wanderer's lullaby

Qrow watched WInter move mechanically up the stairs, grief completely consuming her. He felt his self-hatred start to boil up, but he shoved it down. He could hate himself later. He wished he could offer Winter comfort. She didn’t trust him enough for that yet, though. Would he ever gain it? Summer had been slow to warm, so he had to be patient like he had been there. Patience was a virtue… One he barely had half the time. How was he supposed to win her over? Especially with them so distant for the time being. He cast his attention to his elder niece. Something was going on here and he’d get to the bottom of it. He sat Ruby down and pushed against her back. “Why don’t you go play with Ein, shortstuff?” The little girl gave him a longing look and he smiled at her. “I’ll stay for a while tonight, okay?” Winter was upset and he wanted to be here for her. His presence would mean much but he was trying. It was hard when he had to fight the government every damn step of the way. Ruby reluctantly left and he put a hand on Yang’s shoulder before getting down on her level. She couldn’t quite meet his eye, though. “Hey, Yang, if there’s a problem, you know you can always come to me, right? There’s no judgment here. I want to help you. I love you so much.” He wrapped his arms around her and she clung to the back of his shirt. He could feel a well of deep, conflicting emotions swirl in her. But he couldn’t pinpoint anything through the thick fog. What had happened here? He wanted to know right now, but he’d have to wait. He’d need to talk to Raven once he got back. She would know what was going on. She’d had her eyes on the house consistently since Summer’s death. He couldn’t wait until Winter told him. “…Yeah” came Yang’s deflated response. Seriously, what had happened? This wasn’t the usual bright, bubbly firecracker that he knew. “Actually, if you want to leave right now or soon, you can. You have stuff to do, right? I don’t want to hold you up.” That made Qrow blink and he looked down at her. She was trying to hide somethingshe didn’t want him to know about. But he couldn’t deny he wanted to talk to his sister as soon as humanly possible. He felt bad about not keeping his promise to Ruby but… “Tell Ruby I’ll let her take Harbinger apart next chance I get to make it up to her.” He hadn’t let either girl see the internal workings. But Ruby was good enough with weapons to put it back together. She was her mother’s daughter in more ways than one. Yang nodded and he kissed her head before casting a glance up the stairs. Eh, it could wait until tomorrow. Winter wouldn’t know the difference between him being there and not. Even his best intentions were foiled by basic human instinct. Winter was the type to isolate… Plus, Taiyang wouldn’t be too happy if he found him in the house… He kissed Yang’s head again and bid her farewell, skulking out into the forest long enough for Raven to use a portal. After a quick text, he found himself back in Persia’s kitchen. “All right, Rae, spill the beans now . You know what’s going on in that house and you willtell me.” He stepped forward, getting a sigh out of her. Her aura dropped considerably and she sat in a chair. No more secrets.The girls had suffered enough. He’d make sure they didn’t anymore. “You’re right; I doknow but you’re not gonna be happy about it. If you don’t get shitfaces, I’m going to be beyond shocked.” He narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t going to give into the old habit until Summer’s death anniversary rolled around. “Try me.” Raven raised her arms and sighed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Qrow. Tai…hasn’t been caring for the girls since Summer’s death. It’s allbeen on Yang since she died.” His blood turned to ice and he put one of his flasks back. (Still nothing but tea.) That…did seem check out with the hints he’d seen… Dusting done mostly at a low level, stool dragged erroneously around the house, ready meals immediately after Summer’s death, Yang unusually asking for things like clothes and money when a kid usually asked for toys… How could he have missed it? It felt so obvious now… He should have— “And that’s exactly why I never said anything to you. You’d blame yourself and cause untold destruction with your Semblance. Though the latter isn’t a worry now.” Raven sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples. He really was the worst, wasn’t he…? Missing his nieces being neglected, pulling Winter away from everything she’d known… “It isn’tyour fault, Qrow. Yang’s smart and resourceful…just like the tribe and SUmmer. There wasn’t much—” “Wasn’t much like get sober and get them out of there?!” he snapped. If she’d have told him, he would’ve sobered up by now. He would do anythingfor those girls. They were all he’d had left int he world until Raven decided to come back. Why hadn’t she told him about this?! “Sure, and have you potentially harm them from the guilt and self-hatred it made you feel?!” Sober or not, your Semblance was a danger to them! Would you have been able to live with yourself if you hadhurt one of them?!” He fell silent, hands gripping the his head. She was right… He would have hurt them. But his Semblance was sealed now so— “Qrow, you’re already busy and Winter’s already stressed. Do you want to put more pressure by opening an investigation? I get it, but at least wait until you have a house. It’ll work in your advantage to have property and somewhere stablefor them to go. Right now, they’d probably end up in foster. Do you want Ruby to end up where she won’t be understood?” He gave a heavy sigh, massaging the bridge of his nose. “No.” Ruby was special and needed finesse to handle. Putting someone in charge of her that didn’t know how to handle a silver-eyed child was a recipe for disaster. Even Summer’s own parents hadn’t been able to handle her… His blood turned to ice at the thought. Would Yang and Ruby be put with their next of kin? If so, that would would mean Ruby would go to the very grandparents that had abandoned their own daughter. And Yang would go to the parents Taiyang hadn’t wanted much to do with. They’d be separated… He couldn’t do that to them. Raven nodded and walked over to Qrow, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Get stable thenupend their lives. Start going to some sort of drinking support group. Get some sort of job that will prove you’re not a crazy Huntsman anymore. You’ve got time to prove to the government you’re the best choice for the girls to go to, not foster where they’ll probably be separated.” That…was the best idea, loathe as she was to admit it. He wasn’t a planner. He acted and asked questions later. If he could prove he wasn’t drinking anymore and held down a damn job… “I’ll see if I can get in contact with Signal about my old job once I get this damn paperwork finished.” That was probably his best bet. He didn’t have very many marketable skills outside of combat. The only other one was probably his languages, but translating formally and working with people normally were two vastlydifferent skillsets. Combat, he could teach without too much trouble. Anything else, though… He really couldn’t do. Raven would be Persia’s employee after they found a house and started closing. “That’s a great idea…except could you and Taiyang work in the same building?” That…was a good point. Well, no combat school would turn away the world’s most famous Huntsman. Even if it were a TA position, it’d be something to prove he stable. It was a bit too late in the day to call so he’d have to start with that tomorrow. He had Oz, Glynda, and Persia for references if worse came to worst. But his record spoke for itself. He took on seemingly suicidal missions and came out on top. Those prep schools would killto have somebody of his caliber on their staff. “Yeah, I’ll start making calls tomorrow.” Though employment morepaperwork… And he was already behind as was due to taking Winter around… What a fucking nightmare…

