Mountain Glenn, when it was first erected, was designed to be the first of many cities for the people of Vale to inhabit. It was considered by many to be the Kingdoms first serious expansion and for a while settlers flocked to the city.
Many were eager to start a new life; a young couple for something new, others for a fresh start and some even made the venture to simple escape the confines of Vale.
While Mountain Glenn didn't possess the natural borders that allowed people from the main city to sleep soundly at night it did possess the funds and backing for incredible perimeter guards. This proved to work… for a time.
Still people were drawn to the city, more and more tempted by its success. Eventually even small businesses and companies decided it was safe to invest in such a place. One in particular decided it would set up its headquarters there.
Merlot Industries.
For a while everything was working well. However, this did not last. One day, without any warning the Grimm besieged Mountain Glenn, day in day out with no reprise for the inhabitants. It wasn't long before they were overrun.
Many already know how the story goes: the citizens held out for as long as they could before sealing themselves off in the underground tunnels and survived.
Just survived.
Until even that failed.
Then when the Grimm finally swarmed them they had nowhere to go but the tunnels leading back to Vale…
Which were destroyed in order to protect the City of Vale and its inhabitants.
The needs of the many outweighed the few in such a situation after all – at least according to the council – and Mountain Glenn became Remnants largest tomb.
Of course, in the aftermath there were those who survived, those with a will to live and the ability to do so that far exceeded their brethren.
One of these people was a woman, whose husband had died, and was left with a child yet to be born. With her home in ruin, family shattered and nothing to her name she wandered.
Then the child was born.
A beautiful child full of life and hope for new beginnings.
A hope her mother did not possess.
The woman was desperate. For the child, or perhaps herself, and so by luck, a miracle or even destiny she was able to find one last relative.
Really, she was the child's aunt, although with a child of her own and having to raise the child from before she could walk it was probably more accurate to call her a…
Step-mother.
But the child's true mother did not stay, in fact she disappeared. Perhaps her will had finally left her once she thought the child would live… or maybe she did not desire the responsibility of raising her without the man she had loved all that time ago.
The child – a tiny girl – was taken in by the stepmother.
But just as the moments before her life were filled with tragedy, so would her youth. For she was a child bound by a destiny she did not choose.
That child's name was Cinder Fall.
"Oi, Brat, get the fuck up here!"
"Coming!" Cinder called up the stairs, stopping her sweeping of the floor and hurrying up the stairs.
She entered her aunt and uncles bedroom, where a gruff and overweight man lay in bed.
"Yes sir?" Cinder asked, peeking her head through the door.
He grunted. "I'm hungry, go get me sumthin downstairs."
"Ah," the girl said. "What do you want?"
He glared at her. "Whatever the fuck is there, now go fucking do it!"
She flinched at his language, but nodded her head.
She shot the door gently, and made her way back down the stairs and over to the kitchen. She washed her hands in the sink first – last time she'd carried food with dirty hands she'd been punished for it – and open the refrigerator. The light wasn't working, and her uncle was too cheap to fix it, but it still kept food cold.
Cinder hummed as she tried to decide what to bring. He was hungry now, so it should be something quick. Soup maybe? That was really all she could make with the food in the house at the moment.
Right, that would do the job. She got to work, heating up some water and getting the ingredients ready for it. It was an easy enough job. The fourteen-year-old had done it enough times to be practised in it.
A few minutes later – minus a spill where she'd burnt her hands slightly – she was done, and carried the piping hot bowl up to him.
He wasn't impressed.
"The fuck have ben been? I've been waiting for ages."
It's been five minutes Cinder felt like saying, but knew that would lead to some very painful reprimands.
Instead she simply handed him the bowl. He looked down at it and sneered. "I don't want soup. Are you stupid?"
She paled. "But… you said it didn't matter what I made!"
"Use that head of yours you idiot, maybe you'll find a brain in there, I wanted something meaty. Get out."
She nodded rapidly, reaching for the bowl. She flinched when her hands were smacked away. "Leave it, I might as well have I if you're so keen on wasting it."
"R-right." She whispered, scurrying out as fast as she could before he needed something else of her.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
She was so stupid" of course he wouldn't like soup of all things, her uncle was too picky for things like that! Idiot!
Cinder grit her teeth as she picked up the sweeping brush again. If her aunt saw her unoccupied she would flip out.
She sighed in defeat. It seemed like this house was always dusty or dirty in some way no matter how much she cleaned it. That wasn't her fault, it wasn't!
