A/N: So, quick warning this one is much longer than other chapters. Took me a long time time too, and I'm sorry. It was eventful January that streched into an eventful February, and although I wish I could've posted this sooner, some matters took a lot of time, plus, I didn't want to post this unfinished. It's one of the chapters I had in mind since I started the fic, and I didn't want it to be subpar.

Chapter 11: Lies and Deceit

"Well now, where are my manners?"

Emerald and Mercury both stopped on their tracks. With Roman back to his business and the Paladin deal a success, it was possibly the best time for them to discuss their own matters, away from the cave system and the white fang.

"Emerald, it's good to see you again. Mercury, you're… here," she said. It wasn't that she disliked his presence, it was simply hard to find a good way to describe it.

"Always," Mercury answered, still as cocky as Cinder remembered.

The confidence was good, but she shouldn't let his arrogance fly off the handle. Emerald was the one with his leash, but even after explicit orders to keep their hands clean in Vale they eliminated one of Roman's contacts. Their fighting prowess was definitely necessary, but the brash and stupid attitude had no place during an endeavor like theirs.

She had to save face when Roman found out and so it was never brought up again, yet even the memory angered her, the ex-white fang was supposed to escape, as it would make it clear for the others they could leave without Adam and his men following. A message sent without words.

Perhaps she should've treated the situation differently back then, but as luck would have it, it became unnecessary. There was a chance the Belladonna would be helpful there, somewhere in the future.

Banishing the thoughts out of mind for a moment, she noticed there was something different about Emerald.

"Em, are you letting your hair grow out?" Her bangs were already growing long enough to almost obscure her eyes, and the neck length hair neared shoulder length.

"Oh!, that, I didn't really think about cutting it this month but I'm going-"

Cinder grinned, did a simple compliment really sound that false when coming from her? "I think it looks stunning."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Mercury cut in with a remark aimed at Emerald, one Cinder didn't bother to hear nor give any attention to. She kept both of them on her sights to make sure a fight wouldn't break out, but otherwise didn't really listen, her thoughts strayed elsewhere. Perhaps it would be better to make their mission clear; last time she relied on expecting common sense out of the two, when it should've been clear that wasn't an option.

"Put a lid on it, both of you. There's something important we need to talk about," she said. The comment prompted both to shut it, thankfully averting the migraine Cinder expected.

She continued, uninterrupted, "I need to make sure you two understand what you're supposed to do from here on."

Mercury was quick to answer, "Make sure everything runs smoothly, stay by Roman's side-"

"As much he doesn't deserve it." Emerald cut in.

Mercury grinned and pointed a thumb at Emerald, "That. And when the train's up and running…"

"We take out Adam," they said in unison.

Amazing coordination. She should've known all it'd take to make them cooperate was a common enemy.

"Just one question, boss." Mercury said.

Cinder raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"Why are we even getting Adam to play along then? We could just do it now, piece of cake. Then we make Junior's men get things working."

It was an interesting question, yet needless to say, Cinder wasn't entirely willing to present the information in monologue form. She could just order them to do as she said, but the utter lack of results it brought about the last time didn't exactly make it an appealing alternative.

Screw it, she'd do it anyways. At least it would be some form of stress relief.

"Because this is a fickle alliance. He's cooperating for now, but that won't be true once we reach our should keep an eye on the one with the Deathstalker mask too, he strikes me as a zealot. Now, when it comes to the White Fang itself, we have much to gain from our alliance."

Emerald's brows furrowed at the statement, "We do?"

"Yes, plainly put, we both want to see the end of Atlas and their army. I think you've both seen the androids Atlas has in store, when those murderous robots aren't fighting Grimm where do we see them again?"

Mercury folded his arms, "Guarding Schnee trains, patrolling Atlesian streets…"

Cinder continued from his sentence, leaning on one hip, their sudden interest was a breath of fresh air, "And they're already selling their military-issue robots in Vale. Robots controlled by Atlas, who as Watts said, can be taken over at any time-" she waved a finger as though to underline her statement–"so it's not a peace offering or a sign of unity, it's their army occupying this kingdom quietly and insidiously."

The pair remained silent, preferring to stare intently. More focused than usual? A pleasant surprise.

Emerald seemed confused for a second, "But how does the White Fang help there?"

