Hey, everyone. Thought I would treat the small group of followers for this story to a nice 2016 send off. I would like to thank all of you who have favorited and alerted the story. Especially to those that have reviewed it. You guys are the reason why I'm trying to do this story justice along with the characters. So keep on letting me know how you are liking it and how to improve if you spot something that's worth noting.

Now I will be honest. Volume 4 has kind of made this somewhat difficult to write with what I had planned and what I want to have happen. So I'm trying to tie the story in to the canon as much as I can and do my own spin on the story as well. Just as a heads up for you all.

Anyway, let's get to it.

Legend:

Italic: Thoughts/Letters/Journal Entries/Flashbacks/


Winter's brow arched in interest at my suggestion. She was right. With the amount of bad stories I had compared to good, I needed to switch it up and balance it. Meeting my partner was easily one of the best memories I had.

"Who was your partner?" She asked.

I could feel my lips curve up in a genuine smile. The day I met her was forever engrained in my memory and it filled me with a warmth every time.

"Her name was Summer Rose," I said, the smile still present on my face.

Winter tilted her head and her eyes shifted to the ceiling as if in thought about the name.

"Rose… isn't that the same name as your niece?" She asked.

"Yeah." I bobbed my head. "Summer was her mother."

"I see… what was she like?"

Summer Rose was many things, but the one word that stood out in my mind was beautiful. She was not a very tall girl, barely coming up to my shoulder. Her hair was short and dark with red tips, much like Ruby's. Her eyes were like big silver suns and glowed with power and kindness that only grew when she smiled. She had this smile that was capable of bringing life to anything it graced.

"You sound very fond of her," she noted, taking a drink from her glass.

"Everyone that knew her was fond of her. She was special in many ways," I quickly replied.

"I see. How did you meet her?"

My fingers swirled my glass and I silently reflected back to my younger days. Man, it had to have been what, twenty-four years ago now? Sounds right.

"I met her at Beacon the day before initiation. My day was already at a crappy start," I said and lightly scratched my chin.


The ride to the school had been long and I was about ready to jump off the side just to escape it. There were dozens of students on board making it congested. Needless to say, I was feeling claustrophobic. I like my space and the limited amount that I had was only chipping away at my self-destruction timer.

To my side, Raven appeared to be no better. Her arms were crossed and her brow was furrowed in a nasty glare. The raw emotion that came from her was enough to make the most confident men think twice before speaking to her.

I frowned just a bit when I looked at her. She had been isolating herself ever since Dad died, only speaking to me and Mom, but even now those conversations were growing less frequent. She had immersed herself in her training and had become a force to be reckoned with. She was now able to go toe to toe with me with ease and even bested me a few times whenever we sparred.

Now, I should point out that after Dad died, we took a different route of training. Instead of attending Signal like our parents planned, we opted not to enroll and were trained by our tribe instead. If I could be honest, I think it may have been a better path. Signal would have been good to the average Huntsman in training, but like I said before, our tribe is known for producing some of the strongest Huntsman that Remnant had seen, the prime examples being my mother and my father. It also would have helped us from a social standpoint. Well, I guess it would have been more beneficial for Raven. I'm pretty sure the word socialize wasn't in her vocabulary, and if it was, it was alien to her.

"You know that once we get to Beacon you will have to talk to people, right?" I looked at her. "I heard that the initiation gives us a partner and that will also lead us to teams."

Her red eyes bore into me. She didn't even turn her head, but that sideways glance would put anyone on edge. For me, it was almost hilarious. I grew up with her doing that to me all the time and it made me impervious to it.

"Keep talking and I'll destroy that pair of pants next." She growled.

Yeah, that was what put me in my foul mood. Raven was never one to have the best sense of humor which was something I strived to help her grow in. So when I teased her about her being the reason we missed the first ship to Beacon, she didn't take it too well. And sadly, that resulted in her shredding my pants with her blade to make it look like a pair of shorts.

