Author's Notes:

Well... heya! Back, after what, half a year? Life has been very, very hectic. In that time, I wrote a bit, rewrote, and repeated this for months. I worked on other projects, tried writing for my Ruby fic, tried restarting things... it didn't go well. Then, after all of that, I got diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. I won't go into it, but I spent a long, long time in chemotherapy, and was too sick to write a word. Now, I'm still recovering, but I have more time and my mood to write is... shaky, but it's there.

I do have a new policy, though. From now on - unless I change my mind, which happens sometimes - I'm going to focus JUST on this fic. This is the most fun to write at the moment, and I have the most plans for this one. So please, leave a review, let me know how it is. You may notice a few retcons, a few shifts in writing style, just be aware that I started this chapter in May, and finished it... today. Things might be a little rocky.

Enjoy!

To Hell and Back Again
Part 1

Waking up in a shack in the middle of the woods was weird. It smelled of a half-rotten salad, and the fact that I had, the night before, been miles away was disturbing to say the least. It wasn't something I'd ever want to do again, but… well, it was certainly better than coming to with a black bag over my head and my hands tied behind my back.

Pretty much anything would be better than that, now that I think about it.

"He's up," an unfamiliar woman's voice calls angrily, pulling the bag from my head and making me wince. The light in here is blinding, but it doesn't take long for my eyes to adjust. I'm in a tower, likely the same tower I last remember being in… but I'm facing a massive window, looking down upon the valleyed city from high, high above. The bindings on my hands burn with every movement, some kind of rope.

""Don't hurt him!" I hear Summer squeak out, only to feel directly her request being ignored as something hard slams into the back of my head. Owww…

"Didn't take him long to wake up," a deep, gravelly voice comments. "I hit him hard, too…"

"Qrow!" Summer yells as I'm turned to face the small group.

It's a large room, and I'm near the back. Three people surround me, and I'm left to wonder how exactly I got into this position. The room is ornate, wooden, decorated in white and blue, themed like an oasis in the sands, with a desk behind the three. Headmaster's room, then.

[Savior of Remnant]
Summer Rose

[Bringer of Misfortune]
Qrow Branwen

[Forever Fallen]
Dorothy Gale

Why… the hell… does everyone have such a dramatic title…? I'm a goddamn petty thief! Forever Fallen? Bringer of Misfortune? Why is Summer, the Savior of Remnant, standing beside two obvious villains?

The man, Qrow, leans in and grabs my neck, pushing me and the chair back. "Alright then, kid," he starts, red eyes narrowing as he stares me down. He can't be older than Summer, and yet he reeks of my least favorite shelter. "You're going to tell us why exactly you were listening in on my friends here."

"Qrow!" Summer repeats, punching at his back. "He's a kid! He doesn't know any better!"

"And I didn't kill him, now did I? I just knocked him around a bit," Qrow responds, continuing to stare me down for a moment before pulling back. "So go on, kid. Lie through your teeth."

Easier said than done. "Right…" I start hoarsely, clearing my throat and shifting in my bindings. I try to start loosening the bonds as I talk. "Would you believe that I had a quest to do it…?"

"Ha." Qrow responds blankly, folding his arms and glaring at Summer for a moment. "He followed you to Shade, and you thought nothing of it. How do you believe someone who says they just so happened to be in a hurry to get to Shade, but won't take a carriage? The route you took, and the story he gave, none of it made sense."

"So you were the one following us…" I mutter, looking up at the young man.

Congratulations!

You have unlocked the new Skill:

Escape Bindings
Passive: None
Active: Escape specified binding instantly.
Activation: Think of, mouth, or speak the words 'escape (wrists, ankles, fingers, etc.)'
Cost: 100 AP

Helpful, as always, but vague… as always. Would the bindings just fall off? What is leveling supposed to do if there's no passive? Qrow narrows his eyes at me, then smirks. "Observant little shit, isn't he," Qrow mutters to Dorothy, who nods in agreement. I do tend to be observant, don't I… even before the whole skill dedicated to it. "Observant and nosey. Now, besides this 'quest,' why did you listen in? What did you hear?"

Somebody's asking the big questions now. "I listened in because why not, and I heard everything," I answer, making Qrow narrow his eyes and Summer shift nervously.

