Chapter Text
“Uncle Qrow, what do you know about the merpeople?”
Qrow looked up at his niece, straightening his back against the barrels he was leaning against.
“Not much, kiddo. I mean, I haven’t exactly heard good things.”
“Yeah, they’re horrible!” Qrow’s other niece interrupted, sliding down the mast of the ship to land on the deck below, “Apparently they sing songs to lure you in, before grabbing you and pulling you into the ocean. Then, once you’ve drowned, they expose their RAZOR SHARP teeth and-“
“Yang, you’re just saying that to scare Ruby.” Blake said, closing her book and rolling her eyes fondly.
“Pfff, oh please! Nothing scares my little sis’.” Yang proclaimed, grinning and pointing a thumb towards her sister. Sure enough, Ruby seemed more excited than spooked.
“Oh, it’s so COOL! Do you ever think about what would happen if merpeople actually existed?” Ruby squealed, sitting down next to Qrow. He shrugged, turning his gaze towards the rippling waves.
“Ruby, that’s ridiculous.” Weiss scoffed, not taking her attention away from the intricately weaved rigging, “There are better things to think about than a silly superstition about mermaids.”
“And mermen!” Yang interjected again.
“Come on, Weiss!” Ruby exclaimed, wrapping a hand around her uncle, “Imagine it, a HUGE kingdom of fish-people that’s ruled by the legendary King Ironwood. A whole different world sitting underneath us, waiting to be discovered. Don’t you ever wonder if something like that is real?"
Qrow chuckled, letting a soft smile take over his face. He turned back to Ruby and ruffled her hair.
“Hey, people can dream, can’t they?”
Fortune wasn’t on Qrow’s side that day. If he had kept his eyes on the sea, he might have seen the iridescent tail of an unknown creature rise out of the water before diving back below the surface.