that elicited.

Damn it.

Qrow pulled away, before getting to his feet and picking up his scythe as he headed for the door. He opened it only a crack at first, listening carefully for any out of place noises – shambling feet, hissing breath. Anything that might indicate a Stalker nearby. When nothing caught his ear, he widened it, took a quick visual sweep of the area, before determining it was safe and walking outside.

Though he had no skill in reading it, the sun wasn’t too high yet, so he guessed it was only a bit past eight. Despite the early hour though, the summer heat was already settling in thick. He turned on his heels, getting another gander of the area. Even in the light, there wasn’t much to the facility. The wall surrounded the perimeter, only broken by an iron wrought gate that was probably only ever opened for vehicular traffic. He spotted nothing beyond the metal bars, so the horde that had chased them had thankfully continued on, rather than lingering in wait for them. Within the walls, there was only the small office building they’d holed up into and the white tanks that potentially held some water.

Possibly a back-up supply in case of a tornado emergency? He wasn’t sure, but it would be worth investigating after Tai got up.

For now, he had a different task in mind as he settled on the ground in the shade of one of the tanks and rested his weapon in his lap. Having been so exhausted, he hadn’t cleaned the blade last night like he should have. It was going to be a chore to do so this morning, now that the blood had had time to dry and crust over. It would have to be done before they moved out though, so he set himself to work on the arduous task.

It wasn’t until he was nearly done that Tai finally emerged, lumbering his way over to sit down beside him.

“Breakfast?” He greeted, shaking a bag of almonds at him.

“Sure.” Qrow accepted a handful, throwing them all into his mouth before picking back up his grit stone and moved it along the sharp end of the scythe. With the sound too grating to talk over, they shared the meager meal in silence. Not that there was much left to sharpen. Only a few more strokes and the task was done.

It was worrisome that the bag was empty in just as little time.

To avoid thinking about it, he rapped his knuckles on the tank behind them. “Was thinking there might be some water in here.”

“Doubt it.” Tai said, appraising the unit with a skeptical eye.

“Oh yeah?” He challenged. “What makes you so sure?”

Without breaking eye contact, Tai pointed to something above Qrow’s head. “Well that, for starters.”

He looked up at what he was indicating, spotting the bright yellow sticker with big, bold letters that said: Caution – Fire Hazard.

Not missing a beat, he said, “Could still be water. It’s a hazard to fire.”

Tai chuckled. “Oh, I see. It’s one of those badly translated stickers from Peru then.”

“Peru? Why not China?”

“Because my people have standards.”

“Your people?” Qrow arched a brow. “Tai, you’re like the whitest Chinese person to ever exist.”

He gave him a once over. “Kettle, black. Or in this case, white.”

“Hah. Clever.” He mocked. “Least I got the Asian eyes.”

“And they’re very pretty.” Tai reached out, roughing up his hair until most of the shaggy locks were covering his vision. He laughed Qrow off when he tried to swipe at him in retribution, scuttling back and getting to his feet. “Come on, we should get moving before the sun gets too high.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He stood as well, pushing his hair back into place, grimacing at the grime and grease that kept it into place like a self-made hair gel.

God, what he wouldn’t do for a shower.

As they headed back to the little metal building, he said, “So my thought is we head back to the car. Salvage it if we can. Ransack it if we can’t.” They’d left a lot behind in yesterday’s escape, including a canister of gas and some spare water.

Tai nodded stepping inside just long enough to grab their packs. “Shouldn’t be a problem. The freeway should be mostly clear now, so we can probably hotwire something new if need be.” He headed towards the gate, handing Qrow’s bag over as he passed. “We can probably go scavenging in a few of the small towns on the way, but if all goes well, we can definitely make it to Wichita before nightfall.”

Qrow froze.

It took the other man almost a dozen steps before he noticed. He paused, glancing back, “Qrow?”

He shifted his weight uncertainly, dropping his gaze. “Yeah, ‘bout that. I was thinking maybe we should just… skip Wichita and head straight for Archer City?”

The silence that followed allowed Qrow to feel lower than the dirt he was staring at. And though Tai wasn’t a violent man by nature, at least where the living folks were concerned, he still flinched all the same when the man approached him.

But the most Tai did was lay a hand on his shoulder, voicing softly, “Are you sure?”

“Last night was the first time we’ve encountered a crowd of that size. We barely made it.” He replied. “If we couldn’t handle that, how are we going to handle Wichita being like that from end to end?”

“You don’t know that.”

He finally rose his gaze. “No, but I do know better than to gamble on a losing hand.”

“But,” It was hard to catalogue the pinched expression that formed on Tai’s face. “But she’s your sister.”

He swallowed down the sudden grief that was trying to crawl its way out of his throat. “Yeah. Truth is though, I know she’s not there. She either got out, or she didn’t. I only wanted to go for me. To find peace with it, I guess.” He laid his hand over Tai’s, feeling the scars on the knuckles and the warmth of his skin. Alive. Here. “But I don’t want to lose you by chasing ghosts.”

Those soulful, blue eyes searched his face carefully. Then, for no reason at all, Tai pulled him into a hug, whispering into his hair. “Okay.”

It was almost like he was trying to comfort him. He didn’t know why though. He was fine.

Qrow buried his head into Tai’s shoulder.

…He was fine.

~

Qrow was nothing if not masterful at ignoring his own emotions.

“What do you think?” Qrow asked as he splayed himself over the hood of a Ferrari. “Perfect for the next calendar?”

“Qrow no.” The smile gave his partner away.

“Oh you’re right, the ladies like the open shirt look.” He teased, reaching up to undo a few of the top buttons.

Tai shoved a hand in his face, pushing him. “Cut it out porn star. We gotta actually work.”

He gave a mournful sigh. “My career, ended before it could take off.”

Qrow hopped down from the car, trailing after the other man. As they’d feared, their little hit and run last night really did a number on the Camry. The back wheels were now pitched up on a hill of squirming, hissing Stalkers. There was really no hope of getting it loose without a tow and even if they could, the potential damage the vehicle sustained probably negated the effort.

So they made their way to the freeway as planned, now eerily empty except for the few dead still stuck in their seatbelts. They made sure to avoid those ones.

“Oh, what about this one?” Tai pointed out a Jeep Wrangler, eyes practically sparkling. “Be good for some off roading, yeah?”

“Yeah, ‘cept that gas guzzler ain’t going to get us very far.” He nudged him onwards, peering into the windows of the cars they were walking by, trying to see if there were any abandoned snacks or water bottles to snag. Unfortunately, the best he could seem to find was a pack of Winterfresh gum, the sticks so old they crumbled.

They ate them anyways.

After about an hour of scouring their options and many failed attempts to get something working that hadn’t had something wear out from disuse and time under the hot sun, they finally managed to get a little Hyundai purring to life. Qrow eased it down the grassy slope, the whole frame shaking roughly as they made their way to the side road they’d been traveling on. Once they hit it, it was smooth sailing from there, Qrow pulling down the window to stick his hand out while Tai hummed showtunes beside him and mapped out the safest route to their final destination.

They reached Sterling within the first ten minutes. The small town, boasting only an original population of 800, was like a ghost town to drive through. A shambling straggler could be seen here or there, but mostly they went through uninterrupted – stopping only to check an already well-ransacked Dollar General. Temple, the next village down the 65, was not much more impressive and with tiny stores just as empty. They pulled over halfway down on the 70 to wash up in the Red River (not quite the shower he’d been hoping for, but it would do). They collected some spare water to boil later, before moving on.

Soon enough, they were turning onto the 79 and crossing the state border, driving through Byers, a town so miniscule, it wasn’t worth touring.

“Maybe we should just keep going.” Qrow said as they entered Petrolia, finding the show to be the same as the rest: lifeless streets decorated with only the occasional Stalker and nothing else. “We really aren’t getting anywhere with all these stops.”

Tai ran a hand through his hair, already dry as the early afternoon sun bore down from above like a heat lamp. “Suppose so. We’re only an hour or so away. Turn right here.”

He did as told, eyeing the signs as he did so.

Tried to ignore the heaviness in his heart as he realized they were turning away from Wichita Falls.

He focused twice as hard on the asphalt stretching for miles before them, avoiding the occasional abandoned car or, in one case, tractor. There wasn’t much to see on the countryside of Texas, even less so now. It was nothing but wide, open fields, overgrown with weeds that had gone untilled, interspaced by the occasional barn or house. Any livestock there had been seemed to have escaped from their pens or frozen during the winter season.

They both looked away from the dead horse still tied to its post in the corral.

It took only twenty minutes to hit the next city. Despite it being three times larger than the other towns, they made it through Henrietta without incident.

They were just going under the overpass of the freeway when Tai suddenly exclaimed, “Wait! Turn around!”

“What? What is it?” Qrow asked, U-turning in the middle of the road.

“We need to go there!”

He followed the direction he was pointing, eyebrows going up to his hairline. “Pecan Shed? The fuck you want to go there for?”

“It’s a gift shop.”

He waited a beat. “And?”

“It has things… and stuff?”

