{Third-Person POV}
The ride to Anima took up most of the daylight, and it left Miles at the mercy of his own thoughts.
Thankfully, it wasn't as depressing as the ride to Beacon had been.
Miles used the time wisely, thinking of ways he could bond with his son. It ranged from swimming to taking a hike. Miles was conflicted about what he should do with Jaune, but he had a better idea.
That idea was to ask Mordred... yes... Mordred... his infamous, rebellious daughter, who would rather start a fight with him than sit down and talk.
He couldn't blame her for that. He deserved at least that, especially considering that Jaune forgave him. Miles felt unworthy of it. At least with Mordred being angry in Jaune's stead, Miles could accept it.
Mordred... Miles didn't hate her. Miles didn't want to play favorites, but if he did, his favorite would undoubtedly be Mordred.
His children might not know it, but Mordred was much like Miles himself when he was younger: brash, foul-mouthed, aggressive, rebellious, and a whole load of other things.
The only reason he changed was because Luna beat that attitude out of him.
Mordred... Miles didn't think that Mordred hated him. She was just angry at him. She fought with him because she cared for her little brother.
Years ago, Miles always thought that the one closest to Jaune would be either Jeanne or Saphron.
But after what he had done, he was thankful it was Mordred who became the person closest to Jaune.
He was thankful for both Jaune and Mordred. As for why, Mordred wasn't that close with her sisters because of her harsh personality.
Did she care for her sisters and would she fight for them? Yes.
Did her sisters care for her? Yes.
But they weren't that close... and when she became much closer to Jaune, she had mellowed out. Jaune could control her flames. There were many times Miles could tell Mordred was about to go berserk on him for not responding when Jaune tried talking to him.
But Jaune calmed her down with a single look, or even just a hand on her shoulder.
Jaune and Mordred balanced each other out: Mordred made sure no one took advantage of Jaune's kindness, and Jaune made sure Mordred's anger wouldn't take over by calming her down.
Miles had always had a feeling that Mordred and Jaune were hiding something. As for how he knew, he had been a Huntsman for nineteen years now... well, technically twenty-two years if you included the time he was at Beacon.
Would he try to pry into those secrets? No. It was the least he could do. Mordred and Jaune's bond wasn't something he should disrupt.
And that bond was why Miles would ask Mordred's opinion and suggestions about what he should do with Jaune.
He once talked to Luna about what she knew about Jaune, and her answer was something he both expected and didn't expect at the same time. She told him about Jaune's favorite foods, his favorite music, and anything else a mother would know about her child. What Miles didn't expect was that Jaune was gone for most of the day after school, and after that, he was with Mordred. Luna knew it wasn't anything bad, considering that whenever she went into town, people asked her about Jaune, and sometimes even gave her gifts to bring to him.
It turned out Jaune was the town's golden boy, and when Luna asked around, everyone said Jaune was kind and would help with anything... from carrying groceries to painting fences.
As for Mordred, it turned out Jaune dragged her everywhere with him while he helped around town. The town loved the dynamic duo: the grumpy older sister and the loving little brother.
"So here's the plan... meet up with Qrow, find Anbar, retrieve Anbar, go home, sleep, wake up, talk to Mordred, then go with Jaune," Miles thought to himself. In his opinion, it was a solid plan, and better than what he usually came up with, considering he was more of a make-it-up-as-you-go kind of guy. Luna wasn't fond of that. She had beaten his ass more than once because his plans sometimes almost got them killed, and the only reason they survived was because of Luna's Semblance, Miles's sword skills, and luck.
Miles felt the Bullhead land and raised an eyebrow. "Damn... time flies when you're thinking." He checked his watch. "...8 p.m. A seven-hour flight. That's fast. It would take all day if I took a commercial Bullhead to Mistral."
Miles walked to the door as it opened with a hiss. "Thank you, my friend. Have a safe flight," Miles said to the pilot, and the pilot nodded at him.
"You too, Miles. Godspeed."