☼

Yang watched as Qrow left, one hand gripped into a fist. Her uncle was sharp. Try as she might, it was an inevitability he’d figure it out. She hadn’t been wrong when she’d thought Winter coming into their lives would be the end. Winter was sharp herself. She’d report back to Qrow and tell him what was going on. The only question now was when the hammer would fall. When would Qrow report them to CPS? When would she and Ruby be separated and taken from the only home they’d known? When would her little sister be forced to act in a way completely unnatural to her? It was only a matter of time until all of that happened…and probably worse. Would she even be able to attend Signal next year? She’d passed all of her entrance exams with flying colors, but if the new family she was placed with didn’t let her attend, that was it. But that wasn’t something to worry about for the time being. There was something muchmore pressing. She grabbed her plucked psaltery then sat outside of Summer’s door. She wasn’t sure if Winter could hear her or not, but the house stood silent. Hopefully the melodies would carry through to her.

α

Winter remained curled into a small ball, Kiyay’s distressed cries reaching her ears. The window remained shut, though. She couldn’t move. The world was too cruel. She’d lost everything and gained nothing in re— She barely caught the sound of some stringed instrument between jobs. Was she going insane or was that real? She forced herself to quiet and listened. No, that was definitely coming outside of the room… She couldn’t place the instrument, though… It was very pretty and quite soothing. It’s Yang. She’s playing the plucked psaltery I taught her before I died. Yang…? But why…? Didn’t she hate her on principle of being an adult? Why would she be playing for her? It made no sense. Nothing about Vale made any sense… She wanted to go back to when everything made sense and the general shielded her from the horrors of reality… She felt a lift in the air and could practically see Summer smiling. She’s trying to help you feel better. Qrow probably explained to Yang sometime last night after dinner.She…really wasn’t sure what to make of that at the moment. Did she count it as Qrow breaking her trust? Was he just informing his niece of the situation? Keeping the promise he’d made to her? Some combination of the above? None of them? She was too distraught to try to reconcile it now. She forced herself to her feet and opened the Window. Kiyay made himself comfortable on the bed and waved her over. She curled up around him and closed her eyes. She was so exhausted… This was a new level of despair she never knew existed… And she still had to call the general tonight and stock the store… Hopefully she would recover in time to do both of those things…

