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Chapter 82: Next Season

Raven sighed as she removed her katana from her hip, laying it across the coffee table as she sunk into the couch. She tried to tune out the partying/fighting of the clan in the dockyards outside her makeshift living quarters, likely drinking away most of the money Ironwood had paid them for their 'assistance' fighting the White Fang. Vernal could deal with them for a while, and she knew Qrow was no doubt out among the rabble drinking his fill. It had been a long day of corralling her men for their return to Mistral and fighting the eternal urge to march over to Beacon and dangle Ozpin out his office window. Not to mention worrying about her daughters.

Without meaning to, she felt the corner of her lips twitch upwards. It was… different, having Ruby know who she was, what she was to her. Nice, even. There was a constant lost look whenever the speedster looked at her, a twist in her lips like she didn't know whether to smile or scowl. And Yang clearly didn't know what to make of her either. Raven considered it a minor miracle that a brief black eye was all her eldest had dealt her so far.

But… they knew her. They knew who she was, what she'd done, and why she'd done it. And… didn't hate her. It was more than she'd ever hoped.

...

Raven let out an amused scoff.

Wow, she'd set the bar low.

Still, pathetic or not, what she now had with her daughters was leagues beyond what she'd expected to have. And if this was all she'd ever get… she'd take it gladly.

Raven let out a contented sigh as she settled into the couch, letting her eyes slip closed. Her daughters didn't hate her, she'd reconnected with her remaining loved ones, the clan had gotten paid and maybe… just maybe she'd backed Ozpin into a deep enough corner that she might finally get some answers. If only for the moment, life was good.

Bzzt-bzzt.

...well, that was nice while it lasted.

With an annoyed grumble, Raven pulled out her scroll. She didn't bother hiding her annoyance as she answered. "What do you want, Roman?"

"Well, hello to you too, Rae, how ya doing? Actually, I don't care. We need your help, like, now."

Raven felt her eye twitch. The only thing keeping her temper in check was the familiar tone in the conman's voice, the one reserved for when he was confused, worried, and beyond done with whatever crap he'd fallen into. With a grunt, she pulled herself up to a sitting position, snatching her katana off the table. "Roman, what's wrong?"

"Oh, so many things! My whole criminal empire's been dusted, my kid's apparently going to be a Huntress now, your kid just flew out of the city on her new pet Nevermore-"

"What!?" Raven yelled as she shot up off the couch, staring at her scroll incredulously.

"Oh-ho, I'll get to that in a second. But first and foremost, my reason for interrupting your oh-so-important evening: Snowflake got kidnapped."

It took Raven a second to run through Roman's catalog of nicknames. "You mean Weiss?"

"Give the girl a prize! Yeah, seems her daddy dearest decided to unenroll and take her home without telling anyone, herself included."

Raven sighed wearily. It just never ended. "Since you're calling me and not Ruby or Yang, I'm guessing it's Ozpin that needs me for a rescue plan?" Because all she needed was for him to ruin her evening…

"Actually, it was my idea. Could you just portal to the kid and get her back?"

Raven blinked, a wave of worry clashing with confusion. "Are Yang and Ruby with her?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by a long-suffering sigh. "Well, there's my answer. Rae, ya seriously haven't bonded to the kid yet?"

Raven froze, her mind stalling. "Wha- no! Why… Roman why would I-" She sucked in a harsh breath, forcing herself to calm. "Roman… my whole life, I've only ever bonded with my team, my daughters, and you. Why would I bond with a girl I only met this month?"

"Uhh… 'cause she's your kid now too?"

"...what?"

Roman had the audacity to laugh. "Aw, jeez, Rae, I thought you were the smart one!"

"Roman…" Raven ground out dangerously.

"Alright, alright, fine! Guess I'll spell it out for you. Red and Sunshine did the whole Faunus Mating thing with Snowflake and Kitty Cat, right?"

Something heavy dropped in Raven's gut. "Yeah…?"

