The lady in red caught her red-handed.
With nowhere to run in an alley, Emerald's options dwindled harshly. Illusions could only get so far with someone perceptive enough to see through it. Had she been more attentive to the people around her rather than the jeweler, running out scot-free with something to pay for a bit more food would have been easy.
The worst case scenario was that thought never being fulfilled ever again.
Had she spent more time practicing her Semblance, she could've made herself less obvious. She could've made things more hopeful for herself. She could've…
But "could've" was only a possibility- not a reality.
A lump formed in her throat as Emerald backed closer and closer to the wall, her eyes shakily locking with a big red flag. Her senses screamed for her to use her Semblance again, just by the small, but potential chance of her escaping. The logical side of her spoke otherwise, however- and leaving with her life very much intact was preferable.
Either way, she felt lost. And she was, because she had.
"How did you do that?"
Jumping at the woman's words, Emerald's eyes widened as she instinctively took a step closer to the wall behind her. Her eyes darted around, looking for anything and anywhere she could use to escape. Her effort fell in vain, as the stationary woman continued to stare at her.
The very presence of the woman told Emerald not to initiate an attack, but nevertheless, her dwindling options had to stop at some point. Preventing her body from showing a sign of weakness, she reached for her revolvers…
"Don't."
Well, of course. What did she expect?
I might just die today, Emerald realized. The thought frightened her, the sunny weather doing nothing to prevent a chill from running down her spine. Acting submissive was the last thing she wanted to do, yet it proved to be a necessity.
It seemed like the woman had more to say, though she sealed her lips before they could open. Footsteps clattered past the alley as the two remained silent for a few seconds.
Her confidence drained at every ticking second. Mustering up the courage to glare at the confident, dark-haired woman, Emerald growled, "What do you want?"
At this, the lady smiled, walking forward.
"I've already told you," she spoke, her voice husky, yet devoid of any emotion Emerald could take note of. Yet, a sharp edge lay under her tone as she added, "And I don't like repeating myself."
Crap. Crap, crap crap crap.
Her heart pounded faster as the woman stopped in the midst of her walk. Nothing could stop her from lashing out at Emerald at this distance. The thief already saw the lady in red chase after her, and from what she could tell, nothing would prove to be advantageous on her end.
"I didn't do anything, just leave me alone!" Emerald responded, almost feeling a need to lash out to make herself feel less useless in such a hopeless situation.
The lady in red clearly didn't buy it. A widening smirk on her face only proved it.
What a bright and lovely day- bright enough for Emerald to see that all of that terrible smirk.
"I know my fair share of liars and thieves," the unknown woman pointed out, keeping their distance from one another unchanging. "Stealing is an art of patience… coordination… and in a pinch, sleight of hand."
Amber eyes glowered as the stranger smiled. "But you didn't steal that ring in your pocket."
Yet again, she moved instinctively, her hands hovering over said pocket as she leaned away from the woman. Just how much did this woman know about her? Who even was she?
"You took it right before the jeweler's eyes- and he smiled."
And smile she did, too, as the lady in red crossed her arms.
Who was she…?
Just who?
If she was going to go down, Emerald would like to know her name, at the very least. She never considered names to be that important, especially when everyone essentially served as sources of pickpocketing- until now.
"Who are you?"
The golden question flew. It hung between them for quite a bit, with neither making a sound.
The footsteps had long vanished, and oddly, Emerald wished for them to return. At least she'd know what she would deal with unlike this unnerving woman.
Silence ruled the world, it seemed.
At that moment, however, Emerald temporarily forgot the reason she stole in the first place. Her heart pounded, but it always did, no matter how fast it would. Her eyes trembled, though at that point, Emerald knew she couldn't do much in the face of fear.
She knew all these things with the exception of remembering her sensitive stomach.
A loud growl came from her stomach.
…
…
…
A blush furiously crept its way into her cheeks as Emerald Sustrai ever-so-slightly lowered herself.
