2
'Cinder...' She utters my name like a curse. My blood chills as I can sense the hate in her voice, almost like she is going to choke on it. If only. And only after I get to Atlas. I'll shove that insolent brat's hated down her throat at flaming sword-point the instant I'm "fixed".
'Why the fuck do you hate me?' I think not letting my inner thoughts seep out and corrupt my outer, angelic countenance. 'I didn't burn you! I didn't take your eye and your arm! I don't ruin your plans! And I don't silver eye you at every opportunity!' But alas, I must seem sad, pathetic and as is internally sigh, I must play at being penitent if I'm ever to escape this humiliating situation. I have done literally nothing wrong but here I am dangling before an imbecile who thinks herself fit to judge me. So, I must be convincingly penitent. Her kind love remorse like an idiot judge who shaves a sentence by many years for the sake of a few remorseful words and a fool's tears.
'...you want mercy, but you deserve none.' Ruby begins with her soft diabetes inducing voice, something like a chipmunk in a blender, how dare she get all high and mighty with me?! Two polar opposite emotions fight for my soul as she begins her sanctimonious bullshit and one of them can seriously trip me up if I'm not collected. A rage black as night, that she dare judge me! I'd best continue to reign in my tongue lest this get the better if me. And a chill fear that freezes my bones, she clearly is harbouring a puerile and unreasonable hate towards me and as I dangle before these large silver eyes, I reflect on how easily they could scorch me to dust. I look at her with my one gorgeous golden eye, wide and seemingly terrified and I communicate what I must, regrettably the fear is all real but it may just keep me alive. Judging by the disgust on her face she has heard my wordless pleas not to be killed loud and clear.
'Yeah... ...yes... ...s... ...surrender...' I mutter. Judge all you want bitch, I think. '... but I'll not die for some defiant gesture.' For better or worse I find the "strength" to formally surrender. That distinction means a lot to her kind, despite necessity or expedience they find it wrong to kill prisoners.
'Killing a surrendering enemy is small and petty, small and petty like you.' She says clearly, coldly. As I internally sigh in relief that I may yet live and I rapidly lose the urge to clap and say; "Oh how punny, moron." Her narrowed silver eyes remind me how prudent that decision to not respond really is.
'I didn't need shrink dust to be bigger than you! Neither did Pyrrha!' She is clearly angry- 'Oh gross!' I think as in that angry explosion I get hit by some spittle but dare not attempt to wipe off my hair. I dare not even divert my attention from Ruby's little moral indignation tantrum as it drips nauseatingly from my hair. But she wants to be heard, she had bottled up these inane sentiments a long time, mocking her or giving her less than my undivided attention simply will not do and would set me back in my mission to get restored to my former and rightful glory.
'And then, when we get to Atlas they'll put you in a teeny tiny cage and throw away the key and the world will forget there ever was a Cinder Fall. And the world will move on, without you.' Ruby says. 'If you say so, bitch, but my glory will live on in the histories. I decapitated a nation in a night!' I think and look a little sad and nod my head, seemingly accepting my fate like I'm thinking over past "mistakes". I look penitent, or so I should hope, do-gooders love that. But I swear on that stupid girl's head, I'll not see the inside of an Atlesian cell, big or small.
'Understood.' I weakly speak, almost a defeated whimper, it's all I can say and it's not much. That impertinent piece of shit sternly examines me and nods. Satisfied that she had gotten her point across and that she "knows" I know I'm beaten. But Cinder Fall doesn't lose.
What follows, for all its indignity is much better, despite the fact that I am no longer dangling before Ruby's evil eyes after she stuffs me into some belt borne leather pouch as they make their way to what I assume is their residence or to the train station, I am no longer in mortal peril and I can clean off her spittle. So gross. I try to listen from my shameful prison, but the hustle and bustle manages to even drown out their asinine chatter, to me at least. Given the youth and general lack of intelligence of this lot, that may not be an entirely bad thing.
Sometime later I have no idea how long later, my annoyingly shrill captor comes to a stop, their inane and ultimately useless chatter tells me little more than that they have bought tickets and what provisions they need for the train and are now back home. My world is once again light as the pouch is opened and to my eternal shame, I'm embraced by her seemingly large-as-tree-trunk fingers and she holds me tight and lifts me to eye level, again. Shame because of the situation I'm in and shame because of the fact it actually feels really good. It shouldn't feel this good!
'You're going to spend your life in a cell.' She begins. 'With what you're capable of you'll probably never see the sun again. And you deserve that. But until then I'll let you out a little bit and you and eat or whatever.' Ruby begins, stern and authoritatively. The dimwit seems to be fighting back a lot of pain. I don't dare challenge her. My heart sinks at the thought of perpetual darkness. 'Not again, not the dark basement!' I can't imagine the utter despair that crosses my gorgeous face for a moment.
'So behave yourself. Don't make me regret being lenient and saving your life. Or I will punish you.' Ruby sternly warns. Under different circumstances someone as weak and as soft as Ruby Rose threatening me of all people would be offensively funny but the cosmic injustice of this all makes me want to cry. Especially the word punish, I'd heard it a lot before, and it was swiftly followed by beatings and starvings for things I hadn't done. Obscured by my elegant robes all my fists can do is clench at the reliving of old traumas that she carelessly dredges up.
