XOXO
A Decade Ago
XOXO
Raven was leaving.
Curtain held aside, I peeked through the blinds of one of my bedroom windows, looking down into the backyard. She stood at the center of the fenced area, fully geared with her katana drawn, its dark red blade held out beside her, the dust too dark to reflect the moonlight above like most weapons would.
My eyes tingled, Sharingan activated.
Maybe I should try to stop her.
But my Sharingan was still developing and I had no clue where that development would come to an end. I couldn't imagine any situation where it'd be useless but as it was now, it didn't exactly act as some perfect deterrent or weapon against Salem. But should Ruby be born, she'd have silver eyes, one of Remnant's most effective tools against anything Grimm related. It might not be able to kill Salem, but it wasn't something to be ignored.
I couldn't risk it.
Raven raised her sword arm. A quick imperfect swing, her dark aura rushing up through her arm, then the weapon itself, and a portal as dark as her aura formed, red energy swirling all about it.
The entire motion was burned into my memory.
Then she just stood there, staring into the dark gateway.
Her head turned.
Raven was decisive, never emotional. She did not cry.
I wasn't sure when I decided that or if it had even been a conscious decision to begin with, but nevertheless, that conclusion was one I'd long since come to.
The unsure swing of her blade when she made the portal. The slight shake now plaguing that hand. The tear building in the corner of her eye. My Sharingan refused to miss any of it, every detail I picked up on spitting in the face of the conclusion I'd been so sure of.
I turned away, gaze settling on Yang who laid at the center of my bed, growing blonde hair spread across the sheets, blissfully unaware of what was going on.
Raven was making her choice.
And I didn't need her anymore.
XOXO
"You're burning the food, dad." I warned, glancing away from Yang who was intent on making feeding her as difficult as possible, trying to play with the spoon I was holding out for her.
"Oh." Snapping out of the idle daze he'd been in, Tai got to finishing up at the stove, isles turned off and three plates quickly being thrown together. "Thanks, Talon."
Two weeks had already passed since Raven left and changes had already set it. After the first day I didn't see much of Qrow anymore, whatever search there was for her no doubt being headed up by him. The same had been true of Summer but that'd quickly changed. Tai, meanwhile, tried his best to smile and make it seem as though nothing was wrong, time taken off from work for Yang and I, but he could only manage so much.
Plates made, one covered and left on the kitchen counters, Tai brought the two for us over, sliding mine over as he took the seat across from me. He pulled Yang's highchair closer to his side of the table, taking over feeding her, while I picked up a fork, poking at the burnt breakfast, not really interested in it.
Between the subdued attempts to get Yang to eat, none his genuine energy really in it, how often his attention kept jumping to the scroll beside his plate, and how little he was eating his own food, the whole situation was getting to him, little cracks in his spotty act giving that away.
But it wasn't just the cracks I was picking up on, my attention drawn towards the front door.
The door unlocked and opened.
Stepping in from the rain outside, Summer dropped the hood of her cloak and started undoing her boots. Tai was quick to stand up, kissing the babbling Yang's forehead, his scroll pocketed before he came around to ruffle my hair. "Be good for Summer, I'll be back." He said as he headed over to her.
I hummed, leaving them to their hushed conversation, my attention drawn back to my own aura.
"Tally!" Of course it didn't last long, Summer coming over and patting my shoulders, door locked behind Tai. "How's your morning going?" I opted to just hum, letting her move on to feeding Yang who'd been cheering for attention.
It was barely noticeable, but I could feel Tai's presence getting further. And Summer. I wouldn't go as far as to label it oppressive, but after she'd made the trip to Patch hers had only gotten stronger, impossible to ignore now that she was here. It was as if she was looming directly behind me despite having taken Tai's spot across the table.
The odd sense came with other things.
Anxiety, confusion, anger. At first, I thought the mixed feelings were my own, but it didn't take me long to realize that wasn't the case. It was more like they were brushing against mine, so weak that I couldn't always identify the specifics.
The bundle up echoes coming from their presences were their emotions.
I glanced up from my plate, watching Summer smile and coo at Yang, having a far easier time getting the girl to eat compared to me and Tai. Maybe she and the others were all putting up fronts to help sell the excuses they were feeding me about Raven while they looked for her, but it couldn't all be fake.
Those echoes were just their negativity. It was all distinctly not mine but unmistakably stronger the closer they were to me. Even now, the further Tai got, the tugs his anxiety and confusion had on me weakened along with his diminishing presence.
Raven's semblance was undeniably useful. This odd awareness that came with it was probably how she knew when those she was bonded with needed help.
But it was fucking annoying. She just sat around forced to remain hyperaware of everyone's presence whenever they were gathered together? To take in all those emotions? At least I had an off button, able to switch to another semblance on a whim, but this was all a constant for her.
