(I'm taking heavy inspiration from argentotum's fic thorny tangle I admit to my sins please don't be mad)
The City of Vale was calm.
Dust lamps lit quiet streets, their soft glow pushing back the darkness. In the sky above, the shattered moon stood vigil, glowing with even greater brilliance. Happy and normal people walked the streets in ones and twos, safe in the knowledge that they were protected from the shadows by their ever vigilant guardians.
In the shadows of an alley way, Shade drake could only watch that happy world wistfully. From where he stood the comforting warmth of the light seemed so very far away.
"Shade?" A small voiced asked beside him. He felt a tiny hand come up to grip his sleeve. Glancing down, his yellow eyes met a gaze of crimson red.
He flinched, there was so much trust in those eyes. Too much trust. "Shade what's wrong?"
Shade frowned to himself. And they saw so much besides... Honestly, a seven year old shouldn't be so good at reading people.
"Ahaha- Nothing's wrong, Sis." Shade said, pulling off his best happy go lucky grin. At his side Luna frowned lightly to herself but said nothing. "It's just... ah. I heard there's a place where... I can get some food... but I'd have to go alone..."
Luna blinked, and then said exactly what Shade wanted. "Oh, okay! You don't have to worry about me Shade. I'll be fine!"
Shade's smile wavered once. "Really Luna?" He asked "Are you sure you'll be okay w-without me?"
"Yeah! I'm a big girl after all." Luna said with a mock salute.
"Okay, Luna. I'm holding you to that." Shade said, fighting to keep that fake smile in place. "I'll be back later..."
He started walking down the street but a few steps later he stopped, turning halfway towards his little sister. "Take care of yourself while I'm gone okay?"
And then the darkness swallowed him up. He never did come back.
One Year Later
"Hey! Let go of me! Let go of me!"
Roman Torchwick pinched the bridge of his nose. "Every. Single. Time." He said, glaring at his incompetent hired muscle. "Okay, which one of you let her in here?" Unsurprisingly, none of his men stepped forward to claim responsibility.
Turning back towards the man who caught the nuisance, Torchwick frowned as the little tiger faunes girl with red-black hair and piercing crimson eyes continued to struggle impotently.
"Look- just." He sighed. "Get rid of her. I don't have time for this."
"Don't have time for what, Roman?"
Roman sighed. "Perfect." He spun around, pasting a charming smirk on his face. "Nothing that you need to worry about, Ms. Cinder. Just... taking out the trash." He made a shooing motion towards the thug, clearly telling him to remove the brat from the immediate area.
"I said let go!" The little girl's shout drew the attention of everyone in the warehouse. With a explosion of fire she blasted out of the ratty, oversized, shirt that held her hostage, landing on the ground with a triumphant grin. Roman almost groaned.
"Remind me again why I'm even paying you people." He said. "Well, don't just stand there you incompetent moron." He pointed at the little girl with his cane, "Get her!"
A look of sudden realization came to another thug's face. "Uh.. Yeah!" He quickly reached down to grab the child, only to find that her little fist heading for his face. "Wha-"
"Ha!" the girl shouted. "Take that you big dummies !" She brandished a small wallet in her other hand.
The thug growled as he advanced toward the girl. "Get over here!" He said, glaring at the little girl.
She giggled. He probably would be more intimidating if she wasn't several feet out of his reach. She promptly plopped down on the floor and began riffling through the contents of his wallet.
"Make me dummy." She said. "Ooh!" Her grin grew wider as she pulled out a plastic card. She turned to Roman's thug, who by now had made it over to her.
"Hey dummy, how much lien is on this one?"
"Wouldn't you like to know you little brat." He reached down to grab her once more, but she disappeared in a burst of lightning and appeared on top of a crate.
"Over here you big dummie!"
"Hey! Stop standing there and grab her!"
"Ooops!" With another lightning burst little girl evaded the second thug. She giggled as she held up her next piece of loot. A dust pistol.
From a bit away, Roman Torchwick and newly arrived Cinder Fall continued to watch with despair and amusement respectively as a girl who couldn't be older than eight years old avoided several full grown men while skipping.
"What a cute kid..." Cinder said. She turned to Torchwick, eyebrow raised. "But I hope you didn't call me here to show off the incompetence of your hired footpads."
"Che-" Torchwick only scowled as Cinder Fall chuckled lowly. "Just imagine how much dust I could have stolen if I'd been provided with even mediocre henchmen."
"Indeed."
Torchwick sighed as the little terror nearly perforated a man's skull with her new pistol. "You know, I've had just about enough of this." He said. Swinging up his cane he pointed the polished handle at the girl. "Playtime's over, Crimson."
