Chapter 3- Sleepless Nights

"And then I was like Hiya! And Slash-sling!"

Ruby chopped forward with her free hand, miming the awesome kung-fu move she used to kick those thugs' collective butts. Next to her, Zwei nodded, though his attention was more attached to the hot-dog in Ruby's hand. His own was long eaten. The two were sitting on a bench next to one of the many outdoor food stalls as it was a good reward to a long day. Dropping off all those thugs at the police station with a signed note took a little longer than expected, but it was well worth it because Ruby found five lien on the sidewalk. Clearly it was a sign that things were on the rise.

"We kicked their butts! And saved that cute girl to…" Ruby signed. Sure, the pretty lady had been pretty angry, but Ruby would chalk it down to the stress of being robbed. She even changed tunes and thanked Ruby for her amazing huntresses skills! Being a huntress didn't seem so bad after all. This is the best start she could have asked for.

"Yip! Bark!" Zwei clearly only cared about the uneaten hot-dog, but Ruby was too busy monologuing to notice.

"You were awesome too Zwei!" Ruby rubbed his head with the hand not holding a hot-dog which obviously caused the poor puppy some distress. "You were so brave." Or vicious depending on your perspective on things. Some of those teeth marks that Zwei left behind were huge! Speaking of teeth marks, Zwei tried to bite the moving hot-dog but missed. Ruby giggled before cramming the rest of her meal into her mouth.

"So what convention were you going to?" The worker at the nearby hot-dog stall waved to Ruby as he wiped down the counter at his booth. His conversation was born not of any specific interest but just a desire to pass the time. Good thing Ruby was great at that!

"I'm not going to a convention! I'm a Huntress!"

The hot-dog seller raised an eyebrow, shaking his head in good humor. "Just remember to be careful on getting home. It's not easy when it's dark." He wiped clean the counter one last time before closing the metal grate.

Ruby nodded up and down. Getting home before it was dark would probably be best, but how hard could it be? She had a speed semblance after all! Ruby began to whistle as the street lamps turned on, lighting up the dark of the night with it's dust powered electricity.

Wait.

Nighttime?

Reality promptly ensued.

"Yang is going to kill us."

"Bark." Zwei barked in wholehearted agreement. Or he was angry that Ruby ate his hot-dog. Three guesses to what Zwei really cared about.

Ruby sighed, blowing a puff of air at a strand of her hair. It was completely dark, and trying to navigate through a city at high speeds would be almost impossible. She'd have to stop to look around for directions, and when you could move fast enough to generate blasts of wind, stopping to check the map felt all the more frustrating. Oh yeah. She could also scratch out the Yang being mad at them part. Mad was sneaking a few more cookies or using Yang's shampoo bottle when she wasn't looking. For disappearing and going into the city? Yang was just going to kill Ruby.

But that was only if she found out...

"Let's go Zwei!"

And with that the crimson speedster, the huntress of hope, and other adjective filled words disappeared with a flash of roses. Coincidentally, the burst of wind began blowing the petals along the sea breeze to paths unknown, but that bit of trivia mattered more to a certain young who was handling things with all the grace and propriety that her station demanded.


"Miss. Schnee? Are you... Feeling well?"

Was someone talking to her? Weiss' head pounded in different directions as her thoughts splintered into confusing little shards. Half-baked plots fought against common logic and reason. Weiss couldn't think straight, so she was left staring at the chandelier in her hotel room. One of the dust-powered lamps kept flickering on and off every few seconds. Poor form for the kind of hotel Weiss was staying at. Almost as poor of form as that Rose Girl.

"Miss. Schnee?

Suppose the Rose Girl was lying. What would her underlying motivation be? To integrate herself into Weiss' good graces? No, it wasn't likely. She didn't seem to recognize Weiss and completely failed in making any kind of good impression with her silly antics. The Rose Girl could be lying to protect herself, but her behavior would be completely different if she needed to hide something. What sort of person stole secret technology and used it to play dress-up? The alternative was that the Rose Girl was telling the truth. She was an immature girl that was gifted with powers the kind humanity always dreamed off, and she was using it to live out the fantasy of being a huntress in the worst way possible.

