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Work in Vacuo was tiresome, but rewarding. Maybe she wasn’t as much of a big thinker like her husband, Ghira, but it felt good to be able to help those in need. To bring food to those that needed it, to comfort children who were too alone at too young an age. It was easy to throw themselves into helping people, distract themselves from the hole in their hearts.
It felt rewarding at least, and it brought her together with so many people she never expected. There was the disheveled man who had met them at the gates when they first arrived, Qrow, he introduced himself. Apparently he worked with team RWBY, Ruby and Yang’s uncle. He looked more like a ghost to her, but he tried, tried to be positive, whether for them or himself.
And then there were the kids, friends of her daughter. All of them too young to look so haunted, yet they welcomed her and her husband warmly. It was strange, they seemed so different from what Blake had mentioned. The redhead girl was trying to be bright, not succeeding nearly as much as she clearly wished she was. The dark haired boy, he was the one who seemed to try and lighten the load the most. She figured the loss had changed a lot for them. The others she didn’t know, but she hugged them tightly just the same.
Kali never expected she’d be working alongside a Schnee, certainly not this many of them. She kept an eye on them often, at first. Trust in that family had long been unimaginable to her. But, she remembered her daughter, how she talked about her team. How much they had loved her, supported her, even the Schnee girl, Weiss. Watching her family now, their faces a mix of shame and heartbreak, maybe she wasn’t the only Schnee trying to do better.
It was another late night, she and Ghira had spent the day working with some of the local faunus communities, trying to figure out how many resources they could get by with the next week. She’d talken a walk to the mural, some kind souls painted it a few days ago, a shrine to those that were lost. It both soothed and hurt to look at, to see her baby girl’s face so clearly, knowing she’s gone, but she wanted to see her again.
“Can’t believe someone would do this! After everything she did to help people! This is b-” “Whitley! Please.”
Turning the corner she saw them, the Schnee’s, standing in front of the mural. “Oh, my, what happened here?” She couldn’t help call out. It had only been up a few days, but already someone had vandalized this memory, all kinds of insults written over the image of Weiss.
All three of the Schnees turned towards her. The young boy looked ready to burst, fury spilled over. The woman with the sword spoke first. “Whitley, let’s just clean this up, alright? Apologies for the commotion, ma’am, we’re just having a difficult moment.” The boy looked ready to argue, but as the eldest woman gripped his elbow, he seemed to huff to himself and calm down.
Kali looked back up to the mural, she understood, maybe she should feel vindicated, finally, they felt some small vengeance for all the pain their family has caused. But, more than anything she felt sad, for her daughters friend, who gave everything she could despite her family, and this is how she’s remembered.
She looked back at the family, seeing the pain and weariness in their eyes. “Let me grab some cleaning supplies.”
Thankfully it looks like whoever pulled this stunt had done so recently, and the paint hadn’t had time to dry. She was scrubbing some of the particularly nasty insults away when the eldest of the family spoke, her voice barely a whisper. “Thank you, truly, and I’m sorry.” she said, her eyes only briefly darting upwards, to her cat ears.
Kali turned back to her work, scrubbing against the stone, “You know, when my daughter had told me she had been on a team with a Schnee, I couldn’t believe it.” She spoke, a hint of a smile creeping onto her face. “I mean it seemed like a terrible idea, a Schnee, and the daughter of a White Fang leader, working together?
“Ah, you’re...” The taller woman spoke, Kali pressed on, “The more I heard my daughter talk about her team, how could I be upset? It sounded like she was surrounded by so much love, I thought, maybe things were finally getting better for us.” She couldn’t help the tears that threatened to spill out, remembering Blake then, so broken, so fragile, talking about what she’d lost. A team, no, a family.
They’d finished by then, thankfully no permanent damage to the mural itself. “Thank you, Mrs. Belladonna.” The talled woman spoke again, a tense set to her jaw. “Oh, please, you can call me Kali.”
The woman looks at her startled. “That young woman.” She points to the image of Weiss, “She helped my daughter quite a bit, and by the looks of it, she passed at least some of that to you, didn’t she?” It’s a rhetorical question, she’d spoken with the others about them Schnee’s a bit. She might not know it all, but she knows the monster of this family is long gone.
“She-” The younger woman speaks, her voice breaking. “She was the best of us.”
It wasn’t until weeks later that she arrived, apperating from the air suddenly. A bitter looking woman, her dark hair long and wild. She descended on Qrow in an instant “Where is she?” She screamed, grabbing the poor man by the scruff. The silence told her everything she needed to know.
Raven Branwen, she was called, Qrow’s sister, Yang’s “mom”, the redhead girl, Nora, had told her, spat it out like an insult. When she asks Qrow about it, he laughs, a bitter sound, turns out she wasn’t much of a mother at all.
She catches Raven at the mural often, apparently she can transform into her namesake, a “Gift” she and her brother were given. Raven never comes to the mural as herself. “Why do you always stop by in that form?” She asks one evening. The bird looks at her for a moment. Looks back and forth between her and the mural, and flies off.