The wooden floors were splintered and rotting as it was, there was a hole in the trod and drafts slipping through the cracks in the walls. Her aunt and uncle just didn't bother to fix them.
If anything, the whole damned village was a mess. She wasn't allowed outside the house often, but it was filled with people who would be homeless anywhere else. A shanty town, shacks and run down homes littering the place. A ditty well in the centre was the only evidence that it had once been a thriving place. Again, not that Cinder knew much, she'd rarely ever been allowed out of the house, and any information she got on the world outside the village was from passers-by.
Suddenly the front door shunted open, and her aunt and cousin walked in.
Her aunt saw her in the room and sneered, turning to her own business and ignoring her.
Her… cousin on the other hand had a different idea.
The girl was the same age as Cinder, but for the life of her, if it wasn't for the fact her aunt was there as proof, Cinder wouldn't have thought them related.
Her aunt was fairly pretty for the place they lived, which made Cinder wonder sometimes, what did her mother look like? Her uncle wasn't, he was a brutish, ugly man, and it as clear that had passed on to their daughter.
Of course, Cinder wasn't dumb enough to say it out loud. Anastasia was vicious, and if she thought she could get her claws into something, she would.
She usually wore dresses, and showed them off whenever she could to make Cinder feel worse, who in comparison wore a patchy sweater too big for her that used to be pink but was now more grey and a ragged pair of brown shorts. It left her legs cold at night, but if she curled up and pulled her sweater over her knees it solved it a little.
Not that her cousin cared, in fact she seemed to enjoy Cinders misfortune.
Shaggy brown hair, the colour of mud, dirty, unkempt skin and nails and a nose that made her look like a dog despite not being a Faunas. She was ugly, both in body and soul, but she saw herself as perfect and cinder… Cinder was the one she targeted the most.
Today was just another one of those days.
Anastasia smirked nastily as she strode over to Cinder, looking down at her past her nose.
"Still cleaning cousin? I'd have thought you would make yourself useful and finished by now. Have you been slacking?"
"Uncle wanted something to eat." She mumbled quietly it was still enough for the other girl to hear, she knew that, so she felt a flash of anger when Anastasia cupped a hand to her ear.
"What was that? Speak up already; can't you speak like a normal person?"
"I- I said I made uncle something to eat. T-that's why it took so long."
"Really?" her cousin whispered, leaning in closer as a dangerous smile crossed her face. "I think you're just being. A waste. Of. Space."
With that, she kicked out with one foot, lashing out at Cinders shin. She cried out, and fell to the floor, with Anastasia looking down on her as she clutched her leg.
Her aunt suddenly arrived in the room again.
She saw Cinder on the floor and her sneer grew.
"Get up girl," She snarled. "I don't feed you to be useless. Our meal will be ready soon, prepare the table, now."
The girl nodded feebly and struggled to her feet. Her uncle came down stars, not so much as sparing her a glance as she stewed in her misery. The food was being cooked and when the smell reached her nose her stomach grumbled. How long had it been since her last meal? Had it been last night? Or the night before that?
If there were any leftovers, maybe she'd get to have them.
Cinder did what she was told and set the table for three. It was always a wonder for Cinder, why such a family, who lived in a shack of a house could have such… embroidery. That being, the red and gold material they used as a tablecloth.
It… it was Cinders, or at least it had been what she was wrapped in when her mother left her here. Something far too well-crafted for any family such as this.
So why had it belonged to Cinder?
It didn't matter, because for the last fourteen years it had been degraded to covering the mess her uncle made when he crammed food into his mouth.
She shook her head and sighed again. No, no point in thinking about it.
A few minutes later Cinder had their plates and cutlery set out and her Cousin and uncle were at the table. She made sure to keep her eyes low to avoid eye contact and giving them a reason. Last were the glasses and she made her way over to lift them.
Her aunt and Uncle were talking about… something, where they had been, what they had been doing. Not much in Cinders mind, what could be done in this waste of a town?
She made her way over to set the glasses down of the bale when a howl rang out.
She jumped in fright, stumbling as the glasses in her hands fell to the floor and shattered. The shards flew up, slicing her hands.
Her aunt's head whipped around to her with a face of fury.
"You idiot girl!" she screeched, storming over to her. "You're going to destroy my property just because of a mutt outside?!"
