Honeycomb Hearts

Relics of the Past

As the scissors sliced through the tape, Yang was curious as to what little she was able to keep from her old life. Her step-sister watched with baited breath, constantly shifting from her tiptoes to her heels.

"So?" The red-haired girl asked, "What are you waiting for?"

Yang took a breath, both hands clasped onto the corners of the cardboard box. "I'm not quite sure I want to know what little I could salvage. What if there was another box that coulda survived, you know?"

Ruby nodded, but placed a soft yet firm hand on Yang's shoulder. "Well at least you still have something, right? Plus, it's not like you lost all of your hair in the earthquake." Yang knew that was true, but looking at her left hand, which was now made of metals and plastics instead of her old, human arm, she begged to differ. Nonetheless, Ruby forced a smile out of her.

"Thanks sis, you really know how to cheer me up, don't you?"

"That's my job! Now come on, what could possibly be in there that you don't already know about anyways?"

Yang scoffed, "A lottery ticket for a million lien? Who knows what Qrow tossed in this box, I think it was sitting in the corner of my spare room ever since I moved in. Knowing him, it'll be a set of shot glasses and some aged whiskey." Taking one last deep breath, Yang flung open the lid of the cardboard box, finding...

"Another box?" Ruby tilted her head, standing on her tiptoes to get a better view of the inside.

"This one has a key though, there's a string connecting it to... a letter?" Yang took the letter out and carefully opened it so that the key stayed on the worn string. "It says it's from Grandpa Branwen, the one we never got to meet." As Yang unfolded the letter, bits of dirt and dust fell to the table.

"To Whom it May- Nah, I know it's you reading this Qrow. You remember your grandma's old house outside of Apis Mellifera? That weird-sounding town with the weird-lookin' Faunus folk? Well, she decided to hand it down to me, and I'm givin' it to you to use someday. I know you're not much for stayin' in one place, but who knows when ya find a nice lady, eh? Love ya – Papa Branwen"

Yang's eyes labored over every word – she'd never heard this man speak, but somehow she could hear his voice clear as day. "Qrow must've never read this," Yang thought, "It was still sealed tight."

"Soooooo? What does it say?" Ruby's head peered over Yang's shoulder, her eyes poking through the loose strands of golden hair. "Grandma Branwen? Apis Mellifera? A house?!?! Yang this is awesome!" Ruby began to jump about, shaking the nearby furniture. "I can get out of this silly apartment and you can have a brand new – I mean, brand old house!"

Yang, however, was more solemn. Her eyes lingered back into the box-inside-of-a-box, and pulled the inside box out. Once more cutting with the scissors, she stopped for a second time with baited breath. She chuckled, "Talk about déjà vu, am I right?" She opened the smaller, flatter box to find a framed picture of her grandfather, her mom and Qrow, and a baby in her mom's arms. Her dad was nowhere to be found, so Yang presumed he was taking the picture. He was never more than 10 feet from her until she could walk, she was told, and then he made sure to get even closer so she didn't break anything.

"Well I may not have my old TV or bed, but at least I still have something that can remind me of my past." Yang said, propping the picture frame up on the table. "Ruby, how soon can you pack your stuff? I want to see this new place ASAP."