Author Note: SORRY THIS ONE TOOK LIKE A WEEK TO GET OUT, MY BRAIN HAD WRITER'S BLOCK AND ALSO I HAD JUST LIFE STUFF TO TAKE CARE OF! :) :) :) :) But I finally broke through the block tonight and wrote a bunch more! It helps that I have the whole story outlined too! There's gonna be 31 chapters, maybe one or two more though!
End of Author's Note!
Cinder stepped off the landing pad, taking her first step into the east side of the city of Argus.
She cracked her neck, stretched high and smoothed out her dress - a fairly inoffensive blue one, with draping bell sleeves whose ends faded into gold, and only a few strategically placed slits across the ribs, the stomach, and the lower back. She double checked her chosen, matching blue choker, and ensured her scarf was firmly in place over top it (things she hadn't worn in years now, not for the sole reason of hiding herself from the world - from people).
Cinder felt like hiding today.
She dug into her overstuffed suitcase, sifting through it all until she found what she wanted: a blue eyepatch with a yellow flower on it, whose color perfectly matched with both her choker, and her dress. Her friends might have called her a fashion nutjob for ordering dozens of custom designed eyepatches to go with every single outfit she had, for every occasion she could think of, but Cinder just liked to be prepared (and she just plain enjoyed it).
Cinder tossed her plain black eyepatch into her suitcase and pulled on the blue one, fitting it into place perfectly. She zipped up her suitcase and hefted it over a shoulder again.
She gazed all around herself, considering the city in early morning light now. So this was Argus; short, cramped buildings, a huge wall separating the city on its little coast from the rest of Mistral - that military base out over the water. It was slanted, with big, wide streets going up and down its length, from top to bottom. Some of these streets had looked ridiculously steep, out the airship's window on arrival!
"Well, um...?" Pyrrha's voice, light and casual beside her. Pyrrha twisted at the hips, gazing at her hesitantly, her suitcase clasped before her. "What do you think?"
Cinder took another look around, careful. "It's - nice? I've definitely never seen anywhere else like it," she added quickly, trying to smile. It was difficult when you had a squirming stomach in you, which had gotten worse and worse, the closer the airship had gotten to its destination.
"Argus is certainly a uniquely designed city," Pyrrha allowed, smiling too. "It has a long history with Mantle, over on Solitas; it was founded by settlers who originally came from there, after all."
"Right," Cinder said vaguely. She was closer to Atlas here now, again, than she had ever been in recent years. Just across the ocean. Anxiety roared higher still.
Pyrrha took her hand, leading her off toward the vehicle storage units.
Cinder retrieved Midnight, giving the motorcycle a critical inspection before she was satisfied - and so, so relieved! She let Pyrrha mount her bike first, then she followed after her, side saddle, balancing both their luggage in her lap. Then they were off, Pyrrha driving them slowly and carefully through the city.
Pyrrha's voice was a constant, telling her all about the city - useless, stupid details that Cinder couldn't really be bothered to even pretend to half pay attention to. Pyrrha drove slowly down across the city, sticking to the designated paths to avoid being run into by the tram system (admittedly, that was of interest to Cinder, but also admittedly, she was far too nervous to express that right now!).
Finally, they stopped, in the heart of Argus's lower side.
In a flat, wide open courtyard of an area, surrounded by two, and even three story tall buildings - houses.
Pyrrha drove them right into a little garage next to a building, where a little car was already parked. She parked Midnight, shut the engine off and dismounted. She took Cinder's hand, took her suitcase back from her, and helped her down; she turned to gaze at the house, a wide smile on her face. Her emerald eyes glistening. "Are you ready, or do you want a few minutes to-"
Cinder shook her head, ducked her head. "Just go..." she murmured out.
"Alright." Pyrrha still hesitated, all the same. "I promise you: my mother is nothing like yours. She isn't going to yell at you, or hit you - absolutely never. Not once in my entire life, no matter how furious she was with the worst things I've done in my life, has she ever struck me. There's nothing to be afraid of, Cinder."
"I can't help being afraid!" Cinder snapped, head whipping up. She clenched her teeth, ducking her head again swiftly. "N-not that I am, it's just..."
"Are you sure you don't want to just take some time to sit out here together?"
"I'm sure," Cinder muttered. "Let's just do this."
