Oh gods no.

  Why?

  Why why why?

  Why did her alarm have to go off now?

  Yang groaned and pulled herself off her pillow, running her fingers through her shoulder-length hair. Even after two weeks, she still wasn’t back in the groove of early morning soccer practice… Goodbye waking up at nine or ten every morning.

  Oh well, at least she could see Ruby.

  A grin formed on her lips and she changed quickly, stealing out to the dining room. Predictably, Ruby laid on her right arm as she idly doodled small melodies in the composition notebook. “Morning, Rubes.” All she got in response was a grunt. Never the morning person but it was fine.

  …And, apparently, Taiyang had left early for work. Great. Not that she minded cooking for Ruby but she needed to get out the door sooner rather than later. The captain would skin her alive if she was late again. Sophomore varsity was a big deal after all.

  “Anything you want for breakfast that’s a quick cook?” Might as well see if she could make Ruby happy.

  The only response was a grunt.

  Typical morning Ruby.

  At least she got a break from college that weekend.

  “…Waffles and eggs it is, then. With chocolate chips of course.” She grinned at her sister who perked up and nodded enthusiastically. Entirely too predictable. But quick, simple, and filling. Perfect given everything…

  The sound of humming filled the air as she settled into cooking, sprinkling the chocolate chips into Ruby’s waffles. She’d have to hop on Bumblebee as soon as she finished. Getting over the summer dust was taking longer than she’d thought. Would it have been easier if she followed in everyone else’s footsteps? Signal and Beacon went almost year round. Taiyang would be able to get both of them up when the time came. They’d all be able to practice and learn together as Hunters and Hunters in training…

  She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts. No, this was better. Taiyang wouldn’t lose his daughters. He’d already lost Raven…and Summer…

  The sound of her scroll going off fully roused from her dark thoughts. Oh thank the gods…

  What’s up, Uncle Qrow? Still having to bully the SDC president into taking care of herself? The past few months had been so great. She got to see sporadically through the year normally. But with him being the only one willing to help the overly stubborn woman take care of herself…

  How ‘bout we get together once you finish up with school, firecracker?

  Yang couldn’t help but grin ear to ear. Maybe it was selfish, but she was glad for him being in the city so much. She hadn’t seen him this much since Summer’s death. Hopefully Winter’s stubbornness would continue for a while longer…

  Yeah.

  Definitely selfish.

  Yeah, sounds great! And there wasn’t a damn thing Taiyang could do to stop her either. She loved him but he could be so damn unreasonable sometimes…

  Where do you wanna meet up, kid? That…was honestly a good question.They’d worn out most of her normal haunts by this point, so they’d probably have to cycle back around.

  How does White Stag sound again? The park was only a few blocks from the school so it wouldn’t be that far for a bike. She could easily just walk to and from after cross country. A bit of a far cry from Beacon, but most places in the city were.

  All right, squirt. See ya after you get done with practice. She really couldn’t wait to see him again. Plus only gods knew when he’d be back in the field… And there was never guarantee he’d come back either.

  How could she have wanted that life so long ago? Then again, stupid children dreamed stupid dreams.

  With that done, she sat the table and dug in. Damn it the conversation with Qrow had put her behind a bit. The coach was going to be pissed.

  Not her fault her father had dropped cooking on her unexpectedly… Couldn’t he have at least warned her the night before?!

  ??

  Yang looked around the lunch room, people milling about. More than one person looked around and wave her over. She returned each with a faint smile and wave of her own. But she passed each person, stride confident. Geeks, nerds, goths, football, soccer, and cross country teams—of course—and more, but she passed each offer. Yes, she was the school’s queen bee. But, as that queen, she had responsibilities. A royal never shirked her duty to others.

  “Mind if I sit with you again?” Dorothea’s head snapped up at the question, fiddling with her silverware. Poor girl. Just moved from northern Mistral and no friends yet.