The grappling hook caught the little girl around her waist and yanked her off the crate she was currently standing on. With a flick of his wrist he sent her back up into the air, rolling his eyes as she landed with a soft thud on the wooden table in the center of the warehouse.
"Owie..."
"Yes yes you have a great big booboo." Roman said, taking the gun from her limp fingers. "I'm sure the child services would be very put out with me, but for the love of god just be quiet Crimson."
Cinder walked over to the table and looked down at the dirty little child.
"Crimson?" She asked.
"The color of her eyes." Torchwick said. "They glow almost as brightly as your spotlights do."
Cinder smirked. "Why, Roman, I'm flattered."
"I'm sure you are, my dear; however, I would be eternally grateful if we could just move on and forget this whole little... altercation... even happened." Torchwick turned to the nearest henchman and gestured for him to come over. "You, get rid of... this."
Cinder caught the man's wrist as he reached for the now restrained girl. "This one's piqued my interest, Roman. It's not every day you see a child who has a semblance already..."
Torchwick sighed and waved his men off. "Fine, just take her." He said, picking up the child's shirt and tossing it at Cinder. "Now not to rain on your parade but we do have actually important matters to discus."
Cinder cast one last glance around the warehouse. "This should be sufficient to begin our next step." She said, gesturing to the crates full of dust and dust crystals.
"And what, pray tell, is that next step?"
"Getting better henchmen for a start." She said, Roman scowled. "Lay low for a while, set up a scapegoat for the dust thefts. We're going to need some... time... before we're ready to put these plans into motion on a larger scale."
"Yes, years, you've been over this already." Roman rolled his eyes. "I've stolen your dust. It's long past time for you to start bringing the white fang around."
"Have faith, Roman." Cinder said as she gathered up the tiny child from the table. She stared up at Cinder with wide eyes. "We'll be changing the world before you know it."
As she exited the room, Cinder looked down at the child she was carrying. Her golden eyes flared once as the girl started to shift. "Don't even think about it." The girl froze.
Outside on the street an elegant black car sat with a nondescript older man in attendance. He bowed slightly as he opened the door for Cinder. And though his eyes lingered on the girl in her arms, he made no comment about her. "Was the meeting productive, Ma'am?" He asked as he got into the driver's seat.
Cinder Fall laughed. "More so than usual." She relaxed back into the seat, watching amusedly as the little girl with silver eyes yanked furiously on the opposite door handle. It was child locked, a second rate intimidation tactic and Cinder new it. Still it served the current situation rather well.
As the car pulled out of the industrial district and onto the highways the little girl finally stopped and turned to face Cinder. She sat in a ball in the opposite corner of the car her ears down and squinted up at the elegant woman who captured her.
"So what's your name?"
The child looked away. "Why do you care?" Cinder let the silence rest for a moment, just watching how the flashes of light from the dust lamps reflected off her silver eyes. Roman hadn't been lying when he'd said they glowed.
Most would be put off or annoyed by the little girl's reticence, but this wasn't the first time Cinder had dealt with stubborn children.
"My name is Cinder Fall." She said. No response. "...I'll just call you Crimson then."
The little girl glared. Cinder smirked. "That's not my name."
"Oh? Then what is it?"
"Hmph. Not telling." She stuck her tongue out.
"Then I'll just have to call you Crimson." Cinder flicked her hair over her shoulder and turned her attention to the city. To pass the time she pushed her aura into her fingers and snapped, sparking a small flame.
She needed dust to do anything worth mentioning, but a tiny blaze like this she could maintain with just her aura. She heard a soft rustle of fabric and glanced over to see the little girl only a few inches away, looking at the flame with wide eyes. The girl opened her mouth and ate the small flame.
"Yum that was tasty" this intrigued Cinder "How about we make a deal, little one. If you tell me your name I'll let you eat all the tasty fire you want."
"Really?" Cinder nodded in reply, and the little girl looked away. "I'm Luna Drake." She said.
"Drake...? Interesting." She extinguished the flame with a flick of her hand. At Luna's disappointed sighed she brought it back a moment later. "Tell me Luna, who taught you to do that trick back in the warehouse?" Luna looked at her in confusion. "How did you escape the hold of the..." Cinder chuckled. "Big dummy?"
"Oh that!" She shrugged and ate another flame, one hand reaching out to grab it before pulling it back. "I can make fire and lightning!" She said, grinning proudly. Now Cinder could see that cheerful, happy go lucky, attitude that Luna had shown while running circles around Roman's men.
"No one taught you how to do it though?" Cinder asked again. The flame in her palm trembled slightly.
"My brother taught me!" Luna looked sadened mentioning her brother
"Imagine that..." Cinder felt a smile slowly spread across her lips.