"All right..." Pyrrha seized Cinder's hand, dragging her up to the front door. Pyrrha opened it wide and just walked right in, pulling Cinder with her. "Mom - we're here!" she called out, in the most cheerful voice imaginable (Cinder couldn't ever imagine doing that with her stepmother).
Cinder bowed her head further as the footsteps rang out. As the figure approached them. Her eye was honed in on her own heeled boots, her breathing fighting to stay steady.
Pyrrha let go of her hand, moving to hug her mother! Some little words were exchanged, distant to Cinder. Then Pyrrha's hand was in hers again, squeezing it tight.
"Hello there, Cinder - my name is Hestia - can I call you Cinder? If, according to that ring on my daughter's hand, you're going to be my daughter-in-law soon..." Light tones, a small little laugh.
Cinder nodded at the floor. "Y-yes, ma'am, that's fine..." she answered, prompt and flat. A single glance up, and she was relieved to see this woman wasn't trying to shake her hand or anything - in fact, she had her hands at her waist together, peering at Cinder with a very familiar, heartfelt smile. Cinder really could have thought she was seeing an older version of Pyrrha; she really took after her mother, in looks...
"Well," Pyrrha's mother spoke, to her daughter now (mercifully switching her attention off of Cinder). "honey, you know where your room is - I haven't changed a thing since you left."
"Thank you," Pyrrha replied, giving Cinder a tug as she started off through the house. "It was quite a long flight; I think we'd appreciate some time to get settled..."
"Of course," said Hestia, nodding. "I'd expect that - go rest. Feel free to come back down when you're ready."
Cinder allowed herself to be led past Hestia, head turned aside as she did pass the woman by, a hand grasping at her scarf. Pyrrha led her upstairs, opening up the first door on the right. It was a decently sized bedroom, decorated with posters and little knick-knacks. The walls were painted scarlet. The bedsheets had little logos on them, with stylized V's.
"Oh, no," Pyrrha murmured, gazing around at all the posters, her cheeks flushed. "I'd forgotten about all of this..."
Cinder didn't really see the problem with them, personally. But then, she didn't even know what they were meant to be about.
Pyrrha darted around the room, tearing them all down and then shoving the whole stack into a dusty little closet. She examined the knick-knacks, gave a nod to herself, and dragged Cinder over to the bed - sat her down on it. She let out a great sigh of relief as she fell down beside Cinder there.
"So, what do you think?" Pyrrha asked.
"It's - nice." Cinder paused. She needed another word, surely something better for Pyrrha. "It's...cute?"
"Oh, no it isn't," Pyrrha giggled. "It's awful! You don't have to spare my feelings on this!"
"I do think it's nice!" Cinder insisted fiercely. "It's better than anything I ever had," she muttered on, her cheeks heating up.
"O-of course...I'm sorry."
"I really like it," Cinder said earnestly, laying back on the bed and idly stroking at the sheets.
Pyrrha laid down with her, too, laughing. "Well, thank you; I'm glad that one of us does."
For about an hour's time, they simply lay together like this. Just holding each other in arms, just breathing. Just relaxing.
Until Pyrrha's arms released Cinder, and she stood. "I'm going to visit with my mother. Do you feel like you're ready to join me?"
Cinder stared at the wall, her eye devoid of all emotion, as her soul was. Her body was held tensed, her shoulders were hunched. "No..." she murmured flatly.
"That's fine, then - just come join me when you are." Pyrrha gave her hair a stroke, and departed from the room.
Cinder remained exactly where she was, wincing at the sound of the door closing.
Usually, for her, loneliness and solitude were blessings - when she was at her most comfortable. But this time, for this one...the solitude just allowed the anxious and worrisome thoughts to invade her mind.
I can't just stay here like this - it's going to upset Mrs. Nikos. She's going to be upset with me...and with Pyrrha, because I'm not being how she wants. I'm not what she wanted, I'm not what she expected. She'll be disappointed in Pyrrha, she'll yell at her over it - over me. Because I'm such a stupid failure of a girl, because I'm not the best girl for her, because I'm not...how can I just lay here and be useless when I know it's going to make her so angry? You don't do that, you don't be slow, you don't wait, you don't talk back, you don't risk it! That's how you get hit, how you get your hair pulled, how you get shocked...how you don't even get food or water for the day...
