Tawn walked into the small bedroom, bag in hand. He guessed it was about ten foot by ten, a noticeable step up from the three by four box on the street he used to live in. He should've felt happy about the upgrade, but one thing kept coming back to him. The last time he had a room in a house, he had parents to take care of him.

Any tears he might have shed at the thought didn't come to his eyes. Parents were the furthest thing from his mind after Ozpin told him his mother quit her dreams because of him. More often than not, his mind was now on what he wanted to do with his life and how he would spend it now that he had options.

"So, what do you think?" Indigo asked, leaning on the doorway behind him.

He put his small bag of stuff on the bed. "It's nice. Thank you."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Tawn, I know this is going to be hard to get used to, but I can read your thoughts."

"So, you know what I am thinking?"

"Yeah, it's kinda hard to turn off. Want to talk about your future?" She asked, uncrossing her arms.

"I don't know. Will… What happens if I don't want to be a Hunter?" He asked, rubbing his arm awkwardly.

"Tawn, we're friends, not just a kid and his patron. You can stay here even if you don't want to become a Huntsman." She walked in and sat down on his bed. "What would make you worried you wouldn't have a place to stay?"

"I don't know. I recently found out that you were ten years older than I thought. You never really talked about anything besides work with me. We weren't really friends."

She enveloped him in a hug. "Oh, we talked about plenty. I just couldn't talk to you about much since I was undercover. Now, though, just ask away."

"Where did you go to school?"

"Beacon Academy." She answered. "C'mon, ask a tough one. I'm an open book."

He started unpacking his bags. "I don't really have any tough questions for you right now. I just want to get done with all my unpacking and go to bed. It's been a long day already."

"Anytime you need to know anything, I'll tell you. I figure it's not right of me to hear your secrets and not pay you back." She stood up and headed out the door giving Tawn a good look at her figure. "Dinner will be in an hour. My boyfriend will be here so please, don't let him catch you checking me out."

Tawn's face reddened as he realized what he was doing. He quickly shook his head clear before coming back to reality. It was going to be pretty difficult to keep himself in check when his new housemate was a fox. Ferret, he corrected himself.

"Indy, you here?"

His upper ears twitched when he heard the strange voice, but the casual tone told Tawn that the man was friendly. Curiosity got the better of him though, and he wanted to see who this guy was. He left his things half-unpacked on the bed and went over to the door. Peeking out, he saw a guy that looked like a bodybuilder but, other than his humongous size, there was no visible signs of him being anything but human.

Indigo answered him from the kitchen. "Yeah, just making dinner. Oh, so you don't get surprised, I'm letting someone stay with us. It's a kid, don't get too… you know. Hard on him. He's been through some things.."

He stopped in the hallway and glanced back at Tawn. "Wait, what? He's not one of your informants, is he? From that Ragnar guy's place?"

"The Ranger job is over. There were… complications." She passed it off like it was nothing.

"Complications?" He went down the hallway and walked into what Tawn guessed to be the kitchen.

Against his better judgement, he followed the man and snuck down the hallway to the kitchen. The closer he got the more clearly he could hear the agitation in Indigo and the guy's voices.. He needed to hear what they were saying though, and kept inching closer.

"You're kidding me. You got tied up? More important than that, I thought it was just a regular undercover sting. Find out who Gamboge was supporting and what the hell the other workers that weren't working land were doing."

Indigo kept her tone very calm. "It was. Leech and his crew had other plans though and took the Rangers hostage. I wasn't just going to let him get tortured like an animal."

"Yeah, well you could have at least called me for backup. All I do all day is sit on the damn wall and wait for a big Grimm to come wandering in. It's not like I couldn't have gotten out of there to come and help you." He sounded worried and annoyed.

"I had Tawn go call for the police so help was coming." She answered. "Oh, do you feel like tacos or three cheese pasta?"

"Tawn, that kid you said lives in a box down on tenth street? Why would you trust him to save your life?"

"He's a good kid and he's loyal as a puppy. I knew he would get the job done and he did." She said, though Tawn was really starting to get tired of the recent cropping of dog puns in the last couple hours.

"You're too trusting of other people. I definitely wouldn't have trusted that dirty gutter dweller."

