[ While the mini ice queen's hologram has certainly been informative (if not confusing, because what the fuck kind of stupid situation is this), after a minute or two of scanning through some older posts on the network everything else becomes irrelevant.
Because Ozpin is alive, and that's priority one.
But Cinder's apparently out and about here, too, so just making a post saying "oh hello I am here as well and how DO you all do today" seems like a bad idea. Better to keep himself in the shadows while he can, give them a leg up on the enemy. Still, he NEEDS to talk to Ozpin ASAP, so the old fart will end up receiving this very short text: ]
[ there's about a five minute pause, because ozpin is dozing at glynda's apartment again -- but finally, he bothers himself enough to check his phone, and once he reads the text message, he immediately gets to his feet.
finally.
-- he almost considers texting back a snappish you can fly, limp yourself over here, but considering what glynda and james told him (qrow is out looking for you), ozpin immediately decides to be. you know. kind. ]
On my way.
[ ozpin is under strict orders from glynda, probably to rest and to not act like an idiot, but qrow did say as soon as possible, and so he activates his semblance and arrives in about thirty seconds.
it took a bit longer, from ozpin's perspective, but qrow only has a moment or two to wait before ozpin apparently appears out of nowhere, tapping his cane against the ground once to get his attention, with a faint smile. ]
You are late.
[ but his tone is warm.
now, officially, ozpin feels that the odds are on his side. ]
[ It's more or less how he expected Ozpin would arrive, so he doesn't show any visible surprise at his arrival. There is, however, a noticeable delay before he actually responds, taking a moment to look the man over once, stepping closer to rest a hand on his shoulder.
He's here. He's fine. Somehow.
Thank god.
Then he rolls his eyes, letting out a "pffffft!" that blows an unhealthy dose of whiskey breath in the headmaster's face. ]
You know what they say about searching for something - it's always in the last place you look.
[ ah, well. good to know things never change. like qrow being a literal alcoholic. still, the brief moment of relief isn't lost on ozpin, though he musters his best exasperated look at qrow's dismissal. ]
You --
[ and ozpin gently prods qrow's leg with his cane before resting his weight on it again, surveying qrow with arched eyebrows ]
-- should not be looking for me at all, my friend. Surely you have better things to be doing, given the state of Vale.
[ but qrow hardly listens to him, let alone anyone else, and surely glynda and james did not argue. sigh. ]
[ it takes all of ozpin's self-control to not laugh, and so he purses his lips together tightly at the mini-schnee, professionally clearing his throat. ]
What Weiss says is true. We are in a new place, brought here by forces outside of our control. Many of my students are already here, including your nieces.
[ ruby and yang, who both need the support, will surely be thrilled to see him. ]
Glynda and James are here, too. All of us seem to be on relatively the same page, in terms of what happened at home. For the most part.
[ ozpin, as per usual, has his secrets, but qrow is the one person who won't utterly freak out at being told who ozpin thinks has him under lock and key. so he may be more lenient with information. but only just. ]
Yes... Cinder and I have already had quite the discussion concerning her actions.
[ mildly, but judging from ozpin's shrewd tone, that discussion definitely involved some form of violence. ]
Emerald and Mercury are both here -- the two students allegedly from Haven, but that is obviously no longer true. Mercury saw fit to record the destruction of Vale and broadcast it to the rest of the kingdoms. Emerald, I am less sure of... something about her tells me she's less than thrilled about her position in Cinder's army.
[ but, you know, ozpin. eternal optimist. ]
Weiss' sister, Winter, is also here, and I trust you'll behave yourself.
[ don't piss off weiss, or james, or winter, ozpin has already had two migraines since arriving here ]
[ There's a scowl at the mention of those two brats - Ruby's testimony has given him more than enough reason to hate the both of them something fierce. ]
Yeah, well with any luck she'll be "less than thrilled" at her position six feet under the dirt before long.
[ ozpin almost tells qrow that he's not running around killing kids, thank you, but then he has to go and do that, and ozpin sighs, with a slight roll of his eyes. ]
No, of course not. You have always been the perfect symbol of militaristic discipline.
[ There's a little "heh", but it's an empty sound as he reaches for his flask. He has a feeling he'll need to be refilling it more often than usual in the coming days.
... Or the coming hours, even. ]
Well, I think you know the big question, so I'll get right to it.
