The noise was deafening. Even in absolute silence, Cenahria's mind would be filled with an array of noise, varying from bright, joyful laughs, to bitter tears and screams. It was always so hard to separate them out, harder still to filter her own thoughts, her own voice. Sitting close to the mouth of an alleyway, Cenahria fought the urge to run deeper into the dark. It was a bright day, from what she could see through the throng of people walking past, but the light barely touched this place she called home. She knew it wouldn't help, but it was nice to imagine for a moment that she could run away from all of this.
No-one paid her any attention as they walked past – she was just a faceless, nameless shape in an alleyway, just another homeless person. No identity. Cenahria held on to her memories, of the knowledge of who she was, but often that just made her head hurt. Staring through grime-streaked hair, she tried to remind herself of the colour of her hair, of her eyes. She hadn't seen her reflection in months, and the only time she was washed clean of the dirt was if it rained, which was rare in Mistral. Not for the first time, Cenahria cursed herself, her semblance, the world itself.
Even after 5 years, she had little control over the feelings and emotions she was constantly drowning in. Living in alleyways and refusing to care for herself had caused most people to stay away, and that eased it slightly, but there would still be the odd good Samaritan, hiding pains of their own, trying to do some good in the world. Cenahria had wanted to do that. But she couldn't do it alone. But being around others, trusting another person to not run away screaming at what she could do, was out of the question, so here she was.
Alone and afraid.
Cenahria's stomach rumbled as she watched a group of girls walk past, carrying ice creams. She couldn't remember the last time she had tasted ice cream, or anything other than soup and stale bread, for that matter. She made a mental note to make her way to the shelter earlier today – last night she had been a few minutes too late for the kitchens. Moving closer to the entrance to her 'home', Cenahria watched the girls, pretending for a moment she was one of them. They were so bright, so vibrant. They were in high spirits too, giggling with one another, although each had one concern or another drifting in the recesses of their minds. Cenahria was envious of their ability to ignore it. They were younger than her, Academy age, apart from the shortest one. She looked younger still. Watching them, as they rounded the corner and disappeared, Cenahria realised what they reminded her of. "They're a team" she sighed, thinking about her own. They were students of some Academy, maybe even Haven itself, she was sure now. Students studying to become Huntresses, to become the elite, the protectors of the world.
Sighing again, Cenahria went to duck back into her alleyway, when an indignant shout and drunken laughter came from the corner. Looking up, she saw a group of men, way too drunk for this hour, with the group of girls following them, the white-haired one shouting angrily, adjusting her beautiful dress. Her friends were trying to convince her to leave it alone, and eventually they turned to leave, the white-haired girl barking one final insult at the men. The men stopped and began shouting back at the group, obviously trying to provoke the girl.
Suddenly afraid, Cenahria tried to hide herself, but one of the men spotted her. Violence and anger that didn't belong to her flashed through Cenahria's mind, and she quickly moved down her alleyway, desperate to get away. She could hear running, and panic set in. Looking around her, she realised her mistake. In her attempts at hiding from the world, and running from her problems, she had chosen to settle in a dead-end alleyway. It was deep, and dark, and perfect for hiding. It was also perfect for trapping a terrified, broken girl who promised herself every day she would not use her skills. The three men stood at the end of the alleyway, drunken urges lighting their eyes with alcohol-infused fire. They began to advance on her, and Cenahria knew she had no escape. Fight or die. Those were her options. Anything else they wanted to do, well, Cenahria didn't want to think about that. Fight? Or die? Had she really given up that much? The men surrounded her, and one threw her against the back wall. All were dressed in dark clothing. From the street, no one would be able to see her, and even if they did. Would they care?
They were laughing now, lifting her hair away from her face, making comments at how dirty she was, poking at the holes in her ragged clothes. One of the men ran a finger down her cheek, and she instinctively flinched away. "Careful now, Cen" she thought to herself. She had to maintain control. Bad things happened when she lost control. The man who had touched her cheek grabbed her arm, and held it. Tightly. Shaking, Cenahria bit back a scream, which erupted when another of the men grabbed her even harder. The entrance to the alleyway went dark.
