She could hear the pulse of her heart through her ears.
The first thing Cinder learned that day, was how hot and stuffy it was to ride on Nameless's back while hiding beneath her tattered cape. The fabric of the cape itself was surprisingly slippery like the silk cushion covers she had to change every week. Even as the girl clung to the glowing adult's shoulders, the tailored shirt and vest Nameless wore was by far the strangest textures she had ever touched. Rigid, yet lightweight.
Nameless paused. "Let me know if it's too uncomfortable, alright?"
"I… I'm okay," the girl leaned against her back, hoping not to fall from an adult's height.
The glowing adult nodded, then proceeded to move at a careful pace. Having to be carried on someone's back in the dark heightened the child's senses; jogging her memory back to the day she was removed from the orphanage. The stench of body odour she had to endure before she was transported into a box with no windows. But unlike back then, she could only smell a fresh bouquet of flowers on Nameless's clothes. The kind of scent that provoked a memory she could no longer remember.
Then a terrible thought crossed her mind.
What if she'll take me somewhere worse? What's gonna happen if the madam finds out I was missing?
A sudden cold draft blew their way, prompting Cinder to hold tight over Nameless's shoulders and clung to her neck. "Where are you taking me?"
"To a flower shop," Nameless answered. "Owned by the pettiest florist in all the universe."
Flower shop?
For some reason, to hear of a shop that sells flowers in a cold kingdom like Atlas sounded strange to her ears.
Atlas doesn't grow flowers.
A mechanized kingdom like Atlas, by no stretch of Remnant logic could not have possibly existed; much less thrive with just gravity dust alone. But much to the sourness of a few cumbersome folk, it does. And yet, contrary to their ever-advanced technology, they couldn't grow a patch of brilliant red flowers; much less a potted plant.
Perhaps, that was why a florist like Pimpernel Scar thrived within the confines of this cold, grey civilisation.
'A Wayside flower' may have appeared to be an over-priced flower-shop, but the fashionable Atlesian circles couldn't deny the value of its wares. Especially since Pimpernel's 'Cultivation' semblance allows him to grow vegetation in almost every surface imaginable. From dust to the palm of his hand, he could grow any flower within the boundaries of his imagination. Naturally, if such quality crafts were made by hand, the product itself was almost three-digits worth of lien.
The doorbell rang, signalling a new customer, beckoning for the red-haired florist to stroll out from the staff room.
"Good evening dear customer~! What can I do for you to-" the florist's business smile dropped into a frown. "Oh, it's just Nameless."
"Hehe," the idiot tilted her head to the side. "Good evening to you too, Nell."
Nameless's wore her cloak in an odd way that made it hike up to her waist, making her seem more suspicious than usual. The glaring detail was the unusual 'hump' that's stuck beneath the tattered cloth.
"Whatever you've got in there screams bad news, my dear," the florist head-pointed at the hump.
With one hand, the smiling idiot undid the cape's clasp to reveal a child riding on her back. To be precise, one who's face looked awfully familiar-
-Wait a minute.
"Nameless. Don't tell me," Pimpernel felt a cold sweat break out from his back. "She's not from-"
"Got her out of the Glass Unicorn hotel," the fool answered with a beaming smile. "Cinder was abused by the owner, so I thought, hey, why not get her out while no one's watching?"
"What are you-!" he stopped himself, glared at Nameless and pointed his thumb at the staff room. "You two. Room. Now."
The florist looked at the time, luckily the hour was late enough to call it a day. The two slipped into the staff room without question. Pimpernel walked over to the window, flipped the sign to 'closed' and hastily rolled the shutters down. By the time he reached the staff room, Nameless had already set up a chair for the child to sit on while the idiot wore a satisfied smile on her face.
"Do you realise what you just did?" he hissed.
"…What's wrong with rescuing a kid-"
"-You just kidnapped a child for gods' sake!" Pimpernel swallowed hard on his next words. "And not just any child, you had to take the madame's property of all things! Do you want Atlesian huntsmen on our backs?!"
