Chapter 20: Cinder, Sublime!

Tanner down, taken by that ninja girl with the cute bow.

Sall down, knocked out by a stray bullet, I think? We didn't even see the shooter.

Lavi wouldn't be going anywhere, given how they were shackled in ice.

Oh, what a terrible day for me.

Vera ran down the hallway, and her atlesian guard armor didn't help there. It was as if it weighed more by the second. All the atlesian training couldn't have prepared her for what she experienced, she'd been running for so long her lungs burned. The ground rumbled beneath her feet, it was coming…

She heard it, heavy steps becoming faster and faster…

"Choo-choo!" the ever advancing wall of electric dust and pain vocalized. That berserker, she was insane! The redheaded girl dragged her hammer on the floor, the sound was terrible, like a Grimm from the atlesian Dust mines!

"Oh no you won't!" a high pitched voice cut through the cacophony, an instant later the ground was ice, her boots frozen in place, and the redheaded warrior, bound by momentum, tumbled and crashed past her to the end of the hallway. A girl in white turned the corner soon after, was she… Weiss Schnee, the heiress?

"Hey Ice Queen!" she heard the redhead, from the crater she left at her crash site, "Catch!"

A pair of grenades rocketed by her head, towards the Schnee. Weiss summoned a wall of ice, only for it to shatter on the first impact, the second grenade hit her dead on, blowing her away. When the pink cloud dissipated, she was down to one knee and winded, but not much else.

What monsters! She was hit! A grenade hit her and she is still in one piece!

Following the orders was a mistake. What were her superiors even thinking?

A blonde girl turned the same corner, "Taking a 'nade to the chest just for dramatic effect? I didn't think you had it in you."

Weiss tried to get up, "Just hold Nora off, Yang."

"Hey, come on Weisscream, take a breather," she winked at the heiress, "I'll take it from here, just sit back and enjoy the view."

Weiss sat down, sighing, "Whatever. As long as we get her."

Get her? But why would she fight another student… Vera's blood ran cold as the ice that bound her as she suddenly realized she wasn't just a spectator anymore, but the main target of these… kids? This isn't the time for metaphors, Vera! Or analogies, whatever! She expunged the grammar lessons to focus on prying her boots out of the ice, with little effect.

Vera heard the other one, Nora, running towards her from behind while Yang sprinted her way, she was surrounded. Maybe their vision is based on movement? She hoped, just maybe, if she curled up into a ball and stood quiet enough, they wouldn't focus on her.

Yang jumped over Vera, kicking away Nora's hammer just before it hit. The girls were like a pair of lionesses, fighting over the last prey, they parried and struck with such speed, how come anyone expected normal people to take them on?

They came to a standstill when Nora brought her hammer down, to break the ice. Yang caught it midway through, she needed both arms just to hold on to the hammer's head, and at that point it was a contest of strength, something those two girls seemed to pull from an infinite well.

Sparks flew out of Nora's eyes, the air gathered a distinct metallic taste, "You're really lookin' for a rematch huh?" she growled, then pressed the hammer down further, the floor cracked under Yang's feet.

Yang breathed in, "Come on, one-two-" she released the hammer to shoulder tackle Nora, the hammer came within an inch of Vera's skull, almost close enough to shave a bead of sweat off her forehead. Yang raised Nora overhead, then slammed her down back-first, breaking through the floor and sending the three of them into the level below.

Vera hit the ground on her side, the impact pushing the air out of her lungs. She gasped for breath, then coughed as the concrete dust almost choked her, in time to notice Yang looming over her, red eyes shining through the dust cloud that obscured them, stinged her eyes and barely let them see beyond an arm's reach.

A shadow jumped behind Yang, was it Nora? The girl had latched onto the blonde's back, trying to choke her using the hammer's handle. Yang slammed into the walls, in an attempt to pry off the short, red haired ball of rage that was Nora.

That was it, it was her chance! While the two monsters fought, she had a window of opportunity. Vera crawled a couple of steps away, outside of the dust cloud. She couldn't get up yet but she still had her sidearm, the standard pistol… She aimed it down the hallway, waiting for the dust to settle…

And as she squeezed the trigger, her weapon was shot out of her hand. How? The two girls were still-

"Dang it, I missed!" a young voice came from the upper storey, who-

"Ooooh, was that Ruby? That was good!" Nora asked, still trying to strangle Yang.

