wanderer's lullaby

Winter was vaguely aware of the sound of a car door but it was too soon for Qrow to pick her up. However, hunger forced her out of the room and down to the kitchen. Her blood turned to ice as she recognised one of the figures standing there. Sienna Khan. There was no mistaking the woman. Ears, dark skin, and telltale tiger striping tattoos on her arms. Nobody else matched that description. Her breathing hitched in her chest and she ran full tilt up the stairs. She slammed the door shut and locked it. She collapsed on the bed into a heap. Her breaths came hard but shallow. What was that woman doing on Patch?Shouldn’t she be off killing unsuspecting news anchors or something? Unless… She shuddered silently. She was there to kill Winter herself. But nobody outside of a handful of people knew she was there. How could she know? Not even Gelé knew… Holy Father, none of this added up…

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All three of them stared, befuddled, after the rush of air left the kitchen. “What…just happened? Why was there mortal terror on whoever that was?” Sienna asked. “Oh that was probably Qrow’s new wife, Wint— Oh. Oh.” Yang smacked her forehead with her palm. Winter Schnee. Sienna Khan. Kali Belladonna.Winter probably thought the two women were there to hurt her. She really hadn’t thought this one through, huh? Winter had probably been coming down for lunch. “Would you mind if I tried to talk to her for a few minutes?” They wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of Summer’s organisation system, but anybody stewing in ‘mortal terror’ wasn’t good. The two women shook their heads. Yang got up and off the ground and headed upstairs.

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Winter barely heard the soft knock on her door. But her breath shuddered in her chest when she registered it. W-Was it Sienna or— “Hey, Winter. It’s me. Can I come in?” Yang? Well that was better than the alternative. Her legs shook as she walked over to the door and unlocked it. The little girl looked up at her. She settled in one of the room’s chairs, pushing off some clothes that had been sitting there. “Sorry about this… I was really thinking when I invited them over. Kali has some ideas on how to—” “A-As in K-Kali B-Belladonna?” One of the foundersof the White Fang? She’d caught sight of someone else in the kitchen, but she hadn’t been able to place her. She’d been so fixated on Sienna nothing else had mattered. Why did a random twelve-year-old know the founders of the White Fang and its current leader?! What absolute madness was she now a part of?! Yang sighed, falling silent for a few moments. “Are you don’t freaking out to the point I can talk now?” Winter sighed and took several deep breaths. She really shouldn’t have reacted like that. The White Fang was something she’d dealt with before. This really out to be no different. She could easily take most people on… “Yes, I’ve calmed down. Please, speak.” Of course, her heart still felt like it would beat out of her chest. But she had to be composed. Anything less and she’d look like a complete ass. She still wore the Atlassian military mantle with pride even if the whole complex was corrupt to its core. “I’m staying over at Miss Khan’s house on Friday nights after choir. Right now, Kali and Ghira are over too.” Winter couldn’t stop an involuntary shudder, but she didn’t interrupt. “I was talking to Kali and she had some ideas on how to maybe get Ruby to try some new foods. If she sees what I buy and cook, then she can come up with recipes to maybe try. They’re not here to hurt you. I swear they’re good people. Miss Khan actively works with humans and forthem sometimes. Dunno about Kali, but she’s a Grade Twelve aura user. Do you…understand the significance of advanced aura?” Yang looked a bit concerned. Winter gave a slight nod. “To some degree. My experience with it is…limited but I know to be a high-Grade aura user is no small feat. I don’t know much outside of it that, though.” She still didn’t entirely understand everything Dove had said during their meeting. She’d begun to see sto some degree, but she still didn’t really understand in the way they’d obviously wanted her to. Present moment, kindness, balance… How could anybody manage to fit that into their personality in a cohesive way? “Well, they’re basically the pinnacle of the advanced aura mindset. They aren’t like Uncle Qrow who’s lost sight of a lot of that. They’re not bad people despite their reputations. I think if anybody can understand how skewed the media and other people’s opinions can be, it’d be you.” That…was very true. And very insightful for a child. How did she know so much when she was so young? It was quite eerie. It was one of thing when it was world-weary Qrow or serene elder Dove… For a child to understand things so well… It did speak to what Summer had told her of Yang’s upbringing. “Would you give them a chance, Winter? Please? I want to help Ruby…” The desperation in her voice and eyes took her aback. Yang was nothing if not sincere. That was very much the look of an older sister trying to help her younger