"I'm just saying that you should expect it. I'm not sure how the headmaster has it planned to work out, but I'm just saying you probably won't be paired with me that easily. And don't deny that's exactly what you had planned," I answered her.

"So what if it was? You and I work well together, so why fix something that's not broken?" She challenged.

"Only because we've trained together. Who knows, maybe you'll find someone you're more compatible with."

"That's very unlikely."

I rolled my eyes and lightly thumped my head against the wall. Stubborn as always. She'll learn soon enough that her plans won't always work out the way she wanted them to.

I did another look around the ship. There was a lot of good looking girls that would only grow into stunning women throughout our school years.

My eyes fell upon a blonde haired kid on the other side of the ship. He was conversing with a handful of girls, garnering laughs from all of them. In a way I envied him, but at the same time I had to tip my hat for his smooth talking to talk with so many girls at a time. The kid's eyes shifted in our direction and lingered for a long moment.

I followed his gaze and saw it upon my sister. Yeah, if he wanted to get to her, he'd have to go through me. Not that he'd get far if he did. Raven would shoot him down faster than he could open his mouth.

Sure enough, the boy excused himself from the group of girls he had been schmoozing and made his way over to us. The smile on his face was friendly, but only time would tell what his true intentions were.

"I think you're about to have company," I whispered to Raven.

"If he thinks he can chat me up like those other girls, he's got another thing coming," said Raven.

"Heh, who knows? He might even be your future partner."

I was quick to lean away from her backhand and chuckled at the nasty glare she gave me. I'd probably regret it later, but for now, I would enjoy the little entertainment between the flirt and my sister.

The blonde still had a large smile on his face when he stopped before Raven.

"Hey, I'm Taiyang. And I gotta' say, you don't know Xiao Long I've been waiting to meet someone like you," he said.

I blinked and cringed just a bit. That had to be one of the worst pick-up lines I heard. Of all time.

Raven did not acknowledge him and kept her gaze aimed for the floor. Her eyes were closed, but I could see the subtle twitch of annoyance.

"Do you have a name?" Taiyang asked her again.

He was given the silent treatment. His smile fell into a sly smirk and he rested his hand on his hip.

"Ah, you're the strong and silent type, huh?" He rose a brow.

"You're wasting your time," I said to him.

Taiyang turned to me and folded his arms.

"Really? What makes you say that?" He replied.

"I'm her brother. Trust me, you're fighting a losing battle." I shook my head.

From the corner of my eye I could see the small curve in Raven's lip as she smirked.

If the blonde continued his pursuit, I'd let him, but he'd better be ready for Raven's comeback.

"Losing battle? Buddy, I'm Taiyang Xiao Long. If there's one thing I can do without fail, it's take on a challenge."

Your funeral, man.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

I cracked my neck and turned to walk away. I needed to get some air. There was no need to worry about Raven.

I weaved my way through the crowds of students and made my way to the deck. The wind greeted me with a cool blast as I stepped outside.

No lie, the view from the ship was truly something. I could see the city of Vale growing distant as we flew towards the school. The sun shone brightly off the crystal clear water below. The scent of salt tickled my nose as the wind carried it up.

"Finally. It was way too crowded in there." I sighed.

My feet carried me to the railing and I leaned forward to take in the horizon. It was always something that caught my attention. Every time I traveled and trained to become a Huntsman, I always marveled in the land. The endless fields, forests, swamps, mountains, it always lured me in. It screamed adventure, exploration and was one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to be a Huntsman.

It was a somewhat selfish reason, but come on. I'm taking up the fight against creatures of darkness, I should be able to indulge in some personal wants, right? A career as a Huntsman opened the gates to that possibility and I would not let that go to waste.

I was brought out of my thoughts with a gentle bump to my back.

I craned my neck to see who it was and was greeted with a white hood. The hooded person stiffened and looked up to meet my eyes.

Large, silver orbs greeted me. They were wide with surprise. Her cheeks were tinted a light pink.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She quickly stepped back. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

I blinked and shook my head as I tried to process her words. She was so startled and talked so fast that I could barely grasp what she said.