[ A delay, as he takes a long drink from the flask, heaving a sigh that turns into his inquiry. ]
[ ozpin has told the story so many times thusfar, that it almost weighs heavily in his stomach as he begins. he's modified it, with every person -- his students received the most censored version. i'm alive. everything will be fine. have faith. and james and glynda received most of the truth. it isn't good, but i'm alive. have faith.
qrow, though.... ]
I was in the Vault, with Pyrrha Nikos, and Jaune Arc -- another student. [ give qrow doesn't keep tabs on ozpin's students. ] Pyrrha was going to accept Amber's aura, but Cinder killed Amber before I could complete the process, and absorbed the remains of Amber's power. I told Jaune and Pyrrha to leave, to get you, James, and Glynda -- and they left the Vault.
[ ozpin pauses, there, and his brow furrows -- some of it is hard to remember, because cinder hit him pretty hard. and he could go into detail, about the fight, but strategy can come later. qrow needs to know the bare facts, not how cinder fights. he knows. he's seen amber. ]
... I was too slow. [ finally, with a weary smile to qrow. ] She broke my aura, and managed to best me. She then went to the top of the tower, where... well. I am certain you know the rest.
[ "I was too slow". A man who can literally slow time itself to a virtual standstill was too slow. The power of the Maidens is fearsome, no doubt, but that's something he didn't think Cinder would be able to do on her own. But then again, that kind of power doesn't often fall into the hands of one with such vicious, aggressive purpose.
It was their life's work to make sure it never did, and they'd failed pretty miserably.
He doesn't bother to recount the details of the aftermath just yet - of Pyrrha Nikos and what became of her, or what it brought out in Ruby. Because the question Qrow really wants an answer to has yet to be answered. ]
Alive, but where? All we found was your cane - where did you go?
[ and now, the crux of it. whether or not to tell the truth.
glynda, surely, would react poorly. she is already weighed down with too much. james, too, would react poorly, but in a much different way. internalizing it, with quiet guilt and pressure, until it beat him down, too. both of them are better off without knowing, not until ozpin is certain.
qrow, though, ozpin can trust to be honest. and open. and while he copes with his pain in a wholly unhealthy way, ozpin knows when he's feeling it. more than that, qrow is in the field. qrow is ozpin's eyes and ears, and he would understand why ozpin has been silent thusfar.
so, he pauses -- obviously weighing out whether or not to tell him, before... ]
I believe I was taken to Salem.
[ it's said evenly, with no show of fear or anxiety. calmly stated, as if talking about the weather. ]
He takes a deep breath in, heaving out a sigh as he runs his hand over his face a few times. Salem. It's not like he thought she'd sit and wait forever, she was bound to make a move eventually, and of course he knew she had to have a hand in what happened to Vale. Who else would be able to come up with a strategy to effectively coincide an attack on the school with an onslaught of Grimm - more than that, who else would want to? Cinder was obviously there under her command, to steal the Maiden's powers and take down the tower in the process.
He just thought they had more time.
But there's a bright side to this, as absurd as it may sound - Ozpin's been taken to her. That means, at the very least, she wants him alive for the time being. It's a very, very small comfort, but it's a comfort. ]
[ there's a soft huff of air -- barely a laugh -- at the expletive, because -- understatement. ozpin's life is hardly worth more than anyone else's, but what awaits him will not be kind. his world is going to burn, and salem is going to force him to watch. he has no kindness ahead of him, but he's far tougher than he looks. he'll hardly crack. ]
You are the only one.
[ quietly, watching him carefully, with a slight frown ]
Glynda and James were told that I was taken, but that I was not willing to say a name until I was certain who. And given that nearly all of my students approached me with with tears and "Professor Ozpin, you're alive", I hardly saw need to add additional stress to their lives by explaining what awaits me. They simply know that I am alive.
[ the latter, clearly, bothers him more than the previous -- ozpin hardly wants his students to think he's dead -- but they all received the truth. more or less. ]
Cinder, to my knowledge, has not told anyone. Mercury and Emerald both seemed to think I was dead -- or, at least, incapacitated, given Cinder had made it to the top of the tower.
[ He nods slowly - it's a secret he'll keep pretty easily. He managed to not tell Yang her own mother was still alive and in semi-regular contact with him, so. You know. Secrets are sort of his thing, too.
He shoves one hand in his pocket, taking another drink - do not judge him, Ozpin - before his expression lightens just a bit. ]
[ ozpin can always count on qrow to keep his mouth shut when he requires it to be, and he watches with mild disapproval as qrow takes another drink. you could at least enjoy some semblance of good liquor, qrow, for the love of -- ]
... yes.
{ mildly enough, though it's obvious ozpin is trying to hide a smile, appearing ponderous ]
I seem to remember an individual predicting that was going to happen, but I can't recall the genius' name for the life of me.
[ There hadn't been a trace of her up there, either - if only she'd been frozen as the dragon had been, Qrow would have been sure to throw her right off the tower in hopes that the fall would just break her into pieces. He wants to hope that Ruby's eyes just evaporated her, but he's learned not to bother being hopeful about most things.
Still, it's a minor victory all the same. ]
But until you remember who it was, her mentor will be happy to take all the credit for safekeeping.
Yeah... the kid's something else. She really is her mother's daughter.
[ He smiles a bit fondly, at that - he remembers the tears in Ruby's eyes as she recounted for him what had happened atop the tower, and he remembers seeing her set out some time later with a new team to seek answers rather than wait around getting nothing done. Ruby was an honest soul - she wasn't hard to hurt, but she was very hard to stop. It was because she could feel the pain of what had happened that she was so determined to make sure it never came to pass again.
It would, though. This was not a fight that would end without more tragedy. But Ruby wouldn't give up.
Yang, though... ]
You, Jimmy, Glynda, and my nieces. [ A pause - because there's one more name he's seen mentioned on the network, and she should be included too. ] And... Pyrrha. All of you should be the only ones to know I'm here. Even if she's outnumbered, Cinder's too dangerous to have all our cards out on the table. Besides, I'm used to hiding in plain sight as it is.
[ indeed, ruby is truly her mother's daughter. she's special -- a force to be reckoned with, surely, and suddenly their only real, legitimate hope at taking down cinder. though ozpin doesn't say that out loud. qrow has enough to deal with -- he hardly needs to add his favorite niece to salem's hit list to it. ]
Pyrrha told one of her teammates' about the powers of the Maiden. I do not know whether or not she will have the constitution to keep your presence a secret.
[ it's said quietly ]
But I agree. Cinder has already proven herself with little regard for their safety, or for others. I have already had to stop her from killing two of my less... reserved students.
[ jaune and ren had just lost a teammate, though, and jaune had lost his partner. ozpin would probably want to kill cinder, too, if he had suffered the same loss. ]
An edge, and a spy, would push the pieces further into our favor. She needs to be dispatched, and her power removes, before Salem potentially arrives here.
[ because at the rate that they're all showing up, it's only a matter of time ]
[ There's a bit of a squint as Ozpin speaks of Pyrrha - he knows he can't blame her, given that she literally died for them, but at the same time it does have an impact on his trust. ]
... On second thought, maybe the champ's been forced to keep enough secrets as it is.
[ Which... also brings into question whether he can talk to Ruby and Yang right away. He wants to, rather terribly really, but for them to keep a secret from Pyrrha might be hard given all that's happened. He'll have to decide that soon.
He finally puts the flask away, resting his hands on his hips with a sigh and a frown. ]
Cinder, we can handle. She might have gotten the best of you somehow, but there's no way she'd be able to take all of us at once. I mean, if Amber couldn't...
[ His lips draw tight - he doesn't need to finish that thought. Ozpin already knew as well as he did how Amber fell, and she was one hell of a warrior. But even if Cinder's just as strong as she was - even stronger, perhaps - she couldn't possibly beat Ozpin, Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood all at the same time. ]
Salem, though...
[ His gaze darts back up to meet Ozpin's, eyes grim. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text
Because Ozpin is alive, and that's priority one.
But Cinder's apparently out and about here, too, so just making a post saying "oh hello I am here as well and how DO you all do today" seems like a bad idea. Better to keep himself in the shadows while he can, give them a leg up on the enemy. Still, he NEEDS to talk to Ozpin ASAP, so the old fart will end up receiving this very short text: ]
@ the bay
on the roof
limp your way up there asap
q
action
finally.
-- he almost considers texting back a snappish you can fly, limp yourself over here, but considering what glynda and james told him (qrow is out looking for you), ozpin immediately decides to be. you know. kind. ]
On my way.
[ ozpin is under strict orders
from glynda, probablyto rest and to not act like an idiot, but qrow did say as soon as possible, and so he activates his semblance and arrives in about thirty seconds.it took a bit longer, from ozpin's perspective, but qrow only has a moment or two to wait before ozpin apparently appears out of nowhere, tapping his cane against the ground once to get his attention, with a faint smile. ]
You are late.
[ but his tone is warm.
now, officially, ozpin feels that the odds are on his side. ]
action forever
He's here. He's fine. Somehow.
Thank god.
Then he rolls his eyes, letting out a "pffffft!" that blows an unhealthy dose of whiskey breath in the headmaster's face. ]
You know what they say about searching for something - it's always in the last place you look.
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You --
[ and ozpin gently prods qrow's leg with his cane before resting his weight on it again, surveying qrow with arched eyebrows ]
-- should not be looking for me at all, my friend. Surely you have better things to be doing, given the state of Vale.
