varnaedhar

[varnaedhar]

"Robyn." She repeats the name, as though it had been on the tip of her tongue the entire time. She knew, of course: it was in her best interest to know these sorts of things, but that never stopped her from teasing. His reasonings for sparing her were sensible enough, but dull.

"Fine, fine..." The world had enough insanity right now, she supposed she could spare him that much.

Bored of toying through James' paperwork, Raven turns her full attention back onto him -- that blood red gaze watching closely. He looks more tired than irritated, though she supposes that's to be expected when you have the entire Kingdom held aloft on your shoulders. "But I still think I would be a better ally to have on your side than that old woman."

"You got that right." Of course his people simply didn't have information about one bandit queen anywhere in high or even middle priority tasks. Must have been overlooked or a system bug, obviously.

"Robyn? No, you'd only end up making her the martyr and a reason for Mantle to revolt in the middle of lockdown while we're trying to prepare for Salem's visit. Not even my best people can fight her and our own citizens same time."

"Leave her be. I have enough of murders that people secretly blame me for already."

#( caeloservare / james ironwood ) / ✖ they made you into a weapon and told you to find peace . #( verse.03 ) / ✖ i lead our people now . #/ i feel like she's looking for info on the winter maiden situation #/ because she knows he's not gonna send fria out into a war #/ she's still a spy just for herself these days #( queue ) / ✖ you did what queue had to do to survive .

[varnaedhar]

Yang is insistent upon the fact that she did miss her, and Raven cannot explain why that fills her with a strange sensation of warmth. Her daughter had more than enough family in her absences -- between Tai, Summer, Ruby, and Qrow, she was certain that her little girl never wanted for attention. Still... perhaps there was a bond between blood that ran deeper than she could have expected.

"I missed you too, little dragon."

The confession falls more easily than she would have expected. Even after all these years, openly admitting her feelings was not something that came with ease... except for her daughter. She was the one who Raven could hide nothing from. Nuzzling her nose gently into Yang's hair, she takes a moment to just enjoy holding her, the scent of her little girl -- she'd been using Summer's shampoo again, and the two scents together are a pleasing one.

Withdrawing as Yang begins to speak, Raven gives a little nod in response, a half smile touching onto her expression. Teaching Ruby to read? The girl was barely toddling, or so she had thought. Setting Yang back down, she gives a short nod toward the house, "Show me."

Her mother is one of the few people that is allowed to touch Yang's hair, especially so extensively. She had insisted on growing it out after both of her other parents remarked on how much it made her look like Raven, and it was starting to get just as wild as hers.

Yang pouts when she says that she couldn't have missed her that much, but before she can reply, Raven scoops her up into her arms, and the little girl lets out a happy shriek instead of words, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck as she settles her on her hip.

"I did too miss you," she insists, but there's a happy smile on her face as her mother nuzzles her nose against her, and its almost as though Yang was lit up from the inside with how brightly she's smiling. Her mother was home and wanted to know what she'd been up to.

She could show off what she'd been learning, and what she'd been trying (and mostly failing; Ruby was still too young to really understand) to teach her baby sister.

"Mom and Dad have been helping me read better!" she exclaimed, little arms still wrapped around her mother's neck. "And I've been trying to read to Ruby, but she doesn't seem to care," Yang pouted for a moment, but it's gone just as quickly, replaced by another smile. "Can I show you? I'm a lot better than the last time I tried!"

#( unlockthestars / yang xiao long ) / ✖ rise and take flight darling it's your time . #( au.01 ) / ✖ not every monster's scary ; sometimes they are on your side . #/ short but i love this au goodbye ;w;

[varnaedhar]

Tai got to his feet, and Raven's posture stiffened slightly. Not out of fear -- he would never hurt her, not physically, not without one hell of a reason, but it was unusual for him to place himself on level with her these days. It was an almost aggressive motion, though she doesn't see any anger directed at her in his gaze. Distrust, perhaps. Irritation. But not anger, not truly.

He was crazy, but she held her tongue on that matter. 

When he so accurately dresses her down, Raven scoffed and turned her head, unable to meet that gaze of his. He had that look in his eye, the one he'd had all those years ago at Beacon. That fire that she had always been drawn to, the dragon which had become his namesake. She doesn't deny his accusation; there was no point, not when they both knew he was right.

