"Am I fun?" Cinder demanded, immediately after returning to the dorms in wake of her victory over Team RWYJ.

"Of course you're fun!" Emerald said instantly, smiling brightly.

"Anyone besides Emerald - am I fun?" Cinder persisted.

"You're fun when you want to be," said Blake.

"You can be as fun as anyone," Pyrrha assured.

"Well...I want to be more fun," Cinder declared. "I want to- I want to..." What were those things Jaune Arc had accused her of not doing for fun? "I want to...play a prank!"

"Oooh, on who?" Emerald asked, excited.

"Let me take a wild guess - Weiss Schnee," Blake said, rolling her eyes.

Cinder smiled. "Yes!" She looked at Pyrrha as she went on. "I want to play a completely harmless, normal, funny prank on her. I won't lie - there will be an explosion involved - but it won't be too big! Just big enough to...to...blow up a...cake? In her face? Yes, that's what I want to do! I want to blow up a cake in her face!" she declared with fullest confidence.

Pyrrha gave her a searching look; Cinder tried to appear as innocent as possible - head cocked, big smile, and her hands clasped together at her waist. "Alright. That does sound like fun," Pyrrha allowed, with a small grin.

"If we ignore the part where you want to antagonize a girl you just beat in a match," Blake added, shaking her head. But she was smiling with amusement.

"We'd have to go into Vale to get a cake," Emerald remarked, wrapping her arms around herself.

"It's been months now, and nothing bad has happened to us again - I'm sure this time will be fine as well," Pyrrha comforted.

"Yeah..." Emerald sighed. "But that could always change..."

"If it does," Cinder began firmly. "we'll all be ready next time. We're stronger now."

"Yeah, we are - but we're still not strong enough for that," Emerald retorted. "You're awesome - especially after what you just pulled off against Team RWYJ - but you're not that awesome. Sorry! But we'll get our asses kicked again, if she shows up again. People might even d-die again..."

The whole team was silent at Emerald's reminder.

"We failed - but we'll be better next time," Cinder said quietly. "No one dies next time. We'll protect them."

"You'd think," Emerald snorted. "Some huntresses we are, huh?"

"There haven't been any reports of attacks on huntsmen, or huntsmen academy students, since our own," Pyrrha said slowly. "Our enemy might have left town."

"Or she's biding her time, waiting for the perfect time to strike..." Emerald muttered.

"You don't have to go into Vale if you don't want to," Blake said, with a forced smile. "You and I could stay here - let those two go on their own. They're the better fighters on this team anyway."

"No way; I want to go with Cinder! She might need me."

"Cinder is right here - and Cinder says if you want to stay behind, you can feel free to." Cinder rolled her eyes at Emerald, regathering herself. "I don't mind you sticking to me like glue anymore, but it might be nice to unstick you for a while..."

Emerald blinked at her, frowning, then looked away. "I- right. If that's what you want..."

"We're just going to get a cake!" Cinder said quickly, raising her hands. "We'll be back before you know it! Just- read books with Blake for a while! It's not like it's torture to be around her."

Emerald put on a big smile, nodding. "Okay! Yeah, we can have fun together by ourselves - right Blake? Just a t-girl and an f-girl palling around!"

"R-right..." Blake stuttered.

"Okay, we're back: everyone sit down, and let's get this started! There's a lot to go over!"

Cinder delicately placed the heavy, pink frosting covered cake on a desk in their dorm room.

"How much could you possibly need to explain about blowing up a cake?" Blake said, raising an eyebrow from the floor (her and Emerald seemed to have belted out one of their many board games to play).

"Yeaaah...I don't really see how this could take longer than five seconds," Emerald added - but she sat up anyways, giving Cinder her full attention.

"Everyone focus!" Cinder shouted, clenching her fists. "It could have taken five seconds if you weren't all blabbering over each other!"

"Just go ahead and show them what you want to do," said Pyrrha calmly.

"Okay - well - what I want to do..." Cinder gestured to the frosted pink cake on the desk, then she held up a small, thin candle she had also acquired in Vale. "What I want to do, is put this candle into this cake - this candle which contains just a few little grains of Fire Dust, straight from my dress - and then I'm going to give the cake to Team RWYJ. I'll tell the Schnee girl I've thought everything over and I want to apologize! But, of course, I won't," she added with a self-satisfied smirk. "Then, when she goes to blow out the candle...just a little flick of my finger and my Semblance will activate the Dust sand inside the candle, blowing it all up in her face!"