[ but qrow hardly listens to him, let alone anyone else, and surely glynda and james did not argue. sigh. ]
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[ A pause, as he gestures with open arms towards the unfamiliar world around them. ]
And it's definitely not the place. So... that hologram, with mini-Schnee. Is all of that true?
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What Weiss says is true. We are in a new place, brought here by forces outside of our control. Many of my students are already here, including your nieces.
[ ruby and yang, who both need the support, will surely be thrilled to see him. ]
Glynda and James are here, too. All of us seem to be on relatively the same page, in terms of what happened at home. For the most part.
[ ozpin, as per usual, has his secrets, but qrow is the one person who won't utterly freak out at being told who ozpin thinks has him under lock and key. so he may be more lenient with information. but only just. ]
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From what I gather, it's not just our allies who have shown up here. I see Cinder's been flapping her lips already.
[ He wants desperately to ask what happened at the tower - where did Ozpin go? What did Cinder do? Has he heard about what Ruby did?
But he can wait, if only for a little while. Get a grip on the current situation, first. ]
Anyone else lurking about?
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[ mildly, but judging from ozpin's shrewd tone, that discussion definitely involved some form of violence. ]
Emerald and Mercury are both here -- the two students allegedly from Haven, but that is obviously no longer true. Mercury saw fit to record the destruction of Vale and broadcast it to the rest of the kingdoms. Emerald, I am less sure of... something about her tells me she's less than thrilled about her position in Cinder's army.
[ but, you know, ozpin. eternal optimist. ]
Weiss' sister, Winter, is also here, and I trust you'll behave yourself.
[ don't piss off weiss, or james, or winter, ozpin has already had two migraines since arriving here ]
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Yeah, well with any luck she'll be "less than thrilled" at her position six feet under the dirt before long.
[ qrow does not share your optimism, ozzy ]
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Who, me? Step out of line? Oz, come on. Never in a million years.
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No, of course not. You have always been the perfect symbol of militaristic discipline.
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Hesitancy does not become you, Qrow.
[ you're itching to ask. so ask. ]
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... Or the coming hours, even. ]
Well, I think you know the big question, so I'll get right to it.
[ A delay, as he takes a long drink from the flask, heaving a sigh that turns into his inquiry. ]
What happened in there?
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qrow, though.... ]
I was in the Vault, with Pyrrha Nikos, and Jaune Arc -- another student. [ give qrow doesn't keep tabs on ozpin's students. ] Pyrrha was going to accept Amber's aura, but Cinder killed Amber before I could complete the process, and absorbed the remains of Amber's power. I told Jaune and Pyrrha to leave, to get you, James, and Glynda -- and they left the Vault.
[ ozpin pauses, there, and his brow furrows -- some of it is hard to remember, because cinder hit him pretty hard. and he could go into detail, about the fight, but strategy can come later. qrow needs to know the bare facts, not how cinder fights. he knows. he's seen amber. ]
... I was too slow. [ finally, with a weary smile to qrow. ] She broke my aura, and managed to best me. She then went to the top of the tower, where... well. I am certain you know the rest.
[ here, though, ozpin pauses. ]
But I am alive, Qrow.
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It was their life's work to make sure it never did, and they'd failed pretty miserably.
He doesn't bother to recount the details of the aftermath just yet - of Pyrrha Nikos and what became of her, or what it brought out in Ruby. Because the question Qrow really wants an answer to has yet to be answered. ]
Alive, but where? All we found was your cane - where did you go?
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glynda, surely, would react poorly. she is already weighed down with too much. james, too, would react poorly, but in a much different way. internalizing it, with quiet guilt and pressure, until it beat him down, too. both of them are better off without knowing, not until ozpin is certain.
qrow, though, ozpin can trust to be honest. and open. and while he copes with his pain in a wholly unhealthy way, ozpin knows when he's feeling it. more than that, qrow is in the field. qrow is ozpin's eyes and ears, and he would understand why ozpin has been silent thusfar.
so, he pauses -- obviously weighing out whether or not to tell him, before... ]
I believe I was taken to Salem.
[ it's said evenly, with no show of fear or anxiety. calmly stated, as if talking about the weather. ]
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Shit.
[ Shit.
He takes a deep breath in, heaving out a sigh as he runs his hand over his face a few times. Salem. It's not like he thought she'd sit and wait forever, she was bound to make a move eventually, and of course he knew she had to have a hand in what happened to Vale. Who else would be able to come up with a strategy to effectively coincide an attack on the school with an onslaught of Grimm - more than that, who else would want to? Cinder was obviously there under her command, to steal the Maiden's powers and take down the tower in the process.
