Chapter 4: In the Shadows of the Emerald Forest
Why would she follow wannabe Huntsmen and Huntresses to one of the most time-consuming experiments in futility?
Cinder arrived at the hunting assembly one hour before most teams deployed. The park that Beacon appropriated for the event was almost empty, occupied by trees, grass, the biting cold of the morning, and the assortment of academy support staff.
Their work was never done, as Salem once said.
At least the sun was starting to rise, brightening the sky, and meaning that soon it would feel less like she walked into Atlas wearing clothes meant for Vacuo and more like a normal summer morning.
And yet, Team Juniper remained where they were. Pyrrha was still nowhere to be seen, so they hadn't approached Cinder, or even recognized her existence. Of course they hadn't, if before they didn't want her anywhere near their teammate why would any of them have accepted her after a night of sleep?
As much as Pyrrha would have denied it, Cinder was an outsider here .
It didn't matter. She didn't give it a second thought, even relished having her own space considering what Watts and his little program found in the Beacon files of Team Juniper. The short redhead that kept glaring at her was Nora Valkyrie, the quiet and perpetually tired one would be Lie Ren, the blonde was Jaune Arc.
They were average at best, or a hindrance at worst in the case of their leader. She would have avoided the trouble of remembering their names were it not for the fact that they mattered to Pyrrha. Redhead, Quiet and 'that guy over there' seemed to fit perfectly fine.
With someone like herself and the one and only invincible girl present? Their incompetence should be less of a problem. Dust was weaved into her dress, and she forged an exquisite steel bow with the use of her semblance, better than the weapons of students.
The fact that Pyrrha still hadn't arrived caused Cinder some degree of indignation. Had someone attacked her last night? If the way she publicly made fools of Team Cardinal not too long ago was any indication, there could be more than a thousand reasons someone would try to attack an undefeated champion in the dead of night.
It was odd, she wasn't particularly afraid of Beacon's little bullies, she wasn't worried about anything else and yet something about Pyrrha's absence felt wrong. Such thoughts were dashed out of her mind as a pair of scout cars turned the corner of the street from the direction of Beacon academy. Their engines were silent, perhaps they didn't use dust.
The forest green cars were roofless and doorless, even though it didn't do much to trim the bulk of what might be called all terrain vehicles by any sane person. Although the spray-painted emblem of Beacon academy made them seem brand new, Cinder presumed they were lighter versions of older models, machines from before the Great War.
Amusing, perhaps the war was never won.
After a moment to focus her vision Cinder spotted Glynda Goodwitch in the passenger seat, - given away by the light blonde hair and purple cloak dancing in the wind - she was pointing at a nearby spot and ordering the combat driver. Behind her sat Pyrrha, adorned in her brass armor.
Pyrrha vaulted out of the vehicle as soon as it parked and walked to the space between Cinder and her team, carrying the confidence of a Huntress, with which she beckoned both Cinder and her team to come closer. That was something Cinder could rival. Chin up, back straight, walk with purpose. Couldn't show any weakness on the first 'quest'.
What a terrible name they chose for mission contracts.
"Sorry," Pyrrha said to all of them, "Professor Glynda called me in since I delivered the quest papers".
"It's okay," The blonde one said -the boy- what was his name again? Johnny? Juane? Oh yeah, Jaune, "But I thought we'd be taking an airship?"
"We were. It seems like Glynda wasn't in favour of using any of those for recon," Pyrrha answered, glancing at Cinder. "And seems like it'll help our chances too. Glynda said that if it wasn't for adding Cinder to our mission, we'd be stuck with a single dropship, nothing Ozpin would be able to do about it because of kingdom restrictions. If there are any enemies in the area, they'd hear us coming from a mile away," she stopped for a second, counting a few numbers silently, "Technically one point six miles away."
"Not very productive for a recon mission then," Ren added.
"At least we get a road trip out of this, right?" Nora said.
"Makes me wonder why teams don't do this more often," Jaune said.
"Because Ms Fall is an exception, Mr Arc," Glynda cut in and scared the group, making the blonde jump in place and a chill run down Cinder's spine. Fortunately, she was able to repress the fight-or-flight instincts, remaining in place even as Beacon's most skilled, experienced and effective combatant stood only a few feet away from her. What was the viability of stealing one of the scout cars, just in case an escape route suddenly became necessary?
Glynda's eyes narrowed behind her glasses, and moved between Cinder and Pyrrha. As she did so, Cinder made sure to look straight ahead, before the Huntress continued her briefing.