"Let her go. And we won't hurt you. Much." One of the girls from earlier, the tallest one, flexed her arms slightly, and took a step forward. Her long yellow hair fluttered in a slight breeze. The men sneered at her, and as one, the entire group moved forwards, slowly. The girls, although young, looked terrifying. Cenahria could feel their resolve, and their anger at the men. Angry now, the drunk men turned their attention away from her, and walked to meet the girls in the middle of the alley. Cenahria could practically taste the violence in the air – these girls were not going to back down easily.
One of the men laughed, but there was an edge to it now. He tugged on the white-haired girl's dress. "Pretty little thing, isn't it? It'd be a shame to tear it." The girl lifted her chin and stared defiantly back at him. The yellow-haired girl took one last step forward. "I warned you" a slight smile played on her lips, before she punched him square in the jaw. The distinct sound of metal hitting flesh echoed in the alley. Cenahria stepped forward to get a closer look, and saw that the girl's arm was robotic, painted yellow and black to match her clothing. The man's friends stared down at him, unconscious on the floor, shock reverberating around them. "We will give you 5 seconds to take your friend here, and leave." This time it was the girl in black who spoke, fire blazing in her eyes. Without hesitation, the men gathered their fallen friend, and ran out of the alley.
"That was surprisingly easy – I thought they would put up more of a fight!" The girl in yellow remarked, disappointment colouring her words. She seemed sincere, too. Cenahria collapsed to the ground in a heap, struggling to breathe. The panic was subsiding now, and blind fear was taking its place. The smaller girl walked over to her, and knelt beside her. There was kindness in her silver eyes, and Cenahria felt more at ease. The girl smiled at her, and despite herself, Cenahria smiled back. "Hi. My name is Ruby. This is my sister, Yang, and these are our friends, Weiss, and Blake." The girls nodded in turn, and the girl in yellow, Yang, smiled at her, and reached out her metal hand. Hesitating, Cenahria took it. It felt surprisingly warm as the girl helped her to her feet.
"Are you okay? Did those men hurt you?" The black-haired girl, Blake, had concern etched all over her face. Cenahria nodded. "I think I'll just have a few bruises. It would have been much worse, if you guys hadn't shown up. I don't know how to thank you…" she trailed off, suddenly embarrassed. She was older than these girls, and yet they had rescued her! Yang put an arm around her, and gave her a slight squeeze. "It's no problem! I've been looking for an excuse to put this arm to the test, and you gave me one!" The girl laughed, and smiled at her. Weiss, the white-haired girl, was looking at Cenahria, studying her, and the alleyway. It made Cenahria uncomfortable, and she tried to hide herself.
"Do you… live here?" The idea seemed incredible to the girl, and the other girls rolled their eyes. "Real tactful, Weiss" muttered Blake. Weiss gave an indignant huff, before looking at Cenahria again, and this time, Cenahria could feel the sympathy. She nodded, and the sympathy emanated from all of them. "When was the last time you had a good hot meal, or slept in a real bed?" Yang's voice was gentle, desperate not to offend. Cenahria explained to them how she had been living like this for over a year now. She had lost count of the days, and weeks, and months. She didn't tell them how or why she had ended up like this. They didn't need to know about that. By the end of her story, Ruby was shaking. "This isn't right! Come back with us. We can get you food, and a room at the Inn we are staying at." The girls looked at Ruby for a moment, and Cenahria could sense the indecision there. "I… I don't want to cause any trouble for anyone… and I can't afford to pay you or anything…" Weiss cut her off. "Ruby is right. You deserve to be taken care of. Blake and Yang can take you back to the Inn, and you can have a hot bath before eating with us." Yang nodded, and Blake took Cenahria's arm. "What about you and Ruby?" The dark-haired girl spoke quietly, choosing her words carefully, and her grip on her arm was gentle, but firm. Cenahria decided she liked her. "We are going to get something for this girl to change into. She can't stay in those rags." Blake rolled her eyes again, muttering the word "tact" under her breath. Cenahria smiled, for real this time. "There really is no need…" "Don't mention it. We want to help you. You can be our new friend!" Ruby's enthusiasm was hard to ignore, and Cenahria laughed slightly. "I… like the sound of that. My name is Cenahria, by the way." The girls smiled at her, and they parted ways, Ruby and Weiss heading off to find clothes, and Blake and Yang leading her to warmth and safety.
