A Living Myth RWBY X Child!Dragon Faunus! Male! Reader

Chapter 16 (R): A Much Needed Talk

That feeling you get when your workload doubles due to coworkers being on vacation. Yeah...
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Chapter 16: Story time

Rather than staying in the now incredibly unstable and pretty much in ruins village, the group dragged Qrow out into the woods and set up camp. While Ren dressed the injury, Jaune and (Y/N) got the fire going, the dragon occasionally glancing over at the Huntsman. He knew he had seen Qrow back at the inn, but for the life of him, he couldn't understand why the older male had been following them from a distance, and his behavior in the fight had only further confused him. Qrow had acted like he and Tyrian were fighting in a minefield that was ready to go off at any second. Did he know something they didn't? He had to. He had gotten pretty agitated when the scorpion Faunus had mentioned that Salem person. It made the boy shiver to think about someone who would make Qrow uneasy given his skill.
When the fire was done and Qrow's wound was bandaged, the kids all gathered around, looking at him for answers. Eventually, he went on to explain something fantastical: the existence of magic, the Maiden...Pyrrha. It was enough to make (Y/N)'s head spin. Evidentially, that was the consensus because everyone was left speechless.
Qrow rolled his eyes, taking a sip from his flask. "Seriously? No questions?"
"Of course we have questions!" Jaune insisted. "This is just...a lot to take in."
Qrow nodded. "Sure, of course."
"So these...Maiden: they're powerful fighters and don't need Dust to use magic?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah."
Nora continued. "And there are four of them?"
"Yup. Always."
"Which means, whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone, a female, that they care about?" Ren inquired.
"Whoever was in their thoughts last. Important distinction. Best option, it's someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become combined, in a way."
"And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha." Jaune accused. "The night the tower fell. You were trying to turn her into one of them."
(Y/N)'s head sunk. So, that's what Pyrrha meant during their last conversation. She was trying to decide whether or not to become the Fall Maiden, and he had inadvertently encourage her to do so. She had gone back because of what he said.
Qrow noted the aggression in Jaune's tone. "The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced, and her assailant, who we now know as Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well."
Jaune glared at him. "So you forced it on Pyrrha."
"No, they didn't." (Y/N) cut in, causing everyone to look at him.
"We didn't force anything." Qrow insisted, eyeing the boy. "We explained the situation and gave her a choice, and she chose." He then turned to Jaune. "You were there, you heard her."
"Jaune, he's telling the truth."
The blonde looked at him sharply. "And how do you know that!?"
"Jaune!" Ruby snapped back.
(Y/N) pulled his knees to his chest. "Because she told me." Everyone looked at him with widened eyes, but the dragon could only stare into the fire. "Right before Yang's fight with Mercury, we talked. She was acting...weird. I could tell she was worried about something, that she was confused. She didn't say anything specific, but looking back, it must have been about the Maiden power." He sniffed. "I shouldn't have said anything. She went back because-,"
Jaune walked away as Ruby hugged her brother.
"(Y/N), it wasn't your fault."
"I don't believe that."
"Well believe me." She insisted, wrapping him in her cape. "You couldn't have changed anything."
He didn't respond, still staring distantly into the flames. Ruby sighed before turning back to her uncle.
"That guy. Tyrian. Why was he after us?"
It was Qrow's turn to sigh. "Well, you definitely painted a target on your back with what you did at Beacon. I told you having silver eyes is a rare trait, and the fact that you're someone that was able to use them seems to have upset some very powerful people. Not many people know about the silver eyes, but those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. As for firebreather there, we always knew he was at risk. Dragon Faunus are rare and powerful. You remember what I told you about the silver eyed warriors disappearing? Same thing applies. But, since he's a kid, some people might think he's easy to manipulate."
(Y/N) gulped, suddenly feeling sick.
Nora looked horrified. "Manipulate for what!? Like he's some kind of weapon!?"
Qrow side eyed her. "You saw what he did just now. That guy was practically juggling you kids and giving me a run for my money. Then junior here manages to pin him so fast I couldn't even see it. Taking out one combatant above your skill level is luck. Two? That's a pattern. A pattern people are gonna want to exploit. That's why I've been keeping an eye on you, in order to make sure you were safe." He looked over at Jaune. "All of you."