Qrow rolled his eyes. “What a concept. Next you’ll be telling me hardware stores have nails.” He turned onto the side street all the same, pulling into the parking lot within seconds. He gave the building a once over as they got out of the car.

It was a fairly large. Two stories tall and long as a barn, with a fancy awning in front that mimicked a shed roof and a patio with seating that stretched all across the front and down both sides of the property. The name of the place was in big red letters at the top story, something that would be easily visible from the freeway when passing by. The front doors were made of glass, surprisingly still intact and, more importantly, unlocked.

They stepped inside with caution at first, but a quick sweep of the open floor and a few calls to garner attention with no response told them they weren’t in any immediate danger.

Which meant…

They shared a glance, before immediately tackling the still semi-stocked junk food station in the middle of the room. He ripped open a package of Ruffles, stuffing half the bag in his mouth at once. It tasted like heaven. Stale, over-salted heaven.

Beside him, Tai was inspecting a bag of what appeared to be shelled peanuts while tipping back a bag of Fritos.

He swallowed down another handful, saying, “Save those.” They would keep better longer and they were good fillers when they had nothing else.

“Ye’I’no.” Tai garbled out, his normal southern politeness completely abolished in the sightline of food.

Qrow, who had no politeness at all, just tossed the empty bag over his shoulder and reached for the Funyuns next.

By the time they had their fill, there was a small collection of litter at their feet. He sighed, plopping down onto the nearby checkout counter, smoothing a hand over his belly. They’d had to ration for so long, he couldn’t even remember the last time he felt safe to overindulge. Too worried about what he’d need tomorrow to worry about the ache in his stomach today.

“Sir, how much will this cost?”

Qrow looked up, smirking as Tai stood before him with two hand baskets full of goods. “For what? The food or my sexy ass?”

He winked. “The food. Your ass is priceless.”

“Least you know quality when you see it.” He hopped down, taking one of the baskets and following the other out to the car.

They fell into an easy rhythm, scouring the shop top to bottom for anything worth nabbing. Drinks, trail mixes, jerky, matches, candles, blankets, batteries, knives. Even things like books and magazines were useful for campfire tinder – and maybe a bit of reading for those really boring nights.

Then again, Qrow thought as he placed a few shirt-wrapped bottles of wine in the back, there were always other methods of entertainment.

He slammed the trunk closed, before heading back in for one last sweep through of the back aisles. He zigzagged around the store, triple-checking the sections they’d already emptied. A selection of colorful novelty mugs caught his attention and he chortled over the one with the cartoon Corgi surrounded by a heart and flowing text framing it that said, ‘This is the Corgkey to my heart’.

Tai had always said he wanted a dog, hadn’t he?

He plucked it off the shelf and made his way towards where he could spot the familiar head of blond hair peeking above the displays. He wheeled the corner, about to call out – only for it to choke in his throat when he realized what the other man was doing.

Tai stood in front of a rack of wooden baskets, each one filled to the brim with stuffed animals. He seemed to be in a silent debate over whether to take the fuzzy teddy bear or the brightly colored unicorn, as if it were the most important decision of his life.

He looked so… lost.

Qrow inched forward hesitantly, moving loud enough that he knew he was there, but quiet enough to not disturb him.

It seemed Tai wasn’t completely stuck in his own head though, for when he finally stood at his side, he spoke, “I used to bring Yang here a lot.”

He tilted his head, surprised. “Your daughter?” Tai hadn’t talked about his girls much; whether it be out of a simple habit of privacy or a necessity to keep himself focused on survival instead of agonizing over his children’s fate was unknown to Qrow, but either way he’d never pried.

“Yeah. When I’d take her to go visit her mom, if the trip didn’t go well – and it rarely did – I’d bring her here. She loved the dinosaur exhibit that’s in front of the truck stop. I’d let her play there as long as she wanted and then we’d eat at the Steak N’ Shake.” He waved a hand at the store around them. “Then we’d come here, get some of the specialty fudge to bring home and Yang would pick out a stuffed animal for Ruby. Somehow, she always knew which one she’d love the most.”  He laughed. It was a strained, wounded sound. “I’m afraid I don’t have her intuition though. I can’t even remember if Ruby was still in her unicorn phase before I left.”

Qrow swallowed down that same, awful grief from before that was trying to escape. Instead, he forced some cheer into his tone as he said, “Well you know what I do when I can’t make a decision?” He turned to the baskets in front of them and pulled one right off the rack, dropping it down between them, “I get them all.”

Tai blinked down at it, before a genuine smile broke free. It was like watching the sun come out after a rainstorm. “Qrow, we can’t bring them all.”

“Watch me.” He pulled another one free and balanced it against his hip as he hefted it towards the car.

Ten minutes later, they were peeling out of the parking lot, about a hundred pairs of eyes watching the road go by from the backseat.

And Tai didn’t stop smiling.

~

A semi-truck was parked sideways along the two-laned road that cut across the lake on the 172, it’s front fender partially submerged in the murky water, effectively blocking the way. Qrow didn’t think much of it as he turned them around to take another route.

He grew more suspicious when they encountered multiple semis parked in a line across the 174.

Tai lent forward, eyeing the trucks with narrowed eyes. “These are barricades.”

“And people don’t set up barricades if they aren’t trying to protect something.” Qrow determined, switching into low gear. “Come on, we can drive around it.”

“Wait!” He grabbed his wrist, keeping it from touching the wheel. “If the military set these up, then the fields are probably mined.”

He considered that for a moment, before shifting into reverse. “Alright then we’ll try up the highway.”

Around they went, the detour taking them nearly a half hour – and sure enough, right at the juncture that converged the highway with the freeway, another blockade halted their forward motion. But this time, there was a message left for them in bright red paint along the bodies of every truck:

TURN AROUND OR DIE

“The fuck,” He breathed, a shiver running down his spine. He looked to the man beside him, whose face had gone white. “Tai?”

Tai set his jaw, before pulling out the map. “Come on, let’s get closer than we’re walking it.”

“And what are we doing about that?” Qrow snapped, pretending his voice didn’t hit the octave of a screeching bat.

“You don’t have to come with me.”

The words were like a blow to the face. “What?”

He pointed out the frontage entrance a few miles south. “I’ll go, and then I’ll come back and get you if it’s safe.”

His heart slowed down from its 100-mile a minute pulse line to only about 80. He pulled the car around, grumbling all the while, “Like hell you will.”

Despite his words though, as they neared the off ramp, the desire to just hit the gas and keep going overcame him so strongly, it was like his foot was fighting against a two-ton weight. He looked again to the man beside him, tried to draw strength from his unwavering nerve. Tai had the look of a man who was about to go to war with the whole world if it dared stand in his way of him and his kids – and if Qrow just became another obstacle, he had no doubt on where he’d end up on that side of the battle.

He wished he’d had even an ounce of that same backbone for his sister.

He beat down his shame and jerked the wheel to the right, heading down the ramp and following the way back up to where the street met another. He turned onto it. The road was immediately rough, more dirt than asphalt, rattling the frame of the car harshly as they slowly trudged between the empty farming fields.

Halfway down the road, they came to a pair of dead ash trees, one on either side. Hanging from their blackened and brittle branches were about half a dozen empty nooses. But one was not.

Instead, in its snare, was the body of a decaying crow.

A promise and an omen.

An eerie silence fell between them as they passed underneath it, the air stifling, suffocating.

Qrow coughed and said, “I think that was my cousin.”

Tai snorted, smacking his arm. “Shut up.”

His own snickers were practically hysteric. The buzzing that had started in his nerves from the first warning sign had turned into a crawling feeling, like a line of ants were marching along his skin. To combat it, his grip on the wheel tightened.

This was insane. People had done all this. Blocked the roads, painted the warnings, hung the signs. All in an effort to keep other survivors from coming close. Was it all just the military’s doing? Scare tactics because they were overcrowded? Or was it something worse?

Just what were they walking into?

“Hey.”

Qrow sucked in a sharp breath, looking down at the hand now covering his own.

Tai ran a thumb over his knuckles, the movement as gentle as his voice, “It’s okay if you want to stay back, really.”

“Fuck that.” He snapped. “You would of come with me to Wichita, no matter what, right?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” Was the immediate assurance, followed shortly by, “But that doesn’t mean you owe me your life.”

He thought, again, of last night. Their shared panic as they ran across the fields. The wall that loomed ahead, cutting off their escape. Tai’s frantic orders as he helped him over.

Had he been alone, that would have been it.

He couldn’t stomach the thought of Tai being in a similar situation – needing him to look out for him. And him just not being there.

“No.” He avowed, meeting his eye. “We’re in this together. So unless you’re gonna throw me out of this damn car, you can cut it out with the martyr shit. Okay?”

The hand over his pulled his off the wheel, Tai clutching onto it almost fiercely. “Okay.”

Qrow let him keep it, slipping his fingers between Tai’s own as he turned back to the road.

As they neared its end, he noticed an assortment of industrial standard wind turbines. Perhaps once in use to provide power to the few speckled barns and homes on the horizon. He turned north, driving between them, peering up at them. The blades were whirling lazily in the breeze as the metallic forest caught the bright, summer sun, gleaming harshly bright.

