Truth, Lies, and Silver Eyes (A Sequel to STRQ) [Book 2]

Chapter 13: Summer

I gazed at the old pages of the book. I've been wanting more information about the silver eyes for a while now. This book might hold some answers for me.

"Well, aren't you going to read it?" Qrow asked.

Deacon suddenly sat up wide awake. His eyes widened when he noticed the book I holding.

"That's my favorite book!" he exclaimed. "Some of my favorite stories are in there! Can you read one to me? Please?"

I turned to him and smiled.
"Sure. How about the story about the silver eyes?"

He cocked his head. "Silver eyes? I haven't heard of that story before."

I turned the page and began to read.
"'Since the beginning of mankind, silver eyes have always been quite the mystery. The individuals who possess this rare trait are destined to lead lives as warriors. The soulless monsters called Grimm, which are created by the God of Darkness, were afraid of the silver eyed warriors. It isn't certain how these powers manifest, but according to some sources, the eyes admit a powerful light whenever they feel the strong desire to protect others. The origin of the silver eyes is still unclear, but the most plausible theory is that they are a gift from the God of Light himself to help defend humanity from the threats of his brother's creations.'"

After I was done, Qrow and Deacon were both staring at me.

"Do you think it's true?" Qrow asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. It's an interesting tale, that's for sure."

"That's soooo cool!" Deacon said in awe.
"And you have silver eyes just like the people in the picture!"

I couldn't help but smile at him.
"How very observant of you, Deke."

Deacon smiled back. "Thanks for reading to me. I'm going to sleep now."

Deacon laid down and started to snore almost immediately.

"Well... at least I don't have to worry about him never falling asleep," I muttered to myself.

Qrow got up and laid down on one of the other couches. 

"You better get some sleep, Summer," he told me.

I leaned back and sighed. "Yeah. I've decided that I'll start teaching Deke tomorrow."

Qrow looked over to me. "That soon?"

"I want to start as soon as possible. You should start teaching him how to fight soon, too. There might come a day where he could help us out."

"Summer... he's only six or seven years old," Qrow replied.

I glared at him. "So? I was pretty young when I first started to fight. And you were, too! You're just making excuses to not teach him."

"That's not at all what I'm doing! I'm just... nervous is all."

"You'll do fine, Qrow. You're an amazing fighter, and Deke really needs to learn from someone experienced," I said, trying to reassure him.

Qrow smiled a tiny bit. "Okay. I'll start training him tomorrow. I'll need to unlock his aura first beforehand, but that shouldn't be a problem."

"Good. Goodnight, Qrow."

"Sweet dreams my silver eyed princess," he replied.

I picked up the nearest pillow and threw it at him before laying down to sleep.

I awoke sometime in the morning. Deacon was still sleeping on the couch. However, Qrow was nowhere to be seen. I found a note on one of couches.

Summer,

I left to get a little more food for us. Hopefully I'll be back before you wake up. I love you.

Qrow

I sighed in relief and folded up the letter. I heard Deacon stir. I looked over to find him sitting up.

"Where's Uncle Qrow?" he asked.

"He's gone out for a bit, but he'll be back later," I said, smiling at him.

Deacon said nothing as he picked up the old fairy tale book and opened it. I watched as he stared at the pages blankly. His face became more and more frustrated until he slammed the book shut and tossed it aside.

"Stupid book! I don't know what it's saying!"

I walked to where he tossed the book and picked it up.
"Do you have trouble reading, Deke?" I asked him.

"I can read the little words, but not the bigger ones," he replied.

"I see. Would you like help with reading? I can teach you."

Deacon looked up at me. "You'll teach me how to read?"

I smiled at him. "Of course. I can help you with writing, too."

Deacon was quiet for a moment.
"Well... okay. When do we start?"

"How about right now? Maybe we can work on your letters first?"

He smiled a bit. "Okay."

I spent the next few hours explaining to Deacon uppercase and lowercase letters. After that, I spent the next hour showing him how to write them until I heard Qrow open the front door.

"Summer, I'm back," he announced.

"We'll go over your letters some more tomorrow, okay?" I said to Deacon.

"Okay," he replied.

Qrow walked into the dining area with a few bags.

"Sorry I took so long. It was very busy today. Uh... am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"No. We were just finishing up," I told him. "What'd you get today?"

"Some breakfast ingredients and a few other things."

I stood up and took the bags. "I'll go put these up. Why don't you get started with training Deke?"

Deacon looked over to us. "Training? What training?"

"Combat training. Qrow is going to teach you how to fight," I said.

His eyes lit up. "Really? That's so cool! Can I start right now?"

I smiled at his enthusiasm. "Sure. Just don't stay out too late. I'll call you once dinner is ready."

"Cool! Come on, Uncle Qrow!"

"Right now? But—"

Before he could finish, Deacon was already dragging him to the front door. I giggled and headed back to the kitchen.