"Well, then, why not just travel with us?" Ruby asked. "It seems like that would've been way easier."
"He was using you as bait." Jaune said coldly.
The Huntsman shook his head. "Look, I wouldn't put it like that. It's...complicated."
"Qrow, what's actually going on?" (Y/N) asked. "Who are these people? Are they...the people who..."
The dragon rubbed his wrist arms, unable to finish the question. Jaune kept going in his place.
"Yeah, Ruby and (Y/N) are being hunted, the schools are being attacked, all for what? What is the point of all this? Will you just tell us what's going on!?"
Qrow sighed again. "Would you sit down? You're stressing me out, kid." Jaune reluctantly complied. "Not many people are super religious these days. This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real. They were brothers. The older sibling, the god of light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the god of darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the god of darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all that he could do to rid Remnant of life. But life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something. Something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything."
Ruby frowned. "The creatures of Grimm."
"You guessed it. The older brother had finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation, together. Something that they could both be proud of, their masterpiece. Younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow: the path of light or the path of darkness. And that is how humanity came to be."
"But...what does that have to do with us?" Ren asked.
"Well, that's the kicker. See, the four gifts to mankind: knowledge, creation, destruction, and choice aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. That's exactly what the enemy wants. The Huntsman Academies were created to train generations of humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose: guarding the relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would be constantly surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding the relics would keep mankind from using them against itself. And, of course, keeping them out of her reach. So yeah, there's that."
"Her?" Ruby repeated.
"This Salem." (Y/N) finished.
"That's right." Qrow affirmed. "Not much is known about her and quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well."
Everyone looked down, their stomachs sinking.
"All right." Jaune finally said. "So, let's say we believe all this. There really is this crazy evil being behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. Why doesn't the world know? Why isn't Atlas going after them, or Mistral?"
"And why aren't we in more of a hurry to get to Haven?" Nora added. "Shouldn't we be getting them a message? What if they're next?"
"The headmaster over there saw what happened to Beacon. He's not dumb. He'll be on his guard. Besides, it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you really think they planned out that attack on Beacon overnight?" He then pointed at Jaune. "And to answer your question, it's the same reason we keep quiet about the Maidens. If the whole world knew about the relics, about Salem, there would be chaos. We'd have another Great War on our hands and this time, you'd have to fight. Look, I had the same questions too, but ol' Ozpin would always put his foot down. We can't cause a panic. Heh, I can't tell you how many times I've heard that. Salem's smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants, so that when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other. She's trying to divide us-humanity. And so far, she's done a pretty damn good job."
"All right." Ruby said. "So what should we do?"
Qrow chuckled. "I don't really know. Ozpin has put a lot of trust in the headmasters. Like I said, the schools are an important part of stopping Salem. Atlas is going to be on high alert after the last attack, and Vacuo is...well, Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against other thieves and scoundrels. Take that, add in the fact that Cinder and her crew claim to be from Haven, and I think it's likely the next target. So, we're on our way to the headmaster. Haven't heard from him in a while, even before the attack. I'm hoping he has the answer." Qrow then stood up, clutching his injured side. "All right, I think it's time you kids get some sleep."
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby butted in.
"Yeah?"
"This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds crazy, but...I'm willing to do whatever I can to help, because I trust you. But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us instead of all this secrecy and, and-,"
"Look, this has nothing to do with trust. I-, it's a long story."
"Seriously?" Nora said as (Y/N) sat up.
"During the fight, you weren't acting like you didn't trust us, you were afraid of something. And not just that, you acted the exact same way the night you brought me back to the hospital in Vale."
Qrow glanced at the fire. "Did you know crows are a sign of bad luck? Old superstition, but it's how I got my name. See, some people can absorb electricity, and some people can burst into rose petals, and some people are just born unlucky. My Semblance isn't like most. It's not exactly something I do. It's always there, whether I like it or not. I bring misfortune." He chuckled weakly. "I guess you could call me a bad luck charm. Comes in real handy when I'm fighting an enemy, but it makes it a little hard on friends...and family."
