#zelenia mesánychta

[fire-the-headcanons]

Follow the Beacon Qrow—Thundersnow

[Link to Masterpost]

[Apparently I didn’t post the last few chapters on Tumblr? Use the masterpost to make sure you don’t miss anything]

[tw for sexual assault mention]

They all knew—everyone knew he was weak, that he wouldn't fight back—the crowd pressed in and he recoiled, curling away—one of them grabbed his arm and he choked back a scream—

"Qrow, Qrow, it's me, it's okay, it's me," Summer's voice cracked as the hand tightened and he dared to look out through his arms. Tears trickled across her cheeks as she stared down at him, wide-eyed.

Summer… Summer wouldn't hurt him.

"H-help."

"Okay. Okay, let's get out of here." She eased him back to his feet and the crowd let them through easily.

Gods, he wanted to throw up.

The main doors were at the other end of the hall, and she guided him into the shadow of the arch leading out to the balcony. "Are you okay?" she rasped, sitting next to him on the stone bench.

He really didn't want to open his mouth.

She wiped at her face, smearing the dark makeup on her cheek and hand. "I don't—I don't know how he could do that!"

His stomach rebelled and he pressed his hands against his mouth, fighting for control.

"What's—how do I help?"

Qrow leaned on her shoulder, the way she leaned on his when they both had nightmares, and she let go of his arm to pull him into a hug. When she didn't pull away, he held her back and waited for his stomach to stop churning and lungs to start working again.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?"

What good would that do? He shook his head.

"…Qrow… where you were… before… did someone ever…?"

He shook his head before she could finish. "N-not me. Or Raven."

"…But… others."

"I d-don't want to think about it."

Summer nodded and released him, standing before offering her hand with a bright, warm smile. "Dance with me."

"H-huh?"

"Distraction!" she declared, taking his hands and tugging him back to his feet. Her fingers tangled with his as her other hand reached for his bad shoulder—he flinched, expecting pain, but the touch was too light. She snatched her arm back anyway and her left hand tightened on his reassuringly. "Oh no, I'm so sorry—did I—"

"N-no—I just—you startled me."

She nodded, relieved, and placed her hand on his hip instead, mirroring him. Not exactly proper form, but she... it mattered to her. "Okay. Focus on your footwork. Left goes first."

"But I—"

"Just follow my lead," she said, stepping back and drawing him with her like being pulled by a current. Being right-handed, though, he stepped forward with his right foot and they immediately stumbled a half step before correcting with the ease of trained warriors. "Left right left, right left right, left right left, right left right, hey, you're not bad at this."

"Y-you say that like you're surprised," he mumbled through half a smile. She was right, the monotonous movement was helping. So was the fact that she wasn't pinning him against her and dragging him around the room with Semblance-enhanced strength.

Focus.

"No! I meant—I didn't expect you to know how to dance. Is that something a lot of farmhands do?"

"…Had to keep ourselves entertained somehow." Farmhands did, in fact, dance. Bandits usually did not. "But I learned from the man who trained us. He said it would improve our footwork while fighting."

Summer laughed. "My mom did too! It must be an Anima thing." She was almost as good as Bones, but of course she didn't have several stolen lifetimes of experience. And far better than Raven—his sister didn't have a strength Semblance but she tended to drag people around too.

She stepped back, bowing with a little flourish that he recognized, and responded in kind. When they pulled back together the steps were far more intricate, including the half-beats as well. They were clearly both rusty at the more complicated Mistrali dance but it was easy to adjust when one of them tripped up.

Flurries started to fall, but the balcony wasn't too icy yet.

"I'm pretty sure that's not traditional," Tai teased as they creatively returned to the correct rhythm, and they quickly slowed to a stop. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…" he swallowed. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

Tai blinked, his eyebrows knitting together. "…Why?"

"D-dan's your friend."

Both of them started at him, mouths hanging open. What—why weren't they mad until he—

"Not any-fucking-MORE," Summer screamed at a whisper.

"My friends don't treat anyone that way. Especially not my other friends."

"But I—"

"Repeat after me," she demanded, resting her fists against her hips in an eerily Professor Mesánychta-y way. "I. Deserve. To be. Treated. Better."

He swallowed another wave of nausea. "It doesn—"

"I. Deserve. To be. Treated. Better."

Raven poked her head around the column behind them, wide-eyed and knife half drawn. Summer and Tai followed his gaze, and she didn't quite manage to get it hidden in time.

"You're still carrying—" Summer buried her face in one hand. "Is that why you wanted long sleeves?"

"Yes," she said immediately, clearly relieved to have an excuse that had nothing to do with keeping her wrists covered, but Summer sighed deeply and she faltered. "…No?"

"Raven, I just got three months of detention for punching that shi—"

"If you stab somebody it'll be a lot worse!"

She leaned back defensively. "They have auras."

Summer gave another long-suffering sigh and beckoned her over. "Come on, group hug."

"I'm okay."

"That's an order from your team leader."

Raven had never disobeyed a direct order, and it was probably that habit that convinced her to join in the hug.

The world lit up white, followed by a muffled thump, and the four of them stared upwards at the snow.

"Is that lightning? In winter?" Raven asked as the sky flashed again.

"Thundersnow," Tai said, brushing snow from his bangs. "Only happens in Vale, something to do with warm air from the Emerald Forest. Isn't it pretty?"

Other students—especially ones from other Kingdoms—began to join them out on the balcony, all staring out at the storm together.

Qrow stared down at his feet. My friends don't treat anyone that way.

What would they do when they found out he was a murderer?

Next Chapter: Summer—Special Request

[fire-the-headcanons]

Follow the Beacon Taiyang—A Glass of Punch

[Link to Masterpost]

[Apparently I didn’t post the last few chapters on Tumblr? Use the masterpost to make sure you don’t miss anything]

[tw for sexual assault]

The dance was… kind of boring. Though, after the Halloween party, boring wasn't so bad.

Tai surveyed the ballroom. Dan had texted him that he'd see him there—twice—and it was a little surprising he hadn't tried to talk to him yet. Maybe he'd changed his mind?

...Or maybe he found someone else . There he was, over in the corner, slow dancing with another guy, and it was like a stone weight lifted off his shoulders. He hadn't expected to feel so… relieved. Guess I should just break up with him properly and be done with it.

Dan noticed him staring and smiled, tightening his arm around the small of his partner's back.

Prick. Tai smiled back with a small wave. ...Should he try to warn the guy…? Dan wasn't in the best place right now, and he didn't envy whoever—

He jumped back to his feet, something like an electric charge arcing through him and made a beeline toward the pair, pushing past other couples in a straight line across the dance floor. " What the hell are you doing?! "

Dan scoffed. " You broke up with me . You don't get a say in who I dance with."

"I do when you've treated him like shit all year!" Tai snapped, reaching for Dan's arm, but the asshole stepped back and dragged Qrow along with him. Qrow stumbled, nearly falling, and Dan wrenched him upright again.

"Let him go," Tai said, hands curling into fists. He could almost feel fire curling around them.

"He wants to be with me," Dan purred, dropping Qrow's hand to grab the back of his neck and kiss him full on the mouth.

Tai seized him by the necktie, dragging him off, and as soon as his nose came into view Tai's right fist connected with it. He screamed and clutched his face—Tai yanked him closer, shaking him. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

He wailed pathetically, still clutching his nose.

"XIAO LONG! DROP HIM!" Tai did, without thinking, and Dan staggered back into a table before sprawling onto the floor. Professor Mesánychta was angrier than he'd ever seen her. "You've always been a troublemaker, Xiao Long, but I thought you were better than this. Your father—"

"He forced Qrow to kiss him!"

The ballroom fell deathly silent—when had the music stopped?—as the professor, and everyone else, froze.

"Is this true?" she asked quietly. Dangerously.

"That's crazy!" Dan protested. "I don't know what he's—"

"I saw him!" a third year shouted, stepping out of the crowd and pointing down at Dan. "Freaking creep! "

Tiffany stood beside her, glaring with something resembling hate. "So did I." The crowd parted respectfully to let Summer and Qrow through. He was too quiet and still but at least he was letting Summer help.

"Both of you come with me to the headmaster's office," Mesánychta ordered, waiting for Dan to climb to his feet before taking off toward the exit.

***

"What happened?" Professor Ozpin asked calmly.

The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving him shaky and exhausted. Tai took a couple of steadying breaths and began. "Dan's been harassing Qrow all year. Calling him names, insulting him, calling him a girl and being really fu—really creepy about it. Complaining about him constantly, behind his back and to his face. ...Telling him he doesn't belong here…" he muttered. "When he wouldn't stop I told him we needed time off—we, uh, we were dating—but then tonight…" he glared at the floor. "We've spent an entire week watching Qrow like a hawk and the first time I take my eyes off him for a second my ex-boyfriend assaults him."

"Do you think Mister Effeullier's behavior has contributed to his illness?"

Tai's fingers dug into his arms, tears burning in his eyes. He'd been so blind, let it go for so long—he let this happen. "Well it can't have freaking helped!"

Ozpin nodded solemly. "I understand your concern, and your compassion is admirable. However the fact remains that you attacked your classmate."

"What was I supposed to do?!"

"Assist Mister Taupe. Remove him from the situation, and find a teacher. A Huntsman's first priority should be to de-escalate."

"But—Huntsmen fight people all the time."

"It is a Huntsman's duty to protect people. Not to deal out justice. If you had thrown the second punch we would not be having this conversation."

"I…" Dan fucking deserved it. But Tai had to admit it would have been just as easy to pull Qrow away without throwing a punch. "Okay. I understand."

"Then I think a week's suspension will suffice."

His heart sank. "N—no—please—"

"You're getting off easy, Xiao Long," Professor Mesánychta growled.

"No, it's not that—they're supposed to leave the castle tomorrow! Summer can't watch them on her own! What if—what if—"

Ozpin regarded him steadily. "Three months' detention."

Tai winced. No more weekend trips to Vale for a while, then. "Deal."

"Very well... I need to speak to Mister Effeullier," he said, getting up from the couch. "You have good instincts, Mister Xiao Long. I trust you will learn from this."

"Thank you, sir." He'd learn, all right. He should never have let it go so far. "...What's going to happen to Dan?"

Ozpin's expression darkened. "The behavior you've described could have cost Mister Taupe his life. And considering sexual assault as well… I do not have sole power over expulsion, but I can guarantee he will not remain at this Academy."

Bittersweet anger twisted in his stomach. "If—if you do have to transfer him don't send him to Atlas."

"Oh?"

"Our friend Zaff from Signal—he went there, to avoid him. He told us over the break."

Ozpin nodded. "Thank you for the insight. Now, go look after your team."

Next Chapter: Qrow—Thundersnow

[fire-the-headcanons]

Taiyang—A Glass of Punch

Up on AO3!

[fire-the-headcanons]

Follow the Beacon Summer—Help

[Link to Masterpost]

[This one’s less disturbing and ends on a lighter note. still, read with care.]

Qrow didn't say another word, all the way back up to the school grounds. Fingers aching, Summer clutched his arm the whole way, terrified of letting go. This couldn't be happening. She had to be wrong, or dreaming, or, or—this couldn't be happening.

Thank you for being so nice to me.

He'd just said goodbye to her face .

She had no idea what to do. She—they—

A teacher. They needed help. But he was drunk! What if she got him kicked out of school? Arrested?! Or Raven—she had to be the one stealing everything they'd been drinking. What if she got them deported?! They couldn't go home. No matter what.

First things first, she had to get him sober. "...H-have you eaten anything?" she stammered, slowing her pace and dragging him to a stop with her.

He didn't meet her eye, or give any indication he'd heard, just stared blankly at the sidewalk. Summer swallowed, opening her mouth to ask again when he finally answered. "I'm gonna go back to bed."

"Q—Qrow, I think you should see a doctor."

"My aura's full," he mumbled, starting to walk again. "M' just tired."

Okay. Okay. Breathe. He couldn't—nothing bad could happen if he was asleep. And it would give him a little time to sober up while she figured out what to do. Nothing bad was going to happen. She wouldn't let it.

