Anywhere

“Wake up , you idiot!” The violent vibration from his scroll coupled with the massivespike in volume jerked him awake. What? What was going on?! Was it a Grimm— The unfamiliar room made him blink groggily. Huh? What? Where was… Atlas. Winter. Ace Ops meeting. Right. Damn it, it’d only felt like he’d been asleep for a few minutes tops. This really was worse than the three-month hangover he’d had following Summer’s death. At least he’d had times he’d felt rested…even if the pain hadn’t eased. He went for his flask only to mentally curse. “…I really need something to drink.” He at least needed somesort of replacement for his booze. The tactical sensations would be better than the pure emptiness he felt from stopping. “Maybe some cold-brew tea? I know it’s been a long time since you’ve had it but…” That…was actually a good idea. It’d at least let him have the feedback without triggering Winter. He’d need to get a pitcher and some tea but that wasn’t a big deal. Probably just go to the import section and see what Mistrali blends they had. “How long until the meeting?” He needed a bit of time to get his head on straight. Nothing felt right or quite real at the moment. He was probably mildly dissociating but whatever. It could be a lot worse. He could be piss-ass drunk and bent over a bar with his ass in the stool. Just…ancestors. The next few days would be hellespecially without his aura sensing or the booze to numb it. Fucking Atlas and everything to do with it. He hauled himself up off the bed and out the door. If it weren’t so damn late, he’d fire up the coffee… He froze as a familiar aura spark entered his awareness. His mother? What was she doing here? Aura reading on the fritz or not, he’d know his mother’s spark anywhere. Gentle, warm, comforting, and protective yet fierce and not to be trifled with. He ran his hand across his eyes. No. Now wasn’t the time to be his crybaby self. That him should’ve died with Summer. He thought he’d buried it but… “Mother.” His voice cracked and he went over to her, eyes misting over. Winter was under her sleep but even so, waking her felt like a bad idea. But he just wanted to cry so badly. It’d been twenty years since he’d last seen her. “Oh my fledgling, it’s so good to see you again. We can talk after that meeting Winter talked again. Does that sound okay?” Her hand lifted off Winter’s forehead and he nodded. A hiccup escaped his lips as Dove stood up and embraced him…causing his knees to buckle and much of his weight to rest against his mother. He’d missed her so much. Everyday without her still hurt to some degree. She’d loved him so much, so unconditionally and he’d just lefther. His mind had been made up the moment he’d heard they were being sent to Beacon, but he still missed her. “I do too, my precious child. But we can save it for later.” Qrow nodded and hiccuped again. “Y-Yeah… S-Sorry…” Part of him wished he would come back for her, but it wouldn’t work. He wouldn’t be happy. Dove squeezed him before heading to his temporary room. Still as elegant and graceful and ever despite her advancing age… She really was an amazing woman… Where had things gone wrong with Raven? Why was his sister no longer who she used to be?

α

Winter stared, baffled as she watched Qrow weep over seeing his mother. Who did that? And a manno less! What sort of man wept openly in front of others? And why did they hug like that? She frowned as she remembered what Dove had shown her. A love stronger than she’d even known could exist. Was that the answer? But what did it mean? She loved her sister more than anything, but it was mere dying embers compared to what Dove had felt toward the tiny infants in her arms. She had the pieces not the sky. People were like trying to put together a puzzle the color of the sky. She’d seen Harriet’s attempts to do so…and it still remained unsolved two and a half years later. (At least as far as she knew. There had been minimal progress over the months she’d trained with the Ace Ops.) “Qrow, will you be okay in time for the meeting?” The man turned to face her and nodded, wiping his tears away. They streamed down his face. Not a very flattering picture. But… “Why don’t you go wash your face?” He looked like he’d seen a ghost before going into the bathroom and shutting the door. She felt a spike of amusement from behind her. Wait, so that hadn’tbeen some fever dream? Summer was— Yup. Just don’t tell him or talk to me if you’re in the same room. I’m trying to make sure he doesn’t know. His aura reading is on the fritz right now, but still; don’t risk even responding or reaching out to me that way. He’s best off not knowing. First an AI and now a ghost…plus whatever his birth transformation was. This world just kept getting crazier and crazier and she didn’t like it. Not onebit. And something told her it’d just keep getting more insane as time went by. Why had the general’s departure marked the end of all order and logic in her life? She just wanted things to go back to normal… And they still had to deal with Gelé’s parties… Her stomach writhed in protest…and she hadn’t eaten much that day either with all that had transpired. Yet she wanted to wretch up what little sat in there. She sighed as she sat on the couch, knees pulled to her chest. Today had been one of the worst days of her life. She had almost nothing left to give. But she still needed to talk to the Ace Ops… She pulled her scroll out and looked at it. She really had nothing left to give for today and this meeting really did require her to be at her best… Warrant Officer Ebi, are you on your way? If not, she really just needed to rest. She’d finally hit her limit for the first time in memory. Even Gelé had never managed to get her to this point. We’re running a little behind unfortunately. Harriet managed to injure her ankle while out on a run, so we’re taking care of that. Do you need more time? Honestly, might be best to wait till tomorrow night. She doesn’t seem to be in any shape to be moving too far tonight. Sorry. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Bad luck for them, good luck for her. She didn’t really believe in it outside of Clover’s and Qrow’s Semblances. But for the first time in twenty-four hours…something seemed to be working in her favor. That’s quite unfortunate. Send her my well wishes. But yes, putting off until tomorrow seems best for all parties involved. Does tomorrow at seven sound good? She really should’ve called but she didn’t have it in her. At least it seemed like it also worked out for Clover… Had his Semblance made it good luck for her? There was no telling with how these damnable probability Semblances worked. Yeah, we’ll be free then. Talk to you tomorrow. Winter slumped against the couch in completely improper posture. Her scroll gently clattered against the carpet. How was she supposed to survive these damn events? She still had tomorrow off but that’d hardly be enough time to recuperate from everything going on. She still had work Friday on top of the battles that would unfold. Plus, if Dove and Summer wanted to pick back up the memories tomorrow like they said… She wasn’t even on fumes at this point. She just had nothing left to give. The bathroom door opened and she turned to look at it. A change of clothes? Had he showered? “Hey, where are the Sellouts Extraordinaire? I thought they’d be here by now.” Oh. The clock read just a few minutes until nine. She forced herself to sit up. She couldn’t appear any weaker than possible. He’d find someway to take advantage of it. “Warrant Officer Bree injured her ankle and is unfit to move tonight. We postponed again tomorrow.” “Ah. Well, I’m going to walk with my mother then go to bed in that case. Hope you sleep well.” He excused himself to the guest room, leaving her in silence. Sleep… She rarely slept when so stressed. She did want to pass out for the night, but she doubted she could. I can keep you asleep for the night, Winter. I know how bad stress-induced insomnia is. It creates a vicious cycle. Summer really didn’t need to say more than that. They both knew what happened. “Okay.” Why bother fighting? She didn’t have that much in her at this point. She wanted to sleep…