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“Where did you learn close combat like that?” Qrow looked up at Clover’s question, sitting just against the wall of the main training room as he sharpened Harbinger . He noticed that Kingfisher had been extended to the pole’s full length, resting casually over one of Clover’s shoulders.
“My partner in school. He was a hand-to-hand specialist. He taught all of us.” Summer had mandated it, that they’d all learn how to fight in each other’s styles in case weapons got switched around in a fight.
Since she was the one who always dropped her weapon at least once a fight without fail, he could see why.
“Was that Tai?” Clover tilted his head. ‘You’ve mentioned him. Before. Your nieces’ father?”
“That’s the one.” Qrow set Harbinger aside and stretched out, hooking his hands behind his head as he leaned against the wall. “He’s still in Patch, teaches at Signal. They need him there.” Qrow could have really used him here, though. Taiyang was his best friend, and even calling him that felt like he was underplaying their bond. They’d been through a hundred hells together.
“From what I’ve picked up, he sounds like a good man.”
“He is.” Tai, Ruby, and Yang were the only family Qrow had left, and he’d protect them. “How about you, who was your partner in Atlas?”
Clover chuckled and sat down beside Qrow, resting Kingfisher beside Harbinger. “You’ll never believe it.”
“Try me,” Qrow dared.
“Robyn Hill.” Clover pulled out his horseshoe and spun it on his fingers.
Crow snorted with laughter before he looked at Clover and saw that he wasn’t kidding. “Holy shit, really?”
“Would you believe that we were best friends?” Clover smiled wryly.
Qrow considered it for a minute. “You did seem like you knew each other, personally.”
“Team TRCH,” Clover pronounced it ‘torch’. “I think we were pretty cool. Robyn and I are the only ones who are still active, though. Teale disappeared years ago and Hibernus gave up on being a Huntsman.”
“Sounds similar to STRQ.” Summer disappeared, Raven quit. Tai had to step back and focus on their girls. “Teams rarely stay together after graduation.” He had a feeling team RWBY would learn that eventually. Once they were older.
“I can think of one, but that’s not my story to tell.” Clover tossed his horseshoe in the air and caught it again.
Qrow watched him play with the lucky charm and switched his gaze to the man himself. “But you do have some stories that are yours.”
Clover quirked a brow at him. “I’ll bet you do too.”
“I got plenty of stories in here,” Qrow tapped his temple. “Hard to keep ‘em all straight, sometimes.”
Clover’s eyes gleamed like chips of malachite. “We could trade.”
“Or you could fight me for them.” Qrow suggested, with a joking roll of his shoulders. Truthfully, he was interested in sparring Clover. He wanted to see how he fought. Fighting styles could tell him more about a person than anything else, sometimes.
Clover grabbed Kingfisher and stood up. “You’re on, Qrow.”
Qrow arched his back to pop out the clicks before he stood up, carrying Harbinger with a languid grace. “By your leave, Shamrock.”
Kingfisher ’s hook was already in motion, rocketing towards Qrow’s face as the fishing pole followed the line of Clover’s cast. His shoulders and back had twisted into the movement, his stance grounded but light.
Qrow deflected it with Harbinger ’s blade, his own stance nearly weightless on the ground as he held back from one of the reckless charges he would have had in his youth, taking a moment to go over what he knew.
Kingfisher was best at range, where that fishing line and hook could give Clover complete control of the fight. He had no doubt Clover could fight in close, but that just made it fun.
Qrow smirked and attacked, charging in as he watched Clover reel the line back in. The faint scrape of metal on the ground told him to jump, just barely dodging the hook before it could clip his heels and catch his ankle. His shoes barely touched the ground for a moment before he pulled from his scythe footwork and spun into an overhead blow, forcing Clover onto the defensive.
Their weapons clanged, Qrow continuing the momentum of his spin with a heel kick to Clover’s thigh. “First hit to me. First story to you.”
Clover grinned at him as he let go of Kingfisher with one hand, quickly tossing a punch. Qrow darted back, unlocking the blades. He didn’t go far, immediately bringing his sword around for a side strike.
Clover parried, using the fishing rod as a spear. “My mother’s name is Uzume Ebi. My dad, Ciaran, took her last name when he moved to Argus. We moved to Mantle when I was eleven to be with my grandfather, Balor.”
Qrow nodded and spun again, aiming for the other side. “Any siblings?”
“Heather, younger sister. She’s a brat.” Clover had a fond look in his eye that didn’t diminish the way he switched his grip on Kingfisher, using the harpoon function to stab at Qrow’s solar plexus.
It hit him, a glancing blow but a hit nonetheless. Qrow stepped back and started circling Clover, the other man matching his steps as he gestured at Qrow with his free hand.
Qrow smirked and tossed Harbinger in the air to switch hands, showing off as he slicked his hair back out of his face. “Raven and I were communally raised.” He wasn’t getting into the bandit shit. “In Mistral. Looks like you and me got the same roots.”
Clover grinned and loosened Kingfisher’s hook. “Guess so.”
Qrow’s eyes gleamed before he attacked, deciding now that they’d had a small taste of what the other could do, it was time to kick it up a notch like real Huntsmen. His sword slashed with sweeping arcs, forcing Clover to either dodge or block blows that could cut through stone pillars.
