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“So that’s Beacon Academy.” Raven mused from her spot next to him. Qrow just hummed in acknowledgement but didn’t bother to look. He really didn’t care, this place was going to be ‘home’ for the next four years in name only. There would be no friends, no bonds. They were here for a purpose after all. The tribe had always been moving, surviving by raiding towns on the outskirts of the country and taking what they needed. Grimm had always been a threat, but with the tribe gathering a reputation the Kingdom of Vale had begun to issue warrants for their arrest. This meant huntsmen and huntresses. Now that the tribe was combating them more and more, they were facing much bigger hardships. Huntsmen couldn’t leave alive, not without risking the tribes future. Yet they were bandits. They weren’t prepared to deal with this new threat. The tribe was suffering, losing multiple members to death and arrest.
“I don’t like this.” Qrow whispered. The tribe and all its members were wanted people, so if their true nature were to be discovered prison was the nicest outcome they could expect. Raven took this mission with pride. After all the two of them were the ones selected to go to one of the four major academies. The only other two members of the tribe were going to ‘prep schools’, where they would attract much less attention. Qrow knew what the tribe was really saying though. They were expendable. If they could learn about how to kill huntsmen, then the tribe would be stronger for it. If they were arrested than they’re capture was no threat to the tribe and it was a win-win situation all around.
“This is what our family wants.” Raven said. Qrow had to bite his tongue from laughing at that. The tribe maybe family to Raven, but not to Qrow. Qrow and Raven had no memory of their parents, having been far too young when their parents died. The tribe took them in, which was interesting since the tribe had an entire ‘only the strong survive’ stance. It was pretty quick after that the tribe found themselves a plague of bad luck. In the start they blamed it on both the twins, calling them Raven and Qrow to show they bring death and misfortune. As time went on though, it was apparent Qrow alone was the bad luck charm. Qrow was hated by the tribe, ostracized and pushed to the side. In fact Qrow was fairly sure he was only kept around so that the tribe could have a scapegoat for all their problems. That and Qrow was a fantastic fighter against Grimm. “Just keep that curse of yours in check.” Raven hissed back.
“It’s not…” Qrow started but gave up. It wasn’t a curse in the strictest sense of the word since magic didn’t exist, however Qrow and everyone else felt like it was. Qrow’s semblance wasn’t like most, or rather anyone Qrow had ever heard of before. Qrow had his aura and semblance unlocked from the day he was born. In fact if it wasn’t because of the nature of his abilities, he would probably be categorized as a genius. Unfortunately, his semblance wasn’t something that could be controlled. He had no way of shutting it off, only able to amplify it. Worked great in one-on-one fights with Grimm, a tree branch would suddenly fall on the creature’s head or it would trip and fall at a crucial moment. However it also helped bring Grimm and Huntsmen to their front door. Like Qrow, Raven found herself blessed with aura control at a young age and semblance active soon after. Unlike Qrow, she was able to master it nearly immediately.
The transport vehicle stopped and Qrow glanced around. Many of the potential students began gathering their belongings. It looked like they truly intended to make this place their homes, bringing crates, boxes, and multitudes of chests. Qrow and Raven really did stand out. Both of them had a single sword at their side and a single knapsack on their backs. Even the clothes the twins wore stood out. Despite being the nicest things either of them ever had, they were still rather run down and shabby compared to the others. Qrow shouldered his bag and walked out the door, Raven at his side. He didn’t really look up, just kept his eyes on the ground. Raven nudged him in the ribs once, probably an indication for him to look up. Qrow didn’t bother until Raven actually stopped moving. He looked around to see they were in a large entrance with many students milling about. A large number of them didn’t have any belongings with them, indicating they already started the process of settling in. A blonde woman stood near the door, handing out packets to those coming in. Raven moved to fall into line and Qrow came up behind her. “Welcome to Beacon Academy. I am Professor Glynda Goodwitch.” She greeted.
