wanderer's lullaby

Yang stretched a bit as she walked downstairs, holding back a yawn. The late night of racing combined with the early waking was definitely rough. She ran a tight schedule but this was ridiculous even for her. She was so tired, but she could deal with it. No point in complaining when she’d managed to win a decent amount of cash for her troubles. She hadn’t been able to risk Qrow seeing her the previous day… He didn’t know how suped up Bumblebee actuallywas… It was supposed to be some toy for her to ride around on, not street legal… She shook the thoughts away and her mouth watered at the warm scents coming out of the kitchen. It had somany more flavors than she normally cooked with. She was stay and learn if she could, but she really needed to get back to Ruby… Miss Khan sat at the living room table with Ghira, head pricking up when Yang came down the stairs. “Good morning, Yang. Would you like to join the three of us for breakfast? Kali’s cooking this morning. It’s not everyday one gets to eat Menagerine food prepared in a traditional way.” Menagerine food? The offer was reallytempting. She rarely got to eat anything so flavorful due to Ruby’s food sensitivities. “Wish I could, but I really should get home.” She would already be behind as it was. Having to traipse across the entire city back to Patch would take time. She still had to sort the groceries, then cook for the rest of the week after that, finish up homework, then go to chapel. She didn’t have a lot of extra time even on the weekends. Miss Khan’s ears twitched and she motioned Yang over. “Please, eat with us. I can sense your stress on your aura but you can spare some time to eat.” “No, I really can’t. Saturdays are busy for me.” It was already seven… She’d done her budgeting as normal. She could not slack on that even if she hadn’t slept as much as the previous night. She did nothave the time to spare. “Yang, please.” The look in the woman’s eye made her relent and she settled at the table. Plus, she needed to get her meditation in at some point… She’d really slacked the last week with worry about Winter clouding her mind. There was always so much to do… “Why are you being so adamant?” She kept her tone even, trying to not let her frustration bleed through too much. She didn’t want to seem an ungracious guest, but she had so much to do that day. She really couldn’t dawdle. Though the promise of food still tempted and held her there. Eating outside of Ruby’s restrictive diet was welcome. She loved her sister, but the bland foods really did wear on her. And Ruby didn’t do well with change, so new recipes were usually out… “I can sense your stress. You deserve a bit more time for yourself than you allow.” Yang sighed at assessment but said nothing. Taking care of Ruby was a full-time job especially on top of school and taking care of the household. She couldn’t spare any time for herself other than what she already allowed for. And she didn’t want to leave Ruby alone for too long either. She’d have to readjust her schedule for the day too… She would probably have to split the cooking in half and do the other half tomorrow… Oh and there was so much to deal with… “My, my, so young and already so responsible.” She looked up when Kali spoke, seeing her carrying plates of food—communal so they could take what they wanted. Would Miss Khan or Kali report her to CPS? It would be obvious enough on her aura to anybody that could read what was going on. As Kali settled down, she shook her head. “We won’t get involved here. Your uncle can handle the issue. We don’t want you and your sister separated.” “…Thanks,” Yang muttered, looking down at her empty plate. That wasn’t what she wanted either. Ruby wasn’t like other kids. Something was up with the way she had never talked a whole lot, hyperfixated on weapons, and generally struggled with school. She probably should have tried to set up some form of assessment for her, but that might open the system to ask questions. Something was very different about her sister, but anythingthat threatened them being separated was a no go. The villagers didn’t want to see them separated either, so they also kept their mouths shut. “Well, dour topics aside, why don’t you dig in and tell me what you think?” Kali smiled warmly and Yang nodded. “Yeah, the food smelled fantastic. She dug in and the flavors hit her like a truck. Not in a bad way. She simply wasn’t used to such intensity. It felt like something from the heavens compared to her normal diet. “It’s…really good. I wish I could ask for some of the spice blends but my sister doesn’t do well with intense flavors.” She probably would’ve been crying from pain. It wasn’t spicy really… But the intensity would’ve been fartoo much for her. “Do you ever add spices on top of your own meal to liven things up?” Kali smiled at Yang. She shook her head. “Not really, no. I make a lot of casserole-type dishes, so adding extra things on top isn’t an option.” Plus, with Winter in the house now, she doubted she could stray too far. Atlassian food was bland and she’d found Ruby enjoyed it quite a bit. So that was good for Winter… She really wished she could go to other nations like Vacuo or different areas of central Mistral. But she