"Hey hon, watch what you say. Tawn is the kid who's going to be living with us." She said, venom leaking out in her voice. "In fact, Tawn, want to come in and stop peeking around the corner?"

He froze there for a second. Sure, Indigo could tell he was there thanks to her telepathy, but the guy couldn't. All he would have to do is walk back to his room and say nothing. There was no way in Tawn's mind that the guy would know that she was actually right about him being here. Though, if the guy was her boyfriend, he'd probably trust her to know when someone's there.

Tawn hung his head low and walked into the kitchen, noticing that it was a mixture of greys and blues. "Hey."

"Uh, heh, I mean hey," The guy said, looking at Tawn. "I'm Snow."

He looked up and met Snow's eyes, noticing that they were red and cat-like. "Hey, I'm the gutter dweller."

Indigo stepped away from the stove and crouched down next to Tawn. "Hey, you two better get along from now on. Can't have you getting in fights when we all live together."

The two guys locked eyes before Tawn turned away in disgust. "He's the one who has a problem."

"Yeah, she already said she doesn't want kids then I find out that some ten year old kid is going to be living with us. It's kind of a mixed message."

"Snow!" She shot in disbelief.

Tawn had enough of it though, he pushed past Indigo and went straight back out the front door. He wasn't wanted at her house and there was no way he wanted to be there now. Not when her boyfriend was such a jerk. Without even knowing Tawn, he called him gutter trash. It was so infuriating that he almost punched the wall.

He started pacing back and forth on the small front porch, trying to find some way to shake out his frustrations. There had to be something he could hit or maybe some animal that he could chase. Something had to be nearby to get his mind off the anger he felt.

Indigo came out and moved past Tawn, onto the front yard. "Alright Tawn, you seem tense."

He didn't say anything and instead just looked at her with his blood running hot. She took his hand and pulled him out into the yard. Once they were in the center of the yard, she moved away from him.

"How about we go down the the vacant lot a few blocks away from here and dig a hole?"

"That sounds so stupid." He answered, looking at the ground.

"Ah, what's wrong puppy? Are you grumpy that you haven't gotten a nap yet?" She asked, flicking his ear.

"Alright, stop with the puppy jokes. They are really getting annoying." He glared at her but all she did was match his glare with a comical one.

"Ruff."

That was the last straw, he dove at her in an attempt to stop her from running anywhere but she just side stepped him, leaving him to land on the sidewalk. He landed on his partially-healed stomach wound, eliciting a pained yelp. Indigo rushed over to him and started rubbing his stomach.

"Ah, is the puppy gonna be okay?"

"That's it." He ignored the pain and got up, chasing her right on her heels.

She put a good distance between them before they had cleared the first block. The gap forced him to push harder. He hated losing, but the voice in the back of his mind reminded him that he would if he couldn't catch up. That feeling alone gave him a burst of energy that he needed.

Tawn slowly closed the gap between him and Indigo, tackling her to the ground after a few minutes.. "Who's the puppy now?"

She rolled over and pushed him off with ease. "Please Tawn, I just wanted to get you to waste some of your energy and get you to come to the lot."

"What?" He looked up and saw that they were in the vacant lot she talked about.

It was a fairly wide area, covered in tall grass that was at least two feet high. It was surrounded on three sides by tall apartment buildings that were twice as wide as the lot. Off in the far right corner was a metal shed that looked like it had been there a while. Other than that, there were some old pieces of trash and a metal barrel or two just laying around.

Instead of getting up, she just laid on her back with her hands behind her head. "My parents bought this property a while ago but they found out it wasn't commercially viable for their business. That means we have this useless piece of land that nothing can or will be done about."

"So, this is where I will be training you to be a Huntsman. We can tear this place up without worry of consequences." She seemed so pleased with herself.

He just sat up and pulled his knees to his chest. "Indigo, I don't know if I want to be a Huntsman. I really feel like you guys are forcing this on me."

Sitting up, she leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Tawn, if you don't want to then you don't have to. I just kinda assume that you'll want to because I did when I got the opportunity."

"Why are you a Huntress though?" The more he thought about it, the more he questioned why he would want to protect this world.