"Because we want to work together on solutions, not problems. Junior and his men simply don't care, and sure, after tremendous amounts of effort some Huntsmen might agree that an Atlas-Schnee empire is just bad for everyone, but what are they going to do? Ask nicely for Ironwood to stop upgrading their firepower as they stomp everyone-human or faunus-into submission? No, the Atlesian robotic army needs to be removed thoroughly, and for that, their flaws need to be exposed for everyone, bright as day. The White Fang knows this better than anyone."

Emerald and Mercury remained silent, perhaps the rationale surprised them? Had she ever mentioned it before? It was something of a barbed point to make, maybe she'd gone too far.

Mercury was the first one to speak up, "I gotta say boss, this makes a lot more sense this time around. Me personally? I would've been on board for a lot less, after those stations said you worship the black cube of Saturn everything's fair game now."

Emerald chuckled, "I mean, who'd even believe that?"

As both chatted away, she allowed her mind to deviate again, in part to protect her sanity from the consistent onslaught of conspiracies they listed. How many different theories did that make? She hadn't heard the same theory twice now, it was becoming less of a wound to her ego and more of a source of discomfort, it made her worry how long it would take before they started to extend the same to the woman she saved that day.

Or worse, to team Juniper.

It would simply ruin her plans if it became something that couldn't be contained to herself, she couldn't say it out loud that she cared about team Juniper all that much. Although Nora's ability to liven up everyone's mood was starting to grow on her. And Ren wasn't as bland as she initially assumed he would be, at least his cooking was far from such an adjective. They would also be valuable allies, and nothing about their attitude spoke of undying loyalty to Beacon or any other asinine form of worship. Perhaps they would follow Pyrrha.

Then there was Pyrrha. Did she even know how valuable she was? Her strength was something to behold, the post-tournament commentaries weren't wrong when they said she had more skill than anyone they'd seen in the last decade. Then there was her charisma, the way she talked, laughed, how she looked when concentrating on homework, and even the way her hair flowed behind her as she walked away from class, it was all so intoxicating, real palpable proof that Cinder made the correct choice when looking for an ally in her.

If she couldn't keep the mess she caused away from them, away from Pyrrha, then what would her entire operation be for? In just a few days they'd see, she couldn't let something as frivolous and unprofessional as her own feelings get in the way of the plan.

"-Or a clone of a pre-war Alesian tyrant," Emerald finished.

Cinder straightened her back and refused to acknowledge the conspiracies, "In any case, I trust you two will behave. We can't afford mistakes now."

Pyrrha frowned when she heard someone knocking on the door. Why were they knocking at five in the morning?

Granted, she was up at four, anything else would just be excess sleep. Unlocking her aura had that kind of side effect, where it was easy to find herself with excess energy and no outlet. From what she read and the doctors confirmed, it was exactly what was supposed to happen, the situations where a normal person would find themselves exhausted halfway to death could be outperformed routinely by any aura-enhanced person.

It didn't mean she liked it.

And it certainly didn't mean she would rather answer the door instead of actually finishing her homework. Yes, it was saturday, meaning she'd rather stay in bed all day, but that was no excuse to fall a little behind next month's lessons.

That, and the others were currently helping Ren 'withdraw' some supplies from the Beacon kitchen, so somebody had to stay anyway. Good, less need to change out of her pajamas.

"Just a second!" she said, hoping whoever was on the other side heard her.

Who'd possibly take time out of their morning just to stop by the Juniper dorm during a weekend? Everyone else was spending their time doing something worthwhile, like going out on dates, meeting with family, or advancing their homework in the expectation that teachers would swamp them with quests near the end of the year.

Maybe not everyone was doing that last part, but they definitely should be doing it. It wasn't as if Port of all professors would teach them the practical applications of delayed-action dust munitions as they related to the uses of Aura-infused weaponry during Grimm hunts, or the diminishing returns they created for little to no benefit, no, Port would much rather talk about the times he shot some Grimm then did a flip as a young Huntsman.

They knocked on the door again, did they have no patience at all? Pyrrha was about to give them a piece of her mind, until she opened the door and her heart almost skipped a beat from a familiar stone-cold tone.

"Miss Nikos, a word, please."

Before her stood none other than Glynda Goodwitch, Huntress, Combat Instructor, and possibly the only professor who was capable of nearly causing a medical emergency with her presence alone.

And she wasn't in a good mood. Although, she couldn't tell if Glynda could ever be in a good mood.

Pyrrha sputtered for a moment, "I, eh, sure! Is it time for the dorm inspection already? A bit early this time!"

