After that fiasco, I threw myself into my job, not willing to give myself even a moment to think of what happened. Of course, no matter how much I worked, or how many missions I took, I could never distract myself enough to completely get rid of her. She was always right there, waiting for the moment I relaxed my guard before springing to the front of my mind. The only thing that seemed to help was alcohol.
I didn't need much, just a drink or two each night just to help rid myself of those lingering memories. It probably wasn't the best idea to turn to liquor for help, but it beat having to see her smile knowing that she'd never smile at me like that ever again.
So in that way I watched time pass, weeks turning first into months, then years. I hardly noticed as they blurred together, each year that passed was so similar to its previous that it was hardly worth acknowledging the change. To me it felt like one long mission broken up by shots of whiskey, and truthfully, I didn't see much of a reason to change it.
Unfortunately, my boss had other ideas.
On one particular day, I was in Beacon trying to get another mission when I found only Glinda in Ozpin's office. She sat on the front of his desk like she owned it, her ever present clipboard in her lap as she went over whatever she had on it at the time.
"Where's Oz?" I asked as I walked inside.
"Busy," she answered shortly. "You'll have to get your mission from me today."
"You have to be kidding me."
"Does it look like I'm kidding?" She asked as she glared at me from overtop her glasses. I sighed in resignation as I flopped down into a chair in front of her.
"So what will you have me do this time?" I asked as I took a sip from my flask. I kept it on me in case one of my missions didn't have a bar nearby, but that didn't mean I should ignore it when I needed one during the day. And trust me, dealing with just Glinda definitely earns a shot or two. "If I remember correctly, the last time you gave me a mission I was taking a pack of brats to collect tree sap. Wasn't that a job for the teachers to do?"
"If I had a more degrading task on my list that day, you would have gotten that," she replied as she looked back at her clipboard. "That's what happens when you go on so many missions, eventually you run out of good ones."
