Chapter Text
“Aunt Ruby?” Qrow Rose started, speaking into his scroll as he rounded the corner in downtown Vale.
“Oh, hey, what’s up, Qrow?” Ruby responded, the noise in the background of the call was faint, but Qrow could pick up on music, people talking, and the sound of glasses clattering. A bar? Ruby didn’t drink. Maybe just a restaurant then? Was he bugging her during dinner?
“I was just checking in. I know you were on a job.” Qrow sighed, Ruby was always working, either for Signal or Huntress work. “But we’re having Raven’s going away party tomorrow, and I just wanted to make sure you’d be there.”
“Yeah, I promise. I’m just finishing up one last piece of business right now. I’ll be over in the morning.”
“Awesome, then everything should be great!”
“Did you plan this all yourself?”
“Had to.” Qrow’s grimace was audible. “You and dad have both been so busy, and besides, for all the shit I give her, I am proud of her. I’m actually getting a present for her right now.”
“I’m proud of her too, and proud of you for taking the initiative. Oh, and if I was your dad, I’d tell you to watch your language.”
“But you aren’t my dad.”
“Last I checked, no,” Ruby smirked. “What are you getting her?”
“Only thing I know for a fact she’ll want, dust.”
“I might sound hypocritical saying this, but you two are allowed to have interests outside of weapons.”
“I know, but she’s gonna need it at Beacon anyway, right?”
“I guess she is.” Ruby glanced to her right as a waitress made her way up the stairs. “Qrow, I have to go okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Oh, yeah, okay. See you then, love you.”
“Love you too.” Ruby hung her scroll up just as the waitress arrived at the table.
“Strawberry sunrise?” The waitress asked. Ruby took it with a small thank you, before sliding it to the vacant side of the table opposite her. Ruby desperately needed some form of comfort, but alcohol wasn’t her vice of choice. She tried, somewhat in vain, to get her thoughts in order. Her brain was elsewhere, two hours ago she had been locked in combat with an entire pack of Beowulfs, but if she didn’t do this now she’d lose her chance until gods know when.
It didn’t take long for Ruby to realize she was out of time, two men, dressed in worn down clothes, weapons displayed proudly, appeared on the second floor of the bar, but they mattered little to Ruby, what was more interesting was the woman they flanked. She was nearly six feet tall, dressed head to toe in a billowing black hooded robe, black armor covering her chest, back, and knees. The only hint of anything not black on her body was her wrists, covered by gold bracers, reflecting every light in the building. Her face was mostly concealed by the hood of the robe, but what was visible was covered by a white mask, similar to the skull of a Grimm, though not as obvious a parallel as a member of the White Fang might make. Gold lines ran through and around the mask. The woman approached Ruby’s table, sitting opposite her without a word.
“Leave us.” The order came from the masked woman, her voice was distorted, deep, affected by some sort of voice modulator in her mask. Her goons nodded to each other before leaving the way they came.
“Yang…” Ruby started, her eyes narrowing at her masked sister.
“Ruby,” The modulated voice replied. “You look like shit.”
Yang was right, Ruby still wore the signs of battle. Her dress, black with red accents, was torn in multiple places, and her tights were possibly in worse shape. Her hair, black fading to red, was matted with sweat, and her deep red eyes had dark bags under them. Ruby was tired, but she was here and that’s the only thing that really mattered.
“Yeah, well, some of us still care abou-” Ruby started.
“You have until I finish this to say what you will, I’d choose your topic carefully.” Yang cut her off, taking off the mask and picking up the drink in front of her. Yang briefly let her cascading blonde locks and piercing red eyes show to the rest of patrons of the bar, before pulling the hood back up.
“Raven’s leaving for Beacon soon.” Ruby sighed, cocking her head slightly.
“Is she?”
“Yeah, she crushed the entrance exam.”
“Of course she did.”
“They’re, uh… we’re having a party for her tomorrow. I think it would mean a lot if you would be there.”
“Yeah, it probably would.” Yang rolled her eyes. “If that’s what you’ve come all this way to say, you should have saved us both the trouble.”
“What happened to you, Yang?”