"Well, I might be new to this whole wholesome-foursome thing the kids got going on, but with the bit of reading I did I picked up one pretty important thing: as far as the Faunus are concerned? Mated equals married."

Raven stared ahead at nothing.

"Did you really not know this?" Roman asked, sounding genuinely curious.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I… I did, but… I guess it hadn't clicked in my head yet."

Roman clicked his tongue irritably. "Well, I'd congratulate ya on your new inlaws, but you're not-so-little oversight just bit that kid in the ass, hard. You got Qrow there?"

Pushing away uncomfortable feelings pooling in her stomach (she refused to call it guilt), Raven shifted into professional mode. "He's here." She glanced at the firelight flickering through the shaded windows. "Somewhere."

Roman snorted. "Getting loaded, you mean. Well, sober him up and get your asses ready. Little Red'll probably appreciate some backup when she catches up to Snowflake's kidnappers."

"Yeah, about that. Why is Ruby going after her girlfriend alone?" Raven asked, her voice tight.

"Okay, tone down the rage, demon lady. One, she's not alone. Ironwood's robot kid is with her. And two, she just kind of took off. Guess she figured she needed to go now since she was the fastest, which… can't really say she'd be wrong thinking that."

"Why?"

"Because… one second. Yo, Ironsides!" Raven flinched slightly as Roman's voice burst loudly from the scroll. "How fast is Little Red going?... wait, seriously?" Roman let out a low whistle. "Damn. Yeah, Rae, the kid's going over Mach 1. Gotta say I think she made the right call going ahead."

Raven's eyes widened. "Ruby can run that fast?" She let out an impressed huff. "It took Summer years before she could-"

"What? Oh, right, kinda skipped that part! Yeah, kid ain't running. She's flying."

Raven's brow furrowed. "You mean… in a ship?" Even as she asked, she knew that couldn't be the case, given what Roman had said already.

Roman let out a chuckle. "Not exactly. You remember hearing back in school about old man Schnee's Semblance? Y'know, the same one he passed down to his grandkids? How he could make his own Grimm?"

A thought popped into Raven's head, one she didn't want to entertain. "I never saw it personally, but I remember the stories. Roman, you don't mean-"

"You remember the bonus your munchkins got thanks to their little four-way?"

As much as Raven wanted to snap at Roman for his brashness (she might have no problem with her daughters' odd relationship, but she did not need those images in her head), she was left numb as his words sunk in. She slowly lowered her head into her hand, trying to rub away the budding headache. "Tell me you're not serious."

Roman snorted at her dazed voice from the other end of the line. "I wish. Little Red is currently two-hundred miles south and counting, soaring away on the back of a red, stupidly fast, very big Nevermore." He chuckled semi-manically. "Super-speed, super-strength, clones, glyphs, and now she has her own Grimm. It's official, Rae: your kid scares me more than you do."

Raven gaped for a moment, stunned and… Baffled? Frightened? Proud?... before latching onto the one part of Roman's words that sounded slightly like reality. "Two-hundred miles?"

"And counting." Roman's tone lost most of its humor. "These guys are really booking it. Red's catching up, but if she doesn't do it soon, they're… well…"

"Well… what?"

Roman let out a heavy breath. "They're heading straight south, Rae. They keep at it… let's just say where they end up could bring back a lot of bad memories for you and Qrow."

Raven stiffened at his words. A phantom pain ran through her right leg. "Crap…"

"Yep. So, get Qrow, then get over here. Oz and Ironwood are keeping tabs on Red through Laser Lass. She manages to catch up to Snowflake, you portal in the cavalry. Got it?"

Raven gave her head a small shake. "Yeah. Anything else?"

"Yeah," Roman's usual smarmy tone reappeared. "Think about extending your portal club membership. This mess would be over already if you'd done it earlier."

He hung up before Raven could retort. Not that she had one in mind, too floored by his audacity.

