Years later, the family strolls down the path towards home, Tai leading the way with the girls behind him.
Ruby carries along a few books, barely able to see over the oversized stories. Daring trots along with a couple bags on her sides, stuffed with supplies she has no idea the names of.
Yang has her backpack slung over one shoulder, walking with confidence as her waist length hair trails behind her.
Ruby speaks up, trying to peek around her books. "Dad, when did you say we were starting school, again? Because there's this movie I want to see that premieres, tomorrow..."
"Oh? What kind of movie?" He looks back at her, curious.
She throws her arms up, dropping her books in her excitement. "Adventure!"
He stops and picks up her books, Yang having done the same as he talks. "Well, I think we can probably go see it, even if we have to go after school."
She practically beams at this, hugging him tight around the waist. "Thank you!"
Chuckling, he pats her head. "You're welcome, Ruby, but careful with your books, okay?"
"Okay!" She giggles, though she doesn't let go.
He hugs her in return before tapping her head. "Come on, we can't just stand in the road."
"Okay, dad." She lets go and hurries off down the road, leaving him with her books.
Yang plops the rest on his pile, giggling as he grunts before she goes off after the brunette, making sure she doesn't go off on her own.
Daring just blinks at this, looking up at her father in concern. "...do you want me to carry some of that for you?"
He smiles and shakes his head, shifting the books under one arm. "I've got it. You're books aren't heavy. Want to run ahead excitedly with them?"
The filly just shakes her head, smiling warmly. "No, I want to stick with you."
He smiles appreciatively as they walk. "You excited for school?"
He chuckles, smiling back at her. "Yeah, but don't think I'll be going easy on you just because you're my daughter."
She grins cheekily. "Like that'll stop me."
He reaches down and rubs her mane. "Fair enough. Any particular classes you're looking forward to?"
She bites her lip, glancing off to the side. "...history?"
"Oh?" He looks curiously at this as they walk. "Maybe I should have seen that coming considering all the questions you asked when you were younger."
She throws her hooves up in the air, shifting into a sitting position as a result. "But it's all so interesting!"
He pauses as she does this. "I get that, and I'm glad you're interested. Our world has plenty of fascinating things about it."
She giggles softly. "I'm glad you agree."
"And you know to go to me, your sisters, or your uncle if you ever have any trouble with anyone, right?"
"Sure, but why?" She tilts her head to one side. "I'm getting better at flying, so I could just avoid them, soon enough!"
He nods. "And that does make me less worried, but I just wanted to make sure you knew."
"I understand, daddy." She smiles warmly, standing up and walking over to gently hug him.
Chuckling, he picks her up and hugs her back, starting to talk once more. "That's my girl."
She giggles brightly, hugging him tight in return.
"Now... how far away did they get?" He asks, looking ahead.
He sees Ruby flat on the ground, her foot next to a rock in the road.
As he picks up the pace, he sees Yang pulling Ruby to her feet, dusting her off.
She hugs her sister gratefully. "Thank you."
Tai smiles at this as they approach. "Probably a good thing I had your books. They would have gone everywhere. You okay?"
"Never better!" Ruby giggles, pumping her fist into the air. "This aura stuff is amazing!"
He chuckles, nodding. "Yeah, just remember there is an eventual limit. You aren't indestructible."
"I know." She nods once, then crosses her arms, pouting at him. "Yours seems to last forever, though. Yang hasn't harmed you at all when brawling!"
Daring tilts her head to one side, confused. "...I thought that was to get better, not hurt each other?"
He offers Ruby her books back as he explains. "They try to measure the scuffs on me as how we'll they're doing. They won't be doing any real damage, though, my aura's been strengthened through years of training."
The filly taps his arm at this. "Will we eventually get as tough as you are, dad?"
He smiles at her. "Maybe even tougher if you want to be."
"Let's all get stronger!" Ruby laughs, starting to jog ahead once more. "One more training session before school starts!"
Tai chuckles. "Alright alright, but we have to get home first."
"Okay!" She calls back, grinning in excitement.
Daring giggles, snuggling a bit more into her father's arms. "Little big sis is pretty excitable, huh?"
He nods, chuckling. "I guess being a huntress to her is like learning history to you."