"Everything being?" Qrow asks, only to receive my silence as a response. "Well? What did you hear? You a mute all the sudden?"

"No, I'm just not stupid," I mutter, looking between the three. My legs have been bound, too, and all of it far too tight to be comfortable. "I eavesdropped because it's what I do. I know things, otherwise I'm out of the loop. If I'm out of the loop with… three Huntsmen, then I'm just some Grimm fodder."

Summer frowns, about to speak up when Dorothy interrupts. "It's what you do? How old are you, and why is a kid an informant for-"

"That's not what he means," Qrow once again interrupts darkly, stepping back and pulling out a flask. "From what I heard, kid's a criminal. 'What he does' is gather information. So he can steal, or cheat, or lie, or do anything he wants with it. If you really did just stumble across this, kid…"

Summer finally takes the moment to step forwards, frowning. "Roman, please tell us what you heard. We talked about, um… a lot, so it'd be helpful if we knew, that way we could explain things."

"That way you could lie your way around what I heard, and ignore everything else," I respond blankly. "I heard everything, so explain everything."

"He heard nothing," Dorothy seems to realize, narrowing her eyes at me. I finally look her over, and I regret it. She's old, far older than the two beside her, and yet it's obvious she's a Huntress. There's not a single wrinkle on her tanned skin, and her long hazel hair cascades down her back like a wavy waterfall. She's in what I can only assume to be traditional Vacuan clothing, a white, short-sleeved dress shirt with an orange vest over the top, complete with thin white pants.

"He heard nothing important," she continues, shaking her head at the two, "but you two have tied him up and made everything serious, so now he pretends in the hopes that we just tell him everything."

Dorothy's shimmering blue eyes, in stark contrast to the red and silver of the other two, narrow in false discovery. She's tall, taller than the others, and I'd complement her form if she weren't likely some thirty years older than me. Qrow almost seems to believe her, sitting back casually onto the large semicircular desk in the center of the room, until…

Well, until I make some serious assumptions, and hope for the best. "I heard nothing, right… Should I go tell Salem what I heard, instead? That there's no maiden here?"

Qrow and Summer both have similar looks of surprise and horror, while Dorothy sets her foot between my legs, pushing against the chair and scooting me back towards the window. It's a wordless reminder that I could very easily be kicked out of the window, fall for nearly half a minute, and die horribly.

"O-Okay," Summer starts, gently easing Dorothy away. "Roman… you really don't want to do that. We really, really can't tell you everything, but Salem is a very, very bad person. Qrow… How about… you take Roman back to that village, get his weapon! I'll finish the… uh… talk… and then meet you there! We can take Roman to Ozpin, he'll know what to do."

Qrow looks at Summer as if she'd just grown another head, and the Headmistress beside him has a similar look. "You can't be serious. You met him, what, three days ago, and already he's listened in on the number one secret not to be told to anyone.You're just suggesting we let him go?"

"I'm right here..." I quietly remind my little interrogation crew, leaning back with a grimace as Dorothy once again pushes me ever closer to the window behind me.

"Not let him go! Just stay with him, make sure he knows why he shouldn't… tell people, and then Ozpin will sort it all out! He's sixteen, Qrow!" Summer continues, frowning and glancing at me in worry.

Qrow scoffs, looking like he's about to say something, before he gives up. Something tells me 'annoyingly stubborn' is a trait I share with the Savior of Remnant.

"You can't seriously be considering this," Dorothy mutters, looking over the two younger Hunters with a critical gaze. Her blue eyes again flicker to me, arms crossed beneath her breasts. "His age should not matter when information is this critical…"

Summer shakes her head quickly, moving behind me and already starting to pull away at my bindings. "Ozpin let both me and Qrow in when we were only eighteen. Roman's a good person, he just…"

"Right here," I mumble yet again as my hands come free. I'm understandably slow to bring them in front of me, else Dorothy cut them off in a panic. "This was all a big misunderstanding, but now that I know, I want an explanation. Salem, maidens, all of it."

Qrow clicks his tongue. "Not a chance. I'll take you back to the village, then Summer can deal with you. I'm already sick of your voice."

Not the first time I've heard that. Summer unties my legs, and I almost whisper my thanks, until I remember exactly who tied me up in the first place. The silver-eyed savior steps back, and I blink as six eyes watch me all at once.

Quest Updated!