Cinder rose from the bed, tugging off her scarf, moving without thinking. Without feeling. As ever. Just do it, commit to the motions - and feel and think nothing of it. Of nothing else.
She moved out into the hall, her eye sweeping up and down it very critically. Every detail. It already looked near spotless. But near wasn't good enough. Near wasn't perfect. She swiftly, silently moved for the smudge on the wall, applying spit to the corner of her scarf and starting to scrub at it. She worked at it furiously, until it was gone at last. Then, she moved on to the little line of dirt and dust at the base of the right wall. She dropped to her knees and wiped it up, freed the dirt and folded her scarf at the end, wrapping it up.
Cinder descended the steps, just as quick, just as quiet.
"Cinder."
She froze. Pyrrha was seated side by side with her mother in the living room, examining her from across the distance; Pyrrha had this very casual expression on her face, a very easy smile to her lips. Pyrrha's mother set her gaze on Cinder, too - Cinder ducked her head, turning partially away from her.
"Why don't you come and sit with us," Hestia demanded.
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Cinder threw her scarf around her neck and shuffled into the room.
As soon as she was near, Pyrrha grabbed her hand and pulled her down right into her lap, arms going around her. Pyrrha took up firmly stroking her arms, rubbing circles into her through the sheer fabric of the dress's lengthy sleeves.
Cinder sat rigid in Pyrrha's lap, straight-backed. She hoped her quivering shoulders weren't obvious to anyone. She fixed her gaze on the floor, tuning out the world. Yet, at the same time, becoming so very aware of it. Aware of the person sitting directly to her right. The person who had eyes on her.
"...you know, Cinder, my daughter hasn't told me much about you over the years."
"Huh?"
"Oh, she's said a lot, but it's all been vague." Hestia gave her daughter a look; Pyrrha shifted and squeezed at Cinder's arm, on the other side - the side hidden from Hestia. "Now that you're here, I was hoping I could get a clearer idea of just who you are."
"I'll answer any questions you have for me, m-ma'am."
"Relax, please - I'd hope I'm not nearly that intimidating!"
"Y-yes..."
"How about you tell me what your life has been like? Where did you grow up?"
Cinder turned her head, lowering it. "I was born here - in Mistral. I spent ten years here, and then seven in- Atlas."
"How do you feel about Mistral? Was it good to you, growing up?"
"Better than Atlas," Cinder replied, in murmur.
"Where exactly did you live - in the kingdom?"
"I- I'm not sure, ma'am. It was somewhere near the city of Mistral - an orphanage."
"An orphanage." The words were spoken...carefully. Almost like Pyrrha would, when she was trying to be either - well - careful or...
"Yes..."
"Did you...like living there?"
"More than Atlas," Cinder reiterated, instant.
"I see." A little breath. "So how did you meet my daughter?"
"I- I entered Beacon, and we got on a team together," Cinder said quickly. "There isn't much else to it."
"There isn't? When was the first time you saw her, talked to her?"
Cinder took a brief moment to think. "It was in the locker room, before the initiation exam." Was that good enough to get away with?
"Oh?"
"It was our weapons lockers," Pyrrha spoke up swiftly. "H-honestly, it was a bit of a...a tense situation; her and another of our teammates didn't start out on the best of terms, if I recall. There was a- a small fight, I believe. I was the one to...intervene and break things up between them at the time."
"A fight over what?" Hestia asked.
"Um, I- I'm not certain it's for me to say, mom," Pyrrha stammered.
"Cinder, then," Hestia decided, turning her focus back to her. "What was the fight about? It's an interesting way to meet someone you'll end up engaged to, I think..."
"J-just- jewelry, ma'am," Cinder muttered. "Something important to me at the t-time - but I got rid of it a few years ago."
"She gave it away to her stepsister."
"You have a stepsister?" Hestia spoke, surprised.
Cinder flinched. "Yes, yes ma'am. H-her name is Amarill. We-"
"They don't get along, mom," Pyrrha stated firmly. The understatement of the century; Cinder hadn't even spoken to Amarill since the Battle For Vale's end (though, Amarill still kept trying to call her scroll several times a month, with ever increasing frequency, regardless of how clearly committed Cinder was to returning to ignoring her existence).