α

Winter laid there while she listened to the soft instrument, part of her dying inside when the familiar, aching silence took over her. What was she supposed to do…? This world was a cold, unrelenting place. She was meant to suffer and never be happy. She’d lost everything. She would never get over the loss of her job. It had been her main ticket to get Weiss out from under Gelé’s thumb. She’d continue with her plan for Weiss but she’d never be happy. She’d still have to endure having at least one heir once she took over… Oh Holy Father… What did that mean for her and Qrow…? Kiyay chittered and spread a wing out over her. She shuddered, a silent sob wracking her body. This was the worst possible outcome… She heard a soft knock on the door but didn’t move. She wasn’t hungry. She didn’t want to move. She frankly wanted to die. Nothing would ever be right in the world again. She was trapped. Always had been and always would be. No matter how hard she’d tried, Gelé had won in the end. She wouldn’t give up her plan but he’d still won… Hey, Winter? Summer’s voice made her look up though she couldn’t pinpoint where the woman was. While I get why you’re upset and won’t force you, maybe we could cohab and I start to write that coding for my AI to understand the birds?Her tone was hesitant but Winter nodded, pushing back her tears. Better to let Summer be productive than sit here and mope. “Okay.” She felt the strange sensation spread across her body and she became a bystander once again. And…she understood the chittering coming from the bird. “Summer, is there anything I can do to help her? I know my presence is welcome, but can I do anything to actively help…?” He sounded so distraught… And it was her fault… What was she supposed to think about that? She seems to have inherited Qrow’s Semblance despite it being sealed away. Nothing went right anymore since he’d come into her life. Winter’s hand raised and it stroked Kiyay’s chest. Her lips spoke the strange Branwen language as Summer smiled at the bird. “Your presence is more than enough, Kiyay. I’m going to do some work that’ll help Winter understand you better. Could you help me by speaking the words I ask of you? ” He bobbed his head and Summer stroked his head. “ Thank you.” With that, Summer swiped the laptop and started typing. Once again, Winter found herself overwhelmed by the pace with which Summer worked and thought. Her hands moved at an almost inhuman speed with code blurring past on the screen. HOw could anybody be this intelligent? She didn’t doubt her intelligence any longer. But seeing this demonstration firsthand really put into perspective Summer’s intensity and understanding of so many topics at once: coding, language, aura breeds, culture… What a dizzying array of skills. And she knew it was only the tip of what Summer was capable of. She had so many hidden skills that she would likely never see them all. At about quarter after six, Summer left her then gave her a soft nudge. You should probably eat then head down to the village. Don’t want to make a bad first impression on your big day, right?Winter let out a breath and shook her head. No, she didn’t want to make a bad first impression. She didn’t want to go, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t have Jeb or Trina’s numbers to call off. Not that she wanted to in the first place—calling off her first night would only sour the impression she’d made earlier. She let Kiyay out the window then made a quick stop by the bathroom to freshen up. Her eyes were red and puffy though it had gone down considerably by this point. She looked completely unpresentable. What an awful impression she’d make. There wasn’t anything she could do about it, though. All she could do was press a cold washcloth to her eyes to try to reduce the swelling a bit. After that, she reheated her meal from the fridge, eating mechanically. She still wasn’t hungry. It turned to ash in her mouth. But she needed something in her system before doing manual labor like that. She paused at the front door and hesitantly glanced at Ruby. The little girl curled up on the couch with a game or something. She didn’t know. Though…would she be able to understand her? She pulled out the burner scroll while Ruby stared at her with wide, grey eyes. “I’m heading out for a few hours. Will the house be locked when I get back after ten?” “Don’t worry about it too much,” an unfamiliar, male voice answered. She tensed at the tone. Taiyang. He approached from the hallway but kept his distance. He offered her a small fob of keys, holding one up in particular. A red, plastic ring surrounded the head. “I can get you a spare house key tomorrow. For tonight, use my keys.” His tone was extremely soft, almost as soft as Qrow’s. She gave a small nod, taking the keys with a trembling hand. Was this some sort of trick? Would he have a trap lying in wait for her when she got back? It was all far too possible. Men would do anythingto get what they wanted. There was some ulterior motive here and she knew it. “One more thing.” He withdrew to kitchen then offered her a small flashlight. “It’ll be dark when you get back. Ein?” The dog’s ears laid flat and he growled. “Look, I get it, but can you go with her to make sure she doesn’t get lost? You should know how confusing forests are in the dark.” He sighed heavily and hefted himself to his paws. He looked at Winter, beckoning her to follow. Without missing a beat, she slipped out of the house and into the somewhat darkened forest. Tonight would most certainly be interesting…