Thus Kindly I Scatter

COMPLETE: Follow Summer Rose

Retrieve Melodic Cudgel

"Well…" I begin, rubbing my wrists. I glance down at my grungy black shirt and white pants which have since been thoroughly dirtied. "Is it too much to ask for some nice clothes…?"

/-/

"Ew."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, kid."

I scoff, glaring at Qrow in the mirror. My greatest fears have come to life today, and I'm not talking about nearly being beheaded by a giant monster bear. My perfect hair is a mess, black bags hang under my poor eyes, my holy, pale skin has been sullied by dirt and grime. Worst of all, my eyeshadow has long smudged, making me look like a panda who's seconds away from vomiting.

"I need a shower, now," I growl, looking around the small clothing shop. "I cannot be seen like this any longer, damnit."

Qrow laughs, only for me to shove him out of the way. Of course he's laughing at me, I look ridiculous! I know my sizes and measurements by heart, so it doesn't take me long to find a decent outfit. I've never looked good in anything but white, which is really annoying for obvious reasons.

A white, long-sleeved shirt, along with some jet black dress pants… it'll have to do. Checking out with the bag of new clothes, I nab a hat from a rack and slip it into my inventory when nobody's looking. Why didn't I just steal everything?

"Sorry to break it to you, kid, but there ain't exactly many showers around here," Qrow taunts as we leave. His red eyes burn a hole into the back of my head, and despite his teasing I'm fully aware of how serious he's taking this.

"Surely there's one in the nearest inn," I reason, ignoring Qrow's constant watch. All I recieve is a grunt in response, and so I take that as a… maybe?

Shrugging my shoulders, I keep my head low and wander the city streets, looking for an inn. Vacuo is a… storied place. 'If you can survive there, you're welcomed there.' A nice tagline, but pretty damned false as all of them are.

Mountains of dull, sandy rock tower around the city much like skyscrapers back home. Houses, big and small, line every inch of every side. This is a city, the capital city. Not exactly hard to survive in a place like this.

Tanned rock, dusty and traveled, turns to grey, organized cobble beneath our feet. One of many centers in the city, a massive fountain sits surrounded by palm trees and benches, with people crowding the wide walkways leading in four separate directions. Up above, winding roads allow for cars, buses, and motorcycles to fly by, casting much needed shade on the scalding streets below.

Shops, stores, cafes, and other buildings cramp against one another in a circle around the center, stacking themselves up into tall towers of commerce. One such place, thankfully sat at street level, hangs a large sign from above its door. Home Away From Home, an inn, by the looks of it. Friendly, welcoming art is plastered to the large window, and little postcards from different Vacuan cities are taped all along its edges.

Qrow and I both silently note the symbol in the bottom corner of the window, a silhouette of a head with animal ears crossed out in red.

Pushing his way inside, Qrow immediately takes a swig of his mystery flask, getting a confused and immediately disappointed look from the woman working at the desk. I follow him in, and am about to start the Roman Torchwick patented introduction when Qrow loudly burps and leans into the desk.

"My friend needs a shower. Hasn't had one in weeks. Heh." Qrow burps again, making the woman lean back uncomfortably. There's a moment, just a single one, where I debate slamming him in the back of the head with my baton. That'd probably go badly.

Instead, I turn away from the oncoming disaster and look around. Thankfully empty, this little inn has only one little waiting room, with six comfy-looking chairs all color coded to be blue and white, like the colors of an oasis. A vine, laden with budding pink flowers, swirls and wraps around the walls and low ceiling, and a small water fountain sits atop a glass table in the center. Vacuans like their water…

"Hear that?" Qrow asks me, elbowing me far too hard in the back. "Free, how sweet is that? Public baths…" He trails off, looking back at the disturbed hostess. "Y'know, sweetheart, I could live here. Oasis is so much nicer than Vale, I tell ya…"

Slipping into the only door available and shutting it before I can hear any more of that trainwreck, I sigh. A hall, short and simple, with four labeled doors on either side and a door at the end with the symbol of water. Could be a bit less vague about it…

Stepping into the public showers, I'm relieved to find it empty. I set the bag near the door, then take a removable showerhead and wrap it around the handle to jam it shut. I am not being seen naked.