"Oh, hey— ...you all right?" Tai leaned back in his chair, face appearing from behind the open door.

"M'fine," Qrow slurred, stumbling as he pushed Summer's hand from his arm. "S'gonna be fine." He shuffled to his bed and quietly lay down facing the wall.

Tai stared at his back, whispering, "...At least he got up at some point. What's gotten into him?"

"Where's Raven?" Summer hissed.

"Professor Mesánychta's."

Right, the Advanced Grimm Studies group had been planning another weekend trip—she wouldn't be back until Sunday. ...As much as she hated to admit it, that was probably a good thing.

Summer held a finger to her lips as she snatched the pen from Tai's hand. Seizing his notebook as well, she turned to the next page and wrote Do NOT let him leave.

"What?" Tai mouthed, concern battling with confusion in his face.

She scribbled several heavy, dark underlines beneath the NOT , and he nodded, concern gaining the upper hand. Summer slipped back out of the room and silently closed the door behind her as she dug through her pocket.

Somehow the flask had chipped the edge of her scroll. Of course something stupid had to happen in the middle of all the awful. Her hand tightened on the leather wrap, the alcohol sloshing as it shook.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking. "It—it's okay if you hate me. I can't lose anyone else."

Summer slid the flask under her corset—the last thing she needed was to be caught on her way to turn it in—and stepped quietly away from the door. Carmine , she decided as she hurried down the stairs. Carmine might be a stickler for the rules but it was because she wanted to keep everyone safe. Plus, Qrow was probably closer to her than any of their other teachers.

She darted out into the cold, weaving through the other buildings toward the forge. A few students passed her, on their way back from the cafeteria, but Raven and Tai weren't among them.

I'll make her promise not to get him in trouble. Her boots crunched on the snowmelt, refrozen by the evening chill. He's not hurting anyone else, just himself. And he's never been in trouble for anything before. They can't throw him out…

The handle of the forge wouldn't budge.

"Oh, COME ON!" She yanked at it. "You NEVER go home on time on Friday! Why today?! Why RIGHT NOW?!" The only other teacher who ever worked this late was Professor Mesánychta, and even if she was here she probably wasn't the right person to go to.

Maybe… maybe Mom. Or Uncle Huang, she thought desperately, running her hands through her hair. I don't know what to do. I don't know—

With her head back, she caught sight of the CCT tower standing proud over campus. All of the lights were out but Ozpin's office up at the top, making it look like a giant version of the lighthouse at Signal.

Ozpin. Mom trusts him. ...Dad trusted him.

The tower would be locked too, of course, but Summer hadn't spent four years sneaking around Signal to just turn that part of her brain off now. She'd worked out a way up by the third week.

"Sorry, Mom," she muttered, drawing Gungnir as she raced toward the tower of the Grimm Studies building.

The arrow bit into the stone at the top, eighty feet off the ground, and Summer shot up after.

Okay, just don't fall. She aimed at the history tower, just over the ledge at its top, and gained another ninety feet. It was freezing, and windier than she'd expected. She took a knee to aim at the tallest of the defense towers, praying for a break in the wind.

The world finally calmed and she pulled the trigger. Pleading for it to hold her weight, she slotted in a cartridge of gravity rounds in case it didn't—but she made it safely across.

This ledge was a lot narrower than it looked from the ground, and now she was nauseatingly high. She sat carefully, pressing her back against the wall, and aimed at the stone lip between Ozpin's window and the roof.

Just when she thought the wind would never cease, she got her opening. The arrow struck home and she slid from the ledge into open air. She was halfway to the tower when it occurred to her that windows this high off the ground might not actually open, but at least she'd be able to get Ozpin's attention, right?

She fired a gravity round downward, carefully aiming it into a flower bed, and used the recoil to clear the balcony. Yeah, she'd definitely gotten Ozpin's attention, he was staring through the window at her as she yanked the arrow back out of the stone and returned it to its place in her rifle.

He gestured for her to follow, leading a quarter way around the tower before opening a door—there was a door!

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

"I…" the words stuck in her throat as the flask pinched her side. "… Promise he won't get in trouble!"

"I promise," Ozpin said instantly. "What is wrong?"

"He's not hurting anyone, and—wait, r-really?" she took a deep breath, and pulled out the flask. "It's, it's Qrow. He won't talk to anybody, he—he has really bad nightmares, and, and he's drinking more and more—he's missing classes because he's making himself sick—"

Ozpin's face softened. "It's all right, Miss Rose, we'll help—"

"I found him on the cliffs today!" Summer blurted, eyes stinging. "He— he was drinking and crying and I didn't know what to do, I just dragged him back to our room, please, I don't know what to do!" The tears stung, blinding her, falling too fast to wipe away. "I never know what to do. Why did you even make me team leader?"

"It's all right," Ozpin said, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. "You knew exactly what to do, Miss Rose—you asked for help. And not even the finest security in Vale could stop you."

She choked out something between a laugh and a sob. "S-sorry."

"There's no need. I'll speak with him tomorrow, and have campus security keep an eye on your building in the meantime."

Without thinking, she threw her arms around his middle and squeezed. "Thank you."

"It is my duty and my pleasure," he said, patting her back. "...Let's take the elevator downstairs, shall we?"

Next Week: Ozpin—Truth

[fire-the-headcanons]

"I'm fine, quit fussing," Raven snapped.

"You're not fine, let me dress it!"

"She's not gonna budge," Qrow said without looking up from his notebook. "Trust me."

Tai laughed. "Neither is Summer. The unstoppable force has met the immovable object.“ The two shared a knowing grin and the girls carried on with their fight, oblivious to the commentary. 

"But it could get infected!"

"Are you going to do this every time someone's aura breaks?"

"Yes!" Summer declared, grabbing Raven’s wrist and running an alcohol wipe down the graze on her bicep. Raven hissed, trying to push the smaller girl away, but Summer clung on.

“How’d you get this anyway?" she asked, wrapping herself around Raven’s arm to avoid getting shaken loose.

"When I stabbed the Ursa in the throat, I think," Raven spat, still trying to shove her off. "One of its teeth. Summer, it'll be gone by morning!"

"Then you won't have to wear the bandage very long and you've got nothing to complain about," she said cheerfully, tying it off and finally releasing her.

Follow the Beacon Taiyang—Affronted

[Link to masterpost]

[TW for underage drinking]

"I'm fine, quit fussing," Raven snapped.

"You're not fine, let me dress it!"

"She's not gonna budge," Qrow said without looking up from his notebook. "Trust me."

Tai laughed. "Neither is Summer. The unstoppable force has met the immovable object.“ The two shared a knowing grin and the girls carried on with their fight, oblivious to the commentary.

"But it could get infected!"

"Are you going to do this every time someone's aura breaks?"

"Yes!" Summer declared, grabbing Raven’s wrist and running an alcohol wipe down the graze on her bicep. Raven hissed, trying to push the smaller girl away, but Summer clung on.

“How’d you get this anyway?" she asked, wrapping herself around Raven’s arm to avoid getting shaken loose.

"When I stabbed the Ursa in the throat, I think," Raven spat, still trying to shove her off. "One of its teeth. Summer, it'll be gone by morning!"

"Then you won't have to wear the bandage very long and you've got nothing to complain about," she said cheerfully, tying it off and finally releasing her.

Tai nudged his desk drawer open with his foot, checking the bag of half-melted ice. They were probably as cold as they were going to get. "Well, if you two are done fighting, I think it's time to celebrate."

"What are you thinking? Tea and cookies?"

"I have a little surprise," he said, tapping the side of his nose, "but first I'll need oaths of secrecy from all of you."

Summer traced her hand over her heart in an X shape. "Promise. Come on, what is it?"

"Well?" he demanded, glaring at Qrow and Raven. They glanced at each other, sharing a moment of bewilderment, before copying Summer's gesture.

Tai dragged the dripping cans from his drawer and held them aloft by an empty plastic ring. Four left, after his date yesterday, "Bought this off a senior so we could celebrate."

"…Is that beer?" Qrow asked, low enough the neighbors wouldn't hear a thing.

"Of course not," he replied with a wink. "That would be illegal."

"You're gonna get us suspended," Summer hissed, accepting one.

"I thought a little… liquid bread… and video games would be a nice way to celebrate getting the highest score Professor Mesánychta's ever seen from freshmen!"

"To Qrow and Raven!" Summer shouted, raising her own can as Tai passed them the other two.

"Thanks," he grinned. "Lack of booze is the worst thing about Vale." 

"Oh yeah, isn't the age lower in Mistral?" Tai asked, unsheathing the Guillotine enough to cut through the rings before tossing the bits in the trash.

"In Mistral, sure, it's eighteen. The rest of the continent…" Qrow's can opened with a pop and hiss. "What age limit?"

"Cool. Let's do a work-study program in Anima next year," Summer said, starting up the Gamestation. A shadow crossed his face, and he almost flinched, staring down at the can. 

"What's wrong?"

The shadow disappeared but his expression didn't brighten again. "I'd rather stay in Vale." He tipped the can back, practically draining half in one go.

...From what we know it makes sense they wouldn't want to go home, but… Tai took a drink as well to hide his unease. Really? The whole continent? She didn't say where in Anima...

Summer was still setting up the game, she hadn't seen. "Come on, I know you said Anima was boring, but it wouldn't be if we were out looking for Grimm!"

"Vale has Grimm and air conditioning," Raven muttered, nursing her own drink. 

Her too. Tai pulled out his scroll and pretended to check his messages, adding Want to avoid Anima to his notes. The twins had their own file now, next to the one on Ozpin, but somehow he felt less justified in keeping it. The professor was hiding things about their family from them but the twins were only hiding things about themselves.

He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. That they needed help.

"There we go!" Summer said, passing Qrow a controller. He accepted with minimal reluctance, setting his drink aside. A couple of weekends after the Pomodoro Party disaster and he was warming to the concept of video games—or at least Fatal Fray specifically.

"So... what was that thing with Professor Mesánychta?" Raven asked.

Summer sighed, barely audible over the game's music. "My dad died when we were nine. He was a Huntsman, y'know? Sometimes things happen. But /then/, we all packed one bag each and moved to Vale two days later. They won't tell us what happened to him or why we left Anima."

Raven frowned. "...What's that got to do with Ozpin?"

"Our parents and uncle Azraq have been doing missions for him," Tai said, keeping his eyes on the screen. Qrow had gotten good almost annoyingly fast. "And they were trying to hide it from us."

"But professor Mesánychta knows?" Qrow asked, wincing as Tai threw his character into a wall.

"And Carmine, and Mikado," she groused. "They made it clear they weren't talking."

Raven nodded. "Which means they have something to hide." 

Summer sighed, leaning back on the chair and finishing off her drink. "So, I guess we're talking to Ozpin."

"Come on, she's clearly pranking you," Qrow said, passing the controller as the last of his health bar drained. "She probably doesn't even care if people find out she did comic licensing."

"She said she'd bump our grades if it was a lie. ...Which is illegal, so…"

"Riiight, illegal," Qrow said, raising his beer in a mock toast. "And raise your grades to what, exactly? With the extra credit we earned today, we could blow off the final exam entirely and still scrape a pass."

...He was right. Tai rubbed his face, trying to swallow his frustration. What if she was just pranking them? She had plenty of reasons for a little payback of the same kind.

"Look, we're just going to talk to Ozpin first," Summer said, mashing the buttons a little harder than necessary and clearly thinking along the same lines. "Then when he laughs in our face we'll try something else."

Raven hummed, considering. "...Nobody's really sure how Ozpin got the Headmaster's job. They all probably paid off the Vale council and they're using Beacon as a front for something."

Oh gods. Tai dropped the controller, hands flying to his mouth and nose to keep from bursting into laughter. Summer snatched the nearest pillow—his—and screamed into it.

Next Chapter: Raven—The Students Have Become the Masters

Later Raven: Ha, I was right. Beacon *is* a front for something Tai: You mean saving the world? Summer: It was already for that!

