wanderer's lullaby

Winter pulled her knees to her chest as she looked at her scroll, resting gingerly in her hand. Her other sat on Kiyay’s head. As predicted, she hadn’t really slept that night. Images of Qrow barreling through Raven’s portal to come for her echoed through her mind even now. She wasn’t sure if she could entirely trust him on that front… He professed not wanting to touch her but even so… 838. Still somewhat early morning but likely before Qrow woke. The four-hour difference would take her time to adapt to once she arrived in Vale. She would like to get a job, but until she adapted and could get that work visa, she’d have to rely on her savings and Qrow. And he said he didn’t want her too reliant on him… At least she wouldn’t have rent or anything to worry about again unless she moved out should she leave him. Bah, she needed to stop delaying herself. She’d taken as long as she possibly could. She just… He would yell at her. If he hadn’t already gotten notification, she’d be shocked. Then again, he likely would’ve already called were that the reality of the situation… She hit the speed dial on her scroll and put it on speaker. Coco was asleep. There was nobody to hide from. She didn’t feel the lilt of Summer so she likely wasn’t there. One ring. He’d be so angry. He’d fought so hard to keep her in his care after taking her. Two rings. Yet she’d still ultimately kowtow to her abusive sire’s will. She was weak. Three rings. He’d never want to see her again. She was a wife now, inherently useless to everyone in Atlas. “Hello? Winter? What’s going on?” It didn’t take more than that for her to start bawling. She’d run through the conversation a thousand times over the previous night.All of the yelling, anger, and frustration… Not kindness and concern immediately. But he still didn’t know yet. She let out the most pitiful sounds she’d ever heard in her life. She couldn’t stop. She was such a disappointment. A failure. A complete sham . He’d built her up but she’d betrayed allof that in a single decision. “I-I’m sorry…” It was all she could choke out at the moment. She buried her face in her hands as her body heaved. The entire planet shattered like the moon. She was nothing once again. Everything she’d worked for was gone. She was the worst sort of turncoat on the planet. Even Gelé felt squeaky clean in comparison to what she’d done. “Winter…?” James’ voice reached the quietest whisper, one so soft she barely caught it. She wanted to curl up and die. She was worse than Gelé at this point… She wept until the tears dried up. She hiccuped. Her hand dried the remaining moisture in her eyes. She didn’t know what to say. It was the worst thing she’d ever done in her life. Even Weiss frying her before she left for the military hurt less than this. “I’m sorry, sir; I’ve betrayed everything you did for me…” Her throat felt like sandpaper. A moment of silence greeted her before he spoke again. “Why don’t you get some water or tea first and then we’ll talk? You need to hydrate after crying like that.” His tone remained as gentle as ever and, had she had it in her, she would have broken down again. He learned about betrayal and he was most worried about her… And he listened to her cry for fifteen minutes straight… He was too kind to her. She picked her scroll and Kiyay up, setting the kettle to a boil. She waited until the tea steeped and she took a few sips. She ignored the burning of her tongue as she looked down. “I’m sorry, sir; I’ve betrayed everything you did for me…” she repeated. Had he not understood her the first time? Had he forgotten the meaning of the word betrayal somehow? “Now, Winter, what Have I said before?” She straightened up a little before sighing, grip on her mug tightening fractionally. “No ‘sirs’ in conversation like this,” she droned for the millionth time. Why was he chiding her like a child? Why wasn’t he more concerned about her betrayal? “Now, what’s going on? This isn’t like you and it’s worrying me. Don’t worry about me being the general; it’s just you and me right now.” His tone still remained gentle as she sniffled. He was too good to her… Too kind and compassionate. How could anybodybe so warm and loving…? Her mind flashed briefly to Qrow’s behavior but she shoved it away. Now was not the time or place. Slowly, between scalding cups of tea, she explained what had happened over the past few days: the rape attempt, Qrow staying with her, talking to Dove, then the previous day’s marriage. It felt like an entire life’s worths of events happened in such a small span of time. How had Qrow entering her life seen the end of all sanity and order? Of course, she did leave out the fact she now had an