167

Black Rose Blooms SilverCyberQueen_Jolyne

Chapter 167

Chapter Text

"Summer Rose… there's a lot to say about her, and I don't really know where to begin. Your mother was… a light in the darkness. Someone who always stayed positive, who saw the best in people… she was a warrior, a beacon of hope… she was someone who you could laugh with, who you could cry with… who was absolutely awful at history, who habitually fell asleep in class even in fourth year, and… she was a good friend. To everyone here," Glynda started, sitting there with Ruby and Yang in one of the more secluded rooms within Beacon, a cup of tea held in her hands as she reminisced about the woman who lit up the world with her smile and never ending optimism. "She was… I won't say she was a perfect woman. She was as human as any of us- sometimes she lied about missing homework, sometimes she cheated at boardgames, sometimes she forgot that her scroll was still connected to the wireless speaker in the common room when she ah… relieved herself. Multiple times."

Glynda paused, furrowing her brow and squinting to the side. "More times than I'd like to admit, actually. Let's not talk about that."

"... Yeah I don't really wanna hear about what kind of weird sex stuff mom got up to," Yang deadpanned dryly, leaning back in her seat and making a face as she grumbled a little. "I mean, hearing about her being a student was weird enough- I only ever knew her as, well. Mom. "

"She did put every ounce of her heart and soul into things… I think…. There was a time back when she was there- it was the start of her fourth year, and my first. Actually, it was remarkably like what you did after the semester break," Glynda mentioned, tapping her chin as she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "I suppose that's why I took so much exception to it… I didn't realize at the time. Your mother started the school year with quite the bang. The first day of class and during the midday lunch period she started a food fight that nearly destroyed the main cafeteria. As I recall, your mother was much more destructive about it than any of you were… she didn't have your Semblance, Ruby, so… well. No wind tunnel, for one. Much more destruction, much less mess to clean off the walls."

"... Ehehehe… sorry about that," Ruby muttered, blushing a little as she scratched the back of her head and looked away, cloak writhing and ears twitching as she listened to Glynda speak. "I might have gotten… a little carried away…"

"Indeed. Your mother was every inch a wild, free spirited rapscallion as you are, and her team was, somehow, worse. Between Raven's wild rages over small incidents, Qrow's bad luck aura, and Taiyang's fire, Beacon suffered… quite a lot of damage from their incidents. Nothing the repair budget couldn't handle, or so I'm told, but… well. I'm glad your team is much less destructive," Glynda huffed a little in amusement, remembering the amount of explosions that happened while Team STRQ was attending Beacon. "There was one time… they were returning alumni, as I recall. They were called in to do a demonstration for practical Dust use… Summer sneezed at a very inopportune moment. And… well. Ozpin shut down that wing for a whole month while they got it repaired. Plus the times that Team STRQ either fell out of, jumped out of, or were thrown out of windows- naked, clothed, just out of the shower, while in the shower…"

"... I'm gonna be honest professor you're really just making it sound like mom n' dad's team was a bunch of hooligans," Yang coughed, clearing her throat at the idea of her own parents and family being thrown out of windows naked while they were still students. "Why were they naked again?"

"Usually because Qrow's bad luck aura flared up worse than normal, or in the case of Raven… because she had a distressing habit of not wearing clothes at time and was a frequent target of Summer manhandling her into a shirt for decency's sake."

"Oh, so it was my other mom that was the weirdo," Yang mumbled under her breath, looking entirely peeved about her shitty birth mother being talked about as if she were just an ordinary person with weird habits. "Can't believe she's even here… still hasn't come to see me."

