wanderer's lullaby

It didn’t take long for them to pull into a parking lot a little ways away. “I’ll pick you up about four thirty. Sound good?” Opal looked at Qrow and he nodded. “Yeah, sounds good, Ope.” He got out and opened the car door for Winter. She got out and noticed a strange structure in the distance. What was it? She couldn’t say she’d seen anything like it before. But it was hard to make out at this distance so she couldn’t really say what it was. Qrow offered his arm to her and she wrapped her arms around it. Part of it was habit and manners, part of it was not wanting to get separated from him. “So where are we…?” She wanted to know. Could one building really take up the entire afternoon? The talk with Raye had taken about half an hour then another fifteen minutes to get here. The building was on the coast but that didn’t really help her figure out exactly what it was. “The Vale National Aquarium.” An aquarium? The most experience she had with them was the tanks that Clover kept. Some were small, some were incredibly large. A building full of tanks? How was that supposed to be entertaining? She didn’t really understand. Fish were Clover’s thing, not hers. Why did he think that she’d be interested in seeing fish crammed into tiny little tanks? They passed by a giant dolphin which had been the strange structure she’d seen from a distance. Qrow quickly paid for the tickets and they were let in. Winter could see a large group of kids ahead of them and she grimaced a bit. She did not do well with kids unless they were Weiss. She felt Qrow gently squeeze his arm against his body to try to offer her a small squeeze. “Don’t worry about it, Winter; they’re on a field trip. They aren’t going to bother us.” “Field…trip?” She wasn’t sure if she’d even heard an equivalent in Atlassian. This wasn’t a literal field, so maybe it meant something like being in the Hunter field? But that didn’t make any sense either. This wasn’t any sort of battlefield or career field. She couldn’t pinpoint what it meant. “Basically, it’s when kids leave school and go somewhere to learn something. This is as much a place to visit as it is to learn.” Huh, so she hadn’t been too far off in a way. Then again, there had to be people here whose jobs it was to educate others in that case. Field trip did make sense in that context then. She supposed marine biologists had to be a thing. But almost anybody could learn to take care of fish. Why was having a dedicated aquarium such a big deal? “So I see.” She followed Qrow into the building and was immediately stunned. A massive tank stretched underneath their feet and up the side of the wall. Fish of all sorts swam in the currents, some schooling, some large and individual. This…was no mère tank like Clover had. This was something he could only dreamof. How much water must be in there? That was an absolutely insane amount of water and fish alike. She couldn’t imagine how much maintenance that must take. It was absolutely breathtaking. She heard Qrow chuckle softly. “And this is exactly why I wanted to bring you here. I know you value learning and knowledge to a large extent. Might not be stuff you’re interestedin, but I figured you would prolly enjoy it. Plus, it is impressive to look at.” WInter nodded. “I’ve seen large home aquariums before. I never imagined something like thiscould exist…” she breathed. It was absolutely awe inspiring. She hadn’t had much interest in fish before. She’d only half listened when Clover talked about his aquariums and their upkeep. She had learned a bit about cycling and water parameters and some miscellaneous things but she simply had no interest. This was more than impressive enough to had her attention for a few hours… She could honestly probably stand and watch this particular tank for hours… It was a massive saltwater one (she could see corals and sharks) and the schooling fish were absolutely mesmerising. “Well, it does. There are aquariums like this around the world to help educate the public on different types of fish. There are people that dedicate their whole lives to fish.” It was crazy to think that people dedicated their lives of fish. How much money did it cost to go through college to focus on the waters of the world? Not a lot could be done in some places due to the Grimm… There were still areas of the planet that were completely untouched by man due to the Grimm… It was crazy to think how much was unexplored by the eyes of man… Winter nodded and continued to watch the large tank for a while, absolutely entranced. There were so many colors, patterns, sizes, and more in that tank. There even appeared to be an entire coral reef in there. Qrow nuded her and led her over to a ladder. “Want another vantage point?” She nodded and climbed up a level, followed by Qrow a couple minutes later. She walked over the top of the tank and looked down. She was still awestruck by what she saw. Was this what it was like to be