Weiss didn't know which was worse.

"Weiss?"

Klein's use of her first name finally shook Weiss out of her paralyzed stupor. The fancy silk covering her chair rippled when Weiss sat up from the expensive piece of furniture she'd been laying on for the past few minutes. Luckily, only Klein was here to see her breach of propriety. Weiss still shivered as she stood up, stretching out her arms to shake away the exhaustion.

"Sorry Klein. My mind was elsewhere."

Klein put a hand on Weiss' shoulder in a display of affection that surpassed anything her father ever gave to her. "Get some rest. Are you sure you don't want to inform the authorities about this evening's incident?"

Hahahaha. Klein was quite the comedian. Weiss shook her head and tried to keep the scowl on her face from showing. "Of course not! What would I even say? A magical girl waved her wand and took care of the problem?"

Klein wriggled his mustache, his mouth twitching upwards into a smirk. "From what you've told me, she ran extremely fast."

"Klein…" Sheer audacity aside, Weiss knew Klein was only trying to calm her down. Few people were the sort to immediately believe her outlandish story about thugs and girls who could move faster than the blistering wind. Weiss confessed everything to him after calling his scroll from the generic hotel district-

She meant the Torchlight Hotel! Stupid dolt! Even her naming conventions were rubbing off on Weiss! Such stupidity could not be allowed to live, not after Weiss was forced to wait in a lobby with only a jacket to hide her concert dress. Being forced to endure the questioning stares of passersby as she waited out in the corner for Klein to extract himself from the ball. All her hardships could be traced to one thoughtless mistake.

The Rose Girl needed to answer for her crimes. What Weiss wouldn't give to pull back the girl's hood and lean in with her clustered breath close enough to tickle both their skin…

"Miss. Schnee? You're dozing off again."

That stupid, doltish, cute girl in the red hood! Weiss knew there was a very good reason why she was haunting her thoughts, and it had nothing to do with the implications of semblances existing. Even if the results were a little less than perfect, Weiss kept going back to how easily the Rose Girl had tried to help. No hesitation unless you counted the monologuing kind. The girl reminded Weiss of a flowery fairy tale.

""Wow… You're super pretty…"

"Stupid dolt! Moron! Imbecile!"

Weiss' headache throbbed, but with the anger burning up in her chest, it took all she could do to not bash her head against the wall. Because Weiss Schnee did not get crushes on people she's barely met. Weiss Schnee did not get crushes at all. Everyone else loved her. Everyone complimented her with insincere comments meant to provoke her family name! She was Weiss Schnee, so there was no sincerity. It was an undeniable truth of the world.

Your hair is really pretty- I mean nice and brushed!"

Unconsciously, she ran her hand through her ponytail. The asymmetrical strands she made sure to brush carefully each morning before setting it outrageous hairstyles her father would never get the chance to complain about. The wind blew all the strands into a wild mess, but the Rose Girl gave her that compliment afterward, didn't she?

Weiss felt her cheeks go red, but enough was enough. Weiss wouldn't embarrass herself any longer. It was clearly affecting her thoughts. "I won't be swayed by such stupidity."

"Am I to assume those compliments were meant for someone else?" Klein's mustache twitched. If Weiss wasn't red before, she certainly would have turned into a tomato after Klein's comment. She'd forgotten her butler was there, and now, his eyes seemed to glean with just a little more humor than Weiss was currently able to deal with.

Hoping to play it off, Weiss crossed her arms in a very stern and serious stance. "I'm going to bed Klein. If anything comes up, leave it until tomorrow."

"Of course Miss Schnee." Klein stopped his head in a bow, but as Weiss moved to gracefully collapse in her bed, Klein flashed his hand up. His upright posture remained the same as ever, but something seemed a little more closed off now. Was he hunching a little? No, it couldn't be.

"Weiss, I would have told you earlier, but given the circumstances, I thought it best to wait."

Weiss … didn't sound good. The humor in Klein's comment from before dissipated like a gust of wind scattering pollen. "What is it?"

Klein's eye contact slipped away to the polished floors made of diamond or whatever the fancy element the builders decided to decorate the penthouse with. Weiss really didn't care about the details, far too focused on Klein's frown.

