#qrow branwen angst

[waywardxrhea]

Tuna-Tober Day 2 - Qrow Branwen

pairing: Qrow Branwen x fem!OC

prompt: "Why? Why do you love me?"

word count: 2,500

content: this is honestly a bit of a dead dove, whoops. Grimm attack, weapon use (scimitars, hand crossbows, scythe, great sword, shotgun), blood, language, angst.

tuna-tober masterlist / main masterlist

dividers by: @animatedglittergraphics-n-more / gif found on comic vine

“All right kids, for today’s lesson we’re hitting the great outdoors! You all have gone above and beyond your training here at the school, so the headmaster has granted us permission to take it to the next level. After all, when you get to Beacon, combat training in a real setting starts on day one!” Rayne announced to her small class of future Huntsmen. An excited gasp filled the air before hands shot up into the air for questions. “Yes, Crystal?”

“Do you think we’ll run into any Beowolves?” the excited girl asked, practically vibrating with excitement. 

Rayne taught the class on Grimm at Signal. After years of hunting the devilish creatures, she had gained an understanding of them and knew their individual strengths and weaknesses. Up until now, the kids had never gone into combat with the creatures, they only knew how to take them on in theory from what she had taught them. So when the headmaster proposed the idea, it made her nervous. 

Her nerves had been soothed though by the plan the school board had devised going into the day, so she smiled at Crystal and nodded, telling her, “That’s the goal. We got a mission from the board saying that there’s a small pack that’s been destroying farm land. That’s where we’re headed.” 

“With a little bit of guidance,” came the voice of Taiyang as he entered the room, waving to the kids with a big smile on his face. 

“Mr. Xiao Long!” chorused some of the students as their combat teacher entered the room. 

“Don’t forget about your backup,” came a second voice as he entered with another small group of students behind him.

“How could I forget?” Rayne asked in a teasing voice as everyone gathered in the room. “Mr. Branwen and his class will be joining us, as well as Mr. Xiao Long,” she announced to her students. “Remember that, while, yes, we are going out to hunt Grimm, you are still in class. You are to follow all of our instructions if you want to stay safe. If you’ve paid attention in my class, you know that the Grimm are no joke. So remember to stay sharp out there.”

“Yes ma’am,” the students replied. 

“Now, the only real way to learn how to fight the Grimm is to do it yourself. So that’s what we plan on letting you kids do,” Qrow said. “We’ll be there if something goes wrong, so if you get overwhelmed we’ll step in. And obviously, you’re working under our licenses, so don’t blow it.” This last comment was met with some quiet laughs from the students. 

“And remember combat order!” Tai announced. “Get into groups before we get out there and use your skills and weapons to your advantage. If you can fight something ranged, let your ranged fighters go. If you end up in melee combat, work together. We don’t want any injuries, but we especially don’t want to accidentally hurt one another. Got it?”

“Yes sir!”

“Okay! Everyone grab your weapons and let’s go!” Rayne called, which resulted in her class getting up and heading out the door. 

There was a buzz of excitement in the air as they filed out, but she still couldn’t help her nerves starting to climb at the prospect of what they were doing. “It’s gonna be alright,” Qrow said, placing his hand on her shoulder to reassure her for what felt like the hundredth time since the inception of the plan. 

Tai nodded and reminded her, “The farmers said they’ve only seen three Beowolves on the property. With the students and the three of us, it’ll be a cake walk!”

Qrow chuckled and said, “I’m sure Ruby could take them all on her own, but we’ve asked her to leave at least one for the other students.”

A small smile fell onto her lips before she nodded and blew out an anxious breath. “It’ll be fine. It’s just three Grimm. They can handle three Grimm.”

As it turned out, there were more than three Grimm. The students successfully took down the three that were reported without any assistance from the teachers, but right as they were about to celebrate, a feeling of dread began creeping up Rayne’s spine. It was a feeling she always got when she sensed Grimm in the area. Turning around toward the treeline at the edge of the property, Rayne saw the red eyes of a lurking pack of Beowolves. There had to be at least fifteen of them. 

“Tai, Qrow, get the kids to-!” 

Before she could finish her sentence though, the beasts were charging at the group at full speed! Pulling her scimitars from their sheaths, Rayne ran toward the pack, hoping that engaging them in close quarters would be a distraction enough so the kids could get to safety. Rayne’s blade slashed through the underside of one of the beasts, but as it faded to dust around her, another lunged at her, which she stabbed in the throat before ripping downward. 

Taking in her surroundings, she saw a few of the Grimm had broken off and started to overwhelm a small group of students. Reaching into one of the small quivers she had on either side of her hips, she hit the button that would enable the arrows with combustion Dust at the same time as she hit the button to transform one of her scimitars into a hand crossbow. Once the arrow was loaded within a few seconds, she aimed right at the head of one of the Grimm before it could land a blow on the fighting student. 

The explosion downed the creature, and as it turned to dust, its fellows turned to look at where the attack came from. Right as they did, she activated her semblance and caused a bright sunbeam to refract off of the surface of her scimitar and into their eyes. “Go! Now!” she shouted to the kids who nodded and began running toward where Tai was ushering the students into the safety of a nearby barn. 

Right before she turned around to engage with more of the combatants, she heard the growl of one of the beasts right behind her. She felt the air swish and saw the shadow of its great paw reaching into the air to attack before suddenly fading into dust, a whimper leaving its chest in its final breath. 

“Miss Beaux, are you okay?” asked Ruby as she skidded to a halt beside Rayne, using the blade of Crescent Rose to stop her momentum. 

“I’m fine, thank you, Ruby,” she told her with a gracious smile. 

“Gettin’ rusty?” Qrow asked with an audible smirk in his voice as he came to stand beside the two of them. 

“Just because I teach full time doesn’t mean I’m not still going on hunts,” Rayne countered before turning to face the pack of beasts who were now staring them down. 

“Ruby, go help your dad protect the others,” Qrow told her as his eyes darted around to make sure that all of the Grimm were solely paying attention to them. 

“But Uncle Qrow, I-”

“I know you can hold your own, and that’s why I need you with them!” Qrow said sharply. “If this goes sideways and any one of them breaks from the pack, I need to know that everyone over there is safe!”

“I’ll blind them so you can get through. Use your semblance,” Rayne told her with a nod. 

“Got it,” she replied as Rayne once again activated her semblance and Ruby dashed away, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. 

By then, Rayne had transitioned her weapon back into its scimitar form and it was just her and Qrow back to back as the beasts circled. With a small smile on her lips, she asked, “Like old times?”

“Like old times,” he confirmed before they both engaged in combat with the Grimm once more. The pair worked in tandem with Qrow using the shotgun feature of Harbinger to wound the beasts before Rayne went in and sliced them up to finish them off. 

They made quick work of the remaining six beasts, and Rayne thought they were done before suddenly she heard Qrow shout in pain behind her. Snapping her head toward the sound, she saw the remnants of Qrow’s depleted aura in the air as the Beowolf pinned him to the ground and snarled. There was another shout of agonizing pain as the beast dragged its claws over Qrow’s chest and crimson began to seep into the fabric of his coat. 

“Qrow!” Rayne shouted in horror before charging at the beast and laying it out within seconds. “No, no, no, no, no! This can’t be happening…” Rayne whispered as she dropped her weapons and began trying to stop the bleeding. 

