Cinder grit her teeth as she furiously paced around her house. She had barely contained her exasperation when Weiss showed her the drawing of what was causing Wendy's nightmares.
"What was she thinking!?" Cinder growled as she threw her hands in the air.
She had so much to say to Raven when she returned from her day out with Yang. She had not even sat down since she arrived home from Weiss' house. All she could do was fume.
Cinder's head snapped to the front door at the sound of it swinging open and dangerously narrowed her eyes as Raven shut it behind herself.
"Are you out of your goddamn mind!?" Cinder berated as she swiftly closed in on Raven.
Raven froze as her eyes widened slightly and a cautious yet confused look formed on her face, "Uh… What?"
Cinder stomped her foot down and growled as she turned around, "I can't believe you! How could you do something so stupid and irresponsible!?"
Raven stepped forward and reached out for Cinder, "What did I do, Cindy?"
"Don't touch me!" shouted Cinder as she evaded Raven's hand and faced her again, "I went to visit Weiss today while you were out, and the poor thing looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion because she's been worried sick about her daughter!"
"What the hell does that have to do with me?" asked Raven.
"It has everything to do with you!" Cinder snarled as she fiercely snatched her scroll from her pocket, "Because Wendy has been having intense nightmares ever since the twins' birthday party about a 'monster' that looks like this!"
Cinder held up her scroll with an image of Wendy's drawing on it for Raven to see.
Raven bit her lip at the clear depiction of a white and red mask and long, red stick that was undoubtedly meant to be Omen.
"Oh… shit…" she said under her breath.
"Yeah, 'oh, shit' is right, Raven!"
"That explains why Yang's been yawning all week," Raven said to herself.
"You know, for an experienced, highly trained fighter, you can be so stupid sometimes!" Cinder scolded, "I mean, do you ever think before you act? What do you think Yang would do if she ever finds out that you were the one that gave her daughter these nightmares!?"
Raven opened her mouth to speak but sighed instead.
"Now Weiss and Yang think Wendy has been dreaming of some apathy, despite never seeing one in her entire life!" Cinder added.
"Hey, I didn't mean to give the kid nightmares!" Raven raised her voice.
"What did you expect to happen, Raven!?" Cinder shrieked, "A five-year-old girl saw you wearing a mask that can make grown men cry inside her home in the dead of night! A place that's supposed to feel safe for her, no matter the time!"
"Bullshit! You couldn't have known that would happen!" Raven shouted back, "You didn't seem bothered at all when I told you I went to Yang's house after the party!"
"You didn't tell me that you broke into their house! I thought you were smarter than to do something as idiotic as that!" Cinder growled as she pushed against Raven, only to push herself backward due to her lack of size and strength in comparison to her, "Why would you do that, Raven!? What could you have possibly gained!?"
Raven clenched her teeth and tightened her fists before letting her muscles relax, "I wanted to see my grandchildren. Up close and with my own eyes. It would have taken months for that to happen if I hadn't taken matters into my own hands. Yang wouldn't have allowed it because I know she has a problem with me being anywhere near them."
"So, what? Cinder asked in a calmer yet still irritated voice, "If Yang doesn't want you near her children, she has a right to keep them away from you. You can't just do whatever you want when you don't agree with something, Raven! Taking actions like what you did last week will only hurt what you and Yang are trying to build together. Mutual trust is wh—"
The sound of the doorbell rang loudly through the house and Raven turned around to raise an eyebrow at the front door.
Cinder huffed and narrowed her eyes at Raven as she walked by her, "This conversation is not over."
Cinder opened the front door with her best fake smile ready, only for a genuine one to take its place, "Oh, Weiss? Hi! I didn't expect to see you again today."
Weiss smiled and rubbed the back of her head, "Yes, I'm sorry about that. Is this a bad time? I'm sorry, I should have called."
"No, not at all," chuckled Cinder, "What can I do for you?"
"Actually, I'm here to speak to Raven," explained Weiss as she peaked around Cinder at the woman in question, "Could I have a word with her in private?"
Cinder furrowed her brows and briefly looked back a Raven, "Um, Yes… Of course."
"Thank you. It will only be a moment, I promise," said Weiss as Raven stepped out the door.