After staring at her blank scroll for a stunned moment, Raven looked up with blazing eyes. Katana on her hip, she stormed out of the barracks. The party was in full swing, six or seven bonfires spread out across the grounds. Scanning the mass of humanity for Qrow and Vernal, Raven fought back a growl when she didn't immediately see them. She prowled the drunken horde, waving off slurred greetings and offers to join in the festivities. If she didn't find those two soon, she'd just portal straight to them, even if it gave half the clan a heart attack.

In the middle of her search, she caught something out the corner of her eye. Not Qrow or Vernal, but a head of orange hair bobbing through the crowd. For a split-second, Roman's words replayed in her mind, making Raven freeze in confusion. But when she turned to look at the girl fully, she quickly recognized the differences. Short bobbed hair, tanner skin, and a good two inches shorter. Raven watched as the girl dodged drunken antics with a grin, the serving platters she balanced in her hands quickly emptying as she replaced every empty bottle and mug held out to her. Once she saw the girl was nearly empty-handed and moving back towards the kegs and coolers, Raven called out. "Percy!"

The girl startled at the call, nearly dropping one of her platters. There were a few good-natured jeers at the girl's fumbling, all of which the girl ignored as she turned her lime-colored eyes on the approaching Raven. She smiled up at the clan leader. "Hi, boss! Want a drink?"

Raven fought down her rising nerves, holding a hand up. "Not right now, kid. Have you seen Vernal or my brother?"

Percy's smile fell a bit at her leader's serious tone, setting her platters down on a nearby table. "Well, I saw Vernal helping a few guys who passed out to the far barracks ten minutes ago. And Mister Qrow is playing cards at the other end of the yards." She pointed towards the farthest fire. Her brow pinched apprehensively. "Though, I'll warn you. He's already pretty… sloshed."

Raven let out a snort. "He'll sober up fast enough after what I have to tell him. Thanks, Percy."

But before she could walk away, Percy spoke up. "Um, ma'am? Is this about…" She faltered and trailed off, eyes turning down. She clasped her hands together, one covered by a green fingerless glove. She looked at her gloved hand, biting her bottom lip. "You know…"

Raven frowned at the thought. "No, it's not that." She then hesitated, her brow furrowing at the girl's nervousness. "But… it'll probably come up soon."

Percy grimaced, taking a shaky breath. "O-Okay…"

Seeing the girl shutting down, Raven put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey." She felt a twinge at how Percy jumped, her eyes wide in surprise. Raven put on a calm expression, making sure the girl was looking her in the eye. "I don't know what the old man is planning, but I can promise you this: it will be okay. You're Clan, kid. And being Clan makes you family." She frowned slightly. "You know what family means, right?"

Percy perked up slightly. She lifted her gloved hand to her neck, tugging gently on a silver chain that disappeared under her shirt. She swallowed, then a small smile crossed her lips. "I do. Thank you, Ma'am."

Raven's lips quirked faintly. She nodded. "I won't let you get hurt, kid. You'll be okay." Removing her hand, she turned back to the drunken rabble. "Now… where the hell is- Qrow!" She suddenly shouted, eyes zeroing in on the opposite row of tables. "Qrow, put down the damn bottle, we've got a problem!"

"Wha- Ahh, what the hell happened now!?"

Laughter erupted from Qrow's indignant half-drunk yell. Percy stifled a giggle as she watched Raven march off, the crowd parting for her as she stomped forward. She traced her finger along the chain, resting on the hard lump right at the base of her collar. On a whim, she started to pull it out of her shirt.

"Hey!" A gruff shout rang out from a nearby bonfire. "We're running dry over here! What's the holdup, Spring?"

Letting her locket fall back down her shirt, Percy Spring turned to the crowd with a bright smile. "Sorry, guys. Fresh round, on the way!" She giggled at the cheer that went up, loading her arms up with fresh drinks as the party powered on.

Betaed by Covert Weapon