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Ruby's birthday is in a few months, so I need to get her a present. Which means that I want to get my semblance back so I can make up for last year. Problem is, I have no clue how to do that, I can still see my soul as well as Mom's thanks to the link we have, so I suppose my semblance isn't 100% blocked, just mostly. So if I just try to see the souls of other people, or look closer, then it should come back.

Right?

Eh, I can't think of anything else so it'll do for now.

So right now I'll focus on the 'definition' of the souls I see. Right now they look like blurs, but I can make out the general shape and color.

Mine is like... an island? or a doughnut I can't tell. In any case, there is a purple circle with either something black in the center or nothing it's not clear when the 'background' is black. I'll call it an island for simplicities' sake. Summer's soul is like a spinning white circle with streaks of silver in it. So for the next week, I'll try to make the image clearer, and then maybe look at other people's.

It's been a week and I'm starting to try and see Ruby's soul.

It gives me a headache whenever I do so, but progress is being made! For those wondering, Ruby's is a spinning red ball with silver flakes in it. Weirdly, the silver isn't as evenly distributed, but that must be an age thing. The only reason I start with Ruby is that since I can't make any weird soul objects I need to be in physical contact, and Ruby's one hell of a hugger.

Not that I'm abusing the fact that Ruby likes hugging for my benefit! I just don't... feel comfortable initiating hugs. That doesn't mean I don't like them, just that I'm scared they'll say no, and that's not a fun thing to think about.

I might be able to see Yang's soon, but I need to be in close contact for around a minute for my plan to work.

To my tails, I apologize in advance. Your sacrifice will not be in vain.

Cleaning my tails to get rid of all that could be on them *cough germs cough* I look down at my rough sketch of Yang's soul. It looks awful but for now, it'll have to do. Ruby's and Yang's souls have a lot in common, which makes sense as they share a father, but not as much in common as I would have thought. My theory is that merely living changes it's composition, so while one could theoretically get a rough estimate of the child's using the parents' it would never be perfect. But that is just a theory, and I hope I'm wrong as then I would need to find out if the parents' souls are the same now as back then and that is too much effort.

The next person I'll sketch is Qrow, whenever he decides to pop in, and then, best for last, Ruby. I'm going to use the best colored-pencils for that one.

I'm so confused right now.

Mom and Tai are out on a mission or something in Vale, so Qrow is here to make sure we don't burn down the house. Using the opportunity to it's fullest, I got Qrow's sketch by convincing him to do an arm-wrestling contest - fairly sure he saw right through me, but eh, I got what I needed- and it looks similar to Yang's. More similar than Ruby's.

What?

Is Qrow Yang's father? Nononono that's stupid. Besides, from what I remember of Ruby's soul, Qrow seems very slightly closer to Ruby than Yang, though not by much.

I have some questions for the bird-brain.

"What do you mean you have a twin?" I asked, near shouting with the information that was just revealed to me.

Groaning, Qrow attempted to start explaining himself before I cut him off. "Yeah, yeah 'when a mommy and a daddy love each other-' I get that. I get how twins work. But what do you mean by 'I have a twin sister.'"

Qrow looked down at his flask, incredibly disappointed in how empty it was at the moment. "My sis Raven -yes, yes, funny haha birds- was part of team STRQ, Tai and Raven got hitched and out popped Yang. When Yang was a few months old though, Raven left without a word. Tai got pretty shaken up-"

"And Mom and Tai got married." I interrupted, not noticing Qrow's grip on the flask tighten just a bit.

Qrow sighed, seemingly want to end the conversation as soon as possible. "So you can figure out why we don't talk about it, hell for the first month, Tai would start bawling whenever he heard the call of a raven."

"Why would he cry at the sound of a raven? How does he know what a raven sounds like?" I asked, knowing that I was missing some information, but not what.

Qrow never looked so pissed to be sober. "Long story short, it was a signal she used to let others know she was there without getting attention from hostiles."