sibling. There was almost nothing more pure in the world than that. Of course, every part of her still wanted to say no. Kali Belladonna had an arrest warrant out in Atlas. Sienna Khan was known for her violent tendencies. Holy Father, this hit her in the one major chink in her armor. “I suppose.” Yang brightened and hopped off the chair. “Let’s go!” She barreled down the stairs before Winter even had the chance to get to the doorway. She hovered there for a few moments before climbing down each stair one at a time. If she got hurt by these two, who would be held responsible? Qrow for bringing her to Vale? Yang for inviting them over to the house? Even disinherited, she doubted Vale would take someone so connected to the SDC well at all. This felt like walking into the cave of a mother bear with cubs…while holding one of the cubs. She would walk out fine or not at all, most likely. Winter stepped delicately into the kitchen and settled at the table. Kali and Sienna turned to look at her, then glanced at each other. She saw the tension in their ears. Apparently they were as nervous as she was. How could that be? She could tell from their movements, they were no slouches in combat. She wouldn’t be able to tone or even both of them in combat should it come to that… Even the general might have some difficulty with Kali. She let out a breath.THere was an obvious elephant in the room. “…I’m nothing like Mr. Gelé. I have nothing against Faunus. You deserve every bit of respect that humans do. Maybe that would help clear the air a a bit. It wasn’t like she could do anything to them anyway. She no longer had military power. That she wouldhave done anything to them without good reason. If they abided by the law, there was no need to arrest them.But she knew Kali and Ghira did have arrest warrants out should they ever set food in Atlas again. She saw Kali’s ears relax and she sat at the table across from Winter. “I apologise for assuming anything… How could I address you?” That…was a good question. She was married but maintained her maiden name. She was no longer a major. She was a simple civilian now… “Winter’s fine.” It felt…wrong. After being in the military for two years, it felt so wrong. She should have been Major Schnee, not Winter. But she had to live with it from now on.She at least was still getting somebasic respect… She would’ve been thrown under the buss by her fellows had she tried going back to her job. She would have been sneered at and barely had orders followed by those not loyal to her. “Winter, then. I apologise for assuming the worst. But can you entirely blame us? It wasn’t like we were expecting to run into a Schnee on Patch.” She could very well say the same. She hadn’t expected to run into one of the founders of and the current leader of the White Fang on this tiny island. How did Yang have these connections anyway? A normal twelve-year-old shouldn’t know such high-ranking people. “I can say the same. It’s…shocking to see Yang with such high-up contacts. If you don’t mind my asking, how do you all know each other?” Hopefully that wouldn’t frustrate or upset Yang. It seemed like the sort of thing most people would want to know in her positon. “Yang’s chapel is one the Band frequents. She was there the night I spoke there as leader,” Sienna piped up. “When two Grade Five or higher users are in the same vicinity, they can sense each other. And considering how rare high-Grade aura users are. I had to talk to her.” That…did make sense from what she knew of advanced aura users were rare, so getting two uses in such a small vicinity… They’d probably want to talk, given the chance. She could only imagine how jarring it must have been to walk into a room and be blindsided like that. “I didn’t know Kali ‘till like a week ago, though.” Yang spoke up this time while she rifled through the grocery bags. “I need somewhere to stay for the time being since I won’t be able to get back to Patch. Kali and her husband are staying with Miss Khan.” That also made some sense, she supposed. The old leaders staying with the current one. THey were obviously close friends. “And if you wouldn’t mind… Could I possibly ask why you’re here, Winter?” Kali’s tone was soft and delicate, obviously walking on eggshells. She could feel the woman was trying to not pressure her. Even so, she glanced away. She didn’t want to talk about it. It wounded her pride too much to admit. Letting others know gelé had won against her… “Never mind then.” With that, Yang started chatting with the two women about potential food for Ruby. Atlassian food, though… “I could probably offer some recipe suggestions, Yang. Needless to say, I’m well versed in Atlassian fare. And not just upper-class stuff. I lived on a budget for the past two years. I understand money and spending.” The general often did help her when she got into reallydire straits, but that was rare. She know how to keep track of money and was aware of limits. “That…would be useful. If you have any ideas for the buffet, lemme know. I can pass it onto Kali later.” Yang grinned a bit and Winter nodded. Were they actually interacting without being at each other’s