Cinder's sleep was troubled. It normally was, to be fair, but more so tonight than usual. Salem… what she'd done… what was coming for her… she couldn't stop thinking about it. It tormented her waking thoughts as she tried her hardest to rest in the uncomfortable passenger seat of the Manta, and then rudely continued to plague her in her dreams.

It didn't come as much surprise, then, that her sleep was a light one, and she immediately sprang back into awareness when a warning beep started to sound out through the ship. She was on her feet in an instant, a sword conjured into existence with barely a thought as she frantically looked around the cabin, fully expecting to see Salem looming over her right then and there.

It took a moment for her to register that her nightmares hadn't suddenly become real. A sigh of relief slipped past her lips as her brain gradually returned to reality. Of course Salem wasn't here, idiot, if she was you'd be dead before you had a chance to do anything. Now properly conscious, she took another, slower look around the cabin, searching for the source of the noise that had woken her.

Her eye alighted on it eventually, a flashing red light up on the dashboard. Beside it, Ruby was also waking up, albeit much slower than Cinder. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as Cinder walked closer, a loud yawn slipping out of her mouth as she stretched her arms out, looking over at the approaching woman with bleary eyes.

"Morning… Cinder?" Ruby seemed confused for about half a second, then she rubbed at her eyes and looked again. After another second or so, her eyes widened and mouth formed into a small 'o' shape. "Right, Cinder. Hey there, sleep well?"

Cinder regarded her, unamused, for a moment, before jabbing a finger down at the flashing light. "What does this mean?"

Silver eyes sleepily followed Cinder's hand down, blinking slowly as they tried to read the small text beneath the light. Eventually Ruby managed to parse it, eyes widening once again, though this time in mild panic as opposed to surprise. "Ah… well… apparently that's the low fuel warning."

Ah. Typical. Cinder brought her hand up to rub frustratedly at her temple. "How low?"

Ruby clicked the computer systems to life, tapping through the displays faster than Cinder could read what they even were. "Ugh… very low. I don't think we're gonna be flying much further," She paused a moment, grinding her teeth anxiously as she pulled up a map before continuing, "This isn't great. We're definitely not gonna make it to Vacuo like this… Given the course we took to avoid Salem, I think the only landmass we can really make it to is Anima. Should be able to touch down on the northern edge of the continent."

"That's… pretty far from where we want to be."

"Yeah," Ruby paused, scratching her head as she continued to stare down at the map, "We're gonna have to travel on foot after that, and I guess we'll also have to figure out where we're even gonna be walking to… obviously can't head straight for Vacuo, Mistral is an option but it's pretty far away from where we'll be landing. Maybe we'd be better off trying to head for a port town, catch a boat over to Sanus? We could probably find one that's travelling over to Vale, and from there an airship to Vacuo," she looked up at Cinder expectantly, "What do you think?"

"I think travelling with you is looking like a worse decision every second," Cinder snarked back, turning away and walking back to her seat. "You figure it out, I don't care."

Ruby looked back at her, then turned to the map screen with a sigh. "Yay, go team," she murmured to herself, though loud enough that Cinder could still hear.

The maiden rolled her eye as she settled into her seat, doing her best to get comfortable for however long they'd still be flying for. They were travelling together for now, but she'd never agreed to anything like being a team. If Ruby expected her to act all nice and friendly all of a sudden, she had another thing coming.

Cinder quickly hopped back half a step, a set of razor sharp claws whistling through the air where she'd been standing only moments before. The Ursa that she was currently fighting let out a guttural roar of frustration at her, rearing back on its hind legs and charging forward, claws flailing about wildly.

What it lacked in any kind of technique or strategy, it certainly made up for in raw power and tenacity. Not that it posed any real threat to her, if Cinder wanted she could incinerate the creature in an instant. Still, she was trying to conserve her strength as much as possible until she really needed it. This was a marathon not a sprint after all, and she'd already exerted her powers a lot more than she'd like to today. So, for the time being she just focused on ducking backwards, always careful to stay just out of reach of the grimm as its death rapidly approached. Quite literally, in fact.

