A Distant Recollection

She suspected her mother enjoyed reading the story more than Pyrrha herself liked hearing it. Which wasn't to say she didn't want to hear it every single night because it seemed so rare to see her mother enjoying herself; she was always so serious and focused the rest of the time, so preoccupied with something that tempered her mood.

But when she read the fairy tale, she ensnared Pyrrha in the experience. Her mother transported the girl to the old man's cabin, looking on as four sisters came bearing gifts of food and tempting the callous homebody to meet them. How each sister offered their lessons in turn, from staying in his home to reflect and meditate, to revitalizing his homestead and crops, to going out and experiencing the world and its wonders again, to being thankful for what he has.

How in return for showing them kindness, the man revealed his nature, and the powers he could bequeath to them… powers that could be used for good, powers that made them extraordinary but never once overwhelmed their own benevolence.

"Thetis, you're embellishing again," Pyrrha's father called from outside her room. "Let the poor girl sleep."

Her mother did go on. But Pyrrha didn't mind. She nestled closer to her mother and cuddled at her side before whispering: "Read it again."

She was not a mischievous creature, nor was she so selfish as to indulge her own whims at her daughter's expense. Once Pyrrha gave her permission, however…

She did love that story. And she told it well.

A Forlorn Memory

Her mother was a huntress herself, but now retired and solely focused on tending to Pyrrha's care. She was an able opponent and a stern trainer, but those seemed the only remnants of her career before she devoted herself to be a matron. Thetis was much more likely to wander out to the shores of Lake Matsu to soak her feet. Resting by the water always alleviated her doubts, so the various hives of Lancers that haunted the lake never came to trouble her.

Pyrrha, meanwhile, didn't much care for water. It was hard for her to manipulate it, because the metals within were so small. She could see them clearly, but whenever she tried to take hold of them they'd slide right through her fingertips. Yet her mother insisted she keep practicing to try and find the metals hidden beneath the waves, even though they were smaller than grains of sand. Thetis told her that the repetition would improve her control, and attempting to use her Semblance with some finesse would be far more effective than using its raw power. Her human opponents would probably always have some form of metal for Pyrrha to find -some ferrous surface she could easily manipulate- but the true strength of her gift would be in smaller, subtler motions. Any adversary with a brain would realize what her power was if she used it so blatantly, and try to work around it. If Pyrrha used it selectively, if she struck with a gentle hand, no one would realize the enormity of the danger they were in facing her.

Pyrrha had been training to become a huntress since before her parents approved. Once they recognized the enormity of her gift, however, they quickly agreed with her decision. They would always worry for her, of course, but they shared her belief that her abilities and her talent meant she had to go out and help, to do what she could for the good of her kingdom, and then her world and its people.

Right at the moment, however, she wasn't having much luck in focusing on the little details. The tiny metal shards kept sliding out of her hand. All she'd succeeded in doing was get herself soaked by dunking her arms repeatedly into the lake shore, and splashing a bit when she got frustrated.

Thetis wandered over to her and put a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You'll get there."

She was usually more critical of Pyrrha's form than encouraging. It made for a nice change of pace. "I just… don't feel like I'm making progress at all."

"You are," her mother assured her. "You couldn't find them at all when we started. Now you see them clearly; you feel their presence in your hand."

"And then I feel them slide right through my fingers," Pyrrha bitterly mused.

"So life goes," her mother mused in turn. "You'll miss a lot of chances before you're finally able to hold onto one. You won't get it right even once until you get it wrong a dozen times over."

That sounded more like her mother; reminding Pyrrha she still had a long way to go, albeit in a gentle and guiding way. She could never forget that no matter how far she progressed she could always go further in perfecting upon her technique. Even when she got something right she'd have to replicate it endlessly, striving to improve on each prior iteration. Only by acknowledging the flaws in her technique could she grow beyond them.

"Try again, child," her mother encouraged. "The day's still young."