I pull off my old, horrid clothes, and start to finally wash. Finally, there's some time to actually think. Time to plan, time to… recuperate. It feels odd, and actually a bit uncomfortable. There's so much to go over. Salem, maidens… what did I get myself into with this quest?

More importantly, my semblance still hasn't explained itself. If this is really like some… video game, then is this quest a story quest? THE story quest? Am I the main character? I can't be, with a title like 'Petty Thief.' Not when Summer is there being the Savior of Remnant, nor when the man she's traveling with who acts twice his age has a title so… villain-y.

I sigh, cleaning off my eyes and face. My semblance… if it even is a semblance… brings about so many questions that I don't even know what I don't know. AURA, AP, HP, abilities, skills, all of this… where does it end? What level is the average Huntsman, do they use skills like I do?

Turning off the shower and drying myself off with a stream of boiling air that is probably pumped straight from outside, I manage to dress myself without a mirror, reaching into my inventory and pulling out the hat. It's nothing special, a bowler cap with a dull red ribbon tied around it, but it fits, and it helps cover the mess that is my poor hair.

Unjamming the door and hopping out with a new spring to each step, I leave behind my bag of old clothes with confidence. Someone else can deal with that! The end of the hall comes quickly, and I open the door back to the welcoming little foyer… finding the cute little hostess hunched over her desk, looking ready to vomit, and Qrow nowhere in sight.

Don't really know what else I expected.

Ignoring the lady and silently making my way outside, I'm unsurprised to find Qrow on a nearby bench, drinking away his sorrows.

"Something tells me you are less charming than you think you are," I speak up as I approach, hands behind my back. The poor man has the gall to actually look scorned, huffing loudly as he stands.

"You try doing better, hot shot. She wouldn't know handsome if it… it…"

"Swept her off her feet in a romantic gesture?"

"Yeah, whatever," Qrow shrugs, grumbling to himself. "If you're done crying about how you look, we need to get going. Summer will probably beat us there at this rate, and I'm already ready to drop you off to whoever the hell will take you."

"Aww, you do a lovely impression of every attempted foster family," I coo teasingly, smiling as Qrow leads me along.

"Oh, what, am I getting the sob story so soon?" Qrow jabs back, not even bothering to look at me as he stumbles ahead.

"You know, I like Summer a lot more," I start, deciding against goading the man further. "Are you two partners? From an old Huntsmen team, or something?"

"This ain't an interview, kid, you don't get to ask questions."

I roll my eyes, reaching to my baton - still shoved into a pocket - and tapping it. I need more ammunition, but what does it even use…? I wasn't exactly paying attention when I fired it last, so does it use bullets, or Dust, or neither…?

A crash of a nearby window makes me pause. It came from above, and I instinctively grab hold of my hat, shielding my eyes in case of falling glass. Once the telltale shatter hits the hard stone of the street, I look up.

You Have Received a Quest!

Oasis Eleven

-Stop the Bank Robbery!

Rewards:

8000 XP - 500 Lien

A shadowy figure flies out of a window countless stories up, hooking onto hanging sign and using it to throw themselves across to an adjacent tower. Qrow audibly curses, but I'm already started up the metal stairs crudely drilled into the side of the cramped tower.

There's a yell from below, then several louder ones from above. Why am I doing this? This is a new quest, failing it isn't going to kill Summer. Still… more XP, more Lien, and a chance to try some new abilities. I reach the top of the stairs, a ladder reaching the roof, and climb it.

What I expect when I reach the top is not what I get. A clothesline runs from this building to an adjacent one, thin and unlikely to carry more weight than the shirts and pants that hang from it. The towers are nothing like the skyscrapers of Vale, of varying heights little more than buildings stacked on top of one another. The sun shines down, uninhibited at this height, giving me a perfect view of the bank robber I'm to be chasing.

A girl, who can't be any older than I am, already halfway across the clothesline.

Shit.

"Hey!" I call out to the girl, running up to the edge and stopping myself before my legs can throw me to my death. "Be careful! You can't just-"

A shard of glass flies towards me, and I stumble out of the way at the last moment, eyes wide. The girl's eyes, a fiery vermilion, are wide and panicked, her long black hair covering half of her face as she continues to carefully walk across the chasm.

"I'm not a cop," I continue, looking back and cursing as Qrow arrives, the massive sword on his back really not helping the situation. "And… shit, neither is he! Just come back before you fall off and die! That is NOT going to hold!"