"It's fine." I dismissed it with a wave of my hand.

"Oh, good! I've had some people go ballistic whenever I did that, so I'm a little jumpy whenever that happens, but it's nice that you don't seem like that."

Once again, her words came out fast as she continued to ramble on. It was odd, yet cute in a way. She lightly scratched her face and became very interested with her feet as she shuffled them lightly.

"Slow down there, Motor Mouth. It's cool, really. It's not like you did it on purpose," I said.

The girl looked up and her eyes narrowed just a bit. Her cheeks puffed out in a small pout and it made her look cuter than before.

"Who are you calling Motor Mouth, you… you…" She replied, but trailed off as she tried to come up with a nickname.

Okay, this was too good pass up. I leaned back on the railing and smirked at her as she continued to try and find a good retort. All the while, the pink on her cheeks became more prominent.

"Take your time," I said with a laugh.

"Don't start with me, Chuckles!" She pointed a finger at me, her blush now gone.

"Chuckles?" I tilted my head, almost laughing again.

"Yeah! You want to call me that, then I'll call you Chuckles!"

I sent a light glare at her which she returned with a cross of her arms.

We stared at each other like that for almost a minute. A snort escaped me and I burst out laughing. She joined me and held her stomach as she continued to laugh.

Our laughter finally died off and she leaned against the rail beside me. The smile on her face was welcoming and her eyes almost looked like they were glowing.

"So, what's your name?" I asked her.

She smiled and held out her hand. "Summer Rose. What's yours?"

"Qrow Branwen." I took her hand.

Despite the soft touch it brought, I could feel the strength in her grip as we shook hands.

This was a step in the right direction after my day started out the way it did. I was on my way to making my first friend and it was a cute girl, no less.


A dull thump came to my side as Winter set down her glass again. Her face was showing a little more color now as the alcohol started to affect her. If I had to be honest, I was surprised she was still awake. I pegged her at passing out after she slammed that first vodka cranberry.

"You still with me, or are we going to have to call it a night?" I smirked at her.

"I'm fine!" She snapped back.

She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. She still had half a glass of her vodka cranberry left. If she were to try and finish it up at her pace, she would pass out, and that would be awkward to explain to Jimmy if I had to carry her back.

"Okay, why don't you back off on the alcohol for now and just sip on what you've got? You don't look so good," I said.

"Fine," she answered back, pulling her face from her hands.

The blush on her face was rosy. It almost looked like she had spent hours outside playing in the snow.

"From what you've told me about her, Summer sounded like a shy person," said Winter.

It may have been my imagination, but I thought I heard some bite at Summer's name. Then again, I was already quite a few drinks in myself and was well into my buzz, so it could have just been me.

I took a long sip from my whiskey and let out a laugh.

"Not even close." I shook my head. "Believe it or not, she was probably the most social person on our team, even more than Tai."

Winter looked at me a raised brow in disbelief. Her eyes bore into me as if to grill me out of a lie, to which I just calmly stared back.

"She was more social than that flirt?" She asked. "Wait, did that guy end up on your team?"

I sipped my whiskey again with a small nod.

"I probably could have told you that by now if you'd stop asking questions," I smugly replied.

A scowl marred the woman's face and hers hands formed into tight fists.

"Asshole!" She muttered, but her eyes flew open and she covered her mouth.

A surprised cough left my lips and I quickly looked back at the specialist in shock. I'd known her for a long time and often times tried to test her patience and anger to see just how unhinged she could become. Yet no matter how hard I tried, I never once got her to curse or call me such a name. Her insults were more intelligent and if I were to be honest, it made her more attractive than a lot of the younger women I talked to.

My shoulders shook and a booming laugh escaped me. It was just too funny! Out of all the ways to make the dignified Winter Schnee break and result to such an insult, it was alcohol! This was just too good!

My laughter continued and I leaned forward on the counter, holding my head up.

Winter's rosy cheeks were now so red that it could put the morning sun to shame. She buried her face in her hands and slowly shook her head.

"Oh my god, that was fantastic!" I wiped my brow free of sweat.