“Raven and Qrow Branwen.” Raven introduced them. Qrow grimaced. He hated that name. Branwen was the tribe’s name, but they needed a surname for the school paperwork. No one outside of the tribe knew that so it should be safe, for now. Qrow didn’t want to have any extra ties to the tribe like taking up their name though. Qrow didn’t want to be a part of the tribe. He hated them and if it wasn’t for the fact that they barley tolerated him, which was unlikely for anyone else, he would have been long ago. Glynda looked over them.
“I see. Today is arrival day, so there will not be any activities planned. Dinner will be served until six. The men will be sleeping in the ballroom and the women in the sparring room. Lights out will be at ten. Tomorrow morning wake up will be at seven and breakfast will be served at seven thirty. Everyone must be gathered in the auditorium by eight for orientation.” Glyndia said. Qrow smirked.
“How many times have you had to give that speech today?” he asked. Raven elbowed him again, this time with enough force to cause some pain. Qrow grunted, more annoyed than anything.
“Thank you ma’am.” She said and Qrow let out a low chuckle. Raven actually called someone ma’am? Glyndia handed Raven two packets.
“Please see these for your schedules going forward.” Glyndia said. They nodded to show they understood and Raven walked away, partially dragging Qrow behind her. As soon as they were a little away from Glynda, Raven turned on him with a furious look.
“What part of keep a low profile did you miss?” she hissed in annoyance. Qrow sighed, putting his hands up in surrender to show her he didn’t want to fight. “We’re here for a mission. Keep you’re head down and don’t cause trouble.” Raven hissed in a low voice.
“Whatever.” Qrow grumbled. After all he could only do so much. As if to prove his point, a blonde teen collided into him. The young man yelped in surprise as he stumbled to the side due to Qrow’s body not giving an inch and knocked over the stack of boxes on the cart he was pulling. The boxes fell over with a loud ‘bang’, one of them opening and spilling it’s contents on the floor. Qrow looked at Raven and shrugged, almost in a ‘what can you do?’ way while Raven was glaring at him, as if Qrow intentionally caused a scene. A few other students rushed over to help the teen but Raven turned on her heel.
“I’m not hungry, I’ll see you in the morning brother.” And with that she walked away. Qrow felt an emptiness in his stomach. He didn’t like the idea of Raven walking away, he was hoping they could just remain near each other. Raven was pretty much the only person in the world who didn’t hate him, even if she pretended otherwise much of the time. Figuring he couldn’t turn down free food, especially when one isn’t sure where their next meal will come from, Qrow turned to head to the cafeteria.
“Hey, wait a second!” a voice called out to him. Qrow turned to see the blonde teen who collided into him. “I think you owe me an apology.” The teen said. Qrow raised an eyebrow.
“How you figure? You were the one who ran into me.” Qrow knew it was his semblance that was at fault, but he didn’t really care right now. The teen didn’t look amused. Qrow looked him over. The guy wore fairly nice clothes so he was likely from a settled place. Lucky him.
“You were the one standing in the middle of the room.” The teen argued. Qrow rolled his eyes.
“Well maybe you should have been watching where you were going.” Qrow shot back. The blonde looked furious and Qrow noticed Glynda was staring at them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another man, an instructor form the look of it, with green hair and a white suit make a move like he was going to come closer to them. Unlucky Qrow. He was drawing attention. “Look pal, let’s just forget this and move on.” Qrow offered before turning and leaving. He could hear the guy call after him once but he ignored it. He arrived at the cafeteria and was disappointed to find all the meat dinners were gone leaving him with pasta. He found the sleeping quarters after that to see a large number of male teens running around the room. It was more people than in the tribe, more people than Qrow was used to dealing with at one time. He looked around, trying to find a place where no one was so he could set up some kind of camp. After four sweeps of the room, he found an area no one was using and settled there. Many of the teens were setting up sleeping mats, sleeping bags, and even one or two had cots. It was a drastic difference from the single traveling blanket in Qrow’s pack. However the ground was solid and not at a slant, so it was one of the better places Qrow had to sleep on. He sat on the floor and leaned against the wall, pulling the blanket across his lap. The journey had taken quite a toll on him and Qrow just wanted to rest. Qrow tensed as he sensed someone approach. He had to force himself from reacting, hoping the figure would go away.
