RWBY Through Worlds (End)

BC36: Animal Instincts (Black Sun & Co.)-3

"Whoa, no way!" Ruby freaked out when she heard the news from Qrow. "I get to be an aunt!"

"Actually, Ruby, you would be a cousin," Oscar corrected.

"That's great news," Tai was there too, they were all at his house in Patch.

Caiden, who was now 8, was trying to launch a cookie into a glass of milk using a makeshift catapult...lately he'd developed an...inventive streak.

He didn't care that much about the news, but he nodded politely when they asked him if it was exciting.

"But will you be okay?" Tai asked.

He 'd not lost his habit of suspecting Qrow's semblance was behind bad things in all this time. Some people were just set in their ways. Tai might have been a little superstitious or he'd just lost too many people and was soured on luck.

Ruby gave him a plaintive look. She knew not to say this to Qrow.

"I guses so," Qrow didn't sound convinced. "Winter is taking her time off now. I guess Marrow is going to step in. Raven thinks there could be a few people in the Happy Huntresses who might be able to be trained in to help. Robyn has them all split into divisions anyway, so there's some leadership...better than old Argus staff, most of them were sheep."

"They worked for Cordovin, I'm not surprised," Oscar was just a little salty about that. "But this is crazy, so many people at the same time."

"It's like it's in season," Tai said.

They made a grossed out face at him.

"I know Weiss will be so ecstatic, can you put me on the call when you tell her?" Ruby pleaded.

"I suppose," Qrow said. "If Winter hasn't already told her, hang on," he covered the  screen and yelled something.

Winter must have said yes because Qrow switched the call to a three way one.

Winter then joined them.

She was home right now, so her hair was down and she was dressed casually, which always made her look so much more relaxed that people acted different around her when she did.

"Hey," Oscar said. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Winter said. "I hope Weiss can contain herself...or my mother."

Weiss picked up.

She looked a little tired.

"Are you okay?" Oscar asekd.

"Oh...yeah, just graveyard shift," Weiss said. "That's what they call it here."

"Usually, that means no one is around," Qrow said.

"Usually, but here it means you're looking through areas infested iwth grimm that no one else wanted to explore, Theo's had us cleaning out these tunnels for days," Weiss sighed. "I almost wish Blake and Sun had stuck around. But we've finally got it mostly done, we think. And you know what? We found traces of humans being down here. Someone totally released those things on purpose! Can you believe it? It looks like we might have our answer to how they're doing it, you remember that Victoria has machines that drew grimm to her lair?"

"I remember that," Winter said darkly.

Ruby hadn't, but she winced now.

"Well she just forgot to mention that she sold some of those on the black market." Weiss gestured in annoyance. "She just told us today that it came to her memory. She says it's been ages since she sold any but there could still be out there that are working. If they got replicated, who knows what could be going around. It explains some things."