Each attack flowed into the next before Clover found his footing and ducked under one sweep, Kingfisher’ s hooking around Qrow’s ankle at the same moment he smashed the blunt end up under Qrow’s jaw.
Qrow turned his fall into a flip, landing once on his hand in a move that wasn’t exactly his favourite as he kicked up, forcing the fishing line to extend out with him. He got back onto his feet and grabbed the razor wire, hooking his leg around it a few times before he forcibly stomped and sharply slid his foot back. The sudden yank pulled Clover forward and right into Qrow’s cross.
Clover grabbed his hand before he could retract it and threw Qrow over his shoulder, where Qrow tossed Harbinger so he could land on the blade’s hilt, standing upright on his perch.
Clover pulled Kingfisher’s line back in. “How about we save the rest of the stories for after the fight?”
Qrow backflipped off his sword and landed neatly on his feet, cape fluttering behind him as he lifted his blade from the ground. “Deal.” Harbinger’s gears creaked as he shot a round at Clover, the other Huntsman deflecting it.
Clover set his stance and Kingfisher’s hook flicked out, the wire looping at it. Qrow shot it out of the air and transformed, flying above Clover before he reverted mid-twirl, bringing the sword down in an aerial attack.
Clover got Kingfisher’s pole up between them before he headbutted Qrow in the face, Qrow’s free hand reaching down to grab the fishing pole and flip himself over Clover’s head. He hit the ground behind Clover and tossed him with all his strength, returning the throw from before and following it up with another downwards cut.
Clover rolled out of the way and got to his feet, aiming for another jab with Kingfisher. Qrow grabbed it and yanked Clover closer, hitting his gut with the hilt of his weapon. Clover stumbled back, leaving Qrow to close the distance with another slashing spin.
Clover got up an arm, blocking the hit entirely on his own aura. Qrow darted back from whatever answering attack would be coming his way, dodging a somewhat feral strike from Kingfisher.
Qrow gave him a look to make sure they weren’t pushing it too hard, Clover giving him a confident smile that Qrow rolled his eyes at. Cocky bastard.
Clover moved like he was about to cast Kingfisher’s line at him again, before his hand slipped to his belt and instead that dratted horseshoe of his was flying towards Qrow’s nose. He caught it in his hand and got his sword up in a block just in time to prevent Clover from whacking him with the pole.
He considered his options for a moment before he tossed the horseshoe back at Clover’s face.
Clover moved his head to the side to dodge with a laugh, the metal charm hitting the ground behind him as he strained against Qrow’s defence. Qrow let him for a moment, pushing back just as hard, before he transformed and flew under Clover’s arm, aiming for another sky hit.
Call it his bad luck or Clover’s good luck, but the fishing pole made it there right before Harbinger would have landed a blow, Qrow’s feet hitting the ground as Clover faced him.
Clover’s boot shot up right before Qrow could break the blade lock, catching Qrow right in the stomach with enough force to send him flying. He got back up, readying Harbinger’ s shotgun.
Clover tossed Kingfisher up out of his hand, only by a few inches, just enough to switch his grip and find the balance point of the harpoon form. Within a moment his arm was up, arching past his shoulder, his entire body flowing with the throw as he turned his weapon into a spear.
Kingfisher sailed right by Qrow’s ribs, catching his cape and ripping it backwards until it hit the wall, tugging Qrow along from the force of the hit. His back hit the wall and he looked down at the weapon tucked neatly between his arm and his side, his heart thudding in his chest as he noticed it had grazed the fabric of his shirt, tearing down to the white undershirt.
He swallowed and looked up as Clover walked up, hand landing firmly on Kingfisher’s pole as he got a little closer then was necessary, grinning self-assuredly. Qrow gave him a matching smug smirk. “Nice throw.”
“Thanks. I’d say that move was pure skill.” He placed his left hand on the wall beside Qrow’s head, just close enough that Qrow could see flecks of gold and emerald green in those teal irises. Harbinger went slack in Qrow’s grasp, the end of the blade tapping the ground as his adam’s apple bobbed in his throat..
“I’d believe it.” Clover had moved like the spear was second nature to him. “So I guess I owe you a story now, Shamrock.”
“Fair’s fair. We’ll trade.” Clover yanked Kingfisher back out of the wall with a heft of his shoulders, eyes glittering like gemstones as the harpoon slid carefully between Qrow’s arm and torso.
Qrow caught a flicker of deviousness in those eyes before Clover masked it with concern. “I didn’t catch you, did I?”
Qrow glanced down at the sliced fabric of his shirt , aura preventing any actual injury. Pretty close shave there. He reached for it on instinct before Clover’s hand rested over it, making him practically jump in surprise at the warmth the other man radiated.
“Sorry about that,” Clover patted his side in apology, not sounding sorry at all.
Qrow scoffed, grabbing Clover’s wrist before he pulled away. “How concussed are you?”
Clover chuckled at that, his laugh rumbling from his chest like honey over gravel. “You’ll have to do better than that to take me down. Maybe I’ll let you have another try later.”
Qrow quirked a brow in interest. “Now that’s a rematch I wouldn’t mind.”