"Your father called me a few hours ago."

Well. That was certainly something. Weiss couldn't help but glance towards her own scroll lying on one of the tea tables near the chair she'd been laying down on. The scroll had no messages on it. No snide comments from Whitley, no official notices of encouragement from Winter, and certainly no messages from her father. Yes, Weiss had a bad feeling about this.

"What did he want with me?"

Weiss' suspicions were only confirmed by the way Klein shifted in place, like he was standing on a pile of red hot coals he couldn't leap away from. The polished floor reflected the sag in his face, the pure exhaustion in his stance.

"Your father... didn't want to talk to you. He only wished to inform me to prepare your bags and gather supplies for your first day of Beacon tomorrow."

Tick, Tock. The Scroll laying on the glass coffee table counted forward. .

Weiss' eyes narrowed. Klein's posture was still closed off, and his story seemed to lack any details of anything of note. Jacques Schnee would not call for something as simple as making sure Weiss was ready for Beacon. More than that, the need for secrecy made no sense unless Klein was hiding something from his testimony

No, hiding something was the wrong word. After all, Klein willingly offered up this tidbit. He was not hiding but omitting something from his story which meant that Klein couldn't talk about the real reason why her father called. He couldn't say it outloud, or quite possibly, Klein couldn't say it here.

Were they being watched? It didn't seem too far-fetched. Security became important after the White Fang began outright raiding Schnee Dust trains. Weiss' walk from the concert hall was probably the furthest away from scrutiny than anything else she'd do in Vale. Of course, she was mugged when she stepped away from security, so the cameras weren't necessarily bad.

Or were they? The facts were thus.

Klein could not speak out loud, and her father had no wish to say anything to Weiss. Any response Weiss might make would be recorded as well which honestly made Weiss glad that she confided the whole story of this evening to Klein from the safety of their car. Klein would have swept for bugs and acted accordingly. Her father could only spy so many places. Jacques Schnee wanted something that he wouldn't let Klein talk about without fear of punishment. But what could it be?

Weiss frowned. It was a lot to think about on the best of days, and Weiss still ached from the whole ordeal with the Rose Girl.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention Klein." Weiss bowed her head in thanks, even if Klein just looked hurt by the action. Perhaps he thought Weiss misunderstood, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The fact that Klein was willing to go so far above his duty, even against the wishes of his own employer, just reinforced the fact that he was someone to trust. Loyalty to a paycheck could only go so far. Klein worked for Mr. Schnee, but for Weiss, he worked with her. The distinction was important.

"If my father asks, I'll make it to Beacon tomorrow."

After all, she did want to go to her school of choice. She wanted to go so badly that she felt giddy even thinking about it. This was her freedom all laid out with a silk rope wrapped around the bait. Weiss would go forward, grab her freedom, and be caught by the glittering cage that came crashing down. A trap she would never have seen coming.

Well Weiss Schnee wasn't the only one who could plan, and, the best way to avoid a trap was to spring it. Her father could play all the games she wanted. He may be the King in this little game of chess, but the king's power wasn't absolute. He couldn't move as much as he might like, where other pieces had the freedom to move across the entire board in a single turn. And need Weiss remind herself, she was a dust damn Queen.

These were the thoughts that carried Weiss past the glamorous furnishings inside her bejeweled cage and straight into her bedroom. Weiss, with all her years of etiquette training screaming murder, threw herself face first onto the mattress. If Weiss could get away with it, she would have screamed.

"Goodnight Klein!" Weiss mumbled face first to a pillow. Klein wouldn't hear, but it made her feel better about herself. Weiss couldn't move her limbs without feeling like she'd been hit by a truck. What a day. Giving a concert on its own would have exhausted Weiss, but to have been ambushed on the way home was a step too far. That didn't even begin to account for the Rose Girl and her shenanigans. Weiss was right to feel tired.

Huh. Strange though. Why did she think ambushed? It was a random mugging. Could have happened to anyone.

Only... facedown in bed did Weiss realize something she should have realized hours ago. What had the leading thug said? Before they tried to approach? Weiss tried to think back.