The girl doesn't respond, looking down at her feet as she continues across. Hanging from one arm is a duffel bag, probably full of enough lien to make me drool in any other situation. The only problem is that it's probably far heavier than the girl herself.

I curse under my breath, looking down at the quickly faltering clothesline and then back at Qrow. I don't even have to say anything, thankfully, for him to dash forwards. Effortlessly, he jumps out into the chasm, grabbing the girl just as the line snaps beneath her, landing on the opposite roof with a screaming ball of crime in his arms.

I… don't bother trying to repeat Qrow's heroics, not that I could even if I wanted to. Looking down at the streets far below, and the police officers quickly rushing up the steps of the opposite building, I almost feel… bad.

I mean, I never resorted to something as big as bank robbery, because I didn't have to to survive. Bank robberies are large scale operations, with multiple…

Multiple criminals involved...

I look back at the bank, furrowing my brow and slowly walking up to the edge of the roof. The bank is stuffed into an opposite tower, its front window shattered and a few police officers already inside.

Quest Complete!

Reward: 8000 XP - 500 Lien

But was it really? Was that all, just a stupid kid who got desperate enough to try something like that? Watching Qrow hand over the teenager, I silently sigh. She's thrown in handcuffs, and I can't hear what they're saying, but Qrow gestures to me and I get a look from one officer that strikes fear into the hearts of petty thieves everywhere.

Thankfully, I don't seem to be recognized. Climbing back down and meeting back up with Qrow, I don't stick around to watch the poor girl get toted off by police. I'm still… curious as to her plan, but it doesn't matter now. Qrow ushers me along, and we continue our way out of the city. I'm just glad I didn't have to stick around to get interviewed.

"So you gonna tell me what your plan was," Qrow starts up, glancing up at the winding roads above. We're starting to reach the edge of the bowl that is Oasis, and I can tell I'm not the only one really not looking forward to climbing so many steps. "Or are we just going to pretend that didn't happen?"

"It happened," I shrug, watching Qrow's back. "I didn't really have a plan, and I didn't really do much. Almost got impaled… that's about it."

Qrow nods, chuckling to himself. Of course he'd find my near death experience funny. "That you did… Summer told me you wanted to become a Huntsman. You barely handled yourself against an Ursa, you couldn't even stop a little girl from crossing a clothesline, and you've been wearing your hat backwards since you very badly attempted to steal it."

I sputter and immediately fix my hat. Do bowler hats even have a front and back? I curse, looking at the inside for some kind of tag while Qrow laughs. He can laugh all he wants! I slip the hat on right and shake my head with a grumble, content to stew in silence as we make our way to the first of many steps up the mountain.

Surprisingly, Qrow accepts the silence. I know it won't last, but it's still nice nonetheless. Stairs carved into the stone itself shift to metal, grated stairways that curl around buildings, only to return to stone. Railings thankfully run along the sides, preventing any stupid children from falling, but they're flimsy at best. Even in the capital, in such a massive, bustling city, safety takes a back seat to beauty.

They're all the same…

"Criminal out of necessity. Always hated that sob story, you know that? There are ways to survive without hurting people. Always have been, always will be."

"I don't hurt people," I mumble, only half interested in the conversation. Is white good or bad for heat…? Hard to remember when I'm boiling alive. "I just stole. That's literally it. Pickpocketed some Lien, stole a car once… kid stuff, you know."

"Right," Qrow chuckles softly, shaking his head and rubbing the nape of his neck. "You really picked a bad person to try to swindle, kid. Summer let you come with her for some reason, but I'm just curious as to why you needed to follow her."

I hum to myself, shrugging my shoulders. Can't tell him the real reason, since I don't know it. "Just felt like she was important. I didn't exactly have a plan, but she looked the real 'rich hero' type, and Shade Academy was on the eventual to-do list…"

"Why Shade?" Qrow asks immediately, hands in his pockets. He's hunched over even while he walks, like he really is twice his age. "Beacon's probably the best Academy you're gonna get as a thief. Ozpin's the real welcoming type."

"I didn't go to Signal," I admit easily, smirking. "I figured it'd be easier to forge documents if I went to a different Kingdom."

