wanderer's lullaby

Qrow’s eyes cracked as sunshine filtered in through the window. He groaned and put the pillow over his head. Even the few weeks at Persia’s hadn’t changed that. But it had been driven into him as a child, so shaking the old hambit was hard. It’d probably take a month or more for him to fully adjust to being in civilisation again. Maybe he should run by a drugstore to get an eye mask for himself… He was up now, though, so he sighed and sat up. No point in lazing around. He did wonder how Winter was adapting to the time change now. She would start work at the bakery on Friday if she was adapted… Hopefully, she’d be fully adapted and integrating into Patch more by time Friday rolled around. He wondered how the stocking job was going. There were kids around her age there as far as he knew. Maybe she’d befriended somebody? That would be really good for her. Unfortunately, he knew she’d never be a normal teenager. She would never worry about boys and dates and clothes. Plus, she wasmarried, so she couldn’t worry about dates even if she wanted to… He’d taken that freedom from her. Granted, she was so suspicious of men she would never have dated or gotten married of her own volition most likely. What a mess… All of this was such a mess. Standing, he rolled his shoulders. It was about six thirty and school start at seven thirty for the girls… Granted, would Yang feel up to going? If she didn’t, he could hardly blame her. But she couldn’t miss too much school and expect to stay where she was. He knocked softly on the door, his heart twisting in his chest once he felt a familiar presence after opening. It evaporated like the morning dew. He saw Yang’s eyes crack and she sat up. “Uncle Qrow, did you wake me up? I didn’t hear you knock…” He shook his head. “Nah, it was you know who.” He didn’t want to alert Ruby to Summer’s presence if he could help it. But she was still a sleep right now, so there was at least that. Still, on the off chance she might wake up… Yang locked down and gripped her covers. “Oh. So that really is her?” Her voice barely reached a whisper. He didn’t blame her for not believing. All of them had thought Summer was truly gone, but she’d been close enough to still be there for them. He knew her aura spark too well to not believe it wasn’t her. Plus, Raven’s little display had shown beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was Summer… “Yeah, it is.” His own voice was quiet. He didn’t want to believe it either. Once again, she’d tried to spare them pain bu she’d caused an immense amount of stress. Summer was either dead right or incredibly off the mark. And it’d been the latter twice in a row. Stubborn woman. “Feel up to school today, firecracker?” He wanted to pull her into his arms but Ruby was in the way. She should be allowed to sleep as long as possible. She really was nota morning person. Then again, getting her up sooner would help get her functional sooner. He went over to the bed and wrapped his arms around Yang. She curled up against him and clung. Ancestors damn it. She really wasn’t up to school. She was going to be a wreck for weeks probably. She was only twelve. Asking all of this of her was so unfair. At least she didn’t have to take care of the house by herself anymore. The adults in her life would finally do what they shouldhave all those years ago. “I should go. I don’t want to miss too much school. I’ll get ready.” Her tone was dead. She really didn’t want to leave him, that much was clear. But he did unfortunately have calls to make and things to do too… He and Winter needed to go mattress shopping, he needed to call the combat schools to see if any had an opening, and he still needed to finish all of Winter’s paperwork… Though that was all at Persia’s place. Eh, it could wait a few days while they got this mess all cleaned up. “All right. If ya wanna come home early, gimme a call and I’ll getcha outta there.” He really didn’t want to force her to go to school. After such a scare, she really should be staying home. But at the same time, she was old enough to make that decision herself. She knew herself better than he did. Though this persevering despite all negative odds reminded him of Summer and not in a good way. She really was shaping up to be her mother’s daughter in many ways. He head a note of annoyance and saw Ruby curling up under the covers. She pulled the pillow over her head. Yang slid away from Qrow and shook Ruby. “C’mon, Rubes. We gotta get ready for school.” Ruby whined and burrowed deeper. “We need to eat then head out.” Ruby shook her head and Yang shrugged. “Give her about five minutes.” With that, Yang slid out of bed and Qrow left the room so she could get dressed. He had helped change Yang and Ruby when they were babies and toddlers but he was way too old for that now. It really was odd to be suddenly so integral to their lives again following being so absent… He headed back downstairs, raising an eyebrow when he heard a distant rumbling. Thunder? He checked the weather on his scroll. Only a twenty percent change yet it struck today. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve blamed his Semblance. But it couldn’t go as far as to interfere with the weather and it was sealed. He really had nothing to worry about. What a poetic way to roll in the day with such a glum mood settled over the house. It was almost cliche… By time Yang came down, the rain downpoured so badly it was practically a whiteout. Yang grimaced. “I don’t want to walk to school in this.” He really couldn’t blame her It would be a nasty, messy affair with all the mud. Taiyang had already been eating at the table. Qrow glanced at him, sensing exactly what he wanted. “…Wanna ride, kid?” Qrow pointed at Taiyang who looked away. He didn’t blame her for not wanting anything to do with him. But in a case like this, it really was the best option. Otherwise, she’d likely be skipping school that day. He saw her eyes flicker to red for a brief moment, but she gave a resigned sigh. “I guess.” How hard would it be for her to accept something from the man she disdained so much? Though this did raise a good point… Qrow should probably get his driver’s license. There was public transit but it wasn’t as reliable as a car. Being able to drive would probably be important especially since they were planning on moving away from the city. There were trains and buses, but a care would be more reliable. Damn it all; more things to add to this ever-growing to-do list. Yang got her breakfast and it wasn’t long until Ruby came trudging down the stairs after her. The two girls ate and everyone got out the door. For now, that only left him, Winter, Raven…and Summer in the house. Winter was still asleep so it wasn’t like he could talk to Summer yet about what to do… What did she want out of him? They couldn’t be together and he couldn’t hold her. Plus, her time on Remnant would be limited. That was how contracts worked. He’d seen it in the tribe. One day, a ghost could be gone without any announcement. Summer would be gone eventually… And what would the afterlife hold? It was going to be a big mess once they all died. He still wasn’t sure what the afterlife was like since it wasn’t exactly like one could go there for a casual stroll then come back. That promised to be its own mess most likely too… What did Summer’s feelings for him mean? He settled back on the couch and looked over at his sister. She had fallen asleep in one of the chairs and was completely unaware of everything that had transpired. She really could be quite the heavy sleeper sometimes… Normally the chieftain would be a light sleeper to stay alert for any potential trouble. Then again, last night had been hard on all of them. She was probably recuperating from it too. He sighed and shrugged as he laid back down on the couch. No point in staying awake while everyone else was passed out. He put the pillow over his head and rolled onto his side. This couch was such a drag… It was way too small for his height but he didn’t have much choice… Yang and Ruby now slept in what had been his room once upon a time. He couldn’t exactly go kicking them out, though. Then again, maybe they could set up a large mattress in Ruby’s room… He’d have to sit down with the girls and discuss possibilities…

α

Winter blinked and slid the eye mask up to her forehead. It was oddly dark. She had come to get used to Vale being bright and sunny, not dark and cloudy like Atlas. What was going on? Why was it so dark? She got up and looked out the window, frowning. Rain poured down in sheets and clouds blotted out the sky. Well, weather was a rather fickle thing so she supposed it made sense. Atlas and Mantle had the heating system to help cut down on the cold. Man could only go so far in manipulating the weather, though. She really couldn’t imagine what people would do if they had the ability to fully control it. A glance at the clock revealed it to be eight that morning. She really needed to start setting an alarm. Sleep was still proving difficult, though… She tossed and turned relentlessly. She simply was not adapting well to Vale. Things were so difficult… How did people sleep peacefully when surrounded by strangers? General Ironwood had given her a special override that let her sleep in her apartment during boot. She’d never been without a door and lock between her and other people. Her stomach growled and it compelled her to go downstairs. However, she got ready first, dressing and pinning her hair. She would not be seen in any state of disarray, hungry or not. She really couldn’t stomach it. Qrow hadn’t seen her in pajamas yet and she intended to keepit that way. Nobody need to see her so unkempt. She headed downstairs and saw Ravne sitting at the table. She tensed. Great. Another confrontation with the woman. Just what she needed. “I’m not going to hurt you, Winter. Get your breakfast. I’m just going to sit here.” Right… The woman at least didn’t have her blade, but she might have others hidden on her. She really wouldn’t put it past a bandit to try to pull the wool over her eyes as many times as she possibly could. She did smile a bit when she saw Kiyay sitting on the counter. She was glad he didn’t have to be in this driving rain. He did chitter at her softly. She went over and kissed his head. “Good morning.” She really did care for him. It was amazing to bond with such a powerful predator and work with it yet not be hurt. She would probably get hurt at some point, but it hadn’t happened yet. Hopefully it wouldn’t though. She really enjoyed spending time for him. She got into the freezer and defrosted her breakfast in the microwave. It was odd to be reheating her meals when she was so used to cooking most things fresh or from scratch. She sometimes did do ready meals, though, loathe as she was to admit it. It was simply easier when she’d had a long day and it was