Chapter 1: She's Alone During Lunchtime?
"Are you sure about that Nora?"
"Yes, silly. Go talk to her, look, she's all alone!" Nora whispered, 'subtly' pointing towards the tall transfer student, Cinder.
Indeed, eight spots on her table and no other student took a single one, the sight of a girl sitting alone during lunchtime wouldn't be something she condoned, considering her own time in Sanctum. It was just… there was something about her that rubbed Pyrrha the wrong way. It made her feel even worse, considering how judgemental people could be.
"Why don't you do it then?" she asked.
"Hey, I'm brave, but I'm no invincible girl."
Pyrrha hoped Nora would stop calling her that, it always made her feel out of place. An outsider.
Jaune laboriously swallowed a mouthful of the canteen's food, then spoke up, "I think Nora has a point, Pyrrha. We studied this just last week, you said that in times of peace Huntsmen and Huntresses are supposed to engage with people, to keep up the positivity. It would be a good thing to make the new girl feel at home."
"Plus, now that I think about it, she's always sitting alone during class too." Jaune added.
"She's from Mistral, right?" Ren asked. "You're both from the same place, you'll have plenty to talk about."
"But you're from Mistral too! So is Nora!" Pyrrha protested, well aware it was for naught.
"Yeah, but we studied in Signal Academy."
Nora put her hand to Ren's shoulder, then solemnly shook her head. "It's okay Ren, I'm sure she'll be alright, lonely and in a strange place, so far away from home sweet home."
Pyrrha folded her arms, and stared Nora down, refusing to dignify that with a retort. Not that it stopped Nora.
"Far away from her family and her friends. Who needs friends, right?" The restless redhead leaned into Ren and wailed with over exaggerated flair, bringing the back of her hand to her forehead and doing the best impression of someone who was about to faint.
Nora, please stop. That was a low blow!
"Oh I'm sure she won't be missed when a Grimm gobbles her up because we failed our duty to help ward off the negative feelings… Oh! The humanity!"
It wasn't fair, why would Nora bring out the big guns like that?
"You guys are the worst ever… of all time," Pyrrha announced. She left the table with her lunch, then moved towards the new girl, it was Cinder, right? She stopped on the opposite side of the table, face to face with her.
"Hello!" Pyrrha exclaimed, mustering as much cheeriness and courage as she could without going over the top. "Do you mind if I sit here?"
The girl stopped mid-bite, eyes widening as she looked up at Pyrrha from beneath her eyebrows. Confused, perhaps? Or annoyed that she stopped her from enjoying Beacon-grade risotto? Maybe she should go…
As soon as the thought crossed Pyrha's mind, Cinder answered, "Not at all. Please, have a seat."
Reluctantly, Pyrrha took the seat, setting her food tray on the table. The girl eyed her cautiously from behind ebony locks, letting her bangs fall and obscure one eye. Maybe she was shy? Way to go Pyrrha, not even a minute in and you've already made her feel uncomfortable.
"So," Pyrrha trailed on, laughing nervously, "I'm Pyrrha. I see... you've picked the risotto!"
"I'm Cinder," she looked from her meal to Pyrrha, then back to her meal, "And yes, I did."
"They used to cook some in Sanctum. I like to eat it too. It really helps when I feel homesick, you know?" That got a chuckle out of the raven haired girl. It was good right? Progress? Maybe Pyrrha was talking a bit much, was she being too forward, too pushy?
Cinder raised an eyebrow, "Can't say I miss home but I never thought I'd miss Sanctum's food."
"That emblem on your uniform, you're from Haven, aren't you?"
She took a careful bite from her food, looking at Pyrrha as she talked "Yes, I am."
"I was thinking of attending Haven, before I decided on Beacon, how are things there?"
"Unsurprisingly dull. I suppose that's the result of having such a spineless Headmaster. In a way, I'd say you've made the perfect choice."
"Really?"
"Positively so. If half of the latest... adventures I've heard about happened in Haven? Leo would have a heart attack." A soft smile spread to Cinder's face, and it made Pyrrha a little nervous, until she reminded herself not to judge too soon.
