Chapter 4-3; Ignominy
"…Cinder...?"
The midnight-haired beauty paused before him, motionless as if stunned he had entered on the location. He felt his heart fleetingly cease its flow, wide-eyed in the scarcely lit chamber. Her hair had remained the only constant. An eyepatch, strapped about her skull, hid away the appalling sight he was to behold. A black cloak shrouded her attire, leaving only her single arm and legs visible.
Even in the obscurity of the abode, she shone a curious aura that permeated the darkness. It was within her clutches did he finally distinguish the photograph. It was of himself alongside her and Ebony. The trio. 'Children of Mantle' was inscribed on the frame, littered in a gold texture that stood out from the laminated material.
"…why are yo-…?" he began, before witnessing her dart from the scene at speeds just within reach.
Cole would not have any of it, sensing air vent from his wrist for his hand to spiral outward for her. This new artificial limb was not something she was thoroughly knowledgeable in handling, as the digits moved as if on their own.
Before she could appropriately counter, he had ensnared her throat in hand. Reeling back his objective, the faunus gave no prospect to react and brought her into the carpeting. She gasped as her throat stressed against the metal threatening it.
The pair of amber circles filtered through the shade with a barely visible outline of his shape above her. She was petrified beneath him; exposed.
"C-Cole… please!"
He inwardly recoiled; not at her voice, but at the contents of it. She had never once uttered the phrase 'please' before in the entirety of them knowing one another. Shedding away the uncertainty, he redoubled his efforts in choking the life from her. "You… You don't get to do anything after all that you've done!"
"I know! Just…. Please…"
There it was again. Something was wrong. Lamentably, his fingers grew lax as he lingered atop her. Appreciatively gasping for generous breaths of air to relieve her bruised trachea, the sable-haired beauty let her head fall back. "…alright… Wow… at least you still have your strength…"
Cole grit his fangs, watching her keenly as she finally fared to right herself. That intolerable tone of hers still caused his skin to crawl. No matter how willingly he welcomed its melody. "Talk…" Nanites formed a katar from its melded fingertips, already pronged for her throat.
"Cole…" she began, not at all forming the critical expression she habitually wore. "…I came here because I needed to… I… I don't know specifically what brought me to come back here."
"Bullshit…"
Her eye widened only slightly, seeing him shy away his features. "…n-no… you… you don't get to say that. You're not allowed to care…" Cole had shut his eyes, that much she was for sure, observing his physique begin to tremble.
"Cole, I-…"
"NO!" he cried out, causing her to intuitively shy away. Once she had once again opened her eye, it grew wider at what she was to witness. Tears had begun to dribble from the parted lashes, streaming down his cheeks. "…no… you don't get to… after all this time…"
Cinder opted not to respond, rather enabling him to persist in whatever he required. "…do you know what it's like for me now?" All she could do was watch in disbelief at how he answered, feeling the tears trickle onto her own skin. "…I have tried to move on. So many times… to love another… but, what you did to me can't be changed!"
"…you have marked me…"
His non-artificial hand went to grasp at his abdomen, looking down at the stunned expression of his former love. "I can't love anyone… for what you've done to me…"
At first, she glanced away, unsure of exactly how to articulate her reply, then opted to steadily raise her upper body as he had. Gradually she moved her own fingers to settle atop his own at his chest. While initially, the two flinched from the fleeting contact, he greeted the attitude from her warily.
Hesitantly still, she interlocked her fingers around the shape of his own. With her eye darting to his for confirmation with every brief minute, the beauty defied to close her face mere inches from his own.
"Cole…" she began delicately, steering him to her care. "…my path brought you so much ruin. So much pain. What I wanted in life did not need to cause you such distress… I am sorry…" The faunus before her appeared as if fighting back the urgency to permit his emotions from flooding forth, but she would not have it. "…for all that I've done… for all that I've done to you."
It was that one phrase.
She tenderly crooned the head that now occupied the space in the nape of her neck, running her finger through the sable locks that near mirrored her own. The pair of jet-black wolf ears that lay pinned against his crown. A yearning exhale followed suit, setting to steer him to rise to their feet.
Through half-lidded eyes, the two gazed at one another. She had plucked his heartstrings like a tune she knew all too well. And yet he did not fight it. Not anymore.