“The names Taiyang Xio Long. I graduated from Signal Academy.” It was the kid who collided into him earlier, Qrow could recognize the voice.
“Good for you.” Qrow hissed. The guy let out an unamused noise.
“You know, when someone introduces themselves, it’s only polite to introduce yourself back.” He said.
“I don’t care.” Qrow remarked. He was hoping the guy would go away if he was rude enough.
“What school did you come from?” Taiyang asked.
“I didn’t.” Qrow grunted.
“What?! That’s not possible.” Taiyang protested.
“Actually it is.” Qrow shot back, finally opening his eyes to look up at his unwelcome guest. It was rare, but Beacon Academy did accept people who did not go to a training school. The tribe thought about looking for fake transcripts for the twins, but Raven had insisted they could pass the entrance exam without any trouble. It turned out they were right and the twins crushed it. Qrow hoped that was the end of the conversation, but apparently it wasn’t.
“So you must think you’re pretty good.” Taiyang said. Qrow shrugged. He knew he was good, but dealing with anyone is a bad idea.
“I try.” His original plan didn't seen to be working. “Look, Tai…” he started.
“Taiyang.” The blonde corrected. Qrow paused for a moment before shaking his head clear.
“Whatever. Do you have a reason for bothering me or are you going to take a hint and buzz off so I can get some sleep?” Qrow asked. Tai glared but Qrow figured if he would have to interact with this guy then he would make it as convenient for him as possible, which meant not saying some long ass name every time he had to speak to the kid.
“Well I came over to try and be nice since we got off to such a bad start, but you seem pretty set on being a jerk.” Tai hissed. Qrow shrugged. Being a jerk was a good thing. It made people keep a distance, and Qrow wasn’t exactly the kind of person people wanted to get to know.
“What can I say? I don’t like people.” Tai frowned.
“Then why do you want to be a hunter?” he asked. Qrow glared. They were done with this conversation. Qrow began looking around the room again, hoping to find another empty spot he could go lay down at. Maybe if he physically left, Tai would get the hint and leave him the hell alone. “Don't tell me you plan to sleep in that. Do you have any sleep clothes, even a uniform to change into? It doens't look like you have much.” Tai said. Qrow froze that that.
“Uniform?” he asked. Qrow didn’t hear anything about this. He thought the clothes he had would be fine.
“Yeah, you mentioned you didn’t go to a prep school so I guess you wouldn’t have a uniform. That’s not good man.” Tai said. Qrow felt a shiver pass through him. Did this school really have a uniform? He already established that Tai didn’t really like him, but the guy seemed to be trying to make nice for whatever reason.
“Beacon Academy has a uniform?” Qrow asked again, just wanting to clarify.
“You came all the way here without knowing there was a uniform?” a new teen asked, coming up to stand near Tai. He was looking at Qrow with a mix of pity and amusement. Qrow clenched a fist. He really wanted to plant it in the pompous assholes faces, but right now they seemed to be trying to give him some information. Plus Raven would kill him if he got into a fight before school even started. Not the whole ‘I’ll kill you’ and then be annoyed with him for the rest of the year but actually draw her sword and attack him the moment no one was looking. She wouldn’t be able to kill him, their skill was dead even after all, but it would take a lot of effort to calm her back down.
“Yeah.” Qrow confirmed. The stranger and Tai exchanged a look.
“Well combat gear is all your own, but for classes we do have uniforms. I can ask around, see if anyone has any extras.” The stranger offered.
“I’ll help.” Tai agreed. Qrow scowled.
“Why are you offering to help?” Tai looked surprised before shrugging.
“I don’t know, maybe I’m hoping you won’t be so much of a jerk if I do something nice for you.” Qrow wasn’t sure what to do with that. Before he could say anything else the two left. Qrow leaned back into the wall, figuring there was nothing else he could do until they returned. Qrow drifted off for a bit until he heard someone approach. Opening his eyes he saw Tai and the other kid back, each holding something.