Qrow spotted one final Grimm making its way toward the barn and lifted a shaky hand to point it out, telling Rayne, “Go…”

“No! Ruby and Tai can handle it,” she said as she picked up one of her weapons and cut off a piece of Qrow’s tattered cloak in order to hold pressure on the wounds. 

“But-” he tried, becoming weaker and weaker as blood began pooling around him.

“No, don’t you do that! Don’t close your eyes, Qrow,” Rayne whispered desperately as she watched his eyes grow heavy with every passing second. As misfortune would have it though, Qrow’s eyes began to shut and tears started to fall as she whispered, “I love you…” 

Qrow woke up what felt like seconds later in a hospital room. As he looked at his surroundings, he saw Rayne scribbling furiously in a journal, so he asked in a scratchy voice, “Making lesson plans?”

Rayne looked up from her journal and a smile made its way onto her face as tears jumped into her eyes upon seeing Qrow awake. “Thank the Brothers,” she whispered before closing the journal and scooting her chair closer to the bedside. 

“What happened?” Qrow asked as he managed to sit himself up in the bed. 

“Ruby handled that last Beowolf and Tai called the Vale emergency line to report a fallen huntsman. You were in and out of it while they brought you here,” Rayne detailed. A proud smile made its way onto her lips as she added, “One of your students actually unlocked his semblance when he saw what happened. As far as we understand how it works, he’s able to close wounds. That’s what stopped you from totally bleeding out.”

“Thank him for me when you go back to work,” Qrow said. 

“Why not tell him yourself?”

“I’m not going back,” he muttered, running a hand over the bottom half of his face as he sighed in frustration. 

“Qrow-”

“I’m not going back, Ray,” he told her firmly. “I was the reason those kids ended up in danger!”

“Qrow, we don’t know that,” she tried, laying a hand over his and giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“You know as well as I do that that’s a lie,” he snapped, pulling his hand away from hers in order to run it through his hair. “I don’t know why I ever let Oz sucker me into this job in the first place…”

“Because he knew you would have a great impact on the future huntsmen who will one day have our backs out there,” Rayne told him gently. 

“Or because he knew that something like this would happen where it would be a sink or swim situation for the kids! Well, I’m not letting that happen again. I won’t endanger them! I won’t endanger you again!” he nearly shouted. “You’re better off without me…”

His words stung and Rayne was quiet for a few moments before asking quietly, “Is this about what I said before you passed out?”

There was a silence that hung heavy in the air for a few moments before Qrow asked in a broken voice, “Why? Why do you love me?” The hurt and emotion in his voice made her heart ache, and all she wanted to do was reach out and comfort him. “All I do is cause misfortune wherever I go. It’s not safe with me. It could have been you that the damn thing got, and if that had happened I would never be able to forgive myself.”

“Because of that right there,” she said as he got up from the bed and began grabbing his clothes off of the rack the hospital workers had hung them on. As he ducked behind the privacy curtain to get changed, she continued, telling him, “You care so much for others. You protect fiercely, and even if you don’t like to admit it, you love deeply. You push people away because of your semblance, but have you ever stopped to think that maybe some of us don’t care?”

“But I put you in danger, I-” he said as he emerged in his clothes which had been cleaned and repaired.

Rayne held eye contact with him as she put her heart on her sleeve and told him, “I love you Qrow Branwen. If you can’t accept that, I understand, but I just can't deny my feelings for you anymore. I can’t keep things casual anymore with someone I love as much as you.”

“Then I guess we’re over…” Qrow said quietly as he grabbed Harbinger and walked out the door, leaving Rayne to figure things out on her own. 

this made me wanna watch RWBY again!

also yes, her name is Rayne Beaux and her semblance is light refraction 🤣🤣 since this was just a one shot i just needed to throw a bare bones character together, but once i get The Story of Us written more fully, I may have her make an appearance somewhere in there because I really ended up liking her!

a day late on Tuna-Tober, but i was a sleepy gal after work yesterday😅 this may well happen throughout the month but my school is also having an IT breakdown so i can’t really school rn anyways 🤷🏻‍♀️

taglist: @i-live-in-spite @reidmarieprentiss

[rwac96]

I can imagine Qrow freaking out upon realizing/learning that Rang is the daughter he never knew he had:

Qrow(clutching his head with wide eyes): OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!!!

Rang(deadpanning at her “Sperm Donor”): Um, is he o-

Qrow(throwing his head back with a look of horror): I CAN’T BELIEVE I UNINTENTIONALLY PULLED A “RAVEN”!!!

Rang(yelping as Qrow suddenly grabs her by the hand): Woah!

Qrow(dragging her away): I’m fixing this! Daughter-Father bonding time right f^#%ing now!

How would Rang react to having the father who never knew she existed suddenly want to get involved in her life? Especially after she tells him that her mother died recently.

Rang: *tearing up* "D-Dad..."

Qrow: *tearing up* "Rang..."

*The two embraced each other in a hug, sobbing loudly*

Rang: *sobs* "DADDY!"

Qrow: *sobs* "MY LITTLE CHERRY!"

Pyrrha: *shocked* "I...This is how I find out Aunt Hippolyta died...?!"

[waltat04-kevinknight]

Jaune walked through the halls of the Vacuo hospital building with flowers in his hand and stopped at a door, the number 115. He knocked on the door and was met by the one person he had hoped not to run into first, Mr.Pelondina.

"What do you want, Jaune?" Pietro asked, gripping the handles of his wheelchair with suppressed anger.

"I wanted to check on Penny, see how she's holding u-" Jaune began to explain before he was cut off.

"Did you think of that before or after you chose to stab her huh?!" Peitro yelled before coughing and looking up at Jaune.

"Mr.Pelondina you have to understand tha-" Jaune tried to speak only to be cut off again.

"No, YOU need to understand that I don't want you around MY DAUGHTER anymore!" Peitro said, pressing the call button as a nurse came over.

"Yes? How can I help?" She asked.

"I want him gone and to not be allowed to see my daughter" Peitro said as the Nurse nodded and turned to Jaune and led him from the room.

"I'm sorry, sir, but her father has expressed not wanting you here. Please leave and have a nice day." The nurse says as Jaune nods and leaves with his head down in defeat.

Back at the camp area, Jaune comes back, setting the flowers down, before sitting in front of the campfire and curling up into a ball and placing his head on his knees and tried to fight the tears that were forming until he felt a hand on his shoulder as he looked up and saw Qrow.

"Hey ki- well I guess kid doesn't want anymore considering what you've been through in the ever after, come on let's talk a walk" Qrow says helping Jaune off his feet as the two walked through Vacuo seeing how everyone was doing.

While they walked, Jaune told Qrow about what happened at the hospital and in the crossroads.

"That's alot to take in, I'm surprised you haven't gone insane." Qrow says before speaking once again. "I know you want to see her but maybe give him and Penny some space. Winter told me that she saw a stab wound that matched your sword and put two and two together but what threw us both off was the fact the wound was healed" Qrow says.

"I figured out that I could use my Semblance on objects and use them as a connection, so when I stabbed Penny I had used my Semblance and had it course through me sword and into the stab wound. I never wanted to kill Penny, I had already lost Pyrrha to Cinder and I wasn't about to lose Penny too Qrow" Jaune says looking at Qrow.

"I understand, come on Willow is helping Klien cook up some shrimp gumbo and it hits the spot. I'm sure you'll feel better after it" Qrow says as Willow runs over and plants a kiss on Qrow's cheek.