"I can't believe I just said that," was Winter's muffled response.

"Why? I'm not even mad you called me that. That was hilarious."

She finally pulled her face out of her hands and glared back at me.

"It was unprofessional of me to say something like that," she said.

"Unprofessional? Really?" I gave her a flat look. "Are you even in the military? Soldiers say crap like that all the time. Hell, I'm sure Ole Jimmy said his fair share of colorful words, too!"

"It's one thing to think it and not say it!"

"You need to lighten up, Ice Queen. You're wound tighter than a spring."

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. Trust me, I was being polite with that comment. I could have said something worse than that."

She opened her mouth as if to call my bluff, but wisely closed it. She knew me well enough not to do that because I was not one to bluff much.

"Who would've thought that Ice Queen had the mouth of a sailor when she drinks?" I brought my glass to my lips.

She let out a growl and glared at me from the corner of her eye.

"Just get on with the story!"


The ride to Beacon came to end. I barely noticed our arrival since I was busy talking with Summer after she bumped into me. It took Raven coming out to the deck to fetch me so we could get off.

"So, what happened to the new boyfriend? Did you send him with his tail between his legs or did you just straight up kill him?" I asked her.

"Qrow, shut up." Her words were out of her mouth like the crack of a whip.

"Sheesh, okay, okay. You survived, didn't you?"

Raven's eyes fell upon Summer who looked between her and me. My sister was always quick to judge someone and it took a lot for a person to change her opinion. I'm not sugar coating that either. If she deemed you weak, you were weak. The only way you would get her to change her opinion was to do something close to impossible, and that was to beat her in combat.

The look she was giving Summer was long and calculating. I could see the subtle movement of her eyes as she looked her up and down. This is what she did to scope out a potential rival. Summer had her attention and it would be on her until Raven bested her in a fight.

Summer, meanwhile, was shuffling her feet at the somewhat uncomfortable silence.

"Um, hi!" She smiled. "I'm Summer. What's your name?"

Raven blinked and then cast a glance at me. She nodded off the ship, signaling for us to get going.

I glared back her and lightly flicked my finger towards Summer. She was being rude and could at least answer her question.

"Raven." She answered her. "That idiot beside you is my brother."

Summer smiled again.

"Aw, Chuckles isn't so bad. He's actually really nice!" She continued.

Oh no…

Raven remained silent and looked from Summer and then back to me.

"Chuckles?" She parroted with a raised brow.

"So, how about we get off the ship?" I started walking.

"Chuckles?" Raven asked again.

I didn't have to look back to know there was a wicked smirk on my sister's face.

Like I said earlier, she doesn't have much of a sense of humor. Her style of humor is a mixture of dark and watching people suffer at their own expense. And now that Summer unwittingly gave her ammo against me, I would be paying the price with that nickname for as long as Raven wanted her entertainment.

It began the second we stepped off the ship. Summer was to my left and Raven to my right.

"Okay Chuckles, where are we supposed to go?" Raven asked.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Not so funny now, are you?"

I sent her a glare and she returned it with one of her own.

I remembered from the acceptance letter that all the students were expected to meet at the dining hall for the introductory speech from the headmaster. With that in mind, I led the two of them down the path to the large doors to the school's entrance.

Summer had been trying to get Raven to talk to her, but had failed with each attempt. The poor girl was just trying to be friendly and my sister had to be the fuckin' ice cube to deny her any chance of starting a friendship. Her best bet would be to either get partnered up with her or beat her in a fight.

If I were being honest, though, I wanted the latter to happen. Raven needed someone else as a rival instead of defaulting for me. It did neither of us any favors. She had become too used to my fighting style and could now beat me on a good day. She needed someone she was unfamiliar with to challenge her, and I felt that Summer would be a good starting point.

I wasn't fond of the nickname Summer gave me, but I already had my eyes set on her to be my partner if I could make that a reality. We got along well when we were on the ship and she was really cute, too. It would make my next four years more fun, that's for sure.