Yang, doing her best to push the handle away from her trachea, smiled, "Atta girl, that's my sis!" with great effort, she shouldered a wall, bringing down Nora with it.

Nora, still stunned, fired a grenade on the ground, propelling herself away from Yang and Vera at the same time.

Down the hallway, a pair of boys-a blonde and a black haired one in green- approached the scene. They looked at the two girls fighting among themselves, then promptly walked away.

Nora groaned, annoyed, "Where even is Pyrrha?"

Yang snickered, "Wanna tag out already?" a way of goading Nora into attacking, and it succeeded.

Perhaps if Vera was quiet, crawled away slowly, they wouldn't notice. And yet… Something told her she wouldn't make it past the front door. The heiress was at the floor above, and others avoided coming to the center of the conflict, so they were likely standing by at the surroundings, in case she did get away.

It was done, and by kids who were what, half her age? Kids that until a few hours ago, she took for spoiled celebrities, glory hounds. Vera had been deployed with at least seven hundred others, a legion under a different name, it would've been enough to guarantee a quick passage through a ruin zone. They shot to kill, and those Huntsmen in training still refused to die. On top of the uncanny stamina, they refused to kill in return. They restrained, disabled, destroyed vehicles like they were nothing, some even made some men surrender, and still refused to take a life. They weren't like Specialists she'd seen back home.

Home. She'd forgotten in the safety of atlesian walls, the miraculous flying city of Atlas, just how terrifying Grimm creatures were. The people that hunted down hordes of Grimm, on the other hand?

Doubly so.

What could possibly have motivated them?

It was the hall just beneath Ozpin's tower, one so monumental as to have a high, coffered ceiling. Debris, tables and even some of the lockers were scattered, they had been used by the students to mount concealment. Successfully too, something that brought Glynda no small amount of relief.

It's like I'm always grabbing them just as they reach for the hot stove. Thinking of how most of them were in good shape brought a smile to her face.

The elevator had been destroyed, did someone make it all the way up there, or was it a defensive measure?

Standing at the edge and looking down the elevator pit, Glynda couldn't see it, but she knew where it was, the damage was… reparable. At least with her Semblance. She waved her crop and extended her perception, to see what had to be done. Reattaching the cables, fixing the emergency brakes, straightening the doors of the elevator itself, it was done at her command, they moved to what they once were in the past. It strained her body and made her head feel like it would burst from the pain, but Glynda was no stranger to pulling an extra effort.

In the elevator ride, she leaned on the wall, barely able to keep her thoughts together. It's still not over. Glynda let herself slide down until she was sitting with her back to the wall, indeed it wasn't over, and what she'd do next, that would be the most difficult thing she'd have to do that day. Stopping a siege, destroying hundreds of androids and sealing a breach was easy. She was trained to do it from her twelfth birthday.

The elevator approached the office floor. Would she be able to do it? Glynda got up, dusted herself off.

With a single ring of a bell, the elevator announced her arrival. Inside, Ozpin waited by the window behind his desk, framed by the floor-to-ceiling window, the glow of the moon above, and the lights of Beacon Academy below. A hole in the ceiling and a locker made themselves known to her right as she stepped in, right next to it was…

"Amber?" she said, almost in disbelief. The last time Glynda had seen her, she was in a coma, and they weren't expecting her to wake up.

"Glynda," Ozpin greeted her right away.

"Ozpin," she greeted in return.

Oh, formalities be damned. She walked to Amber, hands apart, and the girl leaped to her arms. It had been a long time since they last saw each other, or at least, since Amber last saw Glynda. She was a good student way back when, and she had come a long way since then. To think not that long ago Glynda had been so desperate as to believe Amber's life was an acceptable sacrifice.

"I don't suppose there's a short version of how you're up and running about, is there?"

Amber put a finger to her jaw, "Hm-m, Not really."

Ozpin still hadn't budged an inch. Had he anticipated her? Dot was nowhere to be seen, it was possible, but not her priority, now that she knew Amber was alive and well, "I saw the state of things out there, you joined the fight didn't you?"

Amber's eyes widened, she took a swift step back, "I-before you say anything I swear that I tried to keep the collateral damage to a minimum this time and I'm a registered Huntress now so-"

"That was some good work. Nicely done," Glynda said, deadpan.