Suddenly, what little (Y/N) knew of Qrow made sense. He felt bad for the Huntsman. Having to constantly be on guard because of his Semblance, not being able to let his guard for a second without risking someone else. It must have been taxing. Jaune had no such sympathies.
"Well, you are just a real bundle of help, aren't you?"
(Y/N) immediately threw a stick at the blonde's head, causing him to yelp and fall over. When he got back up, the dragon gave him a disapproving shake of the head. Qrow obviously took it to heart.
"Yeah."
He stumbled off, much to their worry.
"Where are you going?" Ren asked.
"Taking a walk."
"There's nothing else you want to tell us?" Ruby asked.
"Not tonight."
A log tumbled off the fire as Ruby looked on sadly. Sighing, (Y/N) summoned scales on his hand and tossed the wood back in the fire.
"I think we've all had enough for one night."
Ren nodded. "I agree."
"Then let's head to bed." Ruby said.
(Timeskip)
Considering everything they had learned, Ruby kept her brother extra close that night. Fortunate to be sure as the dragon was haunted by nightmares of the fall and glowing red eyes. Around dawn, yet again, he finally gave up and carefully escaped Ruby's hold. He quietly picked up his weapons and slipped away from the group. Training would have to be his solace once more.
He punched a tree, trying to call on that surge of energy he had gotten yesterday.
"Come on, work!" He demanded. "I know you activated yesterday, so do it again!"
"You're not talking to anyone." Qrow's voice called.
(Y/N) yelped before putting his forehead to the bark, frustrated.
"Yesterday, it had to have been my Semblance. It had to be. I don't know how I activated it, but I know it did. I just...I need to get it under control."
He could hear the older male grunt. "Before you can even start thinking about controlling it, you have to understand it. If you don't, you're better off playing with a bomb waiting to go off."
"But I don't know how I'm supposed to understand it! I've only used it instinctively!"
"Riddle me this, firebreather: your Semblance has activated twice now. What was the common factor?"
"Common factor?" He sighed and thought. "I was in a fight?"
"No, if it were that easy, you would've gotten it to work against the Grimm attacking you. Think, it was something specific in those fights, something that made you act."
The boy thought again, trying to picture the two occasions side by side. At first, he didn't understand what Qrow was getting at, but eventually, he realized the blatant similarity.
"Yang and Ruby. They were in trouble and I activated my Semblance."
"You wanted to protect them." Qrow explained. "But you went about it differently both times. For Yang, you ragdolled a terrorist, and Ruby, you managed to strike an agile opponent from the other side of the street. Seems kinda fitting, almost like two separate powers."
"What do you mean?"
"We don't know much about Semblances, not really. Some say you're born with it, others say it manifests because of your personality. Whatever the case, it's almost impossible to guess someone's Semblance before it unlocks, and even then it can't really be explained. All we can do is try to categorize them and try to figure out a pattern. One such category, in my experience, is bond based Semblances."
(Y/N) tilted his head. "Bond based Semblances?"
"In short, their Semblances affected by a person's relationships. My sister, Yang's mom, has a bond based Semblance. She also uses her swords as a means of channeling her Semblances, not unlike that bracelet of yours."
(Y/N) held up the bracelet. "What?"
"You may not have noticed it, but that bracelet was definitely glowing when you blitzed that psycho, and I'll bet it did the same at Beacon to that Adam guy. I've heard weirder things than a charm bracelet being used as a conduit for a Semblance."
Before (Y/N) could further question him, Qrow burst out in a fit of nasty coughing.
"Qrow?!"
(Y/N) ran to where his voice was coming from and found the male slumped against a tree. He looked feverish and pale, his bandage tainted with a sickening purple color which smelled pungent.
"Oh no." The boy swerved his head. "R-Ruby!"
Almost immediately, the red hooded girl was up, running towards her brother.
"(Y/N)! What's wrong!?"
"It's Qrow! He's getting worse!"
The others also seemed to wake up at this as Ruby checked on her uncle, gasping as Qrow held out a hand covered in a poisonous purple liquid.
"Well, that's unfortunate."