Hello!

Sooooo I don't really know how to say that, but I will put this fic on pause for a moment. I tried to write a whole chapter in a week and I can't, or if I can it's not very good, it's forced and rushed and I don't have time to reread and correct and the english version is systematically shorter than the french one... I'm really not satisfied by the last chapter, even less this one, so I'll stop posting for a moment, take my time to write something good, probably rewrite those two chapters, and come back only when I'll be satisfied of my work. I don't know how long it's gonna take, I'll try not to take too long, but quality is more important than quantity so...

.

-Uh… Qrow?

-Yang...?

-Yep.

There was silence, and Yang hesitated to speak. She knew very well why she was calling him, she needed to know where the people she must avoid were. She hadn't hesitated to take out her Scroll and start the call, but now she heard him, she heard the nervousness in his voice, then the disbelief when she recognized her, she was starting to wonder if it was a good idea.

Finally, after several long seconds, she heard a sigh, followed by a gruff and tired voice.

-Yang, what the hell have you done…?

-What do you mean?

-In Atlas!

-Oh.

So he knew it was her… And he sounded rather angry…

-I was on a mission.

-Meaning?

-I work as an assassin now.

There was another silence, and Yang began to wonder if she had made a mistake by calling him. Qrow was on her side, sure, but he was also a Huntsman, letting her live her life was one thing, letting a criminal roam free was another. He could be in big trouble because of her, but she wasn't going to stop, that was why she hadn't told him anything until then. She still felt a little bad for causing him problems while he was trying to help her…

-Qrow?

-Yang, do you only realize what you are doing?

-It's not much different from a raid.

-That's not the question!

But it was true. Between being paid by someone to kill someone else without asking questions about their reasons, and attacking innocent people to take their things killing those who resisted, which was worse, frankly?

-Yang, you can't just…! It's …! You…! Dammit!

The continuation was a chain of curses without any logic, shouted so loudly that Rook, supposedly far enough not to hear the conversation, looked up from her Scroll raising an eyebrow. Yang waved the rest of her right arm and her hanging sleeve, shaking her head to signal that everything was fine, then turned her back on her, trying to calm her uncle.

-Qrow, stop shouting!

-Oh! Sorry to be a little annoyed to learn that my niece, who I am supposed to watch, decided to commit a murder in the middle ofAtlas! And showing her Maiden powers to the General by the way, of course!

Yang whitened and quickly glanced at Rook to make sure she hadn't heard the last part. Her mentor was still on her Scroll, but it didn't take a genius to know she was trying to listen.

-Qrow please speak lower, Rook may hear you…

-"Rook"? Who the hell is R-… Oh shit I forgot that detail… Dammit Yang, how did you end up in that situation…?

-It's a long story. What did you mean by "showing my powers to the General"?

She heard Qrow sigh and take several long sips of alcohol.

-James figured out the person he confronted was a Maiden. He recognized the flames in your eyes and he even has a photo. He'll soon pass it on to the whole group.

In an instant, Yang felt her whole body freeze.

The General knew that Falcon was a Maiden. Ozpin now had a start to finding her. What would she do if he could reach her? What if he found out she was Raven's daughter? Would he try to get her on his side? What would he do when he realized it was a lost cause? Would he try to keep her away like he did with Raven? No, he couldn't, she was a Maiden, he needed her, she would have the advantage, and she would have Qrow on her side, normally. And he already had… What was her name again, Ruby? Yes that's right, he had Ruby anyway, so he shouldn't have any reason to get rid of her or something, should he? But he had no reason to get rid of Raven either, she didn't do anything to him, and still…

-Yang, are you okay?

No, she wasn't okay, she just made a huge mistake and she had no idea how to fix it! It was a disaster!

-What can I do now…?

She didn't want to be involved in all of this. She had suffered enough without even being involved, she didn't want it to get worse!

-… I don't want him to find me…

The last sentence came out between two sobs, and she surely had tears running down her cheeks. In the silence, she could hear the beating of her own heart in her ears as panic began to overwhelm her. Unpleasant memories began to resurface. She saw the tears in her mother's eyes every time she cried, alone, sometimes without even realizing it, the moments when the strong facade she had built collapsed, and when only the real Raven was left, the one with a broken heart because of the whims of an old man whom she had done no harm to… She didn't want to suffer like that too…

-Yang…

Yang opened her mouth to answer, but was unable to utter a word, a lump seemed to block her throat and hurt her.