Cinder paled, her hands were bleeding now, but she was more concerned with two things; first, her aunt's rage, which she knew from experience manifested in cruelty, and second… "But," She tried. "That wasn't a dog, it wasn't!"
Her sneer grew. "How dare you, talking back to me like that?! Are you brainless? Of course it's a dog, wolves haven't lived in these lands for years."
"But-"
Cinder was silenced as her aunt backhanded her across the mouth. She stumbled, barely managing to stay on her feet.
The woman wasn't finished though, taking Cinders arm in a vice grip and dragging her way. "I think that's enough for tonight, maybe for tomorrow either, you're going to your bed and if I hear a peep out of you, you'll be sorry."
With that, she was brought to the back of the house. Her aunt kicked the carpet away and opened the trap door. She threw Cinder roughly down the steps and she cried out as she hit the floor.
The door slammed shut before she could even turn back, and there was the sound of a latch clicking shut.
Cinder was left there, with no light but the cracks in the floor above. Her eyes adjusted after a minute and she was left clutching her hands, which were still bleeding. The ruby liquid dripped onto the floor and in desperation to try and staunch it, or at least lessen the pain she pressed the palms of her hand hard against her legs. As hard as she could just to stop it.
Tears burned at the corner of her eyes as she grit her teeth. She hated this, she hated this!
She should have just kept her mouth shut and-
Another howl rang out, louder than last time. She stilled. What was that? Cinder remembered the sounds of wolves from when she was younger, littler. This was… this wasn't it. It was louder, deeper, angrier.
She swallowed. Another howl, followed by another, and another and then ten more, then twenty, all at once.
And then the screaming began
It erupted all at once, people outside screamed in fear and terror, louder and louder. The sound of splinter wood and stone had Cinder shaking as those horrific howls grew clearer and clearer. Sudden the cries of people became strangled and she knew someone had just died.
There was shouting upstairs from her aunt and uncle, panicked, angry. There was a crash of class and screaming. The trapdoor suddenly burst open, and her cousin scrambled down the stairs, slamming it behind her. She was breathing heavily, and when she saw Cinder, her eyes widened and she snarled.
"Move!" The girl ordered, scrambling to where she was sat against the wall. She grabbed at Cinder, and threw her to the side, into the corner of the room. Anastasia desperately scrapped against the wall, as if she could dig her way out.
Then, the noise stopped.
It… it was still there, outside the house people still screamed, but whoever, whatever was in the house had stopped moving.
Cinder and Anastasia froze, and their eyes drifted up.
And then it growled.
Anastasia whimpered, and the heavy thumps of paws got closer and closer to the trapdoor.
Cinder held her breath, pressing as far back into the wall as possible.
Before Cinder knew what was happening, a beast of black barrelled through the door, and Anastasia screamed.
It snarled at her, drool and spit flying from its mouth.
Cinder stared, heart hammering in her chest. What… what was this thing? Was it… a Grimm? This was the monster she'd heard so many stories about? Oh… it was.
She was going to die, she realised. It was going to kill her.
She was scared, terrified even, so much so it had her shivering and pale, or that might have been the blood.
But she was quieter than Anastasia.
The wolf monster lunged at her cousin with its claws outstretched.
Cinder watched in frozen fear as it ripped the girl to shreds, blood, bone and flesh sent scattering across the floor and walls.
She couldn't move, as its fangs tore out the girl she'd known for fourteen years throat she realised she couldn't move. Was this how she was going to die? Staring at the mangled corpse of a girl who'd tormented her.
And what was worse, was that she felt sorry for her. Cinder thought in the hysterical part of her mind that if Anastasia died one day she wouldn't have minded. She did, for some reason she did. The fear creeping further into her heart.
The monsters head swivelled round to her instantly, and Cinder met the glowing, burning red eyes head on.
Her body was shocked awake as it lunged at her.
Cinder screamed, throwing her hands over her face, in a tearful effort not to see her own death coming. There was a shunt and a crash, a shatter and a crack and the monster howled in rage.
But it was muffled.
As it roared and roared the teen forced her eyes open and gasped at what she saw. A wall of… of glass, shooting up to the ceiling above and cocooning around her. It was thick, thick enough that the view outside was blurry and misty.
There was a glow and Cinder stared as an orange light shined off her skin. She winced as her cuts burned, before the light suddenly blinked out. They… they were still bleeding, but not as much.
Her relief was short lived however, as the Grimm howled, and bashed against the glass. Throwing its heavy body against it again and again relentlessly.
