( closed ) the river knows to reach the sea

[qaw]

Who: Blake, Pyrrha, Qrow, Ruby, and Yang
What: Catching up
When: Early April
Where: Blake's Van
Warnings: Discussions of trauma, war crimes, and risque drawings

It's been a while since Qrow has taken part in one of these group meetings, and even longer since he felt like he was leading one. Hell, maybe he's not leading this meeting. He's the one with the most updated information, but Ruby is the leader of her team and closer to Pyrrha than any of the rest of them. Maybe it's her meeting.

But it doesn't matter. It's a pleasantly cool mid-spring evening. Dinner is over, the Drifters are winding down for the night, and the Convoy has deployed its shield. The five of them are gathered around a cheery little campfire, the flames throwing flickering shadows against the... interesting... mural painted on the side of Blake's van.

Whether or not they're ready for it, it's time to catch up.

Comments

[qaw]

Qrow waits until everyone else has shared before he finally speaks up. What he's got to say is... well, he won't call it the least important thing on the menu. But it's the least immediately pressing; they're not on Remnant, and Jimmy's not here.

And he's kind of glad for the chance to really think about how he wants to say this.

"So... I dunno how much of this place we're gonna remember when we go back to Remnant."

When, not if. He has to believe they'll get back there eventually. Qrow doesn't look at anyone as he continues, gazing into the fire instead.

"And I don't know if we're ever gonna see anyone else from Remnant here. But if we do... I need you guys to be careful around Ironwood."

[andnevermore]

Blake can't help but cut a glance at Pyrrha. While the rest of them are concerned about things like not remembering their time here if they manage to get back-- and it's a valid thing to worry about, to be sure, but...

If they do get back, does Pyrrha go back to being dead?

The thought is distracting enough that Blake almost misses what Qrow says next, and her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. She wasn't expecting to hear that, of all things.

"Ironwood? Really?" But he'd always seemed so reliable? Blake has never put too much faith in human authority figures, but Ironwood had done the best job he could when Beacon had been attacked. "Why?"

[guidemyway]

Ruby shifts a little as Qrow brings that up, and the response it gets from Blake. It confirms a little more to her that Qrow is from further along than she was, because while she doesn't know exactly what he's referring to. She can put together a enough pieces to make sense of it.

"I can probably fill in some of the blanks there." She admits. She hadn't talked a whole lot about what was going on back at home. If only because they had the here and now to focus on.

"When we get to Atlas. Ironwood doesn't exactly seem to be in the best mindset. He's got Atlas and Mantle on lockdown, but he does have a clear plan to try and take on Salem.

We were kind of testing the water to see if we could actually trust him.

...And if Qrow's right. I'm guessing that means things start to get worse there."

[qaw]

Qrow's not really sure how to start—what counts as something that's okay to say and what he knows they would prefer for him to keep under wraps—so he's grateful when Ruby ends up taking the lead. It gives him a chance to rally his thoughts even as he nods along with her assessment.

"I've known James for a long time. He's always been the overzealous type. Wants to do the right thing, no matter the cost."

His already heavy tone grows even heavier during that final caveat.

"But that overzealous thing gets out of control when he's stressed. He's got a real bug up his butt about seniority and the chain of command and all that crap, and he still freaked out so bad he went right over Oz's head during the Vytal Festival."

Which, you know. Qrow hadn't blamed Ironwood for how things went down, but it's not hard to imagine how things might have gone differently if they hadn't been fighting the White Fang, a horde of Grimm, and several platoons of killer robots all at once.

"And he was real stressed by the time we showed up in Atlas. So..." He sighs, and decides it's time to just... lie a little bit. "All I'm saying is, the situation's already making me feel antsy. So if you start to notice Ironwood getting twitchy, it's past time to start making backup plans and exit strategies."

[fists_of_funny]

Yang's not sure how to feel about this. Ironwood was one of the few people outside her team who didn't immediately assume the worst of her after Mercury and Emerald pulled that stunt at the Vytal Festival. He'd even encouraged her. And she owes him for the arm. Obviously, someone else made it, but Ironwood is the one who got the ball rolling. Accepting it helped Yang get back to herself, and she can't help but look down at it as she listens to the others.