"Why hello there! Miss Schnee was it? We've been waiting for an opportunity like this."

Funny. Back before her thoughts were entirely consumed by that troublesome Rose Girl, Weiss would have sworn what the thug said was a coincidence. The kind of opening one-liner one said after watching many Spruce Willis films. A tacky attempt at intimidation. Only, something didn't make sense.

Why were those thugs waiting in an alleyway anyway?

Weiss jerked up.

It couldn't be. Weiss didn't plan on walking through the alleyways at all! It was a spontaneous decision! Because the way things were sounding, those men weren't looking for any old opportunity to get rich. They were looking for her.

Weiss didn't get much sleep after that.


"Shhhhhhh."

Ruby opened the side-door to the garage, ever-so careful in order to avoid making a creaking noise. Her caution didn't go unrewarded. Sneaking past her Dad's car and reaching the other side of the garage was easier than she feared.

"We're safe." Ruby sighed, walking into the kitchen. Zwei darted forward like he was the one with a speed semblance instead of Ruby. Ruby took the time to reach into the cabinet to grab a cookie from her stash before she went to slip past the front room and into her bed. A few more feet until she was in bed. Ruby crossed the room towards the stairs...

"So Rubes. Where do you think you're going?"

Ruby's heart sank to the bottom of the floor at that sound. Unlike when Ruby first left that afternoon, the chairs in the living room were rearranged. The couch was moved to the side to make room for a central, spinning chair that always sat upstairs. Fine. Good even. Left some more room for watching the television. It wouldn't be such a terrifying sight if not for the fact that Yang was spinning in it. The mischievous grin on her sister's face spelled nothing but woe and despair.

"Yang! Guess I was spending too much time in the garage again!"

Ruby lied like a liar, but Yang seemed to buy it. She was nodding her head along like this was an everyday situation, even if it was anything but. Ruby wasn't stupid. Yang's jacket was on her, looking just a little dirtier than usual. Covered in dust like she'd been walking through somewhere that hadn't been swept up for years. Yang couldn't have been wherever she was for too long though. The television was turned off, but the remote was right next to Yang's hand. Did she turn it off when she heard Ruby come in? Was she waiting for Ruby to show?

"Zwei has dirt on his paws."

Ruby glanced forward. Zwei was sitting on the couch, dirty paws and all. Ruby looked up and winced. "Ummm, I let him out of the house."

Yang nodded, clearly buying her wonderful lie. Her hair bobbed up and down with the movement, acting much like a lantern before a firefly. Ruby couldn't help but stare and hope she didn't look too suspicious.

Yang then pointed her hand at a plate at the table, and when Ruby was thrown off guard by the action, she struck. "You know I went out and checked on you in the garage? I even brought you a bribe. A plate of cookies!"

A whole plate of cookies? That was awesome...wait a moment.

"Ummmmmm. I was… fishing? For parts! In the trash! Our trash, not the dumpyard! Because I've been home all day."

"I know. I checked outside. And in the garage too." Oh. That explained the dust. Their dad kept saying he would clean out the garage, but Ruby knew he never would. That's why she stored Crescent Rose in there.

But how long had Yang looked for her? Something in the way her eyes gleamed told Ruby it wasn't a pretty answer.

Yang leaned forward in her chair. "So, tell me Ruby. Why would you be sneaking out?" That grin was still beaming, but her eyes reminded her of that of a beowolves bloodthirsty glare. Wait, Ruby already used that comparison today, hadn't she? Oh well, it was accurate.

"I went fishing. As in real life fishing?" Ruby lied, fully knowing that the only harbor in Vale was too far away from their house to be a reasonable excuse. Well, if you couldn't move fast with a semblance, but trying to explain that would be just another headache. A little bit ironic that even if Ruby told the truth about what she'd been doing, Yang would never believe her.

Yeah, ironic, but Ruby didn't like irony…

Her choice of lie didn't seem to matter anyhow as Yang seemed to develop selective hearing in the span of seconds. "Sneaking out for parties are you? Just like your big sister!"

Oh, Ruby could feel her cheeks go red, but it was an excuse! A reasonable excuse! Chance like this didn't fall out of trees. "Umm yes! I went to a party! Dozens of them! I didn't want to tell you because you'd be... jealous?"