incorporeal ‘friend’ hanging around. All of this sounded insane enough. Adding in a ghost would make her sound like she’d completely cracked. Even he might decide she needed to be institutionalised from how much trauma she’d sustained. She couldn’t let him think she needed that. He was too logical to believe in such nonsense. Several minutes of silence hung over her as he no doubt processed the tale. Then a small sound broke it. …A barely contained sob. What? She blinked. Why was he crying? Shewas the one that had betrayed him. “If anybody should apologise, it’s me. I-I should’ve brought you with me. I knew Jacques was bold, but I didn’t think he’d go to such lengths. I couldn’t protect you like I promised… I’m sosorry…” His voice was as brittle as the ice that formed over a moving river. What? But…she’d betrayed him… He was doing his job while she’d signed her soul away… “But—” “No buts. I failed you and there’s nothing else to it. I’ll take the blame here. But I’ll need to have a…very long talk with Qrow about this.” Thatmade her tense. It was the anger she’d been expecting. This time though… “…Please don’t be too angry at him. After speaking to his mother and horse, I…I do believe that he has only my best intents at heart. Plus, you were the one to point out how he hates Atlas’ treatment of women. He also hasn’t touched a drop of liquor since he started staying with me…” It was hard to speak the words, but she was beginning to see it. It’d still take time for her to truly trust him, but he had stopped on the alcohol coldfor her sake. He was moving to Vale to have less desire to drink.Though if he’d stay off the bottle while they were apart was another question entirely. She’d noticed a booze cabinet in the old woman’s kitchen. She doubted he could resist the temptation entirely. Considering Willow’s dependence on the substance along with sleeping pills… A heavy sigh did reach her ears but she could hear the reluctance in it. “I’ll see what I can do. I just hope you’re right…” The pair clearly didn’t trust each other… James had admitted they were grudging allies at absolute best… This didn’t entirely surprise her. “Thank you. If he does anything to treat me poorly, you’ll be the first to know.” She had had nowhere to turn in Schnee manor and she was still reluctant to trust but…James only did have her best interests at heart. Stupid, silly little girl for believing he’d be anything but concerned. He was too kind and supported her too much to cut her down. Still… She had betrayed him… How could she evermake it up to him? “Thank you, Winter. Unfortunately, I need to go. But first thing I’m in Vale again, I’ll be sure to let you know. I hope your new life is better than this. Vale should help you immeasurably. Goodbye.” “Goodbye.” He hung for a few seconds more before the soft click signaled the end of the call. There it was: one of her final connections with Atlas, and it was severed. She wouldn’t see him again for only Holy Father knew howlong… The last remaining one was Weiss and… Oh, how was she supposed to break the news to her? She’d still have to wait until that night… Outing Weiss’ contraband scroll wouldn’t do… Oh, how was she supposed to tell her sweet baby sister they’d likely never see each other again? It’d be too risky for Winter to evergo to Beacon while Weiss was there… She wanted to hold fast to her plan, but what could she possibly do to take over the SDC as a wife…? She’d fight but it felt soinsurmountable at the moment…

Ω

Well, he couldn’t say he was looking forward to this, but there wasn’t much choice. He needed to ensure she wouldn’t be alone sooner than necessary. He touched down in the tree then shifted to human. Beautiful flowers swayed gently in the ocean breeze while seemingly meticulously manicured grass crunched beneath his feet. The small clearing really did look like something out of a fairytale. Chaos Fountains always were the most beautiful places on the planet… The verdant life they created…almost always overshown by the malignant shadows they created. At least there weren’t any Grimm spawning at the moment. Though it’d only be an annoyance at absolute bestif they were. “Qrow, what are you doing here?” A soft voice came from behind him and he turned to face her. The black hair that fell past her shoulders formed the inky vacuum of space. Her clothes shimmered, almost formed by liquid sunshine. The crystals that studded the clothing made it almost look like stars cast down in the day. Most of all, though, her deep, blue-green eyes danced playfully. A hand covered her mouth. His head instinctively dipped, but he saw her wave it away. “Peace, Qrow. You aren’t among your people anymore. You can speak