Off went his jacket, before her cloak. They blended against one another's person to a degree akin to pieces of a puzzle. Lips parted for its partner to join, discarding their garments to paint the other's skin with adoration. He lifted her with ease, earning a subtle gasp, prior to pressing her to the cushion frame. Not once did they separate from the former, believing that even the slightest would sprout their ruin.
It had been so long.
So long since he had tasted her. Felt her. Inhaled in every bit of aroma she held.
She initially went stiff against him as they began, at last, progressing along the curves of her figure. Those enviable arches that he had fallen for. Her movements were entirely distinct from how they had merged in the past. No longer taking command of the state at every turn. She lay there, clenching his arms for some sort of assistance.
A shiver cruised along his spine, causing him to lurch forward unexpectedly. The faunus considered her ankles fasten to the section of his lower back, reaching to grip the headboard to direct himself. Nails dug into the flesh of his shoulders, feeling how difference in size the two held.
How she gasped his name. As did he. How they melded into one another so perfectly.
This was what he wanted… wasn't it?
Cole's thoughts betrayed him as visions of Yang and Blake surfaced in his mind; stinging his cerebra. He made to lessen the agony with a hand, grasping at his forehead in pain. Why was he seeing them? What was he doing?
Was what he was doing wrong?
What he did not expect, was the gentle hold on that same appendage from his lover. How peaceful she looked guiding his hand back down to her. "No… I won't let anyone judge me anymore…"
"…love you… Cole…" He relinquished it all, ridding whatever distance remained between the two. She returned the favor all the same, between coursing fingers through his hair and streaking his back in marks of love. Even the warped Grimm fingers they were once horrified in interlaced its digits with his own augmentations.
His lips were hers. And hers, his own.
She was his.
And he was hers.
Eyelids fluttered open at the rays of sunlight filtering into the once-neglected space. He blinked several times, before analyzing the area he currently lay in. Everything had stayed the same as the preceding night. Soon, he swung his gaze to the weight having occupied itself on one of his arms.
There she lay.
For once, she appeared peaceful in her sleep. The mask that had sheltered her face was now rid of, granting him the ability to examine the scarring. His other arm shifted to touch the same skin but ceased just before contact.
Was he nervous?
No. That could not be the case. The faunus relented in parting the darkened locks from her hidden eye but suffered no revulsion in the disfigurement. "So, that must have been when Ruby…"
Cole trailed off when the slumbering woman cooed a few stirring sounds of waking. He spied the amber tear encircled in white before it darted about curiously until eventually docking upon him. He could not help the smile creasing his lips that had begun to form. He had wished for a sight such as this for so long.
And now to have it.
"Good morning."
"…morning."
The two lay in comparative stillness, examining the other in an adored silence. She ultimately nominated the ability to nestle her head further into his chest, humming as she did so. And so did his heart. She could no doubt feel the rapidity of the organ and the warmth it emitted. "Brothers, to have this again…"
However, there was still one more factor he had to be sure of. She no doubt was minding his movements as he turned to tenderly caress the Grimm appendage in his metallic palm. Interestedly, he sensed no malignance emanate from the extremity, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "What is it…?"
Eventually breaking the stillness, Cole coped to suppress the immediate startling in his person. "Just… seeing what has changed. Up close."
"You're not… disgusted?"
He rightfully shook his head, staring at her once again. "No… because now we're a bit more similar. What with my semblance and all?" Her mouth went slightly agape at the delicate smile she was to receive, watching him raise the limb to his lips. "It's you. And…"
"…I love you, Cinder. All parts of you. I still do…" He shook his head yet again, almost chuckling at the situation. "…even after all you've done. Your good and your bad… I still love them."
She appeared stunned at the exposé, dumbfounded at the assertion. "After all that I've done…" A hand went to knead her forehead, shaking it on the matter. Lastly, at a shock to himself, she managed an incredulous smirk. "…even with the horrible things I've done to others…" After some time, she glanced back at him. "…and what about my allegiance? Your friends? What I want...?"
Cole's jaw set on the question, thinking on the possibilities he had led himself to. Was he truly ready to accept what she had done? What had all happened since their interactions in Vale? And what about Ruby and Pyrrha? About Ozpin?
He had to make a choice.
He knew this would be his final opportunity.