Yang's smile fell for a moment which was weird because she should have been buying Ruby's story. Zwei looked up from his spot on the couch when Yang stood up, stretching out her arms like she was about to go on a casual run.

But Yang wasn't smiling.

"Ruby. You know you can tell me things right?"

Ruby blinked. Because that wasn't the response she was waiting for. "Of course I know that." Her tone went soft. What was Yang thinking? Staring at Ruby like she had something to say but couldn't force it out. Yang had no filter. So what was different now? Ruby almost didn't notice it when Yang stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You haven't been talking about school lately."

Ruby blinked again, but in indignation."I tell you plenty of stuff!" Like her projects in the Engineering department. Or her courses in Engineering. Or the funny time that Professor Port tripped on a fallen notebook and fell over which, to be fair, was something Yang knew seeing that they shared that class. What could it be then? Was Yang angry that Ruby was in her year now? No, it couldn't be. Well, whatever it was, there was no way it could be that significant.

"Doc Oobleck called."

Oh. Ruby's smile fell. Yang wasn't angry at her. That wasn't her disappointed face at all! It was numerous times worse.

"Oobleck told me that you're being harassed in class!" Yang was wearing her burn their house down face. The kind that ended up with Yang breaking into a bar and fistfighting management. Ruby needed damage control and stat.

"I'm not being bullied!" The thing with Yang was that she was completely and utterly willing to kneecap anyone that got in the way, and Ruby couldn't bear to live with the fact that she might one day need to stop a criminal with yellow hair and a burning smile. Besides, with all things considered, Ruby wasn't actually being bullied. "It's really not that bad."

What could be bad at having no friends? At being made fun of all day in and out? No it couldn't be bullying. Ruby wasn't being bullied because she was a Huntress. She could break Cardin's arm in three different ways. She just fought off several armed thugs! She wasn't being bullied. She was letting Cardin win because that was what the bigger person did. Well, what the short and cloak wearing girl did. Same thing.

"Look Rubes. Do you want me to come over and give whoever it is a lesson? I know a gal. We could break their legs."

Yang's was still holding onto Ruby's shoulder. Perhaps squeezing her shoulder was meant to be comforting, but all Ruby could think of was that Yang might get into real trouble one of these days. Briefly, Ruby was very thankful that Dr. Ooblek hasn't said any names. Perhaps he too realized that Yang might literally rip Cardin's arms off. Yang didn't need to have a semblance like Ruby to be intimidating.

"I don't want you to do anything!"

"Why?"

Ruby bit her tongue. Because that was the real question wasn't it? Ignoring the fact that Yang would be dancing with expulsion, Ruby should be able to take care of her own problems! Ruby finally decided on a lie Yang might buy. "Look. How am I going to get any work done if you're constantly breaking people's noses? I'll never be able to finish Crescent Rose!"

Yang sighed which was weird because she should be buying Ruby's lie by now. "Just, let me know if something's going on. If you need help. I'm not a heavyweight boxing champ for nothing." Yang's eyes didn't leave Ruby's. Even if the conversation was over now, something told Ruby that this wasn't the end of it. Ruby started dragging her way up the stairs and to her room.

Stupid Yang with her sisterly concern. Stupid Oobleck, sorry, Doctor Oobleck, with his emotional support system. How was she supposed to be a huntress if they kept caring?

Yeah, even to herself it sound ridiculous. Ruby was a great liar, and that meant that she could lie to herself above all else. Ruby made her way to her room. At her heels, Zwei padded along, but he seemed to sense Ruby's sour mood because he stayed quiet enough for Ruby to brood in all her superhero glory.

What was she supposed to do? Ruby was supposed to be strong. She literally kicked some thugs in the face only a few hours ago, but the thought of confronting Cardin just made her freeze.

Huntresses shouldn't freeze, at least that was what the comics said. They should be larger than life heroes that did good. They had cool costumes and always knew what to say no matter the situation. All she had was a makeshift cosplay and a piece of metal, a case of social anxiety complete with zero friends. All Ruby had in her closet was a white cloak belonging to the one person she'd never be able to bring back home.

