Just a side story that I will update when I feel I got the next chapter ready. It's also my attempt of trying to use first person since it's not my default choice, but I wanted to get my feet wet with it. Let me know what you all think.

Legend:

Italic: Thoughts/Letters/Journal Entries/Flashbacks/

My eyes stared down into the drink. I could see my reflection in the undisturbed contents and swirled it lightly. The glass touched my lips and I welcomed the harsh taste of the whiskey as it danced on my tongue. It was still as savory as I remember, but then again, this has been a daily thing for me. I wake up every day, do my mission, and if I have time to kill, I treat myself to the closest bar and indulge in my favorite drink.

Now, if you did not know me you'd probably think I was just some lowlife bum, and you'd be right to think that. But the truth is, I'm not. I'm just another guy that tries to get through his life one day at a time and take the little pleasures in when they come. But in my line of work, those days are few and far in-between, and there was definitely no bright moments in sight any time soon.

Everything was planned out and it could have worked, but she beat us to it. It was all gone. Beacon was gone. Amber was gone. Our chosen champion, gone. And Ozpin…

I shook my head and downed the rest of the drink, slamming the glass back on the table. A rough sigh escaped my lips and I rubbed my eyes.

The Queen put us in a mess. When Beacon was lost, we lost the CCT with it and the last thing people around Remnant saw was Atlas military equipment attacking civilians and Huntsmen alike. Tensions were high and relationships between the kingdoms were strained. No one was talking to each other and no one knew who to believe.

"Hey, I'll take another one." I flagged the bartender down.

The greasy haired man looked back at me and then to my glass. He shook his head and I felt my lips fall in a frown.

"I think you've had enough, buddy," was his cliché answer.

"It'll take more than that to get me drunk. So keep them coming, and don't water them down."

The bartender shook his head and began to fix another drink. While he was doing that, my eyes flicked to my scroll. With a swipe of my thumb the screen came to life and I looked at the time. It was getting close and knowing her, she would arrive right on time.

I pulled out some lien and pushed it on the counter when the bartender set the drink in front of me. He took it and did a quick count before putting it in the register. He came back a second later and pulled the empty glass away.

"So, what's your story?" He asked.

"What?" I grunted back.

"You're a Huntsman, right? I've seen my fair share of Huntsmen come through here, but I've never seen one look as rough as you."

A scoff escaped me and I took a sip from my glass. The sharp taste hit me like a good punch and I felt a slight shudder go down my spine. That was much better.

I chuckled and looked back up at the bartender.

"Let's just say I've seen and experienced everything someone in my line of work can."

The bartender grunted and walked over to the sink to set the glass down and then proceeded to help a new customer at the bar.

I took another long drink from the glass and let my mind wander. Everyone needed to take a break and relax, and right now, that guy was me. My journey had led me from the ruins of Beacon out to the swamplands of Mistral. Not just to keep an eye on Ruby and her new team, but to search for Ozpin. I recovered his cane from the vault below the school, but never found his body. So there was still a chance he was alive, but whether he wanted to be found or not was another story.

Music emitted from the speakers around the bar, settling on a tune telling a story of remembrance. The gentle strums of the guitar carried through the air and the man's voice was smooth. I finished the rest of my drink and rested the glass on the table.

"I'm ready for another."

The bartender was fast with my refill and had it in front of me a second later. I was about to take a sip, but the new presence beside me caught my attention. The gentle scuff of the wood on the floor reached my ears.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to show," I said, not sparing her a look.

She clicked her tongue and gently set her scroll on the counter. When the bartender came to see what she wanted to drink, she quickly turned him away.

"Let's make this quick. Tell me what you found out and we can get on with our night," she said.

"You want to know what I found?" I glanced at her. "Bupkis. Zilch. Nothing."

Her icy eyes narrowed at my retort, but I shrugged it off like I always did. Every fight we had always started off with something trivial like this and if it were to blow up here, it wouldn't be any skin off my nose.

"I should have expected as much from you. You're just a drunk, pitiful old man," said Winter.

"You're not much better, Ice Queen," I retorted.

Her temper was rising and the restraint that she had was diminishing with each thing I said.

"I'm not the one drowning my sorrows in alcohol on a daily basis," she said with a sneer.

"True, but like I said, you're no better than me. You're pretentious, arrogant, and you have this wave of self-entitlement with that Atlas title to go with your name."

A sharp breath went through the specialist's nose and a small smirk came to my lips. She was seething and it would only take a few more pokes to make her burst. As much as I wanted to add fuel to the fire, I really liked this bar and did not want to get banned from it.

With a sigh I pulled out a folded piece of paper and slid it to her with my finger.

"That's all I got for you and your boss," I said before taking another drink. "Run along now, Ice Queen."

I pounded the rest of my drink and shuddered a bit. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Winter taking in every detail of the message on the note. Her icy eyes went back and forth on the main points I wrote down and then fell on a small piece of a map. It was not much, but if they wanted to get anywhere in searching for that woman, they needed to follow Ruby.

"And you're sure of this?" She asked me, folding the paper again.

"Positive. Now, I'd like to get back to my drink." I pointed at the fresh glass.

Why is she still staying?

One would think she'd be clawing at the chance to leave now that I gave her what she wanted.

I shook my head and was about to take another long drink from my glass, but the woman's next question stopped me and although I would not admit it, it caught me by surprise.

"Tell me something, Qrow. Do you feel that drinking solves your problems?"

My eyes rolled and I turned them back to her. Her face was free from any sternness it previously held and was replaced with a look of curiosity. She leaned on the bar a bit, tipping me off that she was not leaving until I answered her question.

"Of course not. But it does a hell of a job numbing them," I said.

Her brow rose just a bit at my retort. I raised my glass and took another long gulp. The bartender came back a second later with a new drink, but not the one I had been ordering all night. Just when I was about to send him back, he placed it in front of Winter.

She gracefully picked up the glass by its stem and took a sip of her wine.

"Didn't figure you for a drinker." My shoulders shook with a light chuckle.

"I'm not, but I do enjoy my wine every now and then." She set her glass down. "So, why do you drink so much? Surely you weren't like this when you were younger?"

"Wow, very spot on with that one."

My eyes flicked down to my scroll. The bar would just start getting busy and I had plenty of time to drink before I crashed for the night.

"I'm serious. What have you gone through to make you seek solace in this?" Winter asked again.

She really was not going to let this go. I rubbed my eyes and mulled it over for a moment. The amount of stories I had that led to this could chalk up to a memoir. There was no way she would stay to listen to all of it.

I swirled the drink in my hand and turned back to her.

"How much time you got?" I asked.

"All night," she said before picking up her glass again. "Start talking."

That's right. First person story with my attempt of getting some form of past with one of my favorite characters. Qrow Branwen. Like I said, this is a side project that won't be too focused on unless otherwise in demand. So this won't be worked on until some other works of mine are finished.