She attempted to buy some time, hoping to whatever gods were out there that Glynda wouldn't notice the highly suspicious absence of the other three Juniper members when they hadn't filed an absence report.

Glynda didn't answer, preferring to let her expression do the talking. The neutral gaze seemed more and more disapproving every second, enough so Pyrrha could feel a bead of sweat run down her temple.

How does she do that?

Sneaking a quick glance into the hallway, she looked behind Glynda just in time to see Ren, Nora and Jaune on the way back to the dorm, carrying an array of ingredients. They stumbled and rushed away as they realized the Combat Instructor was present.

The professor's eyes scanned the room, examining cautiously, "No. This is about your former temporary teammate, Cinder Fall. She was not found within Beacon premises. May I come in?"

Pyrrha smiled, hiding her brittle composure, "Of course! Don't mind the mess, we've just been so worried with… the… mid-semester tests! Yeah, you know how it is this time of the year."

Glynda's heels clicked past her, "Surely."

Why she went this far simply to discuss a missing teammate was something beyond Pyrrha, everyone knew some students sneaked out from time to time, Cinder wasn't any different, "Is she in any trouble?"

"That will depend. I'm sure you're well aware that at this point, but Miss Fall is something of a public figure now, and if she's sighted elsewhere when records don't match, it could be troublesome."

Oh no, that was the long way of saying she'd face more public scandals, and unlike Pyrrha, Cinder didn't have a worldwide brand managing that twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

"Wait, there's even more trouble than people saying she's part of an ancient reptilian cabal that rules Remnant from the shadows?" Pyrrha asked, hoping she was buying enough time for her team to hurry as far away as they could, preferably to the other side of Beacon.

"Yes, there's worse than theories about how she's a Council member and Beacon doesn't exist."

"Even-"

"Yes, even worse than theories about how she's an inverted Schnee clone."

"And-"

"Yes, Yes Miss Nikos. Even worse than the rumors about a student with no team being a sign of the doomsday, may you please focus now?!"

Pyrrha swallowed, well aware that Glynda's patience was starting to wear thin. Glynda walked along the room, searching. "I'm well aware that these situations can be stressful. Unfortunately, Beacon cannot prepare its students for scenarios such as this-" she brandished her crop, making the bed float in midair instead of leaning to look underneath- "And it's certainly not an offense, so you can rest easy, she's not getting detention for leaving once."

She had a strict tone of voice, but regardless of what Glynda said, Pyrrha didn't trust it completely. Not when she knew something was happening behind the scenes, even if she couldn't tell what.

Glynda lowered the bed down to its original place, then continued, "The reason I'm here is because given the circumstance, the responsibility falls onto me. I partially expected her to be at your dorm."

Heat spread across Pyrra's face, "Why-Why would she be here, I mean, we talk every now and then but..."

Glynda's eyes narrowed behind the glasses, "Regardless, it seems I was incorrect. I'll be leaving now. Before I go, I should let you know, Miss Nikos, that should you come in contact with Miss Fall you are to immediately notify me. These are simple matters after all, there's no reason why it shouldn't be solved within a few minutes."

Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief, at least it was good to know Cinder wouldn't be facing life in detention for sneaking out once. That would get in the way, plus, detention was now populated by Cardin, which would definitely double the unpleasantness of it all.

Glynda stopped, then motioned at the dorm with a finger, spinning it as if to encompass the room, "And additionally, do properly organize Beacon food supplies before you bring into your dorm."

Pyrrha's eyes widened, before she could ask the teacher how she knew such a thing, Glynda turned her back and walked away, with purpose, as all Huntsmen and Huntresses were thought to even back at combat school.

Great, now her focus was simply gone. Writing team Juniper's paper on 117 Dust Applications was already a difficult task, she could use less interruptions. It was difficult to get back into the same momentum, she'd spent the last hour trying to do so deliberately, and now it was simply gone. As soon as she sat on the chair, her mind deviated. Maybe she had too much on her mind, or maybe she was already tired? Unlikely, she didn't feel any fatigue. Maybe it was the thought of Cinder.

She was alone, so Pyrrha let the false cheeriness drop for a moment, already unwilling to accept what she was experiencing. The unannounced inspection didn't sit right with her, an eerie feeling gnawed at the back of her mind. There was something they weren't saying, something Beacon, Ozpin and maybe even Glynda were hiding from her. Was she simply paranoid, or was it her aura again?

She could ask a professor and there was a good chance they'd be able to tell, but if her instincts were right that would raise suspicion…

Her mind strayed right back to Cinder, again and again, about the conversation she overheard. It felt terrible now, and apparently she'd sneaked out for a day. Thinking back on it, Pyrrha regretted not saying anything to Glynda.

On the other hand, she shouldn't even know about it. She'd intruded on the little bit of privacy Cinder could even have now, and it definitely didn't feel right to tell Glynda. Cinder's family seemed sketchy at best, and there was a good chance Pyrrha wasn't having a good look at the full picture.

But maybe Cinder had been trying to say something, to someone?

Were there signs somewhere along the way?

She couldn't tell, so many things simply escaped her all the time. Chances were that it was something that simply flew over Pyrrha's head, something more intelligent huntresses would've caught on the spot. Hell, what if Glynda was that someone? What if the reason she was searching for a student herself rather than delegating it to guards, or at least waiting for the sun to rise, was because she understood it better than anyone else?

No, Glynda wouldn't. She was a part of Beacon staff and a top Huntress, she didn't have the time to care about a student and her personal life.

For a few minutes she didn't know what to do, caught in that mental loop, stuck between wondering on which course of action to take.

Better do something, instead of nothing at all? It was an enticing thought that would get her away from the tedious task of reading and writing, but it was definitely not a healthy spiral to go down, would Cinder think less of her for acting that way towards her family? What if she was wrong?

If only to take her mind off the current source of affliction, she decided on curbing her instincts. Back to studying and numbing her mind with some much needed weapon design theory and applications.

Considering her options, going over 562 Mechanical Movements again came to mind. She'd have to write a report on what improvements Miló and Akoúo̱ needed for Port's class, not to mention a study on firearm engineering history for Oobleck's finals. Miló, her main weapon, could and should use less mechanisms, it was a weapon with a lot of versatility for sure, but the multitude of forms it could shift to increased the number of pieces needed-small pieces that could break easily-and she'd been trying to think of a way to optimize her weapon, it was expected of any Huntsman or Huntress worth their Pumpkin Pete's sponsorship.

Maybe there was a way to add digital controls to her weapon. Atlas wasn't keen on sharing, but the little they did went a long way, and she could think of more than a few ways to use the new battery-powered control boards to replace some of the dust-reaction engines in Miló-

Who am I kidding.

Like a puff of smoke her focus dissipated entirely. She couldn't simply sit there and contemplate something as small as upgrades! It was never an option. Pyrrha changed her clothes, she'd have gone for the usual uniform, but it was a weekend, and the armor was another needless waste of time. Instead, she preferred dressing in the new clothes Coco recommended, the jeans, kneehigh boots and sleeveless hoodie. It was simple, but it definitely beat wearing armor everywhere.

She picked up her scroll, and tapped Cinder's name, unsure of where to go from there. Pyrrha puffed up her chest, gathering the courage to type something.

[Private Message 05:12 AM] Pyrrha Nikos

Hello! R U there?

There, it was something. Hopefully cinder would answer soon.

She knew what she wanted now: a date, in the city of Vale. Who cared about absent student records other than Glynda and Maybe Ozpin anyways? If she let things like homework, mistakes and anxiety take one-hundred percent of her time, It'd eat her alive before any Grimm even tried. She couldn't put a finger on the reason, but at that moment, Beacon felt like the last place on Remnant to stay at.

Perhaps a bit too soon, the scroll vibrated with a notification, an answer.

[Private Message 05:14 AM] Cinder Fall

Hi. I am not sure what you mean by "ru", my vale dialect is slightly incomplete in those regards.

[Private Message 05:14 AM] Pyrrha Nikos

Haha, that's funny! By the way, you wanna meet up?

Pyrrha regretted it as soon as she hit 'send', thankfully, Cinder answered before she could overthink her decision.

[Private Message 05:15 AM] Cinder Fall

At this moment?

[Private Message 05:15 AM] Pyrrha Nikos

We could meet up later if that's better! I kind of wanted to hang out some more

[Private Message 05:16 AM] Cinder Fall

Like a date? Yes.

Reading the words on screen nearly made her blood freeze over, had she ever called someone out for a date, even once before?

[Private Message 05:16 AM] Cinder Fall

Where would you like to meet?

The message brought Pyrrha back to reality, where would she like to meet Cinder?

[Private Message 05:16 AM] Pyrrha Nikos

How about this place I know, I hear Adelaine's has a great view!

After hitting send Pyrrha regretted the message. Not because of the cafe choice, no, that was one of Coco's suggestions after she'd spilled the beans about Cinder. Instead, she regretted the punctuation, did using exclamation marks so much make her sound manic? It was meant to show how excited she was!

[Private Message 05:17 AM] Cinder Fall

Seems good, meet you there for lunch?

After answering a short 'Yes', Pyrrha could've jumped with glee. It wasn't often that she had the chance to go out on a date.

Wipe, wipe wipe, then pretend you missed a spot.

That was how the people at Pumpkin Pete's taught her to wave for a crowd, pretend she's wiping a window, then wave a little lower. The woman that taught it to her learned from the schnees, and said it was meant to capture their hearts and keep the magical feeling Huntsmen and Huntresses were supposed to radiate. Although Pyrrha had called in to book a table, some people had recognized her as she walked through the streets, and a small crowd forming outside was simply inevitable, so she waved and smiled. At least the staff at Adelaine's was understanding, especially the waitress that showed her through the second floor's wooden balcony.

"I think I'll need a more private spot," Pyrha said through the smile.

The waitress nodded once, "I see, we do have a private booth, although the view isn't as good."

"I don't think the view will be a problem."

"We understand, these things can escalate out of control, after all. Table for two, correct?" the waitress queried, motioning inside

"That's correct."

Following her inside, Pyrrha knew she could appreciate the lunch regardless, Adelaine's had a charming decor; rustic with modern touches. Tree pillars and a wooden floor, plus the low lighting helped with the mood, even though it was a perfectly bright day outside. Maybe it would look even better during the sunset. One of the perks of being a celebrity for Pumpkin Pete's was that fancy restaurants usually were quick to service, maybe for the free publicity, but it was convenient nonetheless.

The private booth wasn't any different, and the most notable thing about it was the built-in scroll tablet they had at the center of the tables, so clients could order through a digital menu . Very advanced if anything, and it made things such as browsing the CCT more of a mutual experience.

After thanking the waitress, she sat down, ready to order. They wouldn't kick her out for not buying something for too long, but even her presence there was causing something of an extra effort, if only because the staff now had to worry about a crowd of fans outside. It would only be fair if she bought something right away, even if it was just a can of soda.

That being said, the bill would go straight to Pumpkin Pete's at any case, so she wasn't worried about the price tag per se. And when her finger pressed on the touchscreen, it just so happened to obscure the numbers.

Oops. Anyways...

It was a good half hour until Cinder finally appeared, but it was well worth the wait. For one, she wore a scarlet dress coat and a scarf, the type she kept for colder days. For another, she wore her hair on a bun, and sunglasses so oversized Pyrrha had to wonder why they even made those anymore.

Surprisingly, however, it worked as a disguise, it was difficult to tell she was the same Cinder, even though very little had changed. Could Pyrrha do the same with office clothes and a pair of prescription glasses? It would make grocery shopping far less overbearing.

Resting her chin on her hand, she watched as Cinder strutted closer, right foot the left and left foot to the right, weaving along the line between them, same as the day they'd met at the cafeteria. When she sat across from Pyrrha, it was hard not to smile.

Cinder casually removed the sunglasses, leaving them aside, "Please don't ask about the glasses."

Pyrrha chuckled, "At least tell me, did it work?"

"Yes, but I hate them with a passion."

"Well, I hope the people at the entrance didn't give you a hard time."

Cinder huffed, "Not at all, although security thought I was some fan trying to sneak inside,"

The idea of it was enough to make Pyrrha laugh, but she kept it to a smile, "Well, are you? I gave them your name so you didn't have to sneak in," she leaned closer, looking Cinder in the eyes, "But are you a fan, here to charm your idol?"

It wasn't often that something surprised Cinder. In fact, as far as Pyrrha could remember, nothing ever seemed to, and yet, at those words, her expression shifted, briefly breaking eye contact, before she looked back and smirked, "And what if I am? What if I qualified for the Vytal Festival all so I could have a chance to meet the one and only Pyrrha Nikos? Surely I wouldn't be the first one," she said, then moved her attention to the menu, leisurely scrolling through pages.

"You'd be surprised, people take a lot of pictures but none of them ever want to come close, not even for an autograph. Even the ones from the CCTS only did it because we were in that ship for hours. Although I guess that's better than having no personal space at all," Pyrrha said, laughing to contain her embarrassment.

