Anywhere

Kali's ears twitched slightly and Qrow sighed as he nodded. "Yeah, I am." He'd expected. an exceptional woman just from her being Grade Twelve but this? Even his own mother and sister struggled to completely shield themselves. And neither of them could exactly be classified as 'pushovers' when it came to aura. "Please, come in, dear, and make yourself at home. Just take your shoes off first. I'll put the kettle on for some tea and you can get comfortable." He couldn't help but stare a bit. "Y-Yeah…" He slipped his shoes off and sat on the couch, resting his head on the heel of his hand. Just…who was this woman? Extremely warm and mild mannered but most definitely one of if not the most powerful aura user he'd ever met… Even the few Grade Twelves in the tribe struggled to block out others to thislevel. Just…what had led her to such a high level of blocking others out? And why? Letting out a breath. he forced himself to look around. Clean, orderly, and leaned extremely heavily into central Mistrali culture. The only table was the very traditional sitting one. Huh, apparently traditional in many things but mindset clearly was not one of them… What an interesting woman Sienna must be… Maybe he'd get to meet her one day. He looked up when he sensed her and she offered a soft smile. "You really do have a lot on your mind, don't you?" She sat the tray on the table before offering him a cup. "It's lavender and chamomile with a little bit of poppy. It should help calm you down some." "We'll see about that." He was never calm. He always had to be alert when not plastered out of his mind. If not, then only ancestors knew what would happen… He couldn't let Winter end up like Summer. The only response from Kali was a twitch of the ears. Though she didn't wait long to speak. "So why have you sought me out? It's not every day someone asks to speak with one of the founders of the White Fang. A human least of all." Her tone remained even. simply curious, and she tilted her head to look at him. Not one to waste time, huh? Though, honestly, it was probably better this way. Only a few more hours till they met up with the Sellouts Extraordinaire. A heavy breath escaped his lips. She'd think he was nuts. " …I need my Semblance sealed or, at the very least, the ability to turn it on and off at will. It's bad luck. I'm staying with someone that needs my protection in Atlas. I can't let anything happen to her or else General Ironwood will have my ass on a silver platter." And that was it. Jimmy probably couldget him if those sellouts all worked together, lothe as he was to admit it. Nobody could best him one on one as far as active Hunters went. But five on one? His ass would be grass if anythinghappened to Winter. He couldn't let that happen…for both their sakes. Kali fell silent for several minutes, ears occasionally twitching before she looked up at him. "I can do that, yes, though I do believe you already know how to control it." Control…? There was no 'controlling' the mess that was his Semblance. Not outside of being piss-ass drunk or passed out. Kali's ears flattened. "You really are quite stubborn." An earned snort. “I'm a Branwen and I can still hear the telltale remnants of a Nippo accent in your speech. You should know about my tribe." Especially since that had been their home generations ago, if their oral history was to be believed. Then again, nobody gave a damn about them. Why wouldshe know? "Yes, I am quite aware and the injustices your people and others like you have faced are just as abhorrent and disgusting as what Faunus have experienced. Though, this is getting off topic a bit…" Her ears twitched again and he nodded. Yeah, this was getting a little far off. Waiting too long wasn't an option, not with something being desperately wrong with Winter. Well. Apparently more wrong than when he'd left her… “Do you know what this entails, Qrow? The depth to which it goes?" "Unfortunately, not really, but I don't have much choice." He put the mug down and sighed, head in his hands. Keeping everything from her just wouldn't work. Not that it seemed like he'd be able to, really… Someone as well trained as she was couldn't help but sense almost every thought he had… "…Atlas is the place that triggers me most. Being sober there is nigh impossible for me, I…lost somebody…important to me while there. But I need to be sober for my charge. Alcohol triggers her. And Jimmy would have my ass on a silver patter if anything drastic happened to her on my watch." This was his only option. Winter was already so scared. The minimal trust she had was so fragile. One botched interaction could just shatter it completely. He couldn't risk anything. Kali observed him for several more moments, ears once again twitching subtly. She nodded slowly before focusing on him entirely. "Very well. Just so you know what to expect… I'm going to have to go into your aura spark itself. Normally, I'm against such deep manipulation of the soul without having known somebody personally for quite some time. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I would certainly say this falls under that." He couldn't stop the flinch and his hand twitched. Not that there was anything in his flasks to drink. Of course messing with the Semblance meant going to the aura spark... It was the manifestation and expression of one's personality… But that meant bearing everything to her." What other choice did he have, though? Risk Winter's safety? Repeat the previous night? Farworse? A heavy breath as he nodded slowly. "…All right." Now she'd have him at her beck and call, all the dirt anybody— "Mister Branwen. do you truly believe that a Grade Twelve would do that?" That tone... Oh that tone. He couldn't suppress his involuntary shudder. She sounded justlike his mother on the rare occasion she got angry. Oh dear ancestors, this woman was terrifying. “Uh..." How was he supposed to respond? He was an infamous lone wolf. Only the older generation remembered STRQ. The younger ones only knew him as a boogie man almost. Of coursehe'd worry about blackmail with his position. Kali let out a breath and looked at him, expression flat. "I do soul healing as a free service in Menagerie and I asked nothing of you for this but your time. Do you want me to invoice you top lien for services rendered?" People were terrified of flashing anger but cold anger was far, farscarier. Far too unpredictable. He shrank against the couch and shook his head. Of courseher smile returned to the normal pleasantry quicker than he could detect. "Okay, good. Now that we're on the same page, would you mind laying down? This…is going to take quite some time with the deep scarring around your aura spark." Her ear twitched again, momentarily swiveling to... empty air. Huh. He didn't waste any time to follow her instruction, also letting out a breath and forcing his body to relax. Throwing up barriers would only make things fair longer than they should've otherwise. And with each minute ticking closer to the Ace Ops meeting… She placed her hands on his shoulder and he actually felt her aura retract. punctuated by a small gasp. "Oh my." "Huh?" One eye cracked to see her ghostly face. What had gotten her into her all of a sudden? "Just…seeing a person's entire history in a brief heartbeat can be overwhelming at the best of times… But when somebody's suffered as much hardship as you have…" What. She could actually— A bit of color returned to her cheeks as she nodded. "Yes... But that isn't important right now. Give me a moment to recoup, and then we can begin." "Okay."