"Hurry up!" She calls back, bouncing on her heels with unrestrained giddiness. "I want to practice as much as possible!"
Laughing, he picks up the pace. "Alright, alright. And here I thought you all woul dbe hungry when we got home."
Daring raises a hoof. "I'm a little hungry."
"Well then you can have a snack while the other girls train." He nuzzles her. "What would you like?"
She taps her chin thoughtfully. "...can I get some cookies?"
Ruby pauses, leaning back to hear.
"Well... I'd have to bake those." He looks at her. "Are you sure you don't want something more immediate like those fudge cake snacks we bought or a sandwich?"
Daring pouts a bit, but soon relents. "...grilled cheese?"
"Want anything special on them?" He asks teasingly.
"Pickles. Roses." She flings her hooves up in the air. "Mayonnaise!"
Laughing, he nuzzles her while the house comes into view. "I think that's moved past grilled cheese at that point and to just a grilled sandwich. Your tastebuds still baffle me at times."
She sticks her tongue out at him. "You're just jealous you can't taste deliciousness."
Chuckling, he rubs her head. "There's that cheek. We'll make your 'deliciousness' and see if I can get Ruby and Yang to spar with each other in the meantime."
"Okay!" Daring tilts her head to one side, a little curious. "...by the way, when do we start making weapons? Big sis already had stuff planned out for hers."
He rubs her head. "I figured I'd let you girls get some ideas on how you want to fight from your classes before I brought that up. If you have ideas though, I'm up for listening."
She taps her chin, frowning a bit. "...honestly, I'm wondering if I'd even be able to hold a weapon..."
"I'm sure we can figure something out." He looks at her hooves. "We might need to do a little experimenting, but there's ways for everything to work."
"You could always just attach something to her hooves," Ruby points out. "Like a chain. Or a gun. Chain gun!"
"Maybe, but it could be hard to walk like that." He points out. "We'll figure something out."
As the little girl pouts, Daring pokes the man's arm. "What's a chain gun?"
He smiles at them. "Probably not a gun that shoots chains, like Ruby's thinking. They're huge guns that are usually automatic and more designed for things that are stationary."
Ruby pouts a bit. "But they sound so cool... why'd they have to be stationary?"
As they head for the front door, he explains. "Because they're usually really large, heavy, have a lot of kick, and use a lot of ammo. I'm sure someone has found a way to use them portably, but I haven't heard of it."
The filly hops out of his arms, happily trotting to the kitchen. "Weapons talk later. Food now, please!"
Yang laughs as their Dad looks at them. "Well, you heard her. You two can spar if you like until we come out."
"Okay!" Ruby picks up a pillow and smacks her sister in the face with it.
Yang sputters a bit. "Hey, let me put my books down first!"
"Nope!" She smacks her again.
"Oh you're going down." Yang says, narrowing her eyes as she sets her books next to the door and grabs a pillow.
"Not if you can't catch me!" She giggles, dashing away behind the couch.
As Tai sets Ruby's books down and heads into the kitchen, Yang chases after her sister, intent on vengeance.
Daring watches her father enter the room from her spot between the stove and fridge, stomach rumbling for food.
"Alright alright, I'm coming." He says, chuckling. "So let's see... you said grilled cheese, pickles, and... what else?"
"Roses and mayonnaise!" She tries to jump on the counter, wings fluttering for any height they can get.
He scoops her onto it, nodding. "Okay, I think I know what to do." He gets out a pan and the ingredients, glad they found a good place to get flower petals a while back. Buttering the pan, he puts in two pieces of bread, one with cheese and starts to grill them. "This shouldn't take long."
She trots closer, watching the stove hungrily as her tail swishes behind her.
He offers her a large petal to snack on while things cook. "Don't really want the pickles and stuff burning so we have to put it together after the cheese melts."
She nods, happily nibbling away at the treat.
"Do you know what you want to drink with this?" He asks, checking the underside of the bread.
She thinks for a bit, which gives her the chance to swallow her mouthful. "...milk?"
He nods. "Good choice." Seeing the bread and cheese done, he quickly assembles the rest of her colorful sandwich and puts it on a plate. "Give it a minute to cool so you don't burn yourself." With that said, he heads for the fridge to fix her drink.