Weiss sighed and smiled at Raven as she extended her hand, "Good afternoon, Raven. It's nice to see you again."
"Likewise," said Raven as she shook Weiss' hand and walked with her to the driveway.
"I apologize for dropping by so suddenly," said Weiss.
"It's fine. I don't mind," Raven smiled as she pointed a finger at Weiss, "I like your necklace."
"Oh! Thank you!" Weiss giggled as she looked down at the silver pendant, complete with a small red gem in the middle, around her neck, "Yang gave it to me today out of nowhere!"
"Yeah, I know," Raven huffed under her breath as she looked away.
"Hm? Did you say something?" Weiss asked as she looked up from her pendant.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" said Raven.
"Oh, right," said Weiss as her wide smile shifted to an intense business face, "I have something to discuss with you. I'm sure Cinder has told you about my plan for the company after my father retires."
"She's mentioned it once or twice… Maybe you could refresh me."
"I thought as much," Weiss nodded, "For liability reasons, my lawyer has advised me to keep my project a secret before I officially announce my plan. Is there a more private place we can talk?"
"Yeah, let's go to the backyard. There are some nice, high fences there," Raven nodded as she led Weiss around the house and into the backyard.
Weiss briefly watched the glass, backdoor to make sure Cinder was not watching and faced Raven, "Okay, so the part Cinder knows in terms of what I'm planning to do is that I want to start my time running the Schnee Dust Company by personally clearing all Grimm out of a dust deposit in the forests of Mistral. I want to prove to the world that the Schnees are still capable of getting their hands dirty and are one and the same with the rest of the common people."
Raven nodded, "Right… So, where do I come in?"
"This dust deposit is the largest ever found in Mistral," Weiss sighed, "As far as I know, it's filled to the brim with lesser Grimm. Beowolves, ursai, deathstalkers… You name it. But recently, one of my… informants discovered another complication that could potentially make this search and destroy mission much more difficult."
"That being?"
"The presence of a large tribe of bandits in the area… We believe they are the Branwen tribe."
Raven bit her cheek and looked away, "Does Cinder know this?"
"No. My lawyer has advised that I keep this information very close to my chest in case I can somehow eliminate this problem before we get set to clear the deposit. And I am obligated to ask you not to tell her for liability reasons."
Raven nodded and sighed, "Yeah, I know the deposit you're talking about. The tribe has been using it as an emergency resource for dust in case some raids don't provide enough. Getting rid of them won't be easy."
"Which is why I need your help," said Weiss, "I don't want to have to send soldiers to risk their lives against your tribe if I can avoid it."
"I'm sorry, Weiss, but I can't," Raven shook her head.
"Wait! Let's make a deal," Weiss begged, "I can offer your tribe a small portion of dust from the mine, annually, for ten years. All they have to do is let my team clear out the deposit and my miners work unharmed."
"No, Weiss. You misunderstand," Raven sighed, "I can't help you. As in, I don't have the ability to."
Weiss furrowed her brows, "Why not? Can't you just tell your tribe to leave the deposit alone?"
Raven frowned and ran her hand through her hair, "No, because I don't control the tribe anymore. When I left, a new leader was appointed."
Weiss' mouth fell ajar as a look of disbelief found her face, "You cut yourself off from the tribe… completely?"
"I did," said Raven, "So I could stay here instead."
"I see…" said Weiss as she clasped her hands together.
Raven studied Weiss' face and cleared her throat, "Hey, um… you haven't told Yang about this, have you?"
Weiss looked up at Raven, "No."
"Are you going to?"
"I… I don't know," said Weiss as she put on a clearly forced smile, "Thank you for your time, Raven. I should be going now."
Raven pressed her lips into a fine line and nodded, "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
"Don't worry about it," Weiss smiled as she started for the fence gate, "I'm sure I'll find some way through this."
Raven watched Weiss leave and sighed deeply.
Things just never go my way, do they…
A/N: Hello! Sorry for the shorter chapter. I didn't want the last chapter to get too long and the next chapter is going to be a little more fluffy than ploty, so that's that. I'm curious about what you all think of my depiction of Raven and Cinder. Do you think they work well together in the story? Are they out of character? Let me know and leave a review!