1 Chapter 1: The City of Mistral

A pink-and-yellow hummingbird, after taking a fraction of a second to hover in place and contemplate its next course of action, dove into the adjacent orchid flower to tap the sweet nectar within. The ever-thirsty bird, having visited every other flower in that particular grove, flew without pause to the edge of the cliff and began its long descent down the mountain's staggering height.

Breaching a wispy film of cloud, the little hummingbird regarded the natural splendor of the great city of Mistral with as much awe as a human might give a stone on the side of the pathway. For it, finding food was the foremost concern, with such concepts as beauty far beyond its understanding. As the bird approached the level of a platform jutting from the side of an adjacent mountain, it paused to hover midair and smell the wind currents for floral aromas before darting towards the platform. Its target, a circular trellis garlanded with pink flowers, ringed the entrance to a passageway cutting deep into the mountain.

The hummingbird, taking no notice of the voices echoing down the tunnel, wasted no time in digging into the feast before it. As the volume of the human noises increased, however, the naturally nervous creature began to show signs of trepidation as it moved between flowers. Had the bird any capacity for human language, it would have understood one girl in particular to be inquiring:

"So, whose idea was it to walk all the way to Haven again?"

And had the hummingbird any foreknowledge of the approaching humans, it would have recognized the trumpeting half-shout cutting through the general muttering as that of ever-bubbly Nora Valkyrie, bane of legs, pancakes, and Death Stalkers alike. To the hummingbird, though, she was only very loud - just enough, as it was, to frighten it off, riding the restless wind currents as it fled the scene.

The humans had by then reached a point where a man's smooth growl could be heard answering back, "Unless I heard incorrectly, it was the only option you guys had left after realizing that you were broke and couldn't get train tickets."

Qrow Branwen shot a teasing grin towards his honorary niece, whose subsequent pout didn't hide at all the playful sparkle in her silver-hued eyes.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know boats were so expensive?", Ruby Rose snipped back, eliciting a chuckle from her fellow Huntsmen.

"The important thing," put in tall Jaune Arc, before the grizzled veteran could retort in jest, "is that we made it. And without any of us dying horrible deaths!"

"Well," chided Ruby as she returned Qrow's grin, "some of us didn't make that so easy, did they?"

Qrow knew what the young Huntress was talking about; he had indeed been in mortal danger during the final leg of their journey, much to his niece's worry. He also knew that it was kind of Ruby's fault that he'd been poisoned by Tyrian Callows in the first place. But he deemed it imprudent to bring that bit up, instead taking the jab in stride.

"Hey."

Building upon Ruby's comment, Nora placed her hands on her hips, cocked her head, and cracked a grin at Lie Ren, her team partner and closest friend since they were around seven. Unlike Qrow, his near-death experience was entirely his own fault, and was only averted by Nora's timely intervention. Ren knew he probably deserved that look from her, but he followed his elder's precedent regardless.

"Hey."

Catching his tone, Nora could only giggle, for any frustration she might have felt with him during that battle against the dreadful Nuckelavee had long dissipated. Like Jaune had said, the important thing now was that they were both alive - and on top of that, their friendship had recently began proceeding in an unexpected, yet nonetheless welcome, manner. In fact, Nora had considered giving Ren a peck on the cheek for his sheepish response - but, nah...maybe later, at a better time. After all, the tunnel had just ended, and the glory of Mistral lay before them.

The sight was far too much for Ruby to resist running to the edge of the platform, not even bothering to heed the red tips of her black, uneven hair blowing in her face. So amazed was she that no sound escaped her mouth where she might normally have exclaimed. In front of her, the Central Valley of the city laughed and talked, walked and ran about, shouted and whispered - for indeed, if words had come to the young woman, she would have described the city as alive and breathing - above the rumble of a dozen waterfalls. The regal offices of state and ornate homes of the wealthy crowned the highest peaks, while the ancient, carved fjords below housed the vibrant throng of Mistral's notorious marketplace. All manner of greenery and foliage shared the weathered mountainsides with the homes of the city's many inhabitants, each a piece of art in its own right. A trio of storks the size of eagles patrolled the skies above as Ruby marveled at it all, not even looking back to acknowledge her friends as they caught up to her. Surely, Mistral was not as grand as Vale, but even the grounds of Beacon Academy could never compare to the rugged beauty now on display. Ruby made a second attempt at speech, this time managing a half-whispered, "Wow..."