Her panicked breath grew heavier, and her eyes went wide. The class cracked. More and more. her eyes sought out the biggest crack in the wall, right in front of her face. It grew bigger and bigger with each it, spider-webbing out.
The glass, however it had appeared, wouldn't hold. Cinder whimpered and clenched her eyes shut.
"Please!" she begged. "Someone save me."
The monster gave a triumphant howl as it made for one last hit.
When there was another crash from above.
The wolf's howls suddenly became hostile and it growled. Cinder kept her eyes shut as she heard it move, then cry out as the sound of gunfire rang out and a rasp of steel could be heard.
The monster cried out, yipping like a dog before the sound of a body could be heard.
Cinder breathed heavily, her eyes still closed, listening out in the sudden silence.
She flinched at the sudden tapping on the glass, but it wasn't violent so….
Cinder hesitantly opened her eyes to see the blurry figure of a person cloaked in red.
"Hello?" a girl's voice called out. "Are you all right in there?"
She stared and watched in shock as the glass seemed to retract back. Back… into her arms, which had been covered in glass.
Had that…. Come from her?
She looked up suddenly, remembering the other person in the room and gasped in shock.
It was a girl but…
The girl was smaller than her, she looked about ten, dressed in a slightly oversized red hood and some kind of goth red and black skirt.
Oh, and she carried a massive scythe in her arms.
Cinder stared up as the dots connected in her head.
"You… saved me."
The girl nodded. "Yeah, I heard you cry out so I got here as fast as I could, sorry i-"
She was cut off as Cinder dived forward, wrapping her arms around her saviour.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." She wept, repeating the mantra over and over again, as the girl laid a hesitant hand on her back.
"Come on," the younger girl said. "We need to get back to my Uncle Qrow."
…
…
Cinder felt heavy. There was a weight on her body that hadn't been there before. She felt drained, tired as she was led gently by the hand out of her house by the smaller girl.
She looked around at the destruction outside. The moon shone down as houses burned. They were on fire, and in the streets were dozens of dead Torn corpses bleeding pools of red underneath. Some of them were without limbs, others had been opened up by fangs and claws. Some stared into oblivion with their dead eyes and some had no heads at all.
Cinder looked down at the girl leading her through it all. She looked at it all so different than her. There was no fear or terror, only disgust and something she couldn't quite place. Maybe that was because of the oversized Scythe she wielded. Maybe it was because she'd already killed one of the monsters.
Cinder didn't know, but for the moment at least. She wouldn't question it. What could she do anyway, run? She didn't have the first idea where she'd go.
They continued their way through the village, passing more blood, and more corpses. But the further they went, the more of those corpses were Grimm instead of human.
They were dissolving quickly, and the younger girl told her they were getting close.
Close to whoever this Qrow person was?
If he could slaughter these beasts so easily, did she want to be close to that?
It looked like she was about to have that decision made for her a moment later, as the two children turned the corner.
Cinder gasped. There, in the centre of carnage, of dozens of Grimm leading into the night stood man.
He had dark black hair, a grey dress shirt and tattered cloak, shorter than the girls. He also had dull red eyes that glinted dangerously.
And a massive sword resting on his shoulder.
He saw them coming and made his way over slowly.
Cinder kept her mouth shut as they approached. All that could be heard for a moment was the crackling of fire around them.
The man sighed. "I got the rest of the Grimm, but I couldn't find anyone alive on my side of town… looks like they're… gone." He looked down at the smaller girl and frowned. "What about you Ruby? You ran off suddenly, which we are going to have a talk about… but it looks like you found someone."
"This… is the only one left."
Cinder blinked, the words actually taking a moment for her to process. She… was the last person?
The man, Qrow, sighed again and kneeled down to her eye-level. "Well kind, I don't know what I'm really supposed to say to you here… but… everybody else here is dead. You're the only survivor."
"Uncle Qrow!" The girl in red hissed. "That's not how you tell someone something like that!"
"Yeah well…" he rasped, before giving up and getting back up to his feet. He turned around and began to walk. "Come on Ruby, we need to go before more Grimm turn up."
What? No, they were going to-
"We're taking her with us, right?" Ruby asked her uncle. Cinders eyes flicked back and forth between them.
"Well we can't just leave her here. That would kinda defeat the purpose. Wouldn't it?"
Ruby nodded and turned to smile at the older girl. "Let's go. We can get somewhere safe first."