"I wanted to be a huntress because no matter how bad this world is it needs saving. Racism will always exist, bigotry will be around so long as there are people, bias will always be a factor in every opinion but no matter how bad it gets. We are all still good people and just need a push in the right direction. As a huntress I can be that push."

"You make it sound so whimsical." He asked laying back in the grass like her. "The sentiment is great but I don't think I can fight for the same reason. I've lived for myself for so long, I don't really feel the need to protect or further anyone else's cause."

"That's alright. Even if you find a selfish reason, it's still a good reason. A lot of people will try and tell you otherwise but a reason to be a hero is a good reason." She let a out a small laugh. "My squad leader, Leche, used to say his reason to fight was to be the best. He just wanted everyone to know they couldn't beat him."

"He sounds like a hothead." Tawn observed.

"Not really, he was actually a pretty happy guy who loved the heat of battle. More than that, he liked breaking his own limits and achieving higher levels of power. The hothead of the group was Mellony. Always getting into fights and very self conscious about her body, she was pretty easy to manipulate into a fight. I still remember, everytime she started a fight she would shout 'Banzai!' and attract the attention of everyone in a square mile."

"Did she win a lot of fights?" He asked, imagining someone who would go nuts and the slightest comment to take offense to.

"Um, not really. Well, she didn't win a lot of fights that were just with regular people but when you counted on her, she would have your back."

"How many people did you have on your team?"

"Four. Teams aren't that big, but you get close with the people you are stuck with."

"Do you still talk to them?"

"Oh, hey, do you have your scroll with you?" She asked, suspiciously changing the subject.

Tawn decided not to pry and reached into his pocket. "Yeah, haven't really gotten a chance to mess with it."

She swiped it out of his hand and started messing with it. "Hang on there is something you need to do before we can train… If you decide to be a Hunter that is."

"What?" He asked, glancing at her as she went through the settings.

"We gotta link this to your aura. That way, you can pay attention to how much you have and adjust your tactics accordingly. Alright, tap your thumb to the screen." She handed it back to him.

His thumb touched the screen and the scroll started making some strange sounds. The scroll lit up a darker orange color before finally settling back down. Then, in the lower right corner, a anonymous picture appeared with a bar right underneath it. It was about two thirds full and the two thirds was a yellow color.

"Oh, you're still low on aura. I should say that I'm not surprised, considering what you went through, but most people I know usually would have filled back up by this point." She stood up from her spot and held her hand to him. "C'mon, let's head over to the shed and get some of the tools out to start work."

He didn't take her hand and just closed his eyes. "Indigo, really, do I have to restate everything we've been through today? I'm not feeling up to it."

"C'mon, all I need you to do is dig a hole." She said, kicking him in the foot.

"Aren't ferrets supposed to be lazy like twenty hours out of the day? I'm pretty sure that you exceeded your daily four hours of activity."

"Haha, look who's making the animal jokes now. Alright, I'll let you rest. Puppies need their sleep, after all."

"Thanks for being accepting of my people's plight." He said, rolling over to sleep.

Instead of going and doing the work herself, she just laid back down right next to him. "Yeah, I guess we can just do all that stuff tomorrow."

They both laid there for a little bit in silence and Tawn enjoyed it for what it was worth. Just a second to lay back without worrying about getting to work. The heat was just right and that was a godsend since most summers in Vale were hot as the fires of hell. He needed this after the day he just had.

After a few great moments of silence, Indigo's scroll started ringing. "Hello… Nah, we were just going to the vacant lot… Oh, you got me. I'm having a secret affair with a fourteen year old. The truth is that you just aren't as good in bed as him… Are… Are you crying?"

She looked over at Tawn with a worried and confused look on her face.

"Okay, wanna grab the car and pick us up?... Alright, we'll see you soon." She hung up and put the scroll back in her pocket. "Oh my god, he is taking everything way too seriously."

Tawn sat up next to her and crossed his legs. "What do you mean? Was that Snow?"

"Yeah, he's not too happy about you living with us right now. We've been having a lot of fights lately and just mentioning you were part dog was like throwing a viper in his pants."

He looked down at his feet before the torn and dysfunctional state of his shoes made him look back up. "What have you been fighting about?"