He had to wonder if the buildings out here still had power. Or, if not, if a bit of tweaking to the structures might be able to bring them back to life. He was long removed from his university days when he would dabble about in engineering, and he’d never actually studied the ins and outs of wind energy converters, but the temptation to try was irresistible. To be able to cook their meals on a stove again or, god, have a hot shower. He had to bet there were some independent water wells out here and the land was still prime for growing too; it wouldn’t be hard to get their own crops growing. With time, they might even be able to find some livestock again. And a dog, too.

Qrow got lost in the fantasy of it.

So much so, Tai almost made him jump when he suddenly spoke up, “Here too?”

He blinked away the afterimages of him and Tai playing house during the apocalypse, focusing on the reality before him.

Scoffed at the sight of the pickup truck parked sideways across the road. He rolled to a stop, eyeing a side street in the rearview mirror a short-ways back. It was even less maintained than the ones they’d been traveling down so far, promising a ride that would rival a go around on some bumper cars.

“What do you wanna do? Walk it or keep going?” He asked gruffly.

Tai hummed thoughtfully, eyeing the map once more. “We’re not too far off at this point. Ten miles at most.”

“Not far off, he says.” Qrow mocked under his breath, even as he parked the car.

His partner laughed, undoing his seatbelt. “It’ll be good for you. Your scrawny legs could use some definition.”

He opened his mouth to retort, reaching for the keys to turn off the car –

When the one in front of them roared to life.

They froze, staring at the truck.

“What?” Tai whispered.

To assure they hadn’t misheard, the engine revved loudly.

Then, the wheels rotated towards them, the axles squealing as the truck came barreling towards them.

“Oh shit.” Qrow barked, throwing them into reverse and slamming down on the gas pedal.

Tai yelped as he was thrown into the dash as they rocketed backwards several meters. Another quick gear shift, and Qrow twisted the wheel around, flying down the road he’d spotted before. They hit a pot hole hard enough to throw them up from their seats, but he didn’t dare slow down.

His arms trembled and sweat started to bead from his brow. “What the fuck.”

He looked at the rearview, seeing the truck taking the same corner, gunning after them.

“What the fuck!” He shouted again.

“I don’t know!” Tai shouted back, scrambling to get his seatbelt back on.

“There’s someone in there.”

“You think?!”

He smacked the wheel. “Well what the fuck do we do!?”

“Calm down.” Was the sharp reply, Tai twisting around in his seat to keep an eye on their pursuer. “We just need to lose him.”

“Oh, that’s all? Brilliant!”

“Qrow.” The commanding tone shut him down immediately, his partner leveling him with a look. “Listen to me. We’re going to be fine. Just focus on driving. We’ll find a place around here, a home, a barn whatever. Just something with some cover.”

He took a few deep breathes, trying to steel his nerves. “Alright, alright.”

Except, it became abundantly clear that plan was sunk, as they sped past the first side street, completely blocked off by rubbish and vehicles. It was the same story with the next one.

Tai cursed under his breath. “He’s corralling us.”

“Maybe we should ditch the car? Head out into the field and make a run for it?” Qrow suggested.

He shook his head. “We’ll be too exposed. I think our better bet is to figure out where he’s leading us.”

“And then?”

“Then we’ll talk this out with whoever this guy is.”

“And if he doesn’t want to talk?”

Tai’s expression smoothed out into something cold. “Then you’re lucky I’m a good shot.”

Qrow swallowed, not arguing further.

He knew Tai could do it, if he had to. That’s how the military had trained him. But he hadn’t had to go through any of those tough regimens like his partner. Hell, up until eight months ago, he’d been living a rather lavish, uncomplicated life helping his old man upkeep the business fixing transmissions and rotating tires.

He was a mechanic! How the hell did he end up in a high-speed chase in the middle of fucking nowhere?

A blare of the truck’s horn made his heart jump into his throat. What was this guy gonna do, once he got them where he wanted them? Would he really start shooting?

God, he didn’t want to kill anyone. Not someone alive at least.

Another rough bump shook the thought down, so he tried to focus on keeping them steady instead. Another mile on, and the road ahead became blocked by another pickup truck, forcing them to take a hard right.

As he turned, he spotted movement in the front seat of the car.

A sense of foreboding swept through him and once they got far enough down the road, he braved a glance. Sure enough, the rearview told him they were now being pursued by two cars.

“Tai.” Qrow hissed in warning.

But Tai wasn’t looking at the situation behind them, instead pointing forward. “Look.”

He did, squinting a bit. Though still a good few miles off, he could just barely make out the shape of a large building of some sort – taller than any of the other buildings around these parts. Unnatural and out of place.

“What is that?” He asked.

“Dunno. But I have a feeling we’re about to find out.”

The suspicion turned to truth as they continued down the road, the structure looming ever closer. Until he could make out it wasn’t a building at all, but rather a massive fence, at least two stories tall. It was made of a mismatch of materials, including timber beams, chain link mesh, and aluminum sheet metal.

It had to be sturdy though, because as they rolled up to the front gate, he could spot half a dozen people standing on platforms attached to it, three on either side of the gate.

Every single one of them held a rifle.

“What now?” Qrow barely got out around the knot in his throat.

“I…” Tai looked frantically from side to side, as if an escape route would just materialize from thin air. When nothing did, he looked to him, and for the first time since this all started, Qrow could see the fear in his eyes. “I don’t know.”

They both looked back as they heard the sound of car doors closing, the drivers of either car stepping out and heading towards them. One was a man with short brown hair, the front of it pulled up like a plumage of feathers. His shirt was sleeveless, boasting well-toned arms that promised an ill-fate for his opponents. Yet, even he seemed slightly dwarfed by his companion – a tree of a woman, solidly built, and tall. She was swinging around a giant mallet like it weighed nothing.

The two of them split, flanking their car from either side.

The man knocked on Qrow’s window, pointing down.

Getting the hint, he rolled it down.

The man rested a hand along the top of the door, leaning in. “Where y’all heading? The zoo?”

He blinked, confused – and then he remembered the army of stuffed animals in the back seat, and scowled. “Clever, asshole.”

That only seemed to amuse the other, as he chuckled. His voice was smooth and calm. He knew who was in charge here. “This one’s got some bite, don’t he Elm?”

“Sure does.” Elm replied. “And look, they’re just your type. A couple of pretty boys.”

The hair on the back of his neck stood up uncomfortably. The fuck did that mean?

Beside him, Tai took a deep breath, saying slowly. “Look, we’re not trying to start any trouble. We were just passing on through.”

“Were you now?” The man drummed his fingers on the roof above him, the noise unusually grating with Qrow’s nerves so shot. “And you just happened to come this way? Didn’t happen to see any of our warnings or blocked roads?”

“You guys did all that?” Qrow realized too late the question only made him sound falsely innocent.

“Cute. Real cute.” The easygoing smile disappeared, replaced with something rigid and dangerous. “Alright that’s enough small talk. So, let me explain how this is going to work. The two of you are going to get out of the car. You’re not going to struggle or try anything stupid, ‘cause if you do…” He lent in even further, as if he were trying to share a secret with them. “You see those people up there? They don’t have the best of aim, but they sure do got a lot of bullets. Quantity over quality and all that.”

Qrow’s hands tightened over the wheel he still hadn’t let go of. Tai’s breath hitched.

Neither of them moved.

The man gave a longsuffering sigh. “Come on now. Don’t make us drag you out.”

Another beat passed.

Then, with a reluctant click, Tai undid his seatbelt. Opened the door slowly.

“Attaboy.” The man praised, before turning his gaze to him. “Now you.”

Qrow shut his eyes, counted down from five, and finally managed to pry one hand loose. Shakily, he pulled the car into park, before doing the same as his partner and stepping out of the car.

“That’s it, nice and easy.” The other coached. “Now, arms out.”

Once, when he was young and stupid, he got pulled over for drunk driving. So, he wasn’t unfamiliar with a pat down. This was a lot more… thorough. The asshole even managed to find the swiss army knife in his back pocket.

From where he was being given much the same treatment by Elm, he heard Tai ask, “Can’t we talk about this?”

“You can sing like a bird, but it won’t do you any good until the chief gets here.” She replied.

The chief? What kind of society were they running? A tribe?

“Alright, this way.” The man tossed all his weapons onto the seat of the car, before clapping a hand down on his shoulder, pulling him forward. “Gonna need you front and center.”

Qrow reluctantly followed, fighting the urge to curl away from his touch. He grunted a bit when the other forced him down, his knees cracking painfully on the ground. Tai was manhandled into the same position beside him, grunting a bit as Elm forced him down even more roughly.

The man called over them both, “Where’s the chief?”

The tiniest of the firing squad, a dark-skinned woman with boyishly short hair, called back, “Almost here!”

“Clover.” Elm said urgently from behind them. There was a light jingling noise that Qrow couldn’t place but recognized as something passed between them.