We entered the dining hall and it was packed with students. There was very little room for our group to stand without being squished together. Thankfully, Summer was quick to point out an open spot midway through the room and I began to move in the direction of her finger. The closer we got, I noticed something. Summer seemed a little eager to get there, and I soon found out why.

Once we broke free from the crowd, my eyes fell on Taiyang. He turned towards us and nodded at me, but his face lit up even more when he saw Summer step forward.

"Hey, there you are!" He welcomed her hug. "I didn't see you on the ship."

"Because you were too busy chatting up the girls, you jerk!" She jabbed his chest with her finger, getting a playful wince from him.

"Heh, guilty."

I frowned just a bit at the interaction between them. If we did get a chance to choose our partners, this Taiyang guy already had a huge lead over me if they had been friends for a long time.

Raven's shoulder was touching mine with how close she was. She didn't like being in crowded spaces, much like me.

"Sounds like you got competition," she whispered.

"Maybe you can help me with that?" I retorted with a small smirk.

Raven blinked, but her eyes narrowed a bit. She was on to me.

Thankfully my reflexes won over hers. I already had my hand at the small of her back and with a guiding push, I sent her towards Taiyang. She stumbled to a stop between him and Summer.

Taiyang's face lit up again at seeing her. He was no doubt happy to get a second chance at trying to charm her, but Raven was having none of it. I held in a snort when I saw her stop him with a finger and then she turned her eyes back to me.

I wouldn't admit it, but that look she gave me made me feel very small. I was nothing but a little cockroach that needed to die. It did not take a genius to decipher the message she was sending me.

"When I get out of this, I'm going to kill you. Slowly."

Taiyang tried to open his mouth again to get her attention, but she quickly shot him down again by holding up a hand. To his dismay and my sister's relief, a high pitched screech met our ears as a microphone came to life.

Our eyes turned in the direction of the noise and on stage there was a man. He was fairly tall and had messy grey hair. Both of his hands rested atop of a cane as his eyes scanned the sea of students before him.

"I'll… keep this brief." He pushed his glass up.

"Hey, is this that Ozpin guy you were telling me about?" Taiyang whispered to Summer.

"Shh!" She put a finger to her lips.

Wait, Summer knew this guy?

I shook my head and returned my focus to the headmaster.

"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you finish, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose. Direction," said Ozpin.

Are all welcome speeches like this?

I'll tell you one thing, it doesn't sound welcoming to me. The way this guy talked alone was weird. Almost robotic, something that Raven could probably relate to and comprehend much faster than any of us there.

"You assume that knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take that first step."

Ozpin turned and began to walk away, but he sent one last look out towards the students. More specifically, in our direction. I could almost feel his eyes on me as he stared for a moment before continuing off the stage.

In his place, a somewhat stout looking man took to the microphone.

"Welcome to Beacon!" His enthusiastic voice echoed around the hall. "Now, all of you will spend the night here in the dining hall before making your way to the Emerald Forest tomorrow for the initiation. Get to know each other and start forging those bonds now!"

That was interesting. So, we got a distant headmaster and a jolly, semi fat guy as a teacher?

"Hey, Qrow, right?" Taiyang nudged me, his voice low to not draw the attention of Summer or Raven.

"Yeah. What's up?" I looked back.

"What do I have to do to make your sister talk to me?"

"You have to be worth her time for starters. Guys like you will not even be on her radar."

"Meaning?"

"Figure it out for yourself, okay? You're a Huntsman in training. Start using your head."

Taiyang let out a sigh before he grinned broadly. Even though Raven shot him down in flames he would persist with trying to get her attention. He was ballsy, I'd give him that.


The night went by quick. I ended up sleeping right by Summer. She kept talking until she lulled herself to sleep doing it.

I did not eat too much for breakfast. While it's important to have energy to start your day, it always seemed to backfire on me in some way. So I ate light. A couple of pieces of bacon and an apple would be more than enough to tie me over until the end of the initiation. If I ate anything more than that, it would not settle in my stomach and make my morning a living hell.