"She'll be with us because we can't let a student shadow Huntsmen alone. Any other questions before we start briefing?" Glynda paused for a moment. There were so many questions Cinder wished she could ask, but they would be too suspicious. It was better to stay silent and unnoticed. On the plus side it neatly mirrored the discipline that the other students besides her displayed.
"Good. Listen up Team Juniper," she asserted, "We'll be looking for the relay tower in the Emerald Forest area. Contact was lost last night, first responders and security in the area have since been declared MIA. The Council thinks deploying a Huntress and five students to the area is a misallocation of resources and a waste of valuable teaching time. The Headmaster and I disagree."
Smart and pragmatic. Glynda deserved her good reputation.
"We suspect some Mistralian bandits formed an alliance. One month ago they pulled a similar strike in Mistral, hit their relay towers effectively blinding them, then stole newly bought Atlas technology. The purpose of our contract is to find who did this and bring the tower back online. This could take more than a few days. Any questions?"
"Ms Goodwitch," Jaune spoke up, "What if we cross paths with them?" he asked the question Cinder would have, if none of them spoke up.
"Then we'll introduce ourselves to them, but our main purpose today is scouting the area, not starting a fight. Move with caution, do not underestimate anyone. Understood?"
"Understood!" they announced in unison with the spirit of a battle cry.
"Good. Jaune Arc and Lie Ren will come with me to the lead car," she looked at Pyrrha, "We'll be trusting Ms Nikos, Ms Valkyrie and Ms Fall with our backs."
With the pace of someone who was simply moving to their office for another day at work Glynda walked to the vehicle alongside Ren and Jaune, and the trio left behind followed to the backup car.
Nora scowled as she jumped over the car door to the front seat, "Really? We're the backup ?"
Pyrrha laughed as they approached the vehicle, "It's not so bad, if everything goes right they won't need backup anyways. Cinder you've been really quiet, what do you think?" she offered a hand to help Cinder into the back of the vehicle.
"I think it's a job that must be done," Cinder answered. The operator started the car as soon as she fastened her seatbelt at Pyrra's side. Within a moment they were moving down the boulevard, leaving the park behind.
Nora turned around to face them, "Oh come on, you don't need to give us the classroom answer, It's just between us girls."
Cinder gave Nora her best incredulous look, then nodded towards the driver, prompting a groan from Nora.
"Okay between us and him, but he won't tell, will he?" She invaded the poor driver's personal space and pointed a finger at him to intimidate, prompting the operator to vigorously nod his head in agreement.
Cinder hesitated for a moment. With all eyes on her she couldn't even shift the focus to something else, something like the silent engine.
"It seems like she trusts us to protect each other. I'd want a backup I can trust."
"Really? And you trust us just like that?"
"Nora!" Pyrrha chastised the annoying redhead.
"Calm down Pyrrha! I'm just asking her," she turned to face Cinder, "I mean you're new, and we're basically strangers, we'll be here for a while so might as well talk a little," she put a hand to her chin.
"Well... in any case I trust you. Pyrrha was nothing but friendly to me." Cinder answered. She leaned closer to the champion besides her, who seemed overwhelmed by something, she couldn't tell what.
"Makes sense," Nora said, "You wanna talk about something else? From the way Pyrrha is looking at me I think we should talk about anything else."
There was a pause between the three of them. Cinder surely would have preferred to go the mission mostly unnoticed, but now that it wasn't a possibility anymore. It only made her feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, Nora was the one to break the silence.
"So… Your bow, did you make it?" She continued.
"As a matter of fact, I did," Cinder answered, ignoring the smile that speaking of her weapon always brought to her face. Perhaps Nora wasn't as clueless as she first seemed, "It's also a couple," Cinder split the bow at the grip, allowing the string to collapse into the blade. She held both of the weapon's limbs as they were meant to be held; a pair of curved short swords.
"I didn't know you also used swords," Pyrrha said, trying to tuck her bangs behind one ear despite the wind.
"I could show you some of my moves," Cinder said, "I even know party tricks I can do with them."
"Ooh, that's spicy!" Nora cut in, "When did you make it? "
"It's a newer model, but I came up with the idea a few years ago."
Nora whistled, surprised by the statement. It was true, and Midnight was one of the many things Cinder had to be proud of.
"I was about to say it looks brand new," Nora wondered, a question that was a tad bit too close for comfort.
"Maintenance, you know how it is."
"Do I? Every time Magnhild needs new linkage it's always a headache!" she groaned "I wish we could at least ask for some spares but Goodwitch always says…"
"Anything more than you need right now can be arranged later," Nora and Pyrrha repeated in unison, mimicking the combat instructor's voice with eerie accuracy, then sighed, punctuating the quote that was likely spoken at them more than a few hundred times.