Ruby collapsed into her bed.

"I'm going to be a huntress." Ruby whispered to herself. Zwei made a whining sound, curling himself up into a ball next to her, but his comfort couldn't fix her fears. Ruby shouldn't freeze when people made fun of her. What kind of superhero would she be if she did that? How stupid was she?

Ruby's closet opened, swinging open by the wind or a ghost. Giving the fact that Ruby kept a certain white cloak in there, the answer could have been both. See Summer would know what to do here. She always knew what to do. Her dad was great, but even he wasn't able to keep it together like how her mom always knew what to say. In fact, if Ruby thought about it, she was pretty sure that her mom did say something wise along those lines. What could it be?

Ruby closed her eyes and tried to think, but nothing ever came to mind. With her eyes closed, all Ruby could do was think about how comfy the bed was. How exhausted she felt...


"What am I doing wrong Mom? I keep messing up!"

Ruby tugged on her mother's cloak. The white fabric seemed to circle around the child like it was a blanket. Ruby might even have thought the fabric alive if Summer's hands didn't poke out of the armholes to rub Ruby's hair.

"Ruby, a hero isn't someone who's perfect all the time. Haven't you seen your Uncle Qrow get stuck in the door too many times for that?"

Ruby giggled, slumping into the bed. She asked about how to make cookies after all, but her mom was awesome. She always made things look super cool.

Summer poked Ruby on the nose, causing her to fall on her back.

Everyone said that Ruby looked like Summer, but she couldn't see it! Her mom was really tall! Almost as tall as her dad who was possibly a giant. She wasn't even as tall as Yang, even when she stood on a chair to try and jump on her sister!

Still, sometimes, Ruby could tell what those older people meant. Both their eyes were a pretty silver! It was a shiny silver that seemed to draw in anyone looking into the orbs. Summer leaned forward, poking the little girl on the nose. "Little petal, you shouldn't worry about making mistakes."

On some level, Ruby knew this couldn't be real. The scene was one that could only happen in memory. A sweet blissful moment that lasted for as long as Ruby wanted.

Strange though. Something was around her throat.

Ruby looked up, but her body felt awkward. She couldn't move at all. She wasn't a little girl in the memory anymore. Waking up, she was clothed in her huntress garb. All big and strong except her arms were restrained by iron shackles.

Summer began to fade, disappearing at a rate just fast enough to remind Ruby that she couldn't leap forward to try and save her. The last impression of her mother was the sight of her silver eyes gleaming in the cold. In Summer's place was the white cloak that she left behind for Ruby. Wrapped in the threads like a blanket, Ruby couldn't try to struggle as the cloak wrapped around her neck and yanked and pulled and

Crack!


Ruby jerked awake, flinging blankets everywhere. Zwei, who was curled up at Ruby's feet, tilted his head. But Ruby couldn't breath. She couldn't breathe. Her hands went to her neck, but her cloak was lying on the desk, too far too reach away. Too far to grab and hold and make sure it was real. No way to check to see if her cloak was gone. Vanished completely in the wind. The iron chains around her arms seemed as real as they were in her nightmare. No, it couldn't be a nightmare because it was real.

She couldn't move. She couldn't move! Her semblance must be backfiring because no matter how much Ruby wished to fade into a storm of roses, she couldn't budge. Ruby couldn't even force a scream to her lips. The words were caught in her throat, trapping her in place.

All Ruby Rose could do was fade, like a certain huntress in her dreams. All Ruby could do was disappear and never come back. Yang would never know what happened. Her dad would lose someone else. All this because Ruby Rose-

Could!

Not!

Move!

"Yip."

Ruby blinked.

Her cloak was right next to her, carefully clutched in Zwei's mouth. The corgi strained from the exertion of dragging the cloak across the room, but drag it he did. Straight to Ruby who found herself free again. Free to snatch the cloak out of Zwei's slobbery mouth. Ruby swung the cloak right around her neck just like it should be. Safe and sound. Zwei curled into Ruby's lap, but even he couldn't dry away the stream of tears Ruby felt pouring down her cheeks.

So yeah. Ruby didn't get much more sleep, but to be fair, she wasn't the only one that night.