couldn’t. Everything she ate was so bland. “I’ll be here for a few more months, so maybe I could drop by to see if I can make any suggestions?” Yang sighed and shook her head again. “I’ve tried to get Ruby to try new things by every method. She rejects even things with ingredients she knows. There’s no point.” She’d accepted things for what they were. She loved Ruby to the ends of Remnant and would do anything she could for her little sister. She wouldn’t complain too much, but food was the one area she would. She did eat out on rare occasions and it made her see what she missed out on. The world was a colorful place with more to offer than the three dozen recipes Ruby ate. How would she handle Beacon when the school offered them things she’d never eaten before…? What an absolute mess… “Well, you’d be surprised what I can do, so maybe give me a chance?” Kali’s eyes sparkled and Yang let out a breath. This woman wouldn’t give up, it seemed. But should she really would be complaining? She wanted more variety in their diet. Though Winter was a complication in all of this… “We do have one more person in the house now—Qrow’s wife, Winter. She’s from Atlas so she’s probably used to a bland diet too. I’m not sure how she’ll take to more flavor in her food.” There were so many things to consider, though, if Winter knew how to cook, maybe she could try more Atlassian recipes… But Ruby refused anything new… She wanted more variety sobadly. “Maybe one weekend I could come out and do a buffet-style feast for your family. If you’d be willing, I could come with you to do grocery shopping and see what you normally cook.” That…could be something to try. Ruby didn’t like trying new things, but if she saw Yang trying them, that might help. She wasn’t too pick herself as long as it wasn’t heat for the sake of heat. “That might be worth a shot. Though I wouldn’t be able to help pay for it…” She didn’t want everything to fall on Kali’s and probably Miss Khan’s shoulders. That was a lotof food and it’d be expensive. But she couldn’t afford to foot even part of that bill. Despite that, Kali’s eyes glimmered. “How about I teach you new cooking techniques and we call it even?” That still didn’t sound like a fair trade off to her. But she nodded reluctantly. Knowledge didn’t make up for the money, but she couldn’t offer anything up. Hopefully, she’d get enough out of it to feel like she’d contributed equal to the monetary equivalent. “If you want to come with me today, you can. Though I can’t exactly have a passenger with me…” She’d managed to evade the authorities questioning her while in the city. She could get a provisional permit after her birthday this year if she could prove she knew what she was doing. But until then, she had to be careful. An adult on that small cycle would blow it open that the little bike was more suped up than what it appeared. “That’s fine. I can drive both of us.” Miss Khan smiled and Yang nodded. That would work. Plus, she didn’t have the trailer and would rather not have to backtrack to the house. They could go in the car’s trunk and backseat. It would make life a little easier for her. Though Ruby probably wouldn’t take well to having two strangers invade the house. Oh well. She could deal with it for a few hours. They finished up breakfast and headed out toward Patch.

α

Winter rolled over as the alarm went off, pulling the eye mask off. What a horrible night of sleep. Even after the physical exertion of stocking and walking to and from the village, she hadn’t slept well. The stress of the environment and knowing there was a man in the house really was driving her to severe anxiety. Her energy reserves were low and pushing her too much wouldn’t do her any favors. Maybe there was something more than the tinctures Qrow could come up with. They helped a bit but the underlying stress wasn’t helping her. She really was already tired of this time change. Jetlag was terrible. Hopefully this would be the last time she dealt with it and it was only her first time dealing with it. She forced herself up and went through her morning routine. Bun up, bangs swept, not a hair out of place. Though…she probably should talk to Coco today… She hadn’t spoken to her in several days. It felt…empty without her. And after she’d spent most of the final week in Atlas with her, she felt all the lonelier… She winced a bit at her back, though. That mattress really didn’t feel nice. She could feel where Summer had worn it down and it left her with a sore back. Maybe they should get her a new mattress while they were out. But she didn’t need to check with the rest of the family first. She was a guest and throwing out a piece of furniture would be bad form. She headed downstairs and froze when she saw Taiyang sitting at the table, drinking a cup of what she assumed was coffee. He did look up at her, and raised the mug in greeting. “Want a cup of joe?” Calm down, Winer… Ruby was in the house. That should hopefully be enough to stop him from trying anything. “I…suppose so. I add some milk and about half a teaspoon of sugar.” She had been Major Schnee. Getting breakfast shouldn’t be such a big deal. She had taken on White Fang with the intent to kill her. Why did that feel so much less intimidating than this? She should be over this by now… She normally did try to avoid caffeine especially when stressed but one cup first thing in the morning wouldn’t hurt too much. Or at least so she hoped. She got in the freezer and found her labeled, pre-portioned meal, then heated it up. By time she finished, Taiyang had put the cup down in front of a spot on the table. She settled down and started to eat, but a small throat clear made her look up. “By the way, sorry ‘bout last night. I didn’t mean to spook you. But I don’t want to lock you out of the house. I’m going to the city in a few hours so I’ll have a key made for you for the doors.” Winter nodded slightly as she poked at her food. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” How had they not thought through the logistics of her staying…? Something like spare keys were important if long-term guests were to be able to leave the house. They’d had a weekto consider these things, yet it seemed like the only thing they’d thought about giving her was closet and dresser space. She let out a breath internally as she met his eye. “I know you have a full-time job but I was wondering if you might be willing to teach me to drive.” She still didn’t trust the man to be alone with her. Men would do anything to get what they wanted. She knew that all too well. Whether it be power, money, or sex, they always wanted something . He was a completely unknown but she didn’t doubt he had something he would want. He would probably leverage this favor against her at somepoint. As a Schnee, she would seemingly be able to offer him a lot. He blinked and finished his sip of coffee before setting his mug down. “Yeah, sure. We can work on it on the weekends and if I get home early enough in the evenings. That’ll be a bit rare, though…” He rubbed his chin, looking up thoughtfully. She was prepared for whatever request he would have in the future. She could only hope it wouldn’t involve her body… He had to miss the companionship of a woman since Summer’s death. He hadto. No man wasn’t interested in having companionship of some sort. “I would truly appreciate it.” Granted, she couldn’t really afford a car or anything at the moment, but at least having a license would go a long way for her. It would take time to get. She would need the practice, permits, and study up on the laws of the road. That would be easy to do in the amount of free time she had in general. That and to study for the citizenship qualifying test. So much to do before her work visa went through. Especially if the general could help speed that along. She would be so grateful if he did. “Yeah, it’s no trouble. Did you want to start today or…?” “I do have plans with Qrow and I’m not sure how long it’ll take.” She caught his grip tighten on his mug a bit which made her tense slightly. Did the pair not like each other for some reason? Would he yell at her? She hadn’t meant any offense. They were her legitimate plans. “I see,” he replied brusquely. Don’t mention Qrow to him. She could easily read that. But the girls loved him so much. What had she fallen into the middle of? Plus, they weremarried… Was it so bad for him to help her? She really wanted to hide and the day had barely begun. Why was this supposed land of promise the antithesis of what Qrow had said? Atlas as a married woman felt less restrictive. She would’ve lost all respect, but she could’ve kept her job for a while… Her gaze drifted down to her plate and she fell silent. She wanted to live her life, not be punished for every choice she made. It felt like each one she made toward her independence carried backlash. She had to pay Qrow for an expensive bike, the two little girls inherently hated her, even mentioning Qrow upset Taiyang… This really was the worst place for her. She could tell. Plus, she still didn’t trust Taiyang in the slightest. Vale had sounded too good to be true and it was. She was being beaten down more than even in Atlas. She had to walk on eggshells here just like in Schnee manor. She finished eating and withdrew to her room, looking at her scroll. Hey snow, how does me and Pers picking you up at about one sound? We can hit up the bike shop then I can spend a decent chunk of the day teaching you to ride over here. Flat roads are best, of course. You’d prolly twist an ankle if I tried teaching you on Patch.It was sent while she’d slept. She really needed to check her scroll first thing rather than waiting. That sounds fine. Do you know enough about them to make an informed decision?This would be a sizeable investment most likely. If he didn’t know his stuff, would he be able to help? She sure as hell didn’t know the first thing about bikes. I dunno the first thing about ‘em, but I have a buddy that’ll meet us at the store to help. We won’t be buying blind.That was good. She didn’t want to be cheated out of money by buying something she didn’t understand. She was looking forward to getting out of here for the majority of the day. All right. I suppose I’ll see you then, Qrow.There wasn’t much more to say on the topic. Maybe she’d go curl up in the study. She did have books she’d started and had those comparison books to sort through too… Any escape from this hellhole was worth it in her mind…