Once we finished breakfast we followed the stout professor, sorry, assistant professor. The man's name was Peter Port. The guy didn't look to be older than thirty, but with the way he talked and carried on, you'd never think he was in line to be a teacher at some point. On our walk to the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest he recounted one heroic, crazy ass story after the next which I'm sure any good bullshitter would be able to spot from a mile away.

"And that's how you stop a Goliath and show your dominance! Just punch it right in its trunk and stare it in the eyes!" He proudly puffed out his chest.

"I think he'd have better luck if he sat on it," I whispered to Summer, getting a giggle form her.

"All right. Now, before we begin, I want all of you to look at these platforms here."

I looked at the row of tiles that stood out in the grass. There was one tile for each student participating in the initiation.

Getting the gist, I walked over to the closest one and stood on it. Raven took the one to my left and Summer took the one on my right. When everyone was standing on one of the platforms, Ozpin turned around and his eyes went up and down the row.

"For years all of you have trained to become warriors, and today everything you have learned will be evaluated here in the Emerald Forest," said Ozpin.

Professor Port cleared his throat to add on to the headmaster's words.

"Now, naturally all of you have heard rumors about the initiation and team placements. So, allow me to put an end to everyone's confusion."

This was the first time I truly paid any attention to Professor Port since he introduced himself. I was not the only one curious about it and I knew for a fact that Raven was just as curious as me.

"Each of you will be given teammates today. Your teammate will be your partner for the remainder of your time at Beacon, so it is imperative that you find someone you can work well with," continued Port.

I could feel Raven's eyes on me and snuck a glance to confirm my suspicion. When our gazes met, I saw the subtle nod from her.

Sorry, Sis. I got other plans on this one.

"That being said, the first person whom you make eye contact with after you land will be your partner for the next four years."

All right. So, I just had to find Summer before anyone else. Too easy.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy anything in your path, or you will die," said Ozpin.

Well, this would be a walk in the park. That's all Raven and I did when we were being trained, so hopefully that gave us the edge to chug through this with a breeze.

"All of you will be monitored for the duration of the event by our instructors, but we will not intervene. There are ruins at the northern end of the forest that have several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff here when they've retrieved them."

Ozpin sipped his coffee after finishing the goal of the initiation and scanned the students again. There was a mixture of excitement and anxiousness among them and only time would tell who would prevail to take the next step to becoming full-fledged Huntsmen.

"Are there any questions?" He asked.

When no one spoke up or rose a hand, a ghost of a smile spread across his lips.

"Good. Now, take your positions," he said.

Here we go.

I rolled my shoulders and felt them pop. My neck came next, and then my back when I gave a light twist. Had to be loosened up before we started.

I looked at Summer and gave her a nod and she smiled back. Hopefully she got the message and would try to find me.

A loud clunk came from my left and I turned my eyes to the source. One by one, each student was propelled into the air with incredible force and sent above the trees, deep into the forest. My turn was coming up slowly. If I could time it just right, I could maximize the distance on my jump and land far in the forest to cut down on time.

Next came Taiyang. He shot me a small nod and then a cocky smirk at Raven before getting sent into the air. Then it was Raven's turn. Unlike Taiyang, she was silent with being thrown into the sky. She turned around midair and sent me another look.

Not happening.

I felt the platform under me wind and bent my knees just a little bit. There was at least a two second delay after the wind and if I timed it just right…

Whoosh!

I pushed off with my feet just as the platform sprung up. My plan had worked and I was already soaring higher than the rest of the students. The cool burst of wind rustled my hair and graced my face as I flew. It was exhilarating.

Summer couldn't have been far behind me. I peered over my shoulder and found her sailing behind me, although she didn't get the same amount of altitude I did. There was no way she would be able to land near me.

Taking the chance, I brought my arms and legs in tight and dove headfirst towards the trees, slowly picking up speed. My mind ticked off second after second until it was time for me to execute my landing strategy.

Doing a quick look, I noticed I was alone and out of sight for the most part. Nobody would notice if I did it right now, right?