Ω

"There. We're done, Qrow." His eyes fluttered open and he sat up, dropping his head into his hands. "Fuck! "This was worse than even the three-month-long hangover he'd had following Summer's death. How was he supposed to function like this?! All he wanted to do was curl up and sleep. But he needed to talk to Winter and they had that damnable meeting to deal with. Fuck. He should've waited until tomorrow. Hindsight was the biggest bitch of them all. "Easy now, Qrow. Honestly, I'm surprised you're up at all. Normally this would put someone down for a solid day." She paused, not that he could see what she was doing. "Anyway, try to rest up as much as you can when possible. Your aura reading will be on the fritz until you can get a serious meditation session in." Well, that was the news he wanted to get. It was soimportant when dealing with Winter. But now he wouldn't have it when meeting with those damn blowhards. Fucking fantastic. Well, at least he had his Semblance sealed now. He heard the door crack, followed by an audible gasp. "Kali, what did you—" "He askedme to do it, Sienna." All he could hear was a sigh followed by fading footsteps for a moment before they returned. So he'd get to meet her, eh? Not that it'd be much right now. Hal would be there to pick him up soon. Thank the gods for that. "So Qrow Branwen, huh?" He heard the telltale flop of dropping onto the couch and just grunted. It felt like his head would crack at any moment. He just wanted to curl back up in bed especially with the lack of sleep last night. "All right, all right, fair enough. Though…are you related to Yang Xiao Long at all?" His head snapped up…or would've, if not for the damn headache. He really should've thought this one through better. "Yeah, she's my niece. How…?" Why would the current leader of the White Fang know her? But Kali was Grade Twelve and Sienna was obviously Nine at least… "She attends Band meetings and was there the first time I spoke at First Spring Chapel of Verana a few months back. Great girl despite how young she is… Very helpful and understanding toward all." Sienna's tone warmed and he couldn't help but smile a bit. Yeah, she was definitely her mothers' daughter for better and for worse… A lot of Summer and even normal Raven in there… "Yeah, she's a hell of a fine brand." So Faunus right work, huh? Even so young, always thinking about others... He couldn't say he wasn't proud… She always was a sweetheart… "Well, I guess you can count me as a new contact to add to your no doubt long list. She's a good kid with a very bright soul. Hurt, sure, but bright and blazing. Her aura spark is definitely blatantly pretty close to yours." She paused and he could only imagine her shaking her head. "Anyway, mind giving me your scroll so I can put my info in?" He couldn't help but groan a bit as he sat back, shifting to take his scroll out. "Actually, you can just say it and my digital assistant can put it in." He couldn't risk somebody messing with it, not with all of the classified information on it. Someone seeing it for even a momentcould throw things into chaos. Sienna's ears flattened in his peripheral vision, but she obliged. "By the way, my specialty is legal counsel. If you ever need it, feel free to call. I'm sure someone like you knows Hunter law inside and out, but we all need help outside our field at some point." Yeah, she wasn't wrong about that… But, then again, when did he ever deal with anything outside of Hunter law? One of her ears twitched and she glanced out the window. "Your ride's here, Qrow." "Thanks for everything today, Kali, Sienna." He needed to have a longtalk with Winter when he got back…