Cinder eyed her team, nodding to herself and putting hand on hip. "It's perfect, right?"

"Well..." Emerald began.

"No!" Cinder snapped. "Emerald - no! What else is there to even get about this concept?" she rattled out, gritting her teeth at the girl. "It's very simple!"

"I mean...it's just..." Emerald hesitated. "How are you going to make sure Weiss is the one who blows out the candle? Even with an apology, won't she be...suspicious of you?"

Cinder froze. She sighed, sagging where she stood. "Okay, yes, that's a good point. Thank you, Emerald, for finding a major flaw in my plans! Does anyone have any suggestions about how to make sure the Schnee girl gets a face full of cake?"

Pyrrha raised a hand, sitting very properly in a chair she'd positioned next to Blake. "Well, I could use my Semblance, if we used a metal tray to put the cake on; I could make certain it's right where it needs to be when it explodes. And that way, Weiss won't even be able to blame you for it."

"Good idea," Cinder nodded, thinking hard. "But I'm not sure I want to let you take the fall."

"That's so sweet of you," Pyrrha said, with a big smile that had Cinder feeling hotter than usual. "but it's only a simple prank - Team RWYJ will be annoyed for a few hours, and nothing more than that."

"Wait, what?" Cinder said quickly. "Are you sure about that?"

"I'm sure."

"Damn..." Cinder hissed. "I want the Schnee girl's humiliation to last!"

"If that's what you want, you could do it at lunch," Emerald offered up. "Right out there for everyone to see? Hah, people will be talking about it for days!"

"Hmm..." Cinder mused, bringing hand to chin. "That's good - we make it public. And so soon after her losing to me in sparring classes, it will just add to what she's already feeling...Emerald, you're amazing!"

"I do what I do," Emerald grinned, leaning back and putting her hands behind her head.

"So then, is everyone clear on how we're doing this?"

"Ah - are we all agreed that I can do my part to help make sure it all goes smoothly?" Pyrrha spoke up.

Cinder waved a hand. "Okay, yes - you can help with your Semblance. Where are we going to get a metal tray?"

"The...kitchens?" Emerald said hesitantly. "I mean, we'd have to steal one...Please tell me I can steal one!"

"You'd better be the one to get us one," Cinder agreed, smiling at the girl. "You're the best one for the job."

"I'll have it to you by the end of the day," Emerald assured, her eyes shining. "It'll be a...piece of cake."

Silence.

Emerald looked from teammate to teammate. "I said-"

"We know what you said - it just wasn't very funny..." Blake murmured, a small smile on her face.

"Cinder thinks it was funny!" Emerald retorted. She turned on Cinder, beseeching. "Don't you?!"

"Yes, Emerald, I do!" Cinder answered, trying not to roll her eyes. "Of course I do."

Emerald looked relieved - and very pleased.

It was terrible, Cinder thought privately. But she liked the girl too much to say it. Too much to hurt her like that, even if it would probably only last a few minutes before she got over it...

Wait, no, it was Emerald she was talking about: she'd probably spiral into a deep depression that would last all of next semester! Cinder couldn't allow that to happen, either, though - and certainly not by her own actions.

"So, how soon are we planning to do this?" Pyrrha asked.

"Tomorrow," Cinder said, certain. "Lunch tomorrow. It's settled!"

"It is?" Blake said under her breath. "Who decided that?"

"Me!" Cinder snapped. "I might not have ears like an adorable cat, but I can still hear things!"

Blake's cheeks turned pink. "And now I can't be annoyed with you anymore..."

"Exactly as planned!" Cinder smirked.

Pyrrha laughed, while Emerald giggled.

"Operation Blow The Schnee To Pieces starts tomorrow!" Cinder declared. "Meeting over."

"Blow the Schnee to pieces..." Pyrrha repeated. "Isn't that far too violent of a name for what you're planning? You did say it was only a few grains of Dust?"

"F-fine: Operation Blow Up A Cake In The Schnee's Face - And Nothing More."

"Why not just: operation Blow Up A Cake?" Blake suggested. "That way, we won't just give away our plans to them by saying the name."

"Simple but secretive," Cinder said. "It will keep them all guessing; you're good at this, Blake."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't say that!" Blake said swiftly. "I really don't have any experience with planning o-operations...this is all totally new to me! First time."