"I have to admit," Pyrrha said, "Miló has the same problems, but I didn't know you liked weapon design, Cinder. Did you ever think about becoming a blacksmith?"
Did it mean that there was an opening in the invincible girl's armor? Perhaps maintenance was a problem across all Huntsmen, not just her. After all, the more elaborate a weapon, the more chances it had to break. However, Pyrrha had asked her a question, Cinder would look like a fool if she simply stood there thinking . Again.
"I never considered blacksmithing. I suppose the more active roles attract me. Maybe I should try it in the future."
"I think you'd make a good blacksmith. Can I see your weapon up close?" Pyrrha asked, extending an open palm to Cinder.
"Sure, take it."
With the care one would expect from a collector Pyrrha took the onyx pair. Carefully, she slid a finger across the side of the blade, then tested the weapon. First by slowly brandishing it a couple of times, then by balancing the blade on her arm. The Vacuo way, testing how it felt first, and how the technicalities measured second.
All the while Nora watched them both like a hawk. Cinder could have sworn that it was just a feeling, an impression that the redhead had only just changed her expression, from serious to lively as soon as she looked at her.
"It's a beautiful weapon." Pyrrha praised, in less of a 'false but necessary compliment' that Cinder might have expected from others, and more akin to the way someone might describe the sunset or a fact of life, "Does it have a name?"
"Midnight."
"It's a beautiful name too," Pyrrha smiled.
She handed the blades back, with the same care as the first time she took it. It was difficult to find someone who gave weapons as much dignity as they did to people. Cinder had made the right choice.
"So it's the minute hand and hour hand?" Nora asked, and Cinder nodded, "That's brainy!"
"Thank you."
Smarter than expected. Nora carried her wits under a veneer of cheeriness, akin to what Cinder imagined a certain mute bodyguard would be like if she could talk. If Nora was anything like the Neopolitan girl, perhaps Cinder could sway her with food too? One tub of ice cream here, a few 'Lov's Grapes' discount coupons there, and in time the energetic student might leave her alone, or even cease prying into personal affairs?
Regardless of how Cinder would deal with her, the fact remained that she was definitely easier to cooperate with than the Neopolitan accomplice.
It was a shock to notice it, but they had already moved outside the city, to the dirt roads that led into villages and farms. The scout car was fast enough to make the trees and houses no more than blurs of information.
"Anyways, about the mission," Nora said, scorn dripping from the word, "Who wants the first watch? Someone will have to do it."
"I'll take it," Pyrrha sighed, "I'll take the last watch too. At least it'll calm my nerves,"
"Already want the fun all to yourself again?"
"You know me," Pyrrha smirked, "I love competition."
"If you find something to crush before me again we'll have some serious problems, missy ."
Pyrrha chuckled, "I know, but you had a rough night."
"I'm okay now," Nora defied.
She stared Pyrrha down for a few moments, a non-verbal demand, perhaps. Chances were that there was some hidden discord between the two. Maybe it was something Cinder could use to drive a wedge between them. Whether or not she would need to, that was a different question entirely.
"Sorry," Pyrrha admitted, "You can have tomorrow's. If I see any bandits you'll be the first one to know and we'll introduce ourselves to them Beacon style. But for today I need this. Deal?"
"Deal."
"It's good you're making extensive plans now, Ms Valkyrie and Ms Nikos." came Glynda's voice from the car's radio. "Our planned camping site and evac route may have been compromised, the estimated time is now officially unknown. Stay alert."
A two-way communication link. How did Cinder forget to account for something so simple? Now Goodwitch definitely had some information Cinder wouldn't have willingly given to her.
"And do remember to turn off your radio when you don't have an emergency situation."
"Understood," Nora answered the radio, then pressed the circular button that shut off the radio for good. She looked back at them with her eyes open wide in shock, "Oops, do you think she heard everything?"
"I think she would have said something sooner," Pyrrha wondered, possibly reminiscing of both imitating the Huntress, "Maybe you pressed it on accident?"
"How long do you think we can dodge detention?"
"For misuse of equipment? Ms Goodwitch didn't seem bothered."
That was a good chance for Cinder to interject.
"I was wondering about that. I didn't even know Beacon had vehicles like these."
"You didn't know about these?" Nora asked, tilting her head and furrowing her brows, "How long have you been here?"
"About one month now," was the response that would neatly tie into the fake documents in Beacon's databanks.
Nora's eyes narrowed for a moment, "Makes sense."
"Jaune says it's common near farmhills," Pyrrha said, "Pre-war technology isn't worth much nowadays."
