I looked at the red crystal in my hand, drawing in a sharp breath as I tried to draw its energy out and fuse it to my Aura.
"You are pushing to hard," Crimson chided from the other side of the room. "If you try and force it…"
The crystal exploded in my hand and sent me into a wall. "Ow.." I slid down and sat on the floor, glad that my Aura was up enough to protect me from the brunt of the damage.
"..you will blow yourself up" she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "So I believe that clears it, you have no talent for Dust manipulation without a conduit"
I quickly stood up and brushed myself off. "Let me try again"
She shook her head. "No, it isn't something you can train yourself to do, much like your large Aura you are either born with it or you are not" Crimson turned around. "Follow me" she walked out of the training room briskly.
I followed after her, my hands in my pockets. It had now been a full month and a half since I began working for Roman. Most days it seemed like it was tied for the best time of my life, and other days it was the worst. Roman was still teaching me the art of crime, and we had gone on three successful operations. Adam was still teaching me how to fight, although he put that on hold until my new weapon is finished. We mostly just talk about stuff for the majority of our time. He is about as intense as they come, but he can also be really insightful about most things.
And then there was Crimson. Out of all of the people I have met while working for Roman she is one of the most… interesting of them. She puts on the cold front that threatens to strike you down the second you speak to her, and to be fair for most people that front is actually what will happen, but if you go beyond that she was actually kind of…normal?
I mean I get that it isn't normal to want to see the world go up in flames while you sit by and watch it. But she just made it seem normal.
We entered the break room and she went over to the refrigerator, pulling out two cans of soda and tossing me one. After sitting down at the table I cracked it open and took a sip.
She began to drink her own and I laughed a bit. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Its just…" I composed myself. "I don't know, you are Crimson, the woman who wants to destroy Vytal and allow the Grimm to claim it, just watching you drink a soda like a normal person is a bit…" I chuckled again.
She actually laughed at that and put down the drink. "You do realize that despite my desire to destroy the world doesn't mean I don't have normal human desires correct?"
I nodded toward her and set aside the can. "True, so tell me" I leaned forward. "What is it that you do when you aren't planning the destruction of the human race?"
She shrugged and thought about it for a moment. "I read, watch movies, listen to music, and when the mood strikes me I disguise myself and go out on the town for a night of dancing"
My jaw dropped at that last one. "Wait a minute, are you telling me that the Witch of Fire is pretty much a normal person?"
She shook her head and laughed. "This will surprise you Jaune, but no matter how people classify us no human is black and white" she created a small spark above her finger and watched it. "We all have things we do that set us apart. Like did you know Adam regularly helps with construction projects of local orphanages?"
Man my jaw had no chance of closing tonight. "Is this the same Adam who I once saw cut off a guys arm for touching a Faunus waitress inappropriately?"
She nodded. "And Roman regularly donates money to small hospitals that take in poor people without the cash to pay for the bigger ones"
Okay this had to be a joke. "But I thought…"
She raised her hand. "That our goal was to destroy all humans?" she laughed. "It is a thousand times more complicated then that in the end, black and white are mixed remember?" she picked up her drink and went toward the door.
"Hey Crimson?" I called out to her.
She turned around and looked at me. "Yes?"
I looked down. "Do you think maybe next time you sneak out I could join you, I haven't been out of this place for anything other then missions, and it is starting to get to me"
She smirked. "We'll see" she turned and left me in the break room, thinking about how things had changed, and how my own views of the world would have to change with it.