to me as your equal.” “Er, right.” His cheeks heated a bit. Some old habits were hard to break even after so long. It wasn’t like he got to speak to Celaecyal everyday or often, after all… The desire to show her respect after his coming-of-age meeting still held him. “So can you divine why I’m here?” The woman loved jokes and riddles, so might as well offer her one, awful as it might be. Her lips turned up in amusement, but she shook her head. “I might be the goddess of potential, but I can’t sense everything you advanced aura users can. Though I do sense your aura is rather on the fritz. Would you like me to take care of that in addition to whatever else you need?” “That…would be nice.” He’d have time to take care of it at some point, but if she were offering…who was he to say no? It made life a lot easier. Not like he was cheating life like this on a normal basis. “I do hate to ask this of you but…do you think you could heal the damage done to my body by abusing alcohol? Normally I wouldn’t mind dyin’ early but…I’ve got someone to care for now.” Even if Winter left him in three, five, ten years’ time, he wanted to be there for her as long as possible. There’d be no chance of him bypassing Melanthios. He was stubborn but not thatstubborn. Celaecyal’s eyebrows did raise at that but she nodded. “That won’t be too hard, but you won’t be doing it to thisextent again, right? I don’t want my work to go to waste.” Entirely fair. It wasn’t everyday someone was granted a favor by a goddess. “Nah, I’ve given up the bottle. My wife’s not a fan of booze so I’m putting up the bottle as much as I can. Though…I know there’ll be at least one time a year I won’t be able to turn away.” Hopefully both Celaecyal and Winter would be able to understand. Early spring around Summer’s death was just too traumatic for him. It hurt too much. It was his fault what remained of STRQ broke up. He missed her so much. He couldn’t handle the period for about three days… Hopefully she could give him thatmuch. He’d respect her desire to not have alcohol in the house otherwise… Though he could and probably would go to the city so she wouldn’t have to be around him. “I’ll hold you to that. This will be the onlytime I heal you like this.” She gave a nod and placed a hand on his shoulder. A gentle warmth settled over his body for a few minutes and when she removed her hand a few minutes later, he felt…better than he had in years. His body wasn’t as heavy, his breathing was clearer, and his just felt…all around lighter. “Thank you, Hakakse… I know I won’t like the answer, but how long until my body would’ve given out?” He was morbidly curious. With as heavily as he drank, it seemed like a reasonable question. His aura vastly increased his lifespan. Still had limits on how much damage it did to his body when he drank so damn much. “I’d have given it about fifteen years at most. Your lifespan is unfortunately still somewhat shortened, though.” That made him freeze, eyes wide. What? But he was giving up the bottle. He’d be giving up his dangerous Huntsman life too… No more suicide missions for him—he had a wife to care for. Why? “The pressure on your soul has caused a few fractures in it, unfortunately. You won’t live as long as some people, but as long as you avoid this continued level of stress…you have another thirty-five to forty-two years ahead of you.” That…was a bit of a relief. He wouldn’t be leaving Winter behind prematurely. He let out the breath he’d been holding and nodded slowly. “All right… No more bottle aside from once a year—” Even if Summer’s birthday was also hard. “—and try to avoid too much undue stress.” Though with how Winter was, easier said than done. She seemed to be trusting him marginally, but he knew how fragile it was. One botched interaction and they’d be so far back in the negatives there’d be no salvaging it. Which begged the question of how to best handle the Kali situation… Not telling her she was a founder of the White Fang up front would no doubt break trust. But being up front about it would no doubt scare her off from interaction… He could think about it alter. He had a week to figure it out. “Thanks again, Hakakse. I owe you big time.” She shook her head and opened her arms. He returned the hug to the much shorter woman before she vanished into nothing. With that done, he sighed. He had a ton of paperwork to do and not a lot of time to do it…

α