"Well then..." Hestia mused. "Do you have any hobbies, Cinder?"
"Fighting - and fashion! And dancing. And...motorcycle racing. And...I think the word is 'gardening.' I just know I like flowers; I'm good at caring for them." The one thing Cinder had missed about Mistral, she'd managed to bring into her life in Vale - at Pyrrha's encouragement, when she had even first voiced the spontaneous idea of getting plants to take care of. Now it was something she really enjoyed, and was really good at (at least, if you wanted to believe Pyrrha and Emerald about it). Something she'd dedicated herself to just as intensely as her combat skills, or her fashion habits.
Hestia chuckled. "Well don't you have a wide range of interests."
"I- guess I do," Cinder agreed. It was going well, all things considered; she hadn't been yelled at once so far. Or hit yet. But that could change. It could always change - you should expect it to change, and in an instant. Pyrrha must have thought so too, because she let loose the smallest little breath of relief - before drawing another...and holding it again.
"So if you have a stepsister, you...must have been adopted by someone at some point? Your seven years in Atlas, you said?"
"Yes," Cinder whispered. "There."
"Mom." Pyrrha's voice had a definite edge to it.
"I'm only trying to get to know her," Hestia replied.
Cinder cringed in anticipation of the yelling and fighting that was surely about to erupt. She didn't want to be here when it did, but getting up and leaving like that would make things worse on herself. It wasn't like she could explain why she had - it wasn't like Pyrrha's mother would want to listen to it. Whining and complaining never got her anywhere, or anything in life.
"She has had a very difficult life, and she shouldn't be asked to relive it."
"You're really protective of her," Hestia remarked.
"I always have been."
"I've noticed that, dear. That's why we're sitting here together, why I'm talking with her. You didn't give me much of anything over the years, not by scroll calls."
Cinder pressed her lips together, balling her fists in her lap.
"If Cinder wants to tell you anything, she will tell you."
"Of course she will. I'm not interrogating her, honey."
"She feels like you are."
A silence. A breath taken. And then motion, and an unfamiliar hand grasping at Cinder's leg; she resisted every urge to pull away - or kick out. "I'm really sorry if you feel like I'm pressing you to-" Those fingernails squeezed.
"Please!"
"Please what?" A highly quizzical tone. That hand withdrew.
She wanted Cinder to say it, of course she did. She wanted her to say it, then taunt her for it. Mock her for it. Humiliate her for it. "Please don't h-"
"Alright, we're going outside." Pyrrha pushed Cinder off her, gripping her arms still. "We need fresh air."
"Cinder? Why would you think that I-?" Hestia began, in a voice of downright alarm.
"It's nothing you did, mom," Pyrrha spoke, even as she guided Cinder to the front door. "It's just- Cinder is very stressed today. She's been quite stressed over meeting you for weeks now, in fact. I've done my best to help with that, but I'm afraid I haven't alleviated much of it - if this is any indication at all..."
"Pyrrha-" Hestia started.
"Just let me handle her, and then I will come back, and we can talk."
"All right, dear," Hestia said quietly, nodding. Her expression was one of severe concern.
"I told you she wasn't going to do anything to hurt you - remember?" Pyrrha spoke, as soon as she and Cinder were out the door.
Cinder lowered herself to the ground, and simply nodded.
A sigh. Pyrrha sat with her - hugging her. "I suppose, no matter how much I tell you that, you'll never believe it based on words alone."
Cinder nodded again.
"I know how strong you are - how much courage you have in you. Use that, and take the time to be around her. You will see it with your very own eyes, Cinder: there is nothing to be afraid of."
"I-" Cinder stopped.
"What is it?"
"I- c-could you...ask her not to ask me about Atlas. Or...or the orphanage. I- I don't want to talk about any of that. Just - just Beacon, please...My good memories."
"Alright. I'll let her know."
"Thanks..." Cinder murmured. She took in the fresh air, scanning her surroundings. Open space, freedom, the sky above her. She glanced over at Midnight, just to be sure the bike was still there - it was. Still, if anybody ever decided to steal it, they would quickly find themselves regretting it.
Pyrrha went back inside, leaving Cinder alone with the world.