"Okay, so...maybe there's a way we can work with that." She suggests. "Blake and I are from a bit further back than most of you." Pyrrha excluded, for obvious reasons. "If we know that going in, maybe we can stop him from getting twitchy? Help keep him grounded." That's treading on dangerous ground she knows, altering events Ruby and her uncle have already lived through, but whatever happens with Ironwood, it's bad enough to get Qrow to warn them about it. Maybe they can do some good with this information.

"I don't know, maybe that's too dangerous to try, but the General helped me out after Vytal when I was getting into a dark place. Maybe we could all do the same for him."

[guidemyway]

Look.

Ruby doesn't want to step on Qrow's toes. He did have more information than her about home, and she wanted to hear his take on that. However the meeting didn't have to just be doom and gloom, or reeling over the fact that one of their passed friends was sitting before them.

So of course, Ruby had come prepared with an activity.

Ruby is seated with the mural to her back, because she would not be able to get through this meeting any other way.

"Okay. Now that we're done discussing that. I think we should move onto some important business in the here and now.

Since we've got four of us here, I think it's important that we decide on a team name." Ruby is aware that there are five of them here. Can you guess who she's leaving out? Here's a hint. Their name doesn't start with an R, B, Y, or P. Sorry Qrow.

"I already have something in mind, but I'd like to hear if anyone has any ideas."

[qaw]

Hey, Qrow's not about to resent being excluded from this team. He's already a part of the coolest team to ever grace the halls of Beacon Academy, and has long since developed a habit of flying (hah) solo.

He does, however, have a suggestion.

"You could do B-R-N-Y."

He grins.

"You know. Like 'briny'."

[fists_of_funny]

"Come on, Uncle Qrow, that leaves Pyrrha out in the cold." Yang points out. "But we can rectify that if we go B-R-P-Y. We could be Team Burpy!"

With a grin, she looks around for support. Come on ladies, you know you want to.

(Somewhere, somehow, Weiss is probably mortified and has no idea why.)

[andnevermore]

Blake groans. "We are not going by Team BRPY."

Honestly. Gross.

"We have two options; we can either rearrange R, W, Y and P, or we can do our last names, to have R, B, X, and N. Or a mix of both, I guess."

[tokencanadian]

Burpy... That tugs at the corner of Pyrrha's lips. Ahem.

"Well... we could try the last names. Team... BRNX, perhaps? Like bronze, sort of."

Not really, but she's helping.

[tokencanadian]

"...A team name? But isn't that a bit--"

Quick? Because she just got here, not that the others are worried about that. No, they've been here much longer, haven't they?

How long have they existed... without her?

Pyrrha swallows something acidic in her throat.

"I wouldn't want to take up Weiss's position permanently, of course."

[guidemyway]

Ruby looks over to Pyrrha and frowns briefly.

"Of course not. We would never think of you replacing Weiss. And no one would want to replace you either." There's a pang of guilt as she thinks over her own recent history.

"After Beacon fell. Team RWBY kind of went their own way for awhile, for a whole lot of different reasons." She didn't exactly like dwelling on this either.

"But for awhile I travelled with Jaune, Ren, and Nora. We formed Team RNJR for awhile. It wasn't something I did to take your place. ...But we all needed each other because we-" Because they had lost Pyrrha.

[tokencanadian]

Pyrrha expression is a mirage. Soft and vague. It's hard to say whether she was thinking on the way Ruby's words trailed off, or not thinking at all.

Just... taking all that in.

What feels like an eternity is a short couple seconds before Pyrrha swallows something hard and bitter in her throat, and states: "RNJR is... that's a good name. For it, I mean. I'm sure you all did very well."

Without her. Which is something Pyrrha has summarily decided she is not ready to think about in the slightest.

[andnevermore]

It takes Blake a while to work up the courage to speak. She knows she has to, and she's thankful to Qrow for getting them all together so that she doesn't have to say this four separate times, but...

Ugh. This sucks. She's just going to have to go ahead and say it.

So she waits for when there's a lull in the conversation and says: "I... hurt people last month. I don't even remember how many. At least four."

Blake can't bring herself to look at any of them; her gaze is firmly on the campfire, arms wrapped around her middle, shoulders hunched. "Turns out I'm turning into a vampire. The hunger for blood kicked in, I couldn't control myself, and... I bit people." Gods, even just the memory of it makes her sick. She's spent so much of her life defending people from monsters, and now look at her. "I'm trying to control the hunger by feeding on monsters and animals. And it helps, a little. But I'm still..."

