Emerald had issues with the man standing in front of her.

They had nothing to do with his rather space-consuming… Spine? Fin? Emerald figured it would be rude to ask. It was just that the man had, for one reason or another, stepped into the small, humid, poorly ventilated public rain shelter after failing to put any deodorant on this morning. Normally a bit of sweat smell didn't bother her, she'd grown up largely on the streets after all, but the specific combination of sweaty bodies and moist scales reminded her of a certain establishment from her childhood which had a less than reputable practices in it's back rooms.

So, while Emerald thanked the civic planners and architects of Vale for the benevolent addition of these bus stop-like locations around the city. She also silently cursed whatever numbskull decided to cut costs by never installing even a large fan into them. Instead they had Vacuan-inspired crossbreeze vents, which generally speaking didn't work too well in the humid climates. Fortunately, they did manage to keep the collective body heat from building to unsafe temperatures.

Small victories, Emerald. Small Victories. She thought, carefully keeping her breathing steady to prevent a large whiff of painful memories.

Had Emerald been alone, the smell would have been a minor, temporary inconvenience. Her semblance worked on practically all major senses but touch, and Emerald had used it to filter out everything from road work outside her apartment to keeping a broken air conditioning unit from hampering a date once. Even with her practice over the years sharing visions and sounds, the sense of smell was far trickier to fool. Unfortunately that meant she could only comfortably alter the smells for one target at a time, and only when she could actually concentrate.

The black-haired child standing just to Emerald's right as they waited showed no signs of olfactory discomfort, just the general fidgetiness that came from being an eight year old told to stand still for longer than sixty seconds. His rain poncho was an easy to spot, bright red among the usual blacks and greys of the adult world. His Yang-yellow boots were hand-me-downs from his older sister, and were covered in adorable flower prints.

Emerald occasionally found it entertaining that Brennan was a sharp inversion of the Schnee whites and blues despite his parentage. Wavy black hair and—despite the more obvious color combinations—orange eyes from some odd combination of gold and red. Dust Babies were always a roll of the dice when it came to inherited traits; even normally static hereditary semblances weren't immune to the blender of Bonding Dust. Brennan definitely took after Blake in most of his obvious features, mostly his nose and hair, while lacking any Faunus attributes. He'd somehow even managed to avoid the Silver Eyes from Ruby, something Emerald wasn't sure was possible

"Won't the schedule be delayed from all this rain?" a voice asked from somewhere towards the back of the structure. From the tone, she was probably a Beacon student trying to make it back before the end of some event.

"Hey, this ain't Mistral, the airship'll be here, just watch." another voice answered. Almost definitely her partner, and a Vale city local judging by the accent and complete lack of concern in his voice.

The fairly mundane exchange nagged at Emerald until she checked her scroll just to make sure for herself. The airship still had about seven minutes before it could be considered late, and according to a quick look at the weather the rain was supposed to let up later in the day for a few hours. Maybe enough to invite Cinder to something, Emerald realized with excitement.

But before any plans could be made, a pleasant chiming sound like four soft, distictly electronic bells played from the scrolls of everyone in range of the landing pad.

The Variable Incoming Brief Exclamation Sounds were a standardized set of tones used across all of Remnant's various air traffic systems—and loved by most of the population younger than thirteen for its acronym. The specific sounds were used to inform those in range just what kind of ship was inbound, what cargo it carried, and was just generally a warning to clear any nearby wide, flat areas. While it wasn't wholly necessary in cities with designated air traffic zones, it was incredibly useful in the wilderness and small villages as a kind of early warning system in case their only landing site also happened to be thier town square.

Those apparently waiting for the incoming passenger ship began shifting towards the front end of the shelter, while those with other plans began moving towards the rear to make room. Lucky for Emerald, her olfactory tormentor was among those not waiting for someone to disembark.

Brennan had apparently misheard the warning, or maybe just gotten caught up in the crowd as it shifted, and found his way to Emerald after a few seconds. Emerald would be lying if she claimed she hadn't begun panicking slightly before a small hand slipped into her own. It's owner gave a small, sheepish smile as Emerald's shoulders relaxed.

After the airship came into view, and eventually maneuvered flush with the off ramp, those near the front began to file towards it while opening umbrellas and turning up hoods against the rain. Emerald was no different, leading Brennan by the hand towards the crowd of passengers while covered by an umbrella, not bothering with the hood of her jacket.

Cinder was standing beneath a portable all-weather shelter rolled against the docked airship for… well, shelter. She was wearing what had quickly become her regular outfit during the ongoing wet season, bird talon boots and all. Emerald had grown to enjoy the imposing figure Cinder cut in her avian theme, though she made sure to subtly steer Cinder towards certain accessories and layers that fit the coat and boots far better than the ones the woman had picked initially. Now the leggings were thicker, off-gold with silver detailing, and a small silver choker shaped like a chain of feathers completed the look.

