`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`Yang – 8, Ruby – 5/6 `…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`

"Is that your Mom?" A girl asked as Yang jogged over to a group of kids her age. It was midsummer now, the perfect time to hang out at the beach and learn how to surf. Yang was very proud of herself. She had convinced her Birdy that it was absolutely necessary for her to learn how to surf to help her fight Grimm. It had helped when she bribed Ruby to distract Mom with information on something their Dad had said.

"Yeah, she's just dropping me off." Yang shrugged, looking back at the tall figure climbing on a large deep red and black bike. "I'm Yang," she introduced while turning back to look at the pale haired girl.

"I'm Coral. Unoriginal but parents are like that." The other pointed out before Yang could comment. "Do you get your hair from your Dad?" She questioned, flipping her hand through her own locks while Yang blinked at the question.

"I guess? I'd have to ask Birdy or Mom for sure." Yang admitted with a shrug and hummed when an instructor called for their attention.

"Who calls their Dad Birdy?" Coral scoffed, ignoring the instructor as she looked at Yang suspiciously.

"Not me, but Mom says Dad can be a 'bird brain'. I think it's because he had a thing for dressing me and Rubes up in bird costumes." Yang confessed with a laugh. "C'mon, we're getting paired up."

`…`…`…`…`…`

Summer looked at her red eyed child and silently wondered why they had let Tai convince them to unlock her Semblance. It seemed often someone had to convince a tantrum tornado that using her Semblance wasn't a good idea.

"Yang Xiao Long." Summer sighed, her use of the girl's first and middle name making the red eyes narrow before bowing with a huff. "I'm Summer Branwen, I spoke to Mr. Pan about a fight?" Immediately a tall and lean man nodded and held out his hand.

"That'd be me." He confessed, his smile a bit strained. "I'll get right to the point, Mrs. Branwen. There was an altercation between your niece and another student-"

"Daughter." Summer corrected, "she's my daughter, oldest actually." Mr. Pan nodded, his eyes closing a bit as he smiled.

"Sorry, the woman who dropped her off said the same thing. You must be Yang's stepmother. It's wonderful to see all the parents getting along. Not a lot of couples would be accepting enough to raise the child with extra people." He gushed, his words making something twitch in Summer. "Anyway, due to your daughter fighting another student. I have to ask you to withdraw her." He told her, his tone conveying an apology while he gave a faux pity look; as if he truly hated to do it.

"And why?" Summer's tone somehow giving sound to the cold in her eyes.

"They called me a liar!" Yang snapped, eyes flaring and a patch of hair matching with a small flame. "Coral said I can't have a Birdy and a Momma and a Dad! Then he said that I had a stepmom if I had a Dad!" Yang vented, pointing an accusing finger at the scowling man.

"I apologize for any offense," Mr. Pan started, turning to look back at Summer. "As I said, it's unusual for both couples to be so involved. Not that that's a bad thing. Most ex's simply view parenting differently." He tried to explain, his words making things worse.

"No. I apologize. I didn't know my wife and I had enrolled our child in an ignorant program. Have a great day, dishware." Summer said, spinning on her heel and purposely ignoring Yang kicking the man in the shin as she followed her out.

"Momma, are you really mad?" Yang asked as she jogged alongside Summer, the woman scowling and absently giving off a darker aura. "I didn't mean to hit Coral, but she, she made me so mad! I couldn't help it. And, and then she hit me back and it hurt a lot and Dad said that it means my r'a wasn't up."

"Yang." Summer interrupted, stopping to look down at the girl, her eyes meeting soft lilac. "I'm not mad at you. I am disappointed that you hit another person, though." She admitted, bending down to look at the child nervously biting her lip. "As punishment for not thinking before acting, I think one big lap around the house and no dessert tonight will be fair." Summer told her, giving a half smile at her daughter's look of shock and disbelief.

"I could always tell Birdy you asked Ruby to tattle tale on Dad." Summer offered, laughing when Yang vehemently shook her head. "C'mon, let's get home."

`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`…`

Raven looked down at the two kids in front of her. The village was gone, or going. Buildings were on fire, a few Grimm were still running around, and a scattering of survives were being found. She sheathed her sword, bending down to one knee to look at the two eight year olds hiding in the shadows. One was obviously a noble's kid, his hair pinned back and even with the dirt on him, his clothes were nicer and of finer quality. The other was a young girl that had probably been on the streets for too long. Her clothes were a size to small and her skin looked closer to the color of dirt. But neither one was letting go of the other, the boy holding the girl close to him with a knife in his hand as Raven looked under the house at them.

"You gonna come out?" She asked as another Huntsman ran up to her, his armor speckled with quickly fading blood. "What?" She demanded, her eyes flashing dangerously and making the man gulp.

"Airships are almost here." He explained and waited till Raven snarled at him before running off.

"Let's get you some food and blankets." She soothed, using her 'sick voice' for the duo and waited till they moved before scooping them into her arms. "My name's Raven." She introduced as the duo spun their heads around trying to see everything.