[fire-the-headcanons]

[In which team STRQ goes to a Halloween party at Beacon, dressed as their teachers and TAs. Enjoy.]

Tai elbowed Summer, puffed up his chest, and strutted straight for them.

Sneaking up just wasn't Port's style.

"Good evening, students!" he blustered. "How are you enjoying the festivities?"

"Mister Xiao Long, is that you?" Pete asked, blinking. Behind him Professor Mesánychta folded her arms and surveyed the four of them with one fist pressed over her mouth.

Checkmate. Tai stood up even straighter, nearly going up on tiptoe, and put his hands on his hips. "Of course not! I am Peter Port, who else would I be? Talk some sense, young man."

"Magnificent!" Pete roared, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I am flattered indeed!"

"I see you two have corrupted your teammates quite efficiently," Mesánychta said, still failing to mask a smile. Tai beamed, returning a mock salute.

Follow the Beacon Taiyang—Splitting Scares

[Link to Masterpost]

[TW for gore, fake blood - Halloween decorations

A note on the "horror house": it's a haunted house, on Remnant, designed by child warriors, exercise all due caution]

The Grimm Studies building was unrecognizable.

Somehow most of the lights had been coaxed from their usual neutral white into an eerie blood-red, staining the usually warm wooden paneling a gnarled black. Lights that hadn't changed were aimed at tables, covered in pristine white cloths. Grimm colors filled the room from corner to corner—add in the large number of students wearing bone masks and black clothing instead of proper costumes and the effect was eerie.

The mounted model Grimm heads remained, but the plaques and labels had been covered in black paper or cloth, giving the illusion that actual monsters were frozen in the walls and glowering down at them. As he looked closer…

Eugh.  

Qrow elbowed him, keeping his voice low. "Those… that's fake, right?" 

"Yeah, they're like 300 lien a pop at the party store."

"Thanks. ...That's… gross."

"Yeah." The dismembered limbs and dripping blood in the models' mouths crossed a line he wasn't entirely comfortable with. "Yeah." He pretended not to notice as Qrow turned and whispered something to Raven.

"There's Professor Carmine," Summer cackled, rubbing her work-gloved hands together and eyeing the far end of the refreshment table. She wore a chef's hat and white coat... with her trademark leather apron tied on as always. "I'm going in!"

They skirted the edge of the crowd, following Summer as she darted around the the table to come up behind the professor. Tai and the twins waited back a pace as she took the last few steps.

"Carmine Eitri! Have you done your maintenance this week?! " Summer demanded at full volume, making the professor and several students jump.

"What? You—" Carmine froze, looking her up and down, taking in the paper welding goggles and hastily-stitched apron with a delighted smile breaking across her face.

"I don't think you'll be smiling if your weapon malfunctions in combat!" Summer shrieked, barely keeping a straight face. She eyed the professor and the third years she'd startled before. "I want to see those gears shining or you can take the ashes out for a month!"

A boy with a Grimm mask hanging around his neck swore softly as Carmine burst into laughter. "Why didn't we think of that?" He pointed at Qrow. "Look, that kid's Ozpin."

"Wait, aren't those the freshmen that cheated during initiation?"

The professor raised her right hand, still chuckling. "I'll do it next time, I promise. Look at you four! I always love to see some clever craftsmanship. Have the others seen yet?"

"No, we just came in."

"You'll have to tell me everything later," she said with a nod, and turned back to her conversation with the third years.

"That went well." Summer grabbed a cupcake. Chocolate frosting and marshmallow claws made it look like a Beowolf's paw. "See anybody else?"

"Nope," Qrow said, passing Raven a chocolate chip cookie as he scanned the crowd. As soon as the twins bit into the treats they stared down at them with identical frowns of disappointment.

Tai laughed. "Come on, they're not bad. Summer's are just really, really good."

"Huh?" she muttered, still staring into the crowd. "Oh!"

"Zelenia, there you are. I wanted to— oh." Ozpin stopped short, blinking in confusion at Raven and a distorted mirror image of himself. 

"Yes, headmaster?" Raven asked in a decent imitation of the professor. Qrow just grinned up at him, completely failing to keep a straight face.

He chuckled, taking a sip from his mug. "Very clever."

"Well, I certainly thought so," Qrow said in Ozpin's accent, sidling forward and mirroring him with an identical cup, though his was now full of fruit punch. "And I'm glad to see that your teamwork has improved considerably."

"That it has. ...I see your reputation at Signal was not unearned, Miss Rose, Mr. Xiao Long. Has Zelenia seen your handiwork?"

"Not yet," Summer replied. "We were looking for her too. Professor Carmine loved it though."

"She's probably doing a safety check in the house of horrors," he said, glancing at the hall that led toward Containment. Students were lined up to go inside, tucking parts of their costumes and the odd weapon into the bins provided. "Do make sure to show her when she gets back. I think she'll appreciate it."

Ozpin walked away, still chuckling, and Summer leaned in close to whisper in Tai's ear. "'House of horrors'? Is he ninety?"

"...Aren't you going to ask him?"

She huffed. "I chickened out, okay?"

"If it is a joke just lean into it. This is our only lead. I'll do it, if you want."

"N...no, I've got this." Her hands clenched and unclenched a few times. "I've got this."

"Well, he's getting away," Qrow said, and the four of them headed off after him. Luck wasn't with them, though, and the professor was already lost in the crowd.

***

It took a few laps of the hall to finally spot Mesánychta and Port, emerging from Containment as predicted. Perfect. Tai elbowed Summer, puffed up his chest, and strutted straight for them. 

Sneaking up just wasn't Port's style.

"Good evening, students!" he blustered. "How are you enjoying the festivities?"

"Mister Xiao Long, is that you?" Pete asked, blinking. Behind him Professor Mesánychta folded her arms and surveyed the four of them with one fist pressed over her mouth.

Checkmate. Tai stood up even straighter, nearly going up on tiptoe, and put his hands on his hips. "Of course not! I am Peter Port, who else would I be? Talk some sense, young man."

"Magnificent!" Pete roared, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I am flattered indeed!"

"I see you two have corrupted your teammates quite efficiently," Mesánychta said, still failing to mask a smile. Tai beamed, returning a mock salute. 

As they left he turned to Summer. "Well?"

She sighed, raising her hands. "You were right. Themed costumes are better."

"Sweet, because next year I was thinking we could do a sort of masquerade thing based on our names—"

"You're already thinking about next year?" Qrow asked.

"Sure! Why not?" he shrugged. "It's fun. Speaking of… who wants to try the horror house?"

"Um." Summer spared a nervous glance at the bloody wall decorations, and then at the large sign hung next to the entrance. "Only if we go through as a team." 

She had a point. The warnings were… specific.

Qrow looked at Raven, who shrugged. "Sure, we're in."

"No weapons, no loose jewelry or clothing, you may be pushed or jostled, you may trip or fall," he read, unease growing with each line. "They're really splitting scares with these rules, aren't they? Ow. You may get wet but it won't stain— give your name for Semblance check? Full auras only?! Is this a horror house or a weapons-free cage match?!"

The fourth year with the Semblance check clipboard chuckled ominously. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Summer demanded.

"Well, I hear there's face painting back at Signal if you don't think you can handle it."

"You're on," Raven declared, carefully setting her makeshift headband and floured jacket in one of the bins. Tai followed suit, though Summer and Qrow had more accessories to contend with.

"Wait," he said, throwing his arm in front of her as she reached the door. "No weapons. You have to leave the knife here."

"What? She doesn't have a—" Tai's jaw dropped as she pulled a utility knife out of her shirt with a scowl, clearly debating whether or not to actually hand it over. " Why are you carrying that?! This is a party!"

"Self-defense," she answered, glaring at him in a way that plainly asked why he didn't have one too.

"...Yeah, you gotta leave that here," the fourth year said, smug bravado suddenly nowhere to be found. Gingerly, he pinched the blade between his thumb and forefinger, trying weakly to lift it from her grasp. 

"Aren't there supposed to be live Grimm?" she asked, making no move to release it.

"The actors are armed in case of emergency," he said quickly. "But there's also never been a problem. There are extensive safety precautions in place."

Raven only resisted for a moment longer before allowing the handle to slip through her fingers.

"It'll be fine!" Summer reassured her. "We're going through together."

"Yeah, just try not to punch anyone," Tai said, guiding her forward by the shoulder. "Raven Taupe and Taiyang Xiao Long. Those two don't have Semblances yet."

"Two on the same team, huh? Some odds," he said, skimming through his notes. "You're good to go. Head all the way down to the warehouse." He waved them past, staring Raven down. "But seriously, try not to punch anyone."

The hallway beyond was unchanged. No decorations, no red lights, nothing but the sky outside and the darkened labs to suggest they weren't on their way to class.

"That's kind of anticlimactic," Summer muttered, looking up at the lights as they walked.

"It's to ruin our night vision."

Slowly, everyone turned to stare at Raven.

"Easier to sneak up on someone who's blinded by the dark. It's the same reason you don't light a fire to keep watch.  The point is to scare people, right?"

Tai chuckled nervously. This was getting less and less appealing by the second. 

"Scared already?" Raven teased. "It hasn't started yet."

...Now, this could be fun. "Oh? Well if you're so gung-ho about it, let's see who breaks last."

"You're on." She smirked. 

Where had this calm… confident version of Raven been for the last two months? It suited her so much better than quiet terror or misdirected fury. It came out sometimes when she fought, but he'd never seen it outside of combat—

"Great. You two walk in front," Summer said, stepping back and gesturing for her to take the place next to him.

He grabbed the handle of one of the double doors, grinning at Raven. "On three. Ready?"

"One—"

"Two—"

"Three." They shoved the doors open and stepped into the dark, blinking. Effectively blinded.

The warehouse was lit by a single, flickering emergency light that turned the rows of cages into a shadowy forest. Dozens of eyes burned in the darkness, flashes of light occasionally reflecting off of bone as they snarled and beat against the bars. Of course—there was plenty of fear in a horror house to get them up in a frenzy.

"Oh, that's freaky," Summer breathed. The nearest cage to the entrance had been torn open with the door hanging limply from one hinge.

 Behind them, the doors slammed closed on their own and cut off the light from outside.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" The four of them jumped as someone leapt at them from the left, the scant light barely outlining his white lab coat. "YOU'VE LOCKED US IN WITH—"

He cut off at the sound of a low growl, shoving them behind him as he backed away from two Beowolves with horrible, burning eyes. Tai genuinely couldn't tell if they were costumes or not—they had to be, right? But were any of the fourth years that big?!

"RUN!" the scientist screamed, giving them a hefty shove. They took off, weaving around more twisted and fallen cages that chipped at Tai's aura every time he missed a jagged spur of metal in the dark. More wolves jumped out from either side, falling in behind them as they sprinted for the far door, claws clicking on the cement. Grimm snapped at them through the bars and it was impossible to tell which ones were real.

"We'll get out through the classroom wing," the scientist gasped, dragging the door open at last. The four of them darted past him as he waved them through. "There's a safe zone in the rear lobby. We have to seal Containment before they get ouAAAUUUGH—" he cut off as a wolf leapt from the darkness, its teeth closing over his shoulder and his scream blending with all four of theirs. A second bit onto his other arm, dragging him back into the room, and the door slammed shut.

Summer leapt forward to yank at the handle but it had sealed. On the other side, his terrified scream abruptly cut off. The four of them stood, stunned, the only sound the snarls of the Grimm.

"...FUCK this," Qrow said, conversationally.

Next Chapter: Summer—A Bit Much

[fire-the-headcanons]

Follow the Beacon Raven—The Students Have Become the Masters

[Link to Masterpost]

"And...there!" Summer dusted the extra flour from her hands. Raven had to admit, the uniform was now a passable imitation of Professor Mesánychta's starry suit. Hopefully it still would be in five minutes.

"How do I look?" Tai asked, wiggling the fake mustache.

Qrow paused spraying Summer's weird gray hair thing over himself to look. "It's not big enough."

"It's the biggest one in the pack."