“What happened to me? I’m the one who didn’t change, I stayed loyal. What happened to you, traitor?”
Traitor. The word made Ruby’s blood boil, that the woman who left her husband, her friends, her sister behind, the woman who left her daughter behind, to return to the life of a crusading bandit would call her a traitor, it was all she could do to remain cordial.
“I stayed loyal too.” Ruby choked out through gritted teeth.
“I guess we have different definitions of loyalty, then.”
“I guess we do. She wants to see you, you know? She asks about you still, you don’t care even a little?”
“Ruby,” Yang sighed, setting the now empty glass down. “Your ‘take parental responsibility’ speech has gotten much better than your ‘do the mad witch’s bidding’ speech’ but they both need work.”
“Summer was the one who could do words, but I’m trying, I’m making an effort, I’d appreciate if you’d do the same.”
“Sis, if you wanted to return to our tribe I would welcome you with open arms, you know that. If Raven wanted to, I would have no problem, but if she won’t make that effort, or isn’t allowed to, your issue is more with her or Tai.”
“I’m not letting my niece become a bandit.” Ruby growled.
“So you and Tai are controlling her, withholding information, giving her an illusion of choice, and you wonder why I have issues with the Witch and her associates.”
“That isn’t what we’re…” Ruby started. No, she reminded herself, don’t let Yang get under your skin, it’s what she wants. “Look, I still think there’s good in you, a part of you that cares for her, that wants to be a good mother.”
“Of course you do. You’d try to tame and redeem a Grimm if you had the time. I don’t even see what your concern is, she seems to be doing fine without me.”
“She is, but she still, for whatever reason, wants you to be a part of her life. I want to make that happen, I really think it would be good for both of you.”
“Sorry, Rubes.” Yang stood up, sliding her mask back on. “Not everything can end like a fairytale. I’ll see you around, sis.”
Ruby sighed, she hated having to go this way, but Yang wasn’t exactly giving her a choice.
“Are you afraid? Afraid that Summer was a better mom to her than you’d ever be? Even, afraid that I’ve been more of a mom to her than you have? There’s still time, she’s seventeen, but she still wants to know you. Give it three years, let her grow a little more, and I can’t guarantee that’s going to be the case. If I were you, I’d stop worrying about how you measure up and at least try while you can.”
“Don’t.” Yang stopped, flicking her wrist to flare her gauntlets out, the threat clear. “Don’t presume to know me, you gave that up when you left our tribe.”
“You still care. I know you do.” Ruby could see Yang’s eyes behind her mask, practically glowing from her rage. “You’re angry that I’m right, at least a little bit. That means some part of you wants to be a good mom."
“I’m angry for a lot of reasons, but that isn’t one of them. Next time you meet with me, try to make it for something important.”
Yang whistled for her henchmen as she walked towards the exit, Ruby just sighed and let her leave. That hadn’t gone as badly as she thought, but it hadn’t gone exactly well either. This was just the most recent of many conversations they’ve had about Raven, Ruby wasn’t sure if Yang was more stubborn for refusing to admit she cared, or if she was more stubborn for not giving up on her fraternal twin.
Ruby grumbled, a room key dangling from her belt. This place wasn’t exactly luxurious, but she could get a bed and a warm shower, and that was enough. After the stress of her fight with the Grimm and her conversation with her sister, she finally let her shoulders slump, ready to relax as she headed to her rented room in the back of the inn and bar.
Ruby had barely laid down for five seconds when her scroll started ringing, she checked the caller ID. The name was familiar, an associate for sure, a friend on good days, but not someone who made social calls. She grimaced slightly as she pressed the button to answer the call.
“Glynda?” Ruby asked into the phone, the voice on the other line was a mix of anger and concern. Ruby’s eyes went wide at what she was being told.
“He did what?”
---
Qrow stood by the magazine rack in the back of the From Dust Till Dawn dust shop, idly thumbing through a few things. He was, to put it mildly, impatient. As excited for his older sister as he was, two more years at Signal didn’t excite him the way his first years did. He knew he was only fifteen, but he was every bit the competent and qualified fighter that his sister was. He’d hope that he’d be noticed for his skill and maybe even moved ahead, catch a lucky break, but when had that ever happened to him?