Raising an eyebrow, the lady in red's amber eyes trailed down and up the thief.
Damn it, Emerald! She thought to herself as she struggled to meet the red lady's gaze any further. Of all the ways to go, this is the absolute worst…
"Hungry, aren't you?"
Stiffening, the thief glanced up, her eyes meeting an amber pair.
As a smile crept into her face, the lady in red placed her hands against her hips, watching Emerald intently.
"You may call me Cinder. And if you so wish it, I could treat you to a happy meal."
Emerald stared at the Happy Meal.
…
…
…
Glancing at Cinder's direction, the green-haired girl found the woman happily eating a Big Mac.
For the many times she passed through Vale's smaller districts, she didn't think someone with a first impression such as Cinder's would bring her to… somewhere she just ate a few days ago. Sure, it was a Happy Meal, just as Cinder promised, but…
Blinking at Emerald's lack of response to the food, Cinder raised an eyebrow as she swallowed her food before asking, "I thought you said you were hungry?"
"I-I never said I was hungry!" Emerald retorted immediately, only to wilt at Cinder's stubborn confusion. She quickly added, "Thanks, though."
At this, a proud huff left Cinder as she closed her eyes. Emerald couldn't tell if it was Cinder being satisfied with her appreciation or the burger she chewed, though.
Only an hour ago, Emerald wondered if her life would end at the hands of this woman. Now, it seemed all but unlikely. It wasn't that she underestimated Cinder's strength- her Aura alone possessed a powerful presence.
Rather, it was the "personality" she might have overestimated.
"Hey, you could take some of my fries," Cinder pointed out. "Oh, but don't take two at once."
Leaning over the table a bit, Cinder smiled as if she shared some kind of great secret with the thief.
"That's a shorter path to chubbiness, you see."
"…How do you know?" Emerald asked, curious at the rather random detail.
"…"
Before a word left Cinder, she froze deathly still for a split moment. Emerald saw it- the panic that flashed across her whole face before she averted her gaze, heat invading the once intimidating woman's cheeks.
"It… comes from experience!"
Whoa, Emerald stared at Cinder incredulously, with a small burger in hand. She admitted it.
"Oh, but don't misunderstand. I never looked any less beautiful than- Hey, what's with that look?!"
"S-Sorry!"
A flare of anger glowed within Cinder's amber eyes as she glared at Emerald. For a split moment, steam seeped from Cinder's burger.
It quickly died as the woman coughed, recollecting her composure. In Emerald's defense, Cinder seemed to lose her composure the very moment "happy meal" left her lips.
"Anyway," Cinder spoke after patting her lips with a napkin, "what do you say? Join me, and you'll never grow hungry again."
Ah, right.
That was the reason Cinder approached her in the first place. For whatever she saw in Emerald, the thief herself did not know. They neither met nor knew each other prior to Cinder cornering Emerald at the alley. Emerald did know, however, that despite the woman's rather less-than-intimidating attitude, Cinder had an incredible perception on Semblances.
Especially if she realized what Emerald's Semblance was at the blink of an eye…
A weight fell on Emerald's shoulders again once more.
Nothing. She knew nothing of Cinder aside from the fact that she was, in fact, powerful. And then again, Emerald herself had nothing aside from her own power. It was the only valuable thing about her- she knew that more than anyone, having lived enough to know its strengths and weaknesses.
Did she really want to live alone with no one to back her up?
The offer no longer felt tempting, but rather, a necessity.
Anything's better than living like this, Emerald thought, her resolve growing.
Her body tenser than before, Emerald looked up from her food.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Cinder take two fries at once, sneakily plopping them into her mouth.
…
…
…
She pretended not to see that.
"C-Cinder?"
"Hm?"
And thus, Emerald decided.
If she were to confront the end of her own fate, she would do everything to avoid falling alone.