"Use two," Summer suggested, picking up a hairbrush and starting toward Raven's hair.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, pulling away.

"Well, you're not going to look like her with your hair down! I'll be gentle, promise."

"...Fine," Raven muttered, allowing the Huntress to sit behind her. Vanta's voice rang in her ears, warning her to never turn her back to the enemy.

"Your hair's so soft. What kind of soap do you use?"

"Lye, deer tallow, and soybean oil," Raven said. "We're running out though, so I might just switch to egg." Summer's hands stilled, and she glanced back to see her teammate frozen with a strange look on her face. Two months into school, these episodes didn't terrify Raven quite the way they used to. "Why? What kind of soap do you use?"

"Uh...Swan?" she squeaked. 

"Why would anyone make soap from swan? It's got barely any fat in it and it tastes bad enough already without being dry too." Raven shook her head. "You buy yours, right? They're overcharging you."

Summer stared into the distance, eyebrows pressed together and mouth open slightly. "I'm sorry, I just realized I have no idea what soap is."

"You city-dwellers are weird," Qrow said, leaning over so Tai could stick another fake mustache over his other eyebrow. Fully painted, his hair looked more like he'd stuck his head in a bucket of Summer's flour than it did like Ozpin's silver. Summer shook off her confusion and continued running the brush through Raven's hair, starting to gather and twist it.

"I thought it was made of synthetic stuff now." Tai wiggled his much larger and slightly asymmetric mustache at Qrow, who wiggled his blonde and bushy eyebrows back. They both snorted, cracking up.

She rolled her eyes before closing them, rather enjoying the feeling of someone else working with her hair. Vanta had always just cut it when it got too tangled for Raven to comb on her own as a child, and her long hair was a point of pride now. Though... if Vanta had ever combed her hair it probably wouldn't have been pleasant.

"You gonna wear a wig?" Tai asked, starting to re-part his hair down the middle. "Your hair’s kinda short."

"All my wigs are at home. I'll just do a french braid, it'll get the point across."

"You did a really good job with her apron," Qrow said.

"Thanks! It was hard to get those embossed swirls right, but they're so pretty on Carmine's…" she tied the band around Raven's head. "They're not super secure, though, I was doing it by hand and it was rushed. I'm torn, I kind of want to bring my sewing machine to school but it's so heavy and takes up so much space…" 

Raven's eyes flew open. "You have a sewing machine?" she and Qrow demanded at the same time.

"Yeah. ...Do you sew?"

"Of course. Who doesn't?" Raven shrugged.

"I don't," Tai said.

"What do you do if you rip something?" Qrow asked, wincing as he peeled a moustache off his eyebrow.

"Take it to Summer. Or a tailor." That's dumb, Raven didn't say. Tai shook his head. "Man, I thought living in the wilds meant you dealt with the Grimm more. But you dealt with, like, everything more."

"Next thing you'll be telling me you don't know how to dig a latrine," Qrow teased, finally getting the other eyebrow off and rubbing at his skin.

Tai chewed on the inside of his cheek, eyes darting between the two of them. "...Isn't it just a hole?"

"That's the joke."

"Ah, gotcha."

Summer's hands stilled again. "Done. What do you think?"

Raven accepted the mirror and tilted her head, inspecting the swirls of hair that Summer had woven together. The cardboard pendant sat on her forehead, painted silver with the broken moon embossed in its center. It was… nice, dressing up.

"You look a lot like Professor Mesánychta," Tai said, dousing his head with hairspray. "Done!"

"You look a little… less like Port," Summer laughed.

"What?" Tai demanded, gesturing exaggeratedly as he shifted his voice lower and imitated Peter's slightly pompous tone. "How dare you suggest I am not the one and only Peter Port! Why, Miss Rose, I'm hurt."

Qrow snorted into his hand and Summer managed to choke out, "Okay, now you look like him."

"MISTER TAUPE!" He pointed at Qrow, who was shaking with laughter and holding the glasses to his face. "I'm going to shout at you while you do laundry!"

"Is that shirt synthetic material?!" Summer demanded, yanking on her leather work gloves and putting her fists on her hips in a perfect imitation of Carmine. "Get out! You think your aura's going to hold for long if you're on fire? I'm not doing the paperwork if you get yourself burned!"

Raven sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Detention, Mr. Xiao Long, Miss Rose."

Summer flopped back onto the bed, cackling madly as Tai doubled over. Her own mouth twitched.

"Welcome to Beacon, students," Qrow said, picking up Tai's pencil jar and holding it like Ozpin's mug. "I certainly hope you've perfected your landing strategies before today, or you'll be in for a rough surprise!"

Tai grinned, an expression that usually preceded a pun that would make Summer particularly mad. "Prepare to fly."

Raven shook her head with a smile. "Bad."

"Yeah, that was terrible," Summer said, smacking his arm.

[This is my favorite chapter, ngl]

Next Chapter: Taiyang—Splitting Scares

[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

[fire-the-headcanons]

"An Alpha?" Tiffany blinked in surprise. "And a Major?! You ran into two Primals on the same day? Your team has the worst luck."

He tossed his hair dramatically and flashed a dashing smile. "We don't need luck. We've got skill."

"Yeah, again, nobody else here is under thirty percent. Might want to check on those skills before you pick a fight with a Major."

"In our defense, it was old enough to play dead. And we were a little preoccupied with the rest of the herd."

"Team STRQ. You fought a herd of Ursa?" All of them jumped at the ice in Professor Mesánychta's voice. "Including a Primal Class Grimm with enough years behind it to implement a strategy."

"Uhhhh…" Summer's mind went blank. That was her two weeks of detention voice.

Follow the Beacon Summer—Hint

[Link to Masterpost]

You don't appreciate Raven enough! the stitch in Summer's side screamed at her. At least they only had one more switchback to go. …After nearly an hour of climbing.

"Well, if this doesn't teach us to be more careful in a fight I don't know what will," Tai panted.

"Maybe that's why they haven't put in an elevator here," Qrow said, making him wheeze with laughter.

Summer glanced out over the forest again, looking for any sign of trouble flying their way. Her irritation alone probably smelled like baking cookies to any Nevermores nesting in the area. As for STRQ's resident Grimm bait… Raven was acting weirder than usual. Most of her confidence seemed to have vanished with her aura. 

Not to mention her little freak-out earlier.

I guess losing your defenses is a lot scarier if you don't have somewhere safe like Beacon to retreat to. Summer lifted Gungnir to her eye to examine a dot in the distance, but it was only an ordinary hawk. It's a miracle humanity survived long enough to build the cities. They didn't even have guns back then!

"Hey, STRQ's back!" Tiffany shouted, drawing more than a few eyes as Summer finally followed her team up the last few steps. "Last again, guys? Who got maimed this time?"

"Hilarious," Tai said, flopping down on the grass.

"Well, nobody else is under thirty percent and you four look like you got hit by a train."

She extended her rifle into the spear and leaned on it. "It was an Ursa Major, actually."

"Seriously? Did you kill it?"

"With great difficulty," Tai said.

"No way! That's got to be worth at least fifteen points!"

Qrow clipped his sword to his back, one eyebrow raised. "Points?"

"Yeah! The Professor came up with some kind of system so that rarer and stronger Grimm would be worth more than, like, Creeps. Good thing too. Our team got stuck with Boarbatusks—took the whole three hours to find two of them."

"And we ran into a pack of Beowolves. One of 'em died, so that's two points off," Robin sighed.

“Whoever had Beowolves still got it easy…”

Tai dragged himself into a sitting position, stretching. "Summer kicked an Alpha in the head but it lived."

"An Alpha?" Tiffany blinked in surprise. "And a Major?! You ran into two Primals on the same day? Your team has the worst luck."

He tossed his hair dramatically and flashed a dashing smile. "We don't need luck. We've got skill."

"Yeah, again, nobody else here is under thirty percent. Might want to check on those skills before you pick a fight with a Major."

"In our defense, it was old enough to play dead. And we were a little preoccupied with the rest of the herd."

"Team STRQ. You fought a herd of Ursa?" All of them jumped at the ice in Professor Mesánychta's voice. "Including a Primal Class Grimm with enough years behind it to implement a strategy." 

"Uhhhh…" Summer's mind went blank. That was her two weeks of detention voice.

"And why didn't you retreat when your teammate's aura was depleted?" she demanded, fixing Raven in her glare.

"It was the last one," Summer said, jumping to her feet and sliding between the two of them, "and we had to fight it off!" The last thing Raven needed right now was an angry teacher in her face.

The professor held out one flawlessly manicured hand, and Summer placed her scroll into it with a sigh. The other students were drawing in now, watching her scowl grow deeper as she swiped through their kills.

"Ursa are relatively uncommon and highly dangerous," she said, matter-of-fact as she returned Summer's scroll. "Each one is worth ten points. Primal Class Grimm are worth triple points due to risk and rarity, bringing your total score to ninety." More than one shocked gasp wafted out of the crowd. "Congratulations, team STRQ, you've broken the first-year record by forty-three points. You are all banned from combat training and leaving secured zones for a week. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes ma'am." Summer stammered, letting her bangs hide her face from Mesánychta's scowl. She waited for her sandals to retreat into the crowd before looking up again.

"Seriously. The worst luck," Tiffany laughed, slapping her shoulder as everyone started up the path to the castle, Port leading the way. The professor hung back, ready to take the rear.

There probably wasn't going to be a better time. "Let's do it now," Summer hissed, elbowing Tai and nearly sending his pocket screwdriver flying from his hands.

"Are you sure? She's not in the best mood," he said, cranking the bolt on his gauntlet tight again.

"She didn't even give us detention!"

He cocked his head with a brief frown. "On the other hand…"

"...What are you doing?"

Summer glanced past Tai at the Taupes, who were staring at them with twin frowns. "Uh, we just need to talk to professor Mesánychta for a second. About the poster?"

Qrow's face brightened. "Oh, are you going to get us unbanned from gym class?"

"What? No! She's completely right about that."

 "Then what are you doing?" Raven leaned away with half a suspicious scowl.

Summer and Tai glanced at each other and he shrugged. "...It's a long story," she said, pathetically. "We'll tell you later." Turning toward the path up the hill, she waved and shouted. "Heeey, Professor!"

“I will not reconsider."

"No, no, you're right. We took way too big of a risk. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about," Summer said with her best innocent smile.

She sighed. "I know that look. What are you up to, Rose?"

"Oh, y'know... just wondering if you knew anything about how our parents and uncle met Professor Ozpin?"

"I don't know, Ms. Rose. Perhaps you should ask your mother."

"I will, I will…" she nodded, still smiling as she reached for the letter-size photocopy of the poster rolled and tied to the back of her belt. "Oh, right! I wanted to show you something we found in Vale on Saturday. Isn't this neat?" 

Professor Mesánychta didn't react.

But then again, if she didn't recognize the poster she would tell them as much. "Come on, just a hint." Summer rattled the paper. "I thought it might make a cool Halloween costume, actually—

“Summer, you're still in school." She bowed her head with a deep sigh. "You shouldn't have to—" she sighed again, rubbing her eyes with one hand. "Wouldn't you rather …grow up first?"

Summer's hands balled into fists at her sides and the paper crackled as it crumpled in her hand. "What. Happened. To my dad." The professor almost cringed, guilt seeping into her stony expression. "That's all I’m asking." 

She was silent for a moment. "...It's not my place to answer that question, Summer."

"Then you know!"

Professor Mesánychta held up a finger to cut her off. "If you really want to grow up so soon… I will tell you how to get the headmaster's attention. The rest is up to you."

Summer nodded, grim and determined. "Deal."

Next Chapter: Taiyang—Affronted

[fire-the-headcanons]

She paused on a poster of a woman in regal armor, frozen halfway through a powerful swing of a gravity Dust-enhanced warhammer beneath the words Queen of the Hunt. A long, starry cape swirled behind her, hood half-fallen from her head. "I've always wanted a cloak."

"Then why not get one?"

