"Dibs on the spider chick."
"Shut the fuck up, Merc," Emerald muttered under her breath. Not only was the buffoon being his usual disgustingly smug self, but he was doing so in the middle Menagerie in a White Fang compound which was filled with Faunus with notoriously little tolerance for humans. Faunus which, she might add, were known for having enhanced senses to easily hear every last one of his oh-so-funny quips.
Emerald spared a glance at the rest of the room, relieved to find that nobody present seemed to have heard. The gray-haired Faunus he had been eyeing was leaning against a wall, chatting with a guy with a revolver on his side and scales running down his arms. Emerald had to resist rolling her eyes when she realized that the girl was a spitting image of Mercury himself, not just having the precise same hair- and eye color, but even the facial features matched. Of course he of all people would want to go fuck himself. Emerald moved on from the girl to the rest of the sizable hall they were waiting in, the various Faunus mingling about seemingly unconcerned of Mercury's usual lack of tact. Cinder was still sitting neatly in front of them, either consciously ignoring Merc's idiocy or too lost in thought to pay attention. Emerald's eyes lingered on Cinder, tracing the familiar curve of her calf as it disappeared into the slit of the red dress she wore.
Even the worn chair she had claimed looked like a throne under her. She didn't really ever sit, no, it felt like she was lounging. A small but important difference. Street rats and mercenaries sat like regular people, but Cinder... there was a certain degree of grandeur in everything she did. As if she elevated everything near her just by her presence alone. She was leaning on her hand, gazing at the large door they were waiting to open. Those burning amber eyes of hers were staring at it intently, almost hot enough to char the door. She had a tendency of doing that. Whatever she laid her eyes upon either felt small – or burned. Despite that, a faint smile was gracing her lips, a result of some cryptic joke she saw clear as a day, but others could not grasp. Her mind was an enigma, and Emerald couldn't claim to know it much better than anyone. Despite all the time they had spent together, all the sleepless nights, interrogations, wetworks and years of service, Emerald didn't feel like she was any closer to truly understanding the depths of Cinder's genius. She seemed to always be just out of her reach, a mirage too hot to touch. Whatever machinations she had were lost to others, friend and foe alike.
Emerald smiled slightly, mirroring Cinder's expression. She didn't mind the secrecy. She trusted Cinder and her plan, confident that whatever she was after would be worth it. And while she accepted that Cinder was beyond her, there were things which made her tick, things Emerald had gleaned from years of observation. Cinder liked her coffee with one sugar in it, but on the go she preferred it black. She liked sleeping in, and would certainly burn anyone who claimed that – even Emerald herself included, probably – but whenever the plan allowed it, mornings were seldom scheduled. She enjoyed Mistralian poetry and Atlesian licorice, loathing chamomile and the smell of cigarettes. She always smelled like smoke with a touch of cinnamon. And she liked moderate amounts of cuddling after sex, the thought of that mademaking Emerald's smile widen.
Emerald blinked, coming back to reality when she saw movement in her peripheral vision. She turned and – yes, Mercury was giving the spider girl fucking finger guns. The Merc clone seemed unimpressed, but then gave him a sideways smirk and a slightly derisive raise of an eyebrow. Gods, the girl even had Mercury's patented shit-eating smirk routine nailed down to a T.
"Merc, for the love of gods..." Emerald hissed under her breath, embarrassment filling her just from being associated with him. This was not the time.
"What?" he asked and winked at the girl, as if he hadn't mapped out every last one of the ways in which everything he did was inappropriate. As per usual.
"You are a narcissistic fuck, but this is beyond even you. She looks like you after hormone replacement therapy!"
Mercury tilted his head, not breaking eye contact with the girl. "Oh Em, I didn't know you thought I was that cute. I'm flattered."
Emerald gritted her teeth silently, doing her best to keep her reaction from showing. The fuck loved to annoy her, and letting him know he was getting under her skin only made it worse.
"Fine, go try to indulge in your masturbatory fantasies. I'll be here waiting for you to get back with a handprint on your cheek."
Mercury hummed and measured the girl again. "Why, thank you. She does look like that type of gal. I'd never turn down a good spanking."
"You—" Emerald glowered, eye twitching as she realized the insinuation. Ha-ha-ha, handprint. Hilarious. "—die in a fire."
Mercury turned to her, that ugly smirk melting away as he met her eyes, a hint of seriousness creeping into his voice. "Em, you're doing that for both of us," he said and flicked his eyes to Cinder and back meaningfully. Emerald bristled, anger bubbling in her. How dare he—
"Hey boss, do you need muscle in there or...?" Mercury said, interrupting Emerald's seething and turning to face Cinder.