The car pulled to a stop next to an upscale apartments near the inner city a few minutes later. "We're here Ma'am." The driver said over his shoulder as he put the car into park. As Cinder nodded he exited the car and opened the door for her. She gestured for Luna to follow as she stepped out onto the concrete. "Also, your uncle asked me to inform you that he requests your presence next weekend at the villa."
Cinder rolled her eyes as she pulled Luna close to her side. "Tell him I highly doubt I'll have time to spare. I've already made plans." She said as she made her way to the door. It slid shut behind her just as Luna began to squirm. "Stop struggling." Cinder chided as they entered the elevator. "We're just going to your new home."
The child froze, looking up at Cinder with huge eyes. "What?"
Cinder smirked, reaching down she rested a hand on top of Luna's head. The little girl flinched but didn't pull away. "We're going to the place where you will live from now on." She said. "There will be food and new clothes and a soft bed for you, if you would like that."
Even if Luna didn't say anything she couldn't hide the way her eyes lit up at Cinder's words, before her common sense caught up with her childish imagination. She glared up at Cinder with all of the ferocity of a kitten. "Why?"
"Poor girl." Cinder said, ruffling Luna's ears and hair "Someone abandoned you didn't they. Now you're suspicious of everyone."
"Hey, let go!" Luna said "And I'm not suspi- suspi- suspiclish!". Luna didn't understand why this was happening. She was a nobody that nobody else had time for, especially some one like Cinder. She didn't understand why this woman, who to Luna, looked like everything Luna herself was not, would care about her at all. This woman was the kind of person to walk past Luna on a busy street, and not even notice the little girl in dirty clothes who lingered in the background just seeing an animal.
"Shhh." Cinder soothed, smiling down as Luna continued to struggle. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I promise that I will never abandon you, Luna Drake."
Luna pulled back slightly, shaking her head back and forth. "Why-?" She said, not willing to meet Cinder's eyes. Why did this tall and beautiful person want anything to do with her? She didn't understand it at all.
Just like she didn't understand why Shade would ever leave her.
Cinder stood and pushed Luna towards the elevator doors at the far end of the lobby. "Silly girl." She said. "You're special." As the two entered the elevator Cinder smiled down at her newest acquisition. "And someday we'll show whomever abandoned you what a terrible mistake they made."
After a moment Luna smiled back. "Really?"
The metal doors slid shut with a quiet ping, leaving only the empty foyer behind. The elevator raced up the building, reaching the top floors mere seconds later. Cinder strode down the hallway, her heels sinking into the thick crimson carpet that covered the floor. The hallway stretched the entire length of the building, but there were only two doors on the landing. Cinder could feel the grin growing wider and wider on her face even as she pulled out her scroll and let Luna into one of the doors.
She watched as the little girl practically skipped into the room, taking in her new surroundings with something akin to awe. A child, practically a toddler, who'd unlocked her semblance on her own. It was nothing short of miraculous, and where did she end up? On the streets?
Cinder almost laughed. It was a such a waste of pure, unadulterated, talent. And fools like Ozpin had the nerve to call her criminal.
It means was just Cinder's luck that this little girl interrupted Torchwick's meeting. The fool, he would have thrown her away too. Only seeing the nuisance of Luna's antics, and not the potential that they revealed.
Luna sprinted around the room, leaving another trail of sparksin her wake. Cinder wrinkled her nose at the breeze she created. "Luna, when was the last time you had a bath?"
The little girl froze, looking at Cinder, fear danced in those silver eyes. "Ummmm..."
Well that, Cinder thought, was more than enough of that.
It was shortly after bath, and a surprisingly large dinner, that Cinder showed Luna her room and left the now exhausted little girl to fall asleep. Returning to the lounge Cinder sank into the plush leather of the couch, drink in hand, and allowed herself a contented sigh.
Luna Drake was a diamond in the rough. A gem of almost incomparable value, and Cinder could only thank the poor fools that dropped Luna into her lap.
Cinders scroll began to ring she checked the caller I.D seeing it was her uncle she ignored the call and sent him a message "I am not having this conversation with you again uncle" she than blocked his number. She finished her drink and went to bed, she still had work to do.
Meanwhile in her room Luna was lieing on her new bed in her new pajamas staring at the ceiling thinking
She just... didn't get why all of this was happening to her. Cinder said she was special, and that's why she decided to keep Luna. But Shade didn't think she was special, or he never would have left Luna behind. Right? So what if Shade was right and Cinder had made a mistake? When Cinder realized that Luna was just a normal girl she'd leave her behind just like Shade did wouldn't she?
Well, Luna thought, to stop that, she'd just have to be special. If she was perfect, then Cinder wouldn't leave her behind. Yeah. That's what she would do. Luna nodded to herself as she snuggled deeper under the covers. She'd prove the Cinder was right, and that Shade was wrong, and that she Luna Drake, was special and important after all.