Winter tensed a bit as she now-familiar feeling of Raven’s aura opened into her apartment. Of course, her grip on Kiyay tightened a bit. Even if it’d only be a few days, she didn’t want him to go. She wasn’t qualified to care for him. But his presence helped her not feel so alone and unloved. He cared about her despite the language barrier and his upbringing. Qrow stepped through the portal and sighed. “I really am sorry about this, snowy. I know how tough it is to leave behind an animal you care about. Leaving Kiroro and my others when I left the tribe was so hard.” He walked over and held a hand out to her. Her eyes misted over but she nodded as she stood up with Kiyay balanced on her fist. “I’ll be fine.” Her voice barely reached a whisper. Why was thisthe most painful separation fo her life? Leaving Weiss had been so hard. But it hadn’t felt so soul crushing. This felt like the end of the world. It felt like nothing would ever be the same again. She still had yet to tell her sister she might never return to Atlas again. Why did this feel so much easier than letting go of the bird she’d only known for a few days? She stepped through the portal into an impossibly humid forest. How…How could anything like this exist? How could anything survive in such heat? She didn’t understand… The world outside of Atlas made nosense… Kiyay chitter and she looked at him, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I’ll miss you…” By the Holy Father, wouldshe. He was one of the few bright spots. It would be only a week until she saw him again… She could survive until then. She’d survived far, far worse than being separated from someone she’d only known for a few days. He looked at her for a few moments and chittered again before taking off. He landed in a tree next to Mono who began to preen him. They would be fine. They were used to being in forests… They’d be happier here than cooped up in her apartment with someone ill equipped to handle them. “Hey snowy?” She binked, gaze drawing to Qrow. What did he want? Wasn’t she in enough pain as was? He rubbed the back of his neck as he sighed. “…Yeah, you’re right about that, but I did have a couple things that hit me earlier. Mind if we head back to your place to talk about them? I just don’t wanna forget…” He was normally a lot better about being sensitive to her emotional state, but that was valid… She rarely forgot things, but when she did, she wanted to tear her hair out. Hopefully it wasn’t anything too heavy… “Of course, Mis…Qrow.” Right. They were married now. What sort of wife referred to her husband in such a manner? But they were stillstrangers… Neither option felt right. She’d known the Ace Ops for years but they were far from friends. She only called Coco, Weiss, and the general by name and the latter was still hard at times… But he insisted so she tried her best… Qrow rubbed his chin and sighed before shaking his head. “I know I call ya ‘snowy,’ but if you aren’t comfortable with my first name yet, address me how you normally would. I don’t want you to feel forced into being familiar with me when you don’t have full trust in me yet. I’m surprised you’re not second guessing absolutely everything like you did before.” She did tense at the observation but forced herself to consider his words. He really did try to make sure she was doing okay no matter what, even if it came at the cost of himself. Still so utterly bizarre to her… She really did want to see what Dove had to offer with her memory at some point… The woman did seem to hold the key to understanding the man. “Anyway, why don’t we head back to your apartment before ya overheat? Then we can have that talk.” He smiled at her and she nodded. Yes, getting out of this ungodly humid forest would be nice. Without further argument, she followed him back through the portal where she settled at the table. He sat across from her, head in his hand. Something…was clearly wrong and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what it was… “Once again, I’ll cut to the chase. First, I’m not sure if you want a wedding ring or anything. I know the fear marriage brings for you and I’m not sure if rings carry that baggage with it. We don’t haveto do anything like that if you don’t want. Just thought I’d put it out there. “Second, you’ll need to get a Valian wardrobe. You’ve felt how hot Vale is in comparison to Atlas. Even your lightest Atlassian clothes are too heavy for Vale. When do you want to go shopping: sometime this week or after you arrive? I can foot the bill this time, so don’t worry about getting into your nest egg quite yet.” Both propositions made her freeze. Neither were logistics she’d considered quite yet since she had her hands so fully with military nonsense. What…What didshe feel about wedding accoutrements? She’d always assumed she’d get some sort of gaudy slab of metal that wound around her finger for the rest of her life. It was a symbol but ultimately meaningless. Even so… Her left hand