"Kidnapping means I took this kid against her own will. She agreed to follow me, so-"
He squeezed the bridge of his nose with his two fingers, shaking his head. "Nameless. I know you've lost your memories and still living under a delusion. But taking a child from their own 'guardian' without their consent; especially under Atlesian territory is kidnapping!"
Nameless dropped her jaw in obvious horror. "Seriously?!"
This damned idiot.
"Take that child back or-"
"Don't take me back!" the child stood up from her seat, her desperate gold eyes stared back at him. "Please, don't… I- I don't want to go back to that place."
The child's gaze shifted to Nameless, pinching the tattered cloak with her small, blistered fingers. A sight Pimpernel knew all too well; well enough for him to grimace at the familiarity.
"Can you really turn a blind eye at another's plea for help?" Nameless said pitifully, grabbing the child's shoulders to have her face him. "Come on, look at her! She was practically shivering in the cold!"
The sad eyes the girl made was enough to shake his earlier statement. But even he knew it'd be too much of a risk to have them on the owner's bad side. After all, the Glass Unicorn Hotel serves as a hub of Atlas's underbelly dealings. Be it smugglers, traffickers, unlicensed huntsmen; there was a good reason why that hotel thrived within this military city. Despite his gripes with the madam, the risk was much greater to have her leak his other business trade to Atlas's authorities.
But to have Nameless of all people show him a pitiful sight of the abused child-
His shoulders slumped, regretting the following words coming out of his mouth, "Upstairs. Maybe we can have her sleep on the spare couch."
Nameless gasped, "Thank you! I knew you wouldn't turn her down!"
You just had to rub it in, don't you?
"Don't get cocky, my dear," he clonked her head with his fist. "The mere fact you're taking advantage of our hospitality's already pushing your luck."
Within seconds a small bouquet of geraniums blossomed out of Nameless' hood. *(Floral language peeps, your time to shine to figure out what this means) The mere sight of those purple flowers on Nameless had effectively distracted the child from any grievances she had earlier.
"Oh, I can't wait till Pyro hears of this," Pimpernel sighed, activating his semblance to 'grow' a message to one of his co-conspirators' hands.
"I believe he'd take my side of the argument if he knew about what this girl had to go through," Nameless retorted, plucking the endless geraniums blooming out of the cape. "And can you please stop flexing that ability of yours? The novelty's getting old."
"Not by the standards of my amusement," he sneered. "Besides, the flower suits you."
"By your standards? That sounds like an insult."
Almost every corner she turned; Cinder could see flowers. From tiny red flowers to hanging purple ones that coiled themselves above the ceiling. In awe of such a sight, the awful events that transpired before had been completely forgotten.
"What do you think?" Nameless asked as she guided them upstairs. Even the railings were adorned with coiling vines. "Nell can say harsh words, but he means well."
"Does he?" the grimacing frown Cinder saw in the man told her otherwise.
"Yeah, he does. When I first fell into this world, I had no idea what I was doing. Then him and his friends came along and took me under their shadow. Before I knew it, we were travelling across the world; looking for abandoned dust veins while slaying some grim along the way."
"Dust veins?"
"Oh, you know," Nameless drew a shape in the air with her glowing finger. "Places where you could find an abundance of dust crystals; beneath floating islands, inside caves; of even fields of dust-"
Just as Nameless continued to speak, unease settled in the pit of Cinder's stomach just as she felt an itch rising on the skin of her throat. It was only a matter of time before the madam would realize she hadn't returned.
"…Is it really alright with me being here?" the child timidly asked.
Nameless ceased her words, looking down at her, her dark-olive skin bore a faint glow despite the room being brightly lit. Anxiety rose out of the child, uncertain if she might have made another mistake.