So focused on Cinder, the Ursa never noticed the red blur streaking towards its flank. With a stylish twirl Ruby practically flew by the grimm, neatly decapitating it with her scythe as she raced past. Cinder liked to imagine she could see surprise painted across the beast's malformed features as it rapidly turned to dust, scattering in the wind.

Ruby had skidded to a halt a short distance away, and now slowly walked back toward Cinder, looking about as tired as the maiden felt right now. "Phew… think that was the last of them?"

"Well, considering there aren't any more slavering monsters screaming in my face, yeah I'd say that was the last," Cinder deadpanned back, nonetheless glancing quickly about the clearing they'd found themselves making a stand in, just in case the treeline hid any more predators. "For now, at least. Hard to say when another pack will be on us."

"Yeah… sure been a lot of grimm these last couple of days, huh?" Ruby glanced down at her weapon, and then let out a mournful sigh. "I miss my beautiful Crescent Rose, this would be so much easier if I still had it."

Cinder rolled her eye, starting to continue walking down the dirt road they'd been following before this latest grimm attack. Seems like, yet again, the huntress was going to start rambling on about how great her weapon used to be before Salem destroyed it.

Ruby hurried along beside her. "It's just like, I spent so long getting it just right y'know? Ugh, it's gonna take me forever to make something that good again."

"You can give that one back if it's so terrible," Cinder gestured to the glass scythe that was currently strapped to Ruby's back. She'd created it the first time they'd been attacked by grimm after setting out on this trek, a few days back now, but it seemed as if it just wasn't up to the huntress's exacting standards.

"Oh! No, sorry, it's not bad. It's just… well, the weighting is so different to what I'm used to, plus no rifle component really limits my options. Can't rely on it to propel myself around in fights, so I'm having to use my semblance a lot more, and then that tires me out faster. Plus, no way to fight at a range."

Cinder let out a long suffering sigh. This was far from the first time they'd had this exact conversation. As predicted, their Manta had just enough fuel for them to reach Anima, and ever since touching down those few days ago the pair had been trekking towards the town closest to their landing site. Ruby had figured the route out while they'd still been in the air, in the long run they'd be travelling down through the land to the west of Lake Matzu, ending up in some port city that apparently the girl and her friends had caught a boat to from Vale, back when they'd been going on their journey to Mistral. The hope was that they'd be able to charter a ship heading in the opposite direction, taking them back to Vale, and then from there they'd be able to go directly to Vacuo. That was far in the future though, given the distance they needed to travel, it'd be months until they actually reached there. Luckily, plenty of towns dotted the route, so it's not like they'd be completely alone in the wilderness that whole time.

Ultimately though, where they were going didn't matter too much to Cinder. Ruby wanted to reach Vacuo, where all her little friends were waiting, but all Cinder wanted was… well… she didn't really know. For the time being, at least, this journey was all she really had. That was strange to think about. She spared a glance over at Ruby, the huntress currently in the midst of rattling off some boring technical details of her old weapon.

In the space of a few moments, with far less thought than the enormity of the decision deserved, she'd tossed away everything that her life had been. And in exchange, she'd gotten the chance to trek endlessly through boring countryside alongside a girl she hated. Not the best deal, in retrospect.

But, all the same, she couldn't find it in herself to feel too upset about it all. There was just something about Ruby, about the way the girl had so earnestly offered to stay with her like this, to protect her, that made Cinder feel… strange. Confused. Why did she do that?

Well, it wasn't as if she'd really meant any of it, of course. Ruby must've just felt obligated after Cinder saved her. She'd even said as much at the time. It wasn't as if she actually cared, why would she? She'd abandon Cinder as soon as keeping her around became inconvenient. Or turn on her as soon as she remembered just what Cinder was.

An image flashed into her mind, an older huntsman staring at her sadly, drawing his weapons from his back. She quickly bit the inside of her cheek, the sudden burst of pain drawing her back into the moment. Now wasn't the time to think about that, especially in front of her.

"But wow, I'm glad I have at least something to fight with considering all the grimm we're dealing with. Thanks a lot for that, by the way, no idea what I'd be doing right now if you weren't here to make this for me. It's kinda strange though, don't you think? We can't be producing that much negativity. I mean some sure, but for this many grimm it just doesn't seem possible. Weird, huh?"

