#*⠀ ❪⠀ 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼⠀❫ ﹔ answered .

[aestasrosis]

009 - an empty cemetery at night. (hope it's okay to still send these!)

summer knew what her death — or lack thereof — had done to her family. it had ripped them apart, and had shattered what little illusion of safety and security that they were able to nurture for such a short time. she couldn’t imagine what sort of turmoil her return was putting them through on the inside.

maybe that was why she knew exactly where to look when she couldn’t find her youngest. ruby had always been just like her mother, both in ways summer adored and feared. all she could do was pray to the gods that she didn’t fall down the same path. now that she was back, she had the chance to prevent that.

“petal,” she whispered, the hood of her cape thrown up to protect herself from the wind. “what are you doing here?”

[aestasrosis]

“ i told you that she was safe & taken care of , ” summer crossed her arms in front of her chest . she wanted nothing to do with the witch . she wanted to live in peace , without the fear of being ambushed by her .

“ maybe you should’ve been an actual mother to her , ” summer raised an eyebrow . “ then we wouldn’t have had to take her in . ”

( from @aestasrosis , for salem )

“ leave me alone . ”

"As much as i would love to do that, this situation simply doesnt allow for that. You did take in my daughter after all."

The immortal woman had once again shown up to check in on her daughter, as the nearby grimm had failed to bring her a proper report of her well being.

But instead of finding her daughter inside, she found one of the two women who was looking after her.

[aestasrosis]

" no one is coming for you. i made certain of that, summer rose. " ( from salem!!!!!!! i'm yelling!!! )

summer shrank back against the cold wall of her cell. she couldn’t look at the witch. the last thing she wanted was for her to see how vulnerable and broken she was. she’d use that against summer, take her grief and turn it into a weapon. her guilt was the sharpest blade salem could torture her with.

summer didn’t know when she started crying or when she stopped, just that her cloak had been stained with her tears and that she couldn’t stop shaking. maybe it was fear. maybe her body had finally started giving up on her. it had been months; months of suffering and screaming her throat raw, of sleepless nights and silent tears.

“i don’t expect anyone to,” summer murmured. for all she knew, everyone she had left had assumed she was dead. and she couldn’t blame them for it. she didn’t come home that night, and she surely wouldn’t have left of her own accord. “you can’t handle the fact that someone might be stronger than you. you know my family. that’s why you let them believe i’m dead; because you’re too scared for someone to try and come for me.”

[aestasrosis]

07. for an angsty starter || hit me with your best shot!

what normally would have been a joyous occasion had quickly become a nauseating realization for summer. after spending multiple sleepless nights awake on the bathroom floor, hunched over the toilet seat as she retched for hours, she came to the conclusion that she had to tell him. if she was going to go through with this, if she was going to commit, she had to tell him.

“qrow,” she nudged him awake, blinking back tears. “wake up.”

[aestasrosis]

Elevator

despite the privacy the two had in the elevator , summer couldn’t help but blush as if other people were watching them . they would arrive at their floor soon , & as soon as the doors opened , everyone would see .

“ qrow , stop , ” summer laughed , not actually wanting him to stop . “ you can’t wait two minutes until we’re in our room ? ”

[aestasrosis]

" if they want to get to you, they'll have to get through me first. " (qrow??? *nudges*)

“ qrow , please . . . ” summer sighs , shaking her head . she knows he’s worried , that he can’t help it , but it still stings . “ they’re not going to come for me again . i’m safe — we’re safe . ”

[aestasrosis]

"Don't you dare lie to me."

the truth about that night had to come out at some point . summer had always tried to keep her actions & her duties as a huntress within her moral bounds , but there were no room for saints in her line of work .

“ raven was with me during my last mission , ” she sighed , looking to the floor . “ i didn’t go alone . ”

[aestasrosis]

do you think it's fair? from ozpin. because can't you hear it in his stupid smarmy voice

“ fair . ” summer lets the word simmer on her tongue . she could almost laugh . “ do i think it’s fair that you threw my team — my family — & i into a war we didn’t ask to be part of ? do i think its fair that you have done the same to my daughters ? no . but it is cruel of you to ask me something of which the answer does not matter . there is no fairness in war . ”

[aestasrosis]

i never gave up on you .

summer stilled , expression softening with a mix of regret & guilt .