Not heeding his warning, the call of her stomach overwhelming her, she decides to sneak a bite.
The sandwich is a roller-coaster of taste, texture, and temperature. Everything from mushy hot cheese to soft room temperature petals mixes in her mouth.
She hums happily in delight, her wings flapping behind her much like a hummingbird's.
Tai chuckles when he sees her, a glass of milk in his hand. "Like it?"
She eagerly nods, beaming brightly at him. With the food in her mouth, of course, she can't speak to expand on that thought.
Smiling, he sets the glass next to her. "Well, hope that fills you up. Know what you want to do after you eat?"
She swallows, picking up the glass as she smiles up at him. "Can we watch them spar a bit?"
He nods. "Sure, that way I can see how they fare when they're against someone other than me."
They hear a loud thud from the next room.
He blinks, turning and peeking through the doorway. Yang is sitting on the floor, rubbing her head. "She used a jump attack."
He turns back to see half the sandwich gone. "Really? Huh."
He nods, going back to Daring. "Verticality can be important in a fight."
"...is this your way of nudging me to do more flight practice?" She narrows her eyes at him, holding her drink close.
"Well, Qrow did say practice was important, but that's not what I was getting at." He rubs her head softly.
Daring looks up at him, oblivious to the quiet "oof" from the next room as Ruby sits on her sister to claim victory. "What did you mean, then?"
A soft groan becomes giggles in the living room as Tai speaks. "I was more talking just in general how altitude can allow you better positioning on your opponent and gives you more options. It's like being able to switch between melee and ranged weapons."
She tilts her head to one side, considering his words as she continues to eat.
"I'm sure that'll be covered in some of your classes in some form." He smiles, stroking her mane.
"I see... so the challenge is to know when to use each, right?" She looks up at him, smiling broadly as though she just solved a world-class mystery.
He nods, looking proudly at her. "That's my girl."
She giggles brightly, putting down her sandwich to hug him.
He hugs her to his chest, smiling. "Finish up your snack and we can go play with your sisters, okay?"
"Okay!" As soon as they let go of each other she practically dives into her dish, eating it fast yet savoring as much as she can.
He laughs softly, leaning against the wall to keep an eye on both her and his other daughters through the door, something he's never sure if he was trained better for as a hunter or a parent.
She finishes her sandwich and leaps off the counter, gliding towards him until she can hug his belly. "Let's play!"
Chuckling, he carries her back into the living room.
They find that Ruby has flipped Yang over, pulling on one of her legs as she sits on her back. "Say uncle!"
"Never!" Yang grunts, looking like she's struggling.
Tai goes to sit on the couch, Daring in his lap as he watches. "Yang, you know you could probably get out without hurting her."
She looks surprised at this before nodding and rolling onto her side, taking Ruby with her.
Ruby, now pinned under Yang's rear, flails her arms wildly. "Nooooo!"
"She does have size and weight advantage." Tai coaches as Yang takes advantage and flips over once more, pinning Ruby by laying across her stomach.
"I win!"
"No! I refuse!" She turns her head and bites her sister's thigh, wanting to win.
"Ow!"Yang rolls off, holding her thigh while Tai looks on thoughtfully.
"Yaaaah!" Ruby jumps up and starts smacking her with two pillows, alternating between blows.
Yang braces herself for a bit, leaning over to cushion the blows. Suddenly, she comes back up with a pillow over each hand and tackles Ruby.
Ruby yelps, then dashes away before she can be hit, leaving behind rose petals.
Tai chuckles, seeing the lightly glowing Yang looking away fiercely. "Gotta love little ones figuring out their semblances."
Daring looks up at him, curious. "...you used that word a few times... what does it mean?"
"Well, a semblance is like your own special power." He explains. "They can be genetic, unique, or anything really. It's the special way someone can use their aura."
She tilts her head to the side, then holds up her hoof, eyes narrowed. "Za warudo!"
Ruby calls from the kitchen, "It's not stopping time!"
Tai just blinks at this. "Is this some sibling thing I'm missing?"
The girl pauses in the doorway, looking thoughtful. "...let's say yes."