At last, he looked to the woman he had repetitively confessed his feelings to. "I do. I don't care about Salem… I don't care about the past… I love you. There's nothing more to it." He proceeded to bring her nearer, amber directed at amber. For a time, their lips remained linked; respiring in a fervent taste.
"…but I only ask one thing from you in return."
Cinder blinked owlishly, yet when her brow creased it urged Cole to elaborate. "…please, forget your pursuit to kill Ruby." She was upright straight away, gaping down at him with a dubious expression. He made to raise his hands in a show of peace, comforting her back down to his level. "Cinder… I know what you felt after what happened at Beacon…after you… lost… I know you…"
"I know what losing does to you…" When she made no indication to respond, sides a minor taut in her posture, he persisted. "…but you must look past that to grow stronger. More than what you are now. I know that is what you've always wanted. Power. To be above others. And you would do anything for it."
With a monumental pause ensuing, she relented in loosening her shoulders and exhaling a held in sigh. "I…" Despite his objections, she slipped from the mattress and set out to redress herself. "We'll see…" Then, startlingly, she took hold his jacket and held it inquisitively in her hands to examine. It did not take long until she swung the article of clothing over herself and stood to pose pompously.
"I'm taking this though."
As the midnight-haired beauty sauntered to the windowsill, sliding the panel upwards, she cast a glance back at his awaiting stare. He still kept to the bedspread, as if wishing she would return. "I'll keep in touch."
Before anything further could be said, she was gone. A billowing cloud of embers was the only trace left of her existence. For some time, Cole lingered upright still expecting her to return in a teasing fashion. But, she did not. In the end, he let his back fall against the cushions once more and respired.
"Well then…"
His journey back to Atlas was unforgiving, having encountered numerous distinguishable faces from teams JNR and RWBY. Yet, there was only one huntress that he urged to search for. Only one would possibly understand what had occurred the previous night. Only one would understand feasibly grasp what he had felt.
"Blake…"
She and Yang had been occupying one of the studies of the academy, seated progressively close to one another. His chest tightened, swallowing down whatever nervousness began to bubble. "Blake." The blonde brawler inquisitively watched as her feline partner made her way to stand, mimicking her surely after.
Something he took relative notice in.
"I need to talk to you… in private…" He stole a hurried glance towards Yang, one she knitted her golden brow in retort to. "…alone." While Blake did share a modicum of her partner's reaction, she yielded and implored her fellow faunus to lead. As they did so, Cole watched the cynical stare Yang had maintained upon him.
"Good… no one will bother us here…"
One of the forgotten academy classrooms was their advent, with Blake prudently investigating her faunus associate. "Cole… what's going on?"
She clearly detected his anxious posture, even wincing as he swiveled about to face her. "I…" he began, biting his tongue to stop himself. Why was he hesitating? This is what he wanted. To be upfront with the truth. "I… haven't been entirely truthful with you…"
Her eyes. He could not bear to look her in the eyes as he spoke. "…you know of my past with Cinder? Don't you?" When she wordlessly nodded her head, he continued. "…I still… I still feel for her. And it's so… difficult now…"
"I understand… we never truly get over our past feelings. I think that's why you and I became such good friends…" Her words drove nails into his skin, yet he remained true to testify himself.
"Yeah…" he murmured, swallowing the lump in his throat. "…but, last night… I found her. In my home that I once lived in…" Her vivid cat-like eyes were illuminated in doubt, still, she said nothing. And he thought he thought that was worse than her saying anything at all. "…she… apologized for the first time I knew her… and…"
"…we slept together…"
The ache from the blow against his cheek was dwarfed by the revelation that it caused. Cole looked on in disbelief at the typical serene façade the girl frequently wore, only for it to be substituted by disappointed and indignation.
All fixated on him.
"Blake, I…"
"Do you have no self-control at all?" she queried, growing near hysteric in her tone. "Even after the promise with Yang and me? Even after you told Yang you loved her!? Do those things mean nothing to you!?"
Why was she not empathizing?
What was he doing wrong?
"I thought…" he groused silently, stroking his reddened cheek. "…maybe with your history with Adam, you would understand…"
The moment it took Gambol Shroud to be steered in his direction was nearly quick enough for even him to evade. No longer clouded in indignity and remorse; the pair of shining feline-like eyes were open with resentment. "How dare you use his name for your careless behavior…"
With the weapon now sheathed, Cole went to interpose her retreating backside. "Blake wait! I…" As his fingers brushed against her hair, her body flickered as if only a specter. Her semblance. She had initiated it just as he had assumed the first step towards her.
