The Other Daughter

Chapter 16 | Part Two

"That's for sure. It's the rest of the tribe that was counting on you to step up. Instead, you got it into your head to go back to the very same place, the same man, that almost tore your family apart."

"The way I see it, you did that all on your own."

Raven stopped, speechless for once.

"You really think I haven't talked to Dad? Well, I have, and from what I can tell, he misses you. He wants his team back together."

"He should've thought about that before he decided to fight Salem. Don't you get it? Staying would've put me, and even you, our newborn daughter, in Salem's sights. We would have spent our whole lives looking over our shoulders, or on the run!"

"But we'd have been together."

"Yang, that's no kind of life."

Yang scoffed. "And scrounging for scraps and pillaging settlements is?"

Raven grumbled something under her breath, but didn't counter her daughter's point. It was unclear whether that was because she wouldn't or because she couldn't.

Yang sighed. The simmering buildup of her aura settled and, after a moment, faded altogether. "Look, I get it. We would've been in danger all the time. But were you really okay with leaving Dad alone, even after what happened to Summer?"

"To me, what happened to Summer is all the more reason to stay away. I'm the Branwen Tribe's leader! I need to keep as many of us safe as possible. Tai could have come with me, but he chose his fate. The same goes for Qrow."

Yang gave a solemn nod. "Mom, the tribe is my family, and they always will be. But Taiyang and Ruby are too. I can't just do nothing."

Something like understanding, or maybe acceptance, flashed in Raven's eyes. She backed away, resigned. "You don't know everything, Yang. I was there. I've seen. But if you stay with Ozpin and his allies, you'll see, too. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

She took a breath, turned away, and tore open a red portal which must have led to Anima. Its hollow hum was familiar, but more haunting than Yang remembered. In all honesty, part of her yearned to walk back through with her mother, if only to see her friends from home, but she'd chosen her path. Now was the time to walk it and not look back.

"Try not to die," Raven whispered. She stepped through and was gone. The portal vanished with a sharp ring, leaving Yang alone in the courtyard again.

Seeing her mother depart for what may well have been the last time stung. Yang didn't look up to her anymore - in fact, far from it - and yet, she still held a soft spot in her heart for the woman who raised her. If Raven's tone was any indication, she still cared, too. Clutching her chest, Yang took a breath and tucked the pain away somewhere deep inside herself. Somewhere it couldn't hurt her.

* * *

When Yang finished her second lap around the building, sunlight was just beginning to peek out over the horizon. She hurried to Team RWBY's dorm and tip-toed to her bed, unnoticed by her teammates. Granted, this was more on account of Ruby's loud snoring than anything else. Sliding back into bed, she tried, and failed, to get one last hour or so of rest before the others woke up. It was the weekend, so at least they'd have time to search for Blake. Yang leaned over the side of her bed and stared down at the empty bed where her teammate should have been. Bittersweet though it was, things had worked out with Ruby and Taiyang, only to land the team smack in the middle of the worst case scenario with Weiss and Blake. Yang wasn't sure how to feel, and these worries prevented her from getting a restful last hour. Her eyes were still open when the others began to stir.