Evil never sleeps.

At least, that was how that phrase went. Cinder thought rather poorly of the idea. Of course, she could work long nights. She remembered weeks of sleepless nights slumped over a map of her future conquests. Cinder still felt her eyelids close on and off whenever she thought of the days where she'd be too busy with her plan to consider sleep. The thing was. Evil did sleep. Evil liked sleep. The fact that Cinder wasn't enjoying her sleep right now made her reaction to failure all the worse.

"Junior. You had one task to complete. One simple task to complete, and you've decided to call on me at this hour to tell me you failed."

Cinder was not one to make idle threats. That was because all her threats were one-hundred percent warranted. How else are you supposed to build up a reputation in this day and age? Those that would bluster against her would wind up as ash. Fear was always the strongest motivator, which perhaps explained why Junior was cowering behind his bar.

"Look lady. I sent some of my best men to apprehend her, but she got away. It was lucky they ran into her in the first place!"

Junior's bar was a well known information agency. Both daughters of the Web of Spiders worked under the man for a reason. Junior was a man who could get his job done. Which was why Cinder was so disappointed.

"You sent your best men? I do notice you appear to be chronically understaffed. Of course, I could certainly add to that problem." Cinder snapped her fingers, turning her head to her two loyal, competent… alright, somewhat effective, minions.

"Emerald, Mercury. If Junior continues to waste my time, break one of his men. Make the others watch."

"No!' Junior blustered, but her two minions stopped whatever petty fight they were involved in this week and refocused. Good. Cinder prized efficiency. Her two lackeys having a blood feud over who got to use the shower in the morning was just an unnecessary distraction. Unnecessary and utterly pointless as Cinder had first right to the shower.

"Cinder, I deal in information not high stakes kidnapping."

Cinder returned her attention to Junior and his desperate attempt to regain control of the situation. Too bad for the man that it was already far out of reach.

"Then tell me where to get better men. If your thugs are now behind bars, who else could pull off this job? Especially, as I begin to fear, now that the Schnee knows that someone is after her."

To make her point, Cinder left her hand on the bar counter, curling her fingernails deep into the countertop. Her fingers sunk in despite the metal. It was a more subtle threat, but in Cinder's opinion, a more effective one. Of course, she also needed to teach him respect.

Cinder lunged forward and grabbed Junior by the throat, her nails piercing into his skin. Just enough that Junior's eyes went wide in shock and stinging pain.

"I need names. I know the two real professionals are out of the city, but I doubt a man like you has so few options."

"I…"

Junior's response came out ragged, probably because Cinder was cutting his airflow. Perhaps it would be an odd sight, someone as beautiful as Cinder harming the bigger man, but Cinder was no ordinary thug.

At that moment, Cinder activated her semblance.

Her hands began to steam as she reminded Junior exactly why pissing her off was such a bad idea. Cinder leaned forward, breathing into the man's ear, sultry and dangerous in equal measures.. "Be a dear and give me names."

"T-torchwick. Roman Torchwick!"

Hmm. The answer was just good enough. Cinder let the information broker go. Junior fell to the ground, rubbing his throat. The remaining men in his club shifted on their heels, still too nervous to intervene against the gorgeous woman who threatened their club. Nay, their entire world for Cinder was truly such a threat.

"I assume you can get me in contact with the thief, or else I shall be displeased…"

Junior immediately went spilling dates and times that would work, facts that Cinder placed into the back of her mind. When finished, Cinder snapped her fingers, calling both her minions to her sides like the good dogs they were. They knew better than to try to argue.

"Roman Torchwick. I didn't intend to involve him at this point, but circumstances change. Emerald, Mercury, let's go pay a visit to the gentleman thief, shall we?"

Roman Torchwick would prove a valuable asset, one that may even cause her to make a move sooner than expected. And when she was done? Well, the world wouldn't know how close it was to Ashes. How close it was to it's fall…

"Fall. I'll have to remember that for later." Cinder chuckled to herself as she strode into the night ignoring the side-glances her minions sent to each other. They should well know by now that Cinder liked monologues. And sleep.

But alas, it seemed evil had no time for it.