"Raven is… a complicated person. And also, in my opinion, an idiot. Moreso than Summer could be," Glynda responded dryly, sipping her tea and sitting back with a quiet huff. "Summer was, in everyone's opinion, foolhardy and prone to trying to do things all by herself. She always took on other people's burdens to ease their pain, and unfortunately that made her think that she had to rely only on herself and a few others she could trust to not overrule her commands. It was commendable and sad at the same time, the way people had to force her to listen and rest. Raven, meanwhile, took herself far too seriously and most of the time that meant she couldn't possibly imagine not being in control or on top in any situation, leading to a lot of moments where she erupted into a furious rage over a perceived insult or an embarrassing situation. I'm told that the way she was in my first year was her after cooling down for four years. Personally, I fail to see the difference between the way she was then and the way she is now."

"... That tracks with what Uncle Qrow told us, at least," Yang sighed, palming her face at the idea of her birth mother being that comically up her own ass. Really, did living in a bandit camp teach her nothing about regulating her own emotions? "She's not like that anymore, though, right?"

"She's learned better control, but the last time I saw her before she arrived here I had to physically beat her into submission and tell her to her face how stupid she was being before she let me drag her back to Haven to retrieve the Lamp of Knowledge. So… she's about the exact same, just more tired and far weaker than she was in the past because she's spent most of her time squatting in the backwoods around Mistral and stealing supplies from wandering caravans with little in the way of actual protection," Glynda answered with as flat of a voice as possible, giving Yang a look that almost screamed that she approved of Yang more than she did Raven. "As for Summer… what more would you like to know?"

There was a long moment of silence, both sisters looking at each other as the mood in the room steadily darkened- Ruby's Aura, normally bright and vibrant and brimming with positivity, and yet now unleashed in a fit of sudden worry and sadness, leftover hurts from her childhood that never went away even when Ruby barely remembered her own mother, when Yang was the one who remembered most of Summer's caring warmth and loving nature. Yang's Aura was there too, subdued and burning gently like a flickering flame held just barely too close to a puddle of gasoline, ready to burn the moment something pushed her to it.

Ruby looked up, rose petals fluttering in the air and tinged with pitch black, the floating little bundles of concentrated Aura somehow dripping with literal emotion as she stared Glynda in the eyes with her own, strange, changed eyes that didn't look anything like how she used to, but still carried the same emotions and weight.

"... Do you know why she left us? Why… why she went off on her own and…?" Ruby asked, trailing off at the end and sniffling a little as she leaned against Yang for support. "Everyone always tells me that mom did everything to save as many people as possible, to protect the people she held dear, and to be the best person she could… so… why did she? Even if I can't remember… why did she go away?"

"It's… okay if you don't know, teach. Nobody seems to know. The only person I've never been able to ask was… Raven," Yang muttered, one arm wrapped gently around Ruby's shoulders as she gave Glynda a matching look- one that was plaintive and searching for an answer that no one could really give. As far as anyone knew, Summer Rose had gone off on a normal mission to do normal Huntress things… and never returned home. 

As far as everyone within the circle of the conspiracy knew for sure, Summer Rose would not have died on a routine mission. Oz hadn't sent her on a mission. Summer Rose had vanished into the aether promising to be home soon… and hadn't ever come back.

Glynda shook her head, frowning even as she set down her tea and removed her glasses, pinching her brow as her own Aura wavered out and added onto the somber emotion filling the area. "I'm… sorry. I wish I knew. I think all of us wish we knew, but… no. As far as anyone knows, nobody really knows what happened to her- even Raven doesn't know. Or… so she says."

"... Then she's lying. She knows."

"It's…. Likely. But the idea that she'll actually tell anyone what she saw and what she did the night Summer left… I doubt she will, not unless you can convince her it's in her best interest to do so," Glynda answered, shaking her head. "Best of luck with that."

"... Yeah. I'm gonna go. You can stay and keep asking, Rubes. I… need to catch up with my mom."

And with that declaration, Yang stood and made her way to the door to the break room, her somber emotions roiling into anger as her hair began to spark and smoke. "I'll be back in a bit."

Ruby pursed her lips, but nodded all the same. "... Okay. Good luck Yang."