“You’re a lucky guy you know. Turns out some people had a few spares. Sorry it’s not an actual set but…” the stranger tossed the clothes into Qrow’s lap. The irony of being called a 'lucky guy' wasn't lost on Qrow. “That’s the winter uniform. It’s a shirt and pants.” He said. Qrow looked up at them in surprise just as Tai tossed another set onto him.
“And that’s the summer set that we are using now.” He said. Qrow picked up the pieces and scowled back at Tai. So it was a prank?
“This is a skirt.” Qrow said, his voice low. He knew skirts, had seen enough people wear them. Just because he was from a bandit tribe didn’t mean he was an idiot! Tai and the kid both looked confused.
“What? No, that’s a kilt.” Tai said. Qrow raised an eyebrow. “Because of how hot it is, the school uses kilts in the summer.” Tai elaborated. Qrow put it down.
“Yeah, no thanks.” He said. He would take his chances in his regular clothes.
“You don’t believe us? Hey, come here for a second!” the dark haired guy called another person. The person looked confused before coming over. “What’s that?” the guy asked pointing to the skirt next to Qrow.
“A kilt.” The kid said, sounding confused. Tai gave Qrow a smug look. “Why?” the kid asked.
“What’s the summer uniform at Beacon Academy?” the dark haired teen asked. The stranger looked between them all, as if he was wondering if they were messing with him.
“A kilt and a button up shirt.” The kid said. Tai crossed his arms.
“Believe us now?” he asked Qrow. Qrow shrugged. If they really called over a random kid than maybe they were telling the truth. Qrow gave them a small nod. “Good, see you in the morning than.” Tai and the other two went their separate ways and Qrow looked down at the uniform. They had said he was lucky, but if Qrow was lucky he wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with. Maybe they weren’t complete assholes? With that in mind, Qrow finally went to sleep.
Xxx
Qrow was awake before the lights came on. He had gotten the best sleep he could remember, not having to worry about being killed by Grimm in the middle of the night, but because of that he was restless and woke up far too early. The other kids were still out cold. Qrow tried not to scoff at how heavily they slept. In the field, these idiots would get killed. The only way people could be that content was never having to worry about their environment. If this was his and Raven's peers than Qrow was disappointed. Then again not everyone was raised needing to fight to survive. For a moment he didn't know if he should pity them or be envious of their good fortune.
Qrow packed up all his belongings and wandered around the halls. He found a bathroom pretty far away from the others where he could get ready for the day without being bothered. As he pulled out the uniforms he looked at the kilt. They seemed sincere enough and a stranger backed up the comment, so they were probably right. Qrow changed into what the kids referred to as the summer uniform before attaching his sword at his hip and re-donning his bag. Glynda had mentioned breakfast would be served around the same time as wake up so the early birds could eat. Raven was likely to be there. Destination set, Qrow set off.
As he walked down the hall he heard a few snickers. That wasn’t unusual for him so he practically tuned it out. Qrow entered the cafeteria and looked for Raven from the door. She was easy enough to locate, talking to a girl in a silver cloak. Raven must have either sensed him or was periodically looking around for him because a few moments later she turned to look at him. Qrow noticed she found a uniform, probably someone noticing she didn’t have one and giving it to her. Either that or the tribe liked her better and let her know ahead of time. Honestly with Qrow’s luck one was just as likely as the other. Raven offered him a small smile for a moment before her face turned to shock, then rage. Qrow frowned, not sure what set her off. Then he heard the other students laughing. Glancing around the room he could see many people were laughing at him. A teacher near him wearing all red was trying to hide his giggles behind his hand before turning and leaving the room. After a second sweep of the room Qrow realized exactly what was so funny. His semblance was really working over time today.
Another check of the room allowed him to locate Tai, who was sitting at the table with his friend and the random ‘stranger’, all three laughing hysterically. All the teachers had left the room too, telling Qrow he couldn’t expect any help from them. Qrow wouldn’t have looked to them anyway, but it was kinda disappointing to realize that the teachers probably thought he was as worthless as his classmates did. Qrow honestly wanted nothing more than to kill the three punks then and there. It wouldn’t end in his favor but it would make him happy. Yet there was one way Qrow could see getting out of this with his pride still in tact, and Raven wouldn’t like it.