Ruby had continued to ramble on while Cinder was lost in thought, doing her best to maintain some semblance of conversation rather than have to endure the awkward silence that was the alternative. Having tuned back in now, Cinder found Ruby was musing over more or less the exact same question that she'd been pondering for the last couple of days. And unfortunately, Cinder felt like she might know the answer to their problem.

"Yeah…" she spoke slowly. Ruby seemed very surprised by her sudden interjection, presumably fully prepared to keep talking to herself for a while longer. "I've actually had a thought about that."

The soft crunch of their footsteps along the dirt path was the only sound breaking the silence after that. Ruby was looking at Cinder expectantly, waiting until she felt ready to continue. Cinder, meanwhile, was struggling with what she wanted to say. It was like she'd been thinking just before, as soon as she was an inconvenience Ruby would leave her behind. She still couldn't quite understand why that idea hurt her so much. Still, lying to the girl didn't appeal to her, and Ruby was smart, she'd figure it out on her own before long anyway.

Eventually, she continued, looking pointedly ahead the whole time, not sparing Ruby a glance. "I think the reason all these grimm are finding us, is that they're hunting me."

Ruby was, understandably, a little confused. "What do you mean? Like, Salem's sending them after you? Wouldn't she need to know where we are to be able to do something like that? I mean, she's never harassed me and my teammates when we've been travelling like this before."

"You're right, she would, but," Cinder slowly raised her grimm hand in front of her, looking at it mournfully, "I think she might have a way to know exactly where I am, all the time. A beacon for all the nearby grimm to chase after."

"Your arm…" Ruby replied slowly, staring at the inky black limb, "It can do that?"

"Well, I don't know for sure." Cinder let the arm fall back to her side, not wanting to look at it any longer. "I know she can… control it, to an extent. Make it do things when she's near."

"Ah, like how it seemed to be all squirming around and stuff when we were trying to get out of the whale?"

"Yeah, exactly. And, there was another thing. When Salem began her attack on Atlas and I rejoined her, and everyone else, Emerald mentioned something. Apparently, after the fighting at Haven, Salem knew that I had survived. There shouldn't have been any way for her to find out, everyone who was there assumed I was dead. At the time I just dismissed it, thought that of course she knew I wouldn't let myself get killed like that. But since then… I've been thinking about it, thinking that maybe she can sense me through the arm, somehow. Know what I'm doing, where I am. I don't know for sure, but it seems plausible, especially considering what we've been encountering lately…"

Ruby hums in acknowledgement as Cinder's voice trails off. The huntress seemed to be deep in thought, considering what her temporary partner had said. When the faint sound of a branch snapping echoed through the forest both women froze, half expecting another grimm to appear. Thankfully, no horrifying monster sprang out of the trees to attack them, and so after a few moments they continued on their trek, albeit slightly more on guard. "Yeah, I guess that might be the reason," Ruby eventually said, "I mean, you'd know better than me about her capabilities, but just given what I've seen it doesn't seem too far-fetched. Which, I guess means we only have one option now."

It felt like something was sinking down into the pit of Cinder's stomach. Well, of course she'd known they were going to split up eventually, but it still felt disappointing. Maybe some small part of her had actually enjoyed these last few days, as tiresome and annoying as they were. But Ruby was right, the only real thing they could do was part ways, the huntress could continue the journey alone, while the grimm would follow Cinder, Salem eventually coming for her in turn. That part at the very least didn't bother her too much, over the last few days she'd managed to come to terms with the fact that Salem catching her was inevitable, and that whatever she did until then didn't particularly matter.

"We've got to destroy that arm," Ruby continued on, undeterred by Cinder's inner monologue.

"Yes, I-" Cinder paused for a moment, finally processing what Ruby had said. She whipped her head round, looking down at the huntress who stared back at her resolutely. "What?" was all the articulate response she managed.

A slight hint of confusion crept into Ruby's expression. "What do you mean what? If that's what's guiding them to us, we should get rid of it right? Unless you were thinking of something else?"