Pyrrha looked down at the water and concentrated, searching for the telltale call of the metal… listening for a song that broke the surface and danced along her fingertips.

She reached down and took hold, trying not to squeeze too tightly… trying to catch the tiniest pebble in a landslide.

An Unnoticed Lesson

Peach tried her best to get the class interested in science, but accepting students from all corners of Remnant meant her curriculum was a bit haphazard. Some of the students found the lessons entirely new and others thought them remedial. Pyrrha and Ren kept up with notes, but Weiss seemed to know most of her lecture already… which was unfortunate, because she was the only one on Team RWBY who ever bothered to take notes.

"Electromagnetism is one of the fundamental forces of the universe," Peach explained, rapidly drawing diagrams on her whiteboard. "Matter takes its form from intermolecular forces in individual atoms. Electrons are bound to atomic nuclei and the interactions of electrons between neighboring atoms is the basest form of chemistry…"

Jaune was half-asleep after Peach's first sentence. Pyrrha gently prodded him to try and keep him awake. Nora was already snoring, though Ren made no effort to resuscitate her. Pyrrha hoped this lecture might appeal to Nora, given how her Semblance worked.

Then Pyrrha herself started to let her mind wander a bit as she thought on Nora. It was odd to think her Semblance might be complementary to Pyrrha's own, that electrical absorption and polarity would find their way onto the same team.

A fundamental force of the universe, shared between the two of them…

Then her eyes shifted back to Jaune as he stifled a yawn. She couldn't quite suppress the little smile as she just observed him, Peach's details flying over her red head while she focused on the more interesting lesson playing out before her… and what else might've been shared.

She indulged it a moment then put the thought from her mind to try and reengage with Peach's lecture.

Tonight

Her weapons were of little effect. Flinging gears at her foe wasn't enough to contain the fire billowing out. And her reckless use of her power led to Pyrrha struck by one of the clock gears in Ozpin's office. The impact hit like nothing she'd faced, and she felt her Aura wash away as her protective barrier vanished.

She saw the woman from Haven, the one who manipulated her and her friends, who orchestrated the death of that poor girl Penny Polendina, the one who let the Grimm overrun Beacon… draw a bow and prepare to fire an arrow at her.

Pyrrha had subtly guided the motion before; misdirected it ever so slightly to make her enemy think they'd missed their shot, undone by aim or even an unnoticed change in the wind. Even acting on instinct, she fell back on the subtle changes that she employed, rather than unleashing the raw strength within.

She reached for her shield, to fling at Cinder… to sail right past her arrow and wound her enemy in turn.

But as she did, it all flashed back to her…

She hadn't taken the time to reflect before rushing up in the elevator. She ran into battle without stopping to think, without meditating on the decision she was making and the consequences she made.

She rushed into battle to try and spare Beacon more pain, but the others were still fighting, whatever the odds. Just because the school had suffered didn't mean it couldn't be revitalized. Just because it was broken didn't mean it'd never be rebuilt.

And whatever darkness was brought to bear, the sun was only a few hours away. The world would still be beautiful once the light returned and burned all the darkness away.

Pyrrha had spent so long trying to be more than she was, to be a better fighter than she knew herself to be. It was time she stopped to be grateful for what she had.

She spent so long hiding it away that she didn't even call upon it in her time of greatest need… in her kingdom's hour of greatest need. In her friend's moment of greatest need.

Ren taught her to stop and reflect. Jaune taught her to stop and sow the crops. Nora reminded her to look ahead without fear or doubt, whatever the odds seemed to be.

Her Aura was already damaged. She'd be fighting unguarded.

In theory.

Pyrrha concentrated, using more energy than she ever had before.

Cinder's arrow dashed through the air. Pyrrha heard its song, listening to every note as it whistled towards her.

She bent the air to meet it, responding with her own dulcet tone. The magnetic fields rising from her hand hit a more discordant note, breaking the sweet music with sound and fury.