"Something wrong?" Summer asked.
"Nothing." I muttered, trying to fight off a frown.
If this was how her semblance worked, no matter how far she went, she'd was being faced with a similar barrage of emotions, distance unable to get rid of it completely.
Apparently, that wasn't enough to change the decision she made.
XOXO
I twisted the knobs of the stove, turning it off and distributing the last bit of the prepared breakfast across three different plates. Covering all of them up, I backed off the step stool I used whenever I helped Tai in the kitchen and brought the plates to the dining room table.
That was breakfast prepared and one less thing for Tai to worry about.
I headed towards the back door, slipping on my shoes and grabbing my wooden sword, the lock clicking as I prepared to open the door.
"Tally?" Head raised over the couch, Summer, her hair a complete mess and one eye cracked open as she tried to peer through the darkness my Sharingan had no problem navigating, spotted me by the back door. "What are you doing?"
"Going out to train."
"Hmm, wait, I'll go with you." She groaned out, forcing herself up despite the grogginess.
Tai claimed to be heading back to work but I suspected he was trying to make some attempts of his own to get into contact with or find Raven, returning home far later than ever and only more anxious every time. Sometimes it was around the same time the general airship line stopped running, those days ending with Summer staying the night.
This was one of those days.
I waited a bit as she gathered up some stuff before walking out. Porch creaking on my way down its steps and damp grass crunched underfoot, I stopped in front of my usual training post, beginning the strikes that'd become muscle memory.
Yawning loudly and stretching to the point of raising herself onto her toes, Summer stepped up beside me, stopping in front of the training post that Raven was supposed to be at.
She watched for a time, but as always with Summer, silence didn't last.
"You know, I'm always surprised by how mature you can be. I don't think many kids your age are just deciding to make everyone breakfast and not ruining the entire kitchen." I continued my swings, half listening to her as she kneeled down to my level. "I know I'd probably burn the whole place down."
She chuckled lowly but I couldn't be bothered to share that amusement, focusing more intently on my strikes.
"But that doesn't mean you can't cry."
Cry? Raven leaving was something I saw coming. There wasn't a damn thing to be crying about.
Sharp thumps carried across the backyard, growing louder.
Raven had made her choice. Exactly like I did.
My next swing stopped in its track, Summer's hand holding the battered practice weapon in place. Her silver eyes were piercing, a seriousness to them that I'd never seen before. She didn't say anything.
"I watched her leave." I muttered, dropping my gaze to the ground. I'd kept that to myself, simply nodding along with whatever they had to say about her disappearance to avoid giving them any extra trouble. "I could've-"
"No." Summer said, voice firm. "I don't know what you saw, but you have nothing to do with why your mom isn't here now. She loves you, don't doubt that for a second."
But that only made it so much worse.
I'd just sat there. While she struggled and hesitated, I'd sat there and rationalized, turning my back on the whole thing. Even now, with her semblance at my fingertips and her distant presence tugging at the corner of my mind, I couldn't bring myself to put it to use.
She was abandoning us and I wasn't lifting a damn finger a stop it.
Summer moved, pulling me into her, my weapon slipping from my hand. "I-I don't really know why she left." Summer admitted what nobody else did, my fists curling and bottom lip curling into my mouth, teeth coming down hard enough to draw blood from it. "But you're not it." Summer whispered, her hug tightening.
She was right.
Tai, Yang, her, Qrow. I could feel them all. They were all closer, their presences the most prominent.
And yet everything they felt paled in comparison to the soul crushing echoes coming from Raven's distant presence, my gut twisting and stomach turning as I finally turned my attention to her.
Why was she choosing to leave? Why choose a bunch of murderers over her own family? Why do something causing her so much pain?
I reached up, forcing my aura to match Summer's, that overwhelming pain of Raven's vanishing. The change did nothing to ease the pangs in my chest or the burning of my eyes, my vision beginning to blur.
"It's alright." Summer whispered as I clutched onto her.
I didn't understand Raven. Not at all.
XOXO
Powerstone Goal: 500 (Met)
(A/N: And the central part of the last chapter continues. Interesting how hypocritical we can be isn't it? Our boy Talon our here wondering why Raven would do something that causes her pain yet managed to convince himself to just let her leave despite the fact that he's pretty much doing the same thing by choosing inaction. The next chapter will continue the flashback but there are a few surprises in there I doubt anyone could predict.
Does Raven's semblance actually work like this? I have no clue but its how I'll be interpreting it for this story. I think it fits her character at least in my opinion. No matter where she goes or what she does she can't shed the connection of those she's bonded with and all that comes with being that close to them.
As always, the link for those who want to read ahead:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
I'll see you all in the next chapter though which will be this weekend. You guys hit that goal a bit sooner than expected.