clenched as she looked away. “…I…don’t think I want one.” None of this felt quite real yet. For the first time in her life, ignorance was bliss. She never wore jewelry aside from events so the reminder of being a wife would be…constant. And she couldn’t live with that yet. Maybe if she became more comfortable with him, then she’d agree. But as of yet…it was too much. She couldn’t live with that reminder yet. She was giving him the benefit of the doubt, yes. She could see his intents were relatively pure, true… But comfort was another thing entirely. They were still little better than strangers. Only legally married. They hadn’t even exchanged any vows. They’d just signed on a tablet. There was nothing but cold legality binding them. And, of course, she still feared he was trying to make her financially dependent on him. She had her own money and a decent chunk of it. She could see how much it would cost for a warmer weather wardrobe, though. She could always cut costs by opting for thrift. That would mean slimmer pickings, though… She was so particular about the fit and feel of her clothes. Once she’d settled a bit, James had let her go to a decent boutique for her own clothes and not the ones he kept for when a young woman passed into his care. But she’d become perfectly acquainted with the thrift store once out on her own. It was the best way to get clothes without breaking the bank… It took so long to find anything she liked and actually fit. She didn’t want to spend upwards of two or three thousandlien on clothes… Her teeth ground together as she flip flopped for one of the first times in her life. Though… “…I think I’ll have to take your offer. We can’t have my credit history showing I was in Vale before my visa was approved.” Damn it, that was a good point. She didn’t want to rely on him, but if she showed up in Vale with official documentation… That would be verybad. “That…is a good point. How about you pay me back half and we’ll call it even?” She gave a small nod at his words. That…felt reasonable. She wouldn’t be relying on him fully and she wouldn’t have to entirely break the bank. It was about the best she could hope for at the moment. “As for when… Maybe now would be the best time… I can get everything washed and I won’t be scrambling for clothes once I get there.” What a pain in the ass. Moving to a new country was so tedious. People normally had months to put everything together and she only had a week. She could do it, though. She’d dealt with farworse in her short life…

α

Winter slumped in her desk chair with eyes shut. The past two days had been brutal and some of the most chaotic of her life. Even being extracted from Schnee manor wasn’t as hellish as this. Finding people with the rank and ability to handle her paperwork was a nightmare. Of course, people were talking. It was no secret. The documents had been discovered the morning after they’d been signed, but she hadn’t left her apartment. Being out and about in it thought… She had never been tempted to put a gun to her head until now. All of the respect she had vanished like snow during the melt. None remained except the among her own men. Many were threatening their own resignations if she stayed the course. She was a wife now and, thus, useless in society’s eyes except to pop out children. The general was notgoing to be happy when he learned of the mass resignations. He was losing so many of his best because of Atlas’ awful society. She had tried but she couldn’t change somebody else’s mind once it was made so tightly. About the only ones staying were the women with nowhere else to turn. Hopefully whoever was chosen next to take over the Specialists would treat them well… She’d shielded them the best she could from the rampant sexism that pervaded ever aspect of Atlassian life and society… She blinked when a knock came at the door. Who would let someone unknown into the— Okay, bad question. It wasn’t hard to pay off the door guards and clerks. She glanced at Iroki and the dog sat up but didn’t bark. “Hey Winter, mind letting me in? I brought dinner!” Harriet. That’s why the dog didn’t fly off the handle. She got up and let the shorter warrant officer in. “Good evening, Warrant Officer Bree. What brings you here tonight?” That was a verygood question. She hadn’t dropped a message or call to say she’d be dropping by. This…didn’t make any sense. Harriet let herself in and plopped down at the table. “C’mon and eat before it gets cold. It’s a long walk over here, you know.” She grinned a bit and Winter sighed. Typical pushy Harriet. She rolled her eyes but settled in next to the woman. “Again, what brings you here. And whit a meal, no less.” It smelled pretty