"I-I'm Lie Ren." The noble boy stuttered, looking up at her with a rare shade of magenta for eyes. "I think the nock a leave ate my family." He said in a flat tone, making Raven stop in place to look at the boy.

"I'm Nora, I don't know what happened to my family." The girl with brilliant aqua eyes and vibrant orange hair added. "Are we safe now?" She asked and right then Raven heard her wife's voice in her head.

"Yeah, and we're going somewhere even safer." She told them, looking to the skies and trying to force an airship to appear. What had she just gotten herself into?

`…`…`…`

"You tell me. As soon as those two get put in there. How fast will Grimm show up?" Raven hissed, getting right up in the headmaster's face. Her eyes were practically glowing as she glared into the other man's eyes. "Put them in the middle of a village. Put them with a bunch of untrained weaklings. How fast. Will they come?" She growled, watching the other man swallow and blink rapidly as he tried to come up with an answer.

"I'm taking them. Both of them." She snapped, turning on her heel to march out. "And don't even think about saying otherwise!" She threw over her shoulder before she slammed the door shut, making said duo jump and look at her apprehensively.

"Lie, you and Nora are coming with me." Raven said to the boy standing up, getting a silent nod while Nora slid from her seat and grabbed his hand. "We'll stay in a hotel tonight, get you two something to eat, and then we'll leave in the morning. Is there anything you guys want?" Raven asked, walking slightly ahead of the kids and pulling out her scroll to search for a place to sleep.

"I, I'm sorry." Ren spoke up, his voice soft and unsure as he looked up at Raven, the woman looking away from her scroll to him with confusion. Looking at him, looking at them both, Raven could see her own girls and felt her heart twist. "Can we go…to the hotel?" He asked, a nod of agreement from Nora reminding Raven that it was still morning and neither had slept during the ride to Mistral.

"Alright," She nodded, looking around at the crowds before holding out her hand for Ren to grab. "Know any good places?" She joked, trying to ease the two kids but feeling Summer would have been a better choice.

`…`…`…`

Once Raven was sure the duo was distracted with eating as many pancakes as they could she called Summer.

"Hey Ray," Summer greeted, the head of one of their girls resting on her shoulder as she rocked back and forth. "Yang just went to sleep." She said with a smile as Raven leaned back and propped her feet up.

"Isn't it ten over there?" She asked, frowning a bit when Summer just gave her a strained smile while getting up. "I'll be home soon." She told her, remembering then that Yang and Ruby started school the following Monday.

"It's fine." Summer said as she carefully laid Yang down, her daughter's peaceful face showing on the screen for a few seconds before vanishing. "Now for Tick." She said with a deep breath that made Raven roll her eyes.

"Ruby is not that bad." She said as Summer set her scroll down, giving a view of the room and Summer adjusting a five year old bundle into bed. "Night baby," Summer whispered with a kiss the cherub face. Raven stayed quiet as Summer made her escape into another familiar room; the hole in the wall next to their door giving it away. "How have they been anyway?" She asked, glancing up at Ren to see him passing Nora his pancakes while grabbing more eggs for himself.

"Their usual hyper selves. Yang's excited about school and Ruby's trying to convince me her Lego's are school supplies." Summer told her as she settled into the bed with a tired sigh. "Sometimes I wonder if semi-retirement was a good idea." She admitted, turning on her side to look at the screen.

"Semi-retirement was an argument that led to Tai sharing his bed for a week." Raven grouched even as Summer laughed softly. "Teaching at Signal isn't that bad, you're at least home for the girls." She admitted, "speaking of. I may need your help."

Immediately Summer perked up, the light of the screen making her eyes resemble pools of moonlight. Raven adjusted her camera, flipping it around to view the duo still eating breakfast.

"I need to find them a safe place." Raven stated, seeing her wife nod as she looked at the duo through the screen. "And wherever they go needs to have a formidable Hunter in charge or close to a Kingdom." She added, watching as Lie Ren yawned and gave a slow blink.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now. I'll set you both up some packs for leftovers while you sleep." Raven said, seeing Nora grabbing the plates with a fierce glint she recognized. "Why don't you two get some sleep?" She suggested, nodding at the two beds behind them. Immediately Lie got down from the table and warily climbed into a bed, asleep before he could blink.

"There will be food when you get up." Raven said, looking at the small girl starring at the plates and then the bed. "I promise." Raven swore when she saw the conflict in the girl's eyes. Slowly, the child got up and walked over to climb into the bed next to her friend, the edge of the boy's knife catching Raven's eye. She'd let the girl keep it with her, if it made her feel safe then who was she to judge.

"I'll make a few calls, see who knows anyone." Summer told Raven when her attention was back on the scroll. The woman nodded, running a hand over her tired face. "I'll see you when you get home. I'll even have your favorite cooked." Summer added, gazing at her wife and wishing she could physically hug the woman.

Raven nodded, signing off the scroll with a quiet 'I love you' before packing the leftovers onto a tray and climbing into the other bed.