Ozpin quickly looked back, surprised. First time he moved since I stepped into the office.

Amber stared at her in shock, then confusion, "Okay, what happened to you?"

Glynda crossed her arms, "Long story. Part of why I'm here, actually," she turned to Ozpin, "I'm sure you've pieced it together by now, didn't you?"

The Headmaster pivoted on his feet, leaned on his cane, "Yes."

Amber's eyes narrowed, "I'm sorry, I don't understand what's going on here."

There was some hesitation on both sides, Glynda dreaded this. I should let him do the talking, she thought.

Finally, the Headmaster relented, "I know who tried to betray Beacon, who tried to kill you, Amber. My predictions were correct, every last one of them."

Before Amber could ask him to clarify, Glynda cut in, "You knew Cinder was the one that tried to kill Amber. It wasn't a big leap assuming she had the fragment of the Maiden in her too."

"Yes," he answered, almost as if an offhand comment.

Amber looked at him, enraged, "You knew? And you did nothing?"

"Yes."

There was some pause after the second affirmation, some time before Amber could collect herself.

"Fucking why?" she asked.

The silence that followed the question did not fill Glynda with confidence, but knew she could answer the girl's curiosity, "Because there was a good chance that Cinder, if left on her own, would turn to our side. She was being manipulated for years, but by chance, she was isolated here. Somewhat outside the influence that brought her here in the first place."

The revelation hit Amber, "You were going to let me die," she accused Ozpin.

Ozpin stood still, his face was like an emotionless mask, an unsolvable riddle, "Yes and no. Despite what conspiracy she had planned, Cinder never acted on any of those plans. In her time here, she was actually quite the exemplary student. You'd know it better me, Amber."

"I have her memories, yeah."

"She was unaware of Huntsmen etiquette, sure, and if I thought she was a genuine threat I would've… dealt with it, there was no telling if killing her would've returned the powers to you. You must understand, we tried every possible way to bring you back to consciousness."

Amber looked at Glynda, waiting for a confirmation. Glynda nodded.

Ozpin took it as a cue to continue. "So it was either that, or attempting to transfer your aura to someone else, with painful, uncertain results. Cinder would've received your powers naturally, she was simply a pawn of a mutual foe," he stopped for a moment, considering his thoughts, "Well, no use mincing words at this point, since you have her memories, Salem was using her."

There it was again, that name. Glynda approached him, "A name I never even heard about outside an exotic old recipe. Certainly not in our database."

Ozpin calmly walked to his desk, "And that's what brings you here, is it not?"

"Yes."

"And you understand how dangerous simply knowing about her is? Amber here is severely more threatened now that she knows of Her."

Glynda saw Amber, she was still young and full of life, so burdened by the gift someone had imposed on her. "I remember the way Cinder talked about her."

Ozpin stared at his desk for several seconds, as if he could access something, a map or a hologram in it that none of them could. Calculating the risks now, aren't you?

As if an invisible fog had dissipated, Ozpin continued, "I suppose that's fair. Before we move to that, I believe we need to settle some formalities."

Formalities? Did he mean the siege?

As if sensing the confusion, Ozpin continued, "Trust me. Earlier today we were attacked by our allies from Atlas, and I believe she may be connected to such an event. Were you able to deal with the atlesian androids?"

"They attacked the city?" Amber asked.

"They did," Glynda answered, "And right after a bombing attack led to a Grimm breach, they opened the Glenn-Vale seal. We dealt with both them and the androids, Me, Bartholomew and three student teams."

"That's insane, even for you."

"Not really," Glynda said.

Amber looked at her, incredulous, "Really? Because I remember what Cinder planned and you're telling me the White Fang blowing apart a piece of the city, followed by hordes of Grimm and then atlesian robots-our allies-was no big deal?"

A moment passed, "Well we didn't fight them all at once," Glynda clarified.

"I'm sorry, that makes it all better then," Amber said, sarcasm dropping from the words, "Oh my gods this is horrible, now there's a ton of broken atlesian knights right at the heart of Vale."

"That won't be a concern."

Amber raised an eyebrow, "Come on, don't tell me…"

"What? We had a big empty hole there. At least now those knights and their ship will make for a solid foundation."

Before Amber could protest, Ozpin spoke up, "And that circles into the question you had earlier, Glynda. Into who is Salem. You've noticed by now that one piece does not fit the puzzle."