There was a few short seconds of nothing, and then suddenly Clover was marching around them, kneeling down in front of his partner. In his hand were Tai’s dog tags. “Where did you get this?” He asked darkly.

Tai looked between them and Clover, murmuring, “They’re mine.”

“Really?” He flipped the face of it around, reading it aloud. “So, your telling me your name is Taiyang Xiao Long?”

His lips pressed into a firm, defiant frown. “Yes.”

“Bullshit.” Clover spit in his face. “Who’d you take this from?”

“I didn’t steal it from anyone.”

“Fuck off with that you-”

Qrow’s fingers clenched into fists, his own temper flaring. “Hey! Why don’t you fuck off! It’s called remarriage jackass – or is that too hard a concept for you?”

It probably wasn’t the best thing to do, if the flash of panic that passed over Tai’s face was any indication. But Clover just leveled him with a glare before getting back to his feet, letting the chain dangle from his fingers. “You know, I heard her people liked to take souvenirs from the dead. But a soldier’s tags? That’s just vile. How many of my friends’ bodies did you desecrate back at the base?”

‘Her people’? ‘Bodies’? What was this guy prattling on about?

“Wait. Just wait a second. The base?” Tai took a shaky breath. “Archer City base? You’re from there?”

Elm smacked the heel of her hammer into the ground right behind him. “We both were. It was all real nice, until your little buddies came by and slaughtered the lot of us.”

Qrow felt his stomach plummet at those words.

Tai had gone pale, his composure barely hanging on. Desperately, he croaked out, “How many survived?”

Whatever he thought of his reaction did nothing to temper the acidic hatred Clover stared down at him with. “You’re looking at ��em.”

Had Tai been one of his actual enemies, Clover may have been proud to know how devastating a blow he’d just delivered. Regardless of it all, the damage was done. And Tai?

Tai broke. It wasn’t loud, like the way glass shatters. Rather it was subtle and unfixable, like the snapping of a flower stem.

Qrow’s own heart fractured at the way he whimpered, curling in on himself. The fleeting sunflower, already beginning to wilt and die, now that his roots were gone.

He reached out for him, hand coming to rest on his back, not caring if the lumberjack of a woman behind him smashed his entire arm flat for it.

“She’s here!” One of the squad from above called. The chain link rattled as someone ascended the platform from the other side.

Qrow paid it all only half an ear and eye, more concerned with the defeated man before him then anything this chief was going to do with them. Though, when he heard the telltale stomp of boots from above, he offered a cursory glance skyward.

She was a tall woman, with wild black hair and a curvy, powerful figure. A bandanna covered the lower half of her face, and she seemed equally disinterested in them, instead speaking with the petite woman who’d spoken before.

“Not much to say about them boss.” Clover reported. “One of them’s got some stolen tags from a Taiyang though.”

That grabbed her attention immediately, her body jerking around as she looked down at them with intense interest.

Even from here, Qrow could tell her eyes were blood red.

And then he couldn’t see them at all as, without warning, she practically raced back to the ladder as she shrilled orders at her people, “LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND LET THEM UP! OPEN THE GATES, NOW!”

There was a sudden, confused cacophony of voices. Another sharp command and then, an equally snappish retort that bellowed above them all, “You heard her, open it!!”

Qrow caught Clover and Elm sharing a worried look between them. He felt his guard rise higher, confusion and fear melding into one. What was going on? Was she coming down there to kill Tai herself? He shifted over, trying to block Tai’s body with his own as he heard the latch of the gate come undone, slowly starting to roll open.

The chief could hardly wait for it, practically squeezing her way through.

Except at some point on the way down, she’d ripped away the mask. This close, there was no mistaking her.

“Oh my god.” Qrow whispered. “Oh my god.”

Then he was on his feet, shoes scrambling for purchase and hands clambering over the dirt to get himself up as fast as possible, taking off at a run. The rest of the world fell away, the only thing left the woman running just as fast for him – and despite it being mere seconds, it was entirely too long when they finally collided.

Her name burst from his lips like a prayer he never thought would be answered. “Raven! Oh god, Raven.”

It was impossible. She was here. She was here!

His heart beat as wild as his sister’s hair, the mane of it seeming the surround him as she buried her face into his neck and sobbed. “Qrow. You’re alive. I never thought – How’d you even get here?”

His response came out in a stammer. “Me? B-But you-! And I, I,” Oh, he was crying too.

So he stopped trying, just held on tight and let the tidal wave of emotion hit him. The grief he’d been ignoring. The guilt of having given up. The hope he never let live. The relief of her being safe. The unbelievable happiness knowing she was actually and truly alive.

“I love you.” The words burst out of him, sudden and uncontainable. As if he needed to make up for lost time. All the years he should have said it more, after the divorce had split them across the country and the forced separation left them bitter even with each other. Until the phone calls went from every day to almost never. Until they only caught up on the occasional holiday. Until he thought there was nothing worse than becoming invested into something he was destined just to lose.

But he’d been wrong. Feeling like he was completely alone was much, much worse.

“That wasn’t an answer.” She spoke around tears. “But I love you too, you stupid idiot.”

“’Stupid idiot’? Really bringing out the big guns with that one aren’t ya?” He laughed and she shoved him a bit. It was just like the old days.

“It’s just such a strong character trait, it has to be said twice.” Raven assured, wiping her face.

He was about to retort when Clover cut in between them. “Hey uh, I don’t mean to interrupt your reunion, but I think there’s something wrong with your friend.”

Qrow’s head snapped around. Like that moment in the gift shop, Tai seemed to be lost in his own head – but even further this time. He didn’t even respond to the way Elm shook him or tried to encourage him to his feet.

“Shit.” He breathed, before racing back to his side. He waved the other woman aside, kneeling down next to him. “Tai, babe? You in there?”

Nothing.

“Come on, don’t do this to me.” He murmured frantically, reaching out to hold his hand.

His sister approached, and though she appeared to be oddly taken aback, her voice was sharp and commanding, “What happened?”

Qrow waved vaguely to his left. “Your little boy scout there is what. Told him his family died.”

“What?!” The soldier barked, holding up his hands, “I did no such thing.”

He leveled him with his best glare. “’You’re looking at ‘em’? That’s what you said about the survivors. His daughters were there, asshole.”

At least, that was what Taiyang was hoping. He had banked everything he had that his little girls had made it to the safe zone and were just waiting for him to return. The unshakable belief had been the only thing keeping him sane.

Now that it was gone, he had nothing left to hold onto. Qrow didn’t know what to do, or even had the faintest clue how to pull the other back from the sea of despair he was drowning in.

Clover looked horrified. “I, but I-I didn’t-!”

“It’s fine.” Raven asserted.

“What?!” Qrow shouted. “How can you just fucking say that?!”

She leveled him with look he couldn’t even begin to decipher. “Just. Let me.”

Without any further context then that, she settled on the dirt next to them. She reached out, gripping Tai’s jaw and turning his head to face her and in a gentle octave Qrow’d never heard her use, said, “Tai, can you hear me? I need you to come back. Yang and Ruby are here.”

At the sound of his daughters’ names, Tai finally blinked, some light returning to his gaze. Encouraged, Raven lent in closer.

“They’re alive. They’re safe. But you need to wake back up if you want to see them. Can you do that for us?”

He felt the hand in his slowly starting to grip back. Whatever his sister was doing was working – and while Tai’s brain was starting back up, Qrow felt like his was doing all sorts of mental gymnastics just to catch up. How did she know Tai’s kids? Were they really beyond those gates? Did they talk about their dad enough that she just knew who he had to be?

The real answer turned out to be exceedingly more simple and absolutely mind-bending, because Tai finally croaked out, “Rae?”

His sister smiled and responded as if it were the most natural thing on earth, “Yeah, it’s me.”

The words echoed on repeat in his ears. Rae. As in, Tai’s first girlfriend Rae. Yang’s mother? Was also Raven, his sister?!

Qrow felt like he was going to need one of these quiet-talk therapy sessions because now he wasn’t sure he was entirely all here anymore.

The world was still intent on moving on whether he was there or not though. Tai inhaled shakily, practically pleading, “And, the girls? They’re really-?”

“Come see for yourself.” Raven stood.

Taking a moment to gather himself, Qrow followed suit, pulling Tai up with him. He led him towards the entrance, shooting a look at his sister that promised they were going to talk about this.  

She avoided his eye and fell in step with them, calling first to the firing squad still above them, “Hey, show’s over! Back to your jobs!” Then to the soldiers, “Clover, Elm. Bring in that car and then get back to your posts.”

“Yes ma’am.” Clover saluted. “And uh, Qrow, Tai?” Only Qrow looked back – holding up his hand to catch Tai’s tags when he tossed them his way. “Sorry.”

He nodded, pocketing them. He made a mental note to make sure the other man gave twice as good an apology to Tai when his lover was more present.

They stepped through the gate and it was like entering a long-forgotten world. The road continued on straight – but the acres of fields on either side were busy with tents, motor homes, and even a few trailers, everyone making do with whatever shelter they could find. People were milling about, doing all sorts of things. He could see some older men in lawn chairs, enraptured by a game of Chinese Checkers. A team was working with various gardening tools to clear up some free land. Another team was working on the skeleton of a structure against one of the walls that was looking like the beginning of a home. Pens were built towards the back, a few cows and a chicken coop in view and there were a few fire pits speckled around the facility, once in use as several people boiled and stored water.