good, she had to admit. Coco had been forcing her to eat even if the stress left her with little appetite. It did smell relatively unlike Atlassian food, though… Maybe Euskera? Elm was the team’s designated cook. “Well, you don’t eat when stressed, so I figured you wouldn’t have cooked by now.” Harriet grinned though it faded after a moment. “Plus…there’s something I wanted to talk to you about in regards to May. It’s pretty serious and you could end up causing her unintentional trauma if I don’t give you a head’s up first.” Winter arched an eyebrow at that. She didn’t want to cause trauma if she could avoid it. Weiss and almost all of her female subordinates had been traumatised by Atlas. Adding to that for anyAtlassian woman wasn’t high on her list. “I would rather avoid that if at all possible. Please, go on.” What did any fo this have to do with ‘treatment’, though…? And why couldn’t she get it in Atlas? Atlas’ medical technology was far superior to Vale’s…or so she assumed. “Does the name Ange Marigold mean anything to you? You might be too young to remember but…” Winter’s brows furrowed as she searched her memory. It did stir somethingfrom when she was a child but she couldn’t tack it down. “Not immediately unfortunately. I feel like I’ve heard the name but I don’t remember anything else.” Of course, she knew the Marigold family. They were wealthy enough she feared Weiss might be offered to that boy Henry. She’d heard nothing but awful things about him through the grapevine even though he wasn’t that old… “You’ve had to have heard about the son that was a crossdresser.” Winter blinked. Ah, right. Nobody used his name anymore but the Marigolds continued to berate the abandoned son that had been gon for so long. She now recalled the maids speaking about it in hushed voices back then. She hadn’t really understood, but she did now. A man who dressed as a woman… What an odd twist in Atlas. She had learned of ‘drag queens’ since entering the military so it wasn’t as foreign a concept now. She knew some of her men had some…predilections toward that. But it wasn’t her place to judge. THey weren’t hurting anybody, so who was she to comment? Still strange to her but she cast no judgment. “Ah, yes, I remember some of the maids talking about it in hushed whispers before and the family still makes him the butt of jokes. Frankly disgusting.” But that was just the reality of the upper class, now wasn’t it? They were the worst of the worst. Even grimm were less abhorrent than those disgusting morasses in human form. The Grimm at least served somefunction. Those greedy, disgusting excuses didn’t other than to oppress and exploit others. Harriet shifted uncomfortably and looked at the table. “Ange…wasn’t a son that crossdressed; shewas a daughter born as the wrong sex.” Winter stared at Harriet, eyes wide. Daughter? Born as…? It took her mind a few minutes to try to wrap around the information, but it just…did not computer. “Forgive me but…how is that possible? We’re born as we are—men to men, women to women. I don’t…understand.” There was no heat or accusation to her tone—just confusion and an attempt to understand. Everything she knew said there were only men and women. Then again… She frowned. That…might be why. Harriet shook her head. “It’s called being transgender. To put it in an outdated way, it’s when a person is born in the wrong body. There’s science that… Oh.” She leaned forward and grabbed the GRSM book from the bottom of the pile. “This book should help you understand better than I can explain it.” Of fucking course that damned book would come back to bite her in the ass. She couldn’t escape it no matter howhard she tried. Burning it was tempting but that was Qrow’s money and she didn’t want to waste it. She inhaled before letting it out. “All right. Do you think you could look at it and tell me the chapters to read would be?” Even if she didn’t understand, she didn’t want to cause undo trauma. The best she could do was reserve full judgment until she learned more. “Yeah, sure. Do you care if I mark up the table of contents?” Winter shook her head and offered Harriet a pen. Normally she respected the sanctity of boks, but in this case, she would be marking them up. She had already started on the one comparing Atlassian and Valian cultures. She had somany questions for Qrow once she got to Vale. Though she might be calling him for this one… She wanted to be as respectful as she could to Harriet’s friend…they were willing to help her. Harriet put the book down on the table after a minute along with the pen. “There… That should hopefully help get you started to understand what May’s been through… I still don’t understand it