"We're done…"
The weeks that followed were tense. The air was thick with an ire for himself more than others. There was no telling who Blake had told on the matter they had discussed. All he could do was pray that the results were kind to him. As much as he longed for it, Cinder did not contact him again. She was an enigma.
Would he ever contact him again?
The Ace Operatives would guide the newly awarded huntsmen to complete missions; with difficulty scaling.
Border patrol. Grimm dispatch. Protecting civilians.
Cole and the rest of team, however, did not share such pleasures. The Atlesian leader had grown cold since his talk with fellow faunus. Leona and Leopold were to continue their investigation in the noble houses of Atlas, while Ebony surveyed the streets of Mantle for clues of uprisings or signs of Robyn Hill. The Lupine son spent most of his days training with the General.
While the others did share his capacity for preparation, he and James sparred regularly. A common sight being the two shedding most heavier clothing and fist-fighting within the training room. Aunt Marie would improve on his stance and etiquette when need be, while Ironwood tested his reaction times.
They felt like a family.
Even after the horrid encounter of before, Cole felt a warmth in his chest at the prospect. He was happy with the two of them and to even be within Atlas itself brought him joy. When his teammates would return, they would relish in the moments to themselves. With enough time to go out into Mantle's streets and unwind. He had longed for this.
Although, happiness is fleeting…
It was within the days both teams were within the training room; all complacent in their own methods. Cole had elected to supervise their development while the remainder of the senior huntsmen focused on the Amity Colosseum. A prospect he soon would grow to regret. Every chance they had, both Blake and Yang showered the other with admiration. This reverence earned his eye on few occasions, before duly turning when they caught wind the of the act.
He had told himself not to regret. Not to be sorry for what he had done. It was his life. Why was he feeling so much remorse?
"Cole?"
The Xiao-Long daughter's voice was a clear distinction amongst the sounds of battle made between their colleagues. Thus, Cole was alert the moment she had asked for him. Straightening beside the wall he had been inclined against, he shifted to meet her. He was sorely ill-equipped for her retort.
Knuckles set into the surface of his cheek, knocking the faunus from her location. While sustaining his foothold, he proceeded to rid the stupor that lingered. "What are yo-…" He received no ability to articulate, as another fist struck out at his core and flung him into the side again.
"Yang, wha-…!"
He tasted the coppery flavor of his blood on the next hit, experiencing the soreness now in both sides of his jaw. Her expression was grisly, with no possible room for forgiveness. He swore he could hear Ruby question the validity of her sibling's actions and others halt their practice.
"You cheating, arrogant bastard!"
She finally conversed, and it was an insult no less. Now he understood. Blake had informed her of what he expressed the weeks ago. Again and again, she barraged his body with blows that felt genuine. She was holding nothing back. He proposed she assumed he warranted it.
When at last she ended her assault, Cole slumped against the surface and slid down. Jaune had mercifully come in time to grapple his sister blonde away from her target. One eye could barely comprehend who was before him, but he plainly recognized the shape of Ruby approaching him. Cradling his head in her hands, she gazed up at Yang in what could only be portrayed as fear. "Why…?"
"This asshole…" she glowered, being shouldered by Blake. "…slept with Cinder! The enemy! Even after all he had told us… told me…"
Ruby resumed a prurient stare to the faunus adjacent to her, causing him to present whatever shape of answer. "I…" The Atlesian's body would inevitably betray him. His vision was scarce. Muscle reaction was ephemeral. Even his breathing burned with the earlier strikes at his lungs. His saving grace would be delivered in the shapes of three.
"Leo… Leon-… Ebon-…"
He could hardly voice their names at the discomfort he was to obtain, with Leona being the sole individual to briefly turn to him. Ebony had hastily deployed her weaponry and positioned her bow in the direction of the blonde brawler, with Leopold brandishing both blades beside her. His sibling hovered just above the ground with the aid of her semblance and flaunted her chain at the ready.
"And what do you think you're doin', Blondie?"
As he spoke, the dimmest clicks shadowed and triggered the blades to flare up. Nonetheless, Yang voted to not back out at the challenge and trod forward. "Your leader thought he could go sleeping around with other ladies… that lady being Cinder."