"I thought people might laugh…" Heat ran over her face. Nice going, idiot, he wears one on a daily basis. "B-but then I saw your cape, and I kinda wanted to again…"

"You're a Huntress. You decide what's cool," Qrow said, gesturing at the woman but freezing mid-wave. Squinting, he inspected the poster more closely. "Summer… is that Professor Mesánychta?"

Follow the Beacon Summer—Mission Critical

[Link to Masterpost]

Summer slammed her hands down on the counter, grinning. "What'cha got?"

The old man sighed, same as the last dozen times she’d come in. "I'm tellin' ya, kid, if any Reaper books go up for sale it'll be at an auction. The bundle you found here was a fluke, it's not gonna happen again."

"Not with that attitude, it won't!"

"I think I'm having a nightmare," Raven muttered, staring at the brightly colored walls.

Tai snorted. "Yeah, each one tries to stand out so you'll pick it."

"Well, that's a bust," Summer said to Qrow as she stepped back from the counter to let the next person up. Behind him, Tai and Raven drifted toward the weapon replica displays. "Come on, the posters here are always cool. So which Reaper comics to you have?"

Qrow scratched his neck. "I had Beowolf Migration part two and Death Stalks part four."

"Wait. Had?"

"One of the other hands trashed my collection."

"What?! That's terrible!"

"It's not so bad." He brushed the handle of the gunblade, folded down and clipped to his back and half-glancing at his sister. "I mean, I'm at Beacon, learning to become a Huntsman. I'm kind of… living it now."

"That's… a really nice way of looking at it… But that guy's still a jerk, " she muttered, slowly flipping through the vintage poster display. Wasn’t life hard enough without going around making it worse for other people? And Qrow wasn’t the type to defend himself. Dan’s teasing had proved that—it had taken her and Tai yelling at him together to get him to stop. Meanwhile Qrow never said a word in his own defense.

"What about you, though?" he asked eagerly. "I only ever got to read the two. They weren’t exactly common out there, since they're printed in Vale."

"Well… I found a few arcs’ worth here two years ago," she gestured at the counter. "But they’re out of print, so the ones that do pop up for sale tend to be really, really expensive. And they haven't been released digitally yet, so I, uh..." She dropped her voice, leaning in a bit. "I pirated scans."

"...What does that mean?"

Oh. Right. They were still getting used to email. "I'll explain later. But I have them all, and you can read them."

A shadow fell over Qrow's face, and she almost stepped back in surprise. What had she said?

"Oh. Thanks, but… you don't have to lend me your stuff," he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets and avoiding her eye.

Oh, Brothers, it was happening again. How was she supposed to know what to say if she didn't know what was wrong? And how did Tai always seem to figure it out, anyway?

Ozpin should have made him leader.

"Well, it's…" she faltered. "I can just give you copies. On your scroll."

"Really?" he looked up again, scowl vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

"Yeah, but… Do you think we could read some together? Tai's not really that into comics—Zaff was the one I'd talk about them with and he's at Atlas now—"

"That'd be awesome," he grinned. "Nobody at home liked them at all."

Summer smiled back. Tai was great and would happily listen to her ramble about theories, but that didn't mean he understood any of them. "I don't have too many paper comics anymore," she continued, rifling through the vintage poster display. "I subscribed to all the new ones online, so I wouldn't have to worry about lugging a bunch of books between home and Signal. And, well, I've always wanted to be a Huntress, so I knew I'd be traveling around." 

She paused on a poster of a woman in regal armor, frozen halfway through a powerful swing of a gravity Dust-enhanced warhammer beneath the words Queen of the Hunt . A long, starry cape swirled behind her, hood half-fallen from her head. "I've always wanted a cloak."

"Then why not get one?"

"I thought people might laugh…" Heat ran over her face. Nice going, idiot, he wears one on a daily basis. "B-but then I saw your cape, and I kinda wanted to again…"

"You're a Huntress. You decide what's cool," Qrow said, gesturing at the woman but freezing mid-wave. Squinting, he inspected the poster more closely. "Summer… is that Professor Mesánychta?"

She stared back at the poster. The cape—maybe this was why it had stood out, and she hadn't realized—was the same starry pattern as the professor's typical suit. Their headbands weren't identical, but both had a lunar theme. And she fought with a bow, not a polearm warhammer—

But no, that was Spring Tide, the engravings were all the same. The quiver formed the hammer head, and the bow was the handle. It must use gravity Dust to make it heavy enough to do damage. The woman was thirty years younger, but unmistakably—

"Oh, gods." Her hands flew to her mouth. "You're right!"

* * *

The sun burned the horizon orange and red as their shuttle docked at Beacon's cliff, and they followed a large group out onto the little airfield. A lot of other students were also returning to school for dinner.

"Mission success!" Summer shouted, spinning the poster's cardboard tube over her head like Gungnir. A nearby recruiter in red and white jumped, halfway through his speech to a group of semi-attentive upperclassmen.

Tai and Qrow glanced at each other. "…And what mission is that, exactly?" Tai asked.

"I learned something about each of you." She pointed at Raven, grinning triumphantly. "You like boats, and you actually know a lot about sailing!"

Raven's hand tightened on her bag as she blinked in surprise, but Summer knew she wouldn't like the spotlight if it stayed on her too long. She pointed at Qrow next. "And you want to become a Huntsman because you like helping people!"

He smiled, embarrassed. "Right again."

"Plus, Raven smiled like, three times today. So: mission Team Bonding accomplished!" 

"What are you doing back up here?!"

Summer cut off and the four of them turned to watch Professor Carmine storm from the forge, blowtorch in hand. The recruiter took a nervous step backward, spluttering as the little Forgemaster marched right up to him.

"Professor Ozpin has strictly forbidden any Merlot-Blanc personnel from recruiting on the school grounds," Carmine snapped as the students started to drift away. "So, mister, what makes you the exception to the rule?"

"Look, ma'am, I'm sorry, I'm just doing what they pay me to do—"

"What's Merlot-Blanc Industries?" Qrow asked as they began to drift toward the cafeteria as well. Behind them, the recruiter continued to stammer and back away nervously.

"Huh. I think they’re the companies that's building the development out past the mountains? They must be trying to find Huntsmen to guard the construction. Dunno why Ozpin wouldn't want them at Beacon's docks."

"Maybe someone caused trouble?" Tai guessed. "Though, speaking of trouble, I guess we have something to blackmail Professor Mesánychta with next time she tries to give us detention."

Summer stared down at the poster tube in her hands. He was right—maybe, just maybe, they had leverage.

She wasn't going to waste it.

Next Chapter: Raven—Liquid Courage

[fire-the-headcanons]

"So. Binoculars?"

"And how are you going to explain them to our roommates?" Tai asked.

"I dunno. Maybe birdwatching."

Tai froze, face contorted with glee. Here he'd been restraining himself for an entire month—the egg pun potential alone was unbearable—and Summer had just walked into it. Ten-to-one, she didn't even realize. Slowly, he pulled the pillow down to look over the top.

She was staring out the window again, but as a moment passed she sensed him watching and glanced down. Without hesitation, she seized a corner of the pillow and whipped it away before slamming it back onto his face with a heavy FLOOF.

Follow the Beacon Taiyang—HATCHING a Plan

[Link to Masterpost]

"We should get some binoculars."

Tai glanced up from his work, sitting straighter on the bed. Summer was still at his desk, pen in her mouth as she stared out the window. Her own books lay in front of her, ignored. "You're watching the tower again? I thought you were working on Mesánychta's track identifications." 

Summer scowled down at the desk. "I mean, I was, but it kind of felt like a waste of time without the twins."

...She had a point. Qrow and Raven were far better at identifying Grimm tracks then their 'city-dweller' teammates. By their third assignment team STRQ had developed a habit of Tai and Summer guessing, and the Taupes explaining somewhat patiently how they were wrong.

"Yeah, I can't make any sense of it either." He chucked the workbook into his bag and lay back on his bed. The pillow was right next to his desk, and he could look up at her while she stared out at the grounds. "We're not gonna figure out who Ozpin's meeting with. Too many people visit the CCT Tower, and even with binoculars it's probably too far away."

"I'm starting to think that's why his office is on the top floor," Summer grumbled, glancing in its vague direction. It was, of course, too tall to be visible from their window. Unless they felt like sticking their heads out.

Tai sighed deeply, pulling the pillow from under his head and setting it over his face. "You know," he complained into the cotton, "Beacon has some of the best teachers in the Kingdom—"

"All the best teachers but the very best one." He could hear her grin in the words. "Because he's headmaster at Signal."

"That goes without saying," he replied. "But. Everyone here is so dedicated, so kind, so eager to help in whatever way they can—"

"—right until you so much as think a question about Ozpin," Summer finished, her voice sour.

"Exactly."

"So. Binoculars?"

"And how are you going to explain them to our roommates?" Tai asked.

"I dunno. Maybe birdwatching."

Tai froze, face contorted with glee. Here he'd been restraining himself for an entire month—the egg pun potential alone was unbearable—and Summer had just walked into it. Ten-to-one, she didn't even realize. Slowly, he pulled the pillow down to look over the top.

She was staring out the window again, but as a moment passed she sensed him watching and glanced down. Without hesitation, she seized a corner of the pillow and whipped it away before slamming it back onto his face with a heavy FLOOF.

The impact jarred his laughter loose.

When he finally paused for breath, she was still scowling down at him. "Are you done?" 

"Oh, come on, Summer. It's only been a month. We were never going to get all the answers right away."

"Yes. I know. But seriously!" she shouted, pushing back from the desk to face him head-on. "What is going on? Like, the whole school is doing… something… And probably a bunch of teachers from Signal, since Uncle Azraq and our parents are involved—"

"Professor Mesánychta transferred here from Signal."

"That too! We need a plan."

Last time she said that, they'd gotten grounded for a month. The consequences for getting caught in Ozpin's office were probably a little more severe. "We can't break in!"

"I know, I know, you sound like Mom. But we have to do somethi—" The lock clicked, and Summer broke off as their teammates walked in.

Looking like someone just shot their dog. 

Tai blinked. "Uh… are you… okay?" 

"We are fine." Raven said, voice even and toneless. Stiffly, she dropped her bag at the foot of her bed, crawled under the blankets, and pulled them all the way over her head.

"Are you sure?" Summer asked weakly, but Qrow didn't respond. After staring at the lump of blanket hiding his sister for a few seconds, he followed her lead.

Alarmed, she glanced at Tai and mouthed, What did Lionheart DO to them?! 

Tai threw his hands up. I don't know!

On the other side of the room, the lump that was Qrow curled into a ball.

"Okay!" Summer jumped to her feet and slammed her hands together. "Everybody had a bad day today! I am going to make some cookies. And then we are going to play some video games. And then tomorrow, we are going into Vale and have some freaking fun! Tai, do you have anything that isn't a fighting game."

"Pomodoro Party 64," he answered, still staring at the Taupes.

"I will take it." Summer rummaged through her closet and emerged with her stash of homemade cookie mix.

Qrow and Raven didn't really look like they wanted a rowdy evening of video games. "Summer, I kind of think maybe the twins are tired?"

"That's what the cookies are for." She strode confidently from the room, leaving him to shrug and reach for the next assignment.

Next Chapter: Summer—Die

[Hey, look, we’re finally at the Mario Party garbage fire]

[fire-the-headcanons]

What's WeaponsEx?" Raven asked.

"There's a big weapons convention every summer in Vale. Tons of businesses show off new stuff. Dust companies, arms manufacturers, defense engineers—" he said.

"And there's an entire wing of the hall for comics!"

"You mean recruiting."

"Yeah, same difference. There's costume contests, artists answer questions and sign autographs—"

"And they get a few famous Huntsmen to come too," he finished.

Qrow listened with an intensity usually saved for forging class. "Whoa, cool."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You're drooling."

Follow the Beacon Taiyang—COSTumes

[Link to Masterpost]

[Hey, look! A normal-length chapter!]

"Ramparts! For all of your cosplay needs!" Summer declared, throwing the door open dramatically. The Taupes followed her in, looking around in confusion.