It was my turn to sigh. Something seemed off about the explanation, but I knew that's the best I was going to get. Aside from that though, I know that I'm missing something. Some link between this that would make this whole mess makes so much more sense, but I can't figure it out. Sighing I pulled out a flask of my own and drank from it. It was Qrow's birthday present for me, and when I first got it, it had apple juice in it, but Qrow had changed the color with dye to make it look like rum. Mom nearly had a heart attack when I poured some out and drank it.

Fun times!

Finishing up the apple juice, I place it next to Qrow's and start the next step of my prank. I sent a text to Yang, who should be coming downstairs as a distraction, any moment now.

"Hey, uncle Qrow! You wanna get some pictures of Ruby in a strawberry onesie?" Yang asked. She was a much better actor than I first thought. I should get her something extra for this.

Qrow snorted, his trademark smirk on his face. "Yeah kid, just let me fill this up first." He grabbed his flask and went to the kitchen, thankfully unaware of my body stiffening. This wasn't good, how could I fill his flask with sand if I don't have it? Mouthing the words 'plan B' to Yang, I went up to my room, my flask in hand, upon seeing her nod.

Searching for my contraband, I smiled in delight upon seeing it complete. Apple cider freshly expired and smelling like Qrow's booze. Emptying it into my flask, I rushed downstairs as quickly as possible, just in time to put it next to Qrows while he was locking up the liquor cabinet, distracted by Yang's terrible humor to the extent of not realizing I was there.

Following the chatterbox and now-drunk upstairs, I took a comical whiff of my drink and gagged, I still couldn't get used to the smell of alcohol. Noticing my disgusted reaction Dad looked over his shoulder. "What's up kid? Going to vomit?"

Were it not a terrible idea I would have laughed at what was happening. Qrow had no idea what was about to befall him. I responded to him in a similar tone. We were both smart asses, nobody could deny it. "Nah, just that I think you put something in my drink. Smells like scotch. So either you drink it, or I'll pour it out tonight."

Qrow's mouth stayed in his usual smirk, though a bit of amusement could be seen in his eyes. Taking my flask from my outstretched hand, he started drinking from it. Before I could enjoy my victory, I noticed a small etching on the bottom of the flask he was drinking from.

Qrow Branwen

I've been bait-and-switched. Shit.

Laughing at my defeated face, Qrow patted me on the back. "Good try, but next time, remember two things. 1 the only soundproofed room is your parents'. 2 A plan never-"

"survives contact with the enemy, especially with bad luck." I finished his statement for him. I had heard that statement too many times to the point where it was instinct to finish it for him. Hoisting me onto his right shoulder and Yang onto his left one, he went up the stairs grinning. "Although, you did a great job for a distraction, Yang. Embarrassing baby pictures? I will absolutely use those when she's older." The three of us now grinning like fools, we walked into Ruby's room, scrolls in hand, ready to embarrass our baby sister.

Summer's entire body jerked. Witnessing the odd reaction from one of his best huntsman, Ozping did the polite thing and asked what was wrong. Gazing off into the distance, Summer's eyes gained a confused look. "It feels like... I'm missing out on something I would enjoy."

Ozpin's response was merely a small hum, content with the answer before moving on to the more pressing matters. "So, as we have been informed by Ironwood, there may be a town of silver-eyed warriors hiding on the continent of Anima, south of Mistral. The people we know are aware of this are those in this room, Qrow and one of James' specialists, what was her name again?"

"Her name is Reya." Ironwood helpfully added. "She is aware of the maidens due to the identity of her mother, and in a few months, will be going to investigate. However, we cannot discount the possibility that the witch is aware of this. As such, I do not think it is best for her to go alone on this mission."

Nodding at the statement, Glynda spoke up "I was asked to take care of her daughter, Sif, as an 'if I don't make it back' precaution. I don't want to go back on my word, so I would like to not go on this mission." Looking at Summer and Tai, Glynda decided to address the elephant in the room. "What of Qrow? Could he go on this mission? Why is he not here? Is he off in a hotel, getting rid of a hangover?"

Right as Taiyang was about to open his mouth, it was James, oddly enough who came to Qrow's rescue. "I told him not to come. From what we have gathered, the Branwen tribe is in Anima, and sending Qrow wouldn't be... ideal due to personal attachments. I sent the same message to Tai, but he decided to come."

