The prompt this week was "Cinder recruits two young disenfranchised orphans… Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie."
Ren and Nora stood perfectly still as the Goliath moved past them, Ren's Semblance suppressing their fear and hiding them from the massive Grimm. As it disappeared out of sight, Nora let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
After all the years they'd been together, she had no doubt that Ren's Semblance would protect them. But it was still nerve-wracking to be so close to such a massive creature. It reminded her of being a scared child hiding from the Nuckelavee.
Ren deactivated his Semblance, and the two teenagers moved away from the tree they'd been hidden against. Ren gave his friend a reassuring smile, and they prepared to keep moving.
"How did you do that?" a voice asked from behind them.
The two turned to find a dark-haired girl watching them. She was a few years older than them, probably old enough to be an academy student, and she was dressed like a Huntress with a pair of scimitars and a quiver of arrows on her back.
"Ren's Semblance can mask emotions," Nora answered without hesitation. She'd always been open about things that others might have kept hidden.
"Is that so?" replied the girl. "That's a very useful ability out here. Especially if you're by yourselves."
Nora nodded. "It's kept us alive ever since we lost our families."
The girl nodded understandingly. "That's an all-too-common story away from the kingdoms. But I see you two are at least armed."
Ren glanced down at Stormflower before answering. "We got these weapons from a kind Huntsman in a village south of Mistral, along with the beginnings of training."
"But you didn't stay?"
The two teenagers stared at the ground.
"The Grimm got that one too," whispered Nora.
"I see," the girl said sadly. "My name is Cinder. And if you come with me, I promise you'll never lose another home that way."
Ren and Nora sat around the campfire, observing the newer members of their group. Nora had tried getting to know Emerald and Mercury, but the two weren't exactly social butterflies. They'd quickly shutdown any attempts at conversation.
Ren and Nora had been all in favor of Emerald joining their little group after they heard her story, but Mercury was another matter. Cinder had brought them to the house of one Marcus Black with little in the way of explanation only for them to find the house on fire and the man dead, apparently killed by his own son. Mercury scared them more than a little bit, and they still didn't know why Cinder was so keen on having him around.
Cinder had kept them well fed and with ample supplies. She'd even helped to continue their training, and according to her they were now better than most academy students. They were grateful to her for that, but it was hard not to be suspicious at the same time. She clearly had some kind of long-term goal in mind, but she'd been extremely tight-lipped about what that goal was.
Just as they were silently pondering this, Cinder emerged from the trees and approached the campfire. She did that sometimes, going off on her own without explanation. She'd promised them both a grisly death if they ever followed her. Nora was pretty sure she was kidding about that part. Ren wasn't.
"Well," began Cinder. "I think it's about time I told you four exactly what it is I want from you."
Ren nodded. Cinder had alluded to this before. There was something she needed, a reason she'd gathered them. Ren couldn't guess what it was, but it must have had something to do with Emerald's Semblance and the skills that Mercury had learned from his father.
"We're going to bring down this corrupt system that has hurt us all," Cinder explained, dramatically turning away from the group. "The kingdoms don't care about the dangers faced by outsiders or the poor within their own walls, and the Huntsmen exist only to protect those in power. Where were they when our homes were destroyed? When we were abandoned, abused, and left with nothing?"
Ren frowned. It was true that the Huntsmen had failed him and Nora, but he knew that they were stretched thin defending all of the towns outside the kingdom. Cinder appeared to be blaming this on the selfishness of the people in the kingdoms, and that sounded possible. At the very least it was true that the status quo needed to change.
"And to do that," continued Cinder. "We have to destroy the base of their power: The Huntsmen academies. Once they've fallen, we can create a new order the way that we want it."
Ren's mouth fell open in shock. Destroy the Huntsmen academies?
"What?" cried Nora. "Even if they are corrupt, won't we need the Huntsmen to protect people from the Grimm?"
Cinder smiled. "The Grimm won't be a problem for us. My master will ensure that."
Master? This was the first time Cinder had mentioned a master.
"She can destroy the Grimm?" asked Nora.
"Not exactly," Cinder replied with a smirk.
