Inspired by a story by Emily Carroll. Cover image belongs to peridot-peridot on Tumblr.
Wolf to the Slaughter
"Enough!"
Salem groaned and pinched the rim of her nose. Honestly, was this truly the once proud girl who sought power over anything else? This child could barely stand up straight and form a sentence. And all because of what? The loss of her eye? She had another one, so what difference did losing the other make?
Ah, but she had lost it at the hands of the silver-eyed girl. Well, that was a matter she would see to personally…
Right now though, she had to teach the new Fall Maiden how to properly control her powers. A lesson she was failing miserably.
"I thought you were the girl that wanted power. Did you lie to me?"
The only response she got was a shake of the head and a wheeze. It was pathetic really, but she wasn't out of her service just yet. Not when she had all that power that she had help give her.
"Then stop holding back! If you wish to master your new powers, then you must be willing to take control."
Cinder tried to rise to her feet, only to collapse onto one knee. Apparently her pitiful display had left the girl rather drained. Humans were so fragile, even with the power of gods. The only reason she hadn't managed to wipe them all out yet was due to how crafty they could be. They were like worms, always wriggling and struggling to survive.
But all vermin could be exterminated, and the one that got under her skin the most was that silver-eyed girl. She was a problem, not yet dangerous to be considered a threat, but still a nuisance. She had to die, as did all who were behind her. Luckily she had sent someone competent enough to retrieve her. Tyrian may harm if he wished, but she wanted to kill her personally.
The silver eyes always died at the hands of the Grimm. That tradition would not change.
As if on cue, Tyrian returned defeated with his tail between his legs, although, looking at his condition, that was probably an inaccurate statement.
He had failed his mission. She wasn't interested in the specifics as to how. He had failed, that was all there was to it. She dismissed the pair and left them to grovel or whatever it was humans did during times of despair.
She returned to her throne and sighed. Her council was currently filled with children or imbeciles. Hazel and Watts had better be successful in their assignments, otherwise it might be… career challenging for her subordinates.
However, as embarrassing as it was to admit, Cinder would be her most valued pawn in all this. She would master her powers, she just needed the right motivation. Harsh words and veiled threats would only go so far.
Now that Tyrian was out of commission for now, she also needed someone to hunt down the girl and her band of fools. Cinder wouldn't be up to the task and neither were those two children she insisted on keeping around.
She needed something else…
She thought back to what happened to Cinder before her little accident. She had just got done killing a young huntress - Pyrrha Nikos, was it? - and took her headpiece as a trophy. Whilst she never understood why she had done that at the time - such material possessions were meaningless to her - an idea was forming in her head. She fetched a Seer to retrieve it.
When it came back, she held the headpiece in her hands. Her ghostly-white face reflected back at her. If she remembered correctly, the huntress who Cinder had killed was friends with silver-eyed girl.
She grinned and her red eyes glowed with anticipation. What was it that the humans said?
Better the devil you know?
[/]
"Prepare yourself, child."
Cinder stood weakly in the centre of the arena. It had been a day since her last training session, giving Salem more than enough time to ponder on her idea. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it.
"I thought we'd try a different approach today," she said slyly. "Your progress when you're fighting Grimm has been… slow, to say the least-"
She grinned when she saw her wince at her disappointment.
"-but I think I've devised the perfect solution for that. Be warned though, my dear, this is one of your last chances to prove yourself. Anymore failures and I won't know what to do with you."
Cinder trembled, though whether that was due to fear or pain was anyones guess. Salem then pulled out the headpiece from behind her back and placed in the centre of the room. Cinder's eye widened when she saw it.
"Do not disappoint me," Salem said quietly, before flexing her hand towards the headpiece. Her face was locked in deep concentration as she exercised one of her most terrifying powers.
Humans and faunus were delightfully foolish creatures. Despite years of evolution and countless hours researching the world around, they still had yet to understand that life and death were much the same thing.
Mankind had many different theories as to what happened when one dies. Some believed that nothingness awaited them, others believe they went to some kind of afterlife.
They were all only half-right.
