The Bird and the Garden

Epilogue: A Quiet Life (Neutral Ending)

Y/N woke up to the sounds of his aunt screaming. He sighed, sitting up in bed and lighting a cigarette.

She likely woke up from a nightmare. Not that Y/N was going to comfort her. He stepped out of his bed and walked into the hallway. Yang was already entering Raven's room. She looked at Y/N worriedly before closing the door behind her.

Twelve years had passed since Salem was sealed away. In those twelve years, Y/N had grown very distant from his family. He barely even paid attention to his son, aside from feeding him. He left the schooling to Yang. He trotted down the stairs, eyeing his kid on the couch. He was reading a book.

"... Whatcha readin', Cyan?"

Cyan looked at his father worriedly. "A-ah... A... History book..."

Y/N nodded, stepping outside. He wasn't interested. He had already seen enough history. It wasn't that he didn't love his son. He just didn't know how to be a father. This made Y/N a terrible parent. He exhaled the smoke into the air, catching the attention of his neighbor.

"Y/N...? Is everything alright?" Verde asked from across the fence.

Verde had moved into the small village with Y/N, as did most of his old friends. The village was set deep in the forests of Anima, and was on no large scale maps. It was quiet, just as Y/N preferred.

"Yeah. Raven had a nightmare, that's all," he answered blandly. Verde walked around the fence and into his yard, stepping onto the porch with him.

"Can I have one?"

"Yeah, here."

Y/N passed his lighter to Verde, too. The artist lit the foul product and brought it to her lips, sitting down with the retired hero. As they smoked, they didn't speak. When the news got out that Y/N was unable to destroy Salem, he was met with mixed reactions. Some believed he should have at least tried, while others heralded him as a hero. But Y/N didn't feel like a hero.

A hero actually cared about others. Y/N couldn't. After everything that happened to him, he couldn't care about anyone else, not even himself. The only thing that stopped him from vanishing was his son. It was Verde who broke the silence.

"It's... Been a few days since you came out of your house..."

"... So?"

Verde looked down at the ground. "... I've been working on a new painting..."

"What's it about?"

"Would you even listen if I told you?"

Y/N didn't answer, giving Verde the answer she didn't want. She sighed, passing him the half-smoked cigarette. She stood up and dusted off her dress, stepping down from the porch. She looked back at him one last time.

"... Y/N, you really have to move on... Everyone else has. What happened in the past wasn't your fault-"

"Save those words for someone who can listen. I just can't do it anymore, Verde. I just... I just can't."

Verde looked down at the ground, finally leaving him alone. She felt hurt. Some had been permanently changed by the final battle; Ozpin had moved on to become a professor again, but this time with a much more strict regimen. Sasha had grown old and weary, spending most of her days with a photo of her deceased husband as she reminisced on older days. Weiss had committed suicide two years ago, unable to take the nightmares. Velvet and Raven were the only known Maidens left, and kept to themselves. Nowadays, Y/N and Yang were all Verde had left. Wiping at her eyes, she retreated to her home, stepping inside.

Verde's house wasn't very tidy. Paint spills and brushes layered her floor, and she stepped over them as she walked to her aisle. She sat down, grabbing her brush. But she didn't paint. She only sat there, staring at the unfinished work in silence.

Y/N tossed the cigarette to the ground just as the door opened, Cyan peeking his head through the doorway. "Um... Dad?"

"What?"

Cyan stepped outside, his light blue hair seeming to glow in the sun. "... Can we go for a walk?"

Y/N sighed, standing to his feet. "Yeah. Let's go."

He didn't wait for an answer. Cyan had to jog to catch up to his father, trying to mimick his footsteps. After a few minutes, he looked up to his father worriedly.

"... M-Miss Raven was saying something strange..." He said quietly. Y/N nodded, fishing another cigarette out of his pocket.

"She's old. That's what old people do."

Cyan looked down at his hands, and Y/N followed his gaze. "Where'd you get that?" He asked.

Cyan held the scrap of dusty cloth up. "M-Miss Raven gave it to me... She said it once belonged to someone good that was tricked..."

Y/N took the cloth and stared at it. Sure enough, it was exactly what he suspected. He passed it back to his son, heaving a heavy sigh that ended in a wet cough. "That's... A part of Vao's old clothes..." He muttered.

"W-who's Vao?"

Y/N didn't really know how to respond to that. But he tried his best. It would be good for his son to at least know.

"Your uncle, Vao Branwen. Raven was right; he was good. But then he became a monster, and I had to kill him."

"Y... You killed people...?"

Y/N nodded, scratching his grey hair lazily. "Yeah. All bad people."

Cyan looked down, but didn't fall silent. "... Can you tell me the story, dad?"

Y/N sighed, stopping and sitting on the sidewalk. He patted the spot next to him, which Cyan hurried to.

"... Alright. I'll tell you. I'll tell you the story of The Bird and the Garden..."

...

And the story is finally over. What happens after this is Y/N recounts the entire story to his son, from his earliest memories to the present.

I hope you all enjoyed this story. I'm so happy that people stuck with me this long, and I hope everyone will be excited for the second book.

The Neutral ending and it's epilogue were difficult to write. Not much happens in them, because it's about Y/N moving on to a difficult normal life. That's why they seem rushed; because nothing is happening anymore. Y/N drifted apart from his friends and family, and feels alone and trapped. I've thought about it hard, but I couldn't think of anything. Without Salem or Vao, nothing eventful could ever happen that Y/N would get himself involved with. He'll never find another person to live, and he can never find happiness. To Y/N, everything's become pointless, meaningless. He just goes on loving, without seeing a reason. That's what I tried to reflect here.

As always, I look forward to seeing you all in the next book: The Bird and the Garden 2: Restart!