He just thought they had more time.
But there's a bright side to this, as absurd as it may sound - Ozpin's been taken to her. That means, at the very least, she wants him alive for the time being. It's a very, very small comfort, but it's a comfort. ]
Who else knows?
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You are the only one.
[ quietly, watching him carefully, with a slight frown ]
Glynda and James were told that I was taken, but that I was not willing to say a name until I was certain who. And given that nearly all of my students approached me with with tears and "Professor Ozpin, you're alive", I hardly saw need to add additional stress to their lives by explaining what awaits me. They simply know that I am alive.
[ the latter, clearly, bothers him more than the previous -- ozpin hardly wants his students to think he's dead -- but they all received the truth. more or less. ]
Cinder, to my knowledge, has not told anyone. Mercury and Emerald both seemed to think I was dead -- or, at least, incapacitated, given Cinder had made it to the top of the tower.
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[ He nods slowly - it's a secret he'll keep pretty easily. He managed to not tell Yang her own mother was still alive and in semi-regular contact with him, so. You know. Secrets are sort of his thing, too.
He shoves one hand in his pocket, taking another drink - do not judge him, Ozpin - before his expression lightens just a bit. ]
Silver lining - have you heard about Ruby?
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... yes.
{ mildly enough, though it's obvious ozpin is trying to hide a smile, appearing ponderous ]
I seem to remember an individual predicting that was going to happen, but I can't recall the genius' name for the life of me.
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[ There hadn't been a trace of her up there, either - if only she'd been frozen as the dragon had been, Qrow would have been sure to throw her right off the tower in hopes that the fall would just break her into pieces. He wants to hope that Ruby's eyes just evaporated her, but he's learned not to bother being hopeful about most things.
Still, it's a minor victory all the same. ]
But until you remember who it was, her mentor will be happy to take all the credit for safekeeping.
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I would expect nothing less.
[ but that gives him pause, considering something, as he watches the horizon ]
She has been handling this remarkably well, all things considered.
[ she is far from alright, but ruby is handling herself as a huntress would. ozpin can ask no more of her than that. ]
She was kind enough to tell me everything that I had missed. Had I know what... I missed, I would have never asked her to -- well.
[ qrow knows. ]
She will be thrilled to have you here, at any rate. Yang, too.
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[ He smiles a bit fondly, at that - he remembers the tears in Ruby's eyes as she recounted for him what had happened atop the tower, and he remembers seeing her set out some time later with a new team to seek answers rather than wait around getting nothing done. Ruby was an honest soul - she wasn't hard to hurt, but she was very hard to stop. It was because she could feel the pain of what had happened that she was so determined to make sure it never came to pass again.
It would, though. This was not a fight that would end without more tragedy. But Ruby wouldn't give up.
Yang, though... ]
You, Jimmy, Glynda, and my nieces. [ A pause - because there's one more name he's seen mentioned on the network, and she should be included too. ] And... Pyrrha. All of you should be the only ones to know I'm here. Even if she's outnumbered, Cinder's too dangerous to have all our cards out on the table. Besides, I'm used to hiding in plain sight as it is.
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Pyrrha told one of her teammates' about the powers of the Maiden. I do not know whether or not she will have the constitution to keep your presence a secret.
[ it's said quietly ]
But I agree. Cinder has already proven herself with little regard for their safety, or for others. I have already had to stop her from killing two of my less... reserved students.
[ jaune and ren had just lost a teammate, though, and jaune had lost his partner. ozpin would probably want to kill cinder, too, if he had suffered the same loss. ]
An edge, and a spy, would push the pieces further into our favor. She needs to be dispatched, and her power removes, before Salem potentially arrives here.
[ because at the rate that they're all showing up, it's only a matter of time ]
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... On second thought, maybe the champ's been forced to keep enough secrets as it is.
[ Which... also brings into question whether he can talk to Ruby and Yang right away. He wants to, rather terribly really, but for them to keep a secret from Pyrrha might be hard given all that's happened. He'll have to decide that soon.
He finally puts the flask away, resting his hands on his hips with a sigh and a frown. ]
Cinder, we can handle. She might have gotten the best of you somehow, but there's no way she'd be able to take all of us at once. I mean, if Amber couldn't...
[ His lips draw tight - he doesn't need to finish that thought. Ozpin already knew as well as he did how Amber fell, and she was one hell of a warrior. But even if Cinder's just as strong as she was - even stronger, perhaps - she couldn't possibly beat Ozpin, Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood all at the same time. ]
Salem, though...
[ His gaze darts back up to meet Ozpin's, eyes grim. ]
Do we even have a contingency for that?
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