It’s not till a few days later when she stumbles across Raven again, this time in her human form. “Ah, apologies, I was looking for Qrow.” Raven looks at her, and Kali wonders if she’ll ever get used to looking at so many haunted faces. Maybe she should be used to it by now.
“He’s inside, some stupid meeti-” She cuts herself off, suddenly staring into the distance. “It can’t be.” It nearly startles her how quickly Raven branshes her weapon, cuts a hole in the air, and she’s gone. It’s not even a minute later that her scroll pings.
Qrow: It’s Blake, she’s alive.
It’s a strange feeling. Last time, she knew Blake was out there, she’s heard the Fang members whisper, that at least had brought her comfort. That she was alive. This time is so different, she runs to find Ghira as quickly as she can, runs into him doing the same. There is no relief, only panic, fear, confusion. All of it washes away when she enters the camp Qrow and the kids had been using.
She’s never felt happier than this moment, Blake is there, and not just Blake, her team, all of them a here, being crushed by tearfilled hugs from their friends. “Blake?” She speaks without realizing. “Mom? Dad?”
They watch her turn to her team briefly, getting reassuring smiles from them before rushing to her parents. Kali sees the way she lingers on Yang, the way they don’t let go over each others hand until their arms are literally too far apart.
They hold onto Blake for maybe a bit too long, though she’ll never admit it. “How long have you both been here?” She asks, a mix of curiousity and worry. “We came here after Ruby’s message, it’s been gosh, seven? Eight months?”
“Blake, honey, where have you been? What happened?” Ghira pleads, like he still can’t believe she’s here. “It’s- it’s a really long story, Dad, I’ll tell you, I promise, we just, I think we’re going to need a minute to-” She looks towards her team. Weiss being utterly smothered by her family, all pretense throw aside. The blonde boy is practically being crushed by Nora and Ren. That’s when Kali notices the other two. Ruby and Yang. They’re talking to Qrow now, having hugged it out.
She watches the group as they talk, everyone celebrating, but no parents come for either of the girls. Ghira notices, he understands in an instant. She wants to cry for so many reasons that day.
Fairy tales, magic realms, it’s all so unbelievable when they’re told. But Blake’s here, so it has to be true, and she can only be thankful.
“Mom, Dad, this is Ruby.” “Hi Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna!” Kali is already pulling the young woman into a warm hug, “Hello, sweatheart. Thank you for being there for our Blake.” Ruby hugs back, uncertain at first, then tighter. And if there are a few tears on Kali’s shoulder, she doesn’t mention a thing.
They meet Weiss next, after her family reunion, she makes a point to start checking in with everyone. She smiles brightly, it’s strange to see on her, when all Kali’s used to is the sullen looks of the rest of her family. She almost expects Weiss to falter when she comes over. “Hey Blake, are these your parents?” Weiss! Yes! This is my dad, Ghira, and my mom, Kali.” She motions to them, and almost immediately Kali can feel Ghira tense up.
“It’s nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna.” She goes for a formal greeting in the wake of Ghira’s grim face. She elbows him and pulls the young woman in for a hug, Weiss nearly trips, “Hello, Weiss, it’s lovely to meet you!” She can see the surprise on Weiss’s face as she pulls away. She turns back to Ghira, “Oh stop it, dear, no glaring at Blake’s friends.” He relents, opting for a handshake. “It is good to meet you, Weiss.” It comes out incredibly stilted. “I hear you arrested your father in Atlas.” “Dad!”
Weiss, turns out, finds Ghira’s sudden topic shift hilarious, “Yup! You should’ve seen his stupid face!” She responds, words coming through in between laughter. Ghira can’t help the smile that creeps onto his lips. “You’re a good one.”
She’s glad her husband was able to calm down, she was worried Blake would have to tiptoe between her family and her friends again, and it didn’t go well last time. While they chat, she looks past them, searching for blonde hair, ah, there she is, Yang. Kali would’ve expected her to be swarmed by people, from what Blake had mentioned Yang was quite popular, and yet there she was, standing by herself. Watching the tearful reunions around her with the biggest smile.
She’s interrupted by Weiss, saying she has to go and check in with some of the others still. “She’s not bad, for a Schnee.” Blake laughs, “Yeah.” She’s looking off, Kali follows Blake’s line of sight, ah, Yang, of course. “Are you going to introduce us?” It comes out as more of a laugh than a question.
“Wha? Um! Yeah! Let me just... go talk to her real quick!” She has never seen her daughter so pink in the cheeks. She watches Blake come up to Yang, even from here she can see the way Yang’s face lights up, the way they lean into each other.
They walk up together, chatting back and forth, laughing the whole way. Kali can’t help noticing how they’re always touching. “I think they like each other” She says aloud. “Hmph.” Is all Ghira replies with.
“Mom, Dad, this is Yang. Yang, these are my parents.” Blake motions between them, now that they’re here, the tensions seems suddenly quite high. Yang’s never been too bothered by that. “Hello! It’s nice to finally meet you Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna! Your daughter is an incredible woman!” She says, reaching to shake Ghira’s hand.
