Troubled Hearts: When Two Becomes Three
Cinder hummed along with the melody, savoring the cool notes with a connoisseur's ear. She wasn't really adept at jazz styling, it was a passing thing that happened to have stayed with her for a number of years. But it wasn't hard to appreciate the subtle lifts, the flowing lines into light drops. Kind of like rolling along a road in a car, the texture and smooth feelings that you could feel throughout yourself. It amused Cinder as well as calmed her nerves. Nerves that were growing increasingly strained with each passing day.
"You really do enjoy this," Jaune broke in, interrupting her reverie. "I never imagined you for the frilly, flowing type."
She turned to her guest, her date more accurately, and smiled at his surprise. "Darling, you'll never guess what some people are into." Cinder snaked a hand across the tabletop, tapping the boy's ring finger. "But I could show you. And believe me, you'd enjoy it."
Jaune's face swiftly turned a light shade of red as he withdrew his hand to the safety of the table edge. "That's ok! But you know, this is kinda nice." She watched as he tapped a couple fingers in time to the music. "I'm more a rock guy, but this isn't bad."
"I'm glad to hear that my sweet." This was the second time, and he'd not done so much as flinch at the first. Time to lay off the suckling language, she admonished herself. "So, you've been having a lovely time recently, no?"
He shifted in his seat, still keeping time with the flowing music. "If you mean I haven't gotten killed by a Grimm, then yes. It's been really quiet actually."
The bite of Jaune's words was refreshing, a change from the usual neutral tone he took. Cinder fluttered her eyes and scooted around the booth to get closer to her prey. "You don't say. I wonder why that is?"
"I don't know, but I imagine something is holding the Grimm back." Jaune looked down at her, severity in his eyes. "Or someone."
Ooh, he's getting bold. Too bad he's on the entirely wrong track this time. "I have no idea what you're talking about Jaune. It's all yours and your friend's doing that keeps the creatures from destroying this little speck."
Her date shook his head a little, turning back to the soft drink he was nursing. Cinder was growing a slightly worried at the way things were unfolding today, trying not to let the niggling urge to simper overtake her. It has to be the collar and that girl. Why else would I want to apologize and worry about everything? But then, she was also trying to follow that Melena girl's advice as well. And if it was her deeper urge to be more polite, is it truly not hers? Playing within these rules was a troublesome task.
"Jaune, I'm not trying to poke fun at you. Come on, tell me how things have really been?" Cinder hesitated for a moment before finishing. "With the other... two?"
She watched the lovely blue eyes swing back around to her, this time reflecting skepticism. And, oddly, a hint of cautious joy. "This is a first Cinder, the entire week you've been pestering me about things regarding myself... and other things." Jaune thumbed along his ring finger, brushing the large silver band resting there. "You've given me presents and trinkets, and I don't even know what to think half the time. And now you want to hear about Neo and Pyrrha?"
"Well when you put it that way, it makes me sound like some witch with an agenda." Jaune's face drew into a slight frown as the joke fell flat. "But really, I would love to hear more about the time you're not with me."
The boy eyed Cinder, this time letting the frown disappear and a hint of mirth bubble up. "Alright, well Neo is doing well. She's a strong fighter and is really helping out over at the wall. I walked in one day to the captain complaining about how if she wasn't as good as she was he'd kick her out into the street." Jaune chuckled a little at the thought. "He's never going to live down the fact an extremely short girl put him in the hospital."
Well that wasn't quite the info Cinder was expecting. Maybe she'd really underestimated Neopolitan when she was planning out the attack. Maybe she should have sent someone else to take care of Roman? "I never thought she'd end up as part of the military, but stranger things have happened."
"Neo has been a surprising person from the very start. I never thought anyone like her would show up in my life." Jaune sighed before drowning the thought in more drink. "And then you brought Pyrrha back."
Cinder watched him sag visibly, letting out the entirety of his past week in one long breath. "Is there something wrong?" she ventured, trying to figure out why having the girl back would be such a problem. "I thought the girl was your partner and more?"
"She is," Jaune snapped before sinking back down into his seat, "Pyrrha is still my partner. But I don't know what to do anymore, I don't want to hurt her. Or Neo. And the way Pyrrha acts sometimes is... shocking. Like she isn't herself for brief moments."
Fantastic, that seals it then. Salem said there would be other side effects, that they would be inconsequential. "Does she act aggressively or seductively?"
Confusion spread along Jaune's face. "Why would you ask that? She does, but how would you know?" He slid a little ways away from Cinder, eying her with a glassy blue gaze.