"This is a costume store?" Raven asked, brushing through a rack of sweaters.

"Thrift store," Tai corrected. "People donate old clothes, they sell 'em cheap, and the money goes to charity. Summer likes to find stuff and make alterations."

"Come on, let's look at suits!" She grabbed Qrow's wrist and hauled him off toward the men’s section. Amused, Tai and Raven followed.

"Okay, we want to find a green suit and vest for Ozpin, and a red suit for Pete," Summer said, already digging through the racks for anything near the right colors. "Preferably double-breasted, but we probably won't find one. We can sew a little gold ribbon around the edges to make it look like him. I've got a scarf we could tie like his ascot. What about shoes? Should we get shoes?"

He accepted the hideous maroon suit she was holding out.  "Our uniform shoes will be fine, Summer."

"Yeah, you're right." She was in her natural habitat now, comparing every dark green suit in the store to one of their photos from Ozpin's file. It only took a few minutes for her to pop back out of the racks with a three-piece that looked to be about Qrow's size. "Try it on!"

"Uh…" He eyed it warily, holding it in front of his face.

"We are not spending four thousand lien on something you're only going to wear once," Raven said, glaring at the tag.

She had a point. Tai glanced over Summer's shoulder at the photo on the scroll, searching for another solution. "Y'know, Ozpin's suit is really dark—the uniform jacket and pants would probably work fine if we got a green turtleneck to put under it."

"I was thinking just a scarf for that bit, actually," Summer said, running to the end of the aisle and grabbing one with horrible stringy fringe. "We'll tuck the ends in under the jacket. Cardboard will work for his tie-pin-thing, and then all we need are some glasses."

The bin was right next to Tai, and he started rifling through. "None of these look like Ozpin's."

"Those weird bendy parts on the sides are probably custom. Just grab some small round ones."

He held up a pair he’d seen almost immediately, and Qrow gingerly took them.

"How does he see though them?" he muttered, squinting. "These are tiny."

"They're also only thirty lien 'cause the lens is cracked, but we can take them out back at school."

"What should we get for the Carmine costume?" Tai asked. "I don't think we're going to find a leather apron here. Or for less than fifty thousand lien."

"What? No, I'm wearing the one I didn't finish in time for WeaponsEx!"

"Come on, you can wear it next year. We've gotta match. Nobody will be able to see the detail on it in the dark anyway!" 

"Fine," she sighed, grabbing maybe the ugliest brown dress in existence off the rack behind her. It looked about six sizes too big for her, layered with thick ruffles in multiple shades. "I'll cut patches of the darker lining for the embossing Carmine has around the edges. There should be plenty of fabric."

She just couldn’t do a sewing project halfway. "That's still way more effort than you need to put into this."

"What's WeaponsEx?" Raven asked.

"There's a big weapons convention every summer in Vale. Tons of businesses show off new stuff. Dust companies, arms manufacturers, defense engineers—" he said.

"And there's an entire wing of the hall for comics!"

"You mean recruiting."

"Yeah, same difference. There's costume contests, artists answer questions and sign autographs—"

"And they get a few famous Huntsmen to come too," he finished.

Qrow listened with an intensity usually saved for forging class. "Whoa, cool."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You're drooling."

"Yeah, it's where the SDC unveiled the Guillotine last year." Summer said, still thumbing through the suits. "The easiest way to do Professor Mesánychta's suit would be to splatter-paint stars onto the school uniform, but anything that would show up might not wash out…"

"Flour." Tai pointed out.

"Ooooh! Yeah!" 

Raven frowned. "It'll just fall off."

"Not while you're wearing it! Your aura kinda holds it in place—I speak from experience. We can make her headband out of cardboard too. Lucky so many of the staff wear dark suits."

They brought their things up to the registers, the twins looking much more at ease with their two hundred lien price tag.

"So, where should we eat?" Summer chirped.

"…We're not going back to the school?" Qrow and Raven shared an anxious look.

"Well… we could, but it'd take like two hours to fly there and back," she said. "Besides, don't you want to go somewhere other than the cafeteria?"

"Maybe, uh, we'll just meet up with you again after, then…" Qrow stammered. 

"What? Come on, that'll take ages," Summer said with a wave. "Come with us to Goldenrod's! We go every time we’re in Vale, they have these giant noodle bowls, it's great—”

"We'll meet you there in a half hour," Raven said. "There's a comic store Qrow wanted to look at."

Why were they—oh. They hadn't been worried about the cost of the suit just because it was frivolous. Tai's ears burned with secondhand embarrassment. "Uh, Sum—"

Summer tilted her head. "You know I love comics… Why don't we all go after lunch?"

Qrow straightened up, bracing himself. "Because we don't have any money."

Raven shot him a panicked glare as Summer wilted. "…Oh." She fiddled with her hands for a second before shoving them into the pockets of her hoodie. "Sorry, I…"

"I—I mean, it's been nice looking around with you two—"

"We'll buy today," Tai said quickly. Anything to make the awkward stop.

"You don't have to—" Raven began.

"No, come on, it's team bonding time! We've got you. And next time we come to town we'll just pack a lunch."

* * *

"So, have you ever visited Mistral?" Summer asked, errantly drumming on the table as they waited. "I guess you said you were from southern Anima, that'd be a long trip…"

"It was. We went twice."

Her eyes widened. "Really? What's it like? I don't really remember Anima that well." 

"It's…more dangerous than Vale," he said, glancing out of the window at the end of their booth. "Unless you're rich. We mostly kept our heads down. …What about your home? What's Patch like?"

Summer shrugged. "Not much to say. It's just a little port town on an island outside Vale. Forest on the west side has some Grimm, nothing big enough to be a real threat."

"It's the most boring place in existence," Tai sighed.

"At least you'd have ships to look at," Raven said. "There is nothing on Remnant less interesting than a farm." Everyone stared at her for a half-second, she'd been her usual withdrawn self all day. She flinched at the sudden attention. "…I've always liked boats."

"Me too," Summer admitted. "But, sailing boats. With sails. You know, the old-fashioned windy kind, not the new big loud cargo ships."

Nobody liked the giant—usually Atlesian—monsters that would barge into the harbor at all hours. Tai gestured with his chopsticks. "Ugh, and that one asshole that always runs too close to the north side of the island and wakes everyone up in the middle of the night!"

"Well, hey, why don't we go to the docks after the comic store? We could take pictures and stuff!"

"Because your camera’s broken. Remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Her face fell a little. "Well, we can still look around."

"There's not actually a comic store," Raven admitted. "We were trying to buy time."

Summer reached across the table, taking her hand in both of hers. "Raven. You're not getting out of going to the comic shop with me and Qrow just because you made it all up."

Raven rolled her eyes, the ghost of a real smile playing around her mouth. "Fine."

Next Chapter: Summer—Mission Critical

[Yet another chapter of Qrow is a Nerd. ‘Suave flirt’ is a valid interpretation of the text, it’s just not my interpretation]

[fire-the-headcanons]

Follow the Beacon Ozpin—Losing an Argument With Yourself

[Link to Masterpost]

Sunlight drenched the large tower room, beating through the glass walls and turning Ozpin's shadow into a pillar that reached to the far wall and disappeared into empty air.

I've always loved sunsets.

We all have. He smiled, a thin and tired thing. Like-minded souls, indeed. Do you think the God of Light's curse could be so specific?

"Quite a show," Carmine said, bringing them back to the present. "But even with the change in partners, they didn't do too poorly. Nowhere near the slowest times."

"I fear that was the result of individual ability, rather than actual teamwork. They resoundingly failed to communicate. But what is your impression?"

Carmine chuckled. "Nah, you’re right. Look at their weapons—a spear and a shield? They're designed around each other, to the point where Taiyang doesn't carry a firearm. Gungnir is a little more well-rounded, but in practice Summer’s far more comfortable fighting at a distance. Her teachers' assessments at Signal confirm what we saw in initiation. She can handle herself in a close-in fight, but she's not where she could be." She sighed heavily. "And for a silver-eye, that means she's not where she should be. She's too reliant on him."

And that was the crux of the matter. He'd promised Claret he'd keep her daughter safe, and—short of locking her in the Vault for the rest of her life—the best he could do was surround her with allies and make her the greatest warrior she possibly be. 

Problems arose when the two things appeared to be at odds with one another. It's concerning that she hasn't unlocked her Semblance as of yet, either. We've coddled her too much.

She's capable, certainly, he argued. Her grades are proof of that.

A wonderful vase, but unfired. And if there's a bubble hiding somewhere in the clay...

"Well, it's only the first week," Carmine said, jolting him from their thoughts. "We've got some time with her yet. Did you mean for them to get partnered with the Taupes?" 

"I arranged for the possibility." Ozpin returned to his desk and refilled his mug. None of the students had yet caught on to the fact that the launchpads could be manipulated. He didn't have complete control over the partnerships, there was of course room for fate or the students themselves to intervene—but he could absolutely ensure that two particular children ended up near one another in the forest when he felt the need. "Mr. Xiao Long's sprain was a brilliant stroke of fortune. The injury wasn't serious, but I doubt the Taupes would have stayed with them otherwise. It all but guaranteed they would choose the same relic."

"Hm. There weren't too many left when they got there, either." She took a long sip from her own cup. "Are you sure about them?"

"I thought you liked them."

"Qrow's a good kid," she said immediately. "And Raven's alright. I just don't know that they're… bodyguard material."

"A bodyguard is the last thing she needs." Oz set his mug on his desk and laced his fingers together. "They have the experience that Ms. Rose and Mr. Xiao Long lack, and hopefully their differences will provide a catalyst for growth." He smiled. "It's to the twins' benefit as well. They need teammates with a certain degree of patience. Understanding."

"Taking an interest, are you?"

"...Raven's Semblance is… extraordinary."

"No doubt, but she'll be a tough nut to crack."

He chuckled. "Her shell is thinner than I anticipated, actually. I thought for sure someone from team STRQ would be hammering on my door by the end of the week, begging for reassignment."

"I'm a little surprised Raven didn't ask to be leader, myself," Carmine mused. "I assume you picked Summer to give her more experience."

Oz's mouth twitched. "If Ms. Rose had brown eyes, I still wouldn't have picked Ms. Taupe. She doesn't seem very comfortable around people, with the exception of her brother. Making her head of a team may be asking her to run before she can walk."

"So, Summer either way?"

"Mr. Xiao Long would be the best candidate. If he's anything like his father—and Zelenia assures me he is—he's probably the reason no one's broken down my door." He took a long, thoughtful sip of cocoa. "Then again, I rarely choose the best candidate. This is a school, after all. I believe it's better to choose the person who can learn the most from the position. …I'm not sure if I would have chosen Ms. Rose or Mr. Taupe."

"She asked me about you. Tried to, anyway."

Oz chuckled. "Claret did warn us."

"We won't be able to keep the truth from her much longer."

He nodded, swirling the dregs of his cup. "At least, not all of it."

Carmine sighed, deeply. When he glanced up, she was staring out toward the wilds, into the shadow of the tower. "I just wish we could ask Sterling if we were doing the right thing."

"…As do I."

Next Chapter: Summer—Missing Piece

[fire-the-headcanons]

"You'll also take any opportunity to dress up that you can get," Tai said.

"I spent a long time on that costume!"

"Why don't we all match this year instead?" he asked, grinning. "I was thinking it'd be funny if we all went dressed as teachers. Qrow could be Ozpin since he's so skinny, Raven could go as Professor Mesánychta, and I think I would make a dashing Peter Port." He held his hands near his mouth, wiggling his fingers in a strange approximation of his mustache.

"What about me?" Summer asked.

Raven knew exactly what Tai was thinking, and hovered her hand below shoulder level. "Professor Carmine," the three of them said in unison.

"Hey! We have other traits besides height!"

Follow the Beacon Raven—Qrow Wins

[Link to Masterpost]

[If you missed it, make sure you read the bonus chapter from Saturday! I actually updated the masterpost for once so you can get to it from there. Also there will be another Saturday bonus chapter this week since the non-First crowd doesn’t have an episode then either]

"Oh my GODS, what is WRONG with this thing?" Tears streamed down Summer's face as she struggled to catch her breath. The controller slid to the floor with a muffled thump.