Tai steps closer, and it takes everything in Raven not to retreat.

"I..." She starts without thinking, crimson gaze locking onto his own once again. Her throat tightens almost painfully, and she has to force out her words: "I don't know. I shouldn't have come -- I just... I needed..." She exhales a sharp breath, hand moving to hold her side. Wounds which should have healed by now, but she hasn't stopped to give her Aura the chance it truly needs.

She hadn't come here for pity, or sympathy, or any of that. She came here because of her daughter. Because she knew what was going to happen to Atlas. She'd been telling Ozpin and his followers as much for the last twenty years.

"...Yang isn't going to want to see me, Tai. Not after what I did. But I can send you to Atlas."

Raven is still on her feet, and those crossed arms serve to put yet another barrier between them, the way she'd been doing since she left, even when she dropped by, thinking he wouldn't notice. But he almost always knew when she was nearby, even in bird form. When your wife could turn into a bird at will, you got pretty familiar with exactly what that bird looked like.

Tai gets to his feet, ignoring Zwei's protests and crosses the room, so he's more on an eye level with Raven, even if there's still space between them. If they were going to talk about this, talk about his daughters, one of whom was hers, then they were going to be on equal footing.

Everything Raven was telling him…., it just got worse and worse, didn't it? Oz being back should have been some comfort, but he knows it's not that simple, that there's a hell of a lot involved with that, including whoever was carrying him…., Ironwood…., Tai hadn't seen James Ironwood in a while, but he'd hoped the man he had known, the man who had sent Yang a state-of-the-art prosthetic without even being asked could be counted on.

Salem had a maiden on her side, there was one in Atlas…., and now Ruby was fighting all of those forces combined.

Of course, there was always the possibility that Raven was lying….., but there wouldn't be any point to that. No, she was telling him the truth, which made it all that much worse.

"I know you think I'm crazy for wanting to go towards all of that," he started, and there was fire behind his eyes, steel in his voice, "But our daughter is there, in all of that. And don't you dare try to lie to me, to tell me that you don't care, that she made her choice and has to live with it. You wouldn't be here if you truly didn't care."

He takes another step towards Raven, closing the distance between them, so that he doesn't have to raise his voice as he asks again, "Why are you really here?"

#( unlockthestars / taiyang xiao long ) / ✖ out there may be monsters but in you is a dragon . #( verse.03 ) / ✖ i lead our people now . #/ where this was originally going? not sure but here we are #( queue ) / ✖ you did what queue had to do to survive .

[varnaedhar]

Raven huffed out a short laugh at Qrow's remark about not being graded on how well you go to a party; she's fairly certain that there is some sort of rhetoric out there, some guideline that she was unlikely to fit into. It would be just her luck, to get a failing grade in something like that.

"I'm not bitching out--" Her tone is a bit sharper than the bored voice she had been speaking with only moments earlier, tossing the pillow off her bed at him. Far from an effective projectile, it barely manages to make contact with her pest of a brother. "And I don't need to go to a party to see Tai make a fool of himself."

Damn him. Perceptive bastard.

"I dont think he could make it mandatory. Its not like you can get a grade for how well you go to a party." Qrow shrugged. "I suppose you could bitch out and hide in the dorms. No one's gonna stop you if you say you've got papers to write or some shit.

"It's gonna be lonely sitting up here all alone though." He looked over at his sister slyly. "Tai's going. You wouldn't want to miss watching him embarrass himself on the dance floor, would you?"

#( littleblackqrow / qrow branwen ) / ✖ there's nothing more demonic than two bored twins . #( verse.02 ) / ✖ it was team strq he was interested in . #( queue ) / ✖ you did what queue had to do to survive .

[varnaedhar]

Summer attempts to relate to her, and Raven wishes that she could say their situations were the same. Wishes that she could smile as openly as her teammate did, wishes that all of it came as easily as it seemed to for the rest of them. Yet she cannot, and simply nods numbly as Summer speaks of her family and home.

She wants to confess it all, but she knows that it would be her undoing -- and she cannot do it without dragging Qrow down along with her. She can't bring herself to take all of this away from him, as well.

"That, little Rose, is because I hardly look like myself." She's grateful for the shift in conversation, for the remark that gives her a chance to return to a more casual tone. Something familiar. "Trust me, you don't want to know how long it took to get my hair to look like this. And it's only because Qrow's stubborn that he managed it."

Bolder, now, with the more relaxed air: it's her turn to spin Summer outward and pull her back in, closer than they had been before. The hand on her waist shifts to hold the small of her back, humming out low in her throat as she contemplates how to answer. "...I like it well enough. Enough to not want to leave." 

It's the truth, and perhaps the most honest she's been that evening. It stings at her tongue, to be so vulnerable. "Of course, I'm stuck with you either way, aren't I? I have a feeling if I left now, you'd track me down and drag me back."

“ i don’t blame you , ” summer laughed with a shrug , finally letting herself relax in this moment with her teammate . “ my family is from atlas . i only recently moved to vale . cant say i exactly miss atlas , though . gods , that kingdom is a wreck . ” summer didn’t have siblings like raven did , or a farm to go & tend to like tai . it was just her & her mother , a former atlesian military officer & huntress . after the death of her father , she’d decided to move her & her daughter to vale to start over . so far , it was working .

as for raven : summer knew she was secretive , that she kept herself guarded & reserved for a reason . summer had been that way too once , & it had almost destroyed her . she wanted nothing more than to prevent raven from going down that dangerous path , but there was nothing she could do . she learned that you couldn’t simply force others to accept your help , & she had offered it . now , she’d wait for raven to come to her , whenever she was ready . summer wouldn’t stop waiting for her .

“ i think you look beautiful tonight , ” she grinned , genuine adoration in her tone . raven was absolutely the most gorgeous woman summer had ever seen . she carried herself with such confidence & poise & summer had spent all year striving just to be like her . deep down , part of her believed that raven should have been elected as their leader .

“ do you like beacon , at least ? i mean , maybe it’s too early to tell , but we do have like — three years left . ”

#( aestasrosis / summer rose ) / ✖ we're both ruined with matching insatiable hearts . #/ this is so old so no pressure to continue but sdklgh i tried to write this like six times and raven fought me #( verse.02 ) / ✖ it was team strq he was interested in . #( queue ) / ✖ you did what queue had to do to survive .

[varnaedhar]

"raven and tai/summer are divorced" do you think raven has the patience and willpower to read through and sign divorce papers? do you think she even knows what divorce is? do you think summer and tai never had a fraction of hope that she'd come back? that woman is still, legally, married,

#( headcanon ) / ✖ soft feathers cannot make a cruel bird kind . #/ so mal and i have always said raven and tai are still legally married #/ this is exactly why *wheeze*

[varnaedhar]

                        ….. i was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

#( about ) / ✖ wisdom and knowledge are great weights to bear . #( ship.phoenix ) / ✖ what a plot twist you were . #/ BIG OOF

[varnaedhar]

imagine your ex turning into a bird so she doesnt have to pay child support for her daughter that you adopted

#( dynamic.summer rose ) / ✖ thus kindly i scatter . #( ship.rosebird ) / ✖ oh ! who would inhabit this bleak world alone ? #( visage ) / ✖ i'm only human but a good myth is hard to kill . #/ summer's gonna kick your ass raven

[varnaedhar]

too many people saying their muse is feral,  not enough muses biting people unprompted.  seems like no one wants to just fucking chomp down anymore  

#( about ) / ✖ wisdom and knowledge are great weights to bear .

[varnaedhar]

@deviousdoctor: Kisses Raven's temple.

Oh? What an unusual touch, and Raven's hand comes to swat him away like he's a bug invading her space -- not making contact with him, but doing a good enough job of pulling her head away. "And what is that all about, hm?"

semi-unprompted

#( deviousdoctor / arthur watts ) / ✖ bad bad news one of us is gonna lose . #( answered ) / ✖ you need to question everything . #/ raven vc: affection? disgusting

[varnaedhar]

@anonymous: How did you fall in love with Tai? The two of you are so different and he doesn't really seem like he'd be your type

"He wasn't. He isn't."

