"Oh look Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted, running to another weapon store window. "They have special ammo priceeeees!"

"Hold on squirt." Qrow muttered, already carrying numerous boxes of weapon-related merchandise. "Don't you want to buy something...less weapon-y?"

"Eh? Why would I do that?" Ruby titled her head, genuinely confused by her uncle's suggestion.

"...nevermind." Qrow sighed, deciding not to try and teach his niece femininity. She's still young afterall. "So, you were saying something about new ammo?"

"Oh, oh yes! It's super special because-" Ruby launched into a very long and technical explanation about why the ammo was particularly unique compared to regular ammo.

While Qrow did take good care of his weapon, he wasn't quite as dedicated as Ruby was. Though, now that he thought about it, he did need to refill his ammo. He had used a lot in his fight with Winter-

Qrow inwardly cursed as the image of the smirking Schnee appeared in his mind, right before she kneed him in the chin.

Oum, he loved that smirk.

Qrow tried to remember exactly when he stopped seeing Winter as a wannabe Huntress and instead as a woman.

Thinking back, it was probably on their mission to Vacuo.

An undisclosed time in the past.

Vacuo Badlands.

"Greetings Mr. Branwen." Winter Schnee gave Qrow a stiff nod. "It's an honor to be-"

"Oh just relax already." Qrow groaned. "We've been working together for two years. Here-" Qrow offered the younger woman his flask. "-take a drink and chill a bit."

Winter took the flask and sniffed it, her nose wrinkling at the strong smell of Mistral spirit. Qrow, noticing the reaction, flashed her a grin.

"What? Is my alcohol too rough for a Schnee palette? Perhaps I should have prepared some bubbly-"

Before Qrow could finish his taunt, Winter had placed the flask to her mouth and chugged. She managed three gulps before finally stopping.

"Here." Winter held the flask out, glaring at Qrow. Her face was already turning red. "Take it."

Qrow let out a low whistle, taking the flask and checking the remaining contents. Winter had managed to down a good third of it.

Qrow would normally drink that much over the course of three hours. Mistralian spirit was that strong.

"Now then-" Winter said, already slurring her words. "-let's do the mission shall weeee?"

Apparently it acts fast as well. Qrow noted with a bemused expression. "Maybe you should rest a bit Winter. You know, to let-"

"Are you saying I'm druuunk?" Winter sauntered over to Qrow, until she was mere inches from his face. "Cause I'm not."

"Suuuure."

"No, I'm not." Winter slurred, squeezing each side of Qrow's cheeks with her palms, forcing him to stare directly into her face. "Repeat after me. I'm not drunk."

"I'm not drunk."

"No, I'm not drunk. You're the drunk one." Winter glared at Qrow, who smiled in response. Drunk Winter was not very threatening, to say the least. "You know what Qrow, you suck."

"Mhhmm." Qrow replied, not really listening to Winter. He instead found himself staring at Winter's lips. Those cute, perky, perfectly kissable lips-

It was right about then that Winter hurled on Qrow's clothes.

"Uncle? Uncleee?" Qrow suddenly shook his head, realising that he'd been lost in thought for a while. "Were you even listening to me?"

"Uh-yes, yes of course." Qrow looked at Ruby, who was staring at him with a suspicious expression. "OK, so it's really good ammo right?"

"Yes, because its-" Ruby opened her mouth to go through her very long and convoluted explanation.

"I'll buy you some." Qrow quickly cut Ruby off, handing him his credit card. "Get about...a hundred rounds."

"Really?" Ruby's eyes begun to glow.

"Really." Qrow motioned to the girl to hurry up. "It's a gift."

"Thanks Uncle Qrow!" Ruby sped into the store, leaving Qrow alone on the street.

"Wait, I didn't ask how much these rounds cost." Qrow peered at the price tag attached to the rounds.

Upon seeing the string of digits, Qrow nearly had a heart attack.

When Winter Schnee was stressed, she would go to the training room in the Atlas Military Base and destroy some droids.

Since she wasn't in Atlas however, Winter had precious few options. While she briefly considered beating up some students in a spar or twenty, ultimately she decided against it. It wouldn't be proper for an Atlas commander to beat up some students as a stress relief activity.

"Do we have any training droids on board?" Winter asked, speaking to the AI in charge of her ship.

A few seconds later, Winter was informed that there were several such droids on board the Frostbite.

"Have three of them meet me in the Beacon training rooms in fifteen minutes." Winter ordered. The computer immediately relayed the orders to the units, which scrambled to fulfill their mistress' wish.

A few minutes later, Winter left the airship, her hand tapping a tempo on her sword hilt.

The training rooms were empty by the time she got there, no doubt cleared away by her subordinates. The three droids stood in the centre of the room, each one awaiting her arrival.

"Combat simulation fifteen." Winter ordered, taking her stance. "Initiate now."

The three droids immediately summoned their blades from hidden sheaths in their arms, before simultaneously lunging at Winter. Winter's hands gripped her two swords tightly.

The sound of metal clashing against metal rung throughout the room as a ferocious battle begun.

General Ironwood looked down upon the city of Vale. He was standing on the bridge of the Liberator, the flagship of the Atlesian Fleet that currently occupied the skies over Vale.

Behind him, his bodyguards stood to attention, prepared to either carry out his command or slaughter anyone who attempted to take Ironwood's life.

Most of their time was dedicated to the latter.

"General." One of Ironwood's subordinates suddenly spoke from the deck. "We've detected abnormal energy signals on the outskirts of Beacon. It matches that of subject three."