Cinder's lone eye blinked slowly. It was… quite a straightforward solution. But not one that would work. "I don't think I can just destroy it. It regenerates itself when it's damaged," a memory flashed in her mind, a steely blade slicing clean through her extended arm, screams echoing through an icy room as the arm repaired itself, "And it's quite painful when it does. Also," she brought her human hand up to the shoulder where inky black flesh met scarred skin, "I think it's… burrowed into me, at least a little. I can't just cut it off."

"Ah." concern softened Ruby's features. It made Cinder feel sick. She knew the huntress didn't actually care about her, and she just wished she'd stop pretending to. "Well, you might not be able to do it alone, but what if we tried together?"

Cinder's lone eyebrow raised by way of response.

"My eyes. Their light destroys grimm, so a concentrated burst should be able to vaporise the arm. I don't know if I could reach the parts inside you, but if you can use your power to try and burn out the roots at the same time, I think that might be able to work. Does that sound right?"

Cinder stared for another few moments, then tore her gaze away from the painfully optimistic huntress. That seemed… possible. So many unknowns today, but if they could destroy the whole thing simultaneously, it wasn't as if it would be able to grow back, right? But then, did she even want to destroy it? She held the arm up in front of her once more.

This was really the only thing that still tied her to Salem. To what had been her entire life. As unlikely as it was, maybe as things stood there was still a chance for her to go back, to grovel, to accept her punishment, and to ultimately get another chance at Salem's side. The thought wasn't pleasant, but it still might be the only way she could keep living. If they really destroyed this arm, they would probably also be destroying any shot she had at being able to go back.

Not to mention, it was destroying any shot at getting the power she'd spent so much time chasing after. This arm was the one thing that would allow her to take the power of the other three maidens. Of course, trying to do that hadn't really worked out so far, but all the same. Even aside from Salem, that quest had been such a big part of what made her who she was. It'd driven her, been something for her to aim towards, a destiny that she'd earned through blood, sweat, and tears. What would she have left without it?

Her gaze shifted back to Ruby. Splitting up was still an option. Was she really willing to give all that up? Just to, what, spend some more time wandering around in the middle of nowhere with this girl she hates? It was strange, but for some reason the answer to that question was yes.

She could rationalise it, of course. Destroying the arm would buy her a lot of time to get away from Salem, make her much harder to catch. It didn't have to be about Ruby. But… she knew that it was, at least partially. Regardless of her personal feelings towards the girl, something about the way she'd offered to actually help Cinder really struck a chord. And for now, regardless of her deeper intentions, Ruby seemed to intend to stick by Cinder's side. She wasn't going to fool herself into thinking the huntress actually cared, but… sticking with her for now still didn't sound too bad.

"Alright," she said finally, "I think that might work, yeah."

Ruby beamed back at her. "Great, in that case why don't we stop and set up camp? We can deal with it, then you can rest for a little before we start moving again."

"Okay." Cinder replied, doing her best to pretend to be resolute in her decision.

There was one thing Cinder hadn't really been considering so far. A memory of white light washing over her body, arm burning away, eye boiling in its socket, incredible pain absolutely everywhere, sprang unbidden to her mind for the umpteenth time since they'd begun preparing for this whole arm destroying process. She'd thought she was over that whole… event, but the more she thought about how Ruby was going to use those damned silver eyes on her again, the more she just couldn't stop remembering that night on top of Beacon tower.

They'd been very efficient about the whole process. Quickly found a small clearing in the woods just near the trail, perfect for a short stop, and set their things up (luckily they didn't exactly have extensive camping supplies, just some emergency gear that'd been aboard the Manta). With that small task taken care of, all they really needed to do was go through with the arm's destruction.

Cinder had sat herself down on a tree stump in an attempt to steel herself right before this latest memory assaulted her. Now she was hunched over, teeth grit as she tried desperately to gain even a small modicum of control over herself. Ruby, meanwhile, stood just in front of her, that dopey look of concern that Cinder just despised plastered over her features.

"Cinder," the huntress began, "We can figure something else out, I don't-"

"Shut up," Cinder hissed back. "We're doing this, we already agreed, just hurry up."