all myself, but I’ve done my best. You’re a lot smarter than me so you’ll probably get it a lot better.” Harriet smiled, tone warm and genuine. How could the woman say that? She was plentyintelligent. She’d helped her design Hylocereus from scratch and build it. She was more educated on the world than Winter herself. Harriet’s intelligence might not lean academically, but that wasn’t the only type of intelligence in the world. “Thank you for the help, Warrant Officer Bree. Even if I may not understand it, I don’t want to further your friend’s trauma.” And she may never understand it. But she’d try . Everyonedeserved basic dignity and respect. Well. Except those that attempted to and succeeded in harming others. Those that just tried to live their lives were worthy of it. Those like the Marigold family that would abandon a child so easily and her own sire that saw only lien sines wherever he looked… Even calling them dirt, worms, or Grimm was too far. At least those all served some sort of function unlike those shambling thingsthat called themselves people. She shoved the dour thoughts away as she turned her attention back to Harriet. “Yeah, it’s no problem. I’m just glad you’re willing to learn. Atlas is run on such horrible propaganda it’s a breath of fresh air when someone is willing to step outside of that tiny bubble.” All Winter could do was let out a slow exhale. “I’ve had my eyes opened to the fact the world isn’t as black and white as I thought.” Dove had shown her more of that than any other person. Her world was so excessively tiny that it was ridiculous. She probably wouldn’t have been so willing to listen even a few days before. But Dove showed her there was somuch more to the world than Atlas’ dichotomies. There were so many shades of grey she didn’t know where to start. “And I’m glad. You’ll be going through a tonof culture shock. It’ll feel overwhelming, but just hang in there. It’s worth learning about the world.” Harriet smiled again and Winter nodded slightly. She’d disagree. Life was easier with dichotomies. Everything was good or bad. Life outside of Atlas was already so overwhelming and she hadn’t even left the kingdom quite yet. “Well, I’ll let you finish dinner then you can do whatever it is you want to do. It was good talking to you.” Harriet grabbed her dishes and headed out the door. Winter dropped her head onto the table with a sigh. As if trying to wrap her mind around Valian culture wasn’t bad enough… Now she had to try to understand this entire ‘transgender’ thing too… She couldn’tbrush it off either. This was about not further traumatising a real person. Even if she might never understand it…she could at least respect the person going through it. She finished up eating and looked at the table of contents, flinching a bit. Some of the chapters involved the word sex. How badly was she going to be triggered by this…? Why couldn’t she avoid the topic… She couldn’t stand it…

α

Thankfully, Winter’s anxieties abated as she read through the chapters the next few days. Sex did notmean what she thought it did in this particular context. The book was dry. Very dry. It really was like reading a textbook. She appreciated the objectivity of it all. She currently didn’t have time to look through all the footnotes especially with as many as there were. The book definitely appealed to the logic Atlassians focused on so heavily. She looked down at her scroll, nursing it in her hands. Would he still be working or would he have stopped for the evening? Would he be frustrated with her ignorance? Would he snap at her for asking a question? He said he was just a call away but still… She didn’t want to upset him if he were busy. Are you free?A simple message and, hopefully, unintrusive. She really didn’t know what she would do if he snapped at her. She was self-sufficient but she didn’t have experience with this. Homosexuality, transgender, nonbinary… How was she supposed to feel about all of it? It didn’t feel natural. But she didn’t want to cause unnecessary pain to others either. She wasn’t bigoted like Gelé. She didn’t look down on Faunus. But was this just another type of bigotry? There was a section on rights of these groups in Atlas in the book… They weren’t that much different from Faunus in that regard… And she’d seen the Atlassian laws that forbade these people from working in certain jobs. It took a few minutes but a response did come. Sorry snow, was finishing up a page in a form. What’s up? Of course she’d interrupted him. Just her luck lately, it seemed, like she’dchanged to the ‘bad luck’ Semblance… I was wondering if you had time for a call. If you have too much paperwork to do, I won’t interrupt you. Damn