Qrow glances back at me, piercing red meeting casual green. Somehow, I get the feeling he doesn't believe me. He lets it drop, though, and we finally reach the summit along the edge of the city.

It's… still breathtaking, even while the sun above tries to kill me, and people pass by in droves. Nothing but desert in every direction outside of the city, though, and the path back to the village… It's a day's walk, as in a full day of walking, and in scorching heat…

Vacuo really is the worst, isn't it?

/-/

Like a badly suspended decoration in a children's play, the shattered moon hung static in the colorful dusk that is the sky. Someone let a kid with one too many crayons color up the horizon, a messy mix of pink and yellow and white that some people like Summer may consider pretty. Not I. Qrow doesn't seem to like it either, with all the grimacing he's doing. We're making great time, not bothering with the small talk and frequent stops Summer enjoyed.

Still, though, I may not get my weapon until night truly falls, and then that's one more day stuck traveling between a boiling desert and a humid rainforest. My semblance - that's what I'm going to call it from now on, even if it's not - thankfully allows me the pleasure of not needing to deal with sore feet, or sore legs, or sore… anything.

It's the little things.

Running a hand through my hair and then promptly readjusting my hat, I glance around. Nothing but plateaus, mountains, and rocks in every direction. Everything below the horizon is pitch black, a narrow time between twilight and night where we can just barely make out the stone beneath us. The paths are far less obvious out here, when there aren't forests to carve through, but Qrow is an expert on these things. He pretends to be, at least, and I'm not really one to argue.

Looking back at my shadow, barely visible in the strange, dark twilight, I sigh. It stretches off until I can't make it out from the shadow of the world itself. The darkness, the lack of color that slowly approaches us… it makes me paranoid. Everything does, but this… just a bit more than most things.

Observe.

Several blue boxes appear in front of my eyes, and though I'm still looking over my shoulder, as I turn my head I spot more boxes, to either side of us. Each one…

Uroboros

HP: 1000/1000

AP: 550/550

Uroboros… Every single one. My eyes widen and I quickly blink away the boxes, stuffing my hands in my pockets and wrapping my fingers around my baton. Unless they're all strangely named animals… then they're Grimm. Grimm are attracted to negativity, so just don't be scared… Easy! Roman Torchwick is never scared! Now to just… calm my heart a bit, and stop shaking.

"Something wrong, kid?" Qrow suddenly speaks up, the first time since we'd began our trek. I'd almost forgotten his voice, but it's oddly grounding.

"No, just…" I pause, clearing my throat. "They're… all around us, aren't they?"

Qrow chuckles, a soft, almost amused laugh. Asshat. "Yeah, they are. Being observant ain't always a good thing. Just don't walk off the path and we'll be fine." He cracks his neck, scratching his cheek and returning to silence.

Well good, I can handle silence. Definitely. I keep my eyes on the road, and on the quickly retreating sunlight, trying to keep myself from worrying about how we'll soon be bathed in darkness, surrounded by at least a dozen Grimm.

Grimm that… notably use AP, which I haven't seen on anyone but myself. Is that a bad sign? I shake my head, silently swallowing and closing my eyes. There's still a lot to figure out about my semblance, and a lot of unanswered questions, but that doesn't matter. I need to follow this quest, whether it's really a 'story' quest or otherwise, and that means getting my new weapon. Salem, maidens, all of that… not right now.

Stats.

STATISTICS

Name: Roman Torchwick

Level: 3 (8000/10000 XP)

HP: 200/200
AP: 300/300
AURA: 210/210

Title: Petty Thief

STR: 10 + 0

DEX: 16 + 0

CON: 10 + 0

WIS: 13 + 0

INT: 16 + 0

CHA: 16 + 0

LUC: 20 + 0

Free Points: 5

Still a petty thief… though, I did forget to put more points in, didn't I? And I'm pretty close to level four… I put three points into charisma, and two points into intelligence. I'll hopefully be able to get everything to twenty in a few levels, but those two seem like the most important right now. Won't help me fighting Grimm… but talking my way out of being kicked out of a building seems like a useful skill that I'd like to improve.

Observe Qrow

Name: Qrow Branwen

Level: 51

HP: 150/150
AURA: 15000/15000

Title: Bringer of Misfortune

So… it seems like, for normal people, HP never increases, only AURA. Interesting, but also a bit… strange. Does that mean I can survive more without aura? It must. Still, level 51 is… almost obscene compared to my measly level 3, and Summer hadn't even shown a level when I'd observed her earlier. Does that mean she's an even higher level, or that there's something odd happening with her…?