Ren's eyes widened as he suddenly flashed back to a conversation he'd had with Cinder once. She'd asked if his Semblance could be used in reverse to enhance the emotions of people. He'd replied that it couldn't, and she'd suggested training to see if he could unlock that ability. At the time he'd wondered why she would want such a thing, but now it was clear. There was only one way that the five of them could hope to destroy the Huntsman academies.
"The Grimm aren't a problem for your plan," Ren said. "They are the plan. Your master…"
"Controls them," finished Cinder. "She is the Queen of the Grimm, Salem."
Ren and Nora shared a look. Each knew exactly what the other was thinking. Each knew what they had to do.
"What do you think?" asked Cinder, turning back towards the campfire.
But even as she turned, Nora was rising from her seat. In a single motion she drew Magnhild and swung the massive hammer at Cinder's face.
With shocking speed, Mercury sprang up from his seat and blocked Nora's swing with a side kick, the shockwave produced by the clash nearly blowing out the campfire. The redheaded girl pushed against Mercury's block, but he was her equal in strength.
Emerald's eyes widened as she stared at the clash, and she was unable to react before Ren was on her. He doubled her over with two quick palm strikes to the stomach, then knocked her to the ground with an elbow to the back of the head. She hadn't had time to raise her Aura, and the attack knocked her unconscious.
Ren felt bad for that, but as much as he hoped that Emerald would go along with him and Nora, he didn't believe that she would. She'd shown total commitment, even infatuation with, Cinder, and they'd have no chance of victory if Emerald turned her Semblance on him or Nora. He couldn't take the risk.
He drew Stormflower as he turned on Cinder. By now she'd had a chance to draw her weapons, and if Ren had been much slower then Cinder could even have attacked Nora's back. Ren charged her, and she turned just in time to parry his attack with her scimitars.
"This is disappointing," said Cinder, her voice still oozing confidence. "Haven't I given you two everything you wanted?"
"You're crazy if you think we'll help Grimm kill people!" Nora shouted, still locked with Mercury. Ren just nodded, not wanting to waste time talking while within range of Cinder's blades.
Cinder let out a sigh that almost sounded genuinely sad. "Kill them," she ordered.
Mercury withdrew his leg, nearly causing Nora to fall forward. He switched the foot he was standing on and kicked her in the side of the head, but a blind swipe of her hammer prevented him from following up.
Ren wanted to help his friend, but Cinder was between them. He pushed forward against the older girl, knowing that he couldn't match her speed or skill, but believing that he could overpower her. He tried to force a bladelock, but Cinder was easily able to evade his attempts, withdrawing her weapons from his and forcing him back with her counterattacks.
Ren knew this was a bad situation. Taking out Emerald right away had been a good start, but they were still up against two skilled opponents, neither of whom they had a good chance against. Ren gave them thirty percent odds of winning, and that was if Cinder didn't have any surprises for them.
Ren moved in and attempted another bladelock, then leapt backwards as Cinder moved to avoid it.
"Nora, run!" he yelled, firing Stormflower at both of their opponents to give her some cover. She took advantage of it to break away from Mercury and retreat along with him.
Cinder dodged away from the bullets. Ren grimaced as she combined her scimitars into a bow, knowing that she was a dangerous opponent at range too.
That was when Nora shifted Magnhild into its grenade launcher form and fired at the ground between Cinder and Mercury. The shot forced both of them back and created a huge smokescreen.
Ren and Nora turned and ran into the forest as fast as they could. Cinder shot an arrow after them, but it was fired blind and missed its mark.
"Shoot them again," Ren called after they'd made some headway into the trees.
Nora turned and fired another grenade. As soon as Ren saw the detonation, he tackled his friend into the brush and activated his Semblance. Cinder and Mercury couldn't sense negative emotions like Grimm could, but the calming effect helped the two quiet their breathing and remain still.
Ren focused his senses, locating Cinder and Mercury by sound alone. He waited a few minutes after hearing them pass by, then pulled Nora to her feet and set off in the opposite direction, quickly but quietly.
The two orphans kept moving even after dawn, wanting to get as far away from Cinder as possible. It almost noon before they finally stopped to rest.
"Where do we go now?" Nora asked, sounding forlorn.
"There's only one place to go after that," Ren answered with more confidence than he felt. "To a Huntsman academy. To Beacon."
Author's Note: There was no way Ren and Nora would turn to the dark side.