Cinder Fall wanted to die.

Autumn's End was in no way a happy song. It was heart wrenching on a good day, even to Cinder who had considered the Fall of Beacon one of her greatest achievements. It was sung a duet; two victims of the attack trying their best to lift the spirits of the other and signal for help, while trying to hide the fact neither could be saved from the situation regardless of if help came. Truly it was the defining song of a generation. Against all odds here it was the architect of the event, and the one who had discovered the sad tale in real life - singing it together.

Sing was maybe a strong word. Cinder had downed quite a bit of liquid courage after it was clear she wouldn't get away from her tormentor without going on stage. If she thought Ruby could be a whirlwind, the orange-haired monster was nothing short of a monsoon.

Not only had Cinder somehow given in to the idea of joining her now-boss once-enemy, and her family, in a night of less than stellar foresight. Somehow the party had expanded to include a cornucopia of people she had once tried, and on a few occasions succeeded, to kill.

At least she could finally catch up with Emerald. It had only been a month since the disaster of a reunion last time. Maybe without the security checkpoint between them, Cinder wouldn't end up nearly arrested again. Though if she drank anymore - or had to sing again - 'nearly arrested' would be the minimum. At least she knew where Emerald stood in terms of loyalties these days.

Of all the things I can't believe tonight, why is the fact I could hit that high note the one I'm stuck on? Cinder truly couldn't get around the fact she still had some singing chops. The last time she'd sang would have been… Well her mother was still alive at the time, so at minimum thirty years.

"When did you learn to sing like that? Not that I'd assume you couldn't sing. Or could. We just, you know, fighting over the fate of civilization and life itself tends to not leave much time to learn each other's hobbies. It was good. You sang good-well. sang well." The blonde man to her left stumbled over his words. From drink or nerves was hard for Cinder to discern, given her own inebriation.

From alcohol. Nothing else . Definitely not from being in the presence of such a well-chiseled jaw, frankly beautiful singing voice, and general confidence the man seemed to exude these days; present situation excluded of course. The alcohol was the only reason she would have such thoughts. Cinder was completely certain of that.

That damn village had been so very, very dry .

"Another life… not literally of course, I'm not Ozpin."

A small chuckle came from those beautiful lips. Cinder could feel an urge to move towards them. She squashed that particular train of thought with far less vigor than she might have hoped.

"I would hope not. Might make seeing Oscar pretty awkward. Making small talk with yourself sounds like a nightmare. Right up there with singing a karaoke duet on stage in front of people."

"Oh, how about losing a limb? That's a big one for me. Never could quite figure out why though… maybe Xiao Long knows. Think she'd be willing to lend a hand? " Neither one of them could keep a straight face at that. Despite having probably been a daily pun at some point, the joke was just stupid enough for their addled minds.

The giggles receded as a third existence joined the pair, causing both to straighten from the hunched laughter. Judging from the reaction she and Jaune shared, he didn't know the man either. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was clearly shaking with emotion. He very quickly moved towards her, arms out.

Cinder was halfway into a defensive throw when the hug finally breached her instincts. It was crushing, but not actually dangerous; even if she hadn't had an aura to activate. The man was lucky her hands hadn't been at an angle to form a weapon, honestly. Even if she didn't have the supplies to do so at the moment.

With a sniffling sob, the man clung to her like a Grappler. At least with grimm you know they want to kill you from the start . Cinder was not the hugging, consoling type. She was beginning to wonder just why he was being so clingy, she'd certainly never met the man before. The length of the hug was starting to border on incredibly uncomfortable when the man finally seemed to find his voice.

"*hic* T-thank you so much. I-I-I, thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me, ev-v-very time someone sings that song. Especially as beautiful as you just did. It… Really means a lot that, even if you didn't know her personally, that people remember Forest."

"Uhh. Excuse me? Who are you? Apologies, should I know?" she asked as she finally extracted herself from the grasp. Cinder was not normally one to tolerate intrusions like this, but she was honestly curious. No one had ever thanked her for singing. She found she didn't hate the warmth it brought her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. No, you probably wouldn't know. I'm Dale, Dale Grove. My older sister w-was Forest; she died during the Fall. Sh-... She's one of-she inspired Autumn's End ." Cinder felt like she had been dropped into a hive of Creeps.