"Will we, won't we stuff. Things that you shouldn't need to worry about at your age. I mean, seriously, he has been asking me what would I think about getting married. I'm not ready to put my life on hold for a year to plan a wedding. Oh, and lets not forget kids. He just has to keep telling me about how he really wishes he could have a son or daughter and I'm just like… Argh, I don't even really want kids."

"Why not?" He sat up on his side and looked over at her.

"Because, kids are a commitment right off the bat. You can't leave them and go on an adventure. Undercover ops would become impossible if you have to stop by the daycare first. Its just not something I want right now." She put her hands out in front of her like she was getting fitted for handcuffs. "But no, he wants to put cuffs on me and lock me away. Take away my dreams so he can have his own."

"Why not dump him if he's being like this?" He asked, confused to why she was allowing this all to happen.

"Tawn, I still love him. Plus, for each thing I hate him for there are two things I love him for. Growing up sucks hard. Promise me you'll stay a kid forever, Tawn."

"I don't think I've been a kid since I was twelve years old." He said, thinking back to the night his dad died.

He hand snuck it's way into his and she squeezed it tightly. "Well, go ahead and be one again. I'll take care of you, Tawn. Just enjoy your life for what it is, okay?"

"Where do I even start though?" He laid back down and held her hand.

"Well, run around and fall down. Make some mistakes and get into a fight or two. Just don't get a girl knocked up or else I'll have to neuter you." She was pretty pleased with the last part.

"Don't worry about that. Not like any girls gonna want little ol' gutter dweller to keep them warm at night."

There was a honk from the road and Indigo shot up, pulling Tawn with her. "Alright, Snow's here. Can you please try to get along with him? If not for your own sake then mine."

"I'll try but he's gotta meet me halfway." They both walked over to the car and got in.

"Well, either you two are ghosts or can teleport because one second you are headed outside, the next you are telling me you're at the lot, nine blocks away." He said, making a half-assed attempt at a joke.

"Hehehe, actually, she made fun of me enough that I charged her in blind rage." Tawn said, getting in the back of the car. "If I decide to be a Huntsman, she said that this will be where we train."

"If you need help, I do know a lot about hand to hand combat." Snow offered.

Tawn looked over at him with eyebrow raised. "Are you good?"

"Yeah, I was on the boxing team back in school." He started driving the car. "I could probably show you the ropes so you don't get into too much trouble if you lose your weapon."

"Weapon? Who said anything about a weapon?" Tawn scratched his head. Nobody had told him about a weapon.

Indigo cut him off there. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Tawn, don't worry about it until you've decided if you want to be a Hunter. After that, we can figure out how to go about training you."

Tawn looked out the window with Indigo's words ringing in his ears. This could be his chance to have a dream, to be something more than a ghost just coasting through life. All he had to do was decide if he wanted to or not. The decision was completely up to him but there was still something keeping him from making the leap. Part of him wanted to believe that it was his lack of reason but deeper in his heart, he knew it was his mother.

Hey y'all, back again for another post and this time I don't have to worry about running off to work right before the post. So, lets see how last chapter did with your reactions… WHAT!? Indigo… and Tawn… That's just… I can't even. This just rustles my jimmies bad guys. Their friends and she is like seven years older than him. Plus… I mean I guess you didn't know about Snow until now so I can't count that as a sin but come on. It's like people are prone to shipping the first two characters that can sex. (Mind you he is a minor)

I know I'm giving you shit but that's because I saw no romantic feels between these two characters when I wrote it, Toothless. If you can show me the context that you were looking at it in, I will apologize. Seriously, I'm curious how you came to that conclusion.

Update (After original posting): Hey guys, I just wanted to put a quick shout out here for anyone coming to read this. Trebor117, one of my friends from a different fandom, contacted me today and told me that Harrow to Zion is one of the suggested fics under the RWBY Fan Fiction entry on TV Tropes. I don't know which of my readers did it but thank you, whoever decided that this story was good enough to be one of the fan fiction people should start with. I don't really know if I deserve that but I promise to do my best with this story and keep the quality a lot higher than my usual standard. Hell, I might bump it up even more to make sure it keeps getting better so it earns it's spot. Thank you suggester and thank you Trebor.