two in the morning. Raven continued to look at her scroll while Winter ate, making no moves to do anything. It felt strange… The woman was clearly in her own little world. What was she looking at? From this angle, she couldn’t really see. Either way, she looked bored out of her skull. What could she be doing that had her so bored? “I’m looking at houses while my brother handles everything else. Unfortunately, I have yet to find anything that meeds our needs. I’ve seen plenty of five-bedroom houses, but they’re all in the city. We need land…” Raven frowned at that and Winter glanced at the birds. Apparently this island was too small to sustain them… They wouldn’t be able to hunt for too long. They’d already driven the animals to fear them, so hunting on Patch was a no-go. And these were hunting birds… How awful it would be to consign these birds to a life of not hunting? She frowned thoughtfully. “I wonder if we could buy land and build a house if worse comes to worst…” They still had time and were in really no hurry to move. She did want to get out of here as fast as possible, though. She felt like an intruder here and that probably wouldn’t let up period. She really felt like a prisoner here. Would she ever truly be free? Until then, they would need land permission… And falconry season was already underway… However, she saw Raven’s eyebrows shoot up. “There’s a new listing that looks promising. Give me a few minutes.” Winter nodded and finished up eating. She retrieved Kiyay on her way back from the sink, then settled him on her lap. “It seems almost too good to be true.” “Huh?” “Four hundred acres of land, six bedrooms, two and a half baths, a large barn with pasture area, and it’s on a lake. They’re only asking 250,000 lien.” That made Winter’s eyebrows raise. That didsound too good to be true. It sounded exactly what they were looking for. There hadto be some sort of catch. “…The notes say there is a Grimm problem.” And there they were. But that wouldn’t be a huge deal. They had the two best Hunters in the world plus an Atlas military elite. Keeping Grimm at bay wouldn’t be a huge deal. “Plus, Qrow and I have a secret weapon to repel Grimm.” She raised an eyebrow at Raven who merely shrugged. Yet again, this woman had secrets and it was absolutely infuriating. She already knew about ghosts and the fact that Qrow could turn into a bird. What was wrong with her knowing how Grimm could be repelled?! It wasn’t like she’d go revealing things to other people! She was trustworthy! Raven rubbed the bridge of her nose. “It’s not that we don’t trust you; it’s that some things are on a need-to-know basis. You can understand that, don’t you?” Winter gave an exasperated sigh. “Yes, I do.” Many things in the military were need-to-know. Many of her own missions had been classified and she was sworn to secrecy. Even now, she wouldn’t be allowed to talk about them to anybody. They were state secrets that might cause Atlas’ downfall should they ever be discussed. But Qrow and Raven weren’t agents for the state as she had been. What could they possibly know? Then again, that AI had a ton of information backed up. What about these people made them so integral to some sort of crazy secret? She really didn’t understand. Then again, Summer was still a legend even in death. And she’d managed to escape death somehow. She still didn’t understand entirely how that worked. People were completely unpredictable and irrational. Vale only seemed to make them even more insane and unpredictable. She wasn’t sure how long she’d survive here. “Anyway, maybe we should talk to Qrow about—” “Talk to me about what?” She stiffened when she heard his voice. She hadn’t heard him walk in. Apparently he was pretty stealthy despite his height. “A listing popped up that seems perfect for what we need.” Raven listed off the specs to him in greater depth than she had Winter. “The only problem is there’s a Grimm issue, but that won’t be too bad for us. We can always get repellent from Hechaka Kamuy if the issue is ‘too bad.’” Qrow stroked his chin and nodded. “I’ll see if I can get a viewing with my agent set up tomorrow or the day after. With the Grimm problem, I doubt that it’ll go too fast. Even for that price, Grimm’ll deter anybody that isn’t a Hunter. And we have three damn good Grimm hunters here. We’ll beat ‘em back good.” He grinned and Winter nodded faintly. She assumed a lot of things Qrow said, but it was wise to jump on this sooner rather than later. She wanted to get off Patch as soon as— Something cracked and Winter practically jumped out of her skin. “What the hell was that?!” It sounded like an area-of-effect gunshot! She really had no idea what could make a noise like that! “Calm down, snowy; it’s only thunder. It ain’t gonna hurt ya.” Thunder? Oh, right, thunderstorms were a thing that could happen. They were so rare in Atlas one had never happened in her recollection. It was unnerving to hear such a loud crash from nowhere… Hopefully she’d get used to it in due time and it wouldn’t be too commonplace of an occurrence… She really did notlike this. It was louder than she liked anything to be. “I see… What are your plans for today? I will be having dinner with somebody else tonight, but aside from that, I’ll be free.” Her back was hurting… She really needed the new mattress sooner rather than later. Honestly, even the couch or floor might be more comfortable than that bed. It was in horrible shape and