That snapped Cinder out of her thoughts instantly, her eyes meeting his, fully alert again. Emerald straightened up slightly as Cinder's gaze bored onto Mercury, who somehow took it without seeming even bothered.
"Feel free to mingle," Cinder eventually said, turning back to look at the door. "Both of you. I trust there will be no scenes."
"Of course, boss," Mercury said and got up, cracking his neck as he started walking up to the spider girl. Prick. They were on a mission here, not to get a quick lay. The sheer arrogance he had to even ask to up-and-leave to try hit on a glorified mirror. How would they even find him afterwards if the negotiations stretched on or wrapped up quickly? She was going to have his head in a pike if she had to drag him out of the spider girl's bed because they had to leave. And furthermore—
"You're not going?" Cinder said from across her, making her flinch. She suddenly realized that all of Cinder's attention had at some point turned to her, the smoldering eyes staring right at her.
"I—" she started, trying to find her bearings under the pressure, "I, no, if you think I could be of help, I'll be there." Why would Cinder need her there, though? She wasn't a mastermind, she was a blunt tool with a useful Semblance. She couldn't talk people into knots like Cinder did. Why had Emerald even assumed she'd be joining the talks? "Or I'll wait outside of the door, it would be unbecoming to just run about, wouldn't it?" she quickly continued, biting her tongue by the end as she felt a familiar blush creeping up her neck. Stupid.
Cinder huffed through her nose slightly, eyes glinting with amusement. "It's good to hear that you'll be joining us, Emerald." Gods, the way she said her name, even so casually, it made her burn up. "I'm certain you'll give a good impression there."
Emerald smiled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I, thank you, I'm just—" she glanced around them seeing the people. A petite scaly woman in a cropped jumpsuit looking at them inquisitively, the spider girl – fuck she was smiling at something Merc had said – and the scaly revolver guy, a hooded figure with fox ears poking through... "—I'm not a Faunus, you know, not like you, so it feels... you know," she finished lamely, mentally kicking herself for the hundredth time for being unable to pick up any of Cinder's eloquence. Especially in her presence.
Cinder took her eyes off Emerald to look around them, making her feel like she had just gotten out of the sun. Cinder turned back and wet her lips, her forked tongue briefly peeking from her mouth. "You shouldn't worry. Sienna and her followers are quite understanding of the dangers which sweeping generalizations pose, and your commitment to my cause will be more than enough to ensure a fair treatment." Emerald's eyes followed her mouth. There were glimpses of her snake tongue, pink flickers between rows of white teeth when she spoke, so sharp in every way. Emerald nodded in response, tearing her eyes off Cinder's lips as she stopped talking. Yes, of course. Cinder would know.
Cinder opened her mouth, but whatever she had to say was pushed to the side when the large door opened and the bat guy who had asked them to wait came through it. Cinder turned and stood up, asserting the usual aura of dominance over everything in vicinity with Emerald scrambling to stand behind her.
"Commander Khan is ready," he said, turning her eyes to Emerald. The leader calling herself 'commander' felt ridiculous to Emerald, the title implying that there even was any sort of army to command. White Fang was a collection of highly individual cells scattered over the globe, and while Khan did have a lot of influence over everything, it was a far cry from the militaristic might of Atlas they were trying to evoke. She firmly kept her thoughts to herself and met the bat guy's gaze with ease. She had been tempered by the years of fire from Cinder, and a violent terrorist staring her down was barely a blip on her radar. "She will be joining you?" he asked, careful with his inflection to pose it as a polite question rather than something presumptive.
"Yes, thank you Yuma," Cinder said and started walking towards the door unprompted. Emerald followed hot on her heels through the doorframe, feeling some satisfaction as the bat guy was left behind to just stare at them when Emerald turned around to close the door.
"Ah, Cinder. It's been quite a few years, hasn't it?" said a voice from behind her. Authoritative and despite the lightness of the tone, clearly coming from someone who owned everyone around them.
Sienna Khan.
Emerald shoved down the bubbling nervousness, only for it to flare up tenfold as she turned around and saw that Khan was staring at her. Not judging, but... intrigued? Or confused as to why there was a human here. She had seen her in pictures, but they didn't really do her justice. The attractive features she had were amplified by the weight of her presence. It felt as if Emerald was caged in with a tiger, and not just because of the ears or tattooed stripes – or the sharpened nails, she noticed with some anxiety – but because of the weight of her presence. The look in the eyes was familiar, an amber gaze which seemed to bore into her. She was reminiscent of Cinder in many other ways, carrying an air of superiority with comfortable ease, her feline ears proudly on display. She even had a haircut similar to the one Cinder had sported when they had first met, if only with a subtly lighter, earthy tone to it which complemented her dark complexion. Her outfit was elaborate with traditional Mistrali influences, only missing the customary low-cut cloak.