"Hello my dark knight, hello Jaune" Willow says with a smile.

"Hello love, I hope you don't kind if I invited Jaune to dinner" Qrow says as Willow shook her head.

"Of course not. He looks like he could use some friendly company," Willow says, leading Qrow and Jaune to the massive cookout where everyone was including Peitro and Penny, who was being wheeled around by Winter.

Winter noices Jaune and walks over while wheeling Penny over with her.

"Greetings Jaune, how have you been" Winter asked.

"I've...I could be better" He says not making eye contact before he felt Penny's hand intertwine with his.

"Salutations boyfriend Jaune" Penny says with a smile and tears in her eyes as she let his hand go and opened her arms for a hug as Jaune teared up and dropped to his knees and hugged Penny not letting her.

While Penny brushed his blonde hair with her hand and began to softy sing a calming tune to make Jaune calm down.

"I want to see you smile, Jaune, not cry," Penny says as all of his ffiened surround him and join in the hug.

[thepariahcontinuum]

MARZ Rising - Chapter 167: The Final Battle

The start of the final push and building towards the end of the story.

FF Net

Ao3

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

Bumbleby Week 2023: Belated Day 2 - Sacrifice

Teams RWBY, JNR, CVFY, and SSSN are standing in Headmaster Theodore's office with Qrow, Raven, Winter, and Ozcar.

Theodore: Thank you all for coming at such short notice. We've just received a report that there's a wall of Grimm moving across the desert towards the city. They're expected to be here tomorrow morning.

Qrow: Tomorrow morning?!

Theodore: At the latest...

Ozcar: You've already made a decision on what to do next. I can tell. What is it?

Theodore: (sighs) We need time to evacuate the residents. The only way I can see that working is if we have a security force stationed on the city's outskirts to intercept the wall.

Raven: But.... that's a suicide mission.

Theodore: (silence)

Raven: .......You're looking for volunteers before you order people to die for the city.

Qrow: (slams fists against Theodore's desk) Are you serious?!

Theodore: Look! It's not ideal, but it's the only solution we have!

Everyone: (start arguing and shouting)

Yang: How many people do you need?

Everyone: (silence)

Ruby: Yang?

Weiss: (shocked silence)

Blake: (staring blankly)

Theodore: (stares in surprise) There's a 50% chance for success if we have 100 volunteers.

Qrow: Just call them cattle with how you're sending them out to the slaughter.

Yang: .....I'll do it.

Everyone: (stares at Yang in shock)

Raven: The hell you are.

Yang: You don't get to-

Raven: Not by yourself. Sign me up.

Weiss: Can we maybe take a minute to-

Blake: EXCUSE YOU!!!

Yang: (winces)

Blake: (sets herself firmly in front of Yang so she can't look away) Have you learned absolutely NOTHING from Atlas?! From the vault?!

Yang: Blake...

Blake: We separated during the Mantle-Amity disaster, and I was worried sick about you. You were thrown from the platform, and I thought I lost you forever. (Tearing up angrily) Now you want to throw yourself into a suicide mission?!

Yang: (curls in slightly on herself) Blake...

Blake: Don't! Just... don't.... I need a minute. (Turns and walks out the door)

-Door Slams-

Everyone: (silent)

Weiss: (to Yang) Well?

Yang: Well, what?

Weiss: Stop being a moron and go talk to her!

Yang: She asked for a minute.

Weiss: So you go after her, wait for sixty seconds, then go up to her, throw yourself onto the ground, and beg for forgiveness for being a dumbass!

Yang: (slightly taken aback and looks to Qrow)

Qrow: Don't look at me. My love life hasn't been much outside of a few one night stands.

Yang: (Looks to Raven)

Raven: I'm with the miniature snowman.

Weiss: Hey!

Raven: Go talk things out. No decision will be set until you both come to an agreement you can work with.

Theodore: We don't have time for-

Qrow & Raven: (eyes glint as they draw their swords)

Theodore: (cowers into his seat)

Yang: R-Right! Right! Wish me luck! (Sprints out the door after Blake)

[frickingnerd]

qrow branwen with a s/o whose parents hate him

pairing: qrow branwen x gn!reader

tags: established romantic relationship, mentions of alcohol, your parents think qrow's a troublemaker, blunt!qrow

qrow knows that he can't get along with everyone and that he has quite the list of people who can't stand him

but he never expected your parents to hate him as well–!

he really tried to make a good first impression when you brought him home to meet them… but his reputation had already proceeded himself

while his days of being an alcoholic causing trouble everywhere he went were over now, he still couldn't get rid of that bad reputation he earned from back in those days

qrow really tried to get along with your parents, starting small talk over something like the weather or their hobbies, but always being shut down

it became clear that they didn't like him. even you began to notice that they weren't giving qrow a chance!

while that first meeting with your parents didn't go well, qrow was determined to show them he's a changed man!

he's certain he'll win them over during the next family meetings! one way or another…

if he can't win them over with kindness, he'll just have to give them a piece of his mind and tell them to give him a chance without holding prejudice against him!

after all, they already hate him, so it's not like he'd ruin anything by being blunt with them!

[zozoistireds-blog]

The Loss Of You: chapter two

(no art today as i am very tired, and experiencing a bit of artistic burnout)

ruby and yang are out a few days before ruby's birthday to get some last minute sister time before ruby turns sixteen, to spend some time at patches local mall, during their walk towards the shop ruby speaks up about her encounter with her dad causing yang to nearly breakdown in response, having a almost identical reaction to her questions like her dad did.

can ruby figure out what's going on? and why her family seems so upset at the fact she's getting older?

[gaymakima]

Please consider: Branwen Twins as Salem's children (created from her magic/some sort of ritual involving her blood or w/e).

The funny thing is that you'd have to change very little about what we know of their backstories (at least, pre-vol 1) for this to work. Raven and Qrow raised by "murders and thieves" who were heavily implied to be at least emotionally abusive to them — swap out the bandit camp for 'Evil Castle', and add in a whole lot more crimes, and Salem fits pretty easily there. They were sent to Beacon to learn how to kill huntsmen — send them to Beacon to spy on Ozpin, and also to send as much intel as they can about Beacon's defences/etc, either way they're spying. Qrow being a Grimm Reaper fanboy — even MORE of a rebellious act. His insecurity about his semblance/himself around others? Let's make it worse.

Meanwhile RAVEN doubling down on her 'loyalty' to 'family', her life guided by the rules drilled into her head since childhood ("the weak die, the strong live") — except now the rules are from Salem, and you can bet your ass this rule would turn from "survival of the fittest" to some form of manipulation about family/blood/loyalty. And then when they go to Beacon and form STRQ, when Raven and Qrow find a family of their own and their loyalties come into question—how the hell would this Raven react? It's not like the twins are from a neutral party (bandit tribe) stepping into this war. Here, they're born into the war, and Raven doesn't have the tribe to go back to.

...okay admittedly I also really like the idea of goth villainous birb twins and corvid imagery with female villains (see: maleficent) goes so hard

[miss-writes-a-lot]

Ozqrow Week 2023 Day 2

(Still going strong for @ozqrowweek with day 2! Let's see how long this lasts!)

CW for angst, crying, brief mentions of Summer Rose

Ozqrow Week 2023 Day 2: Accidental kiss

Qrow returns to the clocktower late at night to find it an absolute mess. 