"The collar is a link, and this," she said pointing at the bracelet, "is the other half of that link. It allows me to keep control of her and will her to my bidding. But it comes with a price." Cinder tapped at the bracelet, pondering what else to inform him of. "Oh, but I haven't had control since she's come to stay with you. I am a woman of my word in this regard."
"Well, anyways, Pyrrha is doing alright. Although she's back to acting like... well, Pyrrha." He shook his head a little, smiling at his own words. "Which is great, except that it isn't."
Cinder couldn't make any sense out of that last statement, waiting for the boy to continue his thoughts. When no more were forthcoming, she settled in next to him and sipped at her neglected drink. A fruity thing, loaded to the brim with alcohol and topped with a cute little umbrella. Well, it was topped with an umbrella, but she'd burnt it to a crisp in a fit of anger when Pyrrha's thoughts intruded. Obnoxious, but not unbearable. Cinder was beginning to get annoyed at having to repeat that mantra in her head.
The band had changed tunes now, playing a slower melodic tune that had a light thump to it. She wasn't averse to it, and the beat was beginning to feel good to her head. Where was this all going anyway? Cinder was trying her damnedest to convince this boy she could be a woman of integrity and love. But why? Jaune is nice and all, but aren't there others she could pursue? And Cinder could easily keep control of Pyrrha with the bracelet. So the question remains, why does she want to spend time with Jaune?
"Cinder, you're kinda bumping into me with your wiggling."
She looked up into his eyes, taking in the sharp face she'd been privy to now for a few days. That handsome face had caught her eyes in a brief moment during another time, and it was catching them again. "I'm sorry, am I getting too close?" she cooed, sliding right up against Jaune. "I wouldn't want you to think I'm staying away now."
Jaune looked down at her, disdain readily apparent. "Are you trying this act again? You know it nev-"
"No, I am not putting on an act Jaune," Cinder insisted, taking one of his hands into her own. "This isn't a facade or something to gain your trust. This is who I am. I'm not like Pyrrha, I don't want to play around the subject and coo all night." She pulled his hand downward harshly onto her lap. "I'm a wicked woman, something that I... I don't relish it actually. And I'm not innocent, but I am a person."
Cinder hauled him out of the booth to the rhythm and beat of the ongoing music. She pulled him around, leaning inward to force him onto his back foot. "We're somewhere that I've only shown a few people, and only when they needed to know. All I ask is that you see me as I am." Cinder spun him around a bit, trying to keep the lead position in this silly dance.
Much to her surprise, Jaune pulled her around in the spin and snatched her hand up into his. "This must be hard for you to admit. So why are you admitting it at all then?" He spun her around to a light lilt in the music.
"To tell you the truth? I want to win this little contest, but I also... have a growing fondness for you." Cinder took the lead briefly and pulled Jaune close enough to kiss. "If you'd feel the same way, maybe things would be... different."
A drop into a groovy bass section, and the boy retook the lead. "You want things to be different?"
"Yes. You might not believe me, but I don't want to submit to a monster just for power. I have my own goals, and I don't want to try and betray Salem alone." But what good was he? He's better than nothing and no one. And if I ever wanted to stop in this path I'm on... it would be nice to have someone.
"So you want another pawn?" Jaune stopped the dance, holding her close with a steely look in his eyes.
Cinder felt her stomach jump. No! I didn't want that, curse it all! I wanted to let him know. "I want someone to stand beside me. Please, don't think I'm trying to do all this for something so trivial." She didn't care if she was beginning to sound like the frilly girl, or if she was letting herself get carried away.
Those worries were foolish in retrospect, as the dance continued in a more subdued fashion. Her mind caught up to her, reminding Cinder that it was probably a fool idea to attempt to overpower Jaune in a dance. He was quite good at it from the last time she'd seen the boy in a dress. Taking a look around the club, she could see that they were alone on the floor and being stared at by a handful of patrons. Cinder pulled him around to the table, settling on the edge of it with her partner. She reached around, snatching up her drink before downing the remainder in one final gulp.
Was all of what she'd said true, or the combination of drink, emotion, and her own flustered manner? Cinder Fall was a woman of many talents, not least of which was beauty and guile. Yet, here she was getting in a tizzy over a young boy. What made him so special to draw her in, a woman who could burn him to a crisp and snatch everything up in a heartbeat? What gave him the right to taunt her in her place of rest? Cinder felt the flows of Power, the heat she could bend to her will. With but a single thought, she could...