"The why we were attacked, by our allies no less," Glynda followed the train of thought.

"Exactly. Dot, bring up the commlink."

From the table, the hologram personification of Dot blossomed, then spread four screens into the air, all of them filled with raw data.

"I've been monitoring some of the more recent communications made by the councils, even the unofficial, off the books kind. This was not ordered by any of them, meaning the knights were corrupted, and seeing how the guards attacked today, the CCT system has likely been compromised as well. This was a move done by Salem."

Glynda studied the screens, one at a time, "I see."

Ozpin looked Glynda in the eyes, "She's powerful. Immortal, but not like me. She's the kind that can't really die, even if you destroy every last piece of her. She's behind so much of the tragedy we've faced, she can even control Grimm."

The words delivered ice into the atmosphere of the office. Ozpin continued, "For so long now I've been settling for simply trying to make us survive. I think it's time for a change."

A change? What could he mean? Glynda thought. What could Ozpin possibly do?

"Glynda, I would like you to take over as Headmistress of Beacon Academy."

"What?" Amber nearly shouted the word. She looked at Glynda, "I mean, you always gave me that 'I'm in charge here' vibe, what makes you actually pass the torch?' she pointed at Ozpin.

She couldn't fathom the decision, Glynda wanted to understand the rationale too. It was something of a sudden announcement.

Ozpin nodded at Glynda, slowly, "Simply put, I believe under your leadership Beacon will continue to thrive. Today was proof of that."

"So you're quitting then," Glynda asked.

"After the dust settles, believe me I 'm not going to leave you with the fallout of this. I'm positive there'll be a mountain of paperwork on this desk," he pointed his cane at the piece of furniture, "before too long. Reports, formal apologies to the students and their families, atlesian diplomacy…"

"The boring stuff," Glynda summarized. "And Cinder? What do you plan to do to her?"

The answer came quickly, too quickly, "Nothing."

Glynda waited for an explanation, something Ozpin was eager to provide, "Despite the… outcome of this battle being in our favor, It's clear that it happened despite my judgment. I believe Amber should be the one to judge Cinder. After all, she was one of her victims once."

Being the center of attention left Amber stunned for a moment, thinking. "I… I don't think simply putting her in jail will fix anything. I saw what her life was like, basically lived it. She used to be a slave you know?"

A slave. Glynda should have suspected it, the girl always wore something to cover her neck. Stupid, stupid! She was trained to see the signs of glory-chasing parents enlisting unwilling kids into academies, to see abuse, bullying, how could she not have noticed something?

Amber continued, "It wasn't something that slipped through the cracks, it was a direct failure. A Huntsman that put Atlesian law above the right thing, let it happen for years. I think that Cinder has changed during her time here. I think she could change more, for the better. Plus, she knows a lot about Salem and the Grimm. She could teach people in the future."

"So rehabilitation then?" Ozpin asked, looking over his glasses.

"Precisely."

Ozpin turned to Glynda, "That appears to be a sound plan. So, what do you say?"

What could Glynda say? The position of Headmistress would be so much work, but at the same time, she could do so much more… A seat on the council of Vale… She could change things, finally stop telling herself she would make a better day tomorrow, everyday. As a leader, she could be so much more. Perhaps one day her students would stop dying.

Glynda Goodwitch, Headmistress of Beacon.

She liked the sound of that.

It's too close for comfort.

Her aura was almost close to depleting, and they'd been messing around for too long. Yang powerbombed her into the floor, Nora gave Yang a taste of her hammer, they were pretty evenly matched in anything that mattered.

But the dorm corridors were too narrow. Nora couldn't use her reach, not in any significant way. More fighting would just destroy the place around them, maybe even risk structural damage. Nora wasn't feeling like risking bringing the building down on them, the guard wouldn't survive it, and Ms Goodwitch had been very clear on that matter:

No killing!

Someone had to give. Letting out a grunt of frustration Nora planted Magnhild's head on the floor with a heavy crash. A concession. No words needed.

The cocky attitude was gone from her playmate, Yang let her cocky smirk fall to a more neutral, almost serious look. She nodded and turned around, to take the guard, pulling a pair of handcuffs from her shorts pocket. Apparently Team Ruby also knew the time to call for restock lockers.