The few pieces of furniture that are in Ozpin’s office are knocked over and are dragged off to the side. Papers and books are scattered across the floor, some of those pages ripped to shreds. The alarm bells in Qrow’s head immediately begin going off.

These books are - or, were - decades worth of notes and findings on whatever information he could gather on Salem. He wouldn’t just throw it all away like it was nothing. Someone was in the clocktower.

Someone got to Oz.

 The avian man draws his weapon and slowly leaves the safety of the elevator to enter the rest of the office. He scans the perimeter, searching for any sign of life or remaining intruders. He perks up when he hears the sound of quiet sobbing coming from one of the corners. He whips around, Harbinger at the ready to strike when he sees him.

Ozpin hides behind one of the pillars closest to the window. His hands are buried deep in his disheveled silver hair. His clothes are ripped and ragged like his breathing. 

“Oz,” Qrow says.

He sheaths Harbinger and runs to him, sliding into a crouch in front of him. Ozpin doesn’t react when Qrow grabs his shoulders.

“Oz - Hey, Ozzy. Talk to me. What happened, huh? What happened? You hurt?”

Ozpin shakes his head, sobbing, “It’s all my fault, Qrow. It’s all my fault!”

“What is, Ozzy? What’s your fault?”

“All of...Of this!” he gestures out to the room, revealing his red, tear stained face, “This! You and Raven and - and - and Summer! It’s all my fault!”

Qrow leans back. The gears in his head start to turn. He takes another look around the office again. The ripped pages, the scattered books full of research, Ozpin talking about...her. Qrow sighs through his nose, releasing Ozpin from his grip.

“No, Oz. It’s not.”

Ozpin sniffs loud, “It is, Qrow. All of it is! I’ve wasted years researching and going on missions and - and sending you all on missions to find nothing! We have nothing and she-”

“Ozpin, no,” Qrow says firmly, “This isn’t all on you, okay?”

“But I-”

“No,”  Qrow scoots closer to him, his calloused hands slowly moving to Ozpin’s with a soft touch, “Sure, you asked us to help you with all this. But you gave us the choice. You didn’t say that we had to do it, right? You asked if we could. If we wanted to, and we did. We knew the risk; loud and clear and we still wanted to run into fire with you and we did.”

“Qrow, I-”

“We knew the risk,” he brings Ozpin closer until the foreheads touch, “We all knew the risk, even before Salem. I know it, Tai knows it, Summer knew it. We’d all have had to be idiots to jump in without knowing that we might not make it home or something.”

His hands move to hold Ozpin’s face, “You’ve been dealin’ with this all by yourself. Yeah, you fucked up a couple of times, but now, you’re not alone. This stuff isn’t useless. We haven’t lost yet. There’s still a chance we can find something to take her down. We still have Amber. We have Jimmy’s tech and the Nikkos girl comin’ from Argus, right? We still have a chance, so don’t give up on all this just yet.”

Ozpin stares at him with his red, puffy eyes, searching for the lie. Or maybe an answer that’s more concrete and that could end this all. When he doesn’t find one, his face twists and he buries himself in Qrow’s shoulder, heavily sobbing a chorus of ‘I’m sorry’s’ between heavy, ragged breaths.

Qrow cradles his head in one hand while the other travels up and down his back. “I gotcha, Ozzy. I gotcha.”

Qrow sits with him, the man who usually towers above him some days now the smallest he’s ever seen him, as he cries into his shoulder blade. He doesn’t say a word the entire time. He’s just there. He’s there the same way Ozpin had and has been all these years since they started walking down this path together. He holds him in silence because he knows the last thing he wants is to keep hearing Qrow rattle off all the ways this is supposed to work out somehow in the end. 

He knows that Ozpin just wants him there, so he’s going to be there for as long as it takes.

It’s only until Ozpin’s sobs dissolve into small sniffling does he look down at his companion with the beginnings of a smirk tugging at his face. “You doing okay there, Ozzy?”

Ozpin nods.

“You wanna look at me so I can make sure you’re okay?”

The silver haired man shakes his head, tightening his hold on Qrow’s jacket. 

“You sure?”

“Don’t...want you to see me like this,” Ozpin murmurs.

Qrow scoffs, “You’ve seen me in worse condition than this. I can handle whatever you’ve got for me.”

Ozpin hesitates. He slowly lifts his head to look up at Qrow. His cheeks are blotchy and red. There are noticeable tears stains streaked down his face to his chin and his hair’s a mess, which for Qrow, was just another Tuesday night for him.

“There he is,” Qrow says softly.

“I’m so sorry for this, Qrow,” Ozpin rasps, “I didn’t...I didn’t want you to see me like this.”

“So you’ve said.”

“I...I’m glad you came, however. I...I don’t think I could’ve braved this night alone.”

Qrow smiles. He leans in, brushes back Ozpin’s bangs, and pecks a kiss to his forehead. “Anytime you need me, Oz. I’ll be here.”

Qrow pulls back to Ozpin’s eyes wide as saucers staring at him. Qrow quirks a curious brow, wondering what got him so spooked until he realizes that he just kissed Ozpin.

Ozpin, his friend who is definitely not his boyfriend and has not kissed like that before - or ever. 

He feels his face burn several different shades of red. “U-Uh, that was an accident! F-Force of habit with my nieces, you know?”

“O-Of course.”

“Ye-Yeah, you get it, right?”

“One hundred percent.”

“Good.”

“Great.”

“Fantastic.”

They continue to stare at one another, their faces redder than Ruby’s cape. Qrow stands, hands awkward situated on his hips in an attempt to seem casual. “Welp! I gotta get going! Unless, you know, you...need me to stay with you and help you with somethin’?”

“Well...I could use a hand fixing this place up? Maybe you can help me piece my notes back together? Make sense of the scribbles again.”

“Uh...sure. I can - I can do that,” he replies.

“Could you...also help me stand up? My legs aren’t, uh-”

“Oh, yeah! No problem!”

Qrow reaches out a hand. Ozpin grabs him by the forearm and Qrow lifts him onto his shaky legs. Ozpin steadies himself against Qrow, which sends his heart rate skyrocketing. 

“Think you’ll be good?”

“I should be. Should we get to work?”

“Yeah, let’s.”

“Oh, and Qrow?”

“Yeah Oz?”

For the first time tonight, Ozpin smiles. He geniunely smiles. He seems so intent on putting Qrow in an early grave all by himself. “Thank you. I needed this tonight.”

Qrow smiles back at him, squeezing his hand. “Anytime, Oz. I’ll be here for you anytime.” 

[bridgyrose]

How about this:

Instead of Penny, there's an army of Ruby clones guarding Mantle.

Ruby paused as she caught the glint of a white cloak out of the corner of her eye. She turned towards the alley way and put her hand to the shaft of her scythe she carried on her back, fingers gently tapping her weapon. Normally this kind of paranoia would be backed by a sarcastic remark from Yang or Weiss, or even something comforting from Blake, however the empty Mantle streets and the statues of grimm put her and the rest of her friends on edge. Something didnt feel right about Atlas anymore, not that the blockade or billboards with Ironwood's face talking about curfew made her feel any more at ease. 

“Did you see something?” Jaune asked. 

“I thought so, but maybe its just my eyes playing tricks on me.” Ruby lowered her hand back to her side, eyes staying on the alleyway. “I never expected Mantle to be so… empty.” 