The girls allowed Cenahria to walk in silence. She was processing what had just happened. She had spent so long trying to stay away from people, and Ruby's voice echoed in her head. "You can be our new friend!" Cenahria didn't have friends. Not anymore. Even now, she could feel the uncertainty, and caution, and concern that the two girls were feeling, and Cenahria didn't like how that made her feel. She didn't want to cause trouble for anyone, and being friends and becoming close to people usually meant pain for someone. But these girls had rescued her, and part of her felt happy to be around them. Maybe it was time for Cenahria to give herself a break, and relax a little. She couldn't run forever.
It didn't take long to reach the Inn that they were staying at. Blake stayed with Cenahria by the door as Yang went to speak to another group. There were two boys and a girl, who appeared to be of a similar age to Yang and Blake. They looked like students too. The last person seated at their table was an older man, with black hair and red eyes. Yang was speaking quickly, leaving no room for argument, and after only a few minutes Yang walked over to them with a key. "Nora said you can share her room, if you would like to?" The girl waved enthusiastically, and shouted "Hello!" across the room, causing Cenahria to blush slightly. Blake led her over to the table, where the boys introduced themselves as Jaune and Ren. Cenahria's blush deepened at the shyness of Jaune's voice, and the intense look in his deep blue eyes. "And this is mine and Ruby's Uncle Qrow!" Yang announced, and Cenahria reminded herself that she was being introduced. Tearing herself away from those blue eyes, Cenahria instead became transfixed by the red eyes of Qrow. He nodded to her, and looked away swiftly. A rush of emotions hit Cenahria, and she swayed on her feet. "So many emotions all at once… But they can't be right…" She thought to herself. She swayed again as she struggled to make sense of what was going on inside her mind. Blake took her arm again, and gently led her to Nora's room, as Yang stayed behind, making apologies for her "she hasn't eaten properly in days, no wonder she feels unwell".
Blake left Cenahria to it, after showing her how to use the shower. Stripping, Cenahria practically jumped into the stream of hot water, shivering in delight. It had been so long since she had felt this warm. Enjoying it, she prolonged the shower as long as she could. She was vaguely aware of the door to the room opening and shutting, but she didn't care. Eventually, Cenahria stepped out of the shower, regretfully. Her stomach had begun to rumble again, and she realised Yang had been right. She needed to eat something, and soon.
Wrapping herself in a towel, she wandered into the room, to find several bags and a box lying on one of the beds. Sitting next to them, she unwrapped one bundle after another, until a full outfit lay on the bed, complete with boots. She stared at them in shock. Weiss and Ruby had chosen well. She slowly got dressed, savouring the feel of fresh, clean clothing against her skin. Brushing her hair with the new hairbrush that Weiss had also left for her, Cenahria began to feel something close to happy. There was a full-length mirror in the corner. Taking a deep breath, Cenahria moved towards it, and closed her eyes. She had not seen her reflection in months. Dreading what kind of state she had gotten herself into, she slowly opened her eyes. The dress Weiss and Ruby had chosen was the same deep violet of her eyes, cut longer at the back, and sleeveless. It was tighter than she was used to, but it fit perfectly. Her boots were black, and came to the knee, matching her cropped, black jacket. She rolled the sleeves up slightly, marvelling at the fabric. Cenahria tied her hair up, into the two ponytails she had worn so often before, and smiled at herself.
"Welcome back, Cenahria." She whispered softly.