A sense of surrealism enveloped him. They’d been on their own so long, he almost forgot what normal life could look like.

“This almost doesn’t feel real.” Qrow admitted, eyeing a young pair sparring in the shade of the wall.

“You get used to it.” Raven replied, leading them towards the west side of the colony. “We all keep pretty busy. Everyone’s got a job here; a way to contribute. We take care of each other, keep each other safe.”

He scoffed. “That why we got chased halfway to hell getting here?”

“It’s… preventative.” She explained. “We just want to make sure everyone comes to the front door.”

“So you can shoot them.”

“If they give us reason to.”

He gaped at her, aghast.

Raven sighed, walking in-between the space of two parked RVs. “This world doesn’t have rules anymore and there are a lot of bad people willing to take advantage of that.”

“Like at the base.” It was a surprise to both of them to hear Tai speak. “What happened there?”

Something dark flittered along his sister’s face, before she looked away. “Another group wanted what we had. So, one night, they rammed down the gates with a few semitrucks filled to the brim with biters to get it. There was over a thousand of us there. Now there’s only a little over a hundred of us.”

“Christ.” Qrow cursed. He couldn’t even fathom it. What kind of mindset did someone have to have to do something so willingly vicious?

“These people already lost everything twice over now. They’re looking to me to make sure they don’t lose more.” She stood a little taller, her voice strong and confidant. A voice people would find faith in following. “So yeah, I’ll scare even God himself away from our gates if that’s what it takes.”

If there was a concern to take away from all that, the day had been much too harrowing and long to put any honest consideration to it. So, he just let it lie, a gnat in the back of his thoughts for now.

He figured any other conversation was probably moot anyways, as when they rounded another trailer home the field opened up to what appeared to be a small picnic and playground area. In the center between the various tables and play equipment was a canopy tent, providing shade to the small gathering of children underneath it. They were all sitting in the grass, listening to the woman before them as she read aloud.

Tai’s grip had become iron tight, breath shallowing out.

As they drew near, Raven spoke up, “Summer, mind if we interrupt?”

The disruption drew everyone’s gaze on them, eyes wide and curious at the strange newcomers in their midst. Their teacher, Summer, seemed as equally spellbound, the book she’d been reading falling right out of her hands.

From the front, Qrow caught movement as one of the students stood, and he saw his niece for the first time. For even if the color was Tai’s, there was really no mistaking that wild mane for anyone other than a carbon copy of Raven’s – no matter how much those flimsy pigtails tried to tame it. She had to of been around eight or nine and she had a gangly appearance about her, the same way he had been during most of his childhood while he was still growing. He hoped she wouldn’t get his outrageously long legs.

Beside her, another girl stood. Had he not already known she was only two years apart from Yang, he would have mistaken little Ruby for being even younger. She was tiny, something that would probably follow her all the way through to adulthood. Unlike her sister, who seemed to be a mismatch of both her parents, she was practically a miniature version of the woman just behind her, right down to the silver eyes.

“Dad!” Yang shouted, shoving her way through the crowd recklessly. With her clearing the path, Ruby had no trouble following, letting loose a shrill cry of her own.

Whatever trance Tai had been transfixed in broke immediately, and he tore away to clear the distance between him and them, falling to his knees as they reached each other. Finally, finally after what had probably felt like an eternity to the father, he was able to scoop both of them up into his arms and hold them close, sobbing with unashamed abandon as he bestowed them with kisses and I love you’s.

Qrow heart melted at the sight, blinking away tears of his own as a delirium of happiness overtook him.

Raven wound an arm over his shoulders, pulling him against her once more. It grounded him, reminding him this was all actually happening. The little farm home he’d envisioned earlier crumbled away. In its place something new and bigger formed. His sister, Tai’s girls, and this little piece of land and community – their Beacon of hope in the middle of nowhere – was all part of his reality. Their reality.

They were home.

[theonceoverthinker]

When Will My Life Begin? (Fair Game, 17/?)

Summary: Tangled AU. Clover Callows has been confined to a tower for all of his life, and given the threat that his Uncle Tyrian says his semblance poses to his safety, he accepts that fate. It’s the only life he’s ever known, after all. But when he’s offered the opportunity to fulfill his greatest dream after a chance encounter with a thief -- or bandit, as Qrow Branwen insists there’s a difference between the two -- both Clover and Qrow will discover joys that they never knew life could offer them before. AO3

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Mercury Black had had a long day, and at this point, all he wanted was for it to be over already.

The theft of General Ironwood’s brooch had been nothing short of a pain in the ass, both as he distracted the pathetic masses and guards alike with his fire-powered boots and ran to catch his frustratingly quick accomplice before he made off with what was supposed to be their treasure.

Or rather, it was supposed to be his treasure, once he betrayed Qrow Branwen, that is, and took it for himself.

But that’s not what happened.

He got away. He got away, and what’s worse was that Mercury practically gave him the escape.

How could he have been so short sighted? Branwen clearly wasn’t, and he was definitely a better thief than him.

All the same though, it was Branwen who got away, and not him.

No, his suffering had only begun at Branwen’s betrayal.

Getting caught was so, so much worse. 

Mercury had tried to get away, but those damn Ace Ops knew how to work together too damn well, and even without their leader’s semblance at their disposal, they still had every aspect of his capture covered with next to no trouble.

He was all but dead in the water once Marrow got close enough to him to use his semblance. That semblance slowed him to a crawl the instant it made contact with Mercury. From there, Vine’s semblance-fueled arms stretched out all the way to him, and surrounded Mercury’s body before pulling him towards the rest of his team. 

And finally...it was Elm’s turn with him. 

There were worse ways to be careened around a forest than in his captor’s arm, bound as if he were hugged from behind.

That list wasn’t very long though.

Elm’s semblance allowed her to stabilize herself at any time, regardless of any resistance she might meet...or rather, regardless of any resistance Mercury attempted to put up in order to fight out of her grasp.

That was the way they’d walked for the past few hours, or at least, she walked. Elm, by her own admission later, intentionally held Mercury’s body in a way that left his feet just inches off the ground, leaving him helpless to walk alongside her as they walked through the forest. No, instead, he had to be carried at his waist like an unruly child, unable to do anything but complain.

Because of that, he made sure to complain a lot.

Maybe, just maybe, that complaining would annoy the Ace Ops enough for them to decide it wasn’t worth it to keep him and let him go. With all the time Mercury had at his disposal while the Ace Ops continued to search for Branwen -- added to the fact that he didn’t even have the brooch anymore -- it was certainly possible.

However, that didn’t happen, and in this awkward way he and Elm continued to travel.

Stubborn guards.

Mercury supposed he’d better start getting used to stubborn guards. Soon enough, they were all he was going to see.

Well, at least he’d get fed and sheltered in prison, not to mention away from some certain...uncomfortable presences currently plaguing his life. Maybe there was something to be said for that.

Based on the limited knowledge that Mercury had about the forest, assuming there’d be no more breaks to scope out the nearby areas, it would take another few hours to return to the kingdom’s capital. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to that -- being paraded through the capital as a prisoner, held in Elm’s clutches and unable to even shield his face while getting laughed at by Remnant’s citizens as he witnessed the last glimpses of a free life he’d likely ever see.

Gods, couldn’t this day just be over already?

It seemed like it was going to be soon, now that Branwen had appeared to have completely escaped and Harriet seemed to be without a plan as to what to do next.

But then Cardin showed up.

Mercury knew Cardin, albeit only in passing. He’d gone to his boss’ pub a few times for a post-heist ale on more than one occasion, and Cardin was a busboy there. Cardin had a mean demeanor about hime, one that was likely created to try to compensate for his lack of strength relative to everyone else at that tavern, but instead just made people hate him and notice his cowardice all the more.

It was curious to see him all the way out here, especially still in his uniform from work.

However, once he spoke, it became clear why.

“Br-Branwen,” Cardin said through laborious breaths. “The thief Qrow Branwen. W-we have him.”

Well, that was unexpected, and peculiar for more than one reason. 

As Cardin continued to confirm for everyone present that it was indeed Qrow Branwen who they had, Mercury tried to make sense of how that had happened. 

Branwen wasn’t the type to stop for an ale in the middle of a heist, especially not with one of Remnant’s most valuable treasures in hand. And even if he did for some reason Mercury couldn’t so much as hazard a guess at, Lil’ Miss Malachite’s was in the other direction from the nearest black market, and despite how fast Branwen had proven himself to be, there’s no way he’d be able to get to the black market, sell the brooch to the highest bidder, and then back to Malachite’s in that amount of time. It just wasn’t possible.

So why had he gone backwards from his destination?

If the Ace Ops -- or Ace Oops, as he had now taken it upon himself to call them in a further attempt to annoy his way to freedom -- actually managed to capture Branwen, he’d certainly have to ask him...in between beating the crap out of him for causing all of his torment today.