"I…" Cinder tried, but the words failed her. They were going to… go somewhere safe? Did that mean out of the village?
Did… she dare even follow? She'd never left the village before. She didn't know what was out there.
Ruby didn't seem to notice her dilemma, and took Cinder's hand in hers. The older girl was startled by the contact, and at last noticed that her saviour's eyes were… silver.
The silver-eyed girl smiled widely.
"We'll take care of you, what's your name."
She bit her lip hesitantly. She had no reason not to say anything and…
"Cinder," she said after a moment. "My names Cinder Fall."
Ruby's smile grew. "Wow, that's a nice name."
The man behind her sighed. "Are you two coming? The smell of burning isn't something I want to get used to."
Well… it's not like she had much to lose at this point.
…
…
The so-called 'safe' place was in fact a cave, just a mile east of the village. It didn't take them long to get there but when they did Qrow sighed.
"Damn, and here I was hoping we could have some good food and night's sleep in that place… gone just like that."
You wouldn't have gotten it anyway." Cinder mumbled. Her gaze was set on the floor, so she didn't see the way the man eyes flickered to her.
She was still holding Ruby's hand.
"So kid," he said as she sat down. Kneeling in front of a pit of stones he began to light a fire. "What's your story?"
"Huh?"
"Well you gotta have something to tell us? You managed to survive right? Must mean you're strong."
She didn't know about that. More like luck if she had any idea. She looked down at her hand, the one not in Ruby's grasp. She focused on it, trying to call back that feeling from before.
Shards of glass formed on her skin. Only for a moment.
Qrow hummed.
"So?" he pressed.
When she didn't answer, Ruby took her place, setting her down on one of the logs now around a lit fire.
"I heard screaming from one of the houses. A man and a woman were dead in the kitchen and I could hear the Grimm in the back. I followed the noise down to the basement and found it hitting a glass wall."
"And this girl was behind it." he finished. "Gotta say kid, you were lucky."
Cinder nodded, that she was, for that she could be-
"But stupid."
She blanched.
"Uncle Qrow!"
He didn't look apologetic. "It's the truth. You hid yourself behind a wall, and if Ruby came in from the only entrance, it meant you were trapped there. Grimm don't get tired. It would have broken it down eventually and you'd be dead like your parents, you're just lucky we came along."
He… wasn't wrong. She'd almost died, just a second or two more and there mightn't have been anything left to save. Its only thanks to them that she was alive, and she knew she should be thankful for that, she was… but, a childish notion still lingered.
"They weren't my parents." She murmured.
He blinked. "What was that?"
"They weren't my parents. It was my aunt and uncle."
Ruby grimaced. "So the… the other person down there was your what, Cousin?"
She nodded. Ruby accepted that with a nod of her own, but Qrow's eyes were on her now, sharpened.
"So," he said. "How bad did they treat you?"
She flinched. "W-what?"
"I'm not dumb kid, after the crap you just saw, and knowing they're dead you should be a little more affected by it. Maybe you are, but your first instinct shouldn't be to correct me when I call them your parents. So… how bad did they treat you?"
Cinder didn't answer at first. Who would want to talk about all the crap in their life? But, there was something in his look that broke down her defences, or maybe it was just a feeling of sympathy she hadn't felt before. But her defiance crumbled quickly.
So she told them. She told them about how her mother was dead, how she never knew her, nor her father. She told them how she slept on the floor of the basement, how she got maybe one meal a day and how she would hide away when her uncle got drunk, or her aunt was in a bad mood. She talked about her cousin, who was responsible for more than a few of her beatings. And when she had nothing left to talk about in her pathetic life her words died of, leaving her to stare at her hands and knees. Unsure of what else to say.
And when she was done, Qrow looked older than he had when she'd started. His head fell into his hands as he let out a tired groan. "This is a mess." he said after a moment. "I felt bad for the bastards in that town at first, but if it's like that…. Shit."
Ruby hadn't let go of her hand and now she looked at Cinder with a sorry gaze. It… wasn't pity, she didn't know how she could tell but it wasn't. It was like she was… upset she couldn't do more.
Those silver eyes calmed her for some reason, and she didn't move away when the smaller girl leaned into her.
"Well, there's not much we can do tonight." Qrow spoke again. "I'll keep first watch. You two get some sleep, and tomorrow we'll find someone who'll take you in, in the next village."
Cinders eyes widened. They were going to drop her off? Leave her behind?! No!