"All too many, as always," Cinder said as she walked up to Khan, offering her an appropriately shallow bow, measured to show reverence to their host while making it clear where she placed herself in the social hierarchy. Emerald blinked and hurried to her usual place behind Cinder with Khan's eyes never leaving hers, falling all the way to one knee and turning her eyes to the floor. The depth of one's bow carried a great many implications in the social tradition of Menagerie, and here Emerald had no doubts as to which degree of bowing she was supposed to go for.
"My apologies for the wait. I have a long day behind me, and I wasn't expecting visitors. Visitors, plural," Sienna said after a short pause, turning her attention back to Emerald who was steadily not looking up. "I don't remember you traveling with companions before. Rise."
Emerald obeyed almost instinctively, rising to her feet as Khan looked at her from head to toe.
"Her name is Emerald, and she's proven to be superbly loyal. Hallucinatory Semblances are as rare as they are useful." Cinder turned to look at her too, and she felt like she was being roasted in an oven with both of them there. She thanked all gods she could think of that her skin tone hid her blush well. She shouldn't have come. She was out of her depth.
"Hmm, collecting Semblances, I take it?"
Cinder smiled and turned away from Emerald. "Among other things. May we cut to the chase?" she asked, gesturing to the low table in front of them and making Khan finally avert her eyes from Emerald who tried not to breath in relief. She finally started to become cognizant of the room they were in. It was sparsely decorated, with small windows letting in evening light to brighten the dark wood paneling. In the middle was a table with thin pillows serving as chairs to keep the occupants off the stone floor, and she spied the missing red cloak which was folded on a nearby dresser next to a door leading further in.
Khan chuckled and gestured them to sit down. "Impatient as always. Of course, take seats." Cinder seated herself across from Khan, and Emerald chose to sit on her knees behind and to the right of Cinder.
Having sat, down, Cinder wasted no time and started talking. "I request full authority over at least three of your command clusters near Atlas. Preferably five, ramping up to fifteen in the next two years. You may appoint your own lieutenants as you see fit, but I need all of them to take direct orders from me."
Khan blinked slowly, letting the silence stretch until she started shaking her head in laughter. "God, you haven't changed one bit. Going straight for the kill with brutal efficiency." She leaned back and tilted her head, clearly amused. Emerald wasn't sure how Cinder did it, but it worked. She put on masks and personas like others put on socks, navigating any situation with tailored grace. "Now, before I throw you out for wasting my time when what I need is relaxation, do tell why I should even entertain this."
"How generous of you," Cinder said and leaned on the table. "I have inside knowledge of a coup."
Khan's ear flicked, some of her amusement draining from her face. "A coup?"
Cinder nodded. "Yes, there are internal tensions within the ruling echelons. General Ironwood is a sociopolitical monolith everyone treads lightly around. The SDC is seeing rising internal tensions due to a potential inheritance crisis which the Mantle Coalition is salivating to capitalize on. The Atlas council is composed of mostly puppets, knowingly or otherwise, and while the public is blissfully ignorant, the old blood and anyone else with enough contacts are making their moves. Atlas might be the 'diamond of the north,' but currently it is becoming as brittle as one too."
Khan tapped her finger on the table. "And you're suggesting...?"
"That we hammer in the wedge when they're too busy looking inwards. Strike the heart of their economy and crack the SDC wide open. Let the northern wolves cannibalize it. The scavenging frenzy will tilt the power balance sideways, causing the whole hierarchy to fall apart when we strike additional pressure points to induce large-scale destabilization. And then in swoops the White Fang, magnanimously stepping in to control the situation as others are unable to. A large number of the inciting elements will be secretly under our command, and once we provide the disorganized and adrift Faunus labor caste a place to stay, the situation will immediately begin stabilizing as the officials reassert their control while our ranks are fattened by grateful recruits. And when Atlas reforms itself, it will do so on our backs – but this time, not as slaves, but as saviors, and with us implanting our choice picks into positions of power."
Emerald held her breath. How had Cinder— it was incredible. It sounded so outlandish, so optimistic, but she knew Cinder far too well to fall into that trap. She was actually planning on puppeting the most militarily inclined nation of them all into collapsing over itself just as a small part of her grand plan, talking about the whole ordeal as if she were discussing which steak to order. Emerald and Khan both stared at her.