"Cinder!" Emerald waved her open umbrella as she spoke over the crowd of people. The woman in question looked up from her scroll at the sound of her name.

"Right on t—… You have a child attached to you," Cinder said, confusion clear in her voice. "Emerald, why is there a child attached to you?"

The question took Emerald by surprise. I definitely told her I was bringing Brennan along, right? "Cinder, meet Brennan. Brennan, this is Ms. Fall"
The young boy gave a shyly mumbled "Hello Ms. Fall," before escaping to hide behind Emerald.

"This one," Emerald reached back to give Brennan an encouraging touch on his shoulder. "Is my godchild, and I definitely told you I was bringing him. His mom— Blake's sick, and wanted to make sure he wasn't bored in the house with Yang being… Yang," Emerald punctuated the name with a slight shrug of her shoulders. She had mean to make a full arm motion, but the combination of umbrella and Brennan had hampered her ability.

"... Huh, I thought you just misspelled 'banana' and the autocorrect didn't catch it," Cinder responded like that was a perfectly reasonable assumption. "In any case, I'm in need of ingredients," Cinder patted her pockets as she moved towards the edge of the protected area. She stopped suddenly and looked up at Emerald. "And also apparently forgot my umbrella back at the academy. Do you have a spare?"

Emerald did in fact have a spare. Brennan's favorite, which Emerald had brought just in case. "Technically…"

The child-size umbrella was so very pink.

The cartoon characters and rainbows didn't help much either. The little bobbing motions of a normal gait were interrupted as the umbrella's carrier navigated puddles and crowds, flitting back and forth or sometimes just hopping up quickly and falling back down just as suddenly. But Emerald's brainpower was a bit more focused towards another, much closer situation.

Cinder, as experience would predict, did not decide to utilize the cheery umbrella covered in cartoon princesses—and a particularly well-muscled scorpion woman in a cocktail dress—which had never belonged to anyone but Brennan, who was frolickling beneath it. Instead Cinder was walking alongside Emerald beneath the far less pink adult-sized umbrella as they moved from the air dock to the market Emerald had in mind. Cinder likely could have made the trip with just her coat, as could Emerald, but sometimes you just didn't want to deal with water in your face or risk messing up your bangs. Personal space was a small price to pay for a bit of longer-term comfort. In Emerald's case, the price was personal space, and an inability to focus on anything but the heat radiating from the woman beside her.

Cinder was warm.

She always had been. Supernaturally so for a time, but even before her stint as a maiden Cinder's semblance had the side effect of causing her to be slightly warmer than most. Nothing compared to Yang's 'low heat' days, but more like she had a consistent low fever. Emerald currently found the close proximity and extra heat quite distracting.

So distracting that Emerald and Cinder would occasionally miss the signal for a street Brennan had reached but not crossed without them. He was always waiting on the for them, and never fully left Emerald's field of vision. Occasionally a friendly stranger would be waiting alongside him, and a few even complimented his manners or 'how well you two raised him,' much to Emerald's amusement. Eventually Cinder caught on that Brennan wasn't going to just disappear, and began interacting instead of outright ignoring him. Once the scary one-eyed hawk woman began to smile on occasion, the previous fear evaporated within minutes, even going so far as to ask to see her mechanical hand more closely.

Cinder certainly wasn't warm towards Brennan, but the acknowledgement of his existence went a long way to bridging that gap.

Less than a block away from the market space just outside the SDC building, Emerald's eyes followed the red and pink strokes of Brennan as he wove through the crowd just ahead of her, but she couldn't move her attention from the presence just a half step to her left. Subconsciously matching her steps in mirror to Cinder's, ostensibly to prevent the woman from hitting her head on the arms of the umbrella Emerald held.

The occasional light brush of Cinder's feathery decoration on her hand didn't send shocks up Emerald's arm, but it certainly recentered all available senses towards the woman. So much so that she barely noticed the thinning of the already sparse foot traffic, and the sudden lack of very specific colors in her field of view. Once the information made its way through the Cinder-induced haze in her mind however, Emerald jerked to a stop.

Where? Who? When? Back trace, Emerald. Memory. Last time I saw him was… As she turned on her heel, Cinder let out a noise of surprise at the sudden lack of protection from the rain.

Emerald didn't even glance in her direction.

Luckily, she saw Brennan standing on the other side of a street they had just passed. The cross signal had expired and cars now ruled the road, but he was there, safe and in her sights. Emerald briefly considered using her semblance to turn the lights red, but abandoned it as soon as she confirmed he wasn't actively being mugged or threatened in any way.

Cinder edged her way back beneath the umbrella. "What was th—" her question was cut off by a quick, withering glare. A look that promised immediate retribution to the next thing to come between Emerald and the child she was supposed to be watching. She then turned her gaze back across the street to wait for the signal to change.

As soon as the symbol changed from its red hand, Brennan began to calmly cross like it was any other day. The stress Emerald was feeling lightened with each step closer they came. She didn't let her face show just how relieved she was when he stepped up next to her with a bright smile.