"Yes, and being alone is simply dreadful," she looked at Pyrrha, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards as she grinned, "But I can't say the same for this menu, these names are quite something."

"Ah yes, my personal favorite is the 'Huntresses Temptation', they say the recipe was scribbled from memory when they first cooked it in Mistral, where it used to entice most Huntresses from their temples to eat some of the soup."

Cinder hummed as she looked at the menu, interested in the delicacy, "Shrimp, Ham, Matsutate along with many secret ingredients. The name does justice to it, but it's so..."

"Expensive? It's my treat, well, technically Pumpkin Pete's treat,"

Intrigued by the statement, Cinder's eyebrows raised, "Is that so? Even something like 'Ozmandias Revolution', 'Bloody Marigold' or 'Sweet Salem'?"

The dishes were definitely expensive, but Pyrrha knew a company like Pumpkin Pete's wouldn't bat an eye, if anything, this would keep them from bothering her about publicity and all that, "Especially those. I never really had the chance or the reason to eat fancy you know?"

Cinder considered the answer for a moment, "Me neither. I think I know what i'll want, and you?"

"I've had something in mind for a while," Pyrrha said. She watched closely, mesmerized by the way Cinder's hair covered one of her eyes. Cinder, for her part, obliviously moved her finger across the touchscreen.

Cinder had ordered the "Noodles with Vale Mountain Delicacies", a mix of noodles in a generous amount of meat and vegetable sauce. Pyrrha, for her part, preferred the veggie soup. The Vale climate was kind of cold that time of the year, and a steaming hot soup seemed like it would make for a good combination, and the clear aroma perfectly accompanied the flavor. As soon as the food was served, she pressed her card onto the scroll tablet, prompting a digital number pad to type in her password.

"I didn't know there were so many types of dishes," Cinder said.

"What? But so many of these are Mistralian!"

Cinder smiled, "What can I say, we learn something every day. And I must say, these built-in scroll menus are quite the interesting addition to a table."

"Yeah, they're not just menus either," Pyrrha clicked on an arrow, prompting a 'return?' message, "You can also play games on them while you wait for your order, it has a cross continental net connection, and some music too,"

"What is this one, 'Candy Combine'?"

"Oh yeah that one's pretty fun!" Pyrrha said, remembering the game. It was a shoot 'em up series, where they could play as a dessert that lived in a secret town, gathering sweets along the path to fight against a series of different threats. The one they had installed was likely Candy Combine and the Unspecific Fantasmal Object, where they investigate a strange flying object in the sky.

Cinder seemed confused upon opening the game, "Why does this cupcake wear a wide brim hat, and flies with a broom?"

"Because she's a witch!"

"I didn't know witches could do that..." Cinder said. She looked puzzled, like something she took for a granted was being challenged on a fundamental level.

"Of course they can," Pyrrha answered, prompting Cinder to contemplate on the matter.

It seemed as if every time something so simple seemed so far out of reach, fate would remind Pyrrha again that she was wrong. Maybe it wasn't destiny after all when causality could be another explanation, so much time spent by herself, fighting or improving upon her fighting, it was easy to forget about the little things.

This is sure a lot better than spending another day on Beacon.

Oh right, Beacon.

She hadn't had the time to tell Cinder about any of it, be it how Glynda was looking for her, and not only that, about the conversation she'd heard the other day. Or perhaps she had the time, and somewhere deep inside simply didn't want to bring it up. Was it the best time to do so? At that point, Pyrrha wasn't even sure she wanted to.

Well, she didn't have to, they could take care of that later after all. Glynda said she wasn't in trouble so it shouldn't be a problem, right? Besides, she kind of owed Cinder something nice, that's what people did when they were dating right? They showed each other some appreciation. They've kissed twice, went to a party together, and Pyrrha stalked Cinder once, so that meant they were basically dating.

After the staff at Adelaine's was kind enough to allow them to leave through the back door, they walked through the somewhat empty streets. Thankfully, word hadn't spread too far yet, and Cinder's disguise seemed to help as the few people that might've recognized her seemed to dismiss it as a lookalike.

"Do you want to visit some other place, before we go back?" Pyrrha asked. She was genuinely curious, but part of her also wanted to know if there was something, anything Cinder wanted. The rest of her wished she was straight forward enough to simply ask.

Cinder brought a hand to her chin, thinking for a few moments, "Hm, not unless you do, I sometimes struggle to think of anything must inevitably return to Beacon, don't we?"