Cinder dragged her food tray out of the way and leaned forward a little, placing her elbows on the desk, and her palms on her chin, letting her hair flow over her shoulder, "So, what brings the Mistral regional champion, the face of Pumpkin Pete's, all the way over here during lunchtime?"
"Ah, well, I noticed you're new here, and I thought offering a nice welcome would make the experience a lot better, help make a few friends, at least until your team arrives!"
"I don't have a team." Cinder answered, nonchalant.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" Pyrrrha apologized, covering her mouth. Stupid, stupid! She began hatching a plan of escape, could the tray be used as a stepping stone to jump out of the window? No, that would reveal her Semblance, maybe use it to pull a fork to the ground, then run away underneath the table towards the main corridor. Yes, that was a good plan.
"Don't be, it was mostly because of a misunderstanding in the paperwork Haven loves so much. No tragedies here." Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief, crisis averted. "But it is quite the honor to be in the company of the invincible girl."
Oh, that again. Pyrrha would be lying if she said she wasn't flattered, but once more that feeling of distance passed through her, like she was far away from the person in front of her.
"It seems like your team is rather appreciative of it too," She pointed with a finger towards her team. Immediately, as Pyrrha turned to look, every single one of them pretended to occupy themselves with something mundane. Scrolls, pancakes, or in Jaune's case, pretending to be absolutely baffled by a half-moon chip
Cinder smiled as she took a pen from her bag along a piece of paper, wrote something in it then handed it to Pyrrha, "Here's my scroll number," she said with a wink, getting up from her seat and taking her plate, "Well, look at the time. I think I'm satisfied. See you soon."
She walked away, or rather, strut away, left foot to the right and right foot to the left, meandering along the line between them and the exit to the hall.
Dazed, Pyrrha walked back to her team, sitting down wordlessly.
"See Pyrrha, was that so hard?"
Fools, all of them.
Cinder could have burst out laughing if it didn't carry the risk of gathering unwanted attention.
She walked down the corridor, back to her own dorm. How gullible were these future Huntsmen and Huntresses? She almost felt stupid now, it was so simple! Perhaps she should have strung the girl along, made up a sob story about a non-existing team, pretended that there was some tragedy there. That is if the thought of spouting such cliche didn't make the bile rise in her throat. If she knew all she had to do was sit in plain view, wait, and one of them would simply drop onto her lap and offer to be maneuvered just like that? Oh then she would have tried it sooner!
And not just one of them, but the greatest of them. The invincible girl.
Cinder unlocked the door, entering her dorm room. Quiet as it was just after lunchtime, she could finally have some peace, and wash her mind of the frivolous activities these… immature so-called future guardians engaged in.
Ooh no, I don't like my leader, I should be the leader because I'm rich and I think the world revolves around my navel! She mentally mimicked the high-pitched noise that the heiress produced, just one of the incessant, irrelevant and frankly, infuriating things about Beacon.
She laid down on her bed, contemplating. That area of the Academy was dreadfully quiet, no birds, no students chattering or practicing outside. Cinder knew how important balance was. Too much noise and it was a cacophony, but too little and she felt in isolation. The next classes wouldn't be until the next half hour, so she wouldn't have the chance to feel bored halfway to death until then.
She could send a message back to Watts, but instead she decided to warn Emerald and Mercury not to come yet. This would be best if she wanted to keep up her alibi until the Vytal Tournament
And indeed, a tight alibi would be key, this opened up so many possibilities Cinder couldn't even begin to think about it. Of course, she would need to make preparations, hide a few things, just in case her new "friend" were to drop by unannounced. Such as…
Huh. Cinder hadn't actually carried that much with her into Beacon, and amounts of dust and weaponry that would be suspicious in any other place were actually very common in the Academy. In fact, it would be strange if she didn't carry any with her at all times.
She'd still need to weave dust into other clothes, but that was the least of her issues.
As she finished typing her message, her scroll buzzed.
[Private Message 12:15 AM] Pyrrha Nikos
Hello again! How r u?
Oh this semester would just be perfect.