"No?"
Her mouth clicked shut. She'd said that aloud. He was looking at her now, with a raised eyebrow as if to question her.
What was she supposed to say? What had she meant no? Did she even know what she wanted?
…Yes, yes she did.
"I… want to say with you two." She whispered. "I don't want to live in an orphanage with strangers.
"We're strangers' kid."
Her shoulders slumped. Well they had her there, but it felt different.
"Of course you can come with us!" Ruby cheered suddenly.
The two of them startled, and turned to stare at the youngest of the three.
Qrow didn't look impressed. "Ruby, no, we can't bring someone else along with us. It's too dangerous."
"But we can keep her safe!" the reaper argued. "You taught me how to fight, can't you teach her?"
"That's not what I mean," he growled. "The whole point of the two of us to stay on the move, stay low and keep to ourselves so that you're safe."
"It's just one more person!"
"Are even listening? This is serious. It's not like Grimm are the only thing we'll have to deal with. No, I'm putting my foot down on this. End of story."
Ruby didn't look like she agreed, levelling a glare at her uncle. It wasn't much for a ten-year-old, coming off more as a pout than anything else, but along with Cinders pleading looks, it was hard to resist.
"Please!" she begged.
The gruff huntsmen clenched his eye shut and let out a suffering breathe. He tilted his head back to the ceiling. Why did he have to be the bad guy in this? He knew he was right. It was too dangerous, for all of them. Bringing an extra body along was bad enough, but a kid? In the state they were in? She'd be dead the first time they came across something more dangerous than a Grimm. Not to mention what they were doing. On the run, from village to village, never stopping for too long and never being able to form attachments with people. They were being hunted, and if this girl came with them she would be too. It was cruel to act like this would be a future worth living. So why?
"Do realise what you'll be getting into kid?"
"Huh?"
"It'll be crap, most of the time. Most nights this is the best we get in terms of sleeping, food only comes when we catch it ourselves or if we get lucky and a merchant passes through a town because we can't risk people remembering our faces. People are looking for us, really dangerous people who'd kill you without a second thought."
He glared at her, trying to impress the gravity of what he was saying onto her.
"Every day you might die, and I'll be honest kid, I won't prioritise you. I don't know you, if I comes between a choice of you and Ruby I'll let you die."
"Qrow!"
"Quiet Ruby, she needs to know just how bad this'll be. Listen girl, there's more than just the Grimm to be afraid of out in the world. There are things more terrifying than your wildest dreams, monsters and things that go bump in the night that'll find all sorts of ways to make you scream while you die. This is serious. It's not something you should choose just because you don't want to meet a few strangers." He glared again
"Well?"
There was a beat of silence, and Qrow sighed. "There we go." That was it, she knew now that-"
"What's your point?"
He stopped. "What?"
"I said what's your point?" She wasn't glaring at him, but the smile she wore was bitter.
"Fear of death came with every day of my life, wondering when they'd stop feeding me or throwing me into a dark room was the usual. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you two, so what does it matter if I die with you? I don't have anything else, but I won't be trapped in another no-name village to rot away the rest of my life. You said there're people chasing you? Fine,, I'll be there with you because I'd rather run than be trapped in a cage… I should be dead already, what does it matter if it happens while with you?"
Well… shit. What could he say to that? Sorry kid, but even if you'd rather die I'm sticking you in an orphanage? This was where the phrase a rock and a hard place came from. Both decisions sucked.
But… even he could tell one of the choices in front of him was the lesser of two evils. He just hoped he was choosing the right one.
"Fine." He said at last. "If you're going to feel like that there's not much else we can do is there?"
Ruby cheered happily a, An Cinder gasped in relief. She sank back onto the log tiredly.
"Thank you." She whispered. "You won't regret this."
"Yeah, we'll see." He rolled his eyes.
"Now go to sleep already. We're wasting nightlight."
"Oh this is great!" the red-cloaked grinned happily. "I've never had anyone to talk to but Uncle Qrow. Don't worry, he's really strong for an old guy-"
"Hey!"
"- I'm sure he can help you get stronger too, especially with your awesome semblance."
"Sleep. Now!"
"Got it!" Ruby called as she rolled out a sleeping bag. She stopped and blinked.
"Oh… we've only got one." She said.
"T-that's okay." Cinder told her. "I can just sleep on the floo-"
"Nope!"
"What?"
"I said nope," the younger girl grinned. "Come on, I'm sure we can both squeeze in."