underwater at a reef? It was astounding. She’d thought that Clover’s tanks were impressive especially the large stone. It had several monster fish in it. She didn’t know what they were called, but they were huge. This had entire sharksin it. How could she not be impressed? She could at least get a better vantage point on the coral reef in the wall. How nuts. She had no idea how one could maintain a large reef inside like this. It was crazy. Weiss would probably really enjoy this place if she ever came here. Weiss seemed to enjoy animals from how she’d talked of riding Neige, her horse… Once she got custody of her little sister, she would definitely have to bring her here… After a while, she looked at Qrow and nodded. “All right; we can move on.” She felt her cheeks heat a bit. “Sorry for taking so long.” She had never taken so long while looking at Clover’s tanks. It’d been, what, twenty minutes she’d spent at this tank? They were on a time table. It wasn’t like they had the entire day… Qrow shook his head. “Take your time, snowy. There’s no rush. If we don’t see everything today, that’s fine. Relax and enjoy yourself.” Relax… She really didn’t know the meaning of the word. To take her time on something was an absolute betrayal of who she was. She needed to get things done in a timely and effective manner. She had no excuses for dillydallying. They headed back down to the main area and started walking. They passed by smaller tanks in the walls with smaller animals, though all maintained saltwater life. She saw clownfish, anemones, corals, blue tangs, and a host of other creatures. It was crazy to be so very close to these animals that she hadn’t thought about being in captivity before. How did people maintain reefs like this in artificial settings? Eventually, they came to a hallway full of jellyfish. Jellyfish…? Yet another thing she had never imagined being kept in tanks. She read on some of the cards how difficult it could be to keep them. The flow in the tanks had to be justright as well as the salinity. There was a relatively small margin of error for keeping jellies in captivity apparently… People could do it, but it was costly and difficult to the small margin of error. It was crazy to see the ephemeral creatures floating in the round tanks. Eventually, they came to a transition area where another large tank went deep into the wall and into the floor. The fish were massive but displayed more greens, yellows, and browns in comparison to the tropical reef fish. “What’s this…?” She walked over to the plaques and read them. Now they were dealing with freshwater fish.This particular tank teemed with different types of bass and such. More or less the types sportsmen went after. She had never understood fishing really… Who wanted to deal with nasty words and smelly fish coming out of the water? She’d never really had any interest in it at all. Then again, she’d never tried it either… Maybe she ought to at some point? “Qrow, do you know how to fish?” This was a bit of an awkward topic. She really didn’t know what all his skills included. He was obviously highly skilled in survival, but how far did it extend? It was hard to know. She really wished she knew more. “Eh? Yeah, I do. Want to try sometime?” Winter nodded awkwardly, looking away. “It might not be a bad way to spend some time together…” She was so bored of sitting around the Patch house. She’d met Raye so she felt a bit more equipped to handle meeting May now. Maybe they could start spending time together. And she would have the house largely to herself from now on. The girls would be at school, Qrow and Taiyang would be at work… Then Raven would be moving into the new house. It really left her with next to nothing to do. Qrow smiled at her. “Yeah, we could maybe spend a few hours out on the lake this weekend. Sounds like fun. It’d probably be catch and release only, but that’s fine with me.” She could at least figure out what that meant. She thought people always kept what they caught. But that apparently wasn’t the crase. How interesting People were so multifaceted yet contradictory. She still didn’t really understand them, though… People simply made no sense to her. How could she ever hope to understand anybody outside of the general? They wound through the freshwater part of the aquarium where she did see the group of kids from earlier. She paid them no heed, though. Her attention was on the relatively small tank in the wall with a betta in it. It was a long-finned male that looked fairly content with itself. She read one of the cards about how selective breeding had made the domestic splendens variety incredibly aggressive yet showy. She had seen a couple in tanks under Clover’s care. She supposed that was why they had to be housed separately. They were called “fighting fish” for a reason. It was incredibly beautiful and really drew her eye. She’d never cared about fish before, but seeing them like this… It made her