A BIG RED FLAG
A year had passed since their fateful encounter.
Sometimes, Emerald wondered if she made the right decision. Joining Cinder proved to be rather interesting, mostly because of Cinder herself. For one, she learned to fear anyone who showed any resemblance of unnatural intelligence. It was a gut feeling she improved upon after she became more active with Cinder's plans.
Emerald also learned to get along with a few people, actually. While getting along with Cinder was almost obviously a requirement, she didn't expect Mercury to be any better than he proved to be as a partner. The guy had a loud mouth and so much damn sarcasm to spare, but his skills and attitude did help out at times.
Since then, Emerald believed that she did, in fact, make the right decision.
"EMERALD! MERCURY! ANYONE! SPIDER! KILL IT, KILL IT! EEEEEEEEEEEK!"
But sometimes, Emerald wondered if dying alone would also have been a good idea...
Holding a book reading "Knowledge Through Subtle Power" by some random bum named Watts, Mercury stood in front of a corner in the room, his eyes locked onto a singular target. From Emerald's perspective, it looked like he simply practiced some kind of dumb circus stunt. It would have been funnier if Cinder wasn't frightened right out of her socks-
Okay, maybe that in itself made her chuckle the first time, but Cinder constantly screaming wasn't going to kill an admittedly large spider any sooner.
Erasing Cinder's ear-ringing screams from his consciousness, Mercury's eyes widened as he darted forward, leaning away from the wall as he approached it. With a mighty swing, he slammed the book expertly, his experience of using literature in unintended ways showing.
"Gotcha!" He yelled triumphantly. "Alright, Cinder, it's dead."
On the other side of the room, a bundle of blankets sat piled onto a bed. It took a few seconds for said blankets to start shuffling, revealing Cinder Fall- the woman who led Emerald and Mercury. Her face poked out between a small gap in the middle of the blankets.
When Mercury scraped off the spider into a nearby trashcan, Cinder awkwardly coughed before slipping out the bed. She still held the blankets, however, making her look like she donned some dumb blanket monster costume.
"G-Good work, Em-and-M," she mumbled, her voice steadily regaining its usual confidence. "I'll see to it that I reward you with something nice."
Emerald put up a thoughtful look, Mercury following suite. She then asked, "How does Chick-Fil-A sound?"
"Eh, not bad, Em," Mercury nodded. "CFA sound good to you, Cinder?"
"Oh, certainly," Cinder responded coolly. As cool as it sounded, however, the sudden glow of joy in her amber eyes at Emerald's suggestion could not hide itself.
It had been several days since they arrived at Vale. After Cinder's idea of robbing a Dust shop, which ended up picking up the remains of an actual robbery done by a certain cane-wielding man, the woman's yoyo-like ego inflated exponentially. Having slaughtered giant, viscous crabs in Vacuo for money in a ramshackle of a town, the idea of using combat to make money finally struck her after so many years despite her potential to bring down trained Huntsmen to their knees.
So they ended up staying at Vacuo for over six months straight.
To her credit, Emerald glanced at Cinder, who took a bite out of her chicken burger, once she sets her eyes on something, she really, really doesn't let go for awhile.
As for why the came to Vale, Cinder attempted to not tell them immediately for once. Mercury, however, came up with a rather simple theory. In fact, it was a theory that matched perfectly with Cinder's personality and their circumstances.
She got bored.
As soon as they exchanged crab meat with a passerby merchant for the umpteenth time, it showed on Cinder Fall's face. Ambitious she may be, Cinder Fall was not one to enjoy staying outside of comfortable cities and being denied of environments containing her favorite activities. Eating fast foods, checking clothes stores, visiting book stores…
Just the other day, Cinder encountered a video game store and bought a crappy handheld console only she seemed to enjoy.
"So, boss," Mercury asked as he plopped a single waffle fry in his mouth, "any plans for today?"
A smile formed on Cinder's face as she put down her soft drink.