  “O-Of course not!” Yang smiled and sat down, opening her lunch box. Nobody deserved to be alone. Cliques were such a pain…

  “So how’s your research into classical Valian music going?” Yang perched her hand on her chin. An easy enough question…and one that set the girl rambling. Thankfully, Ruby’s music obsession from a young age had helped prime her for a lot of this. She knew plenty of music theory herself—she’d never stopped playing plucked psaltery—but still. History and the like… Not really her strong suit.

  Honestly, maybe she should introduce the two. Ruby knew more than enough. They’d be two peas in a pod. Even so, finding a long-term place for Dorothea would be good. Nobody deserved to be alone like that. Without support, without friends, no sense of belonging…

  At least Taiyang had gotten some sense smacked into him after Summer’s death.

  She did start to put in questions where she could. Never thought all those hours of helping Ruby study obscure music topics would come in handy. Her smile remained polite but distant as she asked. Maybe the history club would be a good fit. All they did was sit and research or talk like this at length. Everyone had their own area of special interest…

  A small lull the conversation as Dorothea stopped to eat and Yang propped her chin up on her hand. “Considered checking out the history club yet?” The other girl shook her head, glancing around. Yeah, moving was hard, leaving behind everything one knew. Leaving Patch hadn’t been fun. But, hopefully, she could guide Dorothea to her proper place.

  “I think you’ll like ‘em. Great bunch of people, real welcoming. As long as you love research and talking and listening for long periods about different topics, I think you’ll fit in well.” Plus, the History Club helped out the debate team and quizbowl. It’d give her safe people to be around, not too different from herself. She could also meet more sociable people that’d offer a good support network. It felt like a great place. It’d give her what she needed to thrive in a new environment.

  “A-Are you sure…? Nobody’s really wanted anything to do with me aside from you…” Dorothea looked down, one hand knuckle white. Thankfully, she knew. And people trusted her, so introducing her would probably go well.

  “Yeah, should be fine. Unfortunately, I am a bit busy today so I can’t introduce you. Coach is hounding us for cross country…” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. She loved being active but the cross country coach was such a slave driver. Soccer took up her mornings and most evenings. But cross country could be brutal at times. Being late wasn’t an option. At least it’d put her where she needed to be for her uncle too…

  “I could prolly give you some pointers tonight when I get home from martial arts if you’d be willing to give me your number.” Yang grinned a bit and Dorothea nodded. She fumbled to get in her bag, freezing when the bell went off.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Shit!

  The girl quickly scribbled her number down before bolting out of the lunch room. Yang stayed hot on her heels. Well, this would be an interesting conversation when it happened…

  ??

  Yang stretched as she leaned against a tree, guzzling her water bottle down. Yeesh, that had been the roughest session yet. Coach seemed real pissed for some reason. Basically nobody but her had enjoyed the tough session. Oh well, their loss.

  Of course she was gross and sweaty but…

  She grinned when her uncle approached and raised a hand, getting a high five from him. “Heya, firecracker. How’re things?”

  “Pretty good, actually. Not that it’s been that long, old man.” She grinned which earned an eyeroll from Qrow. They’d gotten together two weeks ago, so it wasn’t like he was out of the loop. It’d been hard from how crazy the first few weeks of school tended to be.

  “Well, how about you show me what you’ve learned from that fancy dojo of yours since you were last there? Guess you can think of it as a bit of a midterm ‘fore ya test again.” Oh, he was on. She’d missed a few classes with school starting.

  “It’ll be a great review.” There was no better Hunter on the planet than him; she would never skip an opportunity to practice with him.

  Before she could even take her stance, though, his eyes drifted behind her. Huh? A black-haired Faunus girl walking? “What’s was so interesting about her?” Her dress was a bit…old fashioned, sure. What with the long-sleeved dress, tights, and classical Mary Janes and all… But that wouldn’t have caught Qrow’s attention. He didn’t care about that sort of thing. Plus not too weird for Vale, all things considered.

