Chapter 26

In the morning Glynda fired off texts to everyone to let them know what was going on with Penny. Then she and Penny got in the car and returned to the Polendina house. Raven arrived behind them, waiting in the rented moving van while Glynda and Penny went through the house, Penny pointing out things she wanted to take with her. Glynda would pass the information along to Raven, who would then do the heavy lifting. Penny did not ask to bring much other than the obvious - her clothes and toys - only requesting they take a few photographs of her and her father.

Glynda wondered what to do with Mr. Polendina's possessions. She asked Penny, but the girl had no answers, not knowing what to do. Penny could not decide if she wanted to keep the house either. The only thing she was sure she could part with was her father's car, an older but immaculately kept luxury Nevermore sedan. Everything else seemed to have at least a little sentimental value to Penny, and Glynda found it curious that with her love of cars, Penny did not care what was done with it.

The tour of the house eventually arrived at the garage. Inside, Penny's father kept an impressive collection of tools, everything one could conceivably need to work on a Nevermore. But that was not what drew her attention. In the center of the space sat a classic sports car. It was obviously not driveable, being up on jack-stands with the wire wheels removed, the hood up with the engine partially disassembled. "Was your father restoring this car?" Glynda asked.

"No." Penny shook her head. "Father...father was going to rebuild it with me...when I was old enough."

"I don't really know anything about cars, but I bet you could learn to do it yourself one day." Glynda encouraged.

"Maybe." Penny shrugged. "It won't be the same without him."

"I know." Glynda sighed. "I think he would want you to do it though." Glynda paused, looking the car over. It was clearly decades old, though she did not know exactly. Still, the bright red paint was a vibrant as the day it was built, and there seemed to be no major damage. A cursory glance did not detect any rust either. The car's smooth curves were interrupted by the odd ding or dent, but there was nothing worse than what would be caused by normal, everyday driving. "It's a beautiful car."

"It is a Nevermore 250 GTH." Penny noted. "Father got it when he first started working for the Grand Prix Team. He never drove it, and it had not been driven for many years before that. He said it was already a classic by the time he got it, and he did not want to risk damaging it. When I was born, he decided he would give it to me, so I could enjoy it too."

"How about this Penny?" Glynda started. "After we move your stuff out, we'll keep the house just like it is. Then you can decide what to do with everything when you're older."

"That sounds good." Penny agreed.

"Now, why don't you go wait in my car and watch a video?" Glynda suggested, handing over her keys. "I'll get Raven and show her what you want to take with us."

It was a day Glynda was dreading. She would have to do two things she feared would end in disaster. The first was taking Glynda to see her father one last time. She had arranged for them to be alone with the body before the public wake started. Glynda worried Penny would react hysterically, but she was surprisingly composed. She approached her father, looked at him for a while, and mumbled a few words. Then with tears in her eyes, she returned to Glynda's side. It had gone far better than expected.

There was still the second matter. Glynda had to settle the legal side of the situation, and that meant leaving Penny at home for the first time. Glynda did not think it was a good idea to leave Penny alone with Raven. The girl was still quite afraid of her, and given Penny's fragile state after seeing her father for the last time, Glynda decided she could not leave her without support. So on the way back from the wake, Glynda picked up Pyrrha. Penny knew Pyrrha, and while she was still wary around her, Pyrrha had the skills to support Penny should the need arise. Glynda also hoped Pyrrha could act as a sort of intermediary, helping to connect Penny and Raven.

Pyrrha held Penny's hand as the pair walked from the car to the house. Penny looked back and Glynda waved as she departed, on her way to meet with Winter and a lawyer to settle the Polendina estate. Glynda hoped to also start the process of permanently adopting Penny, though she and Raven still needed to have a more detailed conversation about that.

Pyrrha knocked on the door, and Penny preemptively moved behind her leg, hiding before Raven could open it. Seeing Penny's continued fear, Raven sighed, backing away so Pyrrha could lead Penny inside without further stress. Raven sat in a chair in the living room, knowing a day of discomfort for all was ahead. Pyrrha led Penny in, and the pair sat on the couch, Penny sinking back as best she could to be out of Raven's view. Pyrrha suggested they watch a video, and connected Penny's tablet to the television so they could watch on the big screen.

Raven had hoped that watching videos with Penny would be a way to bond with her. It was not to be. Pyrrha conversed with Penny about the content of the scientific documentary, but the topics were mostly over Raven's head. When she did attempt to make a comment, Penny responded badly, clinging to Pyrrha and shrinking away. The trio watched a few documentaries, but it only took one for Raven to give up on using them as a way to get closer to Penny.