'Understand?' She pokes my chest with a force that's almost a punch.
'Y... ...yes Ms Rose.' I hate the world. I hate every fibre of it, I look contrite and I want for Ruby to deign to put me down when she feels I've understood. Which she does soon enough, luckily for me she can't stand by presence for too long. Hopefully these stupid lectures end soon.
I pace from one edge of the table she sets me down on to the other I give no fucks about that spoiled princess on the other end for now, she's nearly outlived her usefulness. I'm more concerned with Ruby's return and what she has for me which she sets down like it's a chore and then goes with her friends to comfort Weiss. 'Fuck Weiss!' I think as I look grimly down at the bottle cap full of water and the large chuck of cracker sitting across the top of the bottle cap. 'What am I, a fucking bird?' I think to myself disdainfully as my face betrays a venomous a grimace.
'Be grateful for what you have.' A guttural voice growls at me, I turn and look at the disheveled Qrow Branwen drinking from a flask as he slumps over the back of a chair. 'If it were up to me little witch, I'd have left you out there by yourself. To be killed by vengeful hunters, your mistress' grimm or to be fucked by rodents...' The washed-up hack laughs at that last one. The nauseating reek of alcohol that fills the air around him makes me wonder how delightfully flammable he must be.
I growl a little and ignore the drunken idiot as I sink to my knees and cup my hands to drink the water, behind me, the farm boy idiot takes his seat, too close to me, looming over me like a great tower, I don't like this at all. From my side of the table I look across to where the idiot who should have died at Haven and in the same predicament as me sits on a wallet, with the evil eyed scythe idiot, the vibrator arm idiot, the insufferable cat faunus idiot, the idiot who cried at me at Haven, the quiet idiot who never says anything and the hyperactive hammer idiot.
'I'm so sorry guys.' The Schnee brat sighs looking up at them all with her big, sky blue eyes.
'Oh Weiss, it's not your fault.' The evil silver eyed one says as she laughs.
'I bet it's my fault she was using strictly monitored shrink dust.' I think sarcastically as I look over at this sugary lovefest with a casual disdain without betraying where I am looking as I bite again and again into the cracker.
'I shouldn't have had that shrink dust, I was too ambitious, it is still very new territory.' Weiss laments, her icy blue eyes downcast, as much as I can't stand the brat, her eyes are gems. I can't help but agree with her assessment regarding her stupid deployment of that accursed dust.
'Daaawww! We all make mistakes.' Ruby gushes and picks up Weiss to hug her as tightly as she can. For all my hardships, thank Salem I don't have to deal with that. 'At least you have your friends to help you fix it.' Ruby adds affectionately, thoughtless patting her as if she was a pet, if Ruby did that to me, it would take all my legendary strength not to bite her.
'R... ...R... ...Ruby...' Weiss begins, she's about to scream at Ruby for being so forward with her and handsy, but she softens, she cries, overtaken by emotion. Weak. Sickeningly weak.
'We're here for you, Weiss Wee!' Yang says also joining Weiss and then Ruby with watery eyes and nudges Blake for laughs. 'Weiss Wee! Eh! Eh!' She laughs nudging Blake over and over again as Blake smiles and overlooks Yang's annoying nudging. Yang then Blake hug Ruby who is kinda hugging Weiss. Not being able to help herself the shrill redhead throws herself into the group hug and that pathetic boy follows suit, the long haired and stoic guy relents at the end and joins them at the end.
'Guys, guys...' Weiss laughs, wiping away a tear and seemingly cheered by this whole awkward and cringey display. '... I'm cut off. My father might not let me get the dust I need from our warehouse of experimental dust.'
'It's not that big of a deal...' Blake begins. '...not like it's the first time I've ever had to break into a Schnee facility.' She shrugs and they all laugh and chuckle like a bunch of morons. I never knew criminality could be found to be so funny or wholesome.
'Tell me...' Ozpin speaks through Oscar from behind me, apparently he caught me mid contemptuous snort, I almost jump at the surprise of it. '...if one of my colleagues were to exact revenge upon you in your vulnerable state, would anyone cry for you, would anyone even care?'
'Yes they'd mourn me!' I shoot back, a mouth full of cracker, too indignant to care as crumbs fly.
I'm met with a raised eyebrow of doubt.
'Emerald would!' I growl. 'She'd cry!'
'Anyone else?' He casually asks leaning forward on his cane, his big hazel-green eyes staring deeply into my very soul even. I hate him.
'Yesssss!' I hiss.
His eyes refute everything I say, he needn't say anything and he doesn't.
'Yesssss! Lots of people would miss me!' I shriek, but heck, even I don't believe that.
'...' Again his answer is silence.
'I've always been alone...' I softly concede. '...why should now be any different?' I bitterly ask, loneliness is my homeland.
'It doesn't sound like it's something you chose.' He leans ever closer. 'Perhaps it's time you stopped letting her make your decisions.'
I want to argue, I should argue, but he's right, my childhood along in my household of four wasn't my doing and neither was the path I find myself on. All I can do to save face is hiss and turn on my heel, throwing my cracker to the tabletop.