Mankind possessed aura, the manifestation of one's soul. Even if one didn't have their aura unlocked, they still possessed it within them. It was true that the body faded to nothing when one died, but their soul was eternal. When a soul leaves the body, it becomes one with the world around it, contributing to the energy of the universe. In a sense, this was the 'afterlife' that some believed existed.
The headpiece began to rattle. A dark pool of energy swarmed under it.
Only a handful of people knew this truth, but one secret that she kept to herself was that the souls of the dead could be taken back, breathing new life into their original owner. All you had to do was know where to look and reach out. It helped if you knew what the person looked like, but owning something that once belonged to them would work just as well.
A shadowy form formed under the headpiece, making it rise in the air. Dear little Cinder stared at what was happening in disbelief.
That being said, the person being brought back wouldn't be the same as before. Being born again made the memory hazy and the personality fresh. In short, it would be very easy to mold the person into someone else.
Something else…
The shadows dispersed from the figure, making its features visible for all to see. Standing before Cinder was the ghostly-white, black-veined form of the recently deceased Pyrrha Nikos. The girl looked much the same, regardless of her slightly altered appearance. Her armor had apparently been gold at the time, but now had a grey and black tint to it.
Cinder's eye blinked rapidly, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Salem grinned at her reaction. She had better get a grip if she wants to survive what comes next.
"Wh-where am I?" the poor girl looked around nervously. "What is this place? How did I get here?"
Such a sweet girl, looking around like a lost lamb away from the herd. Salem rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Rest easy, my dear," she said in a motherly tone. "Everything's okay."
The girl whipped round, her red eyes widening at the sight of her. "Who are you?"
"Who am I? Sweet child, I am your mother."
"My… mother?"
"Why yes. You've been asleep for a while, my dear, and so I woke you up. Surely you didn't forget me during that time?"
The girl thought hard about what she was saying. It didn't matter if she believed her or not, for the false memories would form in her head soon. Children were so easy to manipulate. Dead children all the more so.
Her eyes then lit up and she smiled happily at her. Salem smiled back and returned the hug that the newly revived girl gave her.
"Mother!" Pyrrha cried happily in a sickeningly childish voice. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you again!"
Salem rubbed the girl's back nurturingly. She caught a glimpse of Cinder's face when she looked past her shoulder. The girl looked like she wanted to vomit. If it was possible, she somehow looked more pale than her. Her trembling definitely wasn't due to pain this time.
Salem gently pried the girl off of her. "Now then, dear, are you listening carefully? Because I have a special task for you to complete."
Pyrrha looked shocked. "A task? What kind of task?"
"Look behind you." She pointed to Cinder's terrified form. Luckily for her, Pyrrha didn't recognise her killer. Unfortunately for her, her luck was about to change.
"This woman is one of my friends," she continued. "But she's been a bad person lately. She's disrespected me, abused my kindness, wasted the nice things I've given her."
Cinder eye went wide with fear as she tried to defend herself, but no words got past her harsh coughing and wheezing.
Salem grinned darkly at her. "She must be punished."
Pyrrha looked blankly at her. "Punished?"
"Yes, my dear, and I want you to be the one to do it." She rested her hands on her shoulders again, standing behind the girl. "I want you to show her what happens when people upset me. After all, this isn't something we want to happen again, is it?"
Pyrrha's body began to tremble a little bit. She stared back at Cinder, her expressionless red eyes looked deep into her horrified amber ones. The black veins on her body started to look a little more pronounced and her fingers started twitching. Salem could feel her breathing increase from her hands on her.
"How should I do it?" she asked. Her voice sounding a little darker and deeper than before.
Salem stroked the girl's hair in pride. She had been alive for only a minute and she was already making fast progress. "I want you to kill her," she cooed. "I want you to make her last moments alive be filled with pain and blood. I want to hear screams echo throughout this room. I want her remains to be nothing more than a bloody stain on the floor. Only then would she have repented for how she has wronged me!"
With each passing word, Pyrrha's body began to change. Her fingers stretched into razor-sharp black claws and her body started to form bone-white armor across it. Her teeth grew into fangs and stretched past her lips, saliva already beginning to trickle down them. Her face elongated slightly and her ears became long and pointy.
Cinder could only watch in horror as the girl went through this metamorphosis. By the time she was done, she was snarling furiously at her, ready to leap on her and rip her to shreds. Her red eyes were ablaze with fury and her claws glistened under the light of the moon.
Salem stood back, watching her creation. She was more than impressed with her work. If this was Cinder's reaction to the girl, imagine how the silver-eyed one would react.
"Rip and tear, my sweet," she whispered. "Kill for mother."
Roaring, Pyrrha pounced on Cinder with claws and teeth at the ready. Cinder barely had enough time to quickly jump out the way. The motion was agony for her, but the adrenaline kept her from collapsing to the ground. Recovering quickly from her landing, Pyrrha charged back at Cinder, who responded by throwing a few fireballs her way. They were weak, desperate things, created out of panic.
Pyrrha dodged past one and actually jumped through the other, appearing on the other side with a few flames on her. They did nothing to stop her as she slashed at Cinder with her claws. Cinder just managed to dodge, but one of the claws caught her arm, leaving a huge cut on the skin.
She gasped in pain as blood rapidly spilled from the wound. Pyrrha took a moment to look at her claws to inspect the red liquid running down it. She looked back at Cinder with a feral grin, licking her fangs in excitement. Grimm didn't need to eat, but the thrill of the hunt was intoxicating for them.
Cinder concentrated her strength to summon a ring of fire around the girl. She could see the girl's silhouette looking confused among the pillar of flames. As long as she could keep her like that, she'd be fine. She just had to take a moment to gather herself and regain her strength. Maybe then she would survive this ordeal.
"Mistress… help me…" she weakly called out, decided to use part of her strength to communicate. Salem said nothing, she just carried on watching with that amused expression of hers. Couldn't she see she might actually die here? She would have gained the Fall Maiden's power for nothing.
She suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. That was her only warning as Pyrrha burst from the ground. Her claws still looked as sharp as ever despite digging through dirt and stone.
Cinder had just enough time to yelp in surprise, before one of her claws wrapped around her throat and hoisted her into the air. Cinder gagged and tried to kick at her face to realise her, but the girl ignored the blows and actually bit into her ankle, sinking her fangs into her warm skin.
Cinder would have screamed if it weren't for the claw crushing her windpipe. Pyrrha let go of her ankle and threw her against a wall with enough force to make it crack. Cinder staggered to her feet as her whole body was wracked with pain.
Pyrrha walked slowly towards her, licking the blood of her fangs. Cinder snarled at the beastly girl. She had come so far, sacrificed so much. She would not die at the hands and teeth of a dead girl. She had already killed her once, she would gladly do it again.
Tapping into her rage and fury, she stoked the fire in her heart in order to unleash what she was truly capable of. Sensing danger, Pyrrha started to bound towards her, running on all fours. Cinder growled back at her as she felt the flames getting bigger and stronger until-
Letting out a roar, she released all of her power onto the girl. A stream of flames burst from her hands, enveloping the girl before she could lay a finger on her. She kept them going until she couldn't even feel her hands anymore. She wouldn't stop until that little monster was incinerated.
After a while she collapsed in exhaustion. That had taken everything out of her, and if it wasn't for her aura, she'd probably be dead. She looked back at her work. There wasn't even dust left of her attacker. She had finally obliterated her.
"Very good," Salem said, clapping in approval. "You're finally starting to show some initiative."
She sighed in relief and leaned back against the wall she had just been thrown at. She could honestly fall asleep from how much effort that took.
"Don't get too comfy now, we're not done yet."
Wait… she didn't mean…
No…
Cinder shuddered as she saw Pyrrha Nikos once again arise from the darkness. She was still in her wolfen form and looked as vicious as before. Salem stood back at a safer distance.
"Again."
[/]
Salem sat on her throne in her council chamber with Pyrrha sitting by her side.
It had been a successful few days. Cinder was finally making progress when it came to controlling her powers. Slow, but steady progress. Her new sparring partner had certainly saw to that.
It had been an amusing few days watching Cinder trying to comprehend the idea of fighting a ghost. She had been nearly traumatised after killing her again and again that day, but was gradually getting a hold of herself. Just as well, if she wanted to keep earning her favour. Even her two subordinates looked horrified when they saw the girl walking again.