throats? It probably wouldn’t last though. Thinks like this were too good to be true. She knew better especially with Yang’s inherent distrust of the adults. And it wouldn’t be long until she ticked over to eighteen… Only five days until then. She doubted Yang would stay keen on her after she learned that. “Do you have some paper and a pen or something?” She already had ideas. Might as well get them down now while they were fresh. Thankfully, Yang handed her a legal pad and pen and she started jotting down recipes. She had her own way of preparing things that deviated from the standard, though, as most people did. “I do cook differently than standardised recipes though… I could write my ingredients and methods down if I could porow a full notebook… Or I’ll get one while I’m out with Qrow.” She didn’t want to take things unnecessarily. It’d be rude to take supplies from those so limited on them. Yang had a budget and she was already eating into it…quite literally. “Or you could type then print it out. I can give you access to the home network and printer later.” That…was another way to handle it. Even for advanced as Atlas was, it remained so stuck in the past in many regards. A lot of paperwork still had to be submitted by hand, not digitally. Even though that made a million times more sense. So her own thinking remain stuck in paper a lot of the time. “I would appreciate it. I can do that too.” She would’ve preferred to get started now, but she didn’t feel bringing the laptop down was a good idea. If the AI spoke, how would Yang react? The voice and mannerisms were a perfect replication of Summer. She really wanted to work while thinking about it. The legal pad was clearly Yang’s shopping list pad. Taking away more than one page didn’t feel like a good idea. With that, she let the conversation resume and fell silent. Yang moved on from putting the groceries away to starting to cook. Winter did watch with a certain amount of fascination. There were a lot of cooking techniques she didn’t know. Maybe Yang could eventually teach her something. That wouldn’t happen today, though. Qrow would be picking her up soon enough. But she remained happy to watch until she heard two loud sounds outside—the sounds of birds calling an alarm. Kiyay and Mono. “That’s probably Qrow. Do you want to say hello to your uncle, Yang?” She didn’t want to up and leave without giving her a chance. The family was close knit aside from Taiyang and Qrow. The little girl shook her head. “Might wanna get outta here. Taiyang’s still here and things’ll go up in flame if he sees Qrow.” Good point. Hopefully Ruby wouldn’t get too upset over not getting to see her uncle. Oh right. “One more thing. How would you feel if I replaced Summer’s matress with a new one? It’s…not in great shape.” Even military cots were frankly more comfortable. She wouldn’t be able to sleep on it for too long. Hopefully it’d be okay… Yang’s expression did turn pensive and distant at the question and she let out a sigh. “Yeah, it’s a hunk of junk. Rubes and I slept on it and it was never too comfortable. I have nothing against it, but you might want to ask Taiyang first. It’s still his house in the end though I take care of it.” Yeah, she had meant to ask him earlier, but with him being an angry, she hadn’t been willing to chance things. At all. Removing something from his late partner’s room wasn’t a good idea. She couldn’t risk his anger when she was already walking on eggshells in this house… A text came on her scroll. I’m here.Her heart felt ready to pound of her chest. She’d have to ask Taiyang later. Keeping Qrow waiting probably wasn’t the best idea but… She crept over to the master bedroom and knocked softly on the door. It took only a moment for Taiyang to answer. “Huh? What is it, Winter?” She bit the inside of her cheek. It’d be so easy for him to grab her and— “I’m leaving very soon, but…I had a question.” She explained to him quickly and he put a hand on his head. His gaze focused somewhere over her shoulder, distant. She didn’t wantto upset their house but that mattress wasn’t sustainable for her. What else was she supposed to do? Kill her back so they could keep a dead woman’s bed intact? “I really don’t want to get rid of anything…but your comfort is important too. Forcing you to sleep on a rotting mattress would be cruel. Go ahead and find something to replace it with.” His tone was soft and distant, obviously caught up in memories. She…really didn’t make the suggestion lightly. At all. That room had obviously been untouched over the past six or so years… But she had to be practical about her own comfort and health too… “Thank you. I do apologise for defiling your sanctuary…” When he didn’t respond for several moments, she slipped outside. Qrow stood up and outside the car, petting Mono’s hand. She rested on his ungloved hand, enjoying the attention. But he turned to face her after a moment and smiled. “Hey snowy. Ready to head out for now?” She nodded softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Yes. Let’s go.” This outing would be welcome. Now she didn’t have to deal with the topsy turvy family dynamics for a while…