While Leopold did show a degree of consideration at his leader, he did not relent his safeguard of the faunus. "And you thought you had the right to go and beat him half to death? Very noble, Blondie. Now… did you ever think of maybe… just fuckin' talkin' to him?! Pretty simple concept really."
The pyrokinetic scoffed, shaking his head at Yang's incredulous reaction. "I don't know the hell he saw in you…" He prodded one blade in Blake's way; scornful as he did. "Why don't you go back with your little kitty cat… fuck outta my face. Before I make a mistake…"
"Wha-… How can you just take his side?!" she declared, stamping a bold foot forward. "…he cheated in a relationship and even with the enemy!"
"Yeah. Yeah, Blondie. But we do things differently around here. And we also don't beat the crap out of our teammates over civil disputes." The Tidalus son gave no inclination of backing down, leaving Blake to finally grasp her partner's shoulder.
"Leona." Ebony declared, earning much of the populace's attention. "…get him out of here." With a wordless nod, she gracefully moved to rip Cole from the crimsonette's fingers. "…and Yang?"
As her associates set out to depart the training room, the shieldmaiden fastened a critical glare at the blonde in question. "Touch him again… and I break your neck."
The trio escorted their fallen frontrunner to their corresponding dorm, booting the door locked in the procedure. At the very least some of the pain from earlier had begun to settle. Cole had been thankful for his aura, now strewn about his personal bedspread. Leona chose to remain close by and seize the space just beside him, coddling his sore cranium upon her lap. Her sibling selected his own mattress to relax on top of, with Ebony resting against their bedside desk.
"Thanks…" he croaked, now seizing the three's care. Neither of them preferred to utter a response, sides Leopold who exhaled derisively.
"You got some horrible decision makin' skills man…"
"Yeah." Ebony selected this time to trod over to the students' minifridge, busy purveying various bottles from its interior. Throughout her time of supplying, Leona tenderly ran her fingers through his hair. She took great pride when he exhaled serenely, fully relishing the treatment.
"It's like our days as a team here."
As Ebony returned with a comfortable mixture, Cole elected the time to rise to a seated position beside the red-haired girl. While his injuries produced occasional winces, he took the extended glass and hastily drank from its contents. "Blackberry bourbon iced tea… you know me too well…"
"Well, we try to." She beamed, grinning ear to ear as he relished in the comforting exposure. There was, however, the fairly noticeable elephant in the room. All four of the huntsmen elected not to speak any further on the matter, with Ebony having promptly sided Leopold across from him.
"I know… what this looks like." Cole began, earning their defensible courtesy. "…but, something's different…"
Leopold painstakingly scoffed, shying away from his leader's eye. "You always say tha-…"
"I know!" The unforeseen bellow caused all parties to recoil beneath the amber stare presented forth. "I know… every time we encounter each other I say this. But… I can feel something different. She apologized for one thing…"
Ebony mimicked the boy beside her and sneered. "First time for everyone, I guess."
Cole presumed he had no possibility in deterring the shieldmaiden's viewpoint. As an alternative, he selected in recommencing his account. "She had a change of heart in some manner of speaking. And I can't understand how she did it. Something about the way she spoke to me. How we…"
The faunus inevitably trailed off, clasping his face in one hand as his cheeks felt significantly warmer. He could undoubtedly sense himself flushed in a substantial fashion. A deed all three members of the team responded in wide-eyed stares.
"Wow… I have rarely ever seen this side of you, Cole…"
Guess we can assume its felt on both parties…" Leopold paired his sibling's previous declaration with one of his own, leading to their leader to nod in sanction. This, ending in the swordsman tossing his hands into the air and flinging himself back to the mattress. "Great!"
Cole could not help himself in giggle at the conduct of his teammate, leading to the others to gradually share in his delight. A genuine laugh and pleasure to all of them. Something the four had not indulged in for quite a while. At last, both his heart and his body felt renewed from the moments that preceded their meeting.
"Thank you… all of you guys…" With their concluding snickers, Cole's countenance grew melancholic. His gaze wandering in a hazed scene away from their inquisitive eyes. "I've been such a horrible leader to all of you. And yet still you defend me even when I cheat on my own relationship…"
"Pfft…" Ebony quickly blew a raspberry at his appreciations, grossing the faunus's care. "Cole. We're doing this because we care, silly. And let's be honest… you were never gonna be counted in that relationship…"
At her leader's bemused gape, Leona designated the opportunity to clarify. "To illuminate, she means that you would have been neglected. While not at first, it would be inevitable. Your love for Yang… while genuine, would be overseen."
