Bab 1907: 137
Black Rose Blooms SilverCyberQueen_Jolyne
Chapter 137
"Tai."
"Qrow."
"Xiao Long."
"Schnee."
"Frigid bitch."
"Old man."
"... Wow, you two really don't like each other," Tai muttered, scratching his head as Specialist Winter Schnee glared at Qrow, who was seated behind what used to be Professor Ozpin's desk before the man's untimely death. Poor man, having had all that time to record a final message, but his body hadn't been found for nearly two months after that explosion blew out a hole in the side of the plateau that Beacon sat on. "Qrow, seriously, what's up with you? You don't even know this woman. Also, Specialist Schnee is like, half our age-"
"Just because I am half your age does not make me lesser, Xiao Long."
"I wasn't saying that. Look, Qrow, you're ridiculous, Specialist Schnee… please stop holding a grudge against my idiot brother in law for what he said to you when he was drunk six years ago," Tai tried placating the both of them, grimacing and holding up his hands as though trying to soothe two particularly angry and aggressive dogs.
Not for the first time in the last thirty seconds, Tai wished he hadn't left Zwei in the quarters that Qrow had given him access too. Specialist Schnee liked dogs, right? Weiss said as much, that everyone bar her father in her family was an ardent dog lover and it was one of the few opinions the four born Schnees shared.
Jacques could go bite the wrong end of Crescent Rose was the other opinion they shared.
Hm.
Tai privately hoped that Ruby would wake up while that bastard was in Vale, if only because he knew how much Ruby had an overwhelming need to beat the shit out of abusers and bastards like Jacques.
"Only if he apologizes for calling me a frigid bitch!" Winter hissed back, glaring daggers at Qrow as she crossed her arms and stood there, her Aura flashing around her with enough strength that even Tai thought it was weirdly strong for her age and experience, thin arms of frost starting to ice over the floor as a chill wind echoed through the entire office… to which Qrow responded with his own ominous breeze and cloak of darkness that felt like roiling smoke and the sensation of sins crawling up one's back.
Sigh.
This was why he couldn't have nice things.
"Maybe if you stopped being an uptight frigid bitch that's everything I hate about Atlas, I'd feel sorry for treating you like shit! How the fuck are you more of a prissy princess than your sister when you're the one who ran away from home!?" Qrow spat back, glaring with open antagonism as he slammed Harbinger II against the floor, pointed tip scraping against the tiles as he just barely controlled his strength enough to avoid damaging the office itself. "Can't believe Tai thought it was a good idea to bring you over- Tai why the fuck did you think I'd want this bitch running shit around here, huh? She's not only part of the fucking Atlesian Military , but she's also a goddamn Schnee! The only good one of them on this planet right now is getting fucked by her girlfriends in Menagerie!"
"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK OF MY SISTER WITH SUCH CRASS TERMS YOU DISGUSTING CUR!" Winter immediately stepped in to defend her sister, drawing her sword and dashing forward so fast that she almost became a blur… only to slam blade first into Taiyang's waiting hand as the man seemed to teleport between her and Qrow. Her blade sparked uselessly against Taiyang's golden Aura, the feeling of blazing sunlight bearing down and washing away the horrific, ominous chill that swept over the office. In an instant, the traces of frost and the sound of cawing disappeared in favor of the distant flicker of roaring flames and the weight of the summer sun bearing down on both Qrow and Winter alike. "Damn you Xiao Long, let me strike him down where he stands! He will pay for this- this insult to my family name!"
"Easy! Dammit, shut up both of you! Qrow, could you be any more obvious right now!? Ruby isn't fucking dead yet so trying to hurt yourself because you think you deserve it is getting old!" Tai shouted, barely holding back his rage as he held Harbinger II in his other hand, struggling ever so slightly to hold the two apart, glaring at each of them in turn with as much fatherly disapproval as he could manage. He knew exactly what Qrow was doing, he knew exactly the kind of self destructive behavior his old teammate and brother in law was trying to resurrect- he'd done it when Raven left, he'd done it when Summer died, he'd done it when Yang and Ruby nearly died in the woods, he'd done it for years and years after for every single failure he'd had. Except now, he was trying to commit suicide by Specialist instead of drinking himself to death.
