Omake 15: It's Xmas Time, Ms Grinch!(C)

"Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year." – Victor Borge

Nora stared down at the few packed gifts that were hers to open. It was early in the morning, the girl was the only one awake at this hour of the day all because she wanted to see what kind of things her father and mother had prepared for her.

But just as she leaned down to pick the one that came from her papa, she paused when she heard a distinct sigh coming from the couch nearby. Turning around, Nora's wide eyes locked onto the red-eyed stare coming from a familiar individual that was tiredly resting on the couch.

"Auntie Raven?"

"You know, while I don't like this holiday, I don't think you should be up at this unholy hour," The woman pointed out. "I think your dad is going to be angry at that."

The child huffed. "Not if he doesn't know about it. Also… why are you here?"

Raven's lips twitched in displeasure since she really didn't want to get caught by anyone as she decided to spend the early morning of Christmas away from the rest of her team and family. Having never liked the festivity, she really didn't need to ruin it for her daughter too by being a complete whiner about it. And she would have whined a lot with Qrow around making snarky comments over the time she had to kiss Summer because of a blasted Mistletoe.

"Sleeping. While you were here trying to get your gifts early."

"I was not," Nora quickly rebuffed. "I was… waiting for Santa. To hug him."

"That sounds incredibly… far-fetched."

"Like the fact you were just sleeping here. You would have gone to sleep with Mommy and Daddy."

…

"Touche."

"So, why are you really here?"

"It's unimportant-"

"Gasp! Did you forget to bring a gift to Yang?!" Nora exclaimed.

"What? No-"

"Then why?" The girl pressed on with a confused look.

…

"It's… complicated."

"Then make it easy. You usually say that!"

…

Raven sighed. "I don't… like Christmas."

"But… why?"

"I just don't like it."

"But you get free gifts! People make cookies, warm milk and… nice food. Plus, everyone has a blast!"

"Not everyone likes that much attention," Raven reminded. "Everyone has their tastes."

"But- But-"

"Do you think I should be forced to love it?"

"No?"

"Then please, don't urge me through these kinds of things when I don't like it."

"But... what about the gift I had for you?"

…

"The what?"

"The gift I helped make. The one I wanted to give you."

The woman was surprised by the comment, not expecting the girl to have anything prepared for her to give. Children usually didn't give gifts, it was mostly adults that did the full circle most of the time.

"I don't believe I should take it."

"Pretty please, Auntie Rae!"

The huntress groaned at that loud counter, knowing that if things continued this way, Nora was just going to get louder the more she refused to accept the unplanned boon. And she really couldn't afford having anyone else in the house waking up and taking notice of her.

Raven frowned for a moment, staring at the package now laying on her belly. Part of her wanted to just ignore the thing and hopefully have the girl stop giving her that intense of a stare. But the more she tried to not pay the box that much attention, the more she felt compelled to check on it.

Finally she moved to check on it, frowning even more at the quiet giggle coming from the only witness of her gift-unwrapping scene. The lid came off and allowed her to pull out a… soft piece of cloth. A scarf, one that was made with black wool with some custom red lines near the edges. The woman knew that it had to have taken a lot of effort and time to get it made and…

What's this?

Go Auntie, from Nora!

She sighed, knowing that at this point, she had been completely overruled on this very occasion. A rare occurrence that was becoming quite frequent nowadays after months of living around 'soft people'. Yang really was stubborn enough to worm a hole in her heart, making any look back to the time after delivering the blonde and before John's arrival quite unpleasant.

How much potential she would have missed if she hadn't paid attention? How much of a brawler the girl would have grown to be by having Taiyang as her role model? The girl needed a guide, someone that could tell her of the traditions and customs of the Branwen. Especially the one about swords, there was no way she was going to allow her daughter to go around without a blade capable of being used to draw blood from her enemies.

"This is… a nice gift."

"Thank you, Auntie! I'm glad you liked it."

The woman merely nodded, keeping on staring at the scarf with a contemplative look, wondering what she should do with the inner definition behind it. It was nice and good, just like being around Yang. Maybe… she should have taken the risks and bet to see if she could deliver a pretty act in keeping herself from reacting too much to Qrow's teasing. Eventually, much to her minor reluctance, she had to go back home and… try to make it seem like she hadn't tried to make a run from Christmas time at that home.

It was awkward when she actually accepted going back home and waited to see what kind of gift her daughter prepared for her, shoulders sagging when it was revealed that the package held another scarf, this time saying 'Go Mom, from Yang'. It was even more awkward to explain to the rest of her former team, John and Sienna why she was going around wearing two scarves at once.