“That’s because its not supposed to be.” Weiss made her way to one of the sabyr statues in the road and tapped it with her rapier. “Mantle has always been busy since my grandfather started refining dust. Though, I cant imagine what would cause everyone to make these statues and then stay out of sight.” 

Yang shrugged. “Maybe its a new holiday?” 

Weiss took a step back as the sabyr statue in front of her collapsed into dust and ash, spreading across the street. “Doubtful.” 

“Then all the more reason to get to my old friend’s place,” Maria said as she hobbled past the kids. “Maybe he’ll have answers for us about what’s been going on here.” 

Ruby nodded and continued to follow Maria, still on edge as the street lights turned on one by one. Every step echoed around the quiet streets, shops and homes were all boarded up with a few people peeking out through the windows as if they were waiting.

 Then, sirens started to blare and the street lights went red. Sabyrs rushed through the streets as a few gunshots echoed in the night, the few Atlesian soldiers stationed around Mantle quickly overwhelmed by the grimm that swarmed through the streets. 

Ruby quickly grabbed her scythe from her back and readied herself along with her team. “Alright, lets take out these grimm before we continue.” 

“Got it!” Blake yelled as she rushed forward with Yang to start taking on the grimm. 

Ruby took a few steps back and started to take pot shots at the grimm as she directed Weiss where to put her glyphs. She gave a small nod to Jaune, who directed his own teammates to make sure the grimm were taken care of swiftly. Between Nora’s hammer, Ren’s speed, and Oscar holding the line, the grimm were taken care of quickly. The kids relaxed for a moment until another wave of grimm came barreling down the street. 

A few soft giggles started to fill the streets along with white petals as a few figures dashed through the streets and sliced through the grimm. One stopped and stared at a particularly large grimm and a bright, silver light washed over the streets, freezing the grimm in its tracks and destroying the smaller ones. 

Ruby and her team pulled back as they watched seven of the white cloaked figures finish taking on the grimm and the grimm lights finally turned off. Silence fell over the group as the figures turned around to look at them, each one with a familiar face and eyes. 

“Why do they look like you, Ruby?” Weiss asked.

“I… I dont know…” Ruby sheathed her weapon and took a breath to calm herself. “Who are you?” 

The white-cloaked Rubys turned to her and looked at her curiously. One of them finally spoke to her, the voice still sounding more like hers. “What are you doing here? You should be patrolling Mantle like us.” 

Qrow paused as the wind started to shift around them. “I dont like what’s going on. James is going to have a lot to explain.” 

A few scrolls started to ding with notifications and one of the Rubys looked at hers. A smirk crossed her face as she grabbed her white scythe and disappeared in a flurry of petals. One by one, each Ruby did the same as the petals started to swirl around the real Ruby and her friends. The storm of petals started to grow larger and larger until it suddenly dropped with each Ruby appearing in a cloud of petals and slamming their scythe’s into the huntsmen in training. 

Ruby watched as her team quickly became overwhelmed by the onslaught of white-clad Rubys, her teammates quickly getting cuffed and knocked out. Soon, it was her turn to be slammed to the ground and cuffed, one of the Rubys standing over her with a grin as she pressed a foot to her back. 

“Dont worry, we’ll take you back to Atlas and make sure you’re protecting Mantle just like the rest of us. The general will take care of the rest of those criminals and the Ace-ops will make sure Miss Schnee makes it back to her family.” 

Ruby had wanted to argue, but quickly found a boot slamming into her face, her vision darkening as she heard an airship make its way over and the sound of the other Rubys giggling as they rushed off.

[nightmare-foundation]

Okay okay okay consider

Ozpin getting dragged out of Beacon for once bc glynda got sick and tired of him being cooped up in his tower

Ozpin and qrow going on a few short Huntsman missions together, one of them involving an unknown Grimm terrorizing a village

Ozpin n qrow going off to fight the Grimm- however the Grimm is... weirdly intelligent and separates them

Ozpin finding out the Grimm is more or less telepathic and reflects all of your worst fears, insecurities, memories, etc and is thus naturally pretty intelligent- but this one is very old, and is practically sentient at this point

Ozpin being tormented by this Grimm, having everyone he knows or knew used against him, including past lives, having himself taunt him, calling him a liar, a coward, someone who uses others for his own benefit, etc

Ozpin being tormented because this Grimm KNOWS his worst thoughts, whether fleeting or part of trauma. The Grimm knowing how many times he's killed himself, how much he has bottled up (rage, self hate, etc), what Oz has done and has wanted to do even if it was just a brief thought. The Grimm ripping into him, using every word of Ozpins against him

The Grimm literally using Ozpins own signature fighting style to fight Ozpin, beating him down with the fake version of Long Memory (like v9 ch8 but with Oz)

Ozpin being unable to fight back, not because the Grimm is too powerful (though it is strong), but because Ozpin agrees with the Grimm, that he's an awful person and deserves pain

Qrow coming in at the last second before the Grimm kills Ozpin, killing the Grimm and saving Oz

Ozpin repressing everything until after he gets medical treatment, after he gets home, when he's alone, and finally breaking down, completely alone, isolating himself

[teamrsst]

Volume 6 angst (:

[unofficialadamtaurus]

Adding onto that Qrow thing with that animatic they put out.. Why is it now that anytime he loses something he just decides to be more optimistic? Sense when was he ever like that? Ajdkskkflskdlskd

I'd say "take a shot for every time a character does the exact opposite of what their actual characterization suggests," but then we'd all be dead on the floor, much like Qrow if he saw where his "arc" was heading back in V4

[madmanwonder]

Type: Ask

Summary of the Question: How would Qrow and Hippolyta react if the other met their end before they can make up? How much regret will they feel?

Qrow Branwen

For Qrow. I believe he would be in shock at hearing the death of his ex-girlfriend who despite their bitter failing still love and cherish her and would forever be in pain.

Hippolyta Nikos

For Hippolyta. I would say she would try to brush off his death by feigning indifference and coolness. And once she alone began breaking down into tears of pain and remorse of losing the love of her life again.

[thepariahcontinuum]

MARZ Rising - Chapter 148: Time To Go

Some aerial combat and a little bit of fluff and angst to get the Vol.09 mid-season finale cracking.

FF Net

Ao3

[bafflement]

If you're still looking for prompts 👀

"What would I do without you?"

Any fandom or characters 🤗

Ozqrow it is, then. Very slight trigger warning to this one, Zac. It's a very brief, very old memory and I swear to you this prompt has a happy ending.

The reports of Grimm activity were getting worse and worse with each passing day. It seemed that no matter how many hunters were sent to deal with the problem, they couldn't eradicate the flood. They thinned it, yes, but even when they returned, saying that everything was fine, all was over, there were always more where those came from.

Why would Salem concentrate so many resources there, of all places, though? It was a windswept plain, in the middle of nowhere and of no real interest to anybody. Well, if it hadn't been for the fact that so many Grimm appeared to congregate in the area. How though? Grimm were drawn by emotions, yet as far as anyone knew, the place was empty.

No, there had to be something the reports were missing. Something everybody was missing. Ozpin's fingers tightened on the handle of his cane. There was vague feeling, a vague memory there, but it was fleeting, too tenuous to grasp properly. That was unusual, with the memories Ozma had given him, it was usually easy enough to recall them. Was there some trauma, there? Something that, somehow, whichever version of the Wizard had seen something similar needed to hide? He raised one hand to his forehead, biting his lip at the headache forming behind his eyes. Ah, so, whatever it was, they would rather he didn't pry.

