RWBY (c) RoosterTeeth

Rose Above The Clouds

Back in the Saddle

Tai's eyes fluttered open with the first orange rays of dawn splaying across his pillow as the sun crested the horizon. He sat up with a yawn, only to be surprised to find the other side of his bed empty. Granted, he should be used to that feeling, but recently his bed had been decidedly less lonely. He'd even go as far as to say more recently still, he'd even been enjoying a bit of adult fun there as well. It was simultaneously amazing yet soul-crushing to realise how quickly the estranged husband and wife fell so readily back into old patterns.

On one hand, for a few seconds, they could pretend like the two decades never happened. On the other, it felt like Tai hadn't moved on from Raven as readily as he believed.

When the letters from Atlas came, there was a long talk about their meaning. About the return of their formerly believed deceased leader, and about where to go from here. Although they both agreed that Raven was wrong to destroy Summer's epitaph - well, more like Tai beat it into her head that she was wrong to take her anger out on the thing - Tai had conflicted feelings about replacing the memorial. He couldn't do so in good conscience knowing that it stood for a lie.

Sure, he could replace it as a memorial to the years they had spent in mourning of her supposed death, but given that Summer was apparently alive and on the path to recovery in Atlas? To do so felt somewhat disingenuous.

Suppressing a shiver from the bitterly cold winter morning, Taiyang slipped on a warm jumper and track pants before making his way down stairs. He'd assumed that Raven was likely either out for a walk, or having a fly around Patch. So when he found her sitting on the front porch wrapped up in a blanket, he was rather surprised to say the least.

"I don't get it…" Raven declared, scowling at nothing.

"Don't get what?"

"She… Summer is alive, and that's fantastic. Real freakin' happy for her and all that. Qrow gets his bunk buddy back, yay. One big happy family. Makes me puke." She grumbled.

"You don't get that Summer's alive, or the concept of a happy family?" Tai shot back and Raven waved a hand.

"I won't pretend that the lovey-dovey crap doesn't make me want to vomit, but I don't understand... Summer. She spent most of her adult life as Salem's captive, pet or whatever - but she still wants to fight?" The former Bandit Queen was incredulous, shaking her head at the illogical concept. At least, illogical by her standards.

"How does she even think she can win? Salem can't be beaten. If she could, Oz would've ended her a long time ago... So why? Why is she persisting?" Raven leaned her brow on her hand as though trying to work out the mental gymnastics was giving her a headache.

"Its not about winning anymore." Tai replied, leaning against the veranda railing with his hands loosely folded together. "For Summer, it'd be for retribution. Its about getting even."

Raven barked out a long scornful laughter that carried on the wind, "Sweet innocent little Summer Rose, out for revenge? You're dreaming."

Taiyang shook his head, rolling his cerulean eyes. "And you need to take off the rose-tinted goggles, Rave."

Her laugh abruptly cut off and she glared daggers at him. "I told you, stop calling me that. Pisses me the hell off."

"Summer's always had a vengeful streak, just cause she was quiet about it doesn't mean it wasn't there." Taiyang shrugged casually.

"But if she persists, she'll die for real." Raven growled, pulling the rug over her shoulders a bit tighter.

"Its a trip we all have to make sooner or later - that's just the end of a warrior's path and a reality we accept when we chose this life. Some of us choose to die standing in defiance of our enemy, others..." He trailed off, giving her a significantly darker look than usual. "Others want to crawl away and die in hiding."

"You don't have to keep finding a way of bringing that up in every damn conversation. I heard you the first dozen times, your point's been made. So cut it out." Raven ordered.

"Have it?" Tai cocked his head to one side, "So, you're saying you've gone to Atlas, taken the Relic from Yang and chose to hide it away somewhere in Patch so Salem won't be going after our daughter anymore?"

She pulled her rug tighter still over her shoulders, absently pulling at its edge in a desperate bid to not appear indecisive. "I suppose that I should..." Raven's voice trailed off.

"Should what?"

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out. After a long moment where she appeared to be emulating a fish, her eyes screwed shut in frustration and she shot to her feet. She stalked away a few paces before turning and casting her glaring eyes back at her ex-husband. "Look, I'm sorry I can't just say 'let me take care of it for you'. I'm sorry that I value my life enough to not get caught up on some pointless fucking war!"

Taiyang sighed, scratching his temple. "Look, no one's expecting you to take on Salem alone. No one's even asking you to take on the evils of the world or hold it up like you're some kind of mythical titan of legend. Hell, you don't even have to fight Salem herself. But if you want a shot at getting back into your daughter's - our daughter's life - then you'll have to square with the fact that doing so means you'll have to fight Salem's lackeys sooner or later."

"Newsflash Rae-Rae - we're all scared shitless. The only thing different between the three of us is how we react to that fear. Summer and Qrow threw themselves into the war, dancing between that line of life and death, I chose to teach students and the new generation of Huntsmen to be better than we were. And you? Well, you ran and hid."

The bandit queen scowled at her husband, arms crossed over her chest. How long will he keep drudging that up, for brothers' sake?

Taiyang moved past her to the garden bed just below her bedroom window. The flowerbed he constructed when she arrived all those months ago, one that he hadn't planted any flowers in yet. Something about letting the soil settle first. Her confusion turned to outrage when he curled a corner of black tarp around his fist and ripped it away. Dark brown soil flew everywhere, and underneath a layer of clear plastic was Omen.

Her jaw dropped when he straightened up, ripping the plastic off her sword like he was unwrapping a present before planting it in the ground.

"Was it right under my nose this whole Gods damned time?" Raven snapped indignantly.

Taiyang's lips curled up into a playful, almost childish smile. "Yeah." The smile faded, replaced with a stern mark "So, right now I'm giving you a choice: You can take your sword, run back home to your merry band of bandits, and continue raiding pillaging and plundering your black guts out... or we can get our asses back in shape, act like the parents we're supposed to be, and you can come with me to Atlas to help protect our family."

Raven's fingers curled into tight fists and deep scowling lines etched her brow. She scoffed and shook her head while closing the gap between them. She swiped Omen out of his grasp and turned back, casually striding away. "One thing I didn't miss about you, Tai... those damn speeches."

Tai's shoulders slumped for a second, only to straighten in surprise when Raven spun on her heel, red blade drawn and ready for a fight. "Lets get this over with."

Author's note:

Tai and Raven get their backsides back into shape. :)

Sorry I've been AFK for a bit, was a bit burnt out between the three writing projects and had to take some time out to recuperate. There's also been some drama in the family that's kind drained the spirit. Hopefully I'll be updating semi-regularly again soon. :)

I welcome feedback and criticism,

Aurora313