Summer's Promise

Prologue: The Lovely Are Sleeping

Ruby Rose, Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc, and Lie Ren. The four members of the new Team RNJR surrounded the campfire they had built, and were grateful for the light and warmth it provided on this cold winter night. Their first day of travel had been, all things considered, easy. All the Grimm in the area are on their way or already at Beacon, so as long they took the roads that avoided their migration resistance would be minimal. RNJR didn't even encounter a single Grimm today, which Ruby was especially pleased with since it put more distance between them and her father Taiyang. The last thing she wanted was for him to catch up and try to talk her out of this journey. Ren and Nora were beat and went to sleep quickly. Jaune and Ruby both wanted first watch since neither could sleep anyway, and in the end they decided to both stay awake. 

Unbeknownst to the group, Qrow sat in a tree well out of sight from the young explorers watchful gaze. He was grateful taking a moment to rest, having spent all day redirecting Grimm away from Ruby and towards Taiyang. He smirks, "And they call me dusty," he thought, recalling Tai fight off a few Ursa and Beowulf before turning back home and tending to Yang. He'd never put his friend in real danger, but that doesn't mean he should go easy on him. 

Qrow refocuses on Ruby. His veteran eyes let him see his niece and her friend clearly, even in the dark and from such a distance. Every now and then he would feel the bite of the freezing winter wind, but his ever faithful flask was always ready to remedy any cold he may feel. There was something about this campsite, something about Ruby and Jaune sitting there talking that felt all too familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. 

"C'mon Qrow you're not so old that you can't remember things" he thought agitated. "It's two kids at a campfire. When was the last time you..." his thoughts trail off as his memories come flooding back. Images, smells, and sounds roar within his mind. Feelings buried deep and long ago started to rumble and quake, threatening to crack the armor around his heart and soul he has spent years forging. He shakes his head and sighs, collecting himself by taking another swig from his flask with a shivering hand, and he wishes that it shook from the cold alone and not the memories. He feels the alcohol work its magic within him, and he regains his laid back and stoic composure.

The ghosts of his adventures from long ago resurface, one after the other, as he searches for the right set of memories. A lifetime of fighting and warring with the Enemy has led him to plenty of campfires in the middle of the night. Sometimes with fellow travelers, but usually he preferred it alone, and spent most of his nights that way. 

"But I wasn't alone in the beginning..."  he thought, and suddenly he realizes where he's seen this image before. A boy and a girl, back to back, guarding each other fearlessly against the darkness of the night and what lies within it. 

"Heh. Two kids at a campfire trying to take on the whole wide world. Yeah. I've seen that before." He stares at Ruby, and notices the snow on her cape turning parts of it white.

"Isn't that right Summer?"