"Look, I'm just worried, Cinder. If you're scared it's nothing to be ashamed of."

Anger welled up in her chest. "Don't you dare treat me like some stupid little child!" she practically roared, surging up to her feet to stare down at Ruby. "I'm not fucking scared of anything you could do to me."

Ruby looked back at her, unflinching, for a few moments. And then, slowly, she reached down with both hands and took Cinder's grimm hand in a surprisingly gentle grasp. "Okay, I understand, I'm sorry for saying that," she replied softly. "You're not scared, but you do need to relax a little, okay? Can you just breathe with me for a minute?"

Cinder was surprised, to say the least. She was fully expecting Ruby to either cower before her, or to start shouting back. Those were the usual reactions when she acted this way. Instead there was… whatever this was. Nonetheless, she complied, taking a second to just breathe, and eventually letting Ruby guide her into a slow pattern of inhale and exhale. It was all very strange, and not something Cinder could say she'd ever really experienced before, but not entirely unpleasant.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ruby eventually asked.

"Yeah, I am. Just… bad memories."

"Right, I understand. For what it's worth, my eyes should only be able to hurt grimm. Honestly, I've never really known why it affected you like that back at Beacon."

"Ah, that was… I had some grimm… fused with me. It was what let me take the maiden power in the first place. I guess it was because of that."

"Do you think that might happen now? Because I really don't want to hurt you like that again." The concern was back on Ruby's face, but this time it didn't annoy Cinder quite as much.

"No, I think you killed it all back there. Now I've just got this instead." Her golden eye gazed down at the grimm arm, at her hand still clasped between Ruby's.

"Okay, well, that's good. I'll try to focus it all just on the arm too, just in case." A smile that was probably meant to be reassuring shone up at Cinder. "This is going to work out, I'm sure of it. Do you wanna sit back down?"

"Yeah, okay." Cinder carefully lowered herself back down onto the stump, hand still held tenderly by Ruby. She took a second to just breathe again, then looked at Ruby seriously. "Just so you know, judging by my previous experience with this thing, killing it is going to hurt like hell. I'm probably going to scream, a lot. But you need to keep going no matter what, if you let up it'll just grow back, and that'll be even worse, okay?"

"Right, yeah." Ruby steeled herself, gritting her teeth. "Are you ready to go?"

"One second." Cinder closed her lone eye. She let her aura activate, the energy flowing across her body. She could feel it, feel the way it wrapped around her, feel the way it avoided that inky black flesh. She focused on that, mapping the contours of the grimm arm, feeling out the points where it burrowed beneath her skin. It was mildly terrifying to be honest, but she swallowed that fear down, instead focusing the energy that welled within her, preparing her semblance. "I'm ready when you are," she spoke at last. It was now or never.

Her eye still tightly shut, Cinder heard Ruby slowly exhale. Then, for a few seconds, nothing. And then, even behind that shut eye, Cinder could see the massive, sudden outpouring of light. Her arm immediately felt like it was on fire, and despite her attempts to prepare herself she couldn't stop a guttural scream from tearing it's way out of her throat.

She could barely think through all the pain, it was completely overwhelming her, far worse than anything she'd felt from the arm before. But, the last little shreds of awareness she possessed knew that if she didn't play her part this would all be for nothing. With all the strength she could manage, Cinder activated her semblance, her scorching caress, focusing on superheating her skin everywhere she'd felt those inky black tendrils pushing into her.

It only made the pain worse, even as the light faded what remained of the arm started to writhe about, attempting to burrow deeper into her to escape destruction. She thought she might start screaming again, until she realised that she'd never actually stopped. Hotter, hotter, was all that she could think at this stage, pouring more and more into her semblance, working to burn out every last bit of that horrid infection.

Dimly, she was aware of the fact that she was rapidly losing consciousness, her eye shooting open just in time to see Ruby looking at her, clearly horrified, and a pillar of smoke pouring out of her shoulder where the grimm was disintegrating. And then, the pain simply became too much, and her vision faded back to pure blackness. At the very least this might be the first deep sleep she'd had in a while.