video; un: harbinger

[bolstafir]

[The scruffy, middle-aged man that appears on the screen looks a bit uncomfortable. Videochat is certainly not his preferred mode of communication on these devices, but he does figure it would be helpful to see his face for what he's posting on the network to say, so.]

Uh...hey. I'm Qrow. If you don't know me from Deerington, I'm a Huntsman. Which--mostly means I've fought a lot of monsters and sh--[hm. children.]...crap like that.

So anyway, it's halfway through October, and the streets aren't overflowing with blood and corpses, and far as I know nobody's gotten eaten by monsters or lost their mind and gone on a murdering rampage. But that probably just means the town's waiting for us to let our guard down.

[Or maybe that's just paranoia. But Qrow would rather err on the side of paranoia rather than complacence, considering his last October.]

Point is, now seems like as good a time as any to learn to defend yourself if you don't already know how to fight. I uh, I used to teach teenagers in a combat school, a few years ago? So I've got some experience.

...Don't expect a lot, I quit for a reason--[that reason being, honestly, Ruby getting admitted to Beacon a full two years early, but shhh]--but you can get the basics down.

So yeah. Let me know.

Comments

[bolstafir]

["A honor to"...ugh, this kid is kind of endearing, honestly. Why this.]

Yeah. I lived in Deerington for a year. Honestly, it's a little weird Sleepers keep coming here? I figured once we went through the door to here and Sodder's dream crumbled that'd be it.

[wannasmash]

I hear it was pretty rough.

[ It's part of why he's so ready to respect Qrow, if he talked about fighting in such a place. ]

The reason people were showing up there... Could the same thing be happening here?

[bolstafir]

It wasn't exactly a stroll through a field of flowers, no. But it wasn't too different from the world I came from, aside from the bullshit mind games that'd crop up from time to time.

[He shrugs.]

But no. Sodder's dead, so it can't be her. Could be one of the other Pthumerians? Probably not Cynthia, but there's others here, so. Maybe.

[wannasmash]

[ He looks pensive. He thinks of Cloverfield, lost and barely able to remember where he came from, like a Sleeper newly awakened. Powerful Pthumerian or not, this had motivated Midoriya's instinct to help someone in trouble. He couldn't have known the scope of the Pthumerians' reach then, but even if he had, he would have still done the same. ]

Anyway, it doesn't change what I have to do. I have to get strong enough to protect everyone.

[ Yes, everyone. The whole city, and then some. Basically anyone within reach. It's the kind of impossible dream people laugh at. ]

[bolstafir]

[Maybe if Qrow was still seventeen, he would've laughed at it. At forty, he's far too tired for that. And honestly, he knows a thing or two about kids persisting under impossible circumstances. He just lets out a mildly amused huff, instead.]

Everyone, huh? That's a tall order, kid. [But he doesn't sound dismissive. Instead, his grin is cheeky.] Guess you'll just need to have extra lessons, then.

I think we can wrap up this thread soon since specifics are best demonstrated in person

[wannasmash]

[ He's used to people balking at his dream--even the nicest, otherwise supportive people--but it has grown from a fanboy's notetaking hobby into an actual concrete goal. He already knows what he's got to work on. Qrow can help him with the next steps. ]

Yes please! And thank you, Qrow-sensei!

[ He tenses, but he resists bowing again, barely. ]

o7

[bolstafir]

See ya soon, kid.

[Look, he's learning already! This is gonna go gr8.]