"It's a shame isn't it?" Cinder tested with her best sorrowful tone, maybe this would make Pyrrha give away a few extra secrets.
"Yes!" Pyrrha cheered, the relief in her tone was palpable, "Pre-War technology had so much potential, almost every weapon relies on dust nowadays."
"Ugh," Nora dragged out the word, "Here we go again."
Pyrrha chuckled, "I am going to put you through that lecture as many times as it takes."
"Bleh, let's change the subject again before I start getting flashbacks,"
Seeing the two talk to each other for minutes without care brought another smile to Cinder's face, enough security to allow herself to lean back on her seat. Perhaps the rest of team Juniper would mirror Nora in some way? They could be more amiable than the people Cinder already knew, and without the exhausting chores that simply interacting required of her. For a few moments she didn't feel the pressure that weighed on her shoulders day and night.
No.
What was she doing? This was exactly how they lured in the innocent to die for them. This was how Ozpin manipulated and treated them as pawns. Soothing, pacifying before reality had a chance to sting, to scar and damage them for good. Most of these students were hopeless now, and she was brighter than that. They even treated her like an outsider before. To nearly let their presence get a hold of herself only proved how powerful this insidious force really was.
"Nora, Pyrrha, Cinder, we're entering the ruin zone," Jaune said through the comm link, "We're cut off from the CCT tower already, from here we'll have to cover the rest of the ground on foot."
A few minutes later, both cars stopped at a dead end, raising dust from the dirt road that led into the outskirts of the Emerald forest.
A Seer observes, from the safety of branches atop one of many wild trees.
It is difficult to follow the mark. The emotion it could chase was scarce and nearly completely removed from the area. No creature nearby felt loneliness. No longing for better places. Nothing. I t was forced to rely on its sight.
Two silent vehicles advanced by where it was ordered to wait, and it detects something mixed with negativity. Small, but real, and it could follow.
Such would have been impossible if not for the nature of the mark. The one with the parasite implanted within her arm, the same one who carried a fragment of great power from ages past.
She was not alone as expected. This created a dilemma only the master could solve.
The impulse was passed to it's master along the mental link they shared, every judgement would first be passed to her.
Another impulse returns, clear and simple. A confirmation, an order to follow and keep a distance.
How mind numbing could these hunts be? The answer was clear to Cinder now.
Extremely so, to the point of nearly inducing madness, and she couldn't even remedy the worst of it without giving away suspicious knowledge. It made her ponder on possibilities and lose herself in thought, seeing things as an observer.
If there was some positive to that status, it was that a little objectivity never killed anyone after all.
She knew Goodwitch already suspected that there were no bandits in the Emerald Forest. Not too long after they arrived she noticed the pattern, no signs of encampments within the ruins, no trees cut down to build fences, no suspicious movement, at least not in their surroundings.
At the very least Goodwitch led team Juniper into a good job of sweeping the space, better than Cinder initially predicted, as much as internally admitting so was something of a bitter pill. They covered a decent enough radius to guarantee there would be no surprises when camping. With the inclusion of someone like Cinder herself among their ranks they even killed the occasional stray Beowulf or Ursa with expected ease.
All throughout it Cinder was sure she could feel Nora's eyes burning behind her, even if she never looked back to check more than a couple of times.
The quest began eighteen hours ago and Juniper were yet to find any clue of who attacked the relay tower or any of the missing first responders. Even the sun had set long ago, leaving them with only moonlight breaking through the overgrown trees.
This was definitely not one of Roman's jobs, considering how he held the bare minimum level of competence, enough not to call this much attention. Or maybe he was confident enough not to try, it didn't really matter either way. There was a chance Raven was the one responsible, however the bandit rarely ever left her safety in Mistral. She was a coward like that, and there wasn't much to gain by attacking a relay tower when her targets were generally villages that couldn't defend themselves and an act such as this invited retaliation.
There was a chance someone on Cinder's side was playing their hand too soon. However, at the moment the one responsible for this didn't seem to be as much of a concern as Nora's near Ursa-like snoring. Using the pillow to cover her ears and deafen the sound had proven as useless as this quest, and waking up Nora didn't seem like a good idea when the girl only barely seemed to accept her presence.
She needed some space, even if only for a few minutes.
Pyrrha was the one on watch at the moment, and sneaking away from camp was surprisingly easy seeing how her focus was elsewhere entirely. Cinder could have bothered herself with overused safeties such as stuffing her sleeping bag to appear she was sound asleep, but she had complete confidence in her ability to return before daybreak. Taking Midnight she moved out.