-Hey, it's okay kiddo, I'm supposed to look for the Spring Maiden and I have no intention to denounce you so calm down.

-…

-Listen… What if we meet to talk about all of this directly?

Yang nodded, then remembered that Qrow couldn't see her, and made an affirmative noise. She heard him sigh, more relief than annoyance this time. He gave her an appointment, and she nodded without adding anything. It wasn't like she had a lot of work anyway. She barely paid attention to the end of the conversation, that part where he told her to take care and stuff. She didn't care, her mind was elsewhere.

When he finally hung up, she put her Scroll in her pocket, and walked to the small camp, dragging her feet, her eyes lowered to the ground, as if the world around her had disappeared. Something red entered her field of view, lit by the campfire. Rook, still seated on the wooden log, was handing her her doll, her gaze neutral, without a word, without judging.

Yang took the old toy, trembling, and sat down next to her. She stood still for a moment, staring at a point in the air as her thoughts became confused with a mixture of different levels of panic and fear.

Rook watched Falcon sit next to her, closer than usual, hugging her doll trembling. She was supposed to find out where the people she must avoid were, and she came back completely terrified. What had this guy said to put her in this state? She had heard the string of insults, of course, but she doubted it was the problem.

-So? What's the plan?

Falcon sniffed before speaking, without looking up.

-I have to talk about it with my uncle to be sure…

Her uncle? She still had family she was in contact with? Why was she not with him then?

-When do you plan to see him?

-In a week…

A week without doing a mission therefore. Well, after what she did in Atlas, she didn't intend to send her back into something too dangerous for a while, she had to keep a low profile. And she needed to rest.

-Alright, go to bed, I take the first watch.

Falcon nodded and went to bundle up in her sleeping bag, still trembling with fear.

Was it her uncle who put her in this state? Did he do something bad to her? For his own safety, he better not. Hmm … Non, she wouldn't have been as calm to call him if he did, and she hadn't seemed to worry when he started to shout insults so loudly that she could hear as if he were on speakerphone. It was something else, something he told her, probably something related to her crisis last year. Something related to this story of "war" and "witch" so… Her mother had enemies, her uncle was involved, the General mustn't find her, the other Academies' headmasters either… This story seemed deeper than she thought.

Maybe by talking to this famous uncle, she could learn more. Although he would surely be very careful, like Falcon, she would have to be tricky to get information. Maybe even use her Semblance. It was hard to do it discreetly but she would if she had no choice, she had to know what was going on behind the scenes, as much to help her apprentice as to satisfy her own curiosity.

One week. It was all she had to wait before getting answers.

Hoping that another disaster wouldn't happen by then.

It was hot that day. Yang hurried back to the inn, but the heat inside was just as overwhelming. No ventilation, no open window, and no one to ask for a glass of water. No one at all in fact. Not a single sound. Yang shrugged and climbed the stairs, a strange mixture of joy and fear gripping her stomach.

Once upstairs, she rushed into the bedroom, and her eyes widened.

She was there, sitting on her bed, waiting patiently. Her silky black hair cascaded down her back, the moonlight from the window made her curls shine, and her red eyes still had that glow of sadness as she stared the empty space in front of her.

-Mother?

Raven turned her head, and a small smile lit her face. She still seemed sad, however.

Yang sat on the opposite bed.

-So? Do you have something interesting to tell me?

In a cheerful tone, Yang told her about her last mission, she told her about Atlas, Mercury, their training on the wasteland, the night of the mission, her fight against Ironwood. Raven listened in silence, nodding from time to time. The atmosphere was rather relaxed, there was no disturbing noise, the dust which flew gently in the air was visible thanks to the light of the moon, creating a very soft decoration in the room of the inn.

Raven chuckled.

-Well, it was a busy mission.

-Yes, but in the end I made a mistake…

-You showed them your powers.

Yang nodded.

-Hmm… I made the same mistake while using mine during the raids, and that's how Salem found me.

-I know…

Yang's fists clung to the sheets of the bed, and small tears started to run down her cheeks.