Ravenously, furiously hungry. Every second of the day and night.

"I just want everybody here to promise me that if I lose control again, that you won't hesitate to do whatever it takes to save the person I'm biting. Please."

[qaw]

Ah, the while vampire situation. Blake had mentioned that. Qrow listens to her speak, silently filing away her words. He already knows the bit about her snacking on people, but this is still concerning. An out of control Huntress is pretty bad news even in the best of circumstances.

"Does the vampire thing give you any new tricks we oughta worry about?"

Because... yeah. He respects Ruby and Yang's skill—even Pyrrha's skill, despite how many years behind she is now. But Blake asks that they won't hesitate to do whatever it takes, and he's pretty sure none of them want that to fall on any of the kids sitting around the fire.

[fists_of_funny]

Yang reaches out and puts her hand on Blake's shoulder, turning to look at her with a reassuring smile. "I will. I promise." Blake would do the same for her in a heartbeat, if Yang was the one out of control, and she very well might have to.

"...But you gotta promise me something too." She adds. "When the craving starts to flare up again, and I think we can both agree it will, you come to me, all right? We'll get it sorted out." The "how" of that hangs in the air after she finishes speaking, said but unsaid, as well as her shouldering of it.

[andnevermore]

"The good news is, when I'm hungry, I don't exactly... fight with any thought," Blake admits. "I just lunged. Like a predator. I didn't use my Semblance, or Gambol. I was too out of my mind."

Which means it wouldn't be all that difficult for a properly trained fighter to fend her off. She'd come back to her senses with a strong enough hit -- Faith throwing her out of a window, or John shooting her with her own weapon, those things had worked. She can't guarantee they'll always work, but. It's something.

"The good thing is, I don't have any extra vampire tricks. Not yet, at least. I'll update everyone if I develop anything new."

Yang's hand on her shoulder has her slumping with relief. Gods, she'd worried that the others would judge her, call her a monster-- but they're all being so understanding. They aren't ostracizing her like she'd feared, they're just figuring out ways to help.

"I will, I promise." Blake swallows hard, fighting back the tears that want to well up. Yang's in the same boat, after all. "Only if you come to me when you feel like you might be a danger, too." She meets Qrow's eyes, too-- she doesn't know what he's turning into, since he just has the cat ears so far, but all of them can go frenzied under the moon warp. "You too, Qrow."

[fists_of_funny]

Yang takes up primary responsibility of tending to the fire after as dusk settles over the Convoy. Dinner may be over, but she's got some leftover Zolom meat cooking on a spit too; she seems generally hungrier these days, and it'd be a shame to let the meat go to waste anyway. The Wild Rider is in its usual place, parked next to Blake's van. She can almost believe this is like the little campouts she used to do with Ruby outside the family house back on Patch, just with more friends and family present.

After Blake is finished speaking about her own condition, and its problems, Yang clears her throat. "I gotta include myself in the "do whatever it takes to stop me" camp too if I get caught in another of those moon warps." She says. "When the first one hit, I was outside the shield, and I went full werewolf, and lost control of myself." Yang keeps her gaze on the fire burning in front of her. "I don't really remember it, but I know I got into a scrape with at least one other person before I got put down long enough to get me inside the shield. If it happens again, I won't recognize any of you...I won't even remember myself. So do what you gotta do to make sure I don't hurt anyone."

[qaw]

Let it be known that Qrow is in no way opposed to eating unusual meats. He doesn't even bother asking what it is until he's had a few bites. Once he does ask, he accepts the answer with a mild huh and keeps eating.

He's done with his food by the time Yang is done with her story. He scratches at his jaw, frowning. So that's two possible uncontrollable graduate level Huntresses they might have on the loose. One a vampire and the other a werewolf, and—

Wait. Isn't that the plot of some shitty movie Summer dragged him to once...? He frowns, then shakes his head. Doesn't matter.

"I'm thinking we might need a more thorough contingency plan than 'whoever's nearby come take me out'. Especially since me and her—" He jerks his head towards Pyrrha. "—don't know what movie monsters we're turning into yet."

Maybe they'll get lucky and turn into something less murderous. But... well. Luck.

"First, Ruby. What's your deal? Any unwanted murderous urges? And second..."

He doesn't look happy about whatever 'second' is, but he continues.