Qrow sauntered up to the table Tai was sitting at. He could see the three who tricked him pale at his approach, probably having assumed Qrow would get upset and storm out of the room. Many of the laughs stopped in response, students crowding around to see what he would do. When he reached the table Qrow took a moment to smirk, enjoying the fear in the three’s eyes as they realized Qrow was probably not the kid to mess with on day one. Then Qrow lifted one leg, propping it up on the table in front of them so the entire cafeteria could get a good look at his leg. “Like what you see?” he asked. The cafeteria fell into hysterics after that. It was the perfect cover for Qrow to lean closer to the three. “Try something like that again, and I’ll kill you.” Qrow hissed low. Then he pulled back, heading over to see Raven. Raven was alone now, her companion long gone. She gave Qrow a disappointed look.
“Good morning brother, or is it sister now?” she asked. Qrow scoffed.
“Shut up. How was I supposed to know it was a prank?” he asked. Raven sighed but didn’t comment further. Qrow thought about going and changing, but if he did immediately, then the class would think Tai won. He could wait until after orientation. Raven seemed to understand what he was doing because she didn’t say anything. They got breakfast and ate without too much interruption.
“Come on, let’s get to the auditorium. And try not to attract any more unwanted attention will you?” Raven asked. Qrow just shrugged. They made their way into the auditorium and fell in among the sea of students. There was a white haired man on the stage with Glynda behind him as well as the green haired teacher Qrow noticed the day before and the red suited teacher who abandoned Qrow to the mercy of his peers. Either they were important instructors, or they were new professors learning how things worked along with the students. Qrow didn’t care either way.
“Well, let’s get started shall we. I see some of you have already started on making names for yourselves.” The white-haired man said, looking purposely at Qrow. Qrow smirked and spread his arms wide, really making an effort to show it didn’t bother him despite the giggles. “I am Professor Ozpin, and welcome to Beacon Academy. You have all gone through many difficult trials to reach this point and now it is our turn to help you develop on the foundations you have built. Your time here will not be easy. You will have to give your absolute best in your studies to be able to survive in the world. However, you will not have to get there on your own. Starting today you will each be finding partners to assist you in the four years ahead.” Qrow and Raven glanced at each other. Qrow felt a wave of relief. Even after how this morning went, Raven still wanted him around.
“After this assembly concludes, you will all gather at the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. You will each of you will enter the Emerald Forest by yourselves and will find your partner. After that you will head to the forest temple where you will collect a single relic and return here.” Glynda explained.
“The partner you select will be your permanent partner for the next four years while at Beacon, so I suggest you choose wisely. That said, the first person you encounter while in the forest will be your partner.” Ozpin said. Many students started making noises of protests but Qrow didn’t care. Raven and him didn’t need to worry about such foolishness. In fact, the only thing they needed to do was ensure Qrow was sent into the forest before Raven.
“Please keep in mind that the forest is infested with the creatures of Grimm. The instructors will be watching but they will not interfere in any battles you may enter. Part of this is to evaluate your current skill levels.” Glynda said. Qrow chuckled a little at that.
“So…we’re just going to walk into the forest?” a kid asked. Ozpin took a sip of a mug he held, something Qrow assumed was possibly coffee?
“No, you will be falling.” Ozpin said. That sounded fair enough but a few students started protesting, like they didn’t know what to do if they began falling from the air.
“Wait, then how do we land?” a girl asked. Ozpin sipped his drink again.
“You will each be responsible for your own landing strategy. Take the time before you are sent in to think about it.” Ozpin said, then he left the stage. Students broke out into excited whispers when Glynda cut over them all again.
“This is Professor Oobleck and Teachers Assistant Port, they will show you to the cliffs.” She announced. A few of the more confident students started following the instructors.