"Then it's natural talent," Pyrrha said, amused.

"C-could be..." Blake muttered, glancing away.

"Do you have it?"

"Yep!" Emerald's entire being flickered, and a metal tray with their cake was in her hands. "The operation-"

"Emerald!" Cinder interrupted, biting. "I'm the one in charge of this. All of this!"

"Oh, right, sorry - didn't mean to steal your moment..."

"I forgive you. Now: ahem." Cinder cleared her throat. "Operation: Blow Up A Cake starts now."

"Do you want to go over the plan again?" said Blake.

"No; we'll miss our window," Cinder rebuked. "Pyrrha - are you ready?"

Pyrrha smiled and waved. "Ready with Semblance on standby."

"Okay." Cinder nodded. "Let's do this."

Cinder strode into the cafeteria with the tray of cake in her hands. She scanned the tables, and found her target; she marched right up to Team RWYJ. Her features were carefully rearranged into something like contriteness - she'd had plenty of practice at that before in her life, fortunately enough.

"Oh, goody, what do you want now?" Weiss said instantly, huffing.

"Oooh, what's with the cake?" Ruby burst out, staring with wide eyes. "Is it somebody's birthday?! Do you want us to throw them a party?"

"It's no one's birthday," Cinder said flatly. She drew a breath, looking to Weiss. "This is for you. I'm- sorry for saying all of those horrible things about your family. You were right; I just couldn't see it. But I've thought about it now, and...I'm sorry. I wanted to make it up to you, so I went out and bought this."

Weiss appraised her with sharp eyes. Then, she nodded. "I just knew you'd see sense! Well, put it here - my team and I will enjoy it very much."

"You beat us up, then give us cake?" Yang laughed. She grabbed the tray from Cinder and set it down in the middle of the table. "You're a weird girl, you know that? But I guess you're not all that bad..."

"Yeah, totally," Jaune said quickly. "I can let bygones be bygones! I mean, that flaming sword was pretty cool...heheh?"

"Yes, well...I need to get back to my team. Enjoy." Cinder about faced and strode away. She allowed a small smile as she met Pyrrha's gaze, who was peeking around the corner from out in the hall. Pyrrha gave a nod - Cinder nodded back. She flexed her fingers at her side, triggering her Semblance.

There was a loud boom behind Cinder, and then many voices crying out in shock and anger alike.

Out in the hall again, Cinder ducked behind the wall. Then she quickly peeked back out from it to see the fruits of her labor.

Team RWYJ was covered in the essence of cake - but none more than Weiss Schnee, whose face looked as if she had plastered a whole tub of makeup on it.

"Yes! I got her, I got her!" Cinder exclaimed joyously. "That was so fun; I'm doing it again soon! I'll be the prank queen of this entire school!" She erupted into intense, cackling laughter. Her eyes strayed to Pyrrha. "And you got her!" she added, rushing over to Pyrrha and grabbing her arms. "You did your part perfectly!"

Pyrrha flushed with pleasure, giving a shy smile. "Thank you - but it was really nothing too difficult..."

"Uh, guys...I think we should run now," Blake said quickly, gesturing into the cafeteria. "They really don't look too happy with us...and that Yang girl is coming our way."

"I've got this," Emerald said, leaning around the corner and narrowing her eyes intently. "Alright, let's hurry up and go! Holy shit is she going to be pissed at me! Go, go, go!"

The team wasted no time in taking the opportunity to run away down the hall.

After rounding a corner, Cinder looked at Emerald, who was leaning against the wall and holding her head. "Why is Yang going to be so upset with us? Exactly how did you distract her?"

Emerald let out a woosh of air, holding up a hand. Then, she straightened. Plastered on her face was a huge grin. "Oh, it was nothing too crazy...just a very convincing hallucination of Weiss intercepting her so she could spill her guts out to her about how hot she thought Yang was, and how she's been wanting to jump her bones from day one."

"Jump her bones?" Cinder repeated.

"It means she wanted to have hot, horny sex with her," Emerald said cheerfully.

Cinder stared, cheeks hot. That, she'd learned plenty about in biology books (and some borrowed books of Blake's that she'd been reluctant to part with). "Wow...Emerald, I underestimated you - I underestimated you severely!"

"Prank queen!" Emerald said smugly. "Who's got the power? I've got the power! And don't you forget it!"