"I'm sorry for this, really. I should be better about it after so long, but your voice really-it brought me back. So thank you, I know you probably just got roped into singing that, but thank you." with a quick grasp of her shoulder, Dale smiled sadly and began back the way he had come. Leaving Cinder a bit overwhelmed at such a confession from a stranger.

She had met the victims of her crusade before, often times at the business end of their weapons. They were never very receptive towards the one who had orchestrated, or at the very least made to look like she had, the grief so many felt. That was back when the wounds were still relatively fresh though, fifteen-odd years was quite a while to hold a grudge; as Cinder could attest personally.

Her reverie was broken by another intrusion, this time a familiar face luckily. Emerald was certainly looking… exasperated. Annoyance was replaced by relief as she approached the pair. Her shoulders were broader than they had been in their younger years, but maybe that was Cinder's lack of attention more than truth. Her makeup was simple, just some eyeliner and lipstick for the night - not that most with aura had blemishes to hide in the first place, none that weren't scars anyway.

A glance over the woman's shoulder gave some indication as to what had been troubling her. Though he had a strong set of features: light-ginger hair, naturally chiseled jaw, wide shoulders, perfect height to-

No. Bad Cinder. You're far better than this. Have some damn dignity woman! At least she could tell it wasn't just the blonde man, Cinder just had a type. A small relief, if she was being honest. Not that Arc was a bad looking fellow, just maybe not the best choice for a first attempt in over a decade. Anything between them would either end in an inferno of a one night stand, leading to a very awkward semester (and intensified teasing by their coworkers); or something longer term, and also being teased by their coworkers.

Emerald clearly had no interest in him, the look in her eyes when she had learned he had followed her said as much. Maybe Cinder could help out a friend , and deal with the little voice in her head all at once. See? I can be a good friend… when I benefit from it. Nothing wrong with a little pragmatism.

"Emerald! So good to see you. I'm sorry about how last time went, but I guess a surprise visit may not be the smartest when you've had a criminal record as extensive as mine." a short, culturally polite hug was shared between the women. Followed by a questioning expression directed behind the darker-skinned of the two. A roll of the eyes and a small motion of assent was the reply.

"G-great job on stage, Cinder. We really should catch up later, how's this Sunday sound? I know a great Cafe in downtown. Lunch?"

Brilliant. Now to steer the topic a bit…

"Sounds like a date. Speaking of, who is this lovely specimen? Is he with you?"

A deadpan expression was her first reply. "Wrong tree."

Well, somethings don't change over the years. "Then let me throw him a bone, hm? Maybe get him to leave you alone. I'll need some payment of course."

With that, Cinder claimed her prize - a beautifully strong cocktail - from Emerald's hands. Social lubricant was not the only kind she was likely to need tonight, but it was a good start. One she downed quickly before sashaying up to the target in question. Tonight deserved to be forgotten, or at least only remembered hazily.

"Well hello there. Sorry about my friend, she's-..."

Cinder Fall wanted to die.

The splitting hangover was not playing well with the other aches and pains currently accompanying it, or the alarm currently blaring on the end table. The bed was certainly welcome, it was just as comfortable as her own. The empty space next to her, cooling but still warm, let her piece together something of the events last night. A success, followed by several more if her nose was to be believed.

Another, much more pleasant smell finally pulled her from the blind inspection of her current haven of blankets. A good time, and a gentleman; maybe one night hasn't been enough…

Her eyes cracked open, blearily looking at the fan above the bed. A small hint of familiarity crossed her mind - probably just have similar taste. But the more Cinder payed attention, the more the taste seemed to be exactly the same.

Oh. Well, that certainly makes getting to work on time easier.

Quickly taking the opportunity to prepare for a day in the classroom, she stumbled over a bra- this isn't one of mine- Cinder silenced her scroll's alarm before noticing the indent on the side of the bed opposite wasn't the correct size. Red, or whatever his name had been, was large sure. But nowhere near the size of…

"Cinder?" she heard called from her kitchen a voice belonging unmistakably to a blonde-haired Huntsman of world renown. "Do you keep any chives around? I don't need them, but they go well with the eggs."

Shit.