He nods before looking back at Daring. "As for you, I'll tell you what my parents told me: only you can discover your semblance, so don't worry that you don't know enough, you'll figure it out."
The filly slowly nods, giving him a small smile. "Okay, daddy."
He looks back up at Ruby. "Now, did you still want to spar?"
"Sure!" She points at her still-fuming older sister. "Just not with her. Not when she's angry."
Nodding, he calls to his oldest daughter. "Yang?" She blinks and looks at him. "Come hug Daring until you calm down." After hesitating a moment, she walks over, getting the filly plopped into her lap as soon as she sits down.
Daring looks up at her with wide eyes, then smiles and embraces her, nuzzling her affectionately.
As Yang embraces her, her glow seems to fade back, a smile coming to her face.
Ruby smiles warmly, then carefully takes Tai's scroll. She opens it up and snaps a picture of the two of them.
Her dad gives her a thumbs up and a nod for that, silently chuckling.
Right at that moment, a wing moves up to tap on the blonde girl's nose.
Yang giggles at that, giving Daring a squeeze. "D'aww, thanks, sis."
"My pleasure!" She giggles brightly, looking up at her in adoration and admiration.
As their dad stands up and goes to the middle of the room, gesturing for Ruby to come at him, Yang smiles at the pony. "What do you want to do while they spar?"
The filly tilts her head to one side, then holds a hoof up to her. "Rock paper scissors?"
Laughing, Yang nods. "Sure." She holds up a fist before realizing it still has a pillow on it.
Ruby calls from where she's boxing with their dad. "How would she even play? She has hooves!"
"Hmm..." Yang holds one of Daring's legs, looking at it. "Maybe straight out for paper, curl up for rock, down for scissors?"
"Sounds complicated." Ruby ducks under her father's hand and bops him in the stomach.
His aura takes the blow, but he still nods. "Good job spotting the opening!"
"Well, it's not like she can make hand gestures." Yang counters.
"Then why don't we make something so she can?" Ruby yelps as she gets smacked and falls backwards.
"If you're going to communicate during a fight, learn to multitask." Tai says simply.
"Like what?" Yang asks. "Fingers?"
"More like... robotic limbs... I don't know..." She holds her head. "...too much pain..."
Yang glares at her dad. "You said you wouldn't hurt her!"
Tai goes over to Ruby and picks her up. "I said her aura would protect her from bad hits. A little ache usually happens during a good sparring session. It's how you learn."
Daring tilts her head before looking up at Yang, confused. "He's never hurt me, before..."
Ruby flails her arms. "That's because you're too cute to hurt!"
"Hey, I think you're all cute!" Tai tries to defend himself. "I didn't mean to hurt Ruby, but she and Yang are getting more serious about their sparring."
The brunette girl looks at him curiously. "...what's Daring doing, then?"
"Exploring her interests, from what she tells me." He winks at the filly.
She turns and raises her hoof, smiling warmly. "Daddy helps me out with it!" She looks up at her sister. "We also try to find stuff to do together. He likes rubbing my belly."
Yang looks up at him. "Oh, you do that, too?"
Ruby stomps the floor with a foot, pouting. "Oh, come on! How come I'm the only one who's never done it?"
Her big sisters offers her the littlest one. "Want to?"
The brunette literally pounces on this opportunity, knocking the couch over and tackling them both in her exuberance.
As the giggling begins, Tai shakes his head, righting the couch and seeing his pile of daughters on it. "I wonder if this is just the point in Ruby's life where she has a lot of energy or she's just growing into how she'll be normally..."
Daring looks up at him, curious. "Can it be both?"
"Well... sure." He nods. "Nothing wrong with being high energy."
"Good!" Ruby giggles brightly. "I don't plan on suppressing myself!" At the filly's confused look, she holds up a finger. "Dad's books had words I had to look up."
Tai nods approvingly. "There's nothing wrong with a good vocabulary."
Hearing this, Daring's eyes light up and she thinks of the biggest word she can think of in an attempt to impress him. "Fortune... fornication? Solitude?"
The youngest girl just frowns, crossing her arms. "I only know one of those words..."
Suddenly, Tai scoops all three of them up. "Hey, so are you girls excited for school to be starting?"