Qrow pulled headphones from around his neck back up over his ears, his call with his Aunt was over and he wanted to listen to something more interesting than the idle elevator music of the shop. As he started playing his music, the door to the dust shop creaked open.
A man in his mid-twenties with shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes walked into the shop, flanked by four men in black suits. The man wore grey-ish white armor that covered his entire torso, beneath that he wore jeans and sneakers. He had a sword and shield on his back. He was something of an unassuming man, but anyone looking closely enough would recognize him as a notorious wanted criminal. The man tucked what looked to be notecards back into a pouch on his belt, taking a deep breath before firmly placing a hand on the front counter.
“Good, uh… Good evening.” The man started, nodding to one of the henchmen in suits. The goon raised his pistol and pointed it at the shopkeep, an elderly man.
“Please just take my lien and leave.” The shopkeep responded, prompting the armored man to raise a hand.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, okay? We don’t want to hurt you, we don’t want to destroy your store, we don’t even want your money. We’ll just be taking your dust.”
As if on cue, all four of the men in suits sprung into action. Three of them going to the tubes of unrefined dust along the far wall and filling small cylinders, while the fourth began shaking the shopkeep down for dust crystals. One of the men filling the dust tubes couldn’t help but notice something off, music. It was faint, but it was audible, heavy guitar clashing against the stores’ own music. His head shot up, trying to detect the source before his eyes settled on the only other customer, a boy in the back of the store, seemingly minding his own business. Taking hostages hadn’t been part of the plan, but they were willing to do what they had to.
“Alright kid.” The thug started, pulling a machete from its sheath and raising it at the boys back. “Put your hands where I can see ‘em.”
It was at this point that he remembered the music and noticed the headphones clamped over the boy's ears, the thug grimaced and rolled his eyes as he walked up to the boy, pushing his shoulder gently. The boy, Qrow, shot a look back towards him, prompting the thug to signal for him to take the headphones off.
“Yeah?” Qrow asked, lifting one headphone off his ear, eyeing the machete carefully.
“I said, put your hands in the air!”
“Uh… are you robbing me?”
“Yes!”
“Yeah, that seems about right.” Qrow sighed.
The next noise anyone heard was the sound of a person being thrown from one end of the shop to the other. Slamming into the far wall with force. One of the thugs shot a brief glance to the ringleader, who stared blankly for a few moments in return. Panic started to grip the blonde man’s mind, this wasn’t supposed to be going so wrong, there shouldn’t have been any huntsmen or even police poking around here before they were long gone. She said that she wou-. The man caught himself, remembering that he is, technically, in charge of this operation and pointing for the thug to go investigate whatever threw his co-worker that far.
It didn’t take long to uncover the source, but before anyone could react, the teenager threw the second thug out of the front window of the shop, following outside with him. The boy turned back to glance inside the shop again as his weapon, Harbinger, started to unfurl itself. The gears within the weapon whirring as it transformed from its dormant form, metal plates tucked around the handguards of the weapon, into its scythe form. The scythe was tall, taller than Qrow himself even, the handle a mix of red and black, skinny. While the blade was long, curved, and sharp, but segmented in multiple places. Qrow locked eyes with the blonde man in armor for a moment, as they both were hit with a realization.
Qrow, for his part, recognized the man as a wanted criminal. His father and aunt being in the line of work they are made Qrow and his sister acutely aware of most of the “big names” as far as illicit activity went. The man was Jaune Arc, a criminal mastermind whose motives and associates are as of yet unknown. Okay, maybe mastermind was a stretch, Ruby seemed to think the man was a buffoon, but there was certainly a reason Arc was still alive and a free man.
Jaune looked at the teenager in front of him, the weapon, while impressive, was not what stuck out most, nor did the crooked rose necklace hanging around his neck. No, what drew Jaune’s attention was the boy's eyes, they were a light and resplendent shade of silver. Not grey, not off-white, clear silver. Jaune had heard things, via one of his benefactors, about each individual eyeball of a silver-eyed person being enough to fetch a significant price, enough to retire on. Jaune had done some unsavory things in the past, but blinding and maybe murdering a fifteen-year-old certainly gave him pause.