When Miles stepped off the Bullhead, it immediately took off and flew away. "Okay... so where is Qrow? The last update I got was that he was at a bar, and that was three hours ago. That's way too early for anyone to be at a bar."
Miles sighed, shook his head, and walked into the city, looking around. "If I remember right, the bar should be this way..."
As for how Miles knew where it was, despite not drinking, it was the bar where Qrow had drunk himself into the hospital after Summer died.
It took Miles about thirty minutes to find it. It wasn't a pretty sight. The sign looked like it was on its last legs, someone was passed out beside the entrance, there was blood on the pavement, and there were even a couple of teeth scattered near the curb.
Miles exhaled. "Well, here goes nothing." He pushed the door open and leaned back as the stench of alcohol hit him. "Shit... I hate that smell."
He forced himself deeper into the bar and felt a small relief when he saw Qrow's back. If Qrow wasn't here, Miles didn't know which bar he'd be in, and Miles didn't exactly keep a map of every bar in Mistral. Qrow probably had that map memorized.
"Qrow," Miles called, taking the empty seat beside him.
"Miles," Qrow greeted, then downed a shot of alcohol that looked like vodka.
"So... how's life? And really, you're going to drink knowing what we're about to do?" Miles smirked, glad to see an old friend again, considering that his own team of four had become two before they even finished at Beacon.
The team broke up not because anyone died or got maimed, but because they couldn't stand each other. They split rather than risk fighting in the middle of a mission. They didn't talk anymore, but Miles heard they were still alive.
"Knowing what we're about to do is a damn good reason to drink," Qrow said with a pessimistic chuckle as he refilled his glass from a bottle that probably belonged to someone else, judging by the state of the guy slumped beside him with a bruise on his face. "Honestly, I don't have a good feeling about this mission. With my luck, it'll end in a fight or something worse."
"As for life, I'm planning to take a break from Ozpin," Qrow said, then took another shot. "Damn, this hits like a Bullhead."
Miles raised an eyebrow. "You? Taking a break from Ozpin? What are you planning to do?" He was genuinely surprised, and he was glad Qrow was stepping back.
Qrow hummed, peering into the glass. "My oldest niece, Yang, is about to start training at Signal. I'm planning to be a combat teacher there."
Miles didn't laugh, and he didn't mock him. He was honestly happy. "You as a teacher would be good. You could prepare the next generation to survive. If you're teaching combat, the kids you train are going to be monsters by the time they get into a Huntsman Academy."
Qrow chuckled again, refilled his glass, and raised it. "To being a good teacher." He drank, then grabbed an empty shot glass, slid it in front of Miles, and filled it. "Here. Drink up for my new job."
Miles looked at the glass and shook his head. "No. Sorry, Qrow, but you know I've been sober for seventeen years. The last time I went out for drinks, it didn't end well for me."
Qrow blinked, guilt spreading across his face as the memory failed him through the alcohol. "Shit... sorry, Miles. I genuinely forgot. I'm such a screw-up. I think I've had enough to drink for now."
"It's fine," Miles said, patting Qrow's shoulder. "You're drunk. Forgetting things comes with that."
Qrow glanced at him. "So... you got any idea where to find her?" By now, Qrow didn't know where the Fall Maiden could be. With the way his thoughts were drifting, he could picture her anywhere, and the alcohol wasn't helping.
Miles nodded. "Yeah. I think I have an idea where she could be. You know what tomorrow is, right?"
Qrow tilted his head. "Tomorrow? That would be Friday... or maybe Thursday. Shit. What day is it again?"
Miles laughed softly and shook his head. "Today's Monday, and tomorrow is the anniversary of my father's... my father's..."
Qrow sobered a fraction, posture shifting. "So... you think she's going to be there?"
Miles nodded. "Yeah. She loved him too much not to be there. And I have a feeling her time as a Maiden is going to end. She's really old now."
"Then we should move," Qrow said, pushing himself up. Miles followed.
"Yeah. If we go fast enough, we can get there before dawn."
<=======]==¤
It was safe to say that Miles was never letting Qrow fly a Bullhead again.
"Move! Move, dumbass! Move!" Miles shouted as he clung to his seat.
"I'm trying!" Qrow yelled back, and by "trying," he meant he was doing a barrel roll midair.
Miles looked out the window and saw a couple of Lancer Grimm clinging to the engine, stabbing it with their pincers.
"How the hell did we lose a thruster?!" Miles shouted.
"Shit! There's a Lancer on the engine!" Miles shouted at Qrow, and Qrow's eyes widened.
"What do you mean, a Lancer?! We're too high for them!" Qrow fought to keep the Bullhead stable with only the right thruster. "Do something! Kill them!"
"Are you stupid? You think I'm going out there at this height?" Miles snapped, but he still unclipped his seat belt and grabbed a rope.
"Don't you make me fall off," he warned as he tied one end to Qrow's seat and looped the other end around his own body.
"Open the side door!" Miles ordered.
Qrow opened it, and Miles ran forward and jumped out with his greatsword.
Miles slammed into the side of the Bullhead with a heavy crash. "Shit." If not for the rope, he would've been dead already.
He didn't have time to regret it. He drove his greatsword into the hull and hauled himself onto the top, barely dodging a set of pincers as the Lancers turned their focus from the engine to him.
"Why the hell don't I have a gun?" Miles muttered as the wind nearly tore him off his footing. "Oh right, because I suck at it."
He couldn't stand properly against the wind, so he improvised by planting his sword into the roof as an anchor.
"Hey! I'm over here!" Miles flared his Aura to draw them in, and it worked. The Lancers began crawling toward him with their pincers digging into the metal.
Miles watched them and kept his breathing steady. The Bullhead was moving too fast for them to take flight; the wind would tear them away if they tried.
"They can't fly," he muttered. "That helps. Still can't swing my sword freely without getting blown off."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few pieces of Fire Dust. "Try chewing on this."
He threw the Dust. It struck one Lancer and detonated, tearing its upper body apart, but the blast rocked the Bullhead hard.
"Miles! What the hell did you do?!" Qrow screamed from inside.
Miles didn't answer. He had both hands locked on his sword, gripping it like his life depended on it, because it did.
"One more," Miles said through his teeth.
The rope creaked, and Miles saw shrapnel had nicked it. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was enough to weaken it.
"Shit!"
The rope snapped, and the wind ripped Miles away from the roof.
He twisted in midair, hauling his sword up as the remaining Lancer screeched and stabbed toward him.
Miles moved faster. He cut the Lancer in half before its pincers could connect, then slammed his sword back into the roof to stop himself from being thrown away again.
He pulled himself toward the side door, dragged himself inside, shut it, and collapsed to the floor.
"I'm not doing that again," Miles said, breathing hard.
Qrow laughed, but his focus snapped forward as the Bullhead started to tilt. "I thought I lost you when the rope snapped. Shit!"
"Hands on the controls," Miles said as he forced himself back into his seat and buckled in.
"I know," Qrow said, jaw tight. "We're not going to make it."
Miles exhaled. "Yeah. We lost an engine, and the Bullhead's messed up. Can you set it down at Shade Academy?"
Qrow nodded. "Yeah, I can. After that, we're going on foot unless we borrow a vehicle from Theodore, and he won't be happy about us dumping a wrecked Bullhead on his doorstep."
Miles let out a short breath that wasn't quite a laugh. "I can't believe I didn't fall."
Qrow glanced back for a second, then returned his eyes to the front. "That explosion almost made me lose control. Did they damage the other thruster? I didn't get any warnings from the panel."
Miles shook his head. "No. That was me. I threw Fire Dust at the Grimm."
Qrow stared at him for a moment. "You're insane. No wonder Luna keeps beating sense into you."
Miles gave a small shrug. "I managed to charm Luna with it."
"Touche."
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