With Cardin’s lead, the Ace Ops -- and by extension, Mercury -- were on the move again. Upon seeing Mercury’s...unique means of travel, Cadrin walking beside Elm, snickered.

“Shut. Up,” Mercury grit.

“Or what?” Cardin mocked. “You seem a little too indisposed with your cuddling to do anything about it right now!” He proceeded to laugh his head off.

Mercury seethed on the comment, but before he could bark out another threat, Elm sighed, glaring at Cardin.

“Less talking, more walking, okay?” she ordered, clearly just as annoyed with Cardin’s comments, and voice, and...everything as Mercury was.

It seemed to do the trick, effectively shutting Cardin up the rest of the way to Malachite’s.

Mercury had plenty of problems with Elm, not the least of which was her style of holding him -- though he supposed it could have been worse seeing as how he wasn’t plopped over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes -- but he had to admit that he appreciated her stopping that mocking.

That seemed to be the only thing that had gone right for Mercury today, and after everything that had happened and was sure to happen, he could appreciate that just a little.

Once they arrived at Lil’ Miss Malachite’s, Harriet looped her horse around the neighboring horse post, and signaled for Elm to wait outside with Mercury until she received further orders. As the minutes continued to pass and pass, Mercury found himself curious. 

If the staff at Lil’ Miss Malachite’s had Branwen like Cardin said they had, then why hadn’t the Ace Ops brought him out yet? Why hadn’t Mercury heard so much as a bit of Branwen’s voice? He heard everyone else’s just fine -- the other Ace Ops, Robyn, Sun, and the Juniper Jaggers were all coming in as clear as day, even through the closed door.

However, there was no sign of Branwen.

Mercury was pretty sure even Elm had picked up on that, as he could feel a certain rise of tension in her grasp and abs.

Suddenly, the door flung open, with Harriet on the other side.

“Brawen got away,” she grunted. 

“He escaped through a hidden tunnel in the bar,” Marrow supplied. “It was actually a little cool.”

“Marrow,” Vine scolded.

“It was!” Marrow defended, “But whatever -- we’ve got to go after him!”

Harriet nodded at him before turning back to Elm. “Elm, chain the prisoner up to the horse post. I’m going to need your help to capture Branwen.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Mercury howled, trying once more to pull against his restraints. Still, Elm’s grasp remained as relentless as ever.

Harriet snorted. “Afraid not, thief.” She walked over to her horse, took a set of chains out of his saddle bag, and gave them to Elm. Elm then carried Mercury over to a nearby horse post just across from the tavern’s entrance. 

Mercury loudly groaned upon feeling the cool, harsh metal bind themselves to his wrists, one after the other just after the chain that connected them was looped through the open piece of the metallic horse post. 

Grimacing, he looked at his new situation.

On one hand, he could finally move around a bit more, no longer contained to just Elm’s clutches and finally able to walk now that his feet were on the ground again.

On the other hand, this may have been worse.

Mercury was so close to his freedom, but the metal of both his chains and the horse post stood as quite the barrier between the two of them.

Jeez, even Harriet’s horse was only bound to the post by rope -- not metal!

Did he seriously get more restrictions placed on him than a horse?

How was this his life right now?

“Don’t worry,” Elm teased, a chuckle under her breath as she pat Mercury’s shoulder. “You’ll just be here for a few hours. Then it’s off to the kingdom’s prison!”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Mercury sneered.

“I’ll leave that interpretation to you.”

Elm then casually ruffled Mercury’s hair before walking towards Malachite’s entrance, her body moving away just in time to perfectly avoid Mercury flailing head attempting to hit her. She seemed amused with herself at that development, still chuckling as she joined up with her team.

Great. Now on top of everything, his hair looked like a disaster, and without the free use of his hands, he could only do so much to fix it.

Mercury could, even without seeing his reflection, feel it -- so messy and unkempt, just like his former accomplice’s locks.

“Branwen!” he shouted out in frustration.

No one responded to his cry -- not that Mercury expected anyone to, given that he was supposedly gone. Instead, Mercury just heard the jovial sounds coming from the bar he stood outside of, muffled through the tavern’s closed door.

Oh yeah, and how could he forget? He wasn’t just chained up -- he was chained up right outside of Lil’ Miss Malachite’s, too, and in broad daylight, no less.

So now he didn’t even have the dignity of the relative privacy he received while traveling as the Ace Ops’ prisoner. People -- people Mercury knew and had a reputation with -- would see him helplessly chained up, and given how word tended to spread in this kingdom, it wouldn’t be long before everyone in the capital knew of this as well.

How much more humiliating could this day possibly get?

If the Ace Ops didn’t get to do the honors first, he was going to kill Branwen for this personally.

...And then move somewhere where absolutely no one knew him.

...And then change his name, too, for good measure.

“Mercury,” a man’s voice called out from behind him.

Surprised, Mercury jumped in place, ever so slightly. He’d hoped whoever was behind him wouldn’t have noticed, but given how the rest of his day had gone so far, he didn’t hold his breath.

Mercury tried to turn around to see his new guest as best as he could, and succeeded, if only a little, giving him a half view of the man behind him. 

That turned out to be all he needed, for upon turning around and seeing him, however poorly, Mercury realized that he recognized the man -- Tyrian, he believed. Yes, Tyrian. He was hard to mistake for anyone else -- lanky in his build, but by no means weak, adorned in white clothes, sporting a scorpion’s tail, and hosting eyes that all but promised a trouble that he could no doubt deliver on if he so desired. 

What was he doing here?

“Tyrian? You’re one of Salem’s minions, aren’t you?”

Whatever was the right thing to say to Tyrian, Mercury soon learned it wasn’t that.

“I’m more than just her minion, boy,” Tyrian sneered.

“Well, you’re not Cinder.”

“For now, at least,” Tyrian muttered underneath his breath.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Mercury mumbled, rolling his eyes. 

Tyrian made a ‘tsk’ noise, giving Mercury an unimpressed look. “Don’t mumble. It’s hardly befitting of one of Salem’s men.”

“Well, I’m probably not going to be one of Salem’s men now. As you can see,” Mercury said, flinging his chains as well as he could, “my last mission didn’t exactly work out as expected.”

Tyrian smirked. “Yes, you’re absolutely the epitome of failure right now, aren’t you? Caught by the Ace Ops and with no brooch to speak of. What a stroke of bad luck.” 

Mercury grit his teeth. “Don’t talk to me about bad luck. I’ve had more than enough of that for one day.”

Suddenly, Tyrian’s tail slinked out from behind his back, brandishing its small, yet sharp point at Mercury before it started to move towards him.

Oh Gods...what was he going to do?

Mercury knew Salem didn’t take failure well, and he also knew that poison lived in Tyrian’s tail the same way ale lived in a keg. Was this going to be his punishment for a job poorly done? 

But no, Tyrian didn’t do that, and that didn’t seem to be his intention. Instead, he let his tail slowly move towards the lock of one of his chains, but stopping just short of touching them. 

“Well, then this should come as a pleasant surprise because luckily for you, you’ve caught me in a deal-making mood. I’d like to offer you something for your freedom, as well as my silence to Salem on this little problem of yours for the time being.”

“What’s that?” Mercury asked, unable to keep every last bit of the vulnerability out of his voice.

Tyrian took a step closer to him. “I need you to get the man Qrow Branwen is traveling with away from him. From there, you can just leave the rest to me. Simple, no?”

Mercury grunted. Deals with Salem’s forces always started out easy at first, but they had a habit of never staying that way. He’d been cheated out of untold amounts of gold over the fine print of those little deals, and forced to agree to more just to stay afloat.

Right now though, it looked like he had something of a choice. It couldn’t hurt to push his luck just a bit.

After all, what else did he have to lose?

“And what if I’m not feeling in a deal-making mood myself?” he snipped. 

Tyrian eyes flashed -- as violent as a storm for the briefest of seconds, but then settled, replaced instead by a  smirk. Calling it unsettling would be something of an understatement. “Oh I think you’ll find yourself very quickly in a deal-making mood, unless you wish for me to tell Salem of your failure to grab that brooch.” Immediately, Mercury’s eyes bulged. 

“I don’t think I need to tell you that she’ll be...less than pleased to hear that news,” Tyrian continued. “And let’s be honest -- not even the guards and the prison cells in the capital will be enough to protect you from whatever retaliation our goddess will see fit to bestow upon you for such weakness.”

Mercury felt his blood freeze. Gods, damn it.

“Besides, Tyrian added, “you’ll get more than just your freedom and my silence out of this little exchange of ours.” 

“Oh?” Mercury asked.

Grinning, Tyrian grabbed his satchel and took out something Mercury hadn’t expected to see again any time soon. “If you do this, you’ll get this back,” he said, flashing the emerald brooch in front of Mercury in the same way a wealthy man might flash a crust of bread at a starving beggar. “You’ll have an opportunity to redeem yourself in our queen’s eyes, but that’s not all.”

Mercury gulped. “I’m listening,” he said.