-Mom, I'm scared…

Raven stood up and came to sit next to her. Yang felt her mother's arms around her, but they were cold, like a corpse.

-Mom?

-It's hard to be involved in all this, isn't it?

Yang flinched. Raven's voice had lost its softness, it had become deeper, with an undisguised anger.

-It's very hard. That's why I took you away from it.

Her arms tightened on Yang, who was now unable to move.

-I sacrificed everything I had to keep you safe, away from them.

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped. Yang looked up at her mother, her eyes were burning with cold anger.

-And you ruined everything.

Yang suddenly opened her eyes. A wind of panic crossed her when she saw she was in an inn, then remembered she was there with Rook, not with Raven. It was a dream, just a bad dream.

-Mother would never get mad at me like that… would she?

The door opened, and Rook entered with a waffle in a paper towel in each hand.

-Breakfast.

Yang got up and had her meal sitting on her bed. She and Rook had been in this inn for a few days, in a small village in the north of Mistral, she was supposed to meet Qrow here during the day to take stock. Honestly, she was apprehensive. She didn't know what to do at all and Rook didn't know enough to help her, all week long she had been torturing her mind about it. So to change her mind, she trained. All day. Several times she had fallen from exhaustion, and she didn't really feel like she had improved, it wasn't the point. She didn't even dare to take out her weapon, Raven's weapon, lest someone recognize it. Nor did she use her powers lest someone would see her.

Her Scroll vibrated as she finished her waffle. It was Qrow, he was at the entrance of the village and came to join her, it was better a private place to talk about a subject like that.

-Something new?

-My uncle is coming in a minute.

-Okay. So… I say hello and I leave, is that it?

Yang nodded. Rook didn't have to know anything about the Maidens or magic in general. It was a dangerous knowledge, and she had no reason to be involved in any of it. It had been easy enough to convince her to leave them alone, but she insisted on talking to Qrow afterwards. She didn't said about what, but he must have questions too. He hadn't been very happy to hear she was around an assassin on a daily basis, much less that she had become one herself, but even if she felt guilty about worrying him, there really was no problem, Rook was not always very responsible but she was not a bad person.

The only thing Yang feared now was that the outcome of this meeting would be having to go and live with her father and Summer, right under Ozpin's nose. She didn't want that, she still preferred Atlas prison rather than the people who made her mother cry so often. Her dream was right, Raven had abandoned everything, her home, her husband, her peaceful, calm and happy life, all to keep her baby away from them. And Yang was not going to ruin all of her efforts.

Someone knocked on the door, taking the little blonde out of her thoughts.

-Come in.

The door opened and Qrow entered. He hadn't changed at all since the last time she saw him, he still had his unshaven beard, his collar with a leaning cross, his torn cape…

-Hey kiddo.

He frowned as his gaze turned to Rook, who returned it. Slowly, the young woman got up and walked towards him with a cold look. The assassin and the Huntsman stared at each other for a moment, neither of them appreciated the presence of the other. A Huntsman was not supposed to sympathize with a criminal, and vice versa. After a moment, Yang hesitated to intervene, but Rook took her by surprise, holding out her hand to Qrow, an obviously false but polite smile on her face, and with an equally falsely friendly tone.

-Hello, I'm Rook, Falcon's mentor, it's a pleasure to meet you.

Qrow looked down at the hand held out to him, then looked at Yang, who just shrugged. He sighed then and shook Rook's hand, not imitating her politeness.

-Qrow…

The two adults stared at each other for a moment, Qrow with a wary look, Rook with a tight smile, as they both shook each other's hands as hard as possible. Yang sighed internally, they looked like members of the tribe pretending to be reconciled after a fight interrupted by Vernal.

Finally, after almost a minute, they let go.

-Alright then, I'll let you chat in family, I'm going for a walk.

Rook left the room without breaking eye contact with Qrow until the door was closed. Yang got up and looked out the window until being sure she was out, and sat back on her bed. Qrow sat down on the opposite bed, and a horrible feeling of deja vu gripped her heart.

-I don't like this girl.

Qrow's remark brought her back to earth. It wasn't the same village, not the same inn, not the same room, and she was not here with Raven. She was with Qrow, and they had to talk about serious things.

-She's nice.

-I don't care, I don't really like you spending your time with an assassin.