"'Wow' is right, kiddo," said Qrow as he strolled over to his niece's side. "Thought I might take you guys down the scenic route."

"Indeed," put in Ren, who had been to the city with Nora before and could not resist relaying to his friends everything he knew about it. "Mistral has long been home of one of Remnant's most diverse cultural hubs, boasting perhaps the richest art traditions and - "

But Ruby - who hadn't been listening to Ren in the slightest - spotted a particularly prominent weapons vendor in the middle of the marketplace below, and then it was all over.

"Ahhhhh! Weapons! Look down there, Uncle Qrow - that's a vintage Atlesian Musket-Spear, I didn't even know those still existed! And that's - !"

His monologue interrupted by Ruby's sudden, excited rant, Ren fumbled over his words in some half-baked variation of, "Err, um, I wasn't finished yet...", while Nora giggled at him again. Meanwhile, Jaune ran a gauntleted hand through his wavy, blonde hair as he stared fixated at the many-colored marketplace. Though he had grown up in the Kingdom of Mistral like Ren and Nora, his family had never traveled to the city proper. As it was, the view was almost as much the novelty for him as it was for Ruby.

"Man," the young Huntsman muttered, mostly to himself. "It seems like everything's for sale here."

Qrow, unusually perceptive for a habitual drinker, heard him anyway and chuckled drily at his remark.

"Yep, you can buy just about anything here in Mistral, legally or otherwise," he said as he grabbed hold of Ruby's red cape, just in case the overexcited girl tried to rocket off the balcony with her Semblance.

"Illicit goods of all sorts are traded in Mistral," Ren began again, having regained his verbal footing. "It is why the kingdom is just as infamous for its black market as it is for its culture. Dealers will trade in such contraband items as stolen Dust, banned weapons, opioids, exotic goods - "

"PANCAKES!"

Nora's yell startled everyone out of their stupor, and cut Ren off once again. He was noticeably more prepared for such an incident.

"Ah, Nora, I'm quite certain those are legal..."

"Huh? No, I just want pancakes," said Nora, pointing at the pancake vendor she had spotted down below. She then turned to her partner and flapped her arms wildly as she announced at full volume, "I'M HUNGRY!"

"You know, me too," said Jaune, echoing his teammate's sentiment. "How about we all go down and get a bite to eat?"

Team RNJR looked to Qrow for approval, who glanced at his scroll before answering.

"Eh, we've got time. Don't see why not. Here," he said as he handed a few Lien notes to Jaune. "You guys go off and get food. I'm gonna go find a bar."

"Don't get too drunk, Uncle Qrow," grinned Ruby as the posse walked onto the adjacent elevation platform.

"I thought I told you, kid: I don't get drunk."

"You big liar!"

Qrow looked over at Ruby and her rightfully skeptical teammates, and decided that a small concession might be necessary.

"Well...except sometimes, maybe..."

Team RNJR shared a laugh over Qrow's half-hearted fib as the elevator descended the sheer, gray rock of the mountainsides towards the valley below.

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Ruby admitted to herself that she was more than a little worried she would get lost in the bustle of the marketplace. Having seen it from afar hadn't quite prepared her for being in the very thick of it; the whole area was an absolute maze of erratic dirt and stone pathways veining through a jungle of booths, stands, and stalls. It certainly did not help that it was currently mid morning, which in Mistral meant Team RNJR had had to duck and weave through a molasses-thick crowd in order to get anywhere. Neither did the fact that everywhere she turned, at least three of her five senses were bombarded by something new and, well, sensational. Qrow had not been wrong; vendors here sold just about every ware conceivable, from baked bread to artistic confections to jewelry to exotic birds squawking irritably in their cages to...the list went on and on. Ruby was so overwhelmed by it all that she was on the verge of forgetting about -

"PANCAKES!"