Dammit, though, this was important! If it was a situation that had happened before, something that had been seen... he needed to know, needed to know how to stop this, how to fix things. Yes, the Grimm were safe enough where they were, but they almost certainly wouldn't stay there. It was so much more than a mere pocket, after all.

What could he do, though? The council wouldn't see this as important, not really. Despite the number of teams that had gone, the hundreds of Grimm they had killed, it was still just a backwater. It wasn't even in Vale, or not properly. The outskirts were lawless enough, but the likelihood that people would die to whatever was causing this was too great a threat to ignore. Whatever Salem was up to, if there was even a plan there, would need to be countered. It wasn't a relic, at least, he knew where those were, but... he sighed deeply. If only there was an easy option.

There was a thump and a panicked squawk from outside the window and his head shot up, the pain forgotten momentarily. Qrow? But he hadn't expected him back, yet. He'd volunteered to scout in his other form, as he was far too swift for most Grimm to catch... and far too small for any of them to bother with. The fact he was back so quickly only really gave two options, though. Either he had found no traces of Grimm at all... or he had located a possible cause. If the former, then on the surface at least, the problem would have vanished. If the latter, it couldn't be good news. That he had returned alone... whatever it was, he would need backup. Qrow never really used a team anymore, but under the circumstances...

He opened the window, moving out of the way as his long term boyfriend flew rather gingerly through, transforming into the figure he loved. There was a wild look on Qrow's face, though and real panic in his eyes. The latter option, then. Ozpin rather feared just what the other man might tell him and felt another twinge as the headache reaffirmed itself. It didn't matter, though. Whatever that memory was, it looked like he might be about to live through the sequel. He'd know soon enough.

"Oz? Oz, it's bad." Were Qrow's first words, laying heavy on the air. "Ya were right, something is drawing them, but damned if I can see what! There's an area in the center of all this, they're bein' drawn there, but it's empty! Just more windswept... nothingness. You're sure none of your memories can help, here? Only I'm drawing a blank."

Ozpin sighed. "There appears to be... something. I experience headaches whenever I try to recall it, so it may have been something rather traumatic to whichever incarnation experienced it first hand. I do not know what, but... something about a hole? Something..." He broke off, wincing. Enough was enough, this was getting ridiculous. "Excuse me a second, my dearest." Hs face went blank as he focused inwards, coming to the meeting place in his mind and glancing around in hopes that someone might tell him what was going on.

The manifestation, when they emerged, seemed rather reluctant and he blinked at them, surprised. He only vaguely recognised this version of the Wizard, which rather argued that their partnership hadn't been particularly long. He remembered being them, of course, but the entire experience seemed fuzzier than usual. His eyes hardened slightly, out in the real world. Whoever this was... Maroz, he believed? Was definitely hiding something big if he'd been suppressed that deeply within their collective soul.

"I... I... it's happening again?" The voice was an echo, as most of the older ones were, but it seemed weaker, harder to hear. Ozpin just inclined his head, waiting for the other to expand on their words. It took a few minutes, or it felt like that long, before they spoke again. "It is... a child. Or a prisoner. It... was a child, for me, but then everybody felt like a child to me... it's part of the merge, but you know that by now. I failed to rescue them. I... was not strong enough. Will you be?"

"There's somebody trapped under there?" Ozpin hissed, horrified. Maroz merely nodded. He closed his eyes briefly, pained, and when he opened them again, the figure had vanished. The memories though, had not. Flashes of a room, a cell. Packed earth walls and a body. The body didn't appear to be a child, though, which was rather odd considering what he had been informed of. They were young, certainly, but if they had been a Beacon student then they may perhaps have been in their final year. More than old enough to defend themselves and far better than he had feared. The sense of failure, self hatred. But Oz was very used to the latter. He nodded, suppressing the sudden urge to cry. The memories didn't show what connection Maroz had to them, but he knew. Oh, he knew. Only one thing could cause that kind of guilt.

But that was impossible, surely? If they had been an incarnation's child then that would explain the state they had been found in, but he had no children of his own. He couldn't have, he'd know if he had a child somewhere... he'd only ever even had one partner, and Qrow would have told him.

So... not a child, or at least not a child of his. But someone in need of rescuing anyway. He blinked, coming back to himself, the look on his face already more than enough to make Qrow start swearing.

"Where. Can you indicate it on a map, Qrow? It's important, there's a life at risk here." His voice shook slightly to his own ears, though he knew that Qrow was the only person on Remnant likely to realise just how horrified he really was. That was good, because the knowledge of that might just push them both to greater feats. He would have to go with Qrow, the quickest way being to fly, though he was rather out of practice with his own avian form. The form didn't carry over, from life to life, though the ability itself was never truly lost. Each life, he was a different bird, each new soul giving them a different shape even though it was fundamentally the same magic. He shuddered slightly, remembering that one rather disastrous lifetime where he, or rather that version, had been a penguin. It had been utterly useless, of course. Much like that incarnation, actually. At least that bought the briefest ghost of a smile to his lips, even though something in him cried out a denial that any incarnation had ever been truly useless. Ah well, different views.

"It's empty, Oz. There's nobody there." Qrow sounded defensive, after all he'd swept the area several times. Except for the Grimm, there had been absolutely no signs of life.

"Not on the surface. They're under it." Oz's voice was flat, his eyes very hard. "As such, I'll need you to do what you can to distract the Grimm while I mount a rescue mission. I rather fear we won't have time to muster a fresh team, is there anyone still nearby the area, to your knowledge?"

"Team RUGE, maybe? They haven't reported back yet, at least." Oz nodded, then blurred into his own bird form, winking at Qrow. Qrow sighed at the larger form, blurring into his own and following Oz out through the still open window. An Owl during the day, though... Oz was going to have to be careful, though most wouldn't understand the significance.

The team, when they found them, looked haggard and exhausted, but none of them appeared to be wounded. Under the circumstances that would have to do. They glanced at each other, not needing words to communicate and flew on to somewhere private to transform back. They'd need to find an alternate return journey, of course, but that was always on the cards.

"Professor Ozpin? What are you doing here? Oh... hey, Qrow..." Umber seemed rather less enthused to see Qrow than he had been Ozpin, but Qrow just flashed him a wry grin. They weren't exactly friends, but there was a healthy competition between them. Umber wanted to be the best Huntsman in Remnant, of course, a lot of people did. He might just get slightly closer than most, not that he was on Oz's level. But then nobody was or ever really could be, due to the whole... well... Oz thing.

"We have reason to believe a life is at risk." Ozpin stated, voice level. "As such, there needs to be someone around to distract the Grimm while I and Qrow mount a rescue mission. As you are all of you fine Huntsmen, are you up to taking the risk? I will not order you to do this, of course, but I could truly use the help." He spread his hands as team RUGE glanced at each other.

"We'll do it, Professor." Umber said, after a moment. He wasn't the leader of their team on paper, but he'd always seemed to act as the spokesman for them. Unfortunately it had been fractionally before Ozpin became headmaster that the team had entered Beacon for the first time. He might have made a very fine leader in fact, as well as in actions, though there was no way to know, now.