reconsider. What would it take to truly care for a betta? She could always call Clover and ask… He was an experienced fishkeeper and would know best on how to keep them. She was now entranced by the fish’s beauty and wouldn’t mind caring for one. Eventually, they left the freshwater section and Winter tilted her head. “Frogs?” She thought aquariums were about fish, not frogs. Though there had been a tank full of pretty blue shrimp. Qrow chuckled. “Frogs still need water to live. I mean all living things need water to survive, but frogs need it to breathe. Can’t say I’ve extensively studied amphibians, but I know some basics. They’re still important to watery ecosystems.” That was true, she supposed. They might not have been fish but they still did usually live veryclose to water. Plus, they did depend on it for reproduction (at least to her limited knowledge). She did hesitate before looking up at Qrow. “By the way, what would you say if I was potentially interested into looking at getting a betta…?” They would be moving in a few months (if everything worked out) so it may not be a feasible plan. She didn;t know. She had no idea how to take care of fish. But she could and would do research first. She would not bring an animal home without doing the proper research first. Of course, she knew nothing about dogs or falcons but she was learning. Plus, they had been given toher. She wasn’t the primary caretaker anyway. Qrow and the others were teaching her. “That one would be up to you. As long as you can do the research, it’d all be on you. Honestly, it might even do you some good. Aquatics is supposed a pretty relaxing hobby. Might help with your anxiety.” It was relaxing? Then again, she had heard Clover say that numerous times. Maybe if she wasn’t a terrible idea. She had Clover as a resource and the AI could also help her with finding appropriate information too… “So as long as I could find space for an appropriately sized aquarium…?” She hoped it would need to be too big. She didn’t want to have to carry eighty pounds of glass when moving. She could do it but she didn’t want to. Plus, it was only a single fish. It wasn’t like Clover’s monster predator aquarium. She had seen his betta tanks and they seemed to be a manageable size. Hopefully he could confirm the size they needed was relatively small. “Yeah, that sounds fine. Summer’s desk is hella sturdy, so you could prolly find space there if the tank is small enough.” Taiyang had told her to not touch anything in there. Then again, Summer was around. They could easily ask her what thoughts she had about rearranging the room. It was obviously a sanctuary for people that couldn’t let go of her… But it was Summer’sroom in the end. Who and what triumphed over which mindset? Should it remain untouched for the sake of those who lived? Or should the dead person to whom it belonged have final say? It was quite the interesting dilemma; that was for sure. Qrow offered his arm to her again and she took it. “Enjoying yourself, snowy?” Winter gave a fant nod. “This is more enjoyable than I thought it would be.” She had certain ideas about what this would entail, but she had been wrong on many fronts. For once in her life, though, she wasn’t disappointed. She normally hated being incorrect. It…was odd but nice in a weird way to be so wrong for once. She had never experienced disappointment to be a goodthing before. “Glad I made the choice then. I can’t wait till dinner.” Qrow smiled down at her and she looked up at him. What did he have planned? She wasn’t expecting anything extravagant, of course. This was a middle-class family, though Qrow had a lot of money in reserve. He could affor something extravagant, but she doubted it would be anything too insane. She was curious to know his plans… “It’ll be interesting to see your plans.” She gently rested her head against his arm as they walked. He didn’t say anything. She turned her attention back to the exhibits and looked over them. They showed the different stages of a frog’s life. There was an egg nursery, a tadpole nursery, and then lots of different, large terrariums for the adult frogs to inhabit. It was hard to any of the adult ones but some could be seen swimming in the water parts of the terrariums. The next area was impressively large even compared to the previous tanks that left her awestruck. “Penguins?” Again, something she hadn’t expected in the slightest, but not in a bad way. Honestly, they were kinda cute… She could imagine Weiss want to watch for several hours. Qrow chuckled and nodded. “Yup. Wanna go down and watch ‘em swim?” There was a staircase that led down to a lower level. She nodded and he led her down, though he got off the stairs first and offered her a hand. She felt like she should be offended he didn’t think she could handle the last few steps. But that wasn’t the type of person Qrow was. He tried his best to look out for the people he cared about. So she put her hand