Surprised by the sudden subject change, Daring can only stammer, her train of thought lost.
Yang nods. "Yeah, it's gonna be great having all of us there, now!"
Ruby grins, clapping her hands together. "I want to see all the weapons!"
The filly tilts her head to one side. "...would they even have those, yet?"
"Well, your teachers that are hunters would," he explains. "And if you're interested in them, this is the point in your life where you would start looking into what kinds you want."
"I want one like Uncle Qrow's!" The girl speaks up once more, grinning in excitement.
Chuckling, her dad rubs her head. "Yeah, I figured that. You've loved that thing since you first saw it transform."
She nods quickly, grinning widely.
Daring just tilts her head in curiosity. "What is his weapon, anyways?"
"It's a sword that turns into a scythe." He explains.
"...that's it?" She scratches her head. "How does he hit faraway enemies?"
"He's pretty mobile." Tai tries to explain once more. "Qrow just prefers melee and knows how to get around."
"...I guess I can get that?" She shrugs a bit. "I think I'd prefer some amount of range, though."
He nods. "To each their own. Though ranged and melee options are pretty standard for a reason."
"I want mine to have the greatest range!" Ruby cuts in, grinning brightly.
"Sniper rifle, scythe, got it." Tai rubs her head fondly. "It might be a bit heavy."
"Don't care. I'll get stronger!" She nods decisively. "I wanna use a cool weapon!"
Yang smirks. not saying anything but having a face her dad can read a mile away as he responds. "I bet you will, Ruby. Maybe Qrow can help you design it since he worked on his himself."
"Yay!" She giggles giddily, kicking her feet and falling off the couch and onto the floor in her excitement.
Her dad scoops her back up, chuckling. "You're practically exploding with energy today, Ruby. Did you have sugar or something?"
"Five cookie samples!" She grins excitedly, jumping back up and picking up a pillow. "Ready to spar again?"
"If you are, sure." Smiling, Tai gets back into position.
The girl narrows her eyes, then looks behind him with a grin. "Compass Rose!"
Before he knows what hits him, something collides with his knees and knocks his legs out from under him. Ruby jumps on top of him with a cry of victory, smacking his face mercilessly with a pillow.
He laughs as he shields his face with a hand. "Alright, you got me!"
The brunette grins, turning and sharing a high-five with Daring. "We did it!"
Yang laughs as her father smiles at them. "Good to see you working on teamwork."
"It's important!" Ruby clears her throat, causing the girl to blush as she continues. "Or... so I've been told..."
The golden pony nods in agreement. "Uncle Qrow said we should focus on that, as well."
Their dad nods. "Yeah, if nothing else, Qrow knows how to fight."
"Yep!" The filly nods, getting up on her hindlegs and throwing a few punches. "He's been teaching me to fight, too!" She drops back down onto all fours. "Of course, I don't think I'll be using his weapon. It's a bit too... big."
Yang nods at this. "Yeah... swinging something huge isn't my style either."
"Not to mention I'm not sure I'd be able to hold onto that." Daring waves a hoof as if in clarification.
Ruby pouts for a moment before shrugging. "Why don't you two just wear your weapons? Less chance of losing your grip, right?"
Her big sister nods once more. "That's what I was gonna do. I'm thinking something that I can wear on my arms."
Daring simply looks at her hooves, frowning thoughtfully. "...hmm..."
Tai holds up a finger. "Remember though, school isn't all about making your weapon. It's all your education."
At this, she turns her attention to him, smiling softly as she moves to hug him. "I know, daddy."
As he hugs her back, he adds, "and feel free to think of me as your favorite teacher."
Ruby holds up a finger. "What about Uncle Qrow?"
"He's allowed to be your second favorite." He says, sticking out his tongue in a silly face.
Daring taps his tongue with a hoof, giggling quietly. "You're silly, daddy."
"Well, Ruby had to get that from somewhere." He chuckles.
She nods in agreement, then starts climbing up on his shoulders to her favorite spot. Her hooves hug him around the head as she seats herself on his shoulders, smiling happily.
Chuckling, he scratches behind her ears. "I'm sure you'll all do fine in school."
As the filly smiles, Ruby crosses her arms, looking off to the side. "I sure hope so..."