Ozpin sighed, relieved even as he felt rather guilty. This team was old, after all. A few years older than Qrow, the fact they'd stayed together this long had all but guaranteed them a place in the history books. Hopefully that wasn't about to come to a bad end. But then, they all swore to rescue the innocent, and whoever this was was certainly not deserving of being trapped where they were. They needed rescuing, they needed out. Hopefully once they were, the Grimm would thin out and two problems would be solved at once.

All six of them drew their weapons as they drew closer, splitting up into two parts. Team RUGE went to attack the Grimm, Oz and Qrow attempted to work their way towards the center. They did encounter several Grimm along the way, but they were easily enough dealt with. There didn't seem to be many truly dangerous ones around, it was mere numbers that had so worried everybody. After all, it didn't matter how dangerous one was when they appeared to hunt in packs as massive as this. Ozpin closed his eyes, concentrating as Qrow covered him with Harbinger. On the other side of the fight, the team froze briefly, staring at him. That almost, but only almost, cost them dearly.

Dodging a swipe by the skin of their teeth, Rory roared back at them, making quick work of it with his axe. That had been far too close, though... he couldn't believe the sight of Beacon's Headmaster doing... whatever it was he was doing, had distracted him from a fight. Maybe people were right, maybe they really were getting too old for this.

Oz's feet glowed as he sank down into the packed earth, trusting that the pocket he could sense would be big enough for him to breathe in there. If he had to, he could always expend more magic, whoever this was was fast running out of time. He took a deep breath as he sank, hoping it would be a quick enough rescue. There were too many very bad memories centered around being buried alive, after all. There were about a great many things, though. This was far more important than a vague, Ozma caused phobia.

He emerged in a small room, if it could be called that. It should have been pitch black, but the slight glowing his skin emitted was enough to illuminate the packed earth walls and the scared child cowering in the corner. They couldn't be more than ten, but they seemed to react positively to his presence, edging towards him, a desperate hope in their eyes.

Oh dear, the child had hair just as silver as his own, their eyes almost but not qute Qrow's shade of maroon. Had someone seen this child, with their admittedly rather startling coloring, and made rather the wrong guess regarding their paternity? He knew, there had never been a child. But maybe, if whoever this was had lost as much as he rather feared that they had, there could be now?

After all, the last time this had happened, it had been Salem. there were far too many similarities to do anything but assume such was the case again and, if it was, then this child would be on her radar now. There was nowhere they'd ever truly be safe, except, maybe at Beacon or on Patch. Somewhere they could be watched over by those that could protect them until they could protect themselves.

Ozpin waited, patiently. He stowed his cane and spread his hands, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. Salem though it had to be, this didn't appear to be a trap, or not at first glance. He could sense nothing, though. If Salem had trapped this place with some sort of magic, he would have felt it by now, but beyond the small room with its single occupant, the place seemed deserted. Something must have shown on his face because the child let out a cry, flinging themselves at him. He couldn't quite understand why, he'd never met them before, but perhaps they could sense that he meant no harm? That or, more likely, they had mistaken him for someone that they had known. He shook his head slightly, it was highly unlikely that any family they had had would have survived the kidnapping.

He held the child gently, murmuring sheer nonsense onto their hair in an attempt at comfort. It seemed to be working, for all that he had not had children in several lifetimes, it appeared some knacks stayed. He wrapped them both in his shield and ascended, trying his best to conceal the nature of their exit from the child in his arms. It didn't entirely work, but soon enough they were back above ground. The Grimm were thinning but not yet gone, however without the child calling to them, he knew they would be before too long.

He glanced down at them, seeing them in daylight for the first time. He was right, their eyes weren't quite Qrow's maroon, though their hair was very nearly a match to his own, there was maybe a shade or two difference between them. The child went still, staring up at him, looking terrified again and he let himself sigh.

Qrow came over, staring at the child in Ozpin's arms in something approaching awe for a few seconds before a sick sort of horror crept into his eyes. So, despite his best efforts, Qrow had already worked out just what this child's presence had to mean, then. It wasn't the first time Salem had gotten something drastically wrong after all, but he did so wish that it wouldn't come with so many ruined lives as often as it did.

"I'm Professor Ozpin, child." Oz stated, softly. The child blinked, obviously recognising the name. Vale, then? Though he had to admit he was rather more famous in this lifetime than he had initially planned, so... maybe not.

"You... you saved me. Mama, do you know where my mama is?" They sounded terrified and rightly so, surrounded as they were by Huntsmen and dying Grimm. And Qrow, of course, Harbinger still out and ready in case any more tried to attack them.

"I am rather afraid that I do not," Oz answered, keeping his voice as soft as possible. There'd been a slight Mistrali accent to the child's words, so at least that was one mystery solved. One of many, though. Their clothing hung off their dusky skin as though it had been made for a larger individual. Play clothes, maybe? He hoped so, at least, though the child was very light in his arms. He swallowed as certain other possibilities reared their head. The Grimm menace had been a problem for almost a month and a half, how had they survived this long, out on their own? They had to have been being fed but... he dismissed the thought, it didn't matter right now. They were safe, they'd be fed soon. Their family would be found, though he dreaded to think what state they may be in. He didn't even know the child's name yet!

"Hey, kid. I'm Qrow, who might you be?" Qrow's voice was welcome, as was the comfort he too seemed to exude towards the child. To the maybe orphan, though that was still rather up in the air. But then, Qrow had nieces, was used enough to comforting them, though they must be younger than this mite, surely? But no, it had been a full eight years since Summer had disappeared. Had vanished, had died? Whatever had happened to her. After all, it was something neither of them would ever forget.

"I'm Brooke. Please, please, will you help find my mama?" Qrow and Oz exchanged glances, knowing the best bet was probably Atlas' computers, since they'd digitised the records for all four kingdoms in pursuit of streamlining things. Well, they were probably out to control people, but then in this case it might prove very useful. Besides, Atlas had the best hospitals and the girl definitely needed to be checked over.

"We will need to take you somewhere safe, to start with, young Brooke. Will you permit us to? It may be rather scary, but I truly believe it is the best chance at finding your mother." Ozpin felt a twinge of regret, though, Atlas was rather intimidating the first time it was viewed by non-natives, after all. Or at least he'd always been told such, though he rather suspected it was always going to be rather different in his case.

The girl just nodded, seemingly having talked enough. She didn’t seem to want to be put down just yet, though, which Ozpin found rather odd. They were strangers after all, why would his appearance comfort her this much? Bu then, anything that did was a good sign under the circumstances. He motioned to Qrow with his head and Qrow took Oz’s scroll, grinning wryly and sending off a quick message to Glynda. She wasn’t going to be at all happy with either one of them, but then they had just managed to save a life, she couldn’t be too annoyed, right? Then again, this was Glynda, of course she could.

Sending off a second message ordering a bullhead to Atlas, they settled down. The fight was winding up, there didn't seem to be any more Grimm, at least. Everybody was exhausted, though that didn't really stop team RUGE from gaping at the child in Ozpin's arms. Rory's eyes flickered from the girl to Qrow, to Oz and back, a clear question in his eyes, though the quick shaking of Oz's head seemed to deter any questions. Brothers, though, how this must look... Qrow and himself swooping [literally] in to rescue this child that looked so very much like what a child of theirs might have looked like. If they had ever dared risk it, that was. Laughable, now, they had been so careful and yet an innocent had still got roped into this. Damn Salem, truly. Maybe the girl's mother was still alive, though. That would be something positive out of this mess, at least?