Cole swallowed the lump having coagulated in his throat, shirk from their looks. Was what she was saying true? Would he simply be put on the back burner? The recognition had never dawned on him of the validity of their admiration for one another once the third party had entered the fray. An unknown spark of abhorrence bristled with life in his core. Animosity. Ire. It was all there. For all that she had claimed, Yang truly did love Blake more than he.
"That's fine…"
The unadulterated and unhindered prerogative seized the trio unannounced, leading to them all to gawk at their faunus leader in a puzzled manner. Cursing as he rose to full height, much to Leona's protest, Cole strained his shoulders to square. "I'm going to go for a walk… just to clear my head."
While neither of them spoke to discourage him, the Atlesian knew how they had felt towards his lasting expression. Yet, he would prove them wrong. He would not surrender back into the grief-stricken abyss he had underwent during his first few weeks of the Academy.
'I'm stronger than this… I have them all… I have a job to do rather than worry about her feelings…'
He extended out his artificial hand to study after asserting through his thoughts, narrowing his amber eyes. 'Yet… what is this pit I feel in my chest…?' Now that Cole could appropriately reason to himself, there was a clear aura absent from his usual conversations.
'Oz… are you still there.'
Silence.
His breath hastened, casting a glimpse about for any unwanted bystanders. It would appear he was in the clear. Once again, he called out to the Beacon Headmaster.
'I've been here, Cole…'
An exhale of relief followed suit, leaning against the adjacent wall. 'Why have you been so silent as of late?'
'I've been watching you. Watching you act. Watching you behave to your comrades. I can't say I encourage such behavior.'
'What?!' The faunus looked about once more, before resuming his inward discussion. 'I don't understand what I've been doing wrong. I acted on what my heart told me.'
'And that is specifically what is so dangerous.' A brief respiration could be audibly perceived. 'Cole, I understand your desires. The feeling of love. But I must stress that you need to be more careful.'
"Careful…"
The word kept his attention as he strolled about the halls of Atlas Academy. Taking in the sights of his former home and the changes it had endured. Still, no matter how much he desired to forget what Ozpin had spoken of, he held no chance in doing so. Reaching the docking bay beholding out over the city of Atlas, which in turn overlooked the city of Mantle, Cole rolled his jaw in a pensive method.
His soundless brooding would be thoroughly interrupted at the sight of a Manta encroaching on the position at the nearest port. He rose a hand to shield from the snowfall peppering him in the landing gusts. Attentive, as not many would be congregated in the Academy away from school hours, he approached the transport. And the particular persons exiting its hull.
"Thank you, sir. Your help is greatly appreciated."
That voice. That seamlessly recognizable voice. How he recalled back to the days the brilliantly lit shades of red stained the training rooms with himself. How they sparred and strove to better one another from the former. His chest rose in a state of exhilaration and forgetting all else that had occurred before.
"Pyrrha…?"
The dazzling hues of emerald rounded to the source of her call, squinting as her lips creased into an honest smile. While she could not reciprocate the action, he dashed towards her at a breakneck pace. Bidding the pilot a wave in farewell, she glided the wheelchair onward with assistance of her semblance. Hands gently lay in her lap as she gazed up at him awaiting until he dove forwards and encircled her.
"How I've missed you…"
It was a tranquil rhythm to perceive her laugh, stroking the darkened locks until he parted. At once, he found himself systematically inspected of any alteration in wear and physique. "You've certainly changed, hm?"
"Y-Yeah…" Reaching to press at the side his neck, Cole smirked methodically thereafter. Guiding her along the pathway to a neighboring bench, both appreciative of the outer heating structures of the academy. She held a new lengthy sage coat that spanned to her knees, with a vivid crimson scarf to compliment her hair.
"I'm glad to see you so lax instead of how you were at Beacon." At the decree, the Atlesian's brow knitted and produced her raised hands to quiet any apprehensions. "I didn't mean like that… just… you felt like you had a weight. Now… you look free. Warm."
Having been eyeing her over, Cole turned from her expanse to scrutinize the platform gazing over Atlas. "I…" His nose dipped in what he could only deduce as shame. "…a lot has changed Pyrrha. So much so."