Tyrian’s smirk widened. “You’ll also have your chance to get back at the man who took it from you -- Qrow Branwen. Once I have the man he’s traveling with, Branwen is all yours to do with as you see fit. So, I think your choice should be obvious, but I’m not the presumptuous type -- what do you say?”

Unfortunately, Tyrian was right. There was only one thing to say.

And so he said it.

“Deal.”

“Good.” Immediately, Tyrian pushed his tail the rest of the way into the lock of one of Mercury’s chains. Once that one unlocked, he got to quick work on the other.

When they were both undone, Mercury massaged his wrists, taking a deep breath of the open air.

Free.

After this long, lingering, humiliating day, he was finally free.

However, just as Tyrian’s tail had given Mercury his freedom, with a pull of his chin that was sharp in more ways than one, he took it away just as quickly, pulling Mercury towards Tyrian so that he was just under his harsh, wild gaze.

“Don’t forget,” Tyiran added, smiling serenely. “I’ll be watching you very, very closely, even if it doesn’t seem like I am.” Suddenly, Tyrian’s smile dropped, and he began glaring at Mercury. “If you fail to meet your end of our little deal, there won’t be so much as a stone in Remnant you’ll be able to hide under where our goddess won’t be able to find you, you wretch. Understood?”

Mercury felt devoid of all manner of speech, simply nodding. 

“Wonderful,” Tyrian said, his smile blossoming back like a rose. His tail released Mercury, causing him to almost trip.

Then...Tyrian took off, and Mercury was alone, or at least, was as alone as he could be with Tyrian’s promise in mind.

Gods, Mercury didn’t even know where Branwen was, much less who was his traveling companion that Tyrian seemed to care so much about.

What would he do?

What could he do?

Mercury looked at his surrounding, no longer bound to them, but instead able to use them as he saw fit.

And then, he saw what it was he should do.

Well, if he was going after Branwen, he couldn’t just rely on his own foot power. No, Mercury needed a horse, and right now, he had the pick of the litter. He looked at the other options -- a black steed with a gray mane, an orange steed with a cream mane, a chocolate-colored steed with a matching mane -- but quickly decided that none of those would do.

No, it was the horses with a white coat and white mane -- Harriet’s steed, in fact -- that would do the trick.

Not to mention, it would serve as not just a great means of travel, but also as a great means of revenge, both to the Ace Ops and soon enough, to Branwen.

It looked like Mercury was getting a bit of an upgrade. 

Even still though, the work he now faced was anything but enviable.

His long, long day had just gotten a lot longer.

[fire-the-headcanons]

"Why don't farms raise deer, anyway?"

The twins stopped in unison to look back at the two of them. "Because they're bastards."

 "Huh?"

 "Try fencing in an animal that can jump over your head," Qrow added.

 "And if you somehow manage to corner one it'll kick the shit out of you."

 "Oh." Summer nodded. "That makes sense. But what's it taste like?"

 Qrow scratched his neck. "Well, it's the most like beef…"

 "Tell you what," Raven said, pausing and squinting down at a bit of dirt. "If you shoot a deer Qrow and I will show you how to process it."

"...Um. I don't think that would go over well with Professor Mesánychta."

Follow the Beacon Taiyang—Off Track

[Link to Masterpost]

Professor Mesánychta held her hand up and curled her fingers into a fist, bringing the class to a halt and silence in one move. Pete drew his weapon, a hazardous-looking combination of blunderbuss and battleaxe that would have made Carmine break out in hives if a new student brought in its schematics.

"Welcome back to the Emerald Forest." She turned to face the students as Pete continued to monitor the trees. "Now that everyone has learned the basics of tracking, it is time to practice them. From now on our lab hours each week will be spent off school grounds. Each session your team will be given a specific target to eradicate in the area. Your goal is to destroy as many of your target Grimm as you can while avoiding all other varieties." A few hushed whispers broke out in the class. "Ordinarily, Huntsmen and Huntresses would destroy any Grimm in their path that they safely could, but there are many instances in which you may find you need to avoid trouble. If someone were injured, or you were escorting civilians, for example."

"Your scrolls will keep track of your targets as well as your kills," Pete said. "And as always, be on your guard. Your primary objective is to live to fight another day!"

Summer tapped her scroll closed before buttoning it back in her pocket. "Looks like we've got Ursa. Shouldn't be too hard to find." Around them, the other teams began to disperse, most with their eyes glued to the ground.

"It'll be harder to avoid the Beowolves," Qrow agreed. Raven stalked away without a word, straight toward the nearest pine and darted up—almost faster than Summer could have with Gungnir.

"Uh… what's she doing?" Summer asked. "She knows we're supposed to do this as a team, right?"

"We used to hunt deer a lot at home. Uh—extra food, y'know?" he said, glancing over his shoulder. "She's looking for water. Grimm usually leave animals alone, but use the same paths. It's a good place to pick up a trail."

Raven dropped from the tree and took off west. "This way."

"How do you know there's water down there?" Summer asked, half-jogging to keep pace with Raven in the front of the group.

"The plants are always more vibrant where it's close to the surface," she murmured. Another team crept through the bushes to their left, examining the ground as they walked. "The trees this way are taller, greener. It's the best place to look."

Tai craned his neck over the others. "That's a lot of guesswork."

“More precise than what they're doing," Raven muttered, quietly enough the other team wouldn't hear.

The hill eventually evened out. Undergrowth thickened and snagged at their clothes—or in Tai's case, at his aura. I knew I should have zipped on the pants today. Five minutes in, no sign of trouble, and he was already down a point.

"…What's deer taste like?" Summer asked, untangling her sleeve from a raspberry bush.

Qrow glanced back. "You've never had it?"

"You can't exactly buy it at the supermarket. And there are no deer on Patch." Tai said. "Plus Dad's not really into hunting. Zaff's dad is, though —he likes duck. Every fall he trades us a few for a couple pounds of chestnuts. Lot of trees near our house."

"...What kind of meat do you eat?" Raven asked.

"Y'know…Pork, chicken, beef…the same stuff they have in the cafeteria," Summer said, scanning the trees for trouble. "Why don't farms raise deer, anyway?"

The twins stopped in unison to look back at the two of them. "Because they're bastards."

"Huh?"

"Try fencing in an animal that can jump over your head," Qrow added.

"And if you somehow manage to corner one it'll kick the shit out of you."

"Oh." Summer nodded. "That makes sense. But what's it taste like?"

Qrow scratched his neck. "Well, it's the most like beef…"

"Tell you what," Raven said, pausing and squinting down at a bit of dirt. "If you shoot a deer Qrow and I will show you how to process it."

"...Um. I don't think that would go over well with Professor Mesánychta."

"I didn't mean during class." Raven knelt, inspecting the soil. Now that she’d drawn attention to it he could see the path had been a little trampled. "There's—"

"Wait! Let me guess, and tell me if I'm right," Tai said, kneeling next to her. She stared, taken aback, but allowed him in for a closer look. "From the claws…Beowolf?"

"…Creep." Raven pointed at the longer grooves cut in around the claw marks. "You can see where their tails hit the ground."

"Oh." The size had thrown him off. "That's a big Creep."

"And not what we're looking for," Raven said, standing and walking in the opposite direction that the tracks led.

They followed the trail for another fifteen minutes, finding plenty of signs of smaller Grimm but nothing as large as an Ursa yet. Qrow and Raven quietly pointed out the traces the other two missed, largely leading the way.

"Wait. What's that?" Summer asked, pointing at a broken sapling. "Was it recent?"

Raven grabbed the trunk and snapped it again, further down, comparing the first break to the second. "No more than a couple days. There's so many Grimm in the area it doesn't tell us much."

"I'll see if I can spot anything from up there," Summer said, firing her arrow into a nearby oak before taking off.

"It'd be the right size," Tai glanced around the base of the broken tree. "Do you see any prints?"

Qrow crouched, shrugging. "Nothing clear enough to say it's not an Alpha Beowolf." A shadow rippled through the bush behind him, and Tai almost ignored it—the sun had been dancing through the leaves all morning—

—but right now there was no wind. "Oh, no, it's definitely an Alpha Beowolf," Tai said, flicking the shield on his left arm open. Qrow whirled back to his feet, drawing his sword and extending it to full length as the monster's head rose over the bush.

"We don't want to fight that one!" she shouted, halfway up the oak.

"Uh, that may not be an option, Summer!"

"I got it!" She slammed the arrow down the barrel of her gun and fired, sending it over the wolf and into a distant tree. With a screech, she leapt down, activating the gravity Dust about just above the ground. As she rose again both of her boots made solid contact with the side of its head—

WHAM.

The Grimm pitched over into another pine, shoulder spines embedding in the bark. It lurched, clawing in vain at the three of them and snarling furiously.

"Time to run!" Summer shouted, landing neatly in the tree next to the arrow and popping it from the wood.

*    *    *

"So what's our plan of attack?" Tai hissed.

"I mean, I can shoot at least two before they notice us," Summer said, sighting down Gungnir's scope at the largest of the pack. Nearly twice the size of the others, it was probably the reason the rest of the group had congregated. Its back was so covered in spines it looked more like a porcupine than a bear, but it was definitely still an Ursa.