"This isn't how it normally goes?" Raven asked. Qrow's Semblance was a nuisance—or a hazard—but once in a while it was fun to sit back and watch the show.

Tai watched with a stoic sort of exhaustion as his character fell down the bottomless pit for a ninth time. "Please. I just need, not a 7. Any other number. Literally any other number."

And what a show. He appeared to have broken both of them.

"Okay. Okay." Summer took deep breaths, forcing the laughter down. "It's been… almost an hour, and nobody has any Dust shards. I'm calling it. The game station wins this one."

Raven smirked with a half glance at her brother. "I think Qrow won by not playing." Unable to do anything else, he only glared back.

"Wish you'd played before now," Tai said, "it's not as funny if you don't know how it's supposed to go."

"Any ideas of what we want to do in town tomorrow?" Summer asked, drawing her feet up off the floor to sit cross-legged on top of the blanket. "Halloween's coming up. We could look for costume ideas."

"I thought Halloween was a kids' holiday," Qrow said, clearly relieved to be off the subject of luck.

"Trick or treating is for kids. For adults it's about drinking, from the way Mom complains about it—but for us, it's all about the scares. ...And pumpkin cookies."

Gods, Raven missed drinking.

"You'll also take any opportunity to dress up that you can get," Tai said.

"I spent a long time on that costume!"

"Why don't we all match this year instead?" he asked, grinning. "I was thinking it'd be funny if we all went dressed as teachers. Qrow could be Ozpin since he's so skinny, Raven could go as Professor Mesánychta, and I think I would make a dashing Peter Port." He held his hands near his mouth, wiggling his fingers in a strange approximation of his mustache.

"What about me?" Summer asked.

Raven knew exactly what Tai was thinking, and hovered her hand below shoulder level. "Professor Carmine," the three of them said in unison.

"Hey! We have other traits besides height!"

Raven smiled. "Boundless energy, for starters."

"Isn't that the truth." Tai rolled his eyes.

"Okay, but what do you mean 'scares'?" Qrow asked. "What do we actually do?"

"Beacon always throws a huge party," Tai explained. "The seniors put it on—the teachers get them to go all-out and try to do better than the previous year. Most of them are twenty-one so it's really just a way to keep them from getting drunk or in trouble."

Summer nodded. "The haunted house is legendary. They used to do it in the CCT Tower, until the accident…"

"Accident?"

"Nobody was hurt!" she said quickly. "But global communications were down for almost an hour and a few people nearly got arrested. Now they use the Grimm Studies building."

"So… it's a party where we fight Geists?" Qrow asked, but their teammates only frowned in confusion.

"Geists." Raven repeated. They were rare, but they weren't that rare. Even city-dwellers should have heard of them. "Ghost Grimm that possess objects?"

Her eyes widened. "Those are a thing?!"

Qrow shrugged. "Well, they're not exactly common, but yeah."

"Now that's spooky," Tai said.

She sprang off the bed, running to her desk to retrieve their Grimm Studies textbook and flipping through it. "Huh. Never been spotted in Vale, uncommon in Solitas and eastern Anima."

Ah, that explained it then. There seemed to be a lot of Grimm from home that didn't appear here... Was it the other way around too? "What kind of Grimm do you get here that are unique?"

"I think Professor Mesánychta said Boarbatusks are only found in eastern Sanus," Summer said, frowning. "Back when we were at Signal, not here. But those are not rare. And a royal pain."

"We get some of the biggest Ursa and Beowolves in the world, though," Tai said, rifling through his box of games. "Even if they're not that unique. Let's play something skill-based next, since the gamestation's haunted today." He held up a cartridge. "This is our favorite fighting game, Fatal Fray, and if you're gonna live here you're gonna have to learn to play it."

What?

Summer snorted, elbowing him. "Tai!"

"Just kidding! But it's super fun and we get tired of only playing each other."

Next Chapter: Taiyang—COSTumes

[fire-the-headcanons]

Follow the Beacon Raven—Quiet

[Link to Masterpost]

[Apparently I didn’t post the last few chapters on Tumblr? Use the masterpost to make sure you don’t miss anything]

[also hi, not dead]

The truck door opened with a solid click and let cold sea air wash through the cabin. Raven followed her brother out onto the gravel with an irritated shiver. She hissed quietly through her teeth. They're making us soft.

It had been almost as difficult to sleep on Summer's flat, even wooden floor as it had originally been to sleep on the spongelike mattress.

Summer yawned, stifling it behind her hand but drawing the attention of her mother. A familiar grin crept over Claret's face, identical to the one Summer wore when about to provoke someone. "Aww, I'm sorry, sweetie. Did you want to sleep in on the first morning of your first mission?"

"Mooooommm."

Professor Mesánychta's oft-repeated don't worry, that's how they show affection echoed in Raven's head. Seeing them with their parents actually made it make sense.

"You know that's contagious, Sum," Huang yawned as well, distorting his words. "Who's up for some fishing?"

Raven eyed the machines bolted down to the truck beds with a scowl. …They did look a bit like fishing rods.

"You're the worst," Tai grumbled, grabbing a bundle of straps and tossing half to Summer before shaking his out and shrugging it on.

Harnesses. Raven's gut clenched.

"In all seriousness, each person on a line needs a spotter," Huang said, looking at her and Qrow.

"Raven, will you spot me?" Qrow asked quickly.

She hesitated. Hang over a cliff or sit with Huntsmen? Which was worse? Then again—he was probably just trying to keep Misfortune away from the trucks, where more could go wrong. "Sure."

He nodded, accepting a harness from Mrs. Rose. She immediately turned her attention to Raven, however, explaining how the winch worked and how to keep the ropes from getting tangled.

"This is pretty straightforward work," Huang said, giving Tai enough slack to walk out toward the edge, and Raven copied his motions carefully. "Try not to fire on the cliff—we're trying to avoid eroding it here, and the damage adds up. Absolutely no ice Dust, it's hell on the rock, but stick to your blades in general."

Qrow nodded, riveted.

"Lastly—do not drop your weapon. Recovery is a big enough pain when the water's warm."

"Right." He glanced over the other tools in the truck bed and grabbed a short cord to tie the hilt to his hand.

Huang nodded approvingly. "Better safe than sorry."

"Hmm, you've got a point," Summer muttered, unclipping her gravity arrow and securing it to her belt before slotting in a spare. Fire Dust glistened through the clear window in the side.

"See ya!" Tai shouted with a manic grin, latching his shield-sled to his shoe and hopping backward off the cliff. A moment later the line tightened, metal clanged against stone, and a small skreeeee of rage cut off half-formed. Summer and Qrow yelped and followed.

Claret smirked at Huang with a quiet chuckle the three wouldn't be able to hear. "Oh, yes, they're so miserable."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'll admit, they're taking it well."

In spite of her apprehensions around working with two professional Huntsmen—from Anima, no less—but mostly they and their children had distracted each other, content to let the twins quietly observe. With all of her teammates at the very edge of earshot, she braced for the inevitable shift in focus. Just stay calm and say as little as possible.

"So…what made you want to become a Huntress, Raven?"

Oh. Maybe she should have lied to Summer, before. "I wanted to stay with Qrow."

"His idea?" The Huntress asked, amused. "He was certainly quick to volunteer you to stay up here and do the boring work."

"He…" What would Qrow say? Her mind went blank.

…What would Summer say? "…I… dislike heights." There, put that way it wasn't even admitting weakness. "And Qrow doesn't mind them. He's just trying to be nice."

"Oh. That's sweet. …You two must be very close."

Raven nodded. She could do this. She could play along.

"I guess we won't have any of you trade off then." Oh, thank gods. "Well, what do you think of Huntressing so far, then?"

"Um…" she glanced at the edge of the cliff, where the three lines swayed gently and laughter echoed from below. "…Is this what you really do?"

"Oh—don't worry, there's not always so many cliffs involved."

"N-no—I meant—" Every Huntress she'd seen before coming to Beacon had been desperate, injured, dead. Expendable tools of people too weak to fight for themselves. "I thought it would be… harder?"

"You've been talking to Taiyang," Claret smiled, fiddling with the winch to give her daughter more line. "Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of Huntresses that go out looking for trouble. "Well—you went on some of Zelenia's expeditions, right? There's always something out there to hunt down or study—but yes, most of Huntress work is just… maintenance."

Huang nodded from his seat in the other truck bed. "These fledglings are no threat to us. But if someone untrained with their aura tried this, it could turn deadly fast. Add in the icy conditions and it's not really safe for Signal's students either. So we step in, because we can."

"What about bigger Grimm?" Raven countered.

"If you're doing your job right, you won't have any young and stupid Grimm that get big enough to be a threat. As for what wanders in from the wilds…"

"The old ones are smart enough to stay away from humans, at least when we don't weaken ourselves by attacking each other. And you should always have an idea of what's in the area."

"If you ever end up in a fight you're not prepared for, something went wrong a month or more ago."

"…What do you mean?"

Claret smiled again. "I'm sure by now you've heard Summer and Taiyang crack at least one joke about migration tracking."

Raven nodded.

"The Kingdoms spend a lot of resources keeping an eye on any large herds of Grimm that form." She turned out toward the ocean and pointed at the horizon. "You see those buoys out there? There's a listening station bolted to the seafloor under each one. Warns us if anything too big gets close to the island, gives us time to call Vale for backup if we need it. There's stations all over the mountains too, same thing, and the Kingdoms are putting them further and further out into the wilds every year."

"I suppose your farm would have been pretty far from any of the Kingdom's guard stations if you were growing something illegal, though," Huang added, too casually. "It makes sense you wouldn't know."

Adrenaline surged through Raven's veins, turning the world sharper and colder. "No—we grew—rice. It was just rice, and—" Of course she'd get them caught for the wrong thing—they'd be captured and discovered for sure—

"You're not in trouble!" Claret exclaimed. "They obviously threatened both of you—you didn't have a choice—" she froze for half a moment, repeating softly, "…you didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean?"

Huang cleared his throat with a different sort of hesitation. "…Apparently, Qrow let slip that the two of you had to keep watch for each other at night because the others would attack you. I hope I'm not the first person to say that's not normal."

That was pretty unlucky. At least if this is what killed them, it wouldn't be entirely her fault.

"You and your brother are safe with us. If you need help, or protection, we're here for you."

A trap. Like Professor Mesánychta's attempt to get her to confess everything to a doctor at Beacon. "We grew rice." She threw as much certainty into the words as she could.

The Huntress nodded, almost sadly. "It's all right. We just want to make sure you have somewhere else to go when the school year ends."

Raven didn't want to think about it. No, they didn't have a plan, and Qrow would have an unlimited number of threats and excuses to keep them in Vale and away from Vanta.

And he'd be right. His Semblance was no better now than when they left camp.

Maybe the Huntresses didn't have a reason to hurt them—yet—but they didn't have a reason to help, either.

"Why?"

Claret stared with a frown. "…Summer and Taiyang care about both of you. They appreciate what you've taught them, and they know you're struggling."

What we've taught them. Maybe she had underestimated how useful they were to their teammates.

Qrow laughed from below, and Raven held tight to the winch to lean out over the ledge to see, ingoring the way her stomach turned over.

"SIGnal POINT is FALLing DOWN," Tai sang, pushing away from the cliff on the half-beats and crashing back against the rocks in time to the song. Smoke and flames burst from under the shield clipped to his boots as it smashed through the fledglings' perches. One of the larger birds gave a high-pitched squawk as it flattened, and Qrow laughed again.

"…Seems to me like he's happy here," the Huntress murmured.

Refusal would be suspicious. They had let too much slip, and there really was nowhere else to go. "I'll talk to him about it."

***

"You kids are too good, that was supposed to take all day," Huang said.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Ms. Rose asked, taking Tai's hand and pulling him back onto solid ground.