With Aura enhanced senses, Cinder tilted her head back and listened in on the conversation behind the closed door. If it even sounded like it was going to go...how Cinder's attempts to even talk to her stepmother had always gone, then she was going to be there for Pyrrha. She would be there in the way no one had for her. If Pyrrha's mother struck her over this...Cinder would be in that house in a heartbeat.
"...that wasn't at all like the woman you've described to me - or the one I saw on TV." Hestia's voice, accusing.
"I know," Pyrrha spoke, calm and collected as ever. "She usually isn't like this. It's not your fault, mom; she's just being very...closed off due to past experiences in life. But it wasn't anything you did. It's just her soul trying to keep itself safe."
"How about you tell me what she's really like, then."
"Well...she's very determined, very stubborn - and very passionate. And she has this adorably awkward, cute, sweet side to her that even I rarely ever get to see! But when you do...it's wonderful, mom. She's so wonderful, she really is. It's just...life has taught her that she has to hide all of that, and she's still...working on learning that it's all right to show it. But you need to spend time with her, get her to relax and open up to you first. She has to feel safe enough, close enough to do so. Just give her time, be patient...and she'll really surprise you."
"Do those scars on her neck have anything to do with that?" More accusations?
Cinder balled up her fists on her knees, clenching her teeth.
"Those have been there for years - you saw them at the Vytal Festivals, twice over, mother."
"Of course I did - that's why I bring them up now. She wasn't hiding them then, but she's hiding them now. But, I wasn't accusing you of...anything like that, honey! If you were capable of anything like that, I would seriously be wondering how you hid it from me all your life."
"I wasn't worried you were accusing me of that, mom." Pyrrha, so steady, but with a hint of sharpness.
"What is it that you are worried about, then?"
"When you're talking with her, I need you to stay away from anything about her life before Beacon."
"I can do that, honey. But that does seriously limit what we could even discuss..."
"There have to be limits, for now," Pyrrha spoke firmly. "It would be very, very upsetting to her if you asked. And with you being you, with the way she is now...she would answer, mom. Because she thinks she has to right now. And she deserves the respect and consideration of not having that taken advantage of right now - her mental state at the moment."
"You really are...so incredibly protective of her," Hestia noted once again.
A breath taken in sharply. "I just-"
"I'm proud, Pyrrha, not mad."
The breath was released. "Thank you, mom..."
"I won't go past her boundaries."
"Thank you. Maybe she will tell you, in time - months or years from now - but until then...well, let's just say that I'm certain there are plenty of things she still hasn't even told me yet. Perhaps...things she never will. Things I can't imagine, even."
"But you do know much more than I do?"
"I do. But I can't say."
"Then I'll leave it at that."
"Thank you. Just please, try your best for her; she's honestly trying her best for you." A pause. Then, Pyrrha went on, in an embarrassed murmur, "I honestly was expecting to deal with aggression more than anxiety, from her..."
"Is she an aggressive person?" A cautious note to Hestia's voice.
"She can be," Pyrrha allowed, very quiet. "But she works so hard not to be. She's worked so hard on herself, in all the years since I first met her. She's...very dedicated to being better, to overcoming her own issues. And every time she fails...she beats herself up for it far more than anyone else ever could, and for far longer, as well."
"Well I'll certainly do my best with her," Hestia spoke again in agreement.
"That's honestly all she needs. In time, she will see the difference between-" Pyrrha cut herself off. "Please, just be patient with her."
A soft laugh rang out. "Pyrrha, honey: I raised you, remember?"
"Oh, yes - you did. I'm sorry..."
"Is she still waiting for you, or has she gone off somewhere?"
Now Pyrrha laughed. "You never know, with her. She does tend to do quite a bit of wandering off, without so much as a word about where she's going or when she might be back. It's something else we have, um, been working on together. I should check!"
Cinder breathed, and let her hands uncurl. She stood, turning toward the door before Pyrrha even reached it.
She had agreed to try - and she wasn't about to fail. If she could endure seven years of her stepmother's constant, terrifying presence, she could handle a few days of being around Pyrrha's slightly less terrifying mother!
Even if what Pyrrha insisted wasn't true...wasn't true...Cinder could at least still do her best to avoid being hurt by acting her best - just in case.
Old habits died really, really hard; and Cinder really had to learn how to kill them all already!