After a quick discussion with the Huntsman team, a second bullhead was requested to take them back to Vale proper. Though usually they might have made the trip, after the amount of fighting they had done Ozpin deemed it rather unwise. Qrow approved a rather hefty bonus for them, again using his scroll and with his blessings. They were definitely one of the better teams, he would be rather sad to see the day they retired. If he ever did, of course, which considering recent events... well. Best not to think about that.

When the bullhead came, Brooke let herself be carried into it without complaint, sighing as she settled into the relative comfort of the chair Ozpin placed her in.

"Professor? Do you think you'll really find my mama?" She asked, sounding serious and more adult than he had been expecting. Oz sighed.

"We'll do our best, Brooke. I'm afraid it might not be the answer you are hoping for, however."

She bit her lip but nodded. "I know, People die, I just... mama."

"I know, I've lost enough people to know it's hard. We don't know what we'll find though and I would urge you not to give up hope."

"Okay. Professor? What happens to me, if..." she'd started to cry slightly and Ozpin hovered, looking vaguely awkward. It had been awhile since he'd had a child this young in his charge, after all.

"We will do our best. I need to make a few calls, but I'll be right here if you need me, as will Qrow." Qrow nodded, moving closer to the girl. Wonder of wonders, he hadn't taken a single pull from his flask since they'd gone on this mission. It was probably temporary, but Oz couldn't help but be impressed nonetheless.

The trip to Atlas was quick, thankfully. With Qrow distracting her, she didn’t even seem to notice the looming flying city drawing ever closer to their ship, though the courtesy notice he’d sent to James appeared not to have been read yet. Maybe this way he’d stay out of things, though, since he was very aware that he and Qrow did not exactly get on very well. The last thing anyone needed was a fight in front of what had to be a very traumatised child. He wasn’t entirely certain what, if anything, Qrow had managed to get out of her in regards to her past, but he was certain that, whatever it was, he would tell him in due time if it was important. Thankfully, Salem rarely repeated plots, so this was unlikely to happen again, or not for several more millennia. He just hoped that the war they were waging between them wouldn’t last that long. It couldn’t, surely there had to be some way of ending it?

They pulled up in front of one of the best hospitals in Atlas. Being Atlas, it was military but under the circumstances they would take what they would get. He just hoped that they wouldn't prove too overwhelming to young Brooke, but then they were professionals. He'd been here before, once, they were good at their jobs. He scowled at the speed in which they seemed to rush to greet him specifically, ignoring Qrow entirely. They seemed to be ignoring Brooke, too, so he coughed rather pointedly. Gesturing towards the young girl, he explained why they were there. Oh good, that seemed to have gotten through to them. He was glad something did, at least.

Qrow scowled next to him, the similarity of their expressions seeming to drive those that greeted them... well, Ozpin really, to move faster. There was a ping from Oz's scroll somewhere in the mix though, oh damn had someone actually told Jimmy where they were?

Brooke was quickly settled into a small room, the doctor summoned to examine her. He at least had the sense to allow one of them to stay with her, the last thing anyone needed was to make her feel abandoned on her own in Atlas of all places. They even got her something to eat, although she had seemed to actually enjoy the ration bars Qrow had given her for the journey. Just what must she have been eating to willingly stomach those?

The doctor hummed and ran her DNA at the same time. The face he turned to Qrow’s own was grave and he felt something sink. So, she really was an orphan then. Of everything they had been expecting, this somehow hit the worse. He’d been where she was once. Though he’d had a twin, he’d also ended up in the Branwen bandit camp so… yeah, that was far less than an ideal outcome, either.

Maybe she had extended family? It was up to him to tell her, but he could tell by the look on her face that she’d already figured it out.

“I’m sorry, kid… I’m so, so damn sorry.” There was a choking note in his voice, and Brooke’s face fell. At least she was letting herself cry. He held his arms out but she didn’t seem to want a hug. He couldn’t blame her, really.

Outside the door, he could see Oz’s shoulders slump. So he knew, now, too. It was always so hard watching something like this, but in this case it was so very much worse than normal. In this case, what had happened to this child was at least partially his fault. The coloring could not be coincidence, not that close to a mixture between Oz and himself. He knew Oz knew it too. But maybe there might still be some way of at least attempting to protect this girl? The barest germ of an idea was slowly making its way through his head. They'd see, though. It might well not be possible in the end.

Of course, Jimmy took that moment to show up with half the Ace Operatives. Of course he did since technically they were in his territory. He'd no idea who had tipped Jimmy off as to which hospital they were in but, ah well. What was done was already done and couldn't be taken back now.

"My apologies, James, but I did inform you that I would be in Atlas briefly alongside Qrow. Your computer records were needed in order to ascertain whether the child we rescued had living family. She mentioned a mother, however, well..." Oz trailed off, meaningfully. James, to his credit, looked briefly chagrined. He started talking about orphanages but Oz raised a hand to stop the flow of words.

“No James. Salem took her as far as I can determine because someone believed that she was ours. Mine and Qrow’s. I fear no orphanage would be safe for her under circumstances such as this. I think I’m going to need adoption papers, but that is not fully my decision. Either way, we cannot leave her defenseless, not after this.”

“You’re certain it was her, then? James’ voice wass hushed, though there was nobody near enough to overhear their conversation. That was one of the better things about the more military organisations on Atlas, they rarely dared to interfere with those they felt outranked them. And as for Ironwood and Ozpin? Well, they were just about as safe as they could be.

“I am. Those papers?” Oz’s voice was terse, the stress of the last few hours finally making itself known and James blinked.

“Of course, I’ll get them to you as soon as possible.”

Oz nodded and moved into the doorway of the room that still held Brooke and Qrow. His face was as serene as always, but his eyes were very much not. Qrow looked up as he entered, looking just as worried as Oz felt. But it didn't matter what they wanted, it was up to Brooke now.

"We did inform you that what would happen should the worst occur was up to you, Brooke." Ozpin said, gently. She blinked up at him innocently, looking vaguely confused.

"Would you take me? You're safe." The request was brief but heartfelt and Oz and Qrow exchanged startled looks.

"Well, yes, if you would truly wish us to. However the person who took you has not been eliminated, you may still be in danger whatever happens."

"That's okay. You're Huntsmen! They'll never get past you!" Oh, the simple faith of a child.

"Well, Oz? Guess we gotta live up to that now." Qrow's smile was soft, as were his eyes and Oz couldn't help brush a kiss over his lips. Brooke snorted in the background, though they both knew her mother's death would hit her later. At least, maybe this way she could have some sort of a childhood.

"What would I ever do without you?" Oz murmured, smiling too. Well, then that was that. They hadn't gone looking for a family out of this mess but if it saved a little girl from Salem's machinations, then that was always the best outcome. Besides, she really did look rather like them.

Oh no, Tai would be insufferable over this news. Neither one of them could really bring themselves to care, though. Yang and Ruby would adore their new cousin so that was a positive at least.

Of course this meant that Salem had technically been correct, if only after the fact. Maybe the sheer amusement might even stay her hand long enough to let Brooke grow up?

Larger miracles had happened.

In the years that followed, both Qrow and Oz couldn't help but think back to this day. They always marvelled at how quickly their family had formed out of what had originally promised to be great tragedy. They never forgot how lucky they were to still be alive, to have each other. What would any of the three truly do, without each other, after all?