“Go. I’ll be in the later group.” Raven ordered. Qrow rolled his eyes, as if he hasn’t already assumed that.
“See you down there sis.” He said. He rushed off to catch up with the first group. Unfortunately he wasn’t the only one. Taiyang had somehow fallen in step next to him. Qrow gave him a sharp look.
“Keep your distance pal, wouldn’t want an accident to happen in the forest would we?” Qrow hissed. Tai glared at him.
“Look man…” he started.
“No you look, you have no idea what your messing with, so lets just forget this morning ever happened and agree to stay the hell away from each other.” Qrow spat. Tai hesitated a moment before nodding. “Good.” Qrow snapped. Ending up in any group with Tai would be the worst luck Qrow could have right now. They all lined up on the various launch pads as they reached the cliff. It didn’t take long before Qrow was flung into the air.
It was a great feeling, almost like he was flying through the sky. Qrow just relaxed for a few moments, trying to enjoy the feeling before his body hit the height of the arc and started falling toward the ground. He reached behind him, drawing his sword enough that the wind resistance forced his body to spin. Qrow managed to get his feet angled to the ground before drawing his sword out fully. He entered the canopy of the forest, his feet hitting through the initial brush. He struck out with his sword, catching onto a branch with enough force to swing his body toward the tree trunk. As he passed over a branch, he kicked down onto it, changing his momentum slightly up toward a branch over his head. Using his free hand he grabbed it and swung himself around, significantly lowering his speed and allowing him to jump onto a finale branch. After that it was just a manner of climbing down the tree.
He could hear some noises as others landed. It sounded like many of his peers had guns that they were using to try and cushion the blow. He didn’t know what Tai’s weapon was, hadn’t really looked to see what it was, but he hoped the idiot sprained an ankle on the fall. For now all Qrow had to do was find a place to stay where no one would find him until Raven arrived. Raven’s semblance was fantastic and Qrow was just a little jealous of it. She could create a portal and instantly travel anywhere as long as the person on the other side was someone she bonded with. It was almost wasted on a person like Raven though. She only had two portals, Qrow and the tribe leader. It was just another reason why they were prefect to go on the mission. Raven could easily go between the tribe and Beacon without ever being missed to make reports, and if shit went south she could escape to the tribe. Qrow wouldn’t be so lucky.
Hearing a low growl Qrow couldn’t help but grin. He was in a bad mood thanks to Tai and killing a few Grimm may just be the stress reliever he needed until Raven made her appearance. From the sounds of it, there were two ursai nearby. “I wouldn’t go that way. I saw a Grimm.” A woman said from behind him. Qrow silently cursed. Maybe if he ignored her, they wouldn’t count it as a partner? “Hey, weren’t you listening to me?” Qrow heard a rush of footsteps before someone grabbed his arm from behind. Without thinking, Qrow whipped around to face the woman, pulling his arm free and drawing his weapon to point it at her throat. He was mildly surprised to see the woman in the silver cloak, but even more surprising was her expression. She didn’t look afraid or alarmed. “Hey, you’re the boy those guys pranked this morning in the skirt.” She said, looking down at the skirt he still wore. Qrow glared as he pulled the sword away from her. “I’m Summer, Summer Rose.” She said. Qrow turned to leave again. “What are you doing! I just said we shouldn’t go that way!” she protested. Qrow stopped and turned to her again.
“We? I didn’t ask for you to come along pipsqueak.” He said. She was annoying. The girl then pouted, actually pouted! It was such a strange expression to Qrow.
“You don’t have to ask. We’re partners now, we’re supposed to go together.” She said. Qrow took a step back.
“Whoa, slow down there. We aren’t partners.” He said. She put her hands on her hips, like she was about to scold him.
“Professor Ozpin said the first person you encounter is your partner. So we’re partners now.” She said. Qrow felt a headache coming on.
“Look, kid…” he started.
“I’m not a kid! I’m the same age as you.” She said. Qrow nodded, accepting that.
“Alright, look, Summer was it? I already have a partner.” He said. Summer smirked.