Dumb bastard.
"And you, Schnee! You're a military professional, why are you letting this asshole provoke you like this? Can you two not pretend that you have an important job to do that doesn't involve being at each other's throats? Qrow, you're the only one here who can run the goddamn school the way Oz needs you to since Glynda decided to leave. Winter, you're here to keep everything running safely and make sure that nothing like the Cataclysm happens again until we're damn sure that Vale is back up to previous strength or better. So both of you sit down, shut up, and work together or I will make you do so."
There was a moment of silence for a long few seconds, both Winter and Qrow staring at him without speaking as he projected every ounce of his authority that he could, voice echoing ever so slightly as his Aura flared and brought the slightest lick of flame with it from how agitated and tired he was.
He sighed, then shook his head as he let go of the two weapons in his hands and sat back down with a nearly exhausted slump. After lifting heavy things and helping with reconstruction for days, weeks, months on end, he was so fucking tired and Qrow's idiocy mixed with the Specialist's temper wasn't helping in the slightest.
"Qrow. Just. Don't think about Ruby for now. I know it's hard- I know it's damn hard for both of us. But the school needs you to step up and be responsible. Winter… just do your thing and pretend he isn't there."
"... Very well. I can… tolerate… his presence if he doesn't resort to petty provocations and name calling again," Winter spoke slowly, as if she couldn't believe the words coming out of her own mouth. "I still don't like you, Branwen."
"The feeling is mutual, but at least your sister's got a good head on her shoulders," Qrow answered in kind, groaning as he fell back into his temporary seat of office and slid Harbinger II back into its harness as he slumped and stared down at the tabletop full of files that he'd need to go over and run through before the new school year could start. "Right… fuck. Well. Guess we'd better get to the actual meeting part of this meeting instead of trying to strangle each other. Schnee, I need you and your Ace Ops buddies to try and handle shit in Vale. I'm talking criminal activity by the way. No one wants to try and attract more grimm in this environment, even with the giant radio tower of a castle over there drawing them all towards it to eat 'em. Far as we know, if we make too much of a fuss, a bunch of grimm are gonna try and go to the hell castle through Vale instead of going around. So. Make sure no one's making any big trouble. White Fang should be pretty much done by now, but that doesn't mean the faunus are happy."
"And if things turn violent?" Winter asked, raising an eyebrow as she sat at attention, somewhat more willing to listen to Qrow now that he was actually acting like he was in charge instead of just being a petulant man baby. "What then?"
"Stop the fighting. Don't hurt anyone, try and talk 'em down. Most people'll run if they see you pull a Huntsman weapon. People are still hurting, shit's still popping up after months… there's a lot of infrastructure damage. Vale council needs to be kept in line too- make sure every rich bastard dumps out money to fix the city," Qrow answered, snorting as he pulled up the files necessary- after spending so many years working for Oz, he knew the file structure of Ozpin's computer better than most, so it was easy. "Tai… I need your help running this damn school. I can't do it myself, and Glynda's still gone for some fucking reason that we're not gonna know until she gets to one of Mistral's major CCT stations and ask."
"Sure. I'll handle what you can't. Can't stay at home too long anyway, too quiet," Tai sighed, crossing his arms as his Aura burned down and left the room feeling almost back to normal, as if it hadn't hit the worst part of two temperature extremes in close succession. "The other staff'll probably help the heavy lifting too, I think. Except Barty, he's…"
"Already working himself half to death as it is and I refuse to let him switch from coffee to energy drinks," Qrow deadpanned. "Yeah. I know. Dumbass."
"Right, just checking."
Qrow nodded, then leaned back fully and let the projections fall as he absentmindedly reached for a flask that hadn't been there in half a decade now. "Gods… what a fucked up set of circumstances. Right. That's pretty much everything in basics… let's talk about actual specifics about where you two are needed most."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone