Her trembling lips tried, unsuccessfully, to form a response. Yang stood in the doorway for a moment, gulping before taking stilted steps into the house. She watched her father intently, and found him observing her equally closely, but neither of them said a single word. In fact, Yang was so preoccupied with focusing on him that she scarcely noticed her bag falling from her shoulder onto the cabin floor.
Taiyang's lips were pursed in a pensive stare. He stepped forward, chest puffed out. An attempted show of bravery, she assumed. Or maybe he really was just that muscular. She bent forward to pick up her bag, not taking her eyes off of him.
"You look just like her," he said barely above a whisper. She froze, still bent down, one hand outstretched toward the bag.
Yang watched his eyes gradually moisten. She retrieved her bag and stood up, looking on in silence. Her father hurried across the room toward her. Her muscles tensed up as she waited anxiously for whatever he had planned. Stopping abruptly a mere two feet or so from her, he held her gaze, shaking like there was a chill in the air. His surprisingly gentle hand touched the side of her face and brushed her hair.
He reeked of a mixture of the heady scent of fresh grass and a thick smell of exhaust. Looking more closely, she saw he was sweating, and had a few discolored streaks of black smeared across his clothes. Taiyang stared down at her with a subdued smile. The spark of life in his eyes was without luster. She'd seen that look many times before, in the eyes of her fellow tribespeople. The strays and formerly lone wolves Raven deemed worth welcoming into the family. Hopelessness colored their very existence. It was easy to see that they were just running on fumes, doing what they could to survive. That's what made the Branwen Tribe such an appealing alternative. For all its faults, Yang had to admit that it offered purpose and direction to lost souls who wanted to become strong.
She noticed deep lines on Taiyang's face that she missed earlier. Wrinkles down both sides of his nose bridge emphasized the weariness he tried to mask with a broken smile. She couldn't help but wonder what weighed on him, and whether she had been right when she imagined he thought about her often. A red tint flushed what should have been the whites of his eyes.
"I can't believe it's really you," he said, his voice nearly cracking and full of emotion. She still didn't know what to do, so she just stared up at him and nodded. "Oh my gosh," he said, stepping back and wiping both hands down his face. "How...how did you..." Taiyang took a breath, clearly still reeling about her arrival. She felt much the same, so she couldn't blame him. "Is your mother with you?"
Yang looked at the floor. "No. I left the tribe. Left Raven."
"What?" He stared back at her, his face white with disbelief. "You came all the way here on your own?"
Yang reached into a compartment of her utility belt, lifted out the locket, and presented it to him. "Yeah. With this."
She waited nervously while he took the item from her and examined it with stunned curiosity. He seemed to mentally transport to another world as he examined every face in the photos, and traced even the most minor scratches and dings in the metal.
"I haven't seen this in years," he whispered, snapping it closed and looking up at her again. "Qrow mentioned Raven was going to tell you about us, but I never thought...I don't even know what I thought."
Yang frowned as he handed the item back. "I guess I just really wanted to meet you two. I wanted answers. I never knew about you, or Ruby. Mom never said a word until two days ago."
Taiyang huffed, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm sure she didn't. To be fair, neither did I. We agreed it was best that way."
Her fingers mimicked the motion of her father's fingers, retracing every imperfection on the locket's surface. Silence hung between them, and guilt seeped into her. She was wrong to come all the way out here. To upend her father and half-sister's realities like this, expecting them to...well, she honestly didn't know what she expected. All the more reason not to have interrupted their lives.
"Sorry to surprise you like this," Yang said, pocketing the locket. "Curiosity just got the better of me."
"No, no!" He waved her comments away. "Quite the opposite. I'm really happy you're here!" Taiyang pointed toward the couch. "Please, sit if you'd like. I'm sorry this place isn't looking so great right now. I haven't had a chance to clean."
She shook her head, and he continued on.
"You've come such a long way, Yang. Are you thirsty?"
Without waiting for her answer, he disappeared around the corner. "Let me just grab a mug from the kitchen and make you some tea! Do you like tea?"
"No, really, it's alright," she called out.
He didn't re-emerge for another thirty seconds or so, and when he did, he was grinning from ear to ear. The smile reached his barely-focused eyes, proving it to be genuine. He was tired. Even so, he was giving it his all to welcome her into his life. Realizing that only compounded the guilt festering in her.
"You didn't want to sit?" he asked, eyeing her, then the couch.
"No, I'm good. Look, like I said, I'm really sorry. I can tell you've got a lot going on here already. I shouldn't have come." She turned to leave, but was stopped by a tug on her arm. Taiyang had reached her faster than she thought possible, and he quickly pulled her into a tight hug. His lean muscles were warm and solid, almost like bricks. He must have been just as strong as the tales of he and her mother's team described.
"Yang," he said through tears, a shiver passing through him and into her. "You've grown up to be such a wonderful young woman. I'm so glad to see you."
Their hug lasted for what felt like an eternity. Try as she might, she couldn't help but cry along with him. This man, this stranger, who wrapped his arms around her with all the love of a cherished member of her tribe, wept with her. His pain, raw and undisguised, was so genuine that it brought out her own. Feelings she didn't realize she was masking poured out of her like a fountain. When he finally let her go, she sniffled, taking a moment to collect herself and find the right words.
