I sat on the couch next to Deacon. He had a little tail that moved every so often. I guess he was dreaming or something. I could hear the clanging of kitchen supplies in the back. I started to smell the faint scent of chicken broth. I guess Deacon must've noticed too, because he sniffed the air a few times and opened his eyes.
"What's that smell?" he asked, sitting up.
"Summer is cooking dinner for us. Have you ever had ramen before?" I asked him.
His eyes lit up. "Yeah! It's so tasty! My mom made it for me sometimes."
His smile faded quickly and his eyes filled tears. I gently wiped them away with my fingers.
"Deke... I'm sorry I couldn't rescue your parents. If I could go back and change that, I would. I can't promise that I'll fully replace your parents. So... you can just think of me as your uncle. How does that sound?"
Deacon giggled. "So you'll be my uncle now?"
I nodded. "Sure. If that's what—"
Before I could finish, he tackled me and sent us both toppling over. He immediately leaned back once he noticed that his horns were inches away from my face.
"I'm sorry, Uncle!" he said quickly.
I got up and extended my hand.
"It's okay. Let's go see how dinner is going."
I led him in the back where the kitchen was. Summer was stirring a huge pot filled with noodles and vegetables.
"Need any help?" I asked her.
She stopped stirring and turned to smile at me.
"I think it's about done. Maybe you and Deke could help set the table?"
I nodded. "Sure. Come on, Deke."
We found some spare bowls and cleaned them off. He was surprisingly careful with the plates. After the table was set, Summer came in carrying a huge pot of Ramen.
"Is everyone ready to eat?"
Deacon excitingly ran to one of the chairs and sat down.
"I am!" he said.
Summer smiled warmly and sat the pot down the the middle of the table. She gave us each a decent helping of Ramen. Deacon started stuffing his face a few seconds later. I guess the kid was hungry. Before Summer and I could even start eating, he quickly shoved his bowl forward.
"I'm done. Can I go to sleep now, Uncle Qrow?"
I gazed out one of the windows. It was getting dark outside.
"Sure. It's getting late. You can sleep on one of the couches."
Deacon yawned and ran off.
Summer looked at me curiously.
"Uncle?"
"Yeah. I told him that he could call me that," I replied.
She smiled. "That's pretty cute. Does this make me his aunt?"
I chuckled. "Maybe."
While we ate the topic of Deacon kept coming up.
"So... what exactly is your plan with Deke?" I asked.
She chewed on her food and looked thoughtful.
"I'm not entirely sure. If his reading and writing skills aren't sufficient, I was thinking about teaching him myself. You know, like a homeschooling type thing," she explained.
"That's actually not a bad idea. Is there anything you want me to do?"
She smiled at me. "Well... since I'll be busy teaching him the basics, you could be the one to teach him how to fight. This place is riddled with Grimm after all."
I stared at her, stunned. "You want me to teach him how to fight?"
She nodded. "Yeah. He's going to have to learn sometime, isn't he?"
"I guess so. But... what if I'm not a good teacher?"
Summer smiled warmly and took my hand. "Qrow, it's not like your teaching an entire class. And Deke needs a role model right now."
I sighed. "You're right. I just hope that we're not teaching him too young."
"I don't think age matters considering we're currently residing in ruins, Qrow."
"Fair point. Are you done with your bowl? I can take it to the sink for you," I offered.
Summer handed it to me. "Thank you. I'll take care of the leftovers."
Together, we finished the dishes and stored the leftover ramen in the fridge.
I followed Summer to the main lounge area and found Deacon curled up on one of the couches.
"Awww... he looks so cute when he sleeps," she said, her eyes tearing up a little.
I nodded and smiled. "Yeah. I'm going to patrol around the area for Grimm. You gonna he okay?"
She sat down next to Deacon and gently ran her fingers through his fur.
"I'll be just fine. I'll make sure Deke is safe."
I smiled and kissed her quickly before leaving out the door.
My mind drifted as I walked around keeping an eye out for any Grimm. I still couldn't believe Summer wanted me to teach Deacon. I wouldn't be that good at teaching anyone, let alone a kid. I noticed a Ursa had lunged at me last minute. My battle instincts kicked in as I slashed at it, cutting it in half. I kicked myself for getting that distracted. I usually didn't get distracted that easy...
I continued to patrol the area and perimeter until I felt satisfied. Summer was sitting on the couch reading a book.
"I'm back. What are you reading?"
Summer looked up from the book.
"It's an old book filled with fairytales and stuff. Even the story of the four maidens are in here. But we know now that it's not really a myth."
"Cool. Any interesting stories so far?" I asked, taking a seat next to her.
She flipped through a few pages and abruptly stopped. Her eyes widened.
"I have now," she replied.
She turned the book to face me and I leaned in closer to have a better look. There was a picture of a young girl and boy. Even though the picture's color was faded due to age, there was no denying that their eyes were silver. The title of the story was written in big bold letters: Silver Eyed Warriors.