She tilted her head aside in a manner he could hardly resist in claiming endearing. In its place, he voted to linger his account. "My weight was my brother of long ago. Not of blood. But, in the White Fang. My past in general…" A drawn-out exhalation transpired, leading to the gladiator stationing a hand at his back. "With the Fang gone, my brother gone… I felt I could finally escape my past…"
He finally considered her with the turn of his head, earning a minor balk. "…but I was wrong."
For a time, she was hushed in her retort. The same fronting Cole to grow a touch anxious on how severe and dejected he had constructed their chat. "We…" She started, seizing his full devotion. "…we never get rid of our demons, Cole. We only learn to live above them. I… hope that makes some sense."
The faunus could only hope to gawk at her, astounded at the growth the young miss had becoming of her. "I… I do. I think that… that was just what I needed to he-…"
"Cole…! C'mon, man! I'm not gonna y'know… hit you like Yang did."
At the sound of Jaune's cry, the Atlesian felt a sudden heated stare upon the back his head. With an unnerved gulp, he progressively twisted to Pyrrha's looming gaze. "S-So…" Cole began, swearing inwardly as the Arc boy had lastly caught sight of them. Thankfully, the gladiator's pensive ire was rid of him and subsequently thrust towards Jaune.
"Pyrrha…?"
How the boy beheld such a shocked bearing to witness her radiant form, it caused the faunus to chuckle inaudibly. He perceived how Jaune informed her of his huntsman promotion. Considering how pleased she was in his success. Rifling her fingers through his recently shortened strands. His cheeky manifest in her pout at his lessen in extensions. Whilst the two showered one another in adoration and amity, Cole felt the incredulous sensation of aches in chest.
Why was he feeling this seeing the two together?
'I believe this called love withdrawals…'
Ozpins swift clarification arose so spontaneously, the faunus had scarcely a moment to appropriately react. The pair of wolf ears were erect while his face held a substantial red glow. Shielding the expression from his fellow peers, Cole suitably readjusted himself with their approach.
Now with Jaune seated at the end nearest Pyrrha, the Atlesian sided her beloved. "So, Cole…" He was upright at the call of his name from the lone female of the party. "Let's start from the beginning now."
Guardedly, Cole shot a glimpse in the Arc son's way for what he accepted a prompt raise of the hands in submission. "Don't worry. I won't knock out your teeth." Nearly deadpanning at the exclamation, the faunus respired.
"Cinder and I… knew one another growing up. Her parents gone. Left with nothing…" He shook his head, amused at the abysmal sight. "…she always hated that. Being shown as weak. It's probably what spurred the downfall in our relationship. Negligence. Abuse. Manipulation. And yet…"
Amber rose to the spread of white and blue across the Atlesian skyline, leaving the other two to await fixedly. "…I never stopped loving her. And maybe that's what kept her so close… even when we fought. Nearly to death. The spark was still there. And it was rekindled when I visited my old home in Mantle."
"We threw each other on one another so readily. But she showed something she had never shown before…" He lastly regarded the duo, virtually appalling them with his dejected smirk. "…remorse. She apologized for everything. She told me she loved me… for the first time in how long?"
Jaune was the first to speak, having leaned back with arms crossed over his chest. "So, all this time she was broken?" At the behest of his male companion's dangerous glare, he corrected himself. "I mean… she wasn't always bad."
"So it would seem."
Both men regarded the gladiator with careful consideration, leaving her to elaborate. "When I fought her atop Beacon… I felt something I hadn't expected to feel. Sorrow. So much of it. I thought I was merely hallucinating, or it was from the adrenaline. And you say Yang reacted in a rather unkind way?"
Cole stifled a laugh but was unable to quell the smile remaining. "Suppose I deserved some of it… here's me falling in love with a murdering, criminal, psychopathic Maiden."
"Cole." The sound of his name was held with such self-assurance, garnering his whole devotion. "Your love is not something that is ephemeral. A dream. It's real. Something you treasure and, I can only assume, so does she." As she spoke, one of her hands went to grip Jaune's in a sign of good faith to her assertion. "We don't choose who we fall in love with. It just… well… it's beyond our control." Amber was stricken wide in such an impact and even how his inner self cordially reacted.
