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It was hot out this afternoon, even at this altitude. Qrow stood leaning over the balcony in the backyard of the house they'd been staying at, sipping half-heartedly from his flask. It had been a pretty crappy couple of weeks since the Haven incident, in spite of their victory. Stressful. Oz had remained indisposed up to now, and the children were growing restless. They had no way to communicate with Atlas and trying to charter a boat or an airship was turning out to be a lot harder than they'd first imagined.
Then there was his sister. Qrow scowled, recalling the feelings he'd experienced when Yang pulled him aside after Haven. There was something angry, almost accusatory about the way she'd told him what she'd learned about her mother, and what really threw him was that it had been directed at him. The truth was, however, he didn't need her to explain to understand.
You're her brother, aren't you? How could you not know?
He thought back to his conversation with Raven at the inn, about the Spring Maiden and her whereabouts. Even while they were talking, the Spring Maiden had been right in front of him. His thoughts flashed forward to the harsh words he'd directed at her when they crossed blades. He slammed his fist against the railing and gave a frustrated growl. He was her brother, dammit; he should've known something was up with her the very second she'd “sided” with the enemy. He should've known that nothing Raven did could be taken at face value, for better or worse. He unclenched his fist and held his head in one hand. He'd been a fool.
“If I could just talk to her now...” he muttered bitterly to himself. Merely seconds after he said that, as if by some miracle, there came a familiar tingling on the back of his neck as the hairs stood on end. The feeling was followed immediately by the sound of one of his sister's portals opening up to his left. Out of it stepped the woman herself.
“Raven...?” Qrow stood, blinking, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Speak of the devil...
Raven didn't have her helmet on, allowing him to meet her gaze. Her brow was knit [typical], her mouth drawn into a small frown [also typical], but there was a look in her eyes that he hadn't seen since they were children. He couldn't speak, for fear that whatever came out of his mouth, she'd just fly away again.
“Hello, Qrow.” No anger. No condescending tone. Not even a narrow-eyed glare. There was practically nothing of what he'd been expecting in Raven's air. He relaxed his shoulders marginally, not realizing he'd tensed them. He was about to speak when Raven continued, almost warily, “Is there somewhere else we can talk?” Qrow was tempted to say no, but figured this might be his only shot to try and set things right. For everyone.
“I think I know a place.”
--
The 'place' Qrow mentioned wasn't all that far. In fact, it was right above where everyone else happened to be situated. Rooftops were a surprisingly underrated place to have a quiet conversation away from prying eyes and ears. The man stayed silent, watching the sun sink lower into the sky and giving Raven the time she needed to say her piece.
“There's a lot we need to talk about, Qrow,” she began, her voice betraying the uncertainty she felt. Qrow took a swig from his flask before answering.
“...I'm not going anywhere.” Raven was silent for just a moment longer, rallying herself.
“I went to see Taiyang.” Qrow could swear he felt his heart stop for just a moment. After eighteen years, he could only imagine how that conversation must have gone.
“Tai?”
“He's the reason I'm here, now. We had...a very long talk,” Raven breathed. Qrow held back the snide remarks that sprung to mind.
“What sort of things did you talk about?”
“...Everything. Cinder...the relic. Ozpin's reincarnation. But, mostly, we talked about Yang.” There was an odd cadence to Raven's voice that Qrow wasn't quite sure he'd ever heard there before. Something that sat frustratingly at the center of defeat, envy and...one other thing he couldn't seem to find the name for. Warmth? Affection? “I told him about how much she's grown, how strong she's become. About how much it actually frightened me to know that Yang could have the courage to do what I couldn't. All these years, I'd been watching her, trying to see, trying to be sure, that it wasn't just me who believed that we couldn't win. That no one could survive the path Ozpin's been trying to set us on.” Her voice tightened with emotion as she spoke. “When I saw her after the fall of Beacon I...I was almost certain she believed it, too. And then she showed up on my doorstep, armed and ready, looking for the very fight I've been trying so hard to get away from... And then in the vault-! You should have seen her, Qrow: lecturing me about the meaning of strength, all the while shaking in her boots and still marching in there like she was going to take down whatever stood in her way or die trying.” Raven stopped, clenching her fists tightly and gritting her teeth. “Where did she get that kind of resolve, Qrow?” she ground out. “Where did it come from...?”
The man didn't have an answer, only an idea.
Raven fell silent. Qrow knew she wasn't finished, but those words seemed an awful lot for her to confess, even to him. Especially to him. This was the first time they'd really been able to talk like this and he resigned himself to waiting however long he needed to for her to continue. Knowing her, it might be a while. He took a long pull from his flask, and to his surprise, it actually wasn't long at all before Raven spoke up again. “I also told him that I'm the Spring Maiden.” Qrow choked on his scotch.
“You told him what?”
“I guess Yang already told you, then. Well, now Tai knows, too.”
“How did that go?” he asked, coughing. Raven shot him a weary glare.
“How do you think?” Her brother nodded, swallowing and putting his flask away, saying no more.
The two of them watched the last remaining sliver of sunlight disappear behind the mountains. The sight was remarkably peaceful for such a turbulent time in the world.
“I'm sorry, Qrow.” It took hearing her speak again for Qrow to realize that Raven had started crying. It caught him off guard, but he recovered as her apology sank in. He sighed.
“Me, too.”