I closed my eyes and focused. I could feel my body growing smaller and smaller until it was lighter than before. My eyes snapped open as my Semblance was now in full gear and I spread my wings out and glided through the trees. When I was just a few feet off the ground, I flapped my wings and reverted back to normal. The landing was smooth, save for the short stumble, but I was still in one piece.

Let's see here…

Raven was to my southwest and I know she saw where I landed. There was no doubt in my mind she was hurrying towards me so we could be partners. Summer was to my southeast. My best chance to become partners with here was to…

"Lookout!"

Well, speak of the girl.

I looked up and saw Summer falling towards me from the tree tops. Her silver eyes were wide and she brought her arms up to shield her head.

Wham!

I've been hit by my fair share of Grimm before and it was something that took getting used to. But, I could say that this would be the first time I ended up being the shield to breaking someone's fall. When Summer collided with me, I felt all the air get sucked from my chest as I got blasted off my feet and landed on the ground with a hard thump.

Getting the strength to look up, I saw Summer's face buried in my chest and her hands had grabbed fistfuls of my shirt.

I wasn't sure how she was feeling, so I went with my usual approach to lighten the mood.

"Hey Motor Mouth." I smirked down at her.

Her response was to lightly pound my chest with her hand and she peered up at me from under her hood. Her eyes were narrowed in a glare, but it was hard to be intimidated by it with her small pout.

She sat up and lightly poked my chest and got a wince from me. Still hurt a bit.

Her pout turned into a sly smirk.

"That didn't hurt too much, did it?" She asked.

"I've had worse," I replied, propping myself up on my elbows.

"You sure, Chuckles? I think I did a number on you."

She got off me and held out a hand and I took it. With a surprising tug, she pulled me to my feet.

"If you call that punch a hit, you got a lot of work to do." I smirked at her.

"You jerk." She stuck her tongue out.

This had started off better than I hoped. Now that Summer was my partner, all we had to do was get the relic.

"All right. Let's go get that relic." I turned north and started walking.

"Right behind you, partner!" She chirped.


Winter scoffed and took another sip from her drink.

"How much of that story did you make up?" She asked me.

My lips fell in a frown and I met her eyes with a small glare. She was the one that wanted to hear my stories, so she was going to get every bit of the truth. At least the parts I could tell her, anyway.

"None of it." I swirled my whiskey around. "Despite what you think of me, Ice Queen, I can be quite the charmer with women."

She took another sip from her drink and rolled her eyes.

"I find it hard to believe. With the way you are now, I don't see how it was remotely possible when you were younger," she said.

I took a long drink from my glass and let out a cough. Sheesh, the last of the drink always has the worst kick.

"People change when they get older. Just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it's not true," I retorted.

She let out a surprised cough and slammed her glass down on the table.

"Like I'd ever be charmed by a drunk like you!" She spat.

I merely rose a brow and smirked at her again which only seemed to irritate her more.

"Who said I was referring to myself?" I challenged her.

Her eyes widened at the little trick and her face grew red once more. She was definitely not as quick with her wits or talk like she would have been if she were sober. And you can bet I was loving every second of one upping her.

"I hate you." She growled under her breath.

"Get in line. There's a lot of people who do," I replied with a light shrug.

She shook her head and folded her hands in front of her mouth. Her eyes were closed as she recuperated from the little banter. When she came to, her blue orbs shifted just a bit to look at me.

"What happened next?" She asked.

"You mean the initiation or the next story?" I pulled the new refill towards me.

"The next story."

I watched the ripples of my drink splash on the ice cubes. Was it time for another bad one, or should I stick with a more lighthearted one? There had to be a balance and I did give one of each already.

Screw it.

"I got another family story for you." I looked at her. "You still with me?"

Winter nodded and nursed her drink as she waited for the next memory.


And that's how the story will wrap up for the 2016 year. Like I said when I started it, this story will be updated when I feel I have made the chapter solid and believable. So the next one will come in due time. Thanks again for the support, and I wish you all a Happy New Year!