After watching documentaries for a time, Penny decided she wanted to work on her models. Pyrrha joined her to watch, and insisted Raven do so as well. It was another bust for Raven. She knew nothing about cars, and there was no prospect of her helping Penny work on the models. The little pieces were too fiddly and fragile for her, and her painting skills were nonexistent. The only other hobby Penny appeared to have was reading. Raven figured she could read to Penny, but the girl would have to stop being terrified by her first.

When Glynda got home, Penny rushed to hug her, clinging to her desperately. She had had a rough day, one of pain and fear, and Glynda's presence was the greatest comfort she could imagine. Glynda brought dinner with her, and she ate with Penny in her room while Raven ate in the kitchen alone. It had been a bad day to say the least. The next day looked as though it would be even more trying. Glynda and Pyrrha would be attending Mr. Polendina's funeral, leaving Penny alone at home with Raven. Glynda had hoped Raven and Penny would make progress before then, but Penny remained just as anxious around Raven as she had been the prior day. It was going to be rough, and Raven knew it.

The day went about as poorly as Raven had expected. As soon as Glynda left for the funeral, Penny retreated to her room. Raven softly knocked on the door and asked to be admitted, but Penny refused. All Raven could do for the next several hours was to sit in the living room wondering where she had gone wrong. She did occasionally check on Penny, knocking and asking if she was alright or if she needed anything. Penny did manage to answer calmly, but the anxiety was always clear in her voice.

Penny may not have been as terrified of Raven as she had been when they had first met, but the fear was still there, and still real. Glynda was already planning to return to work the next week. If the situation did not improve, well, Raven was not sure what would happen, just that it would not be good. It was not healthy for Penny to spend her days cowering in fear. With Glynda preoccupied, Raven turned to the one other person she trusted for advice when it mattered most: Yang.

"Well, I like the new hairdo." Yang shrugged. "It makes you look...less homeless."

"Yeah, well I hate it." Raven grumbled. She snapped a few building blocks together and passed them to Summer so she could add the cluster to the larger set. "She's still afraid of me anyway."

"Well, you are kinda' scary." Yang noted.

"How so?" Raven asked.

"Well, the sickly pale skin, the dark circles under your eyes, the way you look kinda' malnourished." Yang replied.

"You look like a vampire." Summer giggled, completing the next step of building the set.

Raven groaned and buried her face in her hands, resting her elbows on the table. "Maybe I should cut my hair? Makeup would probably help the rest, but I don't know. Would it even matter?"

"What do you mean?" Yang asked. "Is your terrifying appearance not enough of a problem?"

"Glynda thinks Penny would get used to me if we just had some way to bond, but I've got nothing." Raven explained.

"What does Penny like to do?" Summer asked. Yang passed her another cluster of blocks to add to the main structure.

"Well, she mostly watches documentaries." Raven answered. "They're way too smart for me. Other than that, she builds model cars. I'm talking super-detailed models intended for adults. All those little pieces...the glue...the paint...I'm not just afraid I'd screw it up, I know I'd screw it up. And Penny's really protective of them. If I messed it up, she'd probably freak out."

"Why don't you try these?" Summer suggested, pointing to the plastic snap-together blocks that were spread across the table. "They're easy to build, and fun, and if you make a mistake, you can just pull it apart and fix it!"

Raven sat in silence for a moment, staring blankly at Summer, who just smiled back. "Yang, the kid's a genius."

"I think it's probably more that we're a bunch of idiots, and she looks brilliant by comparison, but yeah, she is." Yang joked. "I've got some extra sets you can have. Got some doubles...and triples. My memory isn't great and Winter buys them for us too."

"It's definitely worth a shot." Raven agreed. "If it doesn't work...well, I guess I could suffer through being treated like a monster for the rest of my life."

"Rest of your life?" Yang asked. "I thought it was a temporary adoption."

"It is for now." Raven noted. "But Glynda's got a soft spot for Penny...I'm not just here to complain and drink your booze."

"You wouldn't know it by looking…" Yang teased.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask your permission before we adopted." Raven continued. "To make sure it's alright with you. I can't say no to Glynda...I could, but I can't, ya' know?"

"You don't need my permission." Yang scoffed.

"Yes, I do." Raven insisted. "When I was supposed to be raising you, my own daughter, I ran off and made a mess of my life. Now I'm going to be raising someone else's kid. It just feels...I wouldn't blame you for being hurt, angry. I just want to know that you're okay with it."

"Of course I'm okay with it." Yang declared. "How many times do I have to tell you? All is forgiven. I just want you to be happy, the way you want me to be happy. If that means adopting a kid, great. I love being Aunty Yang. Besides, this one sounds like a real handful. That'll make up for all those years you got out of dealing with my crap. I had a rebellious phase you know."

"It never ended." Winter deadpanned, arriving at the table with a tray of drinks.

"Well, that's a load of my chest…" Raven chuckled, running a hand over her face. "If this building block thing works I'll really be in business."