Sighing at the indirect mention of his first wife, Tai spoke up "So who else should we send? Another specialist? Or perhaps we should try to get some old retired huntsman out of the woodwork?"

Drinking his coffee, Ozpin spoke up, his soft voice seeming to have the authority of a king. "Quiet. I recommend we send Summer. If we are trying to find a village of silver-eyed, the reason they yet exist is likely as they are fighting against her. By showing up with another silver-eyed warrior, we show that we are less of a threat."

Tai was clearly angry at the decision. He didn't want Summer to be put in harm's way, but he also knew that trying to stop her when she got determined was foolish. Recognizing her husband's plight, Summer pulled him into a hug in an attempt to calm him down. Once certain Taiyang wouldn't do anything rash, she spoke up "I'll go. But eventually, probably before my kids are in Beacon, I'm done with this. I want them to have a mother, a family." Not even bothering to look at James, she answered the question that was on his mind. "This doesn't mean I'll switch sides or betray you. What it does mean is that no more jobs outside of the continent, hell, maybe even Vale, if Vacuo is especially dangerous. There will be other people to take up the torch, I've held it for long enough, no?"

Ozpin finished up his coffee, glad that he convinced Glynda to stop buying decaf. He waited for the right time to speak, not wanting to say something to set off either Tai or James. "That's fine. But. If there comes a time where your choices are to act or watch the world fall. I expect you to act." Seeing Summer's positive response, continued, still bringing his mug to his lips. "For now, Summer, I expect you to read the briefing for the mission, as well as the abilities of Specialist Reya. James, I recommend you tell your specialist the same. Tai, keep an ear to the ground in Vale. Glynda, please make another pot of coffee, I've been drinking an empty cup for a minute."

"If I must," Glynda responded, used to her boss' eccentricities.

Back on Patch, Alex was finishing making a drawing of Ruby's soul, when a blue screen appeared before him.

*Spirit Mastery (LV 9→10/??)

-More efficiently use semblance and derived abilities

-Mildly sense emotions of others *

-Can see souls and remember their shape, form and general patterns*

Confused at the screen, Alex thought to himself 'Can't I already do that?'

Reading the user's thoughts, the system sent out a prompt to rid Alex of his confusion.

*The system cannot grant powers except under incredibly strict circumstances. What the system does do is show you what you can do, and keep your skills in any field from deteriorating.*

Alex, thoroughly unimpressed, summarized what was just told to him. 'So you're borderline useless?'

The system didn't respond.

Looking down at his now finished drawing of Ruby's soul, Alex set it next to Qrow's and figured out what was bugging him earlier.

--

(POV ???)

I got beaten up again. I don't have anything broken, which is good, but the amount of bruising I have makes moving hard.

I don't like the kids who did it to me.

I hate the parents who let them.

What 'crime' did I commit? I just wanted to play with them!

What do I get? Rocks were thrown at me, the parents not even batting an eye at the fact that their sons were ganging up on a 4-year-old girl who was too scared to fight back.

Why did they do it?

Because I don't have parents, my mom died before I could remember her, and my dad doesn't exist as far as I know. People say that I'm a 'bad luck charm' or a 'child cursed by Grimm'. The fact that I have my aura isn't enough for people to like me, or even tolerate me. It just motivates them to try harder. To use bigger sticks, bigger rocks, more people.

I want to leave. I want people to like me. I wanted a family.

Is that really too much to ask?

--

Walking back into her home, the last thing Summer expected was Qrow, sitting on the couch, sober, and Alex looking as mad as an aura-powered child could get. Looking at Qrow, who flinched upon meeting her gaze, she set her sights on her son. He looked at her, still mad, but more confused, and said in an obviously fake kind tone, "Hey Tai, do you mind if I borrow Mom for a bit? I want to have a chat with her and Dad."

Tai, who was entirely too exhausted to deal with whatever was happening, merely shrugged and went upstairs to play with Ruby.

Closing the door once Tai had left, Alex gestured for Summer to sit next to Qrow. Once she had sat down, she inquired what was going on. His response did not answer any of her questions.

"We need to have a talk."