"You're out of your mind," Khan stated. Not smiling, not glowering, just saying it as an observation.
"I've heard that before. But very rarely after the resulting successes."
Khan grimaced and ran her hand through her hair, exhaling loudly. "It's far too late to discuss mass governmental destabilization."
If Cinder hadn't been expecting that response, she didn't let it show, and she just continued smoothly. "I assure you, I wouldn't insult you by wasting your time on impossibilities. I'm certain I can assuage any concerns you may have with the barebones outline of the plan."
Sienna sighed. "I've just spent the last seventeen hours running after and putting down a splinter cell which took one too many liberties with the doctrine, and I do not enjoy making an example out of my own people." She huffed and leaned back, letting her eyes travel over the room – briefly meeting Emerald's – before they settled back on Cinder. "I have no interest in thinking about cross-continental logistics here and now. I even let you in this late as a courtesy because I was expecting a simple information exchange, not a terrorist campaign on foreign soil."
"I see," Cinder said lightly, her voice not betraying anything about her thoughts. Was she disappointed? Or had she been expecting this? They could surely come back tomorrow too, as Khan seemed to have tentative interest in the offer.
"Onto other matters for today. I'm must admit I'm intrigued, where did you find such a pretty little thing?"
Emerald blinked as a reflex when she couldn't think of anything else to do, her mind briefly overworked when she realized Khan had turned her attention to her, staring at her face. She was complimenting her? What? Why? Cinder was the one here who mattered. What did—
Cinder turned to her again, raising an eyebrow. "Her? Vale. Commercial District. Kestrel lane, address 183 if I recall."
Khan waved her hand. "Please, I'd like to hear it from her. She hasn't spoken a word."
Oh gods. Oh no. Oh fuck. Emerald started panicking, most of her energy going into keeping her breathing steady and the rest was occupied by keeping her fidgeting in minimum. Why was Khan putting her on the spot. Why were they both staring at her. What was she supposed to say? Why hadn't she replied already?
"Miss Khan—" she found herself starting, taking the plunge and hoping what followed would make sense, "—I, I'm from Vale, born and, uh, not really raised. I wasn't doing very well for myself. Living on the streets. She caught me red-handed doing petty thievery three years ago and took me in. I've been working with her since." Yeah, that worked. She felt spit collecting in her mouth, but she was too afraid to swallow because that would surely betray her nervousness.
"Please, just Sienna is fine," she said and turned back to Cinder. "You have a knack for finding talent."
"Among other things," Cinder replied, sharing a smile with Sienna. What they found funny, Emerald didn't know, but she was relieved that they weren't looking at her anymore. Until Sienna turned to her again, tilting her head and meeting her eyes.
"So, Emerald. How's the vagabond life been treating you?"
Emerald tried not to squirm. "Good, good," she replied, followed by a pause just long enough to be slightly awkward. "I've been assisting Cinder as I've been able. It's been very—" she wasn't sure where she was going with the sentence because halfway through she realized that complaining about Mercury wasn't proper, "—fulfilling." Yes, that was a good word. Fulfilling.
Sienna nodded slowly in approval and turned back to Cinder, making Emerald feel like an inflatable toy with how much it felt like she tensed and deflated when they turned to her. "And I presume it's been... fulfilling for you too?" she asked Cinder. Emerald took note of the inflection. There was something going on between these two. Based on the looks Sienna was giving Emerald, maybe there was something going on between her and Emerald too— no, that would be ridiculous. Emerald averted her eyes, focusing on the present.
"Most certainly," Cinder said in a low tone. "She can be truly a delight when she puts her mind onto it." Emerald wasn't sure how to respond, so she defaulted to just glancing at Cinder and giving her a short smile.
"I'm sure. Now, if you excuse me, I am tired for the day, and I'll have to retreat to my chambers," Sienna said, getting up and looking at Cinder. "You are free to join me to continue the negotiations there, as I'm sure there's a lot of catching up to do." With that, she walked away and through the door to the side, leaving it slightly ajar. Emerald was confused. Was she suggesting...? No, no. But why would she walk away from the table if she wanted to catch up with Cinder? Actually, she had been asking about Emerald a lot... She started thinking back to the looks she had been given. She wasn't sure what to think. And how did—
Cinder was touching her. Cinder was touching her. Cinder was touching her. Emerald inhaled when she felt the hot hand land on her shoulder, the contact almost feeling electric. They didn't touch. Not in public. It just didn't happen. In public they were all professional, no strings attached. Why was Cinder touching her? Emerald snapped out of it as Cinder hummed inquisitively, making her realize that she had been asked a question.