  “A falconry bag on a city kid that young? That’s odd even by Vale standards.” That was what got his attention? Really? Yeah, the art was rare and niche but…

  “She must be a presenter. Every Friday during good weather, some rehab groups talk about the differences between normal animals and aura breeds. Raptors must be a topic today.” She shrugged. Not that odd when put in that context. She’d watched a few of the presentations before. All the speakers tended to be highly polished with few flubs. Maybe she was new or something.”Anyway, we should probably move away from here or else the speakers will drown our chatter out.” With as chatty as they got during their little bouts… Yeah, good idea.

  “Yeah, let’s go, kiddo.”

  ??

  What an afternoon… She’d already worked up quite the sweat but she could at least look forward to a quick shower when she got back home. Then it’d be onto martial—

  Her blood turned to ice as she broke into a run.

  No no no no no no no!

  The damage, dear gods, the damage! It’d take over a month to fix it! She didn’t have the spare time to make the repairs quick herself… No… How could anyone do this…?

  She slid to the ground, tears rolling down her face. Bumblebee’s rear end was little more than shredded metal now. The beautiful orange paint disappeared beneath it all… And it didn’t look like the perpetrator had left a note or anything… How could somebody do this to her? Everyone knew that bike belonged to her… She just…

  It felt like it took an eternity to snap out of it. But she pulled herself off the ground, wiping the tears away. Come on, come on… Oh, there—

  “Hey, Yang, what—”

  “I need you to come pick me up at the school if possible. Someone smashed Bumblebee in… It’s going to take me weeks to fix…” Even if she worked all day, wake till sleep on weekends, it was a rough job… All built by her own hand… She’d gotten her license last December on her birthday and now this…

  “Oh, Yang, honey, I’m so sorry. I know you don’t want to, but maybe we could talk about putting her in the shop for time? That way you get back to your independence sooner? If so, we can split the cost, okay?”

  “…Yeah.” Entrusting her baby to someone else… The thought sent an iron spike through her heart. The cost, though, the cost… Ten thousand minimum… Gods, that’d wipe out such a chunk of her savings… And she’d planned for technical school so carefully and now this…

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay? A student needed some serious help and I’m on my way out now.” He was always so busy but at least she wouldn’t have to take the train now… But until she could get Bumblebee fixed, she’d have to rely on it.

  “Yeah. See ya.” She could at at least coordinate a tow truck and her garage until then…

  ??

  Yang flopped down onto her bed and pulled out her scroll. Well, that had been an eventful little while. Being at her dojo almost always helped her mood. And she had a commuter pass until Bumblebee got fixed… Two weeks tethered to the damn bus and train schedule again… At least she knew everything by heart still…

  She sighed as she leaned against the headboard. Oh right. She still had to call Dorothea. With everything going on, she’d almost forgotten.

  One dial tone later.

  “Hey, Dorothea, I don’t think I’ll be able to introduce you on Tuesday; Bumblebee’s rear end got smashed in by some jackass who didn’t even leave a note. I was gonna stay a few minutes then hop on Bumblebee to get to the park. Coach Lloyd would have my ass on a platter if I’m—”

  “Who?” The muffled, garbled word sounded like it came from some axe murderer! The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Wasn’t this supposed to be—

  Soft Standard Central Mistrali came from the other end as well before a much gentler voice answered. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry about that; Kuro’s voice sounds menacing.” Light, gentle, and rather feminine. Sounded like any number of students at her school. Another teenager maybe?

  “Um. It’s fine?” This girl was friends with someone that sounded like they smoked ten packs a day? Then again, she hung out with the stoners so it wasn’t like she had any room to talk. “A-Anyway, if anyone should apologise, it’s probably me. I thought I was calling someone from school. I guess she transposed a couple numbers somewhere.” Maybe the area code? She really didn’t get how numbers worked beyond the basics. Everything was distinctly Valian. “I can let you go since you’re busy with your friend there.” Seriously, creepiest voice ever. How could anybody spend time around that?!