She couldn't believe it, they were so close, but somehow Team Ruby won again. By a single keycard, just one guard. She was absolutely, positively, definitely would-bet-pancakes-on-it certain they could've arrested that guard. Last time the mistake was letting Ruby do her vortex thingy. Now, maybe Team Ruby moved them to the dorms on purpose? Used the building to deny Nora some of her strength. It was a smart move, no denying that. She could even picture Ren saying something like it:

Using your environment to your advantage is a valid hunting strategy, not to be underestimated, she imagined was the speech he'd cook up.

Aargh! Gods-damn it Yang!

Welp, fair's fair. She'd shake hands with Yang later. Maybe have her rematch during sparring.

Ren sneaked a look into the corridor, peeking in from far away. Once he noticed the fighting was over, and that Yang had the guard in handcuffs, he approached, calm as he always was. An anchor of sorts. If he was calm then Nora could be calm too.

He held her hand, and after a few moments, quiet moments he somehow always knew she needed, he finally ended his silence, "Better now?"

"Just a little tired," Nora answered. Gods, she could barely look at him, he was intoxicating, like the smell of fresh pancakes in the morning. "You know how it is, messing around with Yang."

A slightly raised eyebrow told Nora that Ren didn't exactly believe in the last part, "Come on! None of that was serious. Just a couple of love taps, I wouldn't actually try to hurt Yang."

Ren nodded once, "I believe you."

Nora smiled, "It takes a lot to actually hurt Yang too you know?"

"That I am aware of. I still remember our foodfight."

Ren laughed, a soft, contained laugh befitting of the quiet boy she'd known all her life. Music to Nora's ears, how long had it been since the last time he laughed, or even smiled? Months? It died down a moment later, he returned to his usual self.

"Still, I know you've wanted this for a while now. Are you really okay with letting Team Ruby have it?"

There was a moment of hesitation, but Nora nodded, "Sucks, but they thought ahead. Can't do much here without taking half the dorms with us. I guess we're still second best."

A few moments passed, where Ren stared at her, thinking.

Then he shrugged, "So what? It's not like losing to someone like Torchwick or Taurus, we'll live. Plus, ninety to ninety one is a pretty good score. We made them work for it."

It was true, Nora hadn't considered things that way, "thanks for not interfering by the way. Winnin' dirty… would've felt the same."

"We saw Weiss standing back, they didn't gang up on you. Plus, I don't think getting in between you and Yang would've been very good for our health," he explained.

Nora tapped his shoulder, "You're right there, buster. Not gonna lie though, I would've appreciated it if Pyrrha could've tagged me out. You know, switch for a bit. Taking on Weiss and Yang one after the other is a bit much."

Ren looked around, considering the thought, "You think it would've changed anything?"

Again, Nora hesitated. If she was being honest with herself…

"Maybe?"

"You saw the hole in her armor Nora, she should've been resting, not fighting. She put that aside for us, most people wouldn't."

Nora put a hand to her hip, "Most people aren't the Champion of Mistral."

Ren sighed, "Well… You've got me there."

Her friend had that air about her, always. Nora remembered when they met back during initiation, the feeling of hope. The knowledge that with a teammate like Pyrrha, with such a friend by her side, she could do anything, even take on a Giant monstrous killing machine and live to tell the tale. The impossible could be done, the faraway was within reach. She just had that effect on people. It was just that…

She always seemed so lonely, no matter how Nora tried to help.

The first time Nora told Pyrrha to make friends with Cinder, it wasn't meant to be a joke, she kinda… packaged it as one. The tall, dark and hot lady nobody wanted anything to do with because she was just that scary? Maybe Pyrrha could do something about it, they were supposed to be Huntresses, they shouldn't be bystanders when something as basic as high-school isolation happened in front of them.

Yeah, Nora regretted that by the second time they met. She felt something off, true.

But she also felt jealous, ugly as the feeling was. She felt useless.

The other girl would take their friend. She would lead her down a bad path. She would make her into a villain, a murderer, a thief, a terrorist, one of the million different nouns people used to outcast other people. Nora's gut told her so.

Being wrong about it felt good at least. Knowing that things went the other way around, knowing she wouldn't need to worry about her friend so much. It was that air of hope Pyrrha had sneaking in again, maybe it even was what did it.

An excited voice scattered her thoughts, "Hey Nora! That was awesome," she huffed the words.

It was Ruby Rose, smiling and waving at her as she ran their way. Nora smiled back.

