In Memory of Monty Oum

1981 - 2015

Thus Kindly I Scatter

This day was always the hardest for the sisters; the one in which the morning sun was eclipsed by a palpable solemnity and the shattered moon was shrouded in dark grief. It was the day they trekked through the snow-frosted forest to the place where she rested. It was the day in which their mourning was just as great as it had been on that fateful night.

It was the anniversary of Summer Rose's death.

Yang Xiao Long stood just a little ways behind Ruby Rose, who - in contrast to her usual bright demeanor - stood before the tombstone wordlessly.

Summer Rose, the grave read. Thus kindly I scatter.

No sound was made. Even Ruby's cape was silent as the long stream of rose-red fluttered in the cold air. The flakes of snow gradually descended from the night sky until they touched the rose-imprinted gravestone, as though they too were paying a homage to a life that was too short.

"Why?"

Yang turned her head to Ruby. "Sis?"

The fourteen year old's body seemed to stiffen. It had been several years since their mom had died on a mission, but they still felt the pain like they'd just received the news yesterday. Ruby in particular still seemed really torn up about it all.

"I can still remember her face, Yang," Ruby said quietly. "Sometimes, I can almost hear her voice. But it just makes the memory of her more painful."

She fell to a sitting position on the ground, like her legs could no longer support the weight of so much burden. Her head hung down.

"Why?" Ruby repeated. "Why did she have to die so soon?"

Just hearing her sound so forlorn made Yang's heart tug downward. She took two steps forward and knelt, now by her little sister's side.

Yang placed a hand on her shoulder. In turn, Ruby looked up, and her silver pupils met with her own lilac ones.

"Honestly, I don't think there's always a 'why'," Yang said. "Not everything has a clear-cut reasoning for happening, you know? Sometimes, life's just cruel . . . and apparently, cruel enough to take mom away from us."

Ruby averted her eyes back down to the snow. An icy web spread in Yang's chest, freezing her from the inside out. She missed Summer Rose, too - missed her kind smile, missed her warm cookies, missed the way she would always hug them like she would never leave them . . .

Yang sighed . . . and then looked back up at Ruby, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"But you know what?" she said, and the dark-haired girl looked back up. "I bet she hasn't died - not completely. In a sense, she continues to live on. She lives on in the legacy she's left behind, in our memories, and in our hearts."

The blonde took a deep breath. "I know she's not with us anymore. But I bet if she were here . . . she couldn't have been prouder of the person you've become."

She drank in the words in silence, and for a moment, Yang wondered if she'd managed to comfort her at all.

But then, a smile unfolded across Ruby's face. A light glistened in her eyes, making them look more like the eyes she knew.

"Yeah." For the first time since coming to the grave, Ruby looked content. "Yeah, she would."

Yang's smile grew that much more. It was true that Summer Rose had died, and that she would never be coming back to give them one last smile. But she knew that she would be proud of them.

And for now, that knowledge was enough to bring her peace.

Ruby stood up and looked down at her. "I guess we should go home, huh? Dad's waiting for us."

She nodded and came up to her feet as well. Swallowing, Yang wrapped her arms around her and hugged her as tightly as she could.

She drank in the tender moment before Ruby began to choke. "Yang . . . Yang, I can't . . . breathe . . ."

"Hmm? Oh!" She quickly let go and giggled. "Sorry, sis."

"Just try not to kill me next time, okay?"

Together, the sisters turned and began walking back into the forest. Yang knew that for as long as either of them loved their mother, this pain would continue, and she knew that she would still miss Summer Rose to where it physically hurt.

But she also knew that it would be okay.

It would all be okay.

And so, for the first time, neither she nor Ruby looked back at the wilted Summer Rose.

A/N: So there's that. In the Rooster Teeth message, they asked people to honor him by utilizing their creativity to make the world a better place, so that's what I tried to do with this and will continue to aspire to do.

Monty's death came as a terrible shock to everyone. While I never knew him personally, I do know enough to know that he was creative, hardworking, and truly did care about all of the fans. He is immortal within the work he's given to us. I hope he rests in peace, and will keep his family and the Rooster Teeth staff in my thoughts.

Stay strong, RWBY fans.

It'll all be okay.