"And then once all the little cows reached the barn, they saw it was too late! It was already burning! The fire was spreading, and they were trapped! Helpless! Scared out of their cow minds! And then...and then..."

With a wide grin on her face, Pyrrha raised her hand high and splayed her fingers; the metal cow figurines floated up off the table into the air, and smacked against the underside of a floating metal tray. "And then the poor cows were abducted by aliens! Kind, wonderful aliens who only sought to save their cute little lives from the raging inferno unleashed on them by the wrathful goddess of fire!"

Cinder stared at her, pressing her lips together. She sighed and slapped her hand to her face. She shook her head and glanced around the dorm room a moment. "Pyrrha..."

"Yes?"

"I was telling a tragedy here!" Cinder growled. She paused. "And how does it even make sense for aliens to show up out of nowhere and save the cows?"

"Maybe it's one of those stories with a twist ending...?" Pyrrha said hopefully, flushed.

Cinder drew a very long breath - let it go again. "No. Now you ruined the way my story was going to go," she muttered dejectedly.

"Sorry..." Pyrrha said meekly. "Um, how exactly was it going to go, Cinder?"

"All the cows were going to burn alive, the forest was going to burn down, and the animals left alive were going to eat the farmers who survived long enough to see a wasteland, hungry for food they couldn't find anymore," Cinder said flatly.

Pyrrha winced. "Isn't that a bit...a bit..."

"Completely sociopathic?" Blake remarked from her bed.

"I think it's great!" Emerald chimed in. "Yeah, screw the cows - what did the cows ever do for the farmers? They couldn't even give them any more milk because of that disease you said they caught..."

"Exactly!" Cinder exclaimed. "Thank you, Emerald! The cows were worthless, the farmers weren't going to live long anyways - so it all was going to come crashing down! Just...faster because of the fire."

"Well...I suppose it is just a story..." Pyrrha said slowly. "But that still seems far too cruel of an end for them. Could we at least save a few of them?"

Cinder looked from the hovering cows to Pyrrha's face. She sighed heavily. "Okay, we can save one. But, just so you know, that one will probably starve to death like all the other animals - or join in on eating the farmers."

"Or - ooooor..." Pyrrha flexed her other hand, and one of Cinder's swords came shooting over to hover above the table. "A Vale airship equipped with forest-fighting capabilities comes flying in, responding to a distress call, and they're able to begin pouring gallons upon gallons of water onto the forest to save it! Which also saves plenty of animals!"

"They can save a small part of the forest," Cinder allowed, hunching over and propping her elbow - setting her chin in her hand. "And seventy percent of all firefighting personnel who try to go down into the forest on foot are going to suffer serious burns, and death."

Pyrrha gave a very solemn nod, wringing her hands and letting everything she was holding up drop onto the table with a clatter. "Poor things..."

"And then the airship lost power due to a lightning storm, and it crashed down onto the farm along with the alien ship - good idea!" Cinder enthused. "And I guess your cow could be brought on board by the survivors of the crash," she added reluctantly.

Pyrrha brightened. "At least there's hope, then!"

When Cinder went into Vale alone on the first day of her two week break after first semester's end, she never expected half the things to happen to her that ended up happening.

All she had wanted was to use Pyrrha's card of lien to buy some new clothes. What she got...was a whole lot more.

Cinder had entered her favorite clothing store, and immediately after doing so, she smacked into someone's backside. "Oof!" She bounced back, stumbling; the person she had run into fell forward with windmill arms and a high noise of surprise.

It was a girl her own age, Cinder realized after recovering her bearings - and her balance. A girl with short, curly orange hair, wearing a plain grey dress with black tights. The girl caught herself before faceplanting, and then pushed herself right back up with one simple, easy motion. She turned around to face Cinder, giving Cinder a good view of her face.

Light skin, bright green eyes, and freckles.

The girl didn't seem at all upset about being run into like that. In fact...she looked downright ecstatic about it! Her big green eyes swept Cinder up and down, very intensely, and there was a smile on her face.

"Salutations! My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!" the girl exclaimed.

"Penny - sorry for knocking you over," Cinder replied. She eyed the girl up in return; she smiled. This girl was cute - a little too excitable, though. She couldn't stand those Ruby Rose types for too long; she liked her peace and quiet. Fortunately, her whole team was much the same way. Emerald might follow on her heels at all times, but at least she knew to stay quiet while she did it. "My name is Cinder - I'm a huntress, training at Beacon," she introduced with pride.