"Yeah, yeah I think so too."

"Plus, given how the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Vale seem to be stretched thin, I think we might need to return before the evening. The latest crime spree seems to have everyone on edge as of late."

Pyrrha's eyebrows shot up at the statement, how could she forget something so basic? Then again, she'd much prefer to leave law enforcement to other authorities, and arresting one or two thieves would never change the reasons they stole in the first place, "Oh! I don't think we need to worry about that! They have a bunch of those androids now, so it should be fine. I mean they can't handle a Grimm but even we struggle with that from time to time."

"Are they really that much better? I can't seem to find it in me to trust their presence. I'm sorry, I must be boring you"

"Not at all! Did you know that's the exact reason they replaced them with the new models?"

"I'm aware. It simply makes me uneasy, I suppose? Knowing that Atlas military is everywhere in Vale. We were all supposed to be demilitarized by now, weren't we?"

It was a tough question, but perhaps something that everyone collectively chose to ignore as time went by. It became normal, and Atlas became ever more audacious, not only increasing the numbers of their army, but adding androids built alongside the Schnees. General Ironwood seemed a bit too happy about deploying them too.

Pyrrha didn't know what to say about it, but she agreed with the feeling, "Yes. I don't think I've thought about it like that."

"I think we would be quite fine if some muggers faced us. Short of heavy ordnance or some corrupt Huntsmen among them, I don't know what could get past my aura, much less yours. But the Atlas military on the other hand… Well, we all know what they can do."

And they've seen some of their actions too. That much went unsaid.

"I think that makes a lot of sense. I try not to judge because we don't always have all the facts, but it's getting harder and harder lately." Pyrrha sighed, it was good to share the weight with someone else, for once. Before silence could set between them, she continued, "We still haven't heard about what happened that day at the tower, and every day It seems more and more like they're trying to sweep it under the rug."

"Is that a problem? It seems like a lot are content with concealing things for the greater good."

"I hate it. I still wonder if the people we saved are recovering, but it's not like they let us do much after we saved them."

Cinder watched her, stoic as always. She took off the glasses, then held Pyrrha's hands, looking at them, "I think that's magnificent. Can I share a secret with you?"

"Wha-of course! Anything."

"Since I was a little girl, I've always wanted to be a Huntress, because everyone said they would always save people. They'd find injustices and fix them through battle, purge evil through sword and artillery. I was too young to realize at that time that I'd never seen a Huntress with my own eyes. But right now, listening to you, it feels like I finally understand what they were talking about."

When Cinder leaned closer and pressed her lips to Pyrrha's, the same battle instinct flew through her again, her aura yelling at her to get out of the way, albeit at this time, a lesser scream. Whatever that was, she decided it wasn't worth her attention when they finally pulled out of the kiss.

Pyrrha couldn't look at her in the eye, so Cinder was the first one to speak up, "So, how about we take the boat ride back to Beacon?"

"Miss Fall and Miss Nikos! Do I need to remind you both of Beacon protocol?"

Cinder didn't think that of all people, Glynda would be waiting for them at the Beacon docks. In fact, she might've preferred it if it was anyone else.

Pyrrha apologized almost on instinct, "I'm sorry! I just thought-"

Miss Goodwitch interrupted her almost immediately, annoyed, "Regardless of what you thought, It won't be a problem, I must simply ask you both that next time you wish to leave, please sign the appropriate forms."

She handed them both papers, a pair of fillable forms. They read:

I (student name here) will leave Beacon premises for the purposes of:

[ ] Recreation

[ ] Family Gathering

[ ] Dust Shopping

Along with at least a dozen other options, and one last option that allowed the student to fill in for unforeseen occurrences.

Glynda called for their attention again, "This time I managed to avoid having them start an official search, but I don't know if I'll be able to do it again, especially when surveillance will be growing strict soon. Please, be more careful next time."

Glynda walked back to the academy, unflinching. It was good that she didn't seem too angry, given that Cinder would rather face anything else right after a lengthy trip to Mountain Glenn. And she seemed kinder? No, that was incorrect. Something about her seemed different, and why would she say anything about being careful, when Cinder was careful all the time?

If Glynda walking away was a good thing because it meant she wouldn't have to worry about vigilant eyes on her, it also meant she'd have to think about her own very avoidable mistake, and that was a punishment of its own.

But what was all that about being careful next time?