"Seriously, where'd you learn those moves? First time I've seen Yang being careful," Ruby said.

It flattered Nora, though she recognized what it was, "Trying to give your sister a run for her money?"

Ruby laughed awkwardly, "Maybe. But seriously, that was awesome! By the way, where is Pyrrha? I was a bit worried after she got hit by Nevermore, but she seemed fine…"

"Sorry, no Idea," Nora answered.

"Well, if you find her, tell her I said hi?"

Nora nodded, thinking to herself.

Where is Pyrrha anyways?

"You girls are lucky, you know that?"

The words said by Professor Peach echoed in Pyrrha's mind. It wasn't every day Pyrrha would see a fully-fledged Huntress panic, maybe they'd be a little surprised at a couple of hurt students crashing into the nurse's room, but never distressed. She felt like a kid finding out her parents were made of flesh, as fallible and mortal as anyone.

Well, she had suffered a little more than a scraped knee, so in a way it made sense.

Peach worked hastily, writing something down on her tablet. Soon the medical bay would be overflowing with hurt Atlesian guards, and the teachers would be the ones stuck with processing every single attacker-over seven hundred of them- which meant at least a couple of days without sleep. Pyrrha knew she was inadvertently forcing Peach to stay with them in the nurse's room. A student's health always came first.

It wasn't much of a room either, it rarely ever saw any use in a school where everyone had Aura do the job of medicine. it was small, supplies were scattered and piled around them, their weapons were relegated to a corner. Pyrrha sat on a cheap bench by the hospital cot Cinder laid on, the safety rail separating them, while Peach stood by the footboard. If she closed the privacy curtain it would basically cover what little empty space there was.

Peach pointed at Pyrrha, "Miss Nikos. Sixty percent blood loss! A normal human would've died at forty. I've seen cadavers with more blood in them! Even with Aura it's a miracle you're still alive..."

Next, Peach pointed at Cinder, "And Miss Fall. I'll have to check you again, I still can't believe it, stay still-" she walked around the cot, touching a finger to Cinder's forehead, and her eyes flickered green. Pyrrha could swear there was even a crackle of static running across the teacher's hair, dark red hair.

A moment later her eyes shifted green, no whites in them. It was Peach's Semblance for sure. "It's-It's as if someone set fire to your skeleton. Tissue damage coming from the inside, and the arm… Like a deathstalker drilled into it, torn apart from- from your nerves."

It wouldn't take a mind reader to tell what Peach was thinking, Pyrrha knew it. "What would I have told your parents?"

The professor let out a breath, "I… Can I least trust you two to stay here? There's still a lot I need to do out there."

Pyrrha looked over to Cinder, who nodded at her. "Yes, yes you can."

Taking the words at their value, Peach nodded and walked out, off to do whatever Ozpin and Beacon required of her. As she closed the door, Pyrrha could finally breathe easy. She looked at Cinder, lowered the safety rail on the bed so they could hold hands, "See? It wasn't so bad after all."

Cinder smiled. Laying on the bed, Pyrrha could see her eyes were heavy, she was struggling to stay awake, tired. "Speak for yourself. It's like an airship crashed on top of me."

Thinking back to Peach's class, Pyrrha remembered a mention of something like it during Emergency Aid and Rescue. The way Aura healed them, they could ride that adrenaline rush for hours, maybe days. Crashing happened once the heat died down, when they didn't have to fight anymore.

She squeezed Cinder's hand a bit, "And how's the arm?"

"Better. Despite how tight it feels, like someone stretched my skin all over it. And I still can't move it."

Looking at the arm, it would've been surprising if Cinder had said anything else. Red all over, as if it suffered one, big, bruise. She figured Cinder didn't have much Aura to begin with, and even less to spare. Thankfully Peach hadn't said anything about amputation yet.

"Hey," Cinder called her, "It's still there, you don't need to look at me like that."

The comment took Pyrrha by surprise, "Like what?"

"Like it's your fault. Like you're the one who crawled up into my arm."

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry. I knew what I was doing. I'm a righty anyway."

The comment forced a laugh out of Pyrrha, Maybe she needed a bit of humour. It was still too easy to fall into that terrible in her mind, the dark, lonely place where there was nobody but Pyrrha. Nothing but everything she'd ever done, successes, mistakes. With time, the only thing that ever made her bat an eye was the mistakes.