The glowing adult pursed her lips, obviously troubled by Cinder's words. With a deep breath, Nameless lowered to Cinder's level and said; "Of course it's alright. Absolutely. Most definitely. You are most welcomed here. It bothers me more if I knew that a hard-working kid like you would be suffering in places unseen. And now, I promise that no harm will be done to you willingly, no matter what anyone says."
To hear such words was enough to make her eyes water. All those years, she had always longed it. Begged for it. Cinder just hadn't realized it until now. She rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, sniffling to hold herself back. Nameless smiled as she nodded, standing up to lead the way to the residential floor of the building.
The floor itself was bare compared to the flower-ridden level below. Humble grey walls, occupied by a long sofa, a glass screen and few furnishings that make up a simple home. Within the her view a small hallway with three doors was located in front of the stairs. Among the three doors, one of them had vines sprawled across the surface of the wood.
"The place isn't as shiny as the hotel, but here we are," Nameless then headed over to the tiny kitchen and began opening the drawings and cabinet doors simultaneously. "I can't say I know what Remnant dwellers really eat, so I'm just gonna find whatever's worth a meal I guess."
"...If you were staying here in this place, why were you in the Glass Unicorn?" Cinder pointed.
The woman paused, her mouth agape at her question. "Ah. Well, that-"
"Pfft," a voice laughed from the direction of the sofa. "You know something's wrong if the kid's got a sharper wit that you, Nameless."
Cinder jumped at the sudden appearance of the stranger; her face shielded with a mask; her hair cropped with a long tassel strand hanging on the side of her face. What stood out the most was the black gauntlet on one hand, with a fox-paw on the other.
A Faunus, Cinder realised. In her presently vague memories of the orphanage, she had only ever seen one in a cage. Since moving into Atlas, the 'no faunus' sign on the front desk had only ever been the closest she's known about them.
"Oh, great timing Vix. What's a good meal to make for a starving kid?" Nameless didn't seem fazed at all.
"I thought you'd be crazy, but I never thought you'd be insane enough to pick up a random kid from the street," 'Vix' smirked, walking over to join them.
"Et tu, Vix?" Nameless pouted.
"Spare me the 'starcatcher' talk Nameless, and speak plainly." With her mechanized hand, the faunus took out a box that read 'oats'. "Flip that stove on, will ya? I'd might as well make us some porridge oats while we're at it."
Nameless switched the hot plate on, to which Vix then began preparing a saucepan and water. Cinder watched, intimidated, yet fascinated by the fox paw that hung on the faunus's side.
Vix turned to Nameless. "By my guessin', Nel's given you an earful? Oh, and mince an apple and dry it for me."
Nameless pouted as she began slicing the apple into small pieces. "Oh, so I'm just gonna be a walking oven to you guys?"
"With your infinite aura and semblance? You're better than an oven on camping trips."
By their exchange alone had Cinder pondering why Nameless would take the insults of both that florist and this faunus with a smile.
Does she even know she's being made fun of?
Cinder had always answered insults with aggression. That had always been the case until she came to the Glass Unicorn. To see an adult like Nameless haplessly taking in every insult without getting angry felt foreign, especially since she was an adult.
The madam wouldn't take no for answer.
Those two pest sisters would fake tears to rile their mother to action.
Troublesome lodgers of the hotel would break dishes and yell in dissatisfaction.
Is this how adults normally behave?
"Ah, by the way, kid," Vix cocked her head over her shoulder. "I hope you're not too picky with oat porridge. It's either that or Nameless here would turn potatoes into ashes."
"You really aren't gonna let that go, are you," Nameless gritted jovially. "That was your fault for not knowing how to cook."
"Both of you, off the counter," the red-haired man entered from the stairs. "I thought I told you two not to set foot into my kitchen."
"What's wrong trying to make a midnight snack for our esteemed guest?" Vix shrugged.
"The problem with both of you is that one undercooks and the other burns it to charcoal." Nel intercepted Vix, taking the wooden spoon off her.
"-And you put paprika in almost everything," Vix jabs his arm with her paw.