She swallowed. "Really, it's fine-"
"Nope!"
"You can't just say nope to everything; you know that right?"
"Nope!"
Cinder sighed, and resignedly got into the sleeping bag. It was just big enough for the two of them, even if it was a tight squeeze.
It might have been the small body next to her, but it was… warmer than she'd thought. Warmer than she'd ever been at night. Ruby was still looking at her, as if it was polite waiting for her to close her eyes so she could go to sleep to.
Cinder smiled despite herself, and let her eyes flutter closed.
She could feel the younger girls breath even out after that, and the sound was calming. The campfire crackled in her ears gently, and the muttering of the old huntsman's muttering could be heard at the entrance of the cave.
Soon after, sleep came to take her.
…
…
Cinder leaned down to get a better look at the stall's produce. Th food looked fresh, but so had it last week. Whoever that merchant had been, he'd stiff them on food about to go bad. Qrow had laughed at her the rest of the day when she'd come back with it.
"And you're sure these are the newest you've received"
"They are." The man behind the stall confirmed. "Just two days ago. It's all fruit young miss, it should last you a least a week, in its current state."
"And it is a good price." She groused. "Alright, how much for a mix of twenty?"
"Thirty Lien." He said.
She nodded. "Alright, here you go." She said, handing him the plastic cards."
As she was reviewing the food a red blur hurried through the crowd towards her.
"Cinder!" the blur called out, skidding to a stop beside her. "There you are, I've been looking for you for the last ten minutes."
The older girl raised an eyebrow and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Couldn't you have just called me? That seems like it would have been easier."
"Uncle Qrow has my scroll." She replied glumly.
"And that's a problem because?"
"That's why I've been looking for you!"
Cinder understood a second later and slapped a hand against her face. "Qrow's drunk again isn't he?"
"Yeah, and this time he's barricaded himself in the corner of the towns bar. There were tables and everything last time I saw it."
"Which was ten minutes ago?"
"Uh-huh."
"So he's probably built a fortress out of chairs in his drunkenness." She shook her head. "That's the fourth time this month."
Ruby laughed. "I think he's going for a record."
"As to the last six weeks before when he didn't get drunk once?"
"Yeah you're right, maybe it's a relapse?"
Cinder rolled her eyes. "Qrow's not an addict, he's strong enough to stop whenever he wants. He likes getting drunk."
"So… are you coming?" the Reaper asked."
The teen gave a long sigh before grumbling. "He better not ruin this dress, I just got it."
Ruby nodded, as she turned to lead Cinder back to the bar. "It's a nice dress," she said. "It looks good on you."
"A-ah…" she blushed suddenly from behind Ruby. "Thank you."
She shook her head before Ruby could see. Stupid, what was wrong with her!? Getting so excited over a simple compliment.
She hoisted the bag of groceries higher onto her shoulder, and looked down at her dress again.
It was a nice dress; a dark crimson with gold threading along the sides. It came up to just above the knee, and had long sleeves. Qrow had been insistent that if she was going to wear it she had to wear tights too, so that she didn't 'bring the wrong kind of attention' to herself.
Ha! Qrow was just being an old (Over-protective) geezer. If some creep tried anything with her she'd glass them.
Although, when she'd said that, the man had sulked for the rest of the day, muttering about how he was still in his prime. She'd caved in and worn the black tights, if only to appease his protective streak.
She frowned. If Qrow threw up on this dress so help her she'd ram her heels up his-
"We're here." Ruby said, stopping in front of a bar by the name of 'Dancing Pony' a crowd had formed around the entrance, and people peered in curiously as the sound of crashing could be heard from inside.
Yep, that was Qrow.
Come on!" the younger girl said, dashing in before Cinder could tell her to wait. She sighed, following after the girl. The crowd parted for her, if only because she shot glares at anyone who didn't.
When she walked in, it was as she'd expected, but… also slightly more ridiculous.
Qrow was in one corner of the bar as Ruby had said, with tables flipped over to form make-shift barriers, and chairs locking them in place. he had an empty beer bottle in one hand, and was brandishing it as a club. That, honestly, was the expected part. Where it got weird was the men who obviously worked her holding chaired in front of them, as if to fight back a lion. One even had a whip, somehow.
"Back!" Qrow barked "Back I say! You'll never take me alive. I'll fight you to my last breath!"