"Emmy, look!" he said with energy befitting of his hyperactive mother's youth. Brennan held out a feather, somehow dry despite the rain. It was a fairly standard black feather, maybe a raven's, but his joy was still infectious enough to bring a smile to Emerald's face. "I thought it looked like Ms. Fall's!"

'Ms. Fall' rolled her eyes at the claim, but Emerald laughed out loud. "Ha! I guess it does a bit," she agreed. "Do you like her feathers?"

"Mhm!" the boy nodded his assent vigorously.

Crouching down, Emerald handed the umbrella off to Cinder. She took the feather from Brennan before fixing it to her own hair with the help of a pin. "I like her feathers too," Emerald said with a smile. "I like them so much that I'll teach you how to make some just like hers," she bopped him on the nose for emphasis. "But first we've got to pick some things up, and the market is going to be really crowded. I need to find Argyle's, think you can help me not get lost in there with your super eyes?"

Brennan nodded and held out his hand in response, which Emerald took before standing up. They shared a smile before continuing the walk through the rain, leaving Cinder alone with an umbrella and dumbfounded look.

The market itself was set up in a courtyard adjacent to the SDC Vale headquarters—a small step in the grand plan of getting people to utilize the grand mall within as a regular shopping center. It was covered by large tents at the moment, a must have investment for any outdoor, rainy-season event in Vale. There was no one entrance, though the stalls were all neatly arranged in isles and rows via a number lottery; no booth was in the same place twice except by chance, save the navigation kiosks which held updated maps and even robotic 'carts' who could carry your bags and navigate the maze should you need one, offered free of charge to the public. The entire thing technically was held at a loss, if you only counted the money spent on services provided against the money gained directly from the very slight tax on every purchase. The Market paid for itself through more indirect means; goodwill and saturation marketing primarily.

It also made for a perfect public introduction to any number of products and services freshly graduated from the staff lounge floors of the monolithic building behind it.

Emerald turned to Cinder after reaching the edge of the tents, in a small alcove between isles left open for security personnel to have an easier time navigating the crowded spaces. A small screen attached to the wall acted as a map. "Your brie is going to be inside, Cinder. But our feather supplies are going to be scattered around out here. Did you need anything but the cheese?"

"Only if there's somewhere to get fresh southern Mistrali mountain berries. Not that I'd expec—"

"H36-37, should be able to make a stop no problem," Emerald interrupted after a few quick taps on the screen. "How about you Bren? Need anything else while we're here?"

"Mmmm… popsicles!" He answered with a small hop as the idea came to him.

"Popsicles? In this weather? Your moms would kill me"

"Emerald's right, Popsicles are terrible in the rain. We should get coffee," Cinder escalated with a grin.

Emerald's expression was not one of amusement. "Cinder, we are not giving the eight-year-old coffee. Unless you want to be the one in charge of him afterwards."

But Brennan was already tapping at the navigation screen, trying to find… C-F-V-Y. "No coffee," Brennan stated completely matter of factly. Emerald could help but start laughing at his clear disappointment at the fact.

"Darn," Emerald pouted as sarcastically as she could, making a show of snapping her fingers and theatrically stomping her foot. "Oh well, let's get moving. I'm sure we can find something warm and tasty as we go," Emerald ushered both of the complete children in her care towards the public pathways.

The trip through the rows of shops and stalls was quick, aided by Emerald's status as head of security— and slowed by it on occasion when staff members stopped them to say hello or make an informal request. The first two stops were simple, a can of Valish waterproofing agent and a cone of fresh roasted nuts. After that Emerald realized just how few hands she had to hold everything they still needed to get, and entrusted Cinder with Brennan for a few seconds while she went to check out a robotic 'cart.'

While Emerald was waiting in the short line, a flash of red caught her eye. Finding Brennan wandering free in the opposite direction from Cinder, Emerald collected him and her newly loaded helper. After backtracking and finding Cinder standing in the middle of an intersection staring in the direction of a smoothie stall, Emerald nearly facepalmed.

She was thirsty? It's not like we can't get something to drink. But really, she couldn't keep her eye on him for five minutes? "Cinder. Cinder Fall. Remnant to Cinder" Emerald snapped her fingers in an attempt to garner attention, but she was apparently also deaf from her missing eye, as well as blind.

"I know she's going to hate me for this…" Emerald grumbled to no one in particular. But at the moment, I'm kind of okay with that.

Emerald was having issues with the woman in front of her.

"Ash!"

A/N:
Yell Head doing work as always. got me to add another 900 words or so with only a handful of basic human rights being revoked.

Brennen was surprisingly hard to write for this. I had one idea for him in my head, but it wasn't working (hence the delay). Side note, his name means "Burn" in German, which I thought was too perfect to pass up on a day spent with Cinder.

As always, Feedback is greatly appreciated.