For a moment, that seems to be the only response that the bandit queen is going to offer, before she fights that bile rising up in her chest back down to try again. "Taiyang was... undeterred. In a way that I had never experienced before, he was determined to know me. No matter how badly I tried to keep my feelings locked away, no matter how many times I bit and snarled at him. He always... just kept coming back. Always with that smile of his, that resolute positivity... like a sun that could never be extinguished."

But how? Even she couldn't say with certainty. One day she had simply woken up and realized that the sight of him with other women was irritating her in a way she hadn't felt before. Her soul had claimed him long before her lips ever did.

"He was persistent. I suppose that's the best answer I have for you."

semi-unprompted

#( anonymous ) / ✖ take off the mask when you speak to me . #( answered ) / ✖ you need to question everything . #( ship.phoenix ) / ✖ what a plot twist you were . #/ good bye i am weak ;w;

[varnaedhar]

@anonymous: Are you able to use other weapons?

"I'd be a pretty fucking worthless huntress if I couldn't."

Although, that would have been far from the only reason she was a pretty pathetic excuse for a huntress. "Every huntsman has their preference, but a good one is trained in a variety. Never be caught with your guard down, and all that. I prefer blades, but I'm a decent enough shot and I will fight tooth and claw if I must. I've even played around with Harbinger, years ago."

semi-unprompted

#( anonymous ) / ✖ take off the mask when you speak to me . #( answered ) / ✖ you need to question everything .

[varnaedhar]

@anonymous: Did you know your parents?

"No, I didn't. Either Qrow and I were abandoned or our parents never owned up to it. Whatever the case, I'll cut you off from the next question: no, I don't care, and no, I don't want to know who they were. They didn't care to know us, why should I?"

semi-unprompted

#( anonymous ) / ✖ take off the mask when you speak to me . #( answered ) / ✖ you need to question everything .

[varnaedhar]

@flightofaqrow: throws a rock

Joke's on him: her reaction time is still pretty good. Good enough that she can both swing her sword to open a portal behind him and duck her head to the side at the same time. Let's see if the alcohol has dulled his skill enough that she can hit him with the rock he threw.

semi-unprompted

#( flightofaqrow / qrow branwen ) / ✖ if karma doesn't hit you i will . #/ your tag has never been more fitting amazing #( answered ) / ✖ you need to question everything .

[varnaedhar]

I know it's like hours after the fact but if that transphobic person who went after corvidkins is following this Raven, just know that you aren't welcome here either. uwu

#/ do i write raven as cisgendered? yes #/ do i love trans raven? also fucking yes it's so good and makes the twin connection deeper and it's absolutely fascinating to play with #/ alice has an amazing grasp on raven and that anon can simply shove their stupidity ~all the way~ up their asshole #( ooc ) / ✖ the magpie behind the raven . #/ (ps sorry for the inactivity here lately raven has been fighting me skjg)

[varnaedhar]

What Form of Gentle Affection are you?

'I miss you' texts

long nights full of yearning and fantasies... intimate secrets you'd be embarrassed to say out loud... passionately reuniting once again... you want a love that is desperate and passionate, you want someone that will make you feel like you’re living a romance novel. you want to feel the fire burning in your chest when you see them. you want every touch to feel like fireworks, and to discover something new about them every day. while this addicting fire can be fun to chase, try not to drop every lover once the flame seems to have died down. sometimes the most intense burn comes from the fire you continue to kindle, and it is worth it to settle in front of a hearth.

tagged by: @caeloservare​ thank you uwu tagging: steal it

#( dash games ) / ✖ truth hidden beneath the mask . #/ this one feels less fitting but honestly #/ raven's ~gentle~ affection is harder to pin down

[varnaedhar]

I will wear you down I will break your crown Because it's mine Mine, all mine I will scream your name I'll make your body shake Because it's mine Mine, all mine

And I will take your fears And make them disappear But let me make it clear that I-

I will break your heart I will make you cry I'll take you apart Because you're mine Like a brand-new toy I'll destroy in time Leave you in pieces, boy Because you're mine Mine, all mine

#( music ) / ✖ even nature needs to scream sometimes . #/ apparently it's just a night for sharing songs for the muses #/ this whole song is just. shipping with raven. in a nutshell. #/ but esp. #( ship.phoenix ) / ✖ what a plot twist you were . #( ship.ravenwood ) / ✖ i like your blood on my teeth just a little too much .