"Well, actually," she spoke with a hint of excitement, "I think it's time I tell you why we are here."
At this, Emerald and Mercury glanced at each other before straightening themselves. As mundane as some of their plans often were, almost all of them were related with making money. Sure, Cinder seemed to have pockets of gold for no reason at all, but disappointing her was the last thing on their minds.
Happy with their gesture of attention, Cinder's smile widened a little. "This is by far my most ambitious plan yet, actually."
Leaning over, Cinder whispered.
…
…
…
"…Sorry, can you say that again?"
"Yeah, Em and I aren't dolphins, so we can't really hear-"
"Ahem!"
Clearing her voice, Cinder raised a hand, pretending to cough while hiding the small blush creeping in her cheeks. Raising her face back up to meet theirs, she repeated herself, this time louder than before.
"We're infiltrating Beacon Academy."
Emerald nodded, "Ah, okay."
"Gotcha, gotcha." Mercury, too, nodded.
…
…
…
"…Wait, what academy?"
Crossing her arms, Cinder smugly repeated, "Beacon Academy. Prestigious academy for Huntsmen and Huntresses? Maybe you never heard of it before-"
Almost slamming her food against her tray, Emerald whispered loudly, "O-Of course I know what it is! But why are we going there? Haven't we been perfectly fine on our own? And I thought you said we were just visiting a smaller academy near Vale!"
Truthfully, there were several complex things Cinder tangled Emerald and Mercury into, but never on the level of something involving what could be compared to as an organization specializing in hunting the essence of evil itself. But slaying Grimm or not, getting associated with society that closely?
"Well, I never said what academy it was, and I actually do have quite a handful of reasons to enter Beacon," Cinder smiled at the thought. "And I assure you, they will benefit you two quite well. Pulling this off means we might let ourselves indulge in something aside from delicacies. Perhaps power, and… foods better than fast food."
Amazingly, the latter sounded far more likely to be Cinder's goal rather than any of her former reasons.
One of her legs crossed the other as she stretched her arms. "For one, having intel that could lead up to blackmail material on the academy could be pretty handy for me. I heard there's some kind of treasure in the academy from one of- well, my only insider."
"And this 'insider' guy," Mercury asked curiously. "Is he really that trustworthy?"
At first, Cinder's smile grew wider. It quickly died, however, as the blazing fire in her eyes turned into a small ember.
"…Well, he's the only guy who helps me with my plans aside from you two, you know."
"Oh. Uh, right."
"With that said," Cinder clapped her hands together as she leaned over to the two. "Don't you think it's nice? Making a bigger name for ourselves could lead to more money, you know."
Which translates to "more burgers," Emerald finished for Cinder. She dared not to say it out loud, however.
"What do you say? Isn't it a great idea?!"
Quite frankly, all they'd been doing was going around making money and eating whatever they wanted. While that in itself sounded like a good life on paper, with Cinder on the same page, it was anything but normal. Despite that, however, their current life was rather normal. Normal in Remnant was a rarity, with news of Grimm attacks always being a true danger outside any Kingdom's walls. The life Cinder offered both her and Mercury was a blessing in disguise, in a sense.
But if her ditsy- er, clumsy boss so wished to try anything new, who was she to stop her?
"I don't see why it wouldn't," Emerald nodded with a small smile, "ma'am."
"Ditto," Mercury smirked.
Rather than express satisfaction, however, Cinder instead blushed and slammed a foot on the ground, glaring at Emerald.
"Don't call me 'ma'am!' It makes me sound ancient!"
Oh. Oops.
As Cinder's blush faded, a sly smile quickly formed back on her face. "Ah, but I honestly can't wait. Our time to shine will be absolutely glorious. It'll be super, if you ask me! I can already see it!"
And with that, she laughed out loud with her hand by her mouth in what could only be described as the "rich lady laugh." The three promptly got kicked out for making far too much of a scene.