If Blake thought he was being turse with Weiss, this was a whole new level, glaring at Yang as he shakes her hand. “Oh stop that, dear” she elbows her husband, who just grunts in response. “It’s lovely to meet you, Yang. And please, you can call me Kali.” She says, “mother-in-law,” she thinks. “Ghira.” Her husband grunts out, still trying to play that protective father.
“Oh, I um, I know your names already.” Yang blurts out awkwardly, Kali’s warm welcome clearly throwing the girl off guard. “Oh?” Is all she says in response. “Y-yeah! Blake, she um, talked about you a lot.” Yang finishes, looking over to Blake then, checking in, reassuring. “Is this okay?” Kali reads on her face.
Kali laughs, a conspiratory smile on her face, “Well, she told us quite a lot about you as well, Yang.” “Mom!” Blake interrupts her immediately, her face an adorable shade of pink. “Wouldn’t stop talking about you.” Ghira chimes in, “Dad!” She’s beat red now, “Oh? Telling your parents about your cool partner?” Yang teases, eyebrows wiggling. “I hate all of you!”
By the time their laughter dies down, Kali is looking to Yang again. She really had heard so much about this remarkable young woman. “Blake really did tell us quite a bit about you, Yang.”She says, all hint of teasing gone. “How you were there for her when she was wearing herself out, always supporting her.” Bleeding for her, giving you life for her, she does say as she reaches out to grab the cool metal of her right arm.
“She deserves so much more.” Yang whispers back, sheepish. “So do you.” Is all Kali says before pulling her in for a hug. Wrapping around this sweet young woman. “Thank you.” For being there, for loving her. “Thank you.” For protecting her where her parents had failed.
Yang tenses immediately, not used to this kind of affection, not used to a mothers love. “Thank you.” She heards Kali exhale, and it shouldn’t break her as easily as it does. She hugs Kali back, a sob tearing from her very soul. “Thank you.” She hears again, and it’s too much, too honest, and she feels more arms wrap around her, Blake, even Ghira who looked like he hated her. She never realized how much love could ache.
Her eyes are puffy, red, when they finally pull apart. Blake doesn’t move far, stays pressed against Yang’s flank. Kali doesn’t go far either, keeping a comforting hand on Yang’s shoulder. “Gods, I’m sorry about that, I’m not usually so,” She motions to herself to finish the sentence. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for, dear, truly.” Kali says, means it more than words can express.
Word travels fast in Vacuo. Whether it’s the city itself of just that too many people are crammed into its walls these days. The sun’s only just begun to set by the time the whole cities heard. “They’re back!” “Didn’t they die?” “How are they here?” “It’s a miracle!”
The shock swells into joy, celebration. Kali remembers the weight of memory. How no matter where she went in the city, she’d always here someone mention Team RWBY. Hushed voices speaking their names in something like reverance, ghosts, heroes, some heartbreaking mix of the two. And now, now they celebrate, their heroes no longer apparitions.
It’s silly, she thinks, watching them now, talking with friends, family members. How a haunting never leaves so easily. She probably should’ve known that by now, after seeing, feeling, the weight still lingered when Blake was at their doorstep again. She’s reminded of how that weight lingers now, watching Team RWBY and all of their friends. The way Ren and Nora never quite let that blonde boy leave their sight. How they stare at their friends, slightly crazed. How Winter stands off to the side, never looking away from Weiss for a moment, not even to blink. How Qrow does the same. How Weiss’s mother and her brother linger on the edges, disbelief disabling them, but not willing to step any further away.
And then there’s Raven. Not showing herself, but perched on a nearby wall, the inky sky a backdrop to hide behind. Kali sees her still, watching Yang. Raven notices of course, doesn’t make a move to flee this time.
Then there’s Team RWBY. She notices it during the party, how they’re never quite comfortable when they’re not next to each other. The way Weiss turns too quickly when she hears one of their names called out, the flicker of a heart ripped in too many pieces on her face. Or how Yang looks up every few minutes, always keeping tabs on Ruby, never letting her get too far away. How Ruby looks to Yang just as often, like she might be gone if Ruby looks away for too long.
And Blake, who hasn’t let Yang leave her sight for even a moment. Even now, sitting next to her parents, Kali can’t help notices how Blake watches Yang during their conversation, only glancing to her or Ghira occasionally. “Blake,” she says, gently, questioning, “Sweetheart, she’s here, it’s ok.” She doesn’t expect the response.
“She-” A sob tears its way from Blake’s throat suddenly. “I- I watched her-” They both move to comfort Blake immediately, “She died. I- I- saw her get hit, and- and she fell, and I wasn’t,” She’s shaking so hard in their arms now. “I wasn’t there! I saw her fall and she died!” The words pour out of Blake like a torrent. “And- and- I wanted to- I wanted to...” To die. She doesn’t say, her parents hear her anyway.
She doesn’t know when they notices, but it’s barely a minute before she hears three sets of footsteps approaching. “Blake? Shhh, it’s okay, we’re here, we’re safe.” Kali hears Yang say, feels the rest of her daughters team hug her too. Ruby’s eyes meet hers “we’ve got her” they say, wordlessly, and Kali believes her.