she hated it. She missed her apartment which, while bare, had at least been comfortable…That mattress would be the death of her. “If you feel up to it, I can finally make good on the promise to go mattress shopping. Then I think you, Summer, and I need to have a discussion. Only if you’re up for it, though. It’s prolly gonna be emotional. At least for me.” Winter raised her eyebrow at that. A discussion between the three of— She blinked. “Wait. You know about her?” She thought Summer was trying to stay outof Qrow’s range and hide from him. This blew all of her preconceived notions out of the water. And it proved, once again, how unpredictable the woman was. Said one thing one moment, then did the opposite the next. People really were incredibly frustrating even at the best of times. It was Qrow’s turn to blink. “Youknow about her? How long have you known?” “Remember the night your mother talked to me? That was when I learned.” It wasn’t something she wantedto accept, but there was only so much she could do. If she completely ignored it, she would be delusional. She wanted to strive with reality as much as she could. And, apparently, ghosts were a part of reality, loathe as she was to admit it. She was either completely sane or insane at this point. She kept stumbling into insanity that forced her to change her thoughts about how reality fundamentally worked. “I-I see…” She could practically see the relief on his face. Well, she couldn’t exactly blame him. It’d been hard enough to get her to accept advanced aura. How much worse would it have been to try to get her to accept ghosts?She at least had grounding in that now. But how much more insanity existed in the world? What all were they hiding from her that they weren’t telling her? What was all of the ‘need-to-know’ information they were keeping from her? She did understand but it didn’t mean she wasn’t frustrated by it. She didn’t understand what was so need-to-know about it. “So what all did you wish to discuss today?” Might as well get away from the awkward part of this. Raven had said Qrow wouldn’t abandon her, but that hadn’t answered whathad happened. She still couldn’t help but worry over that… He’d said she could leave at any point she wanted, but wouldn’t it make sense for the same to be applied to him? It was a double standard… He deserved as much freedom as she had. He shouldn’t be beholden to her when she had freedom to do as she pleased… Not that she was really interested in finding somebody else. She still wasn’t even interested in Qrow in the first place… He scratched the bottom of his chin. “Yeah, it is a bit complicated, but I ain’t leavin’ ya. We can discuss it a bit later in the day.” That…wasn’t infuriating in the slightest. She wanted to know what it was. Why were people so keen to keep her in the dark here? Didn’t advanced aura users value open communication? Qrow had tried to help her set ground rules at one point but the discussion on mental health and had taken precedent. Why wasn’t he standing on that particular hill now? She really didn’t understand people… “When will we go mattress shopping?” She wasn’t going to get anything more about the discussion out of him. She really hated how unreliable and inconsistent people could be. Apparently, even high-Grade advanced aura users weren’t immune to natural folly. Why wouldn’t everything be neat and orderly like it was in Atlas?! Vale was so awful when it came to making any sort of sense! “Well, we’ll need the old woman to take us, so we can go after I get ready if you don’t mind waiting about half an hour.” He stroked his growing beard. “Shave, shower, and all that other stuff. Rae can cook while i do all of that, then I can eat. Sound good?” “Very well.” She couldn’t begrudge him getting ready for the day. She’d opted to skip showering that morning but she would definitely need to the following day. Actually… “I…do need to go out shopping. I had to throw all my toiletries away.” Private airship or not, she had to throw all of that away. To much worry in Atlas about liquid bombs despite her being a major. She’d borrowed a bit of shampoo from others when showering here in Vale. Not great for her hair but better than leaving it to get dirty and greasy. “All right; we can make a stop by the Atlassian enclave after we go matress shopping. Upper-class-level stuff? I just need to know so I Persia can stop by the right place.” She nodded slowly. “I refuse to compromise on my hair or skincare.” She had tried cheaper options when first out on her own, but extended use tended to dry out on her skin and leave her with rashes. Her scalp also tended to itch like crazy when using drugstore brands. She really had tried, but it didn’t work out for her. The general had ended up needing to help her buy those necessities for a little while following her getting out on her own fully. “All right. I think I know where to stop then.” He pulled out his scroll and texted Persia—or so she assumed. He stuck it back in his pajama pants pocket then stretched. “Anyway, see ya in a bit.” He smiled and excused himself from the kitchen. What an odd— Thunder cracked and she nearly fell onto the floor. Kiyay barely caught himself on the table as she jumped up. He let out a concerned noise and she sighed. She was stupid to be so afraid of a natural phenomena. But it reminded her waytoo much of Gelé slamming the door before coming into beat her senseless… Today was not going to be fun.