Finally, she had peace when among the trees, ruins and moonlight. Ruins that were once temples and houses. She sat near a stone wall that was more part of another wild tree than anything resembling a structure, it brimmed with pieces of crude, colorful paintings. Families with children under the sun. Couples holding hands. Figures brandishing spears around a Goliath.
There were others, but they weren't the ones that caught her sight first. In a way she could appreciate them, if not for the resourcefulness of those who painted it in an era of unrefined tools then for the work that could withstand centuries. It made for an acceptable distraction after a day with the future 'protectors' of Vale.
Whatever quiet she found didn't last. Through her aura Cinder felt a presence that confirmed what she suspected the night before. Salem wanted to talk, and when Salem wanted to talk all she ever asked of Cinder was that she sat and listened. Without an excuse to incinerate the Grimm on the spot, she remained on the ground as the Seer floated from the shadows. Red smoke manifested, surged from the creature and formed the visage of the white haired and ivory-skinned woman attired in her usual black dress.
Calm and composed the image of Salem moved in her direction, crouching down to her level and yet still positioned so that Cinder had to look up to her. She spoke in the same soft, comforting tone as always.
"Cinder, honey, you were never the type to ignore your responsibilities."
Cinder wanted to tell her how she never did. How she found a good chance to go above and beyond just like Salem wanted her to. Nevertheless she knew better, knew that interrupting Salem now would be a mistake, wrong, biting the hand that fed her.
"I was so worried that something could've happened to you," the image continued, "Worried when you sent those underlings of yours back to my home, and I was shocked when you not only refused to talk to me but killed the last Seer."
Salem held a hand to Cinder's cheek, making her lean into it out of instinct, momentarily forgetting completely that the image was just that, a projection.
"Tell me Cinder, why did you do this to me?"
"I didn't mean to-" was all she could say before Salem raised a palm in a gesture telling her to stop.
"That's not what I asked."
"...I found someone who could be useful, and she was present at the time."
"She? Who is this girl?"
"Pyrrha Nikos, the Mistral champion."
"I see. Then I suppose you already have her at your side?"
"Not yet, I need more time. In just the time I've been here I already got so much inf-"
"Enough. I've heard enough," Salem commanded, and Cinder obeyed while trying to keep her own body from shaking, the frustration to a minimum.
"I warned you precisely of this, of what Ozpin's pawns will do to your mind, that you needed more than… whatever this is in order to fulfill your destiny. I believed it was clear that you were not to interact with them under any circumstance. And yet you still disobeyed me."
Salem stood up and looked down at Cinder, "I didn't think I needed to say something twice to a girl as intelligent as yourself. Do not force me to. Understood?"
It was hard for Cinder to say anything, the words felt as if they had left someone else's body, "Understood."
The image dissipated and the seer floated away, leaving Cinder to her own thoughts in a way she didn't know could be worse than the snoring of a soon-to-be Huntress. She watched the seer disappear among the trees, would it continue watching her until she left the Emerald forest? Just the thought of it formed a pit in her stomach, left Cinder digging her nails into her arm to curtail the frustration in vain.
She turned away from where she came, but the stirring of leaves alongside Nora's voice stopped her.
"There you are! Pyrrha told me to come look after you."
Cinder didn't answer. She didn't know if Salem would be seeing this or not. It didn't matter either way, since it appeared that Nora wanted to do most of the talking as she walked to a few steps behind.
"Trouble sleeping? Was it my snoring? Ren says my snores are the loudest."
"No, it wasn't you," Cinder replied. It almost was, but if she was being honest to herself now, the snoring wasn't the only reason she couldn't sleep.
"Ah. I have trouble sleeping sometimes too. Night terrors, you know?" She offered an awkward laugh that died down into silence after a moment, "Jaune read somewhere that it's pretty common across Huntsmen, so I guess we're not alone, right?"
"Sure," Cinder said, in as much of a neutral tone as she could, hoping it would make Nora leave her alone so she wouldn't need to brandish to Midnight. It only gave the girl some pause before she continued
"Look, I owe you an apology. I wasn't being very nice today, I think maybe I started seeing bad things where there weren't any. I shouldn't have done it and I won't do it again, promise."
She was apologizing? For being critical of a complete stranger making her way into Juniper's quest? What made the girl feel like she needed to apologize for being logical?
"So... Please come back? I think I brought some midnight treats I could share."
Weighing in in the alternatives was surprisingly easy. Salem was likely watching. She made Cinder feel miserable and alone just a few minutes before, she'd be furious if her orders were disobeyed twice.
So Cinder turned around and followed Nora back to camp. She would prove that her plan was the path to victory.