"In our first year at Beacon, we did play a minor prank on a classmate - isn't that right, Cinder?"
"Huh?" Cinder glanced at Pyrrha, shaking her head. She had been sitting quiet on the couch for many minutes now, just listening to mother and daughter talk (about Beacon, though the specifics had eluded her).
Pyrrha patted her hand and grinned at her. "Remember the cake? Weiss Schnee?"
"Yes..." Cinder said quietly, a fond smile coming to her lips, subconscious.
"Why don't you tell my mother about it?"
Cinder looked to Hestia. "W-well, we...I...I'd beaten the Schnee girl in a fight earlier that day, and I wanted to...I wanted to have fun. So we...we bought a cake, and we took it to her at lunch. I used a bit of Dust, and my Semblance, to make it blow up in her face. And then Emerald really embarrassed Yang with hers."
"Weiss and Yang...members of Team RWYJ?" Hestia spoke lightly. "If I'm remembering the Vytal broadcasts right on this..."
"That's right," Pyrrha nodded. "Cinder - that is to say, we didn't get along with them very well at the start of our time there. But, over the years, that has changed. Hasn't it, Cinder?"
"My best friend is still a faunus, and she's still a racist," Cinder uttered. She cringed at the look Pyrrha was giving her; a discrete look, with eyes alone - head turned just so to hide it from her mother. "B-but, she's much less of one now than she was when we first met," she said hurriedly. "She's...really tolerable now."
"Weiss is actually making significant efforts to be better than she was," Pyrrha agreed.
Hestia pressed her lips together, shooting her daughter a look Cinder couldn't even hope to decipher. Then, she turned her gaze on Cinder, that frown turning to a small smile. "Cinder, I take it you're a bit of a fashionista?" she began, thoughtful - light and easy. "I still have some old outfits from my younger years that you might be interested in - but it's OK if that's too much."
Cinder glanced up at Hestia in disbelief at her offer. "To...wear?" she sought to clarify.
"If you wanted to try them on." Hestia nodded, smiling still.
Cinder glanced at Pyrrha; Pyrrha squeezed her hand, gave a small nod. "Okay - yes, ma'am, I would love to!"
"Please, you can drop all that 'ma'am' business." Hestia's smile grew, and she chuckled. "I want you to be comfortable with me: call me Hestia."
"Y-yes ma'am- m...H-Hestia."
Hestia rose from the sofa, beckoning her. "I'll show you to them, and you can pick out whatever you want."
"Yes, thank you, ma'am- Hestia!" Cinder hastily amended, ducking her head. She followed the woman through the house (paying a nervous glance back at Pyrrha, who just waved at her and smiled). Down the hall, and then she stood on the threshold of the room as Hestia went in. Cinder drew breath; she hunched her shoulders and shuffled in after Hestia, as fearlessly as she could manage.
Hestia strode over to a closet, throwing the door open and rummaging around inside it. She reemerged with an armful of garments, dumping them all on the floor. She disappeared again, scrounging in the depths of an old stack of boxes. She added more to the pile in the middle of the room (what Cinder spied as full gowns and dresses). "Well there you are," Hestia addressed Cinder, smiling at her. She gestured to the small mountain of clothing. "Pick out whatever looks good to you and just- eek!"
Cinder froze with her dress in hand, held out from herself after having been pulled over her head; Hestia scurried out of the room, her face flustered, a hand over her eyes. Cinder looked to the pile, and dropped down to her knees before it all. She bundled up her dress and threw it away, reaching into the pile of clothes. Carefully, methodically, she began to sift through it all. She had had her eye on an orange cocktail dress - sleeveless variety, with a nice lace trim. She thought it would go nice with her currently worn lace lingerie (blue and orange did look great together).
She pulled the orange dress from the rest and stood, slipping it on. She smoothed it out, took her hair in hand and ran it down a shoulder. Her eye found a full length mirror - perfect. She strode over to it, putting herself before it. Cinder turned this way and that, striking various poses, her body relaxing into it all - a little smile grew on her face as she admired herself.
Not a bad look...not a bad dress...Why would anyone stop wearing something like this?
Cinder shrugged, yanking it off and dropping it at her feet. She turned away, returning to the pile with sauntering steps of her heels.