  “Oh Kuro’s not a friend; he’s my pet raven.” That explained.

  Wait.

  “Ravens can talk like parrots?” That…was interesting. Granted, she’d never really been interested in birds before. Her Uncle Qrow was the closest she’d gotten—and that was only in name.

  “Oh, yeah, same with crows and even southern Mistrali starlings if you can believe it.” Huh, she hadn’t. Those things were bullies, though. Taiyang constantly complained about how they ran other birds off the feeders.

  Or something like that.

  “Have you seen any talking starlings?” That one did sound pretty unbelievable. Granted, eye witness testimony tended to be somewhat unreliable at best. But still; the girl seemed to be enjoying the bird topic.

  “Stormy Feathers has some unreleasable starlings there, yeah. They’re kept in the lobby for visitors to interact with, though you can imagine some of the…colorful language some of them have picked up. I don’t understand why people want to teach birds stuff like that.” The girl on the other end sighed, accompanied by bunch of indeterminate corvid noises. Yang couldn’t help but snort. It was because it was hilarious. Hearing birds swear had to be funny. It’d bring people in for the novelty, so what was the issue?

  “So why do you have a raven?” That…was a good question honestly. It wasn’t like anyone could just walk into a pet store and buy one. Plus, it felt like there should be some sort of laws against that. Like hell she knew but…

  Silence fell for a few moments before those indeterminate noises came again, followed by a sigh. “You are such a peanut gallery.” Talking to the bird like it actually understood. Animal people were weird. “Anyway, ignoring him, they’re formerly wild aura breeds—”

  “They? You have more than one?”

  “I also have a crow—Noire, a female. I was about thirteen when I was given them to care for—I wasn’t the most creative.” Bashfulness colored the girl’s voice and Yang snorted. Yeah, naming animals had to be a pain. She couldn’t imagine the process involved.

  “Never had an animal, so not like I have any room to comment. But wild aura breeds?” She didn’t know about them—way too expensive all around to justify—but didn’t that go against the basic idea? They were bred by people—they didn’t live in the wild.

  “Yeah, it happens sometimes. Science doesn’t know how to explain it, though.” A rather telling pause. Maybe she had an idea? But it wasn’t her place to ask, now was it? They didn’t even know each other’s names.

  “Interesting.” What else was she supposed to say? She was out of her depth here. Odd that the girl was still talking, though. Most people would’ve hung up immediately. Especially on a Friday night when most people wanted to bea out and about or relaxing after a hard week.

  “Uh, anyway, I should probably let you go. I’m sorry for taking your time. I’m sure you’d rather try to figure out the number you were looking for.” The other girl’s tone was rather resigned, almost as if she was used to being treated as an inconvenience. Just what had she gone through?

  “Actually, if you wanna talk again, I’m usually available ‘round this time most evenings. Might be a bit later some nights, though; have to take the bus and train around the city till my bike gets fixed.” She’d mostly be able to depend on her father to get her from martial arts, but not always. He could be inconsistent when it came to meetings and such. At least she didn’t have any foreseeable missions over the next two weeks…

  Silence greeted her for the next several seconds until a quiet, “Really?” answered. She really wasn’t used to this, was she?

  Yang smiled softly and nodded. “Yeah. If you need to let off some steam, feel free. And if you get my voicemail, leave a message. Might be out with friends, studying, meditating or something else.” She was pretty busy but what queen bee teenager wasn’t? Friends, family, sports, self-reflection… All parts important to keeping herself mentally and emotionally balanced. She couldn’t neglect any aspect of herself…

  “Okay. Thank you.” Her tone remained quiet and shaky, but she could hear the small smile in the girl’s voice. She seemed so sweet. How could nobody want to be her friend? “Uh, I have an urgent text. I should let you go.”

  “All right, talk to you sometime later.” The dial tone came and Yang looked at her scroll. This…would be interesting. Someone she’d quite probably only ever speak to over the phone… What an odd new relationship with her…