Ω

"Hey, wake up, you idiot!" Qrow's head jerked and he looked down at his scroll, only to be greeted by the avatar tapping its foot with its hands on its hips. Had twenty minutes really passed already…? It'd only felt like half a microsecond since he'd closed his eyes. Damn, he'd really need to sleep some of this off before the talk. Would Winter be able to hold up against the Ace Ops' leader…? He shook the thought off before opening the door. "Thanks for the lift, Hal." "No prob, Qrow. Just call if you need anything again." The man grinned and pulled off, leaving Qrow to sigh. Just what waited for him inside? Winter hadn't been in a great state when he'd left. What could be so bad that Summer was unnerved? And how did she know? This wasn't promising. At least the worst of the worst of the headache had burned off… “…How is she? "Not sure but I imagine far worse than earlier." He just sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. Of course he'd be walking in blind. Semblance or no, it was his damn luck. If he hadn't fallen asleep, she could've at least briefed him. Why had he thought today was a good idea again?! Fucking idiot, not thinking things through like always. But now Winter suffering like this because of it… Absolutely un— "Save the self-hatred party for later, you idiot. Winter's suffering in there." "…Yeah." He could deal with all of that later. Winter was his prime concern right now. Oh dear gods, what was wrong? She just sat on the couch with her arms wrapped around Kiyay, face buried in his wing. What had happened? Persia could be pushy, sure, but she rarely ever went to thissort of extreme. There was a time and a place for it. But an emotionally battered teenager was not it "…Winter?" How had she not reacted to his entrance…? She was always beyond hypervigilant… Of course, her head snapped up, eyes wide, but she turned away a moment later. What had gotten into her? He just… What a nightmare. Time to go back to Atlassian. "Can I come sit on the other end of the couch?" Ancestors, walking on eggshells like this would wear him down so fast… Not that there was much choice… "We should head back to my apartment." That came quick—too quick. Another swift glance before she looked away. "And you look like hell. Maybe…try to get a bit of sleep. The Ace Ops agreed to postpone the meeting for a few hours." Everything turned to ice. He'd… He'd overshot it? By that much? He really was nothing but a fuck up. Sellouts or not, they were busy people… Everyone deserved better than to deal with his sorry as s. "I—" What could he say? There was nothing. He'd wasted everybody's time. He hadn't even met them yet. Just how much of a fuck up did they think he was? But… He was exhausted. Arguing wasn't worth if right now. "…Yeah." Sleeping was just too appealing. "Let's go."