in his and headed down the last couple of stairs. She took his arm again and they stood in the little observation area. Honestly, she could watch this for a while… It was fascinating to watch birds swim. Of course, she knew about the existence of penguins and other waterfowl like swans and ducks, but she’d never seen them up close before. It did raise a question for her. “What will our quarry be while hunting?” She wanted to know what to expect while being out on the hunting season. There as a lot potential quarry for them. What such large aura breeds, it also opened far more potential to haunt too. She knew the most success in falconry came from hunting native birds on native prey. Gyrs were notnative to Vale… What would they hunt? “So as long as I could find space for an appropriately sized aquarium…?” She hoped it would need to be too big. She didn’t want to have to carry eighty pounds of glass when moving. She could do it but she didn’t want to. Plus, it was only a single fish. It wasn’t like Clover’s monster predator aquarium. She had seen his betta tanks and they seemed to be a manageable size. Hopefully he could confirm the size they needed was relatively small. “Yeah, that sounds fine. Summer’s desk is hella sturdy, so you could prolly find space there if the tank is small enough.” Taiyang had told her to not touch anything in there. Then again, Summer was around. They could easily ask her what thoughts she had about rearranging the room. It was obviously a sanctuary for people that couldn’t let go of her… But it was Summer’sroom in the end. Who and what triumphed over which mindset? Should it remain untouched for the sake of those who lived? Or should the dead person to whom it belonged have final say? It was quite the interesting dilemma; that was for sure. Qrow offered his arm to her again and she took it. “Enjoying yourself, snowy?” Winter gave a fant nod. “This is more enjoyable than I thought it would be.” She had certain ideas about what this would entail, but she had been wrong on many fronts. For once in her life, though, she wasn’t disappointed. She normally hated being incorrect. It…was odd but nice in a weird way to be so wrong for once. She had never experienced disappointment to be a goodthing before. “Glad I made the choice then. I can’t wait till dinner.” Qrow smiled down at her and she looked up at him. What did he have planned? She wasn’t expecting anything extravagant, of course. This was a middle-class family, though Qrow had a lot of money in reserve. He could affor something extravagant, but she doubted it would be anything too insane. She was curious to know his plans… “It’ll be interesting to see your plans.” She gently rested her head against his arm as they walked. He didn’t say anything. She turned her attention back to the exhibits and looked over them. They showed the different stages of a frog’s life. There was an egg nursery, a tadpole nursery, and then lots of different, large terrariums for the adult frogs to inhabit. It was hard to any of the adult ones but some could be seen swimming in the water parts of the terrariums. The next area was impressively large even compared to the previous tanks that left her awestruck. “Penguins?” Again, something she hadn’t expected in the slightest, but not in a bad way. Honestly, they were kinda cute… She could imagine Weiss want to watch for several hours. Qrow chuckled and nodded. “Yup. Wanna go down and watch ‘em swim?” There was a staircase that led down to a lower level. She nodded and he led her down, though he got off the stairs first and offered her a hand. She felt like she should be offended he didn’t think she could handle the last few steps. But that wasn’t the type of person Qrow was. He tried his best to look out for the people he cared about. So she put her hand in his and headed down the last couple of stairs. She took his arm again and they stood in the little observation area. Honestly, she could watch this for a while… It was fascinating to watch birds swim. Of course, she knew about the existence of penguins and other waterfowl like swans and ducks, but she’d never seen them up close before. It did raise a question for her. “What will our quarry be while hunting?” She wanted to know what to expect while being out on the hunting season. There as a lot potential quarry for them. What such large aura breeds, it also opened far more potential to haunt too. She knew the most success in falconry came from hunting native birds on native prey. Gyrs were notnative to Vale… What would they hunt? “Well, these birds are trained to handle up to small deer, but we’ll probably mostly be flying them on ducks, geese, maybe swans, and rabbits. The deer here in Vale are white-tailed deer which are much larger than sika deer. No way even a big female gyr like Mono would be able to handle a white-tailed deer.” Ah, so she saw. Mostly smaller prey then. She would definitely have to learn how to track and