“Sir?” one of the thugs asked.
“Ri-right.” Jaune started. “Get him!”
The three remaining thugs, one of whom was still recovering from being thrown across the room, all scrambled out the destroyed window. One thug slipped as he did, his head hitting the pavement hard, knocking him out within an instant. Qrow smirked, his semblance, burden as it was, at least was helping him out there. Qrow raised his scythe as the two men charged him, given how easily the first two had gone down, Qrow knew these guys hadn’t activated their aura at all, so that meant fighting with the flat of his weapon. It was an unfortunate restriction but better than killing someone.
The first man swung a machete at Qrow, who jumped over it, planting Harbinger in the ground briefly. He launched himself over the head of the first man, landing at a decent speed. What he had been planning to do was land behind him and kick him in the back of the head before he could react. Unfortunately, his knee buckled on the landing. Qrow grimaced, but did his best to think fast, turning and throwing the flat end of Harbinger into the back of the man's head. He slumped over just as the last thug unleashed a barrage of gunfire at Qrow.
He was quick enough to dodge it, he didn’t have his Aunt’s speed, but she had taught him a thing or two. He charged for the thug, using as much natural cover as the area allowed him. Getting too close to the gunman was a bad idea, but no gun can fire forever. Qrow pulled on another trigger on his scythe, the gears start to whir again at the weapon pulled back, two barrels prominently displaying themselves as the blade of the weapon slid down, transforming into its shotgun form.
Qrow smirked as he heard the gunfire stop, hoping that meant the man was reloading. He only had a few seconds to put his plan into action. If he fucked this up, Raven wasn’t going to let him live this down for a second. He raised his gun from behind the cover, firing a few feet in front of the man, creating a massive pothole and a loud bang that echoed through the streets. The thug jumped back, the magazine he was loading into the gun slipping from his hand in a mix of shock and misfortune. Qrow wasted no time.
He charged for the man, who had bent down to pick up the magazine. By the time the thug glanced up, all he saw was a ring-covered hand about to collide with his face, followed by the darkness of unconsciousness.
Qrow glanced around, looking for Jaune. He was no longer in the dust shop, the clerk was standing by the doorway, his brow furrowed as he glanced up to a nearby rooftop. Qrow followed the man’s eyes to see Jaune finishing his climb of the fire escape up to the rooftop.
“Coward!” Qrow growled, pressing his shotgun against the pavement again. He pulled the trigger, using the force of the blast along with his own athleticism to lift himself up to the fire escape. The metal of it started to groan, which made Qrow’s eyes grow wide.
“Not now, not now!” Qrow begged, climbing the fire escape as quickly as he could, arriving at the top of it just as Jaune was at the opposite end of the roof.
“Stop!” He ordered, pointing Harbinger towards the criminal, the sound of a collapsing fire escaping making both of them flinch.
“You don’t quit, do you?” Jaune asked, pulling the sword from his back. “Any time now.” he muttered, seemingly to nobody in particular.
Before either of them could move to engage, a large aircraft appeared from behind the building, a large door on the side popping open. The engines of the craft flooding the rooftop with air and noise. Before Qrow could identify whether the craft was friend or foe, his opponent clarified that for him.
“That’s my ride,” Jaune yelled over the roar of the engine. “Sorry, kid!”
Jaune jumped up and into the open door, the slight jerking of the plane making him grimace. The criminal gave one last look at the teenager before sighing, regret seeming to hang in his eyes for just a fraction of a second. Jaune surrounded himself very briefly in a pale yellow light, the red dust crystal in his hand starting to hum and glow as the light made contact. Qrow stepped back to the edge of the roof as Jaune threw the suddenly awakened crystal towards him. Qrow prepared to jump, the fall was easily preferable to the explosion.