"Touché," Nel eyed Cinder for a moment, then shifted his glance from Vix to Nameless. "You had all the time in the world to cook her a meal and yet none of you have the curtesy to introduce us formally."
With her hands still fisting the hems of her shirt, Cinder lowered her head. Nel then sighed; "I'm not reprimanding you, little one. Just these two."
"Bundle me with the amnesiac, eh, Nel?" Vix tilted her head to Nameless' direction. "Why not you start first since you care so much about curtesy?"
With the saucepan boiling for a long while, Nel switched off the hot plate and placed it aside. "Very well." He put one foot forward, one hand on his chest and bowed. "My name is Pimpernel Scar. Owner of the Wayside Flower and Atlas's most requested florist of the kingdom. What's your name, little one?"
"…Cinder," she replied, turning her gaze away from Nel.
"Ah-ah," he shook his head, retaining his smile. "To be a graceful flower, one must always stand tall in confidence, regardless of how terrified they feel."
"S-sorry," the child immediately straightened her back, only for her stomach to churn and growl.
"Geez, Nel, holding out on a starving kid's not gonna make her like you," Vix elbowed the red-haired man before she took the saucepan to the table. "Kid, sit down over at the table while we get you a bowl and spoon."
Before she knew it, these three adults were sitting in the same table as her, sharing the porridge between the three of them. A mere spoonful of it had Cinder realise how much she disliked the taste, but made it tolerable by the apple pieces and sugar.
That sweet bar was better.
And yet, contrary to her thoughts, the warmth that came with a full belly made her more self-conscious. This was the first time she's ever had a meal in front of people; not even in the orphanage had she shared a meal with other children. As soon as she finished her bowl, she lowered her head, facing her twiddling hands on her lap.
Nel rested his elbows on the table, propping his chin on his hands. "So, Nameless. Care to explain yourself, in detail as to how you've put us in a strange predicament?"
"Wouldn't it be better not to discuss this in front of a kid?" Nameless retorted.
"Oh no, my dear. She'd be the witness, to confirm your story after you've shared it."
The child eyed Nameless before she turned towards Nel.
"Look," she sighed. "You said Atlas isn't gonna be all bad; well, guess what? It's terrible. How do you humans live without a direct exposure to the sun? At this rate, I'm not gonna last a week here without a dose of a star fragment, for crying out loud! Didn't I say starcatchers can't do well in dark conditions, even more so with a snowy tundra?!"
"What about the neat trick you've got with the 'star-fishing'?" Vixen pointed her paw at her. "You've done it a lot at night before, so how's this any different?"
"You know what I can't do that. It's already troublesome doing it on an open field; much less in the eyes of dozens of people-"
"So, what does this have to do with the little one?" Nel interjected.
"…Well, that I… well, I was starving. I can't last two days without a direct exposure to radiation. So, I headed over to an isolated alleyway to call a star fragment." Nameless turned towards Cinder's direction. "It's just a coincidence Cinder here happened to walk in after that."
Radiation? Star fragment? Star-fishing?
Uncertain and confused at the sudden drop of big words, Cinder couldn't help but arch her brows as she tried to make sense of it. Before long, Nameless began recounting their meetings prior, bringing them back to the present. At the end of the tale, Vix sputtered a laugh so hard she almost fell off her seat.
Cinder thought the faunus was laughing at her and her circumstances. "What's so funny?"
"Ah, nah," Vix bear her canines with a sneer. "The old hag get's what she deserves. Even if she makes a peep out of the kid's disappearance, she'd be putting her business on the line once the authorities get wind of what that hotel's actually made out of. 'we do not serve faunus' my butt. Hags like em' are the reasons the bloody fang exists."
Nel shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Vix, this isn't a laughing matter. She's got ties to hunters, licensed and unlicensed huntsmen. It won't be long till someone pounds at our door and cry out; 'This is Atlas military, open up! we have a warrant'."
Loud bangs echoed from the floor below.
"Atlesian military, open up!" said a voice from a megaphone.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"That was quick."