"Luna... Drake..." Cinder waited for her tablet to bring up information about her young charge, and when she saw the first article she almost started laughing again. "The missing beast of the now closed sunshine orphanage." The news had a brief summary of how she and her older brother, Shade Drake, went missing from the local orphanage they'd been placed in shortly after they were found wonder the street homeless them being brother and sister was a little odd considering one was a faunes and the other human but no one seemed to care.
Further investigations of that orphanage led to it being shut down due to abuse on the part of the staff, "... but apparently nothing worth pressing charges over..." Cinder murmured. "I wonder what happened to her older brother..."
A look at the police reports revealed that the orphanage had been abusive more so to the faunes children the caretakers showed a level of hatred to most of their charges that bordered on monstrous. It was the cost of legal fees and the lack of consistent testimony that saved the staff of the orphanage from a lawsuit in the end. There were also mentions of some underworld connections, but nothing that could be traced or even substantiated beyond a few vague words.
And yet despite her tumultuous beginnings, Luna seemed surprisingly well adjusted, especially for a girl her age on the streets. Cinder wondered if something else lurked behind those innocent eyes
The two kids had an auntie... who had been on a frontier deployment against the Grimm when Luna and her brother were found. A quick check of the hunter databases showed that she still wasn't back in Vale, but her tour was going to end in the next week and he'd return to the city shortly afterwards.
Cinder just had to handle the legal side of things before she came back and discovered her nephew and niece had gone missing.
Turning the tablet off, she stood up and stretched. She would deal with the rest of those problems later. With that she went to sleep.
The next morning, Luna slept in. Just a little bit.
Normally she didn't get much sleep, either because of the noise, the sunlight, or her own hunger. But this morning, having eating a large meal last night, and insulated from the noise and light both by the walls of the penthouse, all of Luna's normal 'alarms' were silent.
Cinder walked into the room shortly after seven and opened the blinds. In the bed Luna grumbled and rolled over, but sat up a second later regardless. She looked up at Cinder, already dressed with her hair coiffed, for a moment before sliding out of the bed.
"Um... morning?" She said quietly.
"Good morning Luna."
When she left the room, Luna found that breakfast had already been prepared, either by Cinder or a now absent housekeeper.
Luna wanted to ask a million questions, but Cinder was silent that morning, and Luna followed her lead, eating breakfast quickly and not even asking for seconds even thought it was really good.
"Come."
"Whaa-?" Luna's head snapped up as Cinder breezed past her to the door. How did she move so fast?
Hopping out of the chair, Luna scampered after the you woman as she left the penthouse. Their destination was just across the hall. Cinder opened the door with her scroll they both entered.
On the other side was one enormous room with a padded floor. The far wall was made entirely of glass windows overlooking the city and to the right Luna saw several large, padded, containers. The left wall had been stripped down to the concrete, as had the floor immediately before it. Several dummies and targets, all blackened with scorch marks, were arranged randomly in front of the wall.
Cinder turned around. "Today we're going to being doing a few tests." She said, walking to the containers.
Luna nodded determinedly to herself. This was her chance to make Cinder want to keep her around. Silently, she resolved to blow the beautiful lady's expectations out of the water.
Cinder pulled a small stop watch out of one of the cases. "Now, when I say 'go', I want to you touch the far wall and get back to where you started as quickly as possible." The room was nearly one hundred feet across. Even using her flames to propel herself it would take Cinder nearly twenty seconds to make it across the room and back.
"Go!"
And in a burst of lightning Luna was gone.
She was a tiny yellow blur across the room. Cinder saw as Luna jumped and landed horizontal against the wall before taking off again. A few seconds later, she brushed past Cinder in a gust of wind, nearly colliding with the wall right behind them.
Luna grinned up at her. "Was that good?" she asked as she tried to catch her breath.
Cinder looked down at the stopwatch: 12 seconds. For just about 200 feet.
"Oh yes, Luna. That was very good." Her praise made Luna grin even wider.
"What next?" She asked "What next?"
"Don't be too eager little girl. We have a long way to go."
"You're sure you can't find her?"
Ozpin sighed, but hdidn't let his despair slow his stride. "Unfortunately no. The only reason I was looking for her at all is because I thought to check the orphanage that they were both staying at in preparation for your arrival."
"Or rather, the orphanage you thought they were staying at."
Ozpin grimaced. "Yes."
"Did you find out what happened to Shade?"
Ozpin face not changing "it seems to have disappeared, we haven't found any trace of the girl either"
"How could you lose track of her you know how dangerous they is"
"I can assure you that if anything goes wrong we will take action" Ozpin responded
"Whatever I'm gonna go look around"
"Good luck, Rachel" said Ozpin as Rachel left.