“You just landed a few moments ago, so I’m the first person you found in the forest.” She challenged. Qrow didn’t like this.
“Trust me when I say you don’t want me to be your partner alright. Just run along and find someone else.” He said. Summer shook her head.
“Nope.” She said. Qrow was floored.
“What?” he asked, almost confused.
“You said I wouldn’t want to be your partner, but I think we’ll make good partners.” She said. Qrow glared at her.
“You don’t even know the first thing about me.” He snarled. He turned and stormed off, not wanting to deal with the foolish girl. What was she even thinking? A snapping of a twig made him stop and Qrow glanced back. Summer was still facing him, giving him a hopeful look but rising behind her was an ursai. Qrow moved without even thinking about it, launching himself past Summer and slicing the beast down the middle. The Grimm dissolved into ash, being carried away by the winds. He turned to Summer, about to scold her for not paying attention but all words he was going to say died at the smug look on her face.
“I knew it. See, you are a good person.” She said. Qrow actually laughed at that. He wasn’t a good person. Not even close. Curse aside, Qrow was a bandit. He helped his tribe pray on people who were just struggling to survive. It didn’t matter that Qrow wasn’t the one to actually kill a person, he still instilled fear and terror in people and then left their fates to the Grimm that surrounded the villages as they left. Qrow may have not been the one to stab those people, but they were dead because of his actions. He may have well been the one to kill them. In fact, it probably would have been more merciful. And now this naive and idealistic young woman almost got killed because of his abilities. If she knew what was good for her, she’d get as far away from Qrow as possible. “Well, I guess we should get moving.” Summer said. With a sigh, he made a decision. She wasn't going to leave so at least he could tell her his name.
“Qrow.” He said after a moment. Summer turned around and looked at the trees.
“Where?” she asked. It was Qrow’s turn to be confused.
“What?” he asked. Summer turned back to him.
“You said there was a crow. Where?” she asked. Qrow laughed again. He couldn’t remember laughing so much in a long time.
“Qrow is my name. Nice to meet you Summer.” He clarified.
Xxx
Something had gone wrong. Something had to seriously go wrong because Raven never made an appearance. Apparently, she had a stroke of bad luck as well. On Qrow’s end nothing seemed to be going right. He and Summer ran into Grimm after Grimm and no matter how fast Qrow dispatched them more came to replace them. “Where the hell is this alter anyway?” Qrow snarled, getting annoyed.
“I think it’s a temple.” Summer said as she killed another Grimm that lunged at her.
“Who cares!” Qrow snarled. They backed up to avoid more Grimm, only to find they had reached the edge of the forest. Summer turned to look across the clearing before grinning.
“We made it!” she said. Qrow turned to see where she was looking to find a stone structure. Killing the last Grimm the two made their way over. There were a number of waist high pillars through the structure, all empty except one that held a small item. “You think that’s the relic?” she asked. Qrow just shrugged. If that was the relic, then each pillar must have held one. This meant Qrow and Summer were the last one’s in the forest. Just perfect! Summer scooped it up and put it in her pocket.
“Come on short stack, we should get going.” Qrow said. Summer glared at him but there was no real heat to it. If they were going to work together for the next four years than she would just have to get used to the nicknames.
“It’s weird though. I didn’t know there were so many Grimm in this forest.” Summer said. Qrow sighed.
“The others probably haven’t found so many.” He admitted. Summer shot him an annoyed look.
“It’s your fault you know.” She said. For a moment Qrow didn’t know how to breath. Did she figure him out already? He sputtered for words, but Summer offered him a small smile. “Grimm are attracted by negative emotions and your just full of them, aren’t you?” she said. Qrow looked at her in shock. He stopped walking and Summer did as well, her look turning more to confusion. There was no avoiding them being partners now, all the other students were already done and Raven was paired up with someone. Summer had a right to know what she was getting into.
“Look, it’s not just negative emotions with me alright.” He hissed. She tilted her head to the side. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll ask the Headmaster to change partners as soon as we get back.” Qrow said. Summer’s expression turned more to anger at that. “I’m cursed alright. No matter where I go, I bring misfortune on myself and the people around me.” He growled. The angry look disappeared into a more bewildered one.