Tai shrugged out of the harness and tossed it back into the box. "Ehh. This probably could have waited another month."

"There would be too much rain in another month," Claret pointed out, "and it shouldn't wait three or four more."

Tai shrugged sharply, unable to argue with that but still unhappy with it.

"Why did you want to become a Huntsman?"

"I want to do something that matters," he declared, accepting Summer and Qrow's harnesses and tossing them in with his own before popping the lid closed and latching it. "Not gonna stick with this kid stuff forever."

That didn't match what Claret said—and the Huntress took Raven's silent glance as a question. "There are, of course, some people who go out looking for trouble."

So that was the difference. All the Huntsmen that tracked down Vanta and Bones, that ambushed the tribe in the wilds or waited in villages that couldn't possibly afford them—

Something foul rose in the back of Raven's throat. "But—this does matter."

Qrow's mouth fell open.

"Well, yeah," Tai admitted, shrugging. "It's just boring. I want a challenge." With a teasing grin, he added, "Are you worried about me?"

She knew when she was being baited and so said nothing. Tai shrugged and turned away, giving her the chance to shoot Qrow a scathing glance behind his back.

"Let's get these back to the school," Huang said, gesturing for the twins to follow him back to the truck they arrived in.

"Everything go smoothly?" Qrow muttered, clambering in and offering a hand.

She nodded and took it. "You?"

"Fine."

Outside, Huang slammed the tailgate closed. Raven twisted at her vambrace. "…Mrs. Rose says this is what Huntresses do most of the time. Not the cliffs, the…cleanup."

"Really?"

Huang laughed, and the two nearly jumped. "You've been talking to Summer and Taiyang too much."

"But—" Raven frowned. Were they supposed to talk to them less? "They're our teammates." Or were they supposed to be talking to people outside of team STRQ more? Ugh—trying to learn the right things to say for just two people was hard enough.

He waved a hand, sliding into his seat. "Just an expression. I was the same at their age… desperate to get out there." The truck rumbled to life, crunching ice and rock as it started forward. "Too often people don't see the value in the little things until after we try to take on the world. They'll learn as they get more experience."

And what if they're killed before they learn?

Raven shook herself silently. It's not our problem. We're smart, we'll—damn it, we'll go HOME. They'd return, kill Vanta and Sanguin, take over the tribe, and teach the Huntsmen it wasn't worth coming after them. The children of Bones Branwen shouldn't have too much trouble with that—they'd only have to kill three or four to get the message across.

When both the tribe and the Huntsmen feared them, they'd finally be safe.

***

"I must have told him three times, 'Stay on the path.. Okay?' Then I turned around to get Summer out of her car seat, and when I looked back he was up to his knees in mud."

Tai froze, halfway out of the other cab, gaping at his father. "Are you telling them the—"

"Oh, I remember that," Claret said, thoughtful. "We never did find that shoe."

"He had them for two weeks! They were brand new!"

She giggled with a snort just like her daughter's, though Summer was currently trying to hide a smile from Tai.

"Are you two going to be this embarrassing all week?"

"I'm your dad, that's my job!"

Tai groaned in that exaggerated, joking way. "Let's just get out on patrol so you have to be quiet."

"Ah, you wound me!" he gasped, hanging the keys back on the wall.

"It's going to be dark soon," Summer said. "We really should get going if we're hiking to the cabin."

"You don't want to drive there on the second day of your first mission?"

"You're never going to let that go, are you."

"Hmm…" Claret smiled. "Ask me next year."

Raven followed them from the warehouse, out the eastern side of the fort. Half of one wall served as the local Huntsmen's base of operation, separate from the school—which apparently in a town this small just meant storage.

"Uncle Azraq?"

At the other large door—the main school entrance—a Huntsman froze on the threshold, head snapping toward Summer's voice, and his eyes widened.

"Uncle Az!" Tai shouted, and the two of them ran forward to hug him.

"Hey!" His eyes flicked past Raven, toward the other adults, only briefly. "How was your first day?"

"Ehh, nothing crazy. How was your mission?"

"…Just a false alarm," he lied, tension running under his voice.

"Aw, dang. Hope it didn't waste too much time."

"At least now you can meet the twins!"

"Of course," he replied, and they stepped aside to let him past. His gaze stayed trained on their teammates' parents, though, and he walked right past her—

Qrow stood with his head bowed, hands hanging limp at his sides. A knot of unease tightened in Raven's stomach as the Huntsman stopped right in front of her brother and spoke with a gentle voice.

"It's good to see you again."

Next Chapter: Qrow—Doesn’t Change Anything

[fire-the-headcanons]

“Let’s give them an old-fashioned Vale welcome,” Tai said, carefully unfolding the paper around Qrow’s clothes and swapping all of the pants with ‘Robin’s’ skirts. “After all, kilts are very traditional.”

Summer stared. “Do you want to get stabbed? Because this is how you get Raven to stab you.”

“That’s why I’m not pranking her.”

Follow the Beacon Summer—Do You Want to Get Stabbed?

[Link to Masterpost]

[It’s time. It’s finally here. The moment we’ve all been waiting for: next week because it wouldn’t all fit in one chapter of course]

“Should we wake him?” Summer asked, glancing between Tai and their new teammate. Qrow lay curled in a tight ball on the floor next to his bed, cocooned in a blanket. 

Tai shrugged. “I dunno. He looks happy.”

“They’re both gonna miss breakfast.” Raven had also slept through their alarm somehow and was still sprawled face-down on her pillow. Maybe. Hard to tell where her face was under all that hair.

“So we’ll bring them some fruit or something. Come on, Dan’s waiting for us.”

“I guess,” Summer muttered, pulling on her hoodie and following him from the room. 

The mess hall stood at one edge of the cluster of dormitory buildings, along the wide central path that cut to the heart of the school. Through the massive windows they could see it was already packed with a mix of students wearing pajamas, uniforms, or creative blends of the two.

“Starting to think you weren’t going to show again,” Dan said, straightening up from where he’d been leaning against the stone.

“Hilarious.”

“How was your first night with the birdbrains?” he asked. Tai snorted, grinning. “Hey, maybe if we build a scarecrow they’ll fly away home to Anima a little faster.”

“Ehh, say what you want,” Tai said, pulling the door open and stepping aside to let them though, “they can really fight.”

“Won’t change anything if they can’t read.”

Oh, come on. Summer rolled her eyes at Dan’s back. Qrow was reading a textbook when we met him—

“HEY! IT’S THE CHEATERS!”

She froze mid-thought as several of the older students leapt to their feet, shouting over the noisy cafeteria. Some banged their empty glasses on the table or jumped up on the benches, and all of them were staring at the three of them and grinning like maniacs.

“What is happening.” She twitched, considering running back outside where things made sense, but finally some of what they were shouting started to filter through.

“Hey, nice trick yesterday!”

“That was some quick thinking, Reaper girl!”

Oh no, someone had recognized her weapon. It was kind of flattering to be compared to her hero… But on the other hand she’d hoped to shake the comics-obsessed fangirl image she’d kinda gotten stuck with at Signal. Well, that dream lasted less than a day—

“Nobody from our year managed to get around Ozpin’s ‘partners at first sight’ rule.” The boy who spoke didn’t look like a second-year. More like a giant. But the Professor hadn’t been at Beacon any longer than that, so he had to be. “You and those Taupe kids were definitely the crowd favorites. Your spear runs on gravity Dust?”

“Y-yeah—”

“You were watching?” Dan asked.

The boy grinned. “You firsties spend your first day of school running around in the woods being chased by Grimm. The rest of us get to kick back and spend it watching you.” 

Tai groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

“Hey, don’t be like that.” They put a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, it sucked that you got hurt, but like you said— even pro Huntsmen mess up, but they don’t panic. You did everything perfectly. Everyone has a little bad luck now and then.”

Tai stammered his thanks and the sophomore headed off toward the food line.

“...Can’t help feeling like maybe yesterday was a lot of bad luck,” Summer muttered. How on Remnant does Ozpin expect me to lead this team? Dan was supposed to be leader. Well, I guess he still is but he was supposed to be our leader.

“You gave Tai half of Gungnir?”

“Uh. Yeah…”

“Huh.” The sound was sharp and bitter, like a rusted knife across the tongue. “Good move.” 

What, did you expect me to give it to you? Tai’s… family.

They got food and, without having to say a word, drifted to an unoccupied table at the edge of the room away from other students.

“Well, crap,” Tai sighed, grabbing the hot cocoa off his tray. “So...Where’s the rest of your team?”

“Wanted to sleep in,” Dan said around a mouthful of pancake. “We may have, uh, raided the kitchen for snacks before bed. Important team building exercise. What’d you do last night?”

Summer swallowed a bite of fruit, eager to talk about something else. “Filled some new gravity rounds. I nearly ran out yesterday.”

He looked expectantly at Tai, who sighed again, deeper than before. “...Taught Qrow how to use a washing machine.”

Aaaaand we’re back. She speared a piece of watermelon, wishing they could get a do-over of the previous day.

“Unbelievable,” Dan muttered, leaning against him and pressing his face into his neck. Tai went completely rigid, and Summer’s mind went blank.

“Dude!”

“What? I thought you wanted to tell Summer.”

She blinked, something in her stomach turning over. “...Tell me what…?”

“Uh…” Tai’s face was a nasty shade of gray. “Dan and I…”

“We’ve been dating for a couple weeks now. We’re talking it slow, since Zaff just left.”

It felt like a punch to the face. They were what? 

Now??

—She was staring at them open-mouthed. “Uh. I’m happy for you!” Summer forced a smile and hurriedly attacked her hash browns.

Tai, what the hell are you thinking?! Dan? Our friend? Who just broke up with our OTHER FRIEND? And when Dan and Zaff were together, they were together. She hadn’t spent nearly as much time with either of them. But they’d been happy… and she’d had Tai.

…Please don’t leave me alone with the Taupes.  

They ate in awkward silence, trying to avoid eye contact with the rest of the school. The food seemed to curdle in her stomach—this was a worse start to the year than she could have ever imagined.

“Uniforms!” Summer jumped about a foot, but it was just a teacher. “Hello again, Mr. Xiao Long.”

“Hi, Peter,” Tai said. “He’s a TA and our floor monitor. We, uh, met last night. Large, please.”

“Yes, my apologies again,” Peter blustered, handing the boys paper satchels. “Where is Mr. Taupe this morning?” If he’s smart, still unconscious. “No matter. Could you take one for him? Hmm. I’d hazard a guess at medium.”

“Sure.” Tai accepted the packet, and he moved on to the next table of pajama-clad first years.

It only took a few more minutes for the other TA to arrive with the girls’. “Extra-extra-small?” Summer asked hopefully. 

She dug around on the bottom shelf and finally emerged with a rumpled package. Summer beamed, taking it. “Thanks!” Maybe she wouldn’t have to alter something for once—she hadn’t exactly packed her sewing machine and it would mean a trip home. 

“Hey, we need a couple for our teammates,” Tai blurted, gesturing between himself and Dan. “Raven and, uh, Robin are probably both mediums, right?”

The TA just shrugged. Summer leaned over the table to whisper as she left. “What are you up to?”

“Let’s give the Taupes an old-fashioned Vale welcome,” Tai said, carefully unfolding the paper around Qrow’s clothes and swapping all of the pants with ‘Robin’s’ skirts. “After all, kilts are very traditional.”

Summer stared. “Do you want to get stabbed? Because this is how you get Raven to stab you.”

“That’s why I’m not pranking her.”

[Patch Notes: Tai’s chapter titles are now attempts at puns.

Professor Diana Miller is now Professor Zelenia Mesánychta (pronounced Meh-saan-eek-ta, it’s Greek). Boy did I not read the whole Wikipedia page on Baker-Miller pink before using it. Shit is WEIRD. It was supposed to be a throwaway name for a background character, but she’s suddenly becoming more important to the plot so I’m giving her a real name/color/allusion/etc. Basically the only thing that isn't changing is her personality]

Next Chapter: Qrow—I’ll Take Your Word For It