This was the reality of being a huntsman, Qrow figured to himself. Risking your life, being willing to die to help the innocent. It was what his dad, mom, and aunt all did. What he and his sister were training to do. Would a real huntsman put his own safety first? When his target was right in front of him? Would his dad do that? Would Ruby do that? Qrow groaned, this was going to hurt. Harbinger began transforming again, becoming a wide, segmented sword. He raised it in front of himself, fighting his eyes not to shut and bracing himself as the crystal exploded.
The burning painful sensation he was expecting didn’t come as a bright purple flash enveloped the crystal throwing it into the sky where it detonated harmlessly. A woman now stood in front of Qrow, she was dressed in a white blouse, a purple cape, and a high-waisted black pencil skirt. Her light blonde hair was tied back in a bun, small round glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose and a black riding crop was gripped firmly in her right hand. She pointed it at the aircraft, locking eyes with Jaune Arc. He steadied himself, glaring at the woman. If Qrow had to guess, he would say the look in Jaune’s eyes was bordering on hatred.
The woman, Qrow recognized her as Glynda Goodwitch, an administrator at Beacon academy and an associate of his dad and aunt. He had met her a handful of times, but never in circumstances like this. Glynda flicked her wrist as a barrage of purple light shot from it and struck the hovering craft at multiple different angles, pushing and jerking it violently.
Jaune covered his mouth, gagging and desperately grabbing for anything to steady himself, nearly dropping his sword in the process.
“Nope, I can’t…” Jaune trailed, gagging again, looking towards the cockpit of the craft, calling out to the pilot. “Huntress!”
The woman in the cockpit, only visible to the two onlookers on the roof as a shadowy figure wearing black and gold boots, took Jaune’s place by the open door of the aircraft, as Jaune struggled frantically to get to the pilots' seat. The woman, keeping herself wreathed in shadow, extended her hand as a shaky black outline started to surround the metal shingles of the roof and the ventilation shaft. All of the metal began to fly towards Glynda, Qrow hadn’t noticed until he felt himself being jerked forward, but the metal of Harbinger was being affected too, disarming him.
Glynda watched as the wave of metal was about to impact her, her face stoic and unflinching. She briefly raised her riding crop as more purple light warped around her, catching all of the metal around her, repurposing it into a massive spear and throwing it towards the craft. The metal started to whine as black light clashed with purple, a war of their semblances occurring midway between the craft and the rooftop.
“Jaune.” The woman said, it was an order. Jaune, still regaining his composure, extended a hand back towards his accomplice, the same yellow light surrounding his body, and eventually hers. The woman smirked, leaving her right hand extended towards the makeshift spear and slowly raising her left.
Qrow heard a rumbling beneath their feet, he tilted his head slightly, trying to listen as best he could over the roar of the engines. He glanced over at Glynda, still focused on the battle in the sky.
“What is tha-” He started, cut off by Glynda’s gasp. Qrow felt himself being pulled forward, the same purple light surrounding his body. Glynda rolled forward herself, kneeling next to him. He was confused initially and then embarrassed as he saw that spot where he was standing be ripped through by a metal desk. Great, he had to have his ass saved on his first night of solo huntsman work. That basically eliminated all hope in his mind that the veteran huntress would be impressed. More holes began to appear in the roof of the building as desks, chairs, and even a water heater were pulled through from below, all surrounded by the black light of the mysterious woman’s semblance. Who was she? How strong was her semblance?
Qrow heard the roaring engine grow more distant as shreds of metal began to rain down from the sky. He was only able to catch a brief glance of the aircraft disappearing into the night as Harbinger, thankfully still intact, landed a few feet from him. He picked it up and started to brush himself off, exhaling as he glanced towards Glynda. That could have gone better, but it could have gone a lot worse.
"Woah, a real Huntress in action!" Qrow started, Glynda returned only a stern look. Qrow glanced at the carnage around him, the massive property damage to the store, the street, and the building as he exhaled, tucking a hand behind his head. It wasn’t all his fault, not even mostly his fault, but the massive potholes and collapsed fire escape stuck in his mind.
"I uh… I'm in trouble, huh?"
---
“I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young man.” Glynda started, pacing around the interrogation room of the Vale police station. Qrow sighed, drumming his fingers on the table and grimacing slightly. “You put yourself and others in great danger.”