"You attend Beacon Academy?! Oh, you must tell me all about it!"

"Hm...must I?" Cinder smirked. "Well, if you're really that eager to know...I could share a few stories." Penny looked at her with her fullest attention. She looked almost star-struck, really. Cinder liked that. "But, I was going to try on some new clothes to buy," she went on, gesturing at the aisles and racks aplenty.

Penny stared with an open mouth. Then she beamed. "Sensational! Would you mind if I joined you in this? I've been very curious about the kinds of things people wear in Vale!"

Cinder drew in the biggest breath she could hold, and let it go through her nostrils. She stood in complete silence for a full ten seconds. "Okay. You can join me." I'm going to regret this immediately - why am I an idiot?

Penny asked a multitude of questions about fashion (at least she was on topic), which Cinder was happy to answer for her while she browsed the shop. Cinder disappeared into the dressing room for several lengthy minutes at a time before reemerging, and it had nothing to do with the difficulties of some of the outfits she'd picked out (zippers and buttons were frustrating). But Cinder did enjoy Penny calling all of her outfits wonderful, beautiful, and other adjectives without fail - it was almost like having Emerald around. Except Emerald was far more composed.

Well, Cinder had to work with what she had to work with.

After leaving the shop together, they walked along through the city, holding more conversation. In which "conversation" meant that Penny asked a dozen questions a minute, and Cinder tried to answer them all. Eventually, they ended up near the docks.

Cinder leaned over some railing, gazing out at the ocean waters during a lull in conversation she was grateful for (a lull she had created, by telling Penny to hold off on more questions for at least a solid minute).

Penny stared at her, then she leaned forward and gripped the railing in imitation of her, her mouth stretched into a big smile. "It sure is beautiful today, isn't it?"

"It is," Cinder grunted her admittance. Looking at the waters, and with the thought of two weeks of freedom ahead of her now...she wondered about asking her team to teach her how to swim. At the very least, it would be a nice excuse to get Pyrrha to let her buy her first ever bikini! And she was sure her friends would have fun - that she, Cinder, would have fun out here with them. Seeing the ocean from an airship's high view wasn't the same as this, and it definitely wasn't the same as actually getting in there and swimming around like fish did.

Penny turned her head, looking at Cinder thoughtfully. "Do you-"

A swirling rush of blue particles blew past Penny, and a dark shape materialized directly behind the girl.

Cinder whirled, thrusting out her arm with a yell, activating the Fire Dust in her dress and sending a blast of fire right past Penny's shoulder.

The woman moved again, her body shrouded in swirling blue particles, which left a beautiful trail behind her.

In a heartbeat's span, the woman stood behind Cinder, her heavy presence sensed with Aura, and that long sword was swinging for Cinder with a high whistling noise.

Cinder whirled, bringing her blade up to block - she barely managed it. But she did manage it!

Shrouded blue energy rolled off the woman's body again, and the woman was slashing for Cinder's other side, landing a blow this time and sparking her Aura. A slice up her backside followed, a downstroke, and then three diagonal slashes. All before Cinder could even think on how to retaliate.

A boot collided with her back, and Cinder was sent flipping over the railing and falling down to the docks proper.

A comet of blue energy came hurtling down to the ground; heavy boots slammed down to Cinder's right.

Cinder made to push herself up, but no sooner had she than there was a strong, long-fingered hand on the back of her head, shoving her into the ground. That long blade was held under her throat, the sharp edge touching. Sparking at her Aura.

"How long will you spend chasing your illusion of freedom, Cinder?"

Cinder froze. "How- how do you know my name?"

"I know everything about you...and so does she. And she is allowing me to give you an invitation-"

An array of grey and green blades came spinning through the air like a buzz saw, straight for the woman.

The hand was gone, the sword withdrew in an instant, and the woman was leaping high over those spinning swords with a graceful twist.

It was Penny, Cinder saw; Penny was standing nearby, her arms held aloft, moving about like she was conducting an orchestra - manipulating all those weapons somehow.

A dozen blades flew up at the woman in a volley; she deflected and blocked, shrouded in blue, being pummeled higher and higher into the air.

Two blades hovering near the ground transformed, and energy began to crackle from their tips. Powerful, concentrated beams of green energy began flashing through the air, aimed up at the woman.