Yang rolled her eyes, she was born and raised surrounded by criminals, when was he going to finally accept it was something normal to her?

For his part, Qrow took a few sips from his bottle before continuing.

-But I guess there is more urgent. Like you using your powers so much, in public, and with uncover face.

-…

-I did some searches about "Falcon", everyone thinks that fire is your Semblance.

-It was the plan…

-Why?

Yang bowed her head. She did it because she accidentally let Rook see her powers on her first mission, and she just couldn't explain to her that the flames she made were not a Semblance without being suspicious.

-I thought it was a good idea.

-Using magic rather than your real Semblance?

-So I could keep my Semblance a secret…

Qrow sighed, rubbing his head.

-Okay, first, know that James is the only one who saw your eyes and has only said it to Ozpin and me for now, and a Semblance of fire is credible, so Salem is not aware of anything yet.

-It's not Salem that worries me.

Silence fell in the room, and Yang began to tremble. She didn't want Ozpin to learn of her existence, she didn't want to go with her father, or Summer, she didn't want to ruin all of her mother's efforts and sacrifices.

-Yang, listen… I told you, I'm supposed to be looking for the Spring Maiden, and no, I'm not going to report you.

-…

-The problem is, if you continue to act as Falcon, they won't need me to find you.

-…

-And I seriously doubt this Rook will be able to protect you.

-…

Yang bowed her head again. She knew everything he just said was true, she'd been thinking about it all week, even though she had been unable to clear it up, her mind too clouded with fear. But there was one thing she was definitely sure of…

-I want to go with my father.

-It hurts to hear you know…

-… Never again… Don't ever do that to me again…

-I don't want to go with them…

Yang began to tremble even more as she thought about her nightmare. Images paraded before her eyes, she saw her mother sitting alone in her tent with tears running from her eyes, before quickly wiping them away to give her a smile that wanted to be reassuring, she saw her with her Scroll on her ear when she called Tai, her gaze empty of emotions, she saw her collapse after having slapped her, overwhelmed by the guilt of having hit her beloved daughter, she saw her not hesitating a single moment to sacrifice her life to save her. She saw every time her mother had suffered for her, because she was the only thing that Ozpin couldn't take away from her, she was what allowed her to move forward despite fear, sadness, doubt, and guilt. Yang had nothing to help her moving forward. And she wasn't strong enough to do without. She wasn't like her mother.

Qrow took several sips from his bottle and stood up to sit next to her, gently running his hand through her hair.

-I'm not asking you to go see Tai like "Hello I'm your daughter with your ex-wife you never heard about" either, but if you continue on this path, you will get caught and I won't be able to help you this time. I agreed to let you roam in Mistral so do that, do like the two friends you told me about, just travel from village to village doing odd jobs and things you like, maybe you will even come across them on the road one day. Yang, there is a thousand ways to live your life without being noticed, but killing people is not one of them.

He was right, she knew it. But what could she do then? Okay, she was able to do a lot of things, but… as cruel as it sounds, she had never considered doing anything else in her life. Yes, killing people was "wrong", but it was already what she was doing in the tribe, it was what she had planned to do all her life. Even if the setting was different… it was still something that didn't change, something she was sure she could hold on to.

And then… she never felt as alive as when she was fighting, punching and kicking, and waving her sword. Using her Semblance too, feeling her power increase every time she takes blows, to send them back even stronger…! She would miss that too much.

But was the thrill and the adrenaline really worth the risk? Everything her mother had sacrificed for her? Could she really take the risk that Ozpin would find her just to feel alive from time to time?

-I… I don't know…

-It's fine kiddo. It's not urgent to the second, as long as you don't attract attention, you have all the time to think.

-When I called you it did sound urgent.

-Yeah… I just learned about it so I was quite upset and I panicked. But I had time to calm down and think about it. And don't worry about Oz, I got it.

Yang smiled slightly as she leaned over to rest her head on her uncle's shoulder, who hugged her back. It was reassuring to know that she had someone on her side, someone to whom she could tell everything and on whom she could rely in case of a problem. Even if he smelled of alcohol full nose.

-Hey Qrow?

-Hmm?

-Can you untangle my hair?

-I'm really starting thinking you want me dead… Gimme that fucking comb…