“They started it,” Qrow mumbled under his breath, it wasn’t much of a defense, but it was true.
“Not to mention the reckless property damage, do you know how much fixing all that is going to cost? I don’t suppose you have Huntsman insurance.”
“I…” Qrow started, she was right, but surely he wasn’t supposed to just stand there and do nothing. “My dad and aunt ar-”
“I’m well aware of who they are, Qrow. Rest assured I’ve already spoken to both of them and your aunt is covering the cost, but if she wasn’t who she was, you’d be on the hook for those expenses.”
“Great, then why am I still he-”
“You’re still here because I want to ensure you understand the gravity of your actions. If I hadn’t been ther-”
“If you hadn’t been there, we can’t know what would have happened.” It was Qrow’s turn to cut her off. Glynda shot him a look, the message was clearer than any words could be, don’t try it. “Right, yeah. I understand, can I go now?”
“If it were up to me, yes. You’d be sent home with a slap on the wrist!” Glynda snapped her riding crop on the table, making Qrow jump. “And a pat on the back.” her posture softened.
“Good to know you’re at least taking what your aunt teaches you to heart.” Glynda relented, not smiling, but not longer scowling at the boy. “As I was saying, there’s someone here who would like to meet you.”
Qrow’s breath caught in his throat as the new woman entered the room. She was tall and thin with clear blue eyes and long, greying, blond hair. Dressed in a flowing white dress with a small blue pendant. Her face was warm and friendly, but the bags beneath her eyes, and the sadness hidden behind them, showed her age more than a few grey hairs ever could.
“Qrow Rose,” the woman began, staring intently at the boy, “You have silver eyes.”
“Uh… thank you?” Qrow stammered, prompting the woman to smile.
“So, tell me, where did you learn to do this?” She asked, indicating to the tablet Glynda was holding, replaying his fight with the thugs from the dust shop.
“Signal academy…”
“They taught you to build and use one of the most complicated weapons ever designed?”
“Well, one teacher in particular. My aunt, Ruby Branwen, she’s a teacher at Signal, She taught me most of what I know.”
“Yes.” the woman smiled again. “You could say I’m familiar with her.”
“I… yeah, she went to Beacon. Of course, you would know her…”
“So tell me, why are you training to be a huntsman? Carrying on the family name? Your mother, father, aunt, sister, just following in their footsteps? Wrapped up in childhood tales of slaying monsters?”
“No, I… that’s not it. I mean, maybe that’s a part of it, but it’s more than that. I want to help people. Yeah I could do that in the police or some other field, but being a huntsman is cool, so yeah. I guess that is part of it. I have two more years at Signal, and then I was gonna apply to Beacon.”
“So you know who I am.”
“I’m that transparent? Yeah, you’re Professor Salem, the Headmistress of Beacon Academy.”
“Well then, it’s nice to meet you properly. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Salem smiled, extending a hand, Qrow took it and gladly shook.
“Same here.”
“You want to come to my school?”
“Yeah, I mean, it’s been my dream since I was a kid.”
“Well,” Salem started, glancing towards Glynda, who shook her head. “Okay then.”
“I…” it took Qrow a second to register what Salem said. “Wait, do you mean-?”
Salem smiled.
---
“I can’t believe they really let you in two years early.” Raven Xiao Long said, shaking her head and smirking, standing on the transport airship to Beacon Academy. Raven had long wavy black hair down to her mid-back and piercing red eyes, she was a few inches taller than her younger brother. She was dressed in a red top, the upper torso of which was solid black, a black skirt, and knee-high black boots. Her sword, Omen, was tucked in its sheath off her left hip.
“You and me both. Who’d have thought?” Qrow replied, rolling his eyes at his sister.
“Seriously though, I’m proud of you. It’s a big accomplishment.”
“Uncharacteristically sweet. Thank you, Rae.”
“Mhm. Just don’t tell too many people how old you are. They might look at you like you’re some sort of prodigy.”
“Gods, that’s all I need, huh?” Qrow sighed.
“Don’t worry little bro, it would take some pretty bad luck for people to find out without you telling them.” Raven smirked, Qrow sighed.