Salem looked to the girl sitting next to her. She was in her human form whenever she wasn't fighting, and only returned to her wolf-like form under Salem's orders. She accompanied Salem almost everywhere, usually serving as sort of guard dog.
She was growing quite fond of her new pet. She obeyed orders without question and unlike the rest of her council, her loyalty was undying. Whilst she was certain Cinder and the others wouldn't betray her, there was absolutely no question of Pyrrha's loyalty. The girl was hers for life.
She had spent a good amount of time re-educating the girl; filling her head with lies to keep her obedient. She believed and accepted every single one without question, each one moulding her into the vicious killing machine Salem intended her to be. Pyrrha Nikos had been brought back to life, but as far as her personality was concerned, she was a completely different person.
Perhaps she should consider renaming her?
"Pyrrha, do I have your attention?" Salem asked in the motherly tone she always used around the girl.
Said girl's eyes lit up and she leaned in close. "Yes, of course, Mother. Is there something you need?"
What a sweet child. Always so eager to please.
Salem smiled sweetly at her pet. "I have another task for you, my dear. One I think you'll find most enjoyable." She waved a hand at the table in front of her. The table top flickered, before the image of four teenagers walking through the woods appeared before them. They appeared to be carrying a man on a stretcher. "Do you recognise these people?"
Pyrrha studied the image before her. Salem watched in amusement as she tried remembering anything about her past life. She knew it was futile, but it was nice to see her indoctrination proving to be effective.
Pyrrha shook her head. It looked like the effort was straining her. "No, Mother. I've never seen them before in my life."
Perfect.
"Well, that doesn't matter," Salem said. "Unfortunately, I do know these people. They are some of the worst people in existence, especially the girl in red. Do not let their appearances fool you, they are monsters."
Pyrrha's face darkened. "Have they hurt you?" she growled. "I can kill them if you want. I won't let anyone hurt you, Mother!"
She patted her head affectionately. "You're getting ahead of yourself, my dear," she said. Pyrrha leaned into her touch, purring at the gesture. "Thankfully, they have yet to harm me, but they have hurt a few of my friends. If I'm not careful, they could hurt me too."
Pyrrha bared her teeth. "Let me kill them. Oh please, Mother, let me kill for you."
"Settle down, and I'll tell you what I want." Pyrrha calmed herself in an instant. She earned another head rub for it. "Good girl. Now then, I want you to hunt them down and kill all except the red girl. You will bring her to me."
Pyrrha looked confused. "The red girl? Why?"
Salem grinned darkly. "I have a special interest in her, shall we say? The others you're free to do whatever you wish with, but the girl must be kept alive. Once your done with her friends, you will bring her back here. That being said, you don't have to be gentle about it. Feel free to hurt her a bit if she doesn't play nice."
Pyrrha nodded, eager to get on with her task. "Yes, Mother. When should I do this?"
"Immediately." Salem snapped her fingers and a dark portal appeared behind her. "That portal will take you to where they are. You better get going if you want to catch them."
"Okay then. Thank you for this opportunity, Mother."
"You deserve it, my dear. Enjoy yourself." Salem watched her creation walk to the portal and then disappear from sight. She then looked back down at the table and observed the figures in the image.
Most of these people were about to be killed by someone they called a friend. What a delightful image that would be. She looked forward to seeing the look on their faces as their fallen comrade ripped them apart.
Well, in all serious, what would likely happen was she would get outnumbered and die. She might manage to kill a few, but the odds were stacked against her. Not that it mattered, of course. If she fell, she would simply be summoned again. This would go on until her task was complete.
One way or the other, Salem would get what she wanted.
[/]
Too bright!
Everything was too bright!
The light made her eyes burn and her skin itch. She missed the shadows and darkness of home.
She bounded through the forest, following the scent of blood those monsters left behind them.
Blood.
Everyone except her and Mother was filled with it. It excited her. She enjoyed seeing blood, tasting blood and making others bleed. She enjoyed making that nasty Cinder woman bleed, but she was only allowed to during their fights. That made her sad, but she didn't want to upset Mother.
However, Mother did promise her that when Cinder's two friends stopped being useful, she was free to make them bleed as much as she wanted.
She looked forward to the day they failed her.
The nice thing about blood was how smelly it was. No matter how hard people tried to hide it, they always stank of it. It made them easier to track…
She followed the scent until she saw her prey just a few meters in front of her. They were stopped in front of a crossroads deciding where to go.
Her claws trembled with fury at the sight of them. Her eyes started twitching uncontrollably.
They would die. All of them would die. The red girl had to live, but Mother said she could hurt her if she wanted to. If Cinder could live with one eye, so could she.
She would punish them. She would make them suffer.
This people would hurt her mother.
HER MOTHER!
Losing all control, she roared at them and charged them from behind. She caught them by surprise, but they jumped out the way just in time. She recovered from her miss and turned round to face her foes.
They looked young, but Mother had warned her to not let that fool her. These were the worst people imaginable and they had to be killed. She bared her fangs and claws. She was ready to split them open and watch the red spill out.
For some reason though, despite being violent killers, they didn't attack her right away. They actually remained rooted on the spot. Their eyes were wide and their mouths were open. A boy with yellow hair even dropped his weapon at the sight of her.
Were they afraid of her? Well, they should be. They had terrorised Mother for too long and now they were gonna get what they deserved.
"What the hell?"
She didn't know who said that, but it didn't matter. They wouldn't be speaking at all in five minutes.
"P-Pyrrha?"
The yellow-haired boy was the next one to speak. She growled at the sound of her name.
How did this monster know her name? Had they been spying on her? Had they been trying to find a way to hurt her too?
"Jaune, stay back!" The red girl - her target - screamed.
"Pyrrha… it's me," he whispered. "Don't you recognise me?"
What was he doing?
Why was he walking closer to her?
Recognise him? Of course she didn't, why would he say such a thing?
Was he trying to trick her? It wouldn't work, Mother had raised her to be smarter than that.
Although… something did look familiar about him. Perhaps it was the hair, his face or maybe even his voice. Either way, she felt like she had seen him before.
But that wasn't possible. This boy was a complete stranger to her. She hadn't even known his name until the red girl said it.
Come to think of it… all of them looked and sounded familiar.
Her head was hurting.
What was happening to her? What was this strange feeling?
It was scaring her!
Suddenly, she got a good look at the yellow-haired boy's eyes.
They were so bright… so blue…
They BURNED!
Unable to take it anymore, she raised a claw to shred his face apart. She was sent flying back as the girl in red shot her in the shoulder. She looked up at her attacker, who looked like she immediately regretted what she did.
"P-Pyrrha, I'm so… I'm sorry," the red girl stuttered.
She would be!
Pyrrha lunged at the group again. The boy in green tried to stop her but her fist collided with his chin. She kicked his dazed body away and dodged the attack the girl with the hammer sent her way. Swing after swing, Pyrrha dodged it with grace, barely having to put much effort into it.
She knew this girl's fighting style. She knew which strike would come from where and how to avoid it. The same thing applied to the boy in green. She effortlessly dodged his attacks and knew where he would next strike. Fighting them both at the same time made little difference.
But… she didn't know these people. She had never seen them fight before.
Had she?
This was getting too much for her. Her head felt like it was going to explode. She had to get this over with quickly.
She grabbed the pair by their heads and smacked them against each other. They both collapsed to the floor beneath her feet. She decided to kill the boy first. He was quick and she didn't like that.
She picked him up by the neck and aimed her claws for his eyes.
"Let him go!"
That was the voice of that other boy. She turned her head towards him.
Those eyes! They were too bright!
Everything about this boy was wrong. Why was looking at him making her head hurt?
Why was it making her chest hurt?
Mother had been wrong. It wasn't the red girl who was the biggest threat, it was him.
Luckily, she was allowed to kill him.
She dropped the green boy and lunged at the other. Her claw made for his chest, but the metal he was wearing blocked it.
She slashed and swiped at him, but he wasn't fighting back. He just kept dodging.
What was the matter with him?
She tried clawing at his face, but he raised a bigger piece of metal to defend himself. That wouldn't save him. Fire couldn't stop her. Metal couldn't stop her.