"Bring it up onto the projector." Ironwood looked at the new information that flashed across his screen. "...so he's arrived."

Three years ago.

Mantle.

Camlann Fields.

James Ironwood looked at the desolation and destruction before him. Around him, the remains of Atlas military droids lay, bent and twisted beyond recognition.

"Lieutenant-general!" One of the few remaining Hunters shouted at James. He was heavily injured, his bloody hands barely capable of maintaining their hold on his weapon. "Retreat! I'll hold them off-"

Whatever the man was about to say was cut off when his head was sent flying.

"James Ironwood." A voice intoned slowly. "You've caused us a lot of grief."

"Damn you." Ironwood spat, staring at the figure who had just killed his men. "You'll hang for this!"

"They're welcome to try." The owner of the voice, a young man dressed solely in black, gave Ironwood a smile. He had short black hair and black eyes, along with a cruel smile. His weapon, a pure black lance-cannon hybrid, hung loosely from his right hand. "But they will find killing me more difficult than they think."

As if reacting to his words, Ironwood felt his energy drain away. The air seemed to grow heavy and murky before his very eyes. A horrific aura had wrapped around the man, a disgusting sludge-like black aura that clung to the man's very being.

Ironwood knew this power. An unnatural ability that far exceeded human limitations, it was what made the Wild Hunt's leaders so feared.

"Your aura is quite tasty." The man said, his eyes twinkling as he watched Ironwood slowly sink to his knees. "I should just devour you completely."

[Leech]. The abhorrent power of Famine, one of the Four Horsemen.

Anything within his presence was drained away, whether it was aura, spirit or life itself.

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" Famine raised his arms and laughed. "Aren't you going to try and fight your imminent demise?!"

Ironwood felt his arm throb as he recalled that day. If the cavalry hadn't arrived at that very moment, Ironwood knew that he would have died on that field.

"General? Your orders?"

"..." Ironwood wondered how he should react to the reappearance of such a foe. Hastiness would not be rewarded. "Continue to monitor his movements."

"Understood. Should Beacon Academy be informed of his arrival?"

"No." Ironwood knew that if that man felt even slightly threatened, every single thing within his range was at risk of death. "This is a tier 1 mission."

"Affirmative." The subordinate immediately began relaying orders.

Ironwood returned his gaze to the city beneath him. He knew that keeping the Horseman's arrival a secret from the rest of the Brotherhood was the correct move. This was a personal affair after all, one not linked to the whole fiasco with the Maidens.

This was a problem that Ironwood had to solve alone, with very careful hands. A single move could lead to the annihilation of an entire city's worth of people, something that Ironwood most definitely did not want.

After all, what was a kingdom without its people?

Winter stepped out of the training room, having completely totalled the three droids. She felt a lot better, having successfully released all the stress that she had built up.

"Winter?" Weiss Schnee's eyes widened upon seeing her sweat-drenched sister. She immediately began ruffling through her bag, before finally finding a towel and holding it out to Winter. "Here, take this!"

"Thank you." Winter took the towel and wiped her face. Her white hair had been released from its usual bun and now rested against her back. Her usual fringe, now slick with sweat, stuck to her forehead. "I forgot to prepare some extra clothing."

"I can see that!" Weiss gave her sister a look over. The sweat had soaked into Winter's clothing, clinging to her very curvaceous body. The sensuality that Winter excluded was most definitely not what Weiss wanted any male to see. "You need to get changed! Come on!"

"Eh?" Before Winter could protest, Weiss had grabbed her by the hand and was pulling her in the direction of the dorms. "Weiss, I need to-"

"Shh! No arguments!" Weiss cut Winter off, tugging her. "We can't let anyone see you like this! You need to take care of yourself better!"

Winter, in spite of herself, couldn't help but smile.

It was nice to be loved.

Hei, with a twist of a key, turned his bike engine off. Leaning it against its kickstand, he stood up. Hei wore a black biker suit and a matching motorbike helmet. On his back was his weapon, safely stowed in an nondescript bag.

"Mmm…" Hei raised his arms above his body and stretched. "That feels good."

In the valley below, Hei could see the City of Vale, with Amity Colosseum and the Atlesian Fleet floating in the air above. Further away, on the cliffs at the edge of the city, lay Beacon Academy.

"It's been awhile since I was last here." Hei muttered, crossing his arms and surveying the view before him. "It's really a pretty place."

A ringing sound alerted Hei to the fact that several satellites had just focused their attention on him. The Horseman smiled beneath his helmet. He knew that Ironwood would not hesitate to take him out if he had a chance, but at the same time wouldn't act if civilian lives were in danger. Hence, all Hei had to do was make sure he was consistently in heavily populated areas.

"Predictable as ever, hmm James?" Hei laughed. "But that's what makes this so easy!"

Taking one last look over the peaceful city, Hei jumped onto his bike and flicked the ignition.

It was time for the Horseman to ride.

And death and destruction will follow in his wake.

I'm not dead! In this chapter, we have Famine appear in Vale, for some reason involving Ironwood! We get a little bit of information regarding Snowbirds as well, which will be further explored next chapter!

Plans for the future:

Look forward to seeing Frost, the current Winter Maiden, as well as more insight into Ironwood's past and his relation to the Wild Hunt! Rainer will also make an appearance, bringing with him more information on Winter's past at Atlas, as well as providing a difficult obstacle for Qrow to surpass.

What is (or was) Rainer's relationship with Winter anyway?

Review what you think! I do read all of them!

Ferris