"I don't like the look of that Major," Raven muttered, sword already drawn and her other hand primed to shoot an ice blade. "I think it'll take more than one shot."

"Not if I hit it in the eye."

"Or, we could try to draw a few of them off," Qrow suggested. "There are seven over there. It's a bit much for just the four of us."

"Hey, come on," Tai said, grinning. "It’s been over a month and you haven't really seen me fight yet. We can take 'em."

"Okay, I'll shoot the Ursa Major. Then what?"

"Then shoot it again," Raven said. "To be safe."

“I could lure them into that gully," Qrow said, pointing past them at the ditch. "Raven, you could portal me out and then we fire at them from above."

"You're the only one with a gun that's any good for rapid attacks," Summer countered.  "But if I were up in the trees I could cover you all."

Though… Raven's Semblance opened up some interesting possibilities.

"No way. There's too many, they'll knock one of these trees right over with you in it," Raven said.

"I'll leave the arrow in another tree so I can get away quickly."

"Raven…" Tai murmured, interrupting their debate. "…Could you bring a Grimm through a portal?"

Next Chapter: Raven—Golden Dragon

[razorblade180]

Lasting Embers pt4: Explosion

[The House]

Yang:*hugging Jaune tightly*

“Well look who’s back?”

Yang:*Turns around* Hehe you seem surprised?

Raven:I am, I’m surprised just how much you aged. Is that a wrinkle I see or just bags under your eyes?

Yang:You’re one to talk; if anything I look like exactly like you did when you were running the tribe. *gasp* Looks like the years might finally be catching up. Do my eyes deceive me, or do I spot a few grays?

Raven:Ugh don’t say that; even if you do then consider it a look at your future. All in all you’ll be lucky you look like this at my age.

Yang:*Rolls eyes playfully*

Raven:I saw that! *hugs her* Good to know the trip didn’t crush your spirit. I missed you.

Yang:I missed you too mom. *embraces her tightly*

Raven:I wish I could’ve gone with you.

Ruby:Nuh uh, no way we were putting any maidens directly in those Salem cult freaks line of fire.

Yang:Besides your mission was more important. Who else was gonna make sure this family was safe if things went south besides you and dad?

Ruby:Yep! We needed all our bases covered!

Raven:Looks like you needed yours covered. *points to the scar on the bridge of her nose*

Ruby:What this? Hazard of having silver eyes. The idiot had a shot but he missed.

Yang:I made sure he didn’t get another one.

Raven:Hmph, that’s good to hear.

Jaune:Hey, you look a different Raven. Since when do you put your hair down?

Raven:What? *feels her hair* Ugh, that little spitfire stormed off before giving my bandanna back!

Jaune:*chuckles* Sparring was interesting then?

Raven:Somewhat, your daughter is a handful as usual.

Yang:Yujin.....*anxious* by any chance do you know where she went?

Raven:Things got a bit heated near the end of our session. She went to the memorial. It’s her thinking spot.

Yang:Well, guess it’s about to time to see her. *starts to walk but stumbles a bit*

Ruby:*catches her* Yeah right; you need to rest up a bit. You are still worn out.

Yang:*groaning* Ruby!!!!!

Ruby:As leader you will rest! I’m about to visit mom anyways so I’ll just bring her back.

Yang:You just want to see her first....

Ruby:Duh, once she sees you then everyone else becomes second rate. *sits her down* no rest! *vanishes*

Yang:*sigh* I hate when she pulls the leader card.

Jaune:Hey Raven? You said things got heated between you? You didn’t actually get into a fight did you?

Raven:No...actually, it had more to do with you Yang.

Yang:......

[Memorial]

Yujin:*setting flowers on Qrows stone*

“You know, you might as well give those to Summer.”

Yujin:*turns head* Hey gramps.

Tai:*holding a beer* Qrow wasn’t much for flowers. Which is why I brought this. *stands by her*

Yujin:From the stories you tell me I figured as much. If I could buy drinks I would’ve done the same.

Tai:It’s the thought that counts. *rubs her head* Happy Birthday kiddo. How’s it going; must be rough if you’re visiting the dead.

Yujin:Thanks....honestly, I just want the day to end already, but it’s only noon.

Tai:Raven kick your but in sparring.

Yujin:No I actually did pretty well. It’s just....nothing. I think I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

Tai:*pouring the beer out* You don’t say? Happens to the best of us.

Yujin:*watching* Did he really like beer that much? *moving the flowers to Summer*

Tai:Ooooohhhh yeah. A lover of alcohol to the very end. I can’t remember him somber.

Yujin:Even against Salem and her henchman?

Tai:*almost drops bottle* You know about that!?

Yujin:Somewhat, nothing specific.

Tai:*rubbing his head* I didn’t think Jaune would tell his kid something so....world changin

Yujin:Mmmm actually he didn’t, intentionally anyways. I remember the bed time stories he used to tell me and that combined with Raven openly using magic around me. Certain things just sort of clicked.

Tai:Honestly those two need to supervised. What else has that big brain of yours figured out?

Yujin:Just that I should keep it a secret. People who know things or go searching tend to get hurt. That lesson was apparent on my eighth birthday remember? That night still gives me chills if I think about it.

Tai:You’re telling me; I don’t think I’ve ever seen your dad ready to kill someone before. Good thing he had backup; I don’t think he could’ve juggled fighting those grim and that stupid cult member alone. Luckily he was just small fry; just some idealist.

Yujin:My mom is going after the head hanchos right?

Tai:.....well....

Yujin:Don’t do that, be straight forward with me.

Tai:Yujin I don’t think it’s my place to- *sees her shaking*

Yujin:Gramps....Tai......please. It’s been ten years and everyone refuses to tell me anything. What is so wrong about wanting to know?

Tai:Yujin, you just have to faith your mom comes back safe and-

Yujin:*grits teeth* I don’t care if she comes back!

Tai:......

Yujin:*gaining composure* I just....I need to know what could possibly be so complex that one year turned to ten. No letters, visits, secret messages.... Just any seat at the dinner table and the sound of dad praying every night.

Tai:Yujin....do you hate Yang for leaving?

Yujin:...*looks at the sky* How could I hate her? I barely even know her.

Tai:It’s okay to have resentment. Around your age Yang’s thought of Raven was pretty-

Yujin:It’s not the same and we’re different people; I’m fine *lightly tapping the ground* let’s just drop this okay?

Tai:.....You know it’s okay if this bothers you. It’s only nat-

Yujin:*Whips head around* Drop it.....

*for barely a second, her eyes....just didn’t look like hers*

Tai:Alright....one more question though.

Yujin:*sighs*

Tai:If you ever see her again, what will you tell her; what will you do?

Yujin:I....never thought about it. *stands up* I’m not sure. We should head back.

Tai:Yeah...*pays respects* Hmmm?

*a sizable dent where Yujin was tapping*

Tai:.....*walks away*

[Dirt path]

Yujin:You think dinner is ready? Dad usually has it down when the sun starts to set.

Tai:I hope; I’m really in the mood for-

Yujin:Ruby?

Tai:I didn’t know there was a meal named after- *sees her in front of her* .......Ruby?

Ruby:Hey dad; it’s been- ahh!*snatched into a hug.*

Tai:*tearing up* You’re back. My baby girl is back.

Ruby:*hugs him tightly* Was there any doubt? You know me, I defy the odds.

Yujin:Aunt Ruby...?

Ruby:Yujin? Oh my goodness. *gets closer* You’ve gotten so big! You look just like your mom except for the eyes.

Yujin:....Mom? If you’re here then....

Ruby:*smiling* She’s back at the house! Isn’t that great!?

Yujin:.........

Ruby:Yujin? Hey are you-

*sees her dashes passed her*

Ruby:Wow, guess I’m second rate already.

Tai:.....Ruby, let’s get to the house.

Ruby:You don’t want to give them a moment?

Tai:I think a moment is about to happen regardless.

Ruby:???

•

Raven:That’s basically the jest of it; from what I gathered anyway.

Yang:.....I need to see her.

Raven:Yang I’m gonna be honest, she might not want-

*Yujin reaching the yard*

Yujin:*huff* I....*huff* made it. *head hanging*

Yang:Yujin?

Yujin:*lifts her head*.........mom?

Yang:*standing up* H...hey there. It’s...been awhile......

Yujin:(What I would do if I saw you?)........

Jaune and Raven:......

Yang:There’s probably a lot on your mind. I just want you to know that-

Yujin:*swinging her sword down at her*

Yang:*catches it*

*shockwave of air flies past*

Jaune:*about to move forward*

Raven:*grabs his arm* I think....this is beyond us.

Jaune:....*takes a step back*

Yujin:You can spare me the sympathetic talk. *pressing sword down* all I want right now..... all I need from you......

Yang:*somber look*.......

Yujin:*eyes a deep lilac* Is to fight me with everything you got! Consider it your gift to me.

Yang:....alright then. *eyes turn scarlet* show me what you got.