Pyrrha looked past the discarded arrow to Cinder's bow. It was composed of Dust rather than steel, but she knew where the shards would be. She knew where to find the traces within it, using techniques learned (and practiced) long ago. Pyrrha concentrated on the structural weakness of her enemy's bow, of the place where it separated to form separate blades.

When Cinder attempted to transform her bow, the Dust shattered in her hand. Pyrrha drew nearer, listening for the notes playing alongside Cinder's every heartbeat. Spitting fire may not have drained Cinder of energy, but the exertion of her fight had raised her heartrate and sped the pace of her blood.

Led to her requiring more iron.

Before Cinder could compose a new set of blades, Pyrrha concentrated on pushing the metals backwards through Cinder's bloodstream. She couldn't so much as lift her arm to raise her sword, because even the briefest moment of her blood weighing her down left her in intense agony.

Too much power. Unlike Cinder and her endless quest for more, Pyrrha did not wish for it. She had no need of its burden.

Nora startled her once while she was cleaning dishes and Pyrrha summoned every fork and pan to herself, nearly destroying the kitchen. When she was younger and less in control of her ability she shattered one weapon after another and occasionally injured others with shrapnel. When she saw Atlesian knights patrolling Beacon, she worried what would happen if one drew too close and she shattered it with a thought. When her emotions were out of control, Pyrrha killed someone with her power.

Cinder had claimed the place of Fall Maiden. She wielded the forces of nature at her fingertips. Pyrrha was a force of nature, and she always had to remind herself not to overstep. Now more than ever she appreciated the value of restraint.

She couldn't be afraid now. She couldn't doubt herself now. She had to use enough power to stop Cinder and no more. It was more than she was used to drawing out, but less than she could bring to bear.

A strong touch, but a subtle one.

Cinder forced her hands up, stubbornly refusing to yield. Flames spat towards Pyrrha in a steady stream. Too noisy. No music at all.

Pyrrha raised her hands in response, bending the air, pushing out with her own bioelectricity to forge a magnetic field, or at least the beginning of one to refract the fire pouring into her face. The temperature was intense, but Pyrrha's barrier held.

Cinder couldn't sustain the attack while the iron in her bloodstream continued to push against her. Eventually the pain got the better of her, and she dropped her assault, reaching down to clench her arms, writhing on the stone floor of what had once been Ozpin's office. Pyrrha looked down at Cinder below her, knowing she couldn't afford to hesitate too long. Cinder might well be able to block out her pain again and hit Pyrrha with something too strong for Pyrrha to deflect.

But to end this battle…

Pyrrha had already killed once, and there was no memory more terrible. Nothing she regretted more.

She'd been connected to Amber when she died. She'd felt an arrow pierce her chest, a remorseless killer smiling smugly at her handiwork.

Pyrrha took no pleasure in the act. But the Maidens, the powers meant to wield for the good of others…

She closed her eyes and called her spear to her hand. She didn't want to look when she drove it down.

But she had to look. She had to confirm the kill. This wasn't something she could afford to get wrong.

Pyrrha accelerated her thrust with the push of her magnetic field. She met Cinder's amber eyes when the blade stabbed Cinder's chest and scratched against the stone floor beneath her.

She didn't want this power. She'd been willing to accept it for the sake of others, for the good of her kingdom and her friends and… everyone, really. She didn't want another way she could inflict harm on others, not when she'd come to value time away from the battlefield during her stay at Beacon.

But power was a burden. Or at least, it was meant to be.

She watched the light leave Cinder's eyes. She continued looking into them until she was certain the raven-haired woman was gone.

Her vision became increasingly white. She felt a familiar pain -one she briefly experienced in the underground chamber- return to her as she felt it flowing into her.

Her mother loved the story. Pyrrha always envisioned observing the moment, when an ordinary girl became a Maiden.

She hoped she was worthy of it. Because now she had killed for it.

She tried to be grateful.