such then. She had relatively little experience in the wilds, so this was all new to her. It was going to be an interesting experience, that was sure. It would probably take her years to fully develop tracking and survival skills. “I see. It must be impressive to hunt a gyrfalcon on a deer…” Granted, she had no real scale for how big a deer was, let alone the difference between a white-tailed deer and the difference between a white-tailed one and a sika. Qrow would likely have extensive experience with both and would know the abilities of the birds. If a white-tailed deer was too much for a tribe gyr to handle, she would take his word for it. “Yeah, it’s hella impressive. Watching a falcon stoop from high in the sky to smack headfirst into a deer is something else. But white tails are simply too powerful for our gyrs. I did some hobby hunting before Summer’s death and white tails are pretty nasty. They can do some pretty serious damage to cars if hit.” He paused. “Once you get your license and we move, you’ll have to be incredibly careful if driving around dawn or dusk. You’lllikely be fine if you hit a deer, but the car won’t be so lucky.” Winter looked at Qrow and nodded. She hadn’t expected a deer to be so dangerous. All she knew about them came from biology lessons. It was crazy to think how potentially disastrous it might be to hit one. She would definitely be careful when driving around those times. “Duly noted.” She didn’t want to damage or even total a car they ended up buying for her… “That does bring up a good point… Maybe we ought to hit up a dealership Saturday or Sunday. We won’t be getting permits for a while, but getting cars would be good. Plus, we can practice on our own on the more isolated streets on Patch.” Winter looked up at him, startled. He was suggesting they break the law? They shouldn’t be on the road until they’d been through learning the laws of the road! Qrow shrugged. “What the government don’t know won’t hurt them.” “But…” She didn’t feel comfortable with it. She wanted to learn the laws first. Practical experience was important but only after they learned how to properly operate the vehicles. She might have lived to spite Atlas, but this wasn’t Atlas. It was Vale. If the government knew she was breaking the law, it could put her citizenship in question. She was already breaking the law by not having taken the falconry apprentice exam. Did Qrow really have thatmuch sway that he could get the government to ignore her law breaking? He lightly rested his free hand on her head. “Yeah, I can get the government to bow to basically what I want them to. Ain’t no government going to cross me, lest I refuse to offer services.” In some ways, that sounded a lot like Gelé. Using his influence for personal gain. But he was so warm and kind like the general. How could people be so contradictory? General Ironwood was one of the most consistent people she knew. He rarely ever strayed from his moral compass. She just…didn’t understand people. With that, she fell silent. She wasn’t sure what to think. She really had no idea to interpret t his. Summer was one of the most contradictory people she’d met by far. But Qrow was proving to be just as strange and difficult to read. How did people live like this? How could they stray from their own moral compasses so far? WInter hated it when she was forced to bend or break her morals. It was so disgusting. How could anybody have such loose convictions that they were willing to use their influence to force others to do something? “Would you like to talk about it over dinner?” She looked up at him and nodded a bit. “If you wouldn’t mind,” she responded softly. She probably ought to shut him back out after learning that. He was so willing to throw his metaphorical weight around to his own benefit. Usually, that sort of thing never boded well. But… She’d seen the general use his influence and power to protect others. Once she’d moved out of his quarters, he used his influence to protect upper-class girls from the monsters that were their families. He refused to let anybody make him a fool or look incompetent. He did abuse his power but he did it to protect others. She simply couldn’t reconcile how Qrow using his influence to sway the government into doing what he wanted was okay… She simply couldn’t wrap her mind around it… People made no sense to her. His scroll went off and he looked at it. “That’s Opal. She’s here to pick us up.” Winter blinked. It was already four thirty? How had time slipped away so effectively? But she nodded and followed Qrow back through the building, then out to the car. SHe settled back and let out a breath. That…had been nice. She wouldn’t mind going there again. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and Qrow offered his hand again. She smiled faintly at him before taking it again. She said nothing but looked out the window. It was going to be interesting to see what his dinner plans were…