Nora's triumphant shout pulled Ruby's wandering mind back into focus. That's right, she thought to herself. We're here to get food because Nora wanted pancakes and...where'd Nora go? It was then that she realized she had had been standing in place while she took in everything, and that her teammates had gone on without her. Thankfully, she was able to spot Jaune peering above the crowd and waving to her, and ran to where he was.

"Sorry, Jaune," she said, a little embarrassed. "It's just, the place is so big and colorful and noisy that I kinda just, you know, got a little lost..."

"Well, you're not alone there," he replied. "If it weren't for Nora's sudden path-finding abilities, I wouldn't have had any idea where I was going."

He was right. In fact, out of the four of them, only Nora's sense of direction seemed to have been unaffected - that direction being the most direct route to the pancake vendor she had spotted earlier. The crowd ahead momentarily thinned, just enough so that Jaune and Ruby could see Nora dragging Ren toward said vendor with enough determination to make an Ursa flinch. She then turned to the two and called out to them, "Come on, sleepyheads, before I eat your pancakes too!"

"Huh, guess we'd better hurry, then," Jaune said to Ruby, who snickered as they headed over to their friends.

Team RNJR ate well that mid-morning, especially considering the extra pancakes the vendor insisted on serving them for free when he learned of their profession.

"You Huntsmen are always putting your lives on the line so that people like me can make pancakes in peace," the smiley, green-haired man explained to the teens. "It's the least I could do to pay you back."

"You, Sir," said Nora through a mouthful of pancake and maple syrup as she looked the vendor dead in the eye. "Are my new. Favorite. Person. Ever." She then swallowed before eyeing Ren's second helping, which he did not seem terribly keen on finishing. "Hey, Ren. You gonna eat those?"

Ren sighed. "Don't hurt yourself, Nora," he said as he pushed his plate over to his ravenous partner. She only replied with maniacal laughter as she shoveled down his helping with gusto. Ruby and Jaune couldn't help laughing at the spectacle.

"You know," Ruby began. "Sitting here with you guys for a moment of peace, it seems like things are almost normal again. Like, when..."

She stopped mid-sentence, however, and her face fell. Jaune, who was the only one really listening, looked at her with a question written on his face.

"Like when what?"

"When...never mind, I'm sorry—"

"Like during the Vytal Festival?" Jaune filled in the blank. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about. We joined you guys for lunch after you won your first match, and Pyrrha..." He managed a chuckle. "And Pyrrha offered to pay for everyone after Weiss's card got denied."

"Yeah, that is what I...I'm sorry, I didn't want to, you know...bring that up..." Ruby suddenly no longer found the pancakes in front of her so appetizing, despite them being positively drenched in strawberry-flavored syrup. She felt Jaune's stare upon her, and finally worked up the courage to look back at him. His eyes were full of sadness but, to Ruby's surprise, he was smiling.

"You should never have to be sorry. Not for remembering those we loved," he reassured his friend. "After all, they're why we keep fighting."

If eyes could sparkle, Ruby's certainly did upon hearing this. She remembered that she had spoken those last seven words exactly to Jaune several months before, shortly after Pyrrha's death; he would later claim that is was this encouragement, in part, that had moved him to join Ruby on her quest to Haven. She took a moment to marvel over just how much Jaune had grown since the day they met at Beacon, as both a warrior and a leader. Ruby could hardly help but smile all her pride and appreciation in his direction as she whispered her thanks, though she inwardly resolved not to bring up Pyrrha in front of him again for a while. Her passing was not yet a year ago, and it still haunted the young man; Ruby could see that much, as clearly as daytime.

"Hey, Jaune. You okay?"

Ruby turned around to see Nora looking at Jaune with concern. Of course, she had noticed as well.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, I'm fine," Jaune responded as he regained his composure, and seemed to believe it. That was enough for Nora, whose grin then widened to comic proportions as she eyed Jaune's pancakes.

