"I want to be a hero!" A blonde-haired young man, a teen around his early teenage years, announced with a smile as several younger blondes stared at him in awe. The boy missed the frown of a man looking at him.

"Jaune..." The man whispered, sorrow appearing in his eyes. His beloved son wanted to be a hero, a huntsman, and a great warrior, like all of their ancestors. However, Jaune was too innocent. He could never have his son...

"Father, may I speak with you?" Asked a short-haired beautiful young woman with golden hair and eyes, a soft smile on her face. She wore a white dress that fit her well with a sheath on her waist. 

"Lumine." Her father nodded at her. Together, the father and daughter walked to the study—a private room owned by the patriarch of the Arc Family. 

"Father, I ask that you let Jaune be trained-" 

"No, Lumine. Jaune will not be trained to fight. He will not be a huntsman." Julius Arc roughly interjected, blue eyes hardening as he stared at his daughter. 

"But Father! Jaune has the most potential out of all of us!" Lumine shouted, slamming her hands on the table. Her golden aura covered her form as she stared at her father. 

"Lumine! You must understand! I love Jaune! But he... he is too much like your uncle." Hearing her uncle's name, Lumine flinched as she remembered the man who helped raise her. As one of the eldest Arc children, she knew how much her uncle meant to her family, and his death broke her father.

"I know that... Uncle Arthur has always been kind. He used Crocea Mors after you used a new weapon and was skilled with it." The white-clad blonde said, remembering a man dressed in blue with a sword strapped on his waist. 

"You must understand... I can't. My father, our ancestors, and family... all of us." 

"But that does not mean we can have Jaune face his future alone!" The young woman said. "Jaune only wants to help others. If we don't help him, I know he will do something stupid." 

"It's the fault of that idiot teammate of yours." Came the answer from her father. While his words were an insult, Lumine heard the fondness that he reserved for his children. 

"You were the one that approved of him babysitting the young ones. It's not my fault that he imprinted on Jaune." 

"I know. After all, we all banded together as the only males in the household." Julius said with a smile. "I will let Jaune be trained." 

"Thank you, father!" Lumine said with a smile.

"But not by you or any of us. We will hold back and coddle Jaune." As quickly as her joy came, it was replaced by irritation and understanding. 

"I can ask some of my former teammates to help me." Lumine offered. 

"No, I already know who," Julius said with a smile, looking fondly at a picture on his desk. It was a picture of a younger Lumine with her team. 

"You don't mean..." 

"Yes, your teammate. The sword of the morning, they call him." Julius said with a smile. 

"More like a perverted idiot," Whispered Lumine, causing her father to chuckle. "He is busy with one of our teammate's sisters. His partner's sister." 

"If all goes well, not only will Jaune be safe, but he will also have a girlfriend," Julius said with a smile. 

"Fine... But if that idiot tries anything..." Lumine whispered while red started covering her face. 

"I know. I know him. He won't do anything to you or anyone else." Julius said with a smile. "You only need to worry about..." 

"That stupid horse." Lumine finished with a smile. 

"We just need to know where he is," Julius said as he looked at Crocea Mors on top of the fireplace of his study. 

"Give me a week," Lumine said with a smile as she held the handle of her sword fondly while gazing at the ring on her right hand's middle finger. There was a carving on it that showed the personal emblem of her good friend. "I have an idea where he is." 

===

A young man dressed in a hooded outfit said nothing as he stared at the flames with tarnished steel parts of armor hidden under the cloak filled with black feathers he wore. Dark eyes reflected the dance of the flames as a young woman dressed in a cloak with fur lining the hood approached him. 

"I finished packing up. We can go away as soon as we can, King Crow." The young woman whispered as the man drank from a tankard of ale. 

"Good. Set course for." Noticing a familiar form, the young man broke into a nervous sweat as a golden-haired woman dragged him by his cloak. 

"WHAT THE? STOP THAT!" Roared the young man. 

"Gray, go back to the inn. Take the day off." Said Lumine while dragging the young man with her. 

"Of course, miss Arc. My sister told me you are invited for her birthday," Gray said with a smile, leaving the young man with the blonde. 

"Let me go, Lumi!" The young man said as he tried to crawl away. "I have a reputation as King Crow!" 

"I hate you!" Screamed the young man while trying to get away from the young woman dressed in a white dress. 

"Shut up! You owe me a favor!" Lumine angrily said while a blonde-haired teen around 15 years old whimpered behind a gray horse that shook its head at the sight of its master getting dragged by the young woman. 

"I don't owe you-" The young man was cut off when Lumine threw him towards the horse. Recovering quickly, the young man landed on a knee, his cloak mimicking the wings of a crow as it fell to the ground. Noticing a certain blonde dressed in a pair of jeans and hoodie, dark eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, hey Jaune! I haven't seen you in years!" The young man greeted with a smile.

"Jaune, this idiot is Ren Cruz. My former teammate in Beacon academy." Lumine said with a smile, narrowing her eyes at the crow feathers on the cloak. "Why feathers?" 

"Met a drunk that can turn to a bird. We became brothers and I hunted several Nervermores until I had enough." Ren said with a smile while rubbing the shorter blonde's head. Noticing Jaune peeking out of the horse and Crocea Mors on his waist, the young man chuckled and undid his belt. "I accept." The young man said, handing his belt and the sheathed sword on his waist to Lumine. 

"Thank you, Ren," Lumine said, a soft smile on her face as the horse escorted the young man to them. 

"Treat me for a drink. We can make it a team reunion- Hey!" Wincing, the young man looked at the blonde and at the foot she used to kick him. "Fine, just us two." While he heard no reply, the way Lumine leaned on him was the reply he needed. 

"King Crow, I rented a room for miss Lumine." Came the voice of Gray. Seeing the second sword in the blonde woman's hand, the young lady smiled at the blonde male. "Hello, I'm Gray, Gray Schnee." The young woman said with a smile and curtsy. 

For his part, the blonde nervously looked around before swallowing his saliva. 

"H-hey. I'm Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue." Jaune said with a smile. His introduction made King Crow and his sister chuckle silently. While Gray, the hooded young woman giggled and smiled at him. 

"Do they?" She asked with a raised brow and a shy yet teasing smile on her face. 

"I... I hope they do." 

"Well, I do think so." She said with a smile.