The woman blocked the energy blasts on her sword and backflipped in mid air, sailing until she came back down again. Blue energy surged, and she raced right at Penny in a flurry of racing boots. Her long blade clashed with Penny's multitude of swirling blades, her body twisting and ducking and weaving expertly! And then her long blade struck home at Penny from a distance, several times across her front, and then a swift slash across her face that sent Penny rolling across the docks.

Penny lay on her side, hair fallen over her face, her back to Cinder.

The scarlet-haired woman twitched her sword at her side, her gaze traveling to Cinder. Then she turned, and walked away. No Semblance this time; she just walked away, like nothing. Like nothing had happened. Like she hadn't just attacked two girls. Like she hadn't just...

"Penny!" Cinder scrambled to her feet, racing over to the girl. Anxiety, regret, remorse, it all was rising in her; Penny had met her, Penny had come along with her, she'd said the girl could come along, Penny had been hurt and she'd been useless and it was her fault! She dropped down beside Penny and reached for her, turning her over.

Penny's hair fell away, and her eye widened as she stared up at Cinder. Fear, panic, horror. Her hand came up fast, covering her face as she sat up. "I- I h-have to go, I w-was very- injured by that-"

But Cinder had already seen it, seen the state of her face. And it was... "Penny, you're- cybernetic?" Cinder sought out for the right word to grasp. "Were you in some kind of accident?"

Penny froze. "Y-yes! That is exactly what I-" She gave a sudden, violent hiccup. "-what happened. I was in an...accid-" Another hiccup. "-an accident, and my f-father...gave me cybernetic p-parts." Hiccup! "It's very- I'm very self-conscious of it. Please don't tell anyone what you saw." Her hiccupping fit seemed to be over.

"I won't," Cinder promised firmly. "Trust me, I know how to keep important secrets people are self-conscious about. I'm already keeping a few for my friends...and my own."

"If you are keeping one for me as well, does that make us friends?"

"S-sure," Cinder muttered out. She hesitated, then she spun the girl around, pulled her hand away from her face, and pushed her hair clear to get a look at all of it. Penny blinked with her right eye, still a human eye. The left was a lens, surrounded by metal. Exposed. Some kind of synthetic skin covering had been shredded off when the enemy had struck at Penny.

Penny looked nervous, and scared, shying away from Cinder still.

"You look-" Cinder tried to find another word. "-awesome," she finished awkwardly, settling.

Penny beamed at her, and then she was flinging herself at her, arms strangling her by the neck!

"Hey!" Cinder shoved Penny away, falling back with a hand on her sword.

"I'm very sorry if I hurt you!"

"You didn't hurt me, you just- surprised me," Cinder replied, shaking her head and letting a breath go. "Don't do that again. Ever. If you want to hug me, ask first," she allowed.

"Of course - yes, I did not mean to-!"

"Don't worry about it," Cinder snapped out, brushing herself off and standing. She turned away, crossing her arms. "You need to...fix all of that. Where do we go to do that? Can the hospital do that for you? Does it even hurt at all? You don't seem that bothered by it." She was relieved that Penny didn't seem bothered by her wounds.

"Oh no, no! I need to return to General Ironwood to report this attack, and submit myself for repairs. You should return to Beacon Academy, friend; you'll be safe there!"

"Right...good. Maybe I'll see you around." Cinder smiled.

"Oh you most certainly will!" Penny exclaimed joyfully. "You are fighting in the Vytal Tournament at the end of the year, aren't you? I'm here to do the very same thing!"

"Huh. Then we might even end up fighting each other," Cinder mused. "With what you seem to be capable of, I think I'd really like the chance to try that."

"That is wonderful! I hope so as well; I have heard many people talk of how skilled you are in combat!"

Cinder grinned. "People do like to talk about me." She paused. "Well, see you, Penny. It was nice meeting you. You're cute and fun."

"Goodbye, Cinder, my new friend! And I think you're beautiful as well!" Penny beamed at her, threw a salute. She hesitated, then glanced around at all her blades scattered on the ground. She narrowed her eyes, and then they all lifted up and flew into her backpack, neat and ordered. Penny let out a noise of relief, cast a last look at Cinder, and promptly dashed off.

Cinder fell to the ground, landing flat on her butt. Wow, she's exhausting...

So why was Cinder excited to see her again - even beyond just the idea of having a match with her later in the year?