"Are there any other Drifters we might be able to count on? People that know their way around a fight, and that we can trust to do what's necessary."

[fists_of_funny]

"Faith. Faith Lehane." Yang speaks up almost immediately when Qrow asks about other Drifters who can be relied upon. "She's the one who stopped me when I wolfed out during the Moon Warp, dragged me inside the shield with Blake's help. She's kind of like a Huntress for her world, only she's called a Slayer and she fights vampires for a living." Just an all round, cool, strong lady. Yang quite likes her, to be honest.

"We should talk to her." She has expertise they can rely on, and also, you know...just touch base and make sure she doesn't immediately go for the stake if Blake has another episode.

[andnevermore]

"Faith helped me when I was out of control with hunger for blood, too," Blake adds. "Like Yang said, she's a Vampire Slayer. Capital letters and everything. She knows a lot about monsters."

Her shoulder is still nudged against Yang's where she'd bumped it after Yang's confession, a silent repetition of their promise to each other.

"Jayce seems to know a lot about magic, but I don't think he knows much about monsters. Serph has been promised a Nirvana before." Blake hesitantly takes a bite of roast zolom, and sighs with relief when it actually tastes like something. It seems like she can eat normal food if she's not starving for blood. "SecUnit is really strong, so it would be helpful for fights. But Faith seems to know the most about monsters, out of everybody I've met."

[tokencanadian]

Pyrrha's been slowly brought up to speed on the basics, but that doesn't stop all of this from being... more than just one bite to chew on. Her wounds are healed - like they weren't even there to begin with - and she's cleaned up as much of the blood as she could find. It's almost like nothing happened to her. She just has to sit in front of this... tastefully decorated van, with her fellow huntresses (and Qrow), all looking a good bit different from how she last remembered them and believe that everything is okay. Otherwise, she's going to fucking lose it.

Alright. Okay. Here she goes; everything is fine and here she goes clearing her throat.

"I... I just wanted to say, I'm very glad to see you all safe and... sound." As well as they could be. How few they were. "This place. It's so dangerous, is there even a way home?"

[fists_of_funny]

"Same to you, Pyrrha." Yang replies with a smile. It's still kind of surreal to just...see her, sitting there with them. Getting used to the idea of Pyrrha just being around again. That Yang can talk to her again. Not that that's unwelcome in the slightest, of course, it's just...an adjustment to make after having to accept that she was gone.

And she wasn't even a member of Pyrrha's team. If Jaune, Nora, or Ren were here...

"We hope so, but...we don't know for sure." Yang explains. "The only thing we've really got to go on right now is that the Convoy is taking us to Nirvana, or some place called that, at least. But we don't know what to expect once we get there, or who will be waiting for us. We've been on the road...two, two and a half months now, I think? Hard to know how close we've gotten since then." Probably not very, something tells her.

[andnevermore]

Blake deeply suspects that they're all mutually avoiding the topic of Pyrrha's death. Like one big awkward elephant in the room.

Gods, Blake hadn't even seen Pyrrha die, and she still gets nightmares sometimes. Her dreaming mind likes to make up scenarios of how Cinder had killed her. Had Cinder burnt her to ash with her Fall Maiden powers? Skewered her with her own weapon? Thrown her off the tower? Probable scenarios, improbable ones, they've all featured in her nightmares one way or another.

"We're really glad to see you safe too, Pyrrha," she replies quietly, summoning up a smile.

The question about Nirvana has her stifling a sigh, poking the fire with a stick. The shifting of the fire causes the light to dance, highlighting the mural in various fascinating ways.

"Yeah, the only thing we've got is that 'Nirvana' is typically associated with good, and we're sticking together because there's safety in numbers. In reality, we have no idea what to expect."

[guidemyway]

The biggest elephant in the room was that Ruby was all to familiar with how Pyrrha had died. She had been there at the moment it had happened. It was something she lived with every day. And it was something that she didn't talk about nearly as much as she thought about.

But that wasn't really the topic at hand here. So she managed a smile as well.

"Yeah. And now that we're all together again. We're going to make sure that we all get through this as safely as we can."

She doesn't have much to add on the topic of Nirvana that Yang and Blake haven't already gathered.

"Yeah. But judging from the Cyborgs and other things that have attacked us along the way. It doesn't look like we're the only ones trying to get there. So we're not even sure what kind of good we're going to get."