"…beyond our control…"
'…beyond our control…'
How he shivered it nearly shook the entire mattress frame. His breath caught in his throat as his lungs desperately yearned for a release of some kind. Yet, his skin and bedclothes were soaked in an unquenchable sweat. Metal digits nearly tore into the exposed skin of his limb as he clutched more severe.
Visions.
As like he had been receiving during his journey's to Mistral, these held the scenes of a domain of a barren wasteland, with stony terrain and vast purple crystals sprouting from the ground. The sky dripped a blood-red while increasingly large pools of what he could only assume tar spanning the earth. Every flash earned him a glimpse into the realm, and even of its apparent ruler.
Salem.
It was always her. His mouth went agape with his backside curving inward with each threatening convulse. It was until Ebony vaulted from her own bedside to seize her leader by the shoulders and jostled him awake. Amber watched her owlishly as the whites of eyes could be perfectly perceived in the darkness overcast.
There was but one thing to do.
Cole was hastily shouldered by both Ebony and a new emerged Winter as the trio hastened through the Academy halls. They two females nearly dragging his still reeling figure as all lingered in their bedclothes with naught a chance to alter. What truthfully concerned the faunus was the silence he was to obtain from Ozpin in these times of need.
It took little time for them to reach in the Headmaster's office, with James within a regal-looking bathrobe before a hologram scan. Qrow and Marie both squared the display in similar sleepwear. A diagram of Cole's own internal system. Heartbeat. Respiratory. But a single illuminated graph garnered his traumatized consideration. One bar that was blue in color was sided by one of equal size, but tinted red.
The General was silent in his examination, electing to only turn to the adults on his left or right. "It's worse than we thought…"
"Do we know how long it might take a worse effect?" The faunus stole a glimpse towards his aunt, while the same barely regarded him.
"Hell, could be sooner with each time he uses it." Qrow was to be subsequent her question, lacking his usual lackadaisical demeanor.
It would prolong like this for some manner of time and each occurrence further infuriated him on how in the dark he remained. Ebony had never left his side, gripping the faunus's arm in some manner of consolation. It would be naught to aid her leader.
"LOOK AT ME!"
All eyes were now upon the Atlesian son, virtually hyperventilating with the abrupt force of vocalization. Fury soon shifted into that of despair; gritting his fangs at the show before him. "What's… What's happening to me…?"
Ironwood nominated himself to genially answer his ward's desperation, stepping from the display. "Cole… we've thought about this for some time now. Ever since we first met… your… semblance was a show of concern." The faunus felt a pit began to coalesce in his stomach, yet no words materialized for him.
"There…" The General relented, looking to Marie for a display of approval. "…there's a reason you act like a beacon for Grimm. There's a reason you have an innate connection with her. It's…" It crushed the man to express further, beholding the boy he had uncovered broken and mutilated. Frightened and alone. Now, upright before him and having developed stronger than their initial encounter, brimming with tears and terrified.
"…a part of Salem lives inside you…"
Why would the faunus's lips not part for disputes? Why would he not retort?
Everything was dark. His chest scorched in an unfamiliar heat. All accounts around him ached. 'It hurts… it hurts so much…' The strength within his limbs faltered and before all parties could counter accordingly, he was at his knees. James dove to the young faunus, grasping onto the still sodden material as tightly as he could.
All he could do was rock the boy side to side. Murmuring whatever he could to relieve such information. The most authoritative man in the realm of Atlas. The individual with the greatest military force to rival Remnant.
And there was nothing he could do in this position.
Not long after, Ebony claimed the spot adjacent to the General and bound herself against her leader. Even the daringly stout shieldmaiden shared in her leader's cries, nudging her crown against his neck. To bear witness to the boy who she had repeatedly argued an indomitable wall; shattered.
Marie hastened to where her nephew resided, fetching the trio into her care. She had been so long away from the only family that was left remaining. From the boy that needed his kin more than ever. What kind of guardian could she call herself now?
Winter shifted to where the Qrow had dwelled, grasping hold his arm at the sight before the two. Even her own eyes were dampened with the signs of anguish. The avian huntsman held resilient in whatever manner he could, ultimately leading the Schnee into him. Even he would feel the suffering Marie was to feel.
Amidst the most formidable persons in Atlas. In Remnant.
In the place maintaining some of the utmost innovative tools to support.
Nothing could be done to mend this damage.
Nothing.