Tangled Fate

"Man! That party was great, Raven!" Even Summer notices I haven't been myself lately. She's an odd woman. She's either the first to notice someone's mood, or dead last and too late.

This time, she caught wind before anyone else. I think she's trying to lift my spirits by talking to me more. It has the opposite effect. She wouldn't last a week in my life—or at least the life I'm going back to. This woman. She can slaughter a Grimm, but she wouldn't hurt a fly.

That party was the consequence of alcohol and sentimentality. I felt something strange earlier that day, and, using my semblance, went to visit my father at the tribe camp. As luck would have it, I was welcomed to his deathbed. Upon my arrival, he named me as successor to lead the tribe. I stared into the mask he held with desire and dread. Before he could hand me the mask I had coveted since my youth, I stopped him. I said I needed time. He died angry.

I eventually returned to team STRQ and started drinking my grief away. It was actually Summer, after seeing me, that invited everyone else to start drinking—whether she remembers it or not. I just played along to distract myself and savor what little time I had with my daughter. It helped me ignore the reality that when I return to my tribe, I won't be able to bring her with me. The team's company wasn't that bad, though. All else considered, it was a good night.

"I never knew you had it in you! You're always so dark and brooding; always so gung-ho and look-at-me, I'm Raven! I'll cut you!" Halfway through that sentence, she darkened her tone and started ridiculously mocking me. I know that's not how I sound, Summer. Her mellow voice returned shortly, to my relief. "And Ohmygawd, Qrow was so drunk! Ha!" Except he wasn't. That was just the first time any of us saw him drink.

"Actually, Summer, you were drunk. My brother was just fine." We're on a scouting mission to investigate reports of Grimm from what was a previously uninhabited gorge. The locals pass through here to get to neighboring towns. Just like last time, we're making sure it stays quiet.

We split into teams of two. Taiyang and Qrow are investigating the path above while Summer and I walk along the bottom of the ravine. She suggested the boys have some fun while we have "girl time."

"So Yang's growing up to be pretty feisty, huh? You just can't stop thinking about her, can you?" And, of course. Leave it to Summer to be right on the money.

"She is. Even just last night, Tai and I watched her trying to copy his punching. With her last little flop, her eyes turned red, just like my own." An unexpected warmth fills my voice, while an unwanted void invades my heart.

"You sound really happy, Raven! You must really be looking forward to raising her." Leave it to Summer to be dead wrong.

"But the eyes!" She adds. I swear, even the woman's voice is smiling. It's too much. "Aww, that's so cute! That's like, amazing! That's so adorable, she's like both of you, combined!"

"That is, quite literally, exactly what she is, Summer." How can this woman be uncannily sharp, yet unbelievably dense, at the same time?

And here we go. I spot it immediately. My brother must have as well—I hear Taiyang's voice warning us from above that there's a pack of Grimm in our path.

The left side of my vision suddenly flashes. It's just her loose clothing, but Summer crouches at a speed that makes her cloak seem to explode around her. Between the folds of the fluttering white fabric are countless throwing knives, and her twin daggers are already in hand, unsheathed.

I charge forward. Though the ravine walls race past me, Team STRQ's white Rose stays fixed at my left. I head for the first, and largest, Beowulf. The massive shadow expands in my path as I approach. I ignore it. In the corner of my eye, I see it fall as a handful of Summer's thrown knives pierce its skull. "Raven, left!" She shouts. Though I'm the superior strategist, I've learned to accept her sudden tactical suggestions. She jumps and I curve left, trading places with her as I weave under her cloak.

There are two Grimm lined up with one another in my path now. I slice into the first one with my sword and continue moving.

"Summer, now!" I answer back, shifting across to the right side of the ravine. "I'm moving!" As I say this, I see her throw another handful of daggers, now in my direction. They meet the face of the second Grimm when it tried to pursue me. The speed of our approach remains unhindered.

We're on the same side of the ravine now. Above me, I see Taiyang and Qrow in pursuit, but neither of them can do anything from that distance. I run my sword through a Beowolf directly in my path, and kick up into the head of the next one behind it. Summer impales it from above with one of her daggers it as she flies over me, anchoring herself to a stop.

The last Beowolf to our left rushes at me. One of the massive claws swings for my head and obstructs half of my vision before I slice it off. I block the second arm straight on and let it push me. As I slide off of the hit, parallel to the Grimm's body, I slash upwards into the beast's head.

The clapping from above implies that was the last Grimm within view.

"Ooh, look at me, I'm Raven! I'm gonna cut you!" Summer mocks from atop Beowolf she anchored on. She's repeating that obnoxious, overly dramatic tone again. It doesn't work with her voice, though. After a pause, she adds, quietly, "...cut you like an angel!" And she bursts into laughter. That joke again. How is it even at all relevant?

I'm not amused. "Summer, that doesn't even make any sense. Just shut up." Heaven forbid this woman ever has children.

"Aww, you're giving me the look again!" I cringe as I remember what she means. She finds an odd joy in seeing me annoyed. How I can put up with her teasing without stabbing her is truly a miracle.

"I can't wait to see the look in Yang's eyes like you mentioned, it's gonna be sooooo cute! I wonder if her 'look' is gonna be just like yours!" After another bout of giggles, she adds, "I do like your eyes, though, Raven. They're really pretty. Like rubies!"

At this point, I've already stopped listening to her. Hearing Yang's name brought my mind elsewhere. I look at the body of the last Grimm. The skull on its face seems to stare straight into me, serving as a reminder of the mask I'll be wearing soon.

We regroup at the end and I proposed changing teams as we work our way back to camp. The gorge we passed through separates two sides of a single mountain. I'll be with Taiyang now, while Summer and my brother investigate the other side of the mountain. Summer thinks it's because I want to spend time with Taiyang. The truth is that I just need a break from her.

The problem is that all Taiyang ever talks about now, even during missions, is Yang.