“Like how you got tricked into wearing that?” she asked, gesturing to the skirt. Qrow ground his teeth together.
“My sister is in our class, she is used to dealing with it. It would probably be best for all of us if I just worked with her.” Qrow said. He looked away, not sure how he would take Summer’s rejection. It was amazing at how quickly he was getting attached to the girl who just did what she wanted. Like a little brat.
“Nope.” Summer said. Qrow’s head snapped up to look at her. There was that word again! Said in such a simple way. “You can’t always work with your sister. Maybe if you start working with other people you can figure out how to control this semblance of yours.” She suggested. Qrow shook his head.
“It’s not something that can be controlled!” he snapped. Summer shrugged.
“Then we’ll figure it out. But we’re partners now.” She said. With that Summer turned and walked away, leaving Qrow stunned. She just accepted what he told her and still wanted him around? Qrow wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Xxx
Qrow and Summer finally entered the school. Summer stopped outside a set of bathrooms. Qrow opened his mouth to ask what she was doing but she turned to face him. “Do you have pants you want to change into? Not that you have to if you don’t want to or…” she trailed off. Qrow smirked.
“What, don’t like the competition?” he teased. She smirked back at him.
“Well I did hear a few of the other girls say you have nice legs.” She said. Qrow blinked in surprise at that.
“Wait really?” he asked. Summer nodded. Qrow chuckled a little.
“Well, it’s a shame to disappoint them when I cover them up.” Qrow said, heading toward the bathroom.
“I’ll wait here for you.” Summer called after them. Qrow changed rather quickly into the pants he had and was fairly surprised that Summer was indeed still waiting for him when he returned. The two walked into the auditorium in silence. As they entered, many heads turned to them.
“Well, I see our last two stragglers have arrived at last.” Glyndia said in a huffy tone. Qrow shrugged.
“Sorry but there was pretty much a whole horde of Grimm out there.” He said in an annoyed tone.
“I didn’t see any Grimm.” Qrow could hear one kid whisper.
“He’s probably looking for an excuse for being late. We didn’t see any either.” Another whisper responded. Qrow shot Summer an ‘I told you so’ look. It seems Qrow really did attract all the Grimm in the forest to him. Summer gave him a soft smile.
“Alright, settle down now. Well done to all of you. Now we will assign your four person teams.” Ozpin said, putting a hand on Glynda’s shoulder. Qrow frowned in confusion and many other students started to whisper as well. “This school, like the other academies use four person teams. The relics that you recovered will sort you in teams of four.” Ozpin said. Qrow decided he really didn’t care. Maybe he could still end up with Raven, but he hoped Tai wouldn’t be part of it. “Since Mr. Branwen and Ms. Rose were the last to arrive, we shall start with their team.” Ozpin continued. Qrow cursed internally. He really didn’t want to keep drawing attention to himself. Summer just looped her arm through him and dragged him toward the stage. An image of the relic that they recovered appeared on the screen above Ozpin.
“Will the other pair who recovered this relic please approach the stage.” Glyndia said.
“Well, how lucky brother.” Qrow sighed in relief at Raven’s voice coming up behind him. He turned to greet her when he saw Taiyang standing beside her. Qrow realized immediately that The Brothers hated him. The four of them climbed onto the stage, Tai glaring at Qrow and Qrow glaring right back.
“Taiyang Xio Long, Raven Branwen, Summer Rose, and Qrow Branwen. The four of you will make up Team STRQ led by Summer Rose. I hope to see good things from the four of you.” Ozpin said. Qrow glanced at Summer. He supposed she really would be a good leader. After all, she was able to boss him around and live to tell the tale. He glanced at Raven. They were going to be on the same team, so that allowed them to work on their mission better. Besides, Qrow just drew a comfort from having his sister around. Then he looked at Tai. Tai looked smug as hell and Qrow felt a wave of anger
“Oh f- this." This was truly unfortunate.