He beat her to it.
"Please consider staying with us," he said. "We don't have much, but I can set up the guest room for you. Most of our other rooms are filled with boxes. I just got a new shipment for the repairs and augmentations shop that Ruby helps me run out of the shed. That's why we have the sign outside. Stay as long as you like. Also, I'm a teacher at Signal part time, so maybe you could go with me to the school one of these days and meet my students." He laughed awkwardly when her eyes widened in shock. "Ah. I overstepped there a bit, didn't I? Sorry. Getting too ahead of myself."
"Dad," she said, testing the words out on her lips while trying to sound natural, "it's okay. I really should go."
"When can I see you again?" he asked eagerly, a sad smile on his face. "Wouldn't you like to meet Ruby? She's a lively one, but a lot less into the garage work I like to do. She does have a deep love for weapons, though. How about you?"
Oh crap.
Ruby. She'd completely forgotten about the fact that her sister still didn't know. Yang had already had just about all her heart could handle. She didn't know how meeting her sister would go, and part of her really didn't want to find out just yet. Overwhelmed by millions of potential outcomes, she withdrew into herself, looking away from her father. He was saying something about Ruby preparing for the Beacon entrance exam when she cut him off.
"I think I need some time." She headed for the door. "Please, don't say anything about me just yet."
"Wait, Yang. Don't you at least want to finish your tea?"
His voice faded as she slipped through the front door and beat feet across the dirt, headed as far away from the quaint cabin as her body would take her. She needed to find somewhere to lay low and rethink things. Yang thought she could handle all of this - meeting her new family members, and talking about all that they had missed together. Clearly, she'd been wrong. Coming out here was a mistake. Now Yang needed a new plan. If she wasn't going home, and she wasn't ready to spend time with Taiyang and Ruby, what did that leave her? For the first time ever, she found herself completely and utterly alone. At least before, she had the hope of something unknown on the horizon with her newfound family to look forward to. Now she didn't even have that.
* * *
Ruby watched the blonde girl who looked about her age hurry off down the path into town with confusion. She shrugged and stepped through the door to her house, a clipboard in hand.
"Hey, Dad," she said. "I just saw that girl leave. I went to get the inventory list so I could add in whatever parts she brought us. But then I noticed Zwei chewed on my cape again, and I hadn't seen it when I gave him a treat this morning before Qrow left to take him to the vet. So I got distracted and I-"
She stopped short. Her father was leaning against a wall, head in his hands, and clearly deep in thought about something.
"You okay?" she said, coming closer and reaching out to touch his arm. "Who was that girl?"
"Don't worry about it, Ruby." He revealed his face and flashed her a smile. "I already took care of things with our visitor. Come on! We've gotta get at least one of these rooms unpacked before you get accepted into Beacon and I'm stuck with all the work."
Knowing better than to ask why he didn't just get Qrow to help, Ruby nodded and went upstairs with her father. However, she couldn't help but question why the girl who visited them left with her bag still full and weighing her down.
* * *
Somehow, Yang found herself back in the restaurant she ate at earlier: a diner with large tables and a great deal of open space. The aromatic smell of numerous spices filled her nostrils, reminding her that the food here was on par with, or better than, some of the more memorable dishes the cooks whipped up back at the Branwen Camp. However, even the intoxicating smell of herbs and meats didn't do much for her nerves.
Not many customers were here, but Yang still felt extremely uncomfortable. Doing her best to hide her unease, she claimed a free table far away from the others and relaxed into her spot on one of several benches positioned at angles around the table. She laid her bag down next to her and took off her utility belt to stop the furtive glances from fearful customers across the room. Attracting attention was far from the top of her list of desires right now.
"What brings you back to us this fine day, young lady?" the wide-set woman who'd served her soup earlier said, sauntering over from behind a counter. "Did you ever find the gentleman you were looking for and his daughter?"
"Yeah. Thanks for your directions. I got what I came for." Even as the words left her mouth, Yang wondered whether or not they were true. "This place doubles as an inn, right?"
"You bet it does!" the woman said, leaning across the table with a warm smile. Her long brown hair was tied back in a bun, but a few stray strands hung loose, framing her face. A faded red blotch stained the woman's otherwise perfect white apron. "Free breakfast with every night's stay, to boot! Will you be staying with us tonight?"
Peeling her gaze away from the stain, Yang felt for the money stored away in her utility belt. There was still a lot there, and probably more saved up in her bag. Given that tribal living lent itself to rarely going into established settlements without the intent to overtake them, she hardly ever spent her lien.
Well, I don't have anywhere to go now. Why not?
Tonight, she could figure out her next move and take action. She hadn't thought this far ahead. Taiyang and Ruby were supposed to have been endgame, but now that slapdash plan was out of the window. It was time she found direction, and carved out some semblance of a better life for herself than the one she was bred to lead under Raven's care. One where she wouldn't have to intrude on the lives of her already overtaxed father and blissfully unaware sister. Maybe someday, when she'd done that, she could face the two of them without shame. Her days of taking advantage of other people for her own selfish needs ended with her interception of the raid back in Anima.
First things first, though. I need to rest and recharge.
"Yes. I'd like a room, please."