"I—I'm sorry, what?" she stammered, fidgeting in place as Cinder looked at her with a sly smile. Instead of replying, Cinder rose up from her seat and walked behind Emerald, the weight of her hand on Emerald's shoulder telling her to stay down. Emerald stared straight ahead, trying to suppress a shiver as Cinder's knelt down behind her, the hand grasping her shoulder more firmly. The shiver broke through easily as Cinder chuckled, the dark timbre so near her ear making goosebumps run wild on Emerald's skin.
"I asked you if you'd like to play a..." Cinder let the sentence hand and slid her other hand down to rest on Emerald's hip, "...slightly more active part of these negotiations. Sienna might need some more convincing."
Emerald almost lost her train of thought again, Cinder's hands burning her skin with intensity far beyond just physical heat. This couldn't be real. It was a misunderstanding. Cinder loved playing these games. "I—I—I'm not very good at talking," Emerald managed, her overheated brain just shoving out words in an attempt to do something. She was too aware of how the thumb on her hip was caressing her skin, and how it was ever so slowly sinking downwards.
Cinder moved right up to Emerald's ear, so close that her lips touched her earlobe as she spoke, "You don't need to talk at all, and I know that you are a charming orator if you put in the effort."
The husky sound drove fire into Emerald's core, locking up her throat in the process. Yes, that clearly was innuendo. She wasn't kidding. She was actually asking her to— asking her to— she didn't even know, the touches on her skin and the breath in her ear made thinking difficult. Sienna was pretty hot, admittedly, but she was also so far beyond Emerald's league on several levels that it wasn't even funny. Then again, so was Cinder… She blinked rapidly as Cinder pulled away, the overwhelming presence receding slightly and giving her more room to breathe.
"I can send you back if you so wish. Mercury could probably use some company, and there was that cute lizard girl out there with her eyes quite glued to you." Cinder put her hand gently on Emerald's neck, making her freeze. It didn't clamp down like Emerald had been half-expecting it to, and instead just stayed there as an anchoring contact. "Sienna will have no issues with that," she said, and with her voice softening slightly, "and neither will I."
Emerald felt her breathing even out somewhat as the hand on her hip stopped. Mercury could go fuck himself – or herself, as basically was the case with his doppelganger now – but it did give her a plausible way out of... whatever it was that Sienna was planning, Cinder's tone leaving in the implication that she would make Sienna not have issues with Emerald leaving. Then there was that chameleon girl... No. Cinder's hand grounded her.
Their arrangement was 'open' as Cinder had described it, meaning that both were free to pursue whatever romantic interests they wished. Emerald had, a few times. None of them compared to Cinder. None of them could, and the chameleon wouldn't be any different. It was 'useful,' as Cinder had said, for blowing off steam, but Emerald knew it wasn't true. She needed Cinder. Like air. And now Cinder was asking – asking – for her help, so how could she refuse? Back out like a scared virgin when her mistress asks for a tiny favor? No. Emerald trusted her, with all her heart and soul, the conviction only growing stronger as Cinder deigned to ask for her assistance, as an equal, not presume it. Emerald would give her everything. Anything. She had done so, and would do so.
She nodded shakily, trying to steady her heartbeat. "No, no. I, I'd like to stay. If I can help." She swallowed thickly as a thin tongue traced the shell of her ear and the hand on her neck grew ever so slightly firmer, the hold making her quickly slip into a familiar, now-natural mindset as Cinder assumed control.
"Wonderful," Cinder hissed into her ear, driving goosebumps up her body as the tongue tickled her earlobe. "I'm certain you'll find Sienna quite agreeable." The hand on her hip resumed its movement and shifted down, pressing firmly between Emerald's legs. Emerald opened her mouth in a silent moan as the heat down there redoubled, her knees drifting apart out of reflex to give Cinder better access. She was always hot, and Emerald could feel the heat radiating from the hand as it pressed against the white fabric of her pants. She arched her body, pressing into the touch and against Cinder behind her.
"Eager, are we?" Cinder murmured, making Emerald gasp and buck against her hand when she started nibbling on her ear. The feeling was so ticklish and possessive, and Cinder knew precisely how much Emerald liked it. "We shouldn't keep Sienna waiting," she continued and tugged at Emerald's earlobe as she pulled up and away, leaving her dizzy.
"Yea—yeah," Emerald breathed out and scrambled to her feet as Cinder started walking towards the door Sienna had gone through.