Nothing could stop her!
She clambered on top of the metal, her weight pushed him to the ground. She snapped and swiped at him, her claws just catching his face at times.
He tried pushing her off him, but she stood her ground. He wasn't going anywhere. He was gonna die here and now.
She had him right where she wanted. She was aiming closer and closer. Soon she'd be able to just reach over and tear his head off. Maybe that would stop her head and chest hurting.
She was inches away now. She could almost taste him on her teeth. He smelt like fear and desperation. His painfully blue eyes were wide with panic. She brought her claw down on him. One swipe would end him. Mother would be safe from this monster-
The claw never hit it's mark.
Something sharp poked her chest.
She looked down to see a sword going through it. She looked at the boy and saw that he was the one who stabbed her.
His hand was trembling and there were tears running down his face.
She felt numb. Her body suddenly felt a lot heavier than before. She couldn't stop herself slipping off the metal and landing on the ground.
It sounded like the boy was saying something. She couldn't quite make out it what it was - everything was becoming distorted - but it sounded like he was saying 'I'm sorry' over and over again.
The harsh light of the world was fading. She could barely think anymore. Only one thought played in her head as she slipped out of consciousness.
She had failed…
[/]
Days had passed since that first hunt. It was difficult to say how many. The sun did not rise in her world.
There had been other hunts since that day. Always the same people. Always ending in failure. It never seemed to end.
Those four she had fought had seemed so surprised to see her the first time. They didn't look surprised when she appeared anymore. If anything, they just looked sad, as if they were pitying her. She didn't need their pity, she needed their suffering.
The boy who had killed her the first time had changed the most. His eyes had looked so bright the first day, but now they were dull and almost devoid of life. It made him easier to fight, especially because he always insisted to fight her by himself now. He always won, but he never left unscathed.
She had expected Mother to be angry with her when she returned. Instead, she just sent her back to do it again. She never yelled at her, she never scorned her. She never even ignored her, unlike how she did to that scorpion man.
Mother was so patient with her and she didn't deserve it. She kept letting her down. She kept failing her. Mother had given her so much and she hadn't been able to return a single thing. She wondered why she even kept her around.
She was useless...
She was currently sitting with Mother in her council room. It was just the two of them, just how she liked it.
"You look so sad, Pyrrha." Mother said. "Whatever's the matter?"
"It's no use, Mother," she moaned. "They keep beating me everytime. I haven't even killed one of them yet. You must think I'm a failure."
She wouldn't blame her if she thought so. She herself already thought it. Someone as wonderful as Mother had no time for failures in her life slowing her down.
She felt Mother's warm hands touch her cheeks. She loved her touch. It made her feel whole. Mother brought her face up to look at her. She smiled lovingly at her.
Her bad mood left her almost instantly. Mother's love and praise was the whole reason for living.
"A failure? My dear, I don't think you're a failure at all. Everyday, you never fail to make me happy."
Her eyes widened. "How can you say that? I keep losing every time I go after the red girl and her friends."
"They've just been lucky, Pyrrha. That's all it is. Every win they've had so far has just been down to sheer luck."
Luck… she had heard that word before. She might have heard the green-haired girl mentioning it at one point.
"What is luck, Mother?"
Mother kept smiling at her. "It is a burden, dear. One that mankind has carried from the moment it took its first step. Their life, their fate, even the result of their actions, all of it is controlled by luck. They all rely on luck to keep them alive, whether they know it or not"
"I don't understand, Mother. Why do they need luck to survive?"
She began gently stroking her hair "Because they lack the free will that you and I possess. They aren't strong enough to live without luck, so they cling to it for support. Some are luckier than others, but all luck runs out in the end."
It all made sense now. Mother always made sense.
"So… when will their luck run out?"
"I'm afraid I can't say for certain, but it doesn't matter. For as much as they depend on luck, it will always be on your side."
"What do you mean?"
She began grinning like she did when she saw her fighting Cinder. "Because, my dear, until your task is complete, you will keep fighting them again and again, and they must be lucky every time if they want to beat you."
Her red eyes glowed in the shadows.
"But you, my dear? You only need enough luck to kill them once."
The End