“I hate you sometimes, you know that, right?”
“I’m joking, Qrow. It’s going to be fine. You should be excited.”
“Oh, I am excited. Just uh, I got moved ahead two years. I’m not exactly looking for more attention than that already gives me.”
“Me too. I’m sure we’ll b-”
“The robbery was lead by notorious criminal, Jaune Arc, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale police department, back to you, Lisa.” A news anchor announced as a mugshot of Arc showed on the holographic screen, in front of the siblings. Qrow grimaced, he was this close to apprehending him, he should have been in custody. Raven nudged him.
“In other news, this Saturday's Faunus civil rights protest turned dark, when members of the white fang disrupted the ceremony.” The logo of the White Fang displayed itself next to the anchor, a red Beowulf head with three purple claw marks behind it. The broadcast was cut short before she could continue.
“Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch.” Glynda’s image replaced the news report as all the students gave their full attention. Glynda continued her introductory address, well-rehearsed, but Qrow and Raven couldn’t shake the impression that it was made years ago. The address ended as the airship began to rise, high above the Vale skyline, most students rushing to the window to catch a glimpse. Qrow and Raven among them.
“You know, with dad in Patch and you at Beacon, I might never need to take an airship like this again.” Raven said, patting the side of her sheath and smirking, Qrow rolled his eyes.
“Hello there.” A sing-song voice cut in, nearly cooing. A red-haired boy stepped up to the siblings, dressed in a white suit coat, dark trousers, and a black bowler hat. The boy smirked and extended a hand.
“And what, if I may have the pleasure, is your name?” The boy continued, wrapping his arm around Raven. Qrow snorted under his breath, leaning against the wall of the airship, this would be good.
“Raven.” She mumbled a curt response, seeming to take her father’s warning about making enemies at Beacon to heart, at least to a degree
“Do you have a last name, Raven?”
“Xiao Long.”
“I see, well that’s a lovely name, Raven. My name is Roman Torchwick.”
“Good for you.”
“Anyway,” Roman continued, his smirk growing wider. “I know how overwhelming this process can be, starting at a school like Beacon. A very good friend of mine is a 2nd-year and I visited her quite a lot last year. I have something of a wealth of knowledge on Beacon compared to most students in our year, so feel free to come to me for directions or with any questions, I’d be more than happy to help. Especially someone as pretty as you.”
Raven grimaced, a deep exhale leaving her mouth, not making enemies was going to be harder than she thought. She gave a quick glance to her brother before the grimace turned into a smirk, her piercing red eyes narrowing.
“I do have a question actually.” She started, both Qrow and Roman raised their eyebrows.
“Yes, anything.” Roman replied.
“Did you intend to leave this airship with both of your arms attached?”
“I…” Roman stammered “Yes, that is generally the goal.”
“Then I highly suggest you stop touching me this instant.”
“Message received.” Roman said, raising his hands in the air and stepping back.
“Nice one, hotshot.” Qrow taunted, smirking himself now. Roman tipped his hat and walked on, away from the siblings.
“Thanks for the help.” Raven shot to Qrow who just smirked.
“Hey, you had him,” Qrow replied, stepping next to his sister. “Besides, who am I to stand in the way of young romance?”
“Qrow!” Raven scoffed slugging him playfully on the shoulder. “You remember what I said about being proud of you for making it into Beacon?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, that guy also got in. Now I’m not so sure I’m quite as proud.”
“Fair.” Qrow scoffed. “Anyway, it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting four years.”
“That it is.” Raven said as the airship approached the landing dock of Beacon academy. The tower of Beacon finally came into clear view out of the windows of the ship and it made both siblings, as well as most of the students on the airship, do a double-take. Most of the buildings were impressive, the academic buildings, dorms, and even the campus itself were more impressive than anything most of these students had ever seen, but all of it was dwarfed by the majesty of the large marble tower at the end of campus, blue lights flashing around it. The students were shaken out of their daze as a small ding echoed throughout the ship, snapping their attention the onboard announcement as an automated voice began to speak.
“Now arriving at Beacon Academy.”