Qrow gazed up at the sky, seeing the first stars of the evening peeking out from the darkness. He heard a small sound as Raven wept silently beside him. It irritated the hell out of him how alike they were, sometimes; they even cried the same- silently and all alone. Growing up with her, Qrow often made a point of trying to be the opposite of his twin sister. Now, though, he wondered if he could use their similarities to his advantage. He deliberated a moment before he hesitantly brought his arm up to wrap it around his sister's shoulders. She tried to pull away, of course, but he held firm, scooting closer and pulling her against him. She continued to struggle, elbowing him in the side and digging her fingers roughly into his arm. He never let go of her, even after she stopped struggling and started sobbing openly into his chest.
“It's alright, Raven,” he murmured. “It's gonna be alright.”
“How could it possibly be alright?” she challenged. “What chance do we have of making any of this alright?!”
“Hey. Hey, listen to me: As long as there's someone still willing to fight, there's always gonna be a chance. Yang seems willing, to me. And I'm pretty sure there are more where she came from.” Raven couldn't seem to take anymore and continued to weep against her brother. Qrow spoke to her in a hushed voice, using the same tone he used to use with Yang--and still used with Ruby--whenever she woke up from a bad dream.
It took some time, but eventually, Raven managed to quiet herself, though she still leaned tiredly against her brother's side.
“I hate this,” she grouched. “I haven't cried this much in a single week since...”
“Yeah,” he said simply. She didn't have to finish that thought. Qrow knew; he'd been there. He shut his eyes against the memories that threatened to engulf him. He reached for his flask and downed its remaining contents.
“So, what now?” Raven asked, her voice raspy. Qrow had to think about that for a moment. The only real option here was to set aside all personal beliefs and grudges and keep moving forward. But, he supposed she was asking for something a little more concrete.
“Truth be told, I'm still tempted to ask you to fight with us. Especially now that I know you're one of the Maidens. Those powers come with a responsibility, you know.” He felt Raven stiffen against him, but continued before she could protest. “I'm not asking you to trust Oz, Raven. I am asking you to consider that we could actually win this. That we have a chance.”
“How would I even begin, Qrow? How can I be certain that we won't fail before we've even started? How can I be sure that this won't be a repeat of the past? Would you really be willing to bet everyone's lives, your nieces' lives, on a chance that's just barely better than what we had before?”
Qrow felt his chest tighten at her words. He didn't want to admit it, but he thought the same thing from time to time.
“Look, I know things have been, well, a train wreck-”
“Understatement of the century...” Raven scoffed.
“-but think of it like this; we have experience, now. We made mistakes and we can learn from them. If we defeat Salem, that'll be the end of it. No one else will have to make the sacrifice that Summer did. We can only do that if we all give it everything we've got.”
“...And what about Yang?” Qrow paused, choosing his words carefully.
“Yang's been abandoned by people close to her all her life, Raven. She's grown up believing that everyone leaves, at some point.” Raven tilted her head away from her brother, a subtle sign of the shame she felt over the hand she had in Yang's suffering. Qrow made a point of pulling her just a little closer. “What she needs, now, is to know that people come back. Take her friend, for example: she skipped town when Yang needed her. But you know what? She also came back when Yang needed her. You could, too. Besides,” he said, finally letting her go and stretching, “I think you'll find it's a lot easier for family to be there for each other when they're actually around.” He turned and saw his sister's features scrunch slightly in what looked like bewilderment.
“...Taiyang said something similar.”
“Then it must be true,” said Qrow, half-joking.
“Isn't it a little too late?” Raven remarked bitterly, sniffling.
“'Too late' will be when one of you is dead,” Qrow said. “Not a moment sooner.” He watched her fists clench in her lap and he held back a sigh. “Look, I'll admit, it won't be pretty at first, but the best thing you could do is see it through, for once. It's gonna take time. She's stubborn...just like her mom.” He ended that last sentence with an almost teasing note, nudging Raven playfully. That earned him another elbow in the ribs and he chuckled.
“What if things don't work out the way you thought?” Qrow couldn't be sure just then if she was talking about Yang or Salem. Didn't really matter, he supposed. Both had a pretty similar answer.
“Then they don't. And if you can, you keep trying. Simple as that.” Raven hid behind her bangs and nodded mutely.
“Simple...” she echoed thoughtfully.
They fell into a more comfortable silence, accented by the sound of crickets chirping and the mountain breeze whispering through the leaves. Together they sat, brother and sister, in a hazy reflection of times long left behind them. It was kind of nice, actually. It had been too long since Qrow had been able to sit down and just enjoy his sister's company. He glanced at her, wondering what could be going through her mind, just then.
He watched her get up.
“Where are you going, now?”
“You guys are going to Atlas, right?” She unsheathed her sword and cut open a portal. She looked back at him and smiled. A genuine, heart-felt smile that nearly broke Qrow's heart after so long without seeing it. “You're going to need to someone to open the door for you.”
“You got someone waiting for you in Atlas?” Qrow asked, getting to his feet. Raven shook her head.
“I might have an airship we can use.” She turned like she was going to disappear into the portal, but hesitated. She turned back to her brother. He tilted his head to the side expectantly.
“What's up?”
“Are we cool?” she asked, holding her fist out at arm's length. Qrow cocked his brow at it before looking back up at her. He waited just long enough to watch the doubt creep into her eyes before he smirked and gently knocked his ringed knuckles against hers.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “We're cool.”