RWBY (c) RoosterTeeth

Even The Scales

Plans for Departure

Auntie Tip's casserole was the best. Usually.

Oscar Pine had always loved it. No matter how bad the day was, or how freaked out he was whenever a small Grimm crossed his path out in the fields, her cooking always had the magical power to cheer him up. Until Today, that is.

Today, it singularly failed to lift his spirits one wink.

Oscar ate in morose silence at the table while his Aunt tried to prompt him with small talk; asking him how his day went, If he needed help wrangling some of the larger temperamental animals they cared for in their paddock. The problem was his mind was too full of thoughts to give anything more than short one or two word answers.

His unusually cagey demeanor didn't go unnoticed either. Usually, Oscar would be upfront and honest about any and every trouble he'd been experiencing, relying on his aunt for support and guidance on how to handle matters. But this wasn't exactly a normal issue he was facing.

After all, a Wizard suddenly popping into his head for keeps seemed like the kind of thing one kept to themselves... unless they were looking to be tossed into an asylum.

Still Auntie Tip persisted in her effort to pry Oscar out of his shell, just gentle little questions and quiet offers of reassurance that he could speak to her if he had anything to get off his chest.

"Auntie Tip?" Oscar managed to find his voice for the first time since he'd sat down for supper. His plate was practically empty, but he wasn't in the mood for seconds tonight.

"Finally found your voice, have you?" His aunt was positively delighted, offering a light reassuring smile. "Is there something wrong Oscar?"

"I was..." Oscar hesitated, "I've been worried about Granny lately."

"Granny?" Auntie Tip was taken aback.

"Y-yeah," Oscar continued, weaving into the lie he'd made for himself.

But, was it really a lie? Oscar had wanted to visit his grandmother for some time now. Even before the Cross Continental network broke down, he'd been meaning to ask permission to visit. It just so happened that the crazy weird Wizard that made his home in Oscar's brain had business there as well.

His grandmother used to be a Huntress, blinded in her career which forced her to retire, but a huntress all the same. Ever since he was a young boy, Oscar would pester her to teach him something, anything, from those days. And she would - behind Auntie Tips' back of course.

And every time Oscar came home from one of his visits, he always had some new secret move or lesson that he'd practice religiously, and then demonstrate to his Granny the next time he visited the capital.

And you'd taken to those techniques very well. I'm sure your grandmother is proud of you. Oscar resisted the urge to wince in annoyance at the voice in his head, but appreciated the praise all the same.

"Is that why you've been so down lately?" Auntie Tip pushed her meal aside and rested her folded hands on the table, her hazel eyes a mirror of concern and sympathy.

"Yeah. A little..." Oscar answered, latching into this line of thinking. "Its just that we haven't spoken to her for a long time, even before the network crashed. We haven't seen her and... well, she's getting a bit up in the years."

Aunt Tip shook her head wryly, "Yes. And we both know your Grandma Maria would rather eat her cane whole than admit her age is getting to her..."

"I know. But, I just keep thinking she's all alone. By herself in Mistral. And my mind keeps going 'what if something happens to her, and we'll never know?" Oscar wrung his fingers, the legitimate concern for his family significantly outweighing whatever divine duty the voice in his head required him to undertake. "I'm just worried is all..."

Auntie Tip leaned back in her chair, lips pressed in a thin line of contemplation. "I suppose. And if she tripped or had a fall, someone would be there to help and care for her while she healed..."

Sensing the way this conversation was possibly going, Oscar simply shook his head and waved his hand. The courage he managed to must earlier evaporated like mist, much to the sympathy of the being that now inhabited his brain. "Its fine. Just idle thoughts is all. Besides, the farm needs all the help it can-"

"Alright." Auntie Tip said after a lengthy consideration, cutting off Oscar's own words. Her tone and expression turned stern.

"R-Really?" Oscar blinked, he couldn't believe it and couldn't tell if the sense of triumph was his, the ghost's or both.

Auntie Tip held her hand up to halt whatever jubilation she thought was coming and began to list off on her fingers. "On a couple of conditions, young man. First; You can make it as far as Asageo on our local line, but if you get there and you find out the Air Taxi service to Mistral has been cancelled, you turn right around, get right back on that train and get yourself back home. Do you understand me?"

Oscar nodded once. "Yes, Auntie Tip."

"Secondly: If the Air Taxis are working, I want you to mail me a letter from Asageo telling me that you've boarded. And I want another letter when you reach the capital."

Well, that was a drag, but not unexpected. Scrolls weren't really very common in these parts, and those people who had them could barely get in touch with the next village over. Even when the CCT system was operating correctly.

"And lastly. You will take your bow and arrows with you." Auntie Tip said, she leaned forward with a conspiratorial smirk on her face. "Don't think I haven't noticed you sneaking it out of the house to practice your shooting, or whatever little tricks Grandma Maria has taught you whenever you visited her. I know that she likes to teach you, despite my numerous requests for her not to."

Oscar chuckled meekly, a guilty blush colouring his sun baked cheeks. Oddly enough, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The hard part was trying to convince Aunt Tip to let him go, and it turned out easier than he'd thought.

"Are you sure?" Oscar inquired, "I mean, the farm, its-"

"We're heading into a winter, a bitter one at that. I'll tend to the farm while you're away. I was doing it years before you were around, bean." Auntie Tip waved away his concerns. "But, if you want to head to Mistral, we need to check when the trains and leaving, and what day. And you'll need to pack enough changes of clothes for the trip."

Aunt Tip began listing off a variety of tasks he had to do for preparations. Many of which he already knew from the many trips he'd done before hand, but this would be his first time going alone. He had to admit, he was a little scared at the notion.

Fear is perfectly understandable. You're about to take a big step into an unknown journey. The voice in his head gave his opinion, unbidden, but Oscar found himself welcoming the comfort. But know that you will not be alone in facing the perils ahead. I will help you as best as I'm able, and others will too.

"Oh, and the night before you leave, remind me to bake something for Grandma Maria. I think a box of cookies, maybe chocolate chip? Or shortbread. No, Ginger. She loves gingerbread. Something that won't melt during the journey." Aunt Tip instructed him.

Oscar nodded again, "Yeah. Of course. I think she'd definitely like that."

"Alright then. We'll get things ready, but just because you're visiting your grandmother doesn't mean you get to slack off on the farm, Mister. Now go wash up for bed, I'll clear the table away." She told a faux-scolding tone with him and Oscar chuckled weakly.

"Yeah, I know."

Oscar glanced up from the table to the credenza where the spare dishes were stacked away behind the clear glass, but on the bench was a series of photo frames. His eyes lingered on one in particular. One with him at a much much younger age, clinging to a hunched old woman wearing a blue dress and beaded necklace accented by a skull. A similar skull to the one accenting the cane she leaned on. Her natural eyes were long gone, replaced with silver and blue mechanical ones that gave her a beetle like appearance.

Oscar wandered silently what she would think of his situation, but lingered on the thought for only a moment before leaving for bed.

Author's note:

Oscar's on his way to visit granny in Mistral. Gotta love it.

I welcome feedback and criticism,

Aurora313