Glynda cleaned up the kitchen after dinner. She had made fried chicken, so there was a bit of a mess to deal with. Penny sat on the couch, watching some kind of car show on television. It seemed when she was not watching something on her tablet for working on models, she was watching something educational on television. She apparently had no interest in cartoons or normal children's television, and certainly no patience for sitcoms.

Raven approached slowly, plastic shopping bag in hand. "Penny." She called out softly so as not to startle her. Penny looked over with obvious anxiety written across her face, but she did not flee as she sometimes did when Raven approached. Glynda had asked her to try with Raven, and so Penny was determined to at least give it a shot. Raven reached into the bag and produced a small box, placing it on the couch near Penny. "I know you like cars, and building stuff, but your models are too complicated for me and...well, I was hoping you'd like this."

Penny glanced at the box while trying not to take her eyes off of Raven. It was a snap-together plastic block kit of a racecar. Raven sat at the far end of the coffee table and pulled an identical kit out of her bag. Preposterously, Yang had been in possession of four identical kits. Raven opened it up and poured the contents onto the table. She opened the instruction book and started building. Penny watched for a few minutes, then took her own kit and sat at the opposite end of the coffee table. Penny set about constructing it, and soon her nervous glances at Raven ceased, replaced by total focus on the task at hand.

Penny completed her kit first, pressed the blocky driver into the cockpit and rolled the car around a bit. Raven finished hers and slid the car across the table toward Penny. As the car rolled to a stop, Penny looked up at a smiling Raven, and managed to return a hesitant smile herself before rolling the car back. "I uh...have a bigger kit too." Raven spoke up. She pulled a large box out of the bag, a colorful block garage depicted on it. "I'm kinda' dumb, and I was hoping you could help me."

Penny hesitated for a moment, but shifted closer to Raven, moving around to the long side of the table. Raven slowly started to do the same, waiting for Penny's reaction. Penny did not protest or shrink away, so Raven moved to sit beside her, not too close, but close enough that they could work together on the kit. Raven breathed a sigh of relief. Out of sight, watching from a discreet distance away, Glynda silently cheered.

Winter sat at her desk, typing away at her computer. Normally her office would have been filled with music, but today it was silent, bar the clicking keys. She was behind on paperwork and needed absolute focus. It was an odd position to be in. Running a business could be a lot of work, but Winter generally had no trouble. She had trained her whole life for this sort of thing. Filling out trademark forms was second nature, and she could file taxes in her sleep. She had taken a few days off to help Glynda with her situation, and the work had piled up. Now Winter tore through the backlog. She would be back on schedule in no time.

There was a knock at the office door. "Come in." Winter called without looking up. She finished filling out the current form before turning her attention to the visitor. It was Melanie, looking as bored as ever. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to change my address." Melanie replied.

"Sure, just a second." Winter pulled up Melanie's file. "What's the new address?" Melanie handed Winter a paper with the address written on it. Winter duly entered the new information and saved the changes. "Patch? That's a bit of a commute."

"It's not too bad." Melanie shrugged. "It's right by the ferry."

"Good, good." Winter smiled. "Still a strange place to move though."

"I moved in with my boyfriend." Melanie explained.

"A boyfriend huh?" Winter asked. "Anyone I know?"

"Yep." Melanie replied.

Winter had already started working on another form as she talked, but came to a grinding halt. "Wait...Patch...someone I know...oh for the love of…" Winter sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Tell me it's not Qrow."

"It's not Qrow." Melanie lied with an amused expression.

Winter stared at Melanie until her grin faded into her usual bored look. "Is there anything else?"

"Nope." Melanie replied. "See ya'."

Winter watched from her desk as Melanie left the room. She just sat there for a few minutes before calling Yang over the PA. There was soon a knock at the door. "Come in." Winter called.

Yang entered the room, closing the door behind her. "What's up?"

"I had an interesting talk with Melanie just now." Winter noted.

"I didn't do it!" Yang preemptively defended.

"She's dating Qrow." Winter groaned. "She's living with him already."

"Oh, that." Yang shrugged. "They've been doin' pretty great."

"You know?!" Winter demanded.

"Yeah, Qrow called me." Yang confirmed. "He asked me not to tell you...oh…"

"Yang, I want you to call up your uncle, and tell him that if he does anything untoward to Melanie, I will have him killed." Winter growled. "And that's not a threat. It's a promise."

"It's kind of a waste." Yang chuckled. "Qrow's way more afraid of Mel than he would be of any professional assassin."

"What do you mean?" Winter asked.

"Mel threatened to cut off his balls and feed them to him if he did anything untoward." Yang explained.

"Oh, alright then." Winter nodded. She looked up at Yang, smirking. "This Melanie girl, I like her."