“ you should have . ” she can’t even look raven in the eye . it’s too much .

[aestasrosis]

❝ i didn’t know if i’d ever see you again. ❞

summer pulls ruby into a hug & doesn’t dare to let go .

“ i know , baby . . . me too . ” she whispers , pressing a kiss to her forehead . “ me too . but it’s okay . . . i’m here now , & i’m not going anywhere . ”

[aestasrosis]

" i... i was hoping for... some answers, mom. " (FROM RUBY!! AAAA)

“i know, baby…” summer cups ruby’s face from where she’s sitting on her hospital bed, hand shaky & scarred but not letting go of her daughter. she had planned this conversation for years, & she knew that ruby deserved nothing but the truth — even if the truth was going to hurt.

“the night of the mission, i left… with raven. we needed some way to get to salem’s castle, & we thought that… with my eyes & her maiden powers, we had a chance.” tears prickle summers eyes, eyes that haven’t been used for their ability since the day she left.

“i didn’t stand a chance. i told raven that… that if one of us were to get hurt or — or worse, that we wouldn’t save each other. we couldn’t risk it… someone had to go back home. it just…” summer brushed a few stray strands of hair from ruby’s face. “it just wasn’t me… i fought so hard, baby. there was nothing i wanted more than to come home to you.”

summer closes her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before she discloses the hardest parts to think about of that night.

“she defeated me… attacked me until i was unconscious & then took me captive. i thought… i didn’t — ” she stops for a second, taking ruby’s face in her hands. “i thought i’d come right back home to you… i’m sorry, baby… i’m so sorry…”

[aestasrosis]

"Thought you'd be taller."

summer slammed her papers down on her desk & looked up at qrow , who was laying on his bunk bed in the dorm . it was just the two of them , as raven was off studying by herself & tai was . . . who knew where tai was .

“ & i thought you valued your life , ” she smirked up at him , turning around to meet his eyes . “ you have a thing for tall women , or ? ”

[aestasrosis]

[ broken ] sender breaks one of receiver’s bones (BIG FIGHT AGAINST SALEM AND SALEM SNAPPING SUMMERS ARM????)

summer thought her eyes would be enough . that’s what she’d been told all her life , at least ; that her eyes could destroy & vanquish grimm with a mere blink . it should have been easy , right ? all she had to do was look at salem & focus , so why hadn’t it been enough ?

there wasn’t any time to wonder about it , though , as salem clearly wasn’t wasting any time taking care of summer like she’d waited for this moment . summer could almost feel her energy depleting as it disappeared with every hit her aura took . there was a voice in the back of her head , one that told her to give up . to accept that she wouldn’t be making it home .

but instead , she opted to defy it . summer knew there was a slim chance of it working again , but that didn’t stop her from focusing on the power her eyes held . what did stop her , though , was the sudden crack that came from her arm .

summer fell to her knees with a pained scream , clutching her arm to her chest . it was undeniably broken , & badly . tears streamed down her face as she screamed in pain , trying to muster up whatever was left of her aura to heal the fracture .

“ you bitch , ” she sneered through gritted , blood-stained teeth . “ i’m going to kill you . ”

[aestasrosis]

“i’m so sorry that happened to you .”

summer shook her head , closing her eyes for a moment . it was rare that she disclosed the deepest parts of herself to her teammates , but a leader needed to be transparent in order to be trusted .

“ i was around thirteen when my parents died , ” she continued , keeping her voice small . “ we were always scared . even though we were protected by the military , it didn’t do much to stop salems people from coming after us . one night , my parents woke me up & told me to hide . that was the last time i saw them . ”

[aestasrosis]

❤ + unlockthestars

mal !!! honestly i just get such good vibes from them … writing with them is always such an honor and i need to do so more often because they are so talented & all of their portrayals are perfect !!!

[aestasrosis]

❤' + badluckqrow

than is that one mutual i don’t have to turn post notifs on because tumblr regularly sends me notifications that they’ve posted bc this app knows how much i ADORE them. i think about our hummingbird every day all day. live laugh love than