Cinder's thumb caressed her hand, Pyrrha almost forgot she was holding onto it, "Wanna talk about something else?"

Pyrrha straightened herself on the bench, "Okay, there's one thing I've been wondering about I'd like to ask you."

"Hit me."

"What was all that about you and redheads?"

Cinder groaned in embarrassment, "Do you really wanna know?"

"A little bit. I close the privacy curtain if you'd like, but there's no one else here."

"Nah it's okay. Where do I even start?" Cinder asked, "Just after Salem adopted me. There was this teen merc mom hired, Jasmine. Every couple of weeks she'd take me to a mission, she was supposed to teach me a lot of things Huntsman won't. How to deal with warlords, staying off the radar and such."

"Did you at least like the lessons?"

"Little Cinder? Yeah, she liked them a lot. Had a crush on Jasmine too, never told anyone about it. Other than the notebook that I used to write some… poems about it."

"Oh my, I didn't know you wrote poems! So what happened?"

"Well, one day Salem walks into the dining room, holding my notebook. Next thing I know we're screaming at eachother, she's telling me it's a distraction, that she's finding me a new 'partner''"

"And what did you do?"

"I gave up. I ran to my room and I crieeed."

"Oh no," Pyrrha said

"In my defense I was somewhere around thirteen. It would never have happened."

"I remember wondering what it was like going outside the kingdoms at that age," Pyrrha said, "That was around when I started qualifying for the Mistral Regional Tournament."

"It's not all that. Yeah, warlords here and there, the odd ruin zone, but most of the places are clusters of villages with nothing to do in them. About as exciting as watching Goliath migrate."

"Huh."

"I think Salem chose the places carefully. Nowhere with too much Huntsmen activity you know?"

It made sense, Pyrrha nodded. If some Huntsman or Huntress saw her, maybe they'd put the pieces together? Then again, maybe not. Pyrrha was well aware of how corrupt they could be, Huntsmen weren't special just because they had Aura and state of the art weapons. They too could be selfish, immoral.

"So what about you?" Cinder asked, "Please tell me I'm not alone on this one."

"I've crushed on a couple of boys and girls here and there. Never really went anywhere, the whole 'Invincible Girl' thing kind of spooked them off."

"What a title. Was it something you came up with?"

Pyrrha let out a short 'tsk', "More like something my parents figured out with Pumpkin Pete's so they could sell more cereal boxes. One day I was just Pyrrha, next I'm 'Invincible Girl', and my face is all over the newspapers, television, you name it. And don't even get me started on the paparazzi."

"Well at least you're living up to the name. I'm pretty sure you went through hell back at ground zero, and yet, there you are."

"Hey I'm not that much better okay? Breathing still hurts a little bit, I'm sure this will all hit me tomorrow."

"You're practically one hundred percent."

"As if. I'd kill to get a bed of my own."

Cinder looked at her for a second, opened her mouth, but no words left her.

Pyrrha leaned closer, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah it's just… You know…"

Pyrrha eyebrows furrowed, what could she mean? "Yeah?"

Cinder sighed, "There's my bed."

"Oh, I couldn't, you need it more than I do right now."

Cinder stopped a laugh, almost snorting instead, "That's- not what I meant."

Oh? What could she-

Oooh, Pyrrha realized, "But I don't think it can fit the two of us, are you sure?"

Cinder nodded, and with no small amount of effort sat herself up on the cot. "If you don't mind getting a little closer. You'd have to hold me though, I don't think my arm is waking up anytime soon."

Pyrrha felt the blood rush to her face, she wanted to be close to Cinder, and let herself go, finally moving the way she wanted to. Closer. So close she could feel Cinder's breath, so they could almost touch each other's lips. Her heart was beating so fast, it was even harder to breathe.

She waited. Waited for the other shoe to drop. What would it be? Sudden Grimm attack? Another one of their allies invading the academy? Maybe professor Peach would betray Beacon and burst through the door, threatening to kill them? Destiny would find a way to screw her over, she just knew it.

Nothing.

There wasn't anything else, just the two of them. She could have said so much, but instead Pyrrha pressed her lips to Cinder's, joy overwhelmed her. By the time she pulled out of the kiss, both of them were out of breath, neither opened their eyes, wishing the moment could last forever.

Pyrrha closed the curtain behind her, they could finally be together.