Within the depths of the gowns, she found one that was a dark green - it had a nice neck tie, a ruffled hem, and it was...acceptably short. It didn't quite reach her knees, and that was good enough. She would have preferred it to not even reach the half way point down her thighs...but at least it nicely showed off her more than enough of her stockings (though, it did hide the straps, annoyingly; she enjoyed giving Pyrrha glimpses further up, without even having to do much ridiculous poses or movements).
Cinder ran her hands along her legs, jutting a hip and hiking the hem up, examining herself in the mirror critically. She twisted at the hips and bent herself forward, just a little - oh yes, that was good enough. She could work with this; she had something to work with here at all.
She straightened up, a full smirk coming to her lips as she put hand under chin.
Let's see what else there is to work with.
"Oh no. I should have expected this out of you - the two things that get you fired up: fighting and fashion."
"You know you enjoy it," Cinder breathed in Pyrrha's ear, pressing to her flank in the hallway in her new dress (Hestia had informed her she could keep it! Along with any others she took a liking to - so Cinder had taken the whole pile, right up to Pyrrha's old room, and dumped it all onto her suitcase).
"I do," Pyrrha admitted, swift and quiet. "But: behave, please."
Cinder sighed, stepping away and waiving an airy hand. "If you're not in the mood...fine."
"The mood isn't the problem - I think you look very attractive right now - it's the setting, Cinder. It's inappropriate."
"I'm never going to get to actually show off for anyone..."
"Not how you want to, no. But..." Pyrrha paused, furrowing her brows with deep thought. She swept Cinder up and down, then her expression cleared. A small smile, mischievous, formed. "Buuuut..."
"But what?" Cinder asked. "What did you think of?"
"U-um, well...it's even more inappropriate of a subject to bring up right in the middle of my mother's hallway," Pyrrha whispered, leaning in close. "But, let's just say that we might have a new kind of game we can enjoy together when we get home...something very, very fun for both of us, I imagine."
"What game?" Cinder pressed, excited. "I love playing games with you."
"And you'll most likely enjoy this one," Pyrrha whispered cryptically. "It's - um, well - ah...more your style. Just wait and see! Let it be a surprise."
"My style? What's my style, in this context? Are we talking illegal?" Cinder said hopefully.
Pyrrha's cheeks tinged pink - she threw a look down the hall, where the kitchen was filled with bustling noises of Hestia's lunch preparations - put her lips right to Cinder's ear. "The word you're looking for is...naughty." She stepped away, turning on a powerful heel to present her back to Cinder.
"You can't do this to me," Cinder glared at that backside - then let her eyes go lower, drinking in the sight in tight jeans. "You're making it worse, you know!" she added, whining. "Can we just go home already?"
"We've barely been here half a day," Pyrrha responded evenly, with a glance over a shoulder. "And don't let my mother hear you say that! She might take it the wrong way - and no, I don't mean she'll hit us for it!" she added quickly, assuring. "But she would be very upset."
Cinder let her shoulders drop, bowing her head. "Of course." She in no way wanted to make Hestia upset with her.
"Cinder, please remember that we have very different ideas of the word 'upset' when it comes to mothers. My mother's version of being upset is not the same as yours."
"Still don't believe it," Cinder muttered.
"But are you at least starting to? Even a little?"
"I haven't upset her yet," Cinder said flatly. "I'll find out when I do; it's just a matter of time. I always screw up eventually."
"Cinder - self confidence. You do not always screw up. You're very successful."
"Yes, I do."
Pyrrha darted back for her and took her hand. "Let's go and see if lunch is ready - we are not arguing about this."
Cinder sighed. "Okay..."
"You like food," Pyrrha encouraged.
"Yes, but I can't enjoy it if your mother is going to be watching me..."
"Cinder, it's normal for families to sit down and eat together," Pyrrha said, quiet and intense. Her eyes had that pity in them again. No, not pity - Pyrrha always said it was care and love. "You're going to try it while we're here; you'll see it's nothing terrible. If we're going to be a family together soon, then you need to learn to join in on these sorts of things. I would like us to start visiting here several times a year, now that we've graduated Beacon - possibly even more often."
"Okay," Cinder repeated, rote. The idea of having to come back here again, several times a year (or even more frequently!) was just plain overwhelming.
Pyrrha squeezed her hand, pulling her into the kitchen.