Cinder felt the boy's hand over her own. She looked over at his smiling face. "Thanks. For saying all that," he said, turning now to look down into her own eyes. "I was worried I had guessed wrong, that there wasn't a person underneath that mask you always wear. That I liked the idea of you and not the person in front of me."
The music continued in a long, slowly rolling tone. Cinder leaned over onto Jaune's arm, letting out her breath as she let his words sink into her own stubborn head. She let go of the Power, reprimanding herself for getting so worked up. Maybe things did turn out alright then. At least the girl's advice was sound. She felt Jaune bobbing in time to the music, and it calmed her nerves. Cinder would let the rest of the day pass without any further prodding. She had what she wanted.
Being in bed never felt so nice as right now, snuggling into the folds of his blanket. He was warm, from both the blankets and the person who shared his bed. Yet, there wasn't the soothing calm of sleep for Jaune Arc, serial lecher and all around terrible human. Only the recollection of the day's events and his own words and deeds. You keep doing this, you keep wanting to have everything and everyone. What happens when Cinder gets tired of it all? Well, she'd kill him most likely. Jaune thought that might be too easy a way to go, to be honest.
But really, the day had taken a strange turn almost immediately when he met up with Cinder. The woman was unusually quiet and calm, breaking the cycle of her sneaking up on him and worming around his body. Jaune never really got used to it throughout the day, feeling a little better when she got more flirtatious at the club. A jazz club no less, he was surprised there was one operating within the safe zone more than that she liked the music. Well, you were the one who said she was a person. People like music.
That wasn't the end of her strangeness though, as she began prodding into various things that she would have ignored before. Jaune wasn't prepared for the questions, so he'd answered everything in a slightly callous way that felt very rude. Still, Cinder kept up with them before finally letting the matter drop. That was when things got really strange. She'd dropped all pretenses soon, laying out some very heartfelt words. At least, Jaune sincerely hoped they were heartfelt.
After that though it was a peaceful night. He'd met up with Neo late in the evening to watch out over the wall. It was pleasant, talking with her about all the things they'd seen and done. Jaune never guessed just how much Neo had done in her life, or how much of it was illicit. But there was never a hint that she wanted to keep going on that path any longer. He couldn't be certain, there were limitations to conversing through text like they did. But her emotions conveyed more than those words. That Roman fellow really had taught her well.
Coming back to the hotel, he bid goodnight to her and prepared to talk to Pyrrha about some of the thing Cinder had told him. And the hotel attendant stopped him, calling out from behind her counter. I think her name was Melena, not a bad name. She talked to Jaune about a number of things, like how his room was doing, if she could get anything for him. Then it veered off into a tangent about how she admired what he did each day, and how she hoped that everyone treated him right. That had been a bit disorienting.
Finally Jaune made it back to his room, stepping into the small space to Pyrrha gazing out the window into the night. She was as lovely as always, and more so in the loose shirt she'd been using for nightwear. You moron, is that really the thing to be reminiscing over? But could he deny his feelings, for any of them? That was what it boiled down to in the end, trying not to hurt anyone when he had similar feelings for all of them. That had bubbled up when Pyrrha turned around and greeted him. Jaune had forgotten to remove the ring.
Oh she was cordial, almost accepting of his reasoning. But the hurt was there in her eyes as she talked about her day wandering around town. Pyrrha seemed to get over it a little as she expounded on not feeling like an isolated person anymore. True, she seemed to regret the loss of her profession, but it also seemed like she'd accepted it all. Jaune listened to her go on and on about the people who talked to her and the places she went. He couldn't help but smile at Pyrrha's excitement, all the while feeling the gnawing pain of her loss.
"But I really want to tell you all about it tomorrow, maybe I can take you to meet that nice lady," she'd said, but the yawns were winning out. They laid down, Pyrrha snuggling in with a smile and a soft sigh. Jaune knew what both meant, and he laid there with his long lost treasure in his arms. Finally they rolled apart, his companion breathing easily in the rhythms of sleep. Sleep wasn't so easy for him as he let the day play over and over in his head.
What am I going to do? Cinder isn't the person I thought she'd be, even if her actions are unforgivable. But, shouldn't I say the same thing of Neo? She's also done things that make my skin crawl, is it fair to dismiss one and not the other? And Pyrrha... should I just admit that I love her still, even though everything still hurts? So many questions, never ending in their assault. Maybe in due time, when things were quieter.
Jaune rolled over in the bed, feeling some of Pyrrha's stray hair on his face. Maybe now his thoughts would leave him alone, to finally catch some sleep. He settled in, feeling snug beneath the covers. As the calm waves of rest rolled over him a light clink erupted from the window, the sign he usually waited for.