it, she couldn’t believe how wishy washy she was being. She wasn’t a child scared by her own shadow. She should have been bolder. It didn’t take but a moment after that for her scroll to ring and she picked up. “You’re fine, snowy. I said I was a call away and I meant it. Don’t be afraid to talk to me.” How could she not be freaked out? Aside from the general and Ace Ops, questions were to be punished. She had learned better than to ask unless openly invited like Dove. Even then, it could be dangerous. “Thank you. I appreciate it, Mister Branwen.” It still felt so wrong. She wasn’t sure how to address him. “I know this is likely the last topic you were expecting, but I wonder what insight you might have to transgender people or the GRSM community as Valians call it.” The book had been clear that was the Valian terminology and she could at least understand why. He was silent for a moment until she heard a small ‘heh.’ “Yeah, you’re right about that. Didn’t expect you to have dug into that book yet.” Neither had she. “To put my experience simply: they’re people too. No need to treat ‘em poorly because they were born like that. “There were some trans members of the tribe and some homosexual ones. Not super common with how small the group is, but there were some. It was basically an open secret. ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ sorta thing. There were some crazy things that went with the matrilineal and patrilineal lines due to it, but I don’t know specifics. “Then there’s Ray. Old, old friend from Beacon. Unfortunately parapalegic now though. But they’re a sweet person, just as kind as anyone could be. A little shy but they’re a deer Faunus. Kinda makes sense.” He chuckled softly and Winter fell silent. So he had experience with these people… THough, with his travels, he’d probably met farmore than just those. Populations were wide and varied if they weren’t in Atlas. Mixing of races and such were pretty common outside of it. From the more neutral language, Ray was likely this ‘nonbinary’ thing she’d read about. How people could identify outside of man or woman still made no sense. It really didn’t. None of this did. Then again, she could at least still respect the people themselves. She may never understand. But these were people too, many of whom had endured horrible trauma. Was it really her job to judge these people who had already been cast aside by Atlassian society? May had been turned out by family for something they didn’t understand. Would anybody actively choosethat? …Okay, she had chosen ostracisation from the Schnee name. She had lost everything. But somebody posed like May had been… It didn’t make sense. At least from what little she knew. She had her sister to protect while it seemed like May had everything to lose. Coco had looked into the Marigold family. Had May not walked this path, she would have gained so much as Ange. Holdings, wealth, companies, and so much more. To throw all of that away with no plan… “…Do you think Ray would be willing to spend some time with me so I could get to know them a bit? I…don’t know how to process this. I may say some ignorant things unknowingly. Do you think that would be okay?” She was trying. She could read all the books in the world, but nothing beat experience. As far as she knew, she’d never met anybody under the trans umbrella. Then again, she might have unknowingly. With how Atlas was, it was no surprise most people stay ‘closested’ as the book had put it. “Yeah, Ray’s put up with alotta shit over the years ‘specially in Atlas. Tries their best to not let it get to them. Plus you are actively trying. That’s better than mostAtlassians have been. They’ll get why you might say things.” That…was a relief. She’d said a lot of unwilling ignorant things about Faunus around Harriet and Marrow. Marrow had learned not to show it. Harriet still had some issues due to being half Faunus but showing no traits. The frustration had scared her, of course, but she had hardened somewhat. She would never stop trying to better herself. She was not gelé. She had a much harder fight for the SDC on her hands, but she’d show all of those pieces of shit what a woman coulddo. “Pass along my thanks. Maybe a day or so after I get settled in Vale?” She couldn’t rest on her laurels with this one. She didn’t know when May and Joanna would want to meet up. She wanted a more rounded opinion on the matter. And the only way she could do that was meet some people under the trans umbrella. It would take her time, but she would better herself. Plus, it might help her make more informed decisions about SDC policies in the future… She would notlet her workers suffer if she could help it.