"You… and Summer," I start, trying to keep my mind off of the surrounding Grimm as I walk beside Qrow. "You were teammates, weren't you? Back whenever you two were young?"

"What gives you that impression?" Qrow bites back, narrowing his red eyes at me. In the fading light, they almost seem to glow. "Like I said earlier, this isn't an interview. You don't ask the questions."

"Well, I'd asked earlier, and you'd immediately deflected." I shrug, forcing a smirk onto my face, even if he can't see it in the approaching dark. "You two seem the same age, and Summer seems pretty close to you. Plus… she did mention Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon, letting you and Qrow into the whole Salem loop together when you were both the same age, so…"

"So she said too much, again…" Qrow sighs, rubbing his cheek and hunching his shoulders. "You helped stop a robbery, so despite listening in on what you shouldn't have… whatever. We were teammates, yeah," he explains, glancing at me as the path slowly winds up a dune, "but it's not much of a team anymore. We all work on our own, for the most part, or in pairs. Point is, kid, we're professional Huntsmen."

I nod, sighing to myself and looking back up the path. There's a lot to ask, but little Qrow would actually answer. We reach the top of the dune just in time for the sun to finally leave its final colors in the sky behind, shadowy clouds quickly blotting out the moon and coating us in instant darkness.

Thankfully, our destination is just ahead, lights of the buildings bringing a faint glow to the border town. Shiruda, if I remember correctly. I'd told the man making my weapon to send it up the road to here once the commission had been finished. He'd mentioned a post office to pick up the weapon, so… Here's hoping he wasn't lying about not taking too long...

When we reach the bottom of the dune, Qrow walks ahead, looking over his shoulder at me. "Grab your weapon and meet me at the tavern. I'll be askin' around for Summer… if she isn't here yet, then we'll find a room to rent."

I nod, slipping through the town's gate with Qrow and sighing to myself. I hadn't gotten a proper tour of the city last time Summer and I'd passed through, so I have to search for the office. Am I going to have to show ID…? The city is an interesting one, a mix of the Vacuo I'd seen in Oasis and the Vale village we'd passed through on the way here. Some buildings stand tall, stacked with small houses and painted with vibrant blues, while others are bigger but stouter, with decorated roofs that stand on their own, separate from one another. It's easy to tell, now, which culture is which, but strange to see them mesh.

The marketplace near the walls is particularly interesting, with many stalls shambled together and crowded, despite shops and indoor markets lining the cobbled streets. A mix of peoples, with a mix of incomes, I'd guess. Passing by a few stalls that are somehow still open this late, I wave my hand and ignore the apples and fish and meats offered to me. It does make me wonder how they grow things here, where arid land meets greenery, but I'm not interested in the agricultural studies of some town in the middle of nowhere.

It doesn't take too long to find the post office I'm looking for, a small building with a sign of an envelope above the door that I'd almost call… cute. Since the invention of the CCTS nearly seventy years ago, letters have started falling out of style altogether. Even still, using the CCTS has only become an option for the general public in recent years, with the invention of scrolls to help access it.

I step inside, greeted with what I can only describe as the ugliest room I have ever seen. Putting a hand over my mouth to help stop the gagging, my eyes scan over light green walls, faded even further to look like sickness itself. Boxes upon boxes have been stacked on the far wall, with a completely off colored row of post office boxes filling the leftmost wall. A cramped desk sits across from them, with a door behind it. Seems nobody's even here this late, and yet the door was left unlocked.

Do they want me to steal things?

I dig through boxes, finding the one with my name on it, and slip it under my arm. I'd steal, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, and… I don't really want to get arrested here. Before I can vomit - it'd blend in with the walls, trust me - I escape that rechid office and breathe fresh air, shaking my head. Next… 'the tavern.' Assuming Qrow had meant the inn I'd stayed at with Summer, since the floor below had been a bar full of drunks, I make my way down the dark streets, ready to finally have a good night's rest.

Quest Updated!

Thus Kindly I Scatter

COMPLETE: Retrieve Melodic Cudgel

Prevent the Destruction of Shade Academy