"And no, Nora, I'm not giving you my pancakes," Jaune added before she could ask. "I think you've had enough sugar for one day. Besides, I'm still kinda hungry."

Nora's cheeks puffed out in frustration. Ruby, who understood her teammate's love of sugary food on a deeply personal level, decided to take pity on her.

"Well, I'm actually not so hungry. You can have mi - " Ruby was unable to finish her sentence before Nora had snatched her plate away and was halfway through its contents. Ren sighed again.

"It could be worse, I suppose," he monotoned to nobody in particular. "At least she's not an alcoholic or something." Ren's eyes then widened as he realized that Ruby was sitting right there.

"You gonna take that, Rubes?" asked Nora as her partner tried to fumble out the right words of apology. Ruby only snickered and shrugged, apparently unfazed by Ren's unintentional roast of her uncle.

"I mean, it is true," she said as she shot Ren a smile that meant no apology was needed. Her friends laughed at her quip, and even the pancake man joined in. As she did, Nora thought for a moment that she had seen something more in Ruby's face, and on instinct her eyebrow arched slightly...but, nah - it was gone. I'm just seeing things, she thought, and returned to her pancakes.

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Indeed, it was a well-crafted facade on Ruby's part, though beneath it lay no indignation towards anyone, but a newfound anxiety for her uncle's well-being. After Qrow's brush with death, Ruby's admittedly naïve illusion of his invincibility that she had held since the day he entered her life was shattered once and for all. Though the danger had long passed, the trauma had remained in the back of the Huntress's mind like a distant cloud. Thus, her fear of losing him to a madman's venom had deftly spun into a fear of losing him to alcohol, one not built on sand. Qrow had been known to go off on bouts of especially heavy drinking before, often to the point where the man couldn't even recognize his own family by the time they found him. Ruby now saw, far more potently, the danger that this affliction - there was no better word for it - posed to her beloved mentor, and just like before, she felt quite helpless to do anything about it. Sure, Qrow hadn't seemed to be in one of his moods this time, and there hardly seemed any reason for him to be. Still...Ruby worried deeply.

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As it turned out, she really needn't have at the moment. Qrow Branwen was feeling very pleased with himself, and had merely decided that a small reward was warranted. Hence, he had ventured to a much-frequented bar and ordered a single glass of relatively mild liquor...by his standards, anyway. It was there he stood, leaning over the rough, wooden counter and savoring every sip of his glass, when his trained ears easily detected the telltale sound of approaching footsteps behind him. The Huntsman could immediately tell from the footfall's pattern that this was no obvious threat, and so he nonchalantly turned around to face a rather awkward-looking boy with freckles, a decent tan, and messy, dark hair. The kid's pensive posture alone was enough to slightly irritate Qrow, who was in no mood to be bothered by strangers.

"Aren't you a little young to be in here?" he drawled, and the inquiry wasn't misplaced; the boy was shorter than even his niece, and couldn't have been any older than fifteen. He also, apparently, possessed a less-than-average sense of situational awareness, as he seemed to process the question for a few seconds before his face contorted to convey a flustered annoyance.

"Shut up, I'm getting there."

Qrow briefly thought about kicking the kid to the moon; after all, they were entirely alone in the building, with the bartender having gone to the bathroom. But curiosity took hold in his mind, and he decided to at least figure out what this kid was at.

"So. Whaddaya want?"

"I'm..." The kid now seemed more nervous, as well as confused and even somewhat reluctant. "I'm supposed to find you...and ask for...my cane?"

His cane...oh. At once, Qrow understood what was going on. He reached behind to grab something on his belt, and his hand returned holding a strange, silver handle decorated with intricate, vine-like swirls and fitted with a slender guard. When the boy made no move to take the cane, he tossed it to him; the boy seemed surprised when his hand reflexively shot out to catch it. Qrow looked down at the new form of his former headmaster, this time with a grin normally reserved for old friends.

"It's good to see you again, Oz."