Again, Cinders face found her palm. What made it even more ridiculous was Ruby sitting on the side-lines atop a table, swinging her legs back and forth as she giggled at the scene.
This was her life now.
This.
"Alright," she muttered, pulling up her sleeves and marching over to the mess. "Let's get this over with."
What followed was a cacophony of cries as civilians witnessed a fifteen-year-old girl drag a drunk, trained huntsman out of the bar by his hair. There was shouting, cursing, a few kicks from the teen as she tried to subdue the man, and a lot, a lot of broken bottles.
Ten minutes later Qrow was bent over a bush, throwing up while Ruby patted his back sympathetically.
Cinder stood glaring down at him, arms crossed and hair out of place. Mercifully, perhaps for him, her dress had not been damaged other than a few scuff marks that could be cleaned later. It wasn't too bad, but Cinder wasn't having a moment of generosity.
"And this is why you need someone to watch you at all times old man," she scowled. "I take my off of you and you get drunk off your face!"
"Bah!" the Huntsman dismissed. "Look at you lecturing me. What are you my mother?"
"No, but I assume anyone curse with you as their offspring would probably have more of a drinking problem than you, so what really can I expect?"
Qrow groaned. "Fine, fine, just gimme a minute and I'll be back on my feet."
"You better, are you coming Ruby?"
"Yeah," she grinned back at her Uncle. "Try not to get drunk again as we leave old timer."
"Har har, you're hilarious." He said in a deadpan voice.
Cinder rolled her eyes and stepped away, out into the town square where people mulled back and forth on their own business. It helped that she got away from that smell as well. At the very least, she could enjoy the warmth of the sun of a bright summer's day. It was something she'd certainly learned to love.
"Well that was something," Ruby said as she stopped beside her. "Are you okay Cinder?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Nah it's nothing, you just looked kinda mad when you had to drag Uncle Qrow out of the bar."
She laughed. "I think anyone would be angry at that."
"Eh, probably."
There was a moment of silence as they watched people in front of them.
"So," Cinder started. "Where to next after this?"
The younger girl shrugged. "I don't know. Uncle Qrow said we're heading further south. To one of the coastal villages I think further down Vale.
"Again?" She grimaced. "Weren't we just there a few weeks ago? Is it a good idea to backtrack right now?"
"Probably not, but he got a message from Ozpin."
Ozpin. That was a name Cinder heard a lot. Some mysterious leader that Qrow worked for, or at least mysterious to her. According to Ruby, Ozpin was a nice man. Probably, she trusted Ruby's judgment, but she'd never exactly had the chance to form her own option on him. They'd never met, and as far as she knew Ozpin hadn't been informed that she was a tag-along with the two scythe wielders.
Still, she would like to meet him eventually.
"Really? What did it say?"
"It's pretty big stuff." Ruby admitted. "Apparently there's a new Fall maiden now. Happened two days ago, or at least that's when the headmaster heard about it."
"Really?" she asked, suddenly interested. The maidens were always something she loved hearing about. Magic like that, magic at all in fact, sparked a wonder Cinder couldn't ignore, but such magic as powerful as the Maidens? That was something else entirely.
She'd been warned though, by Qrow that being a Maiden had the price of being hunted nearly all the time. Well, it wasn't like that wasn't happening to her anyway.
"What happened to the last one then? Was she killed?"
Ruby shook her head. "I don't think so, just old age. From what I heard the power went to her granddaughter. Apparently she never told her about magic."
"Yikes." She winced. Whoever the new Maiden was she at least had her sympathy in that. Being dragged into this world unknowingly would be hard on anyone. "So… what? We're going to find them or something?"
"No, I think it's the other way around, I mean, she's not looking for us, but as in we're going in the other direction."
Cinder frowned. "Why? Wouldn't it be better to have people looking after her?"
Ruby nodded. "I think it would be, but apparently she's refusing help, ran off as soon as Ozpin sent someone for her. She's vulnerable, and she's a target, but more than that she'd kind of dangerous to people around her. Uncle Qrow says we're going the other way to draw potential hunters away from her as well as keep ourselves safe."
The older girl nodded slowly. That sort of made sense. It wasn't the best plan, but if the new Maiden was being uncooperative, and was as untrained and volatile a scared girl could be then it as probably better they split up the hunters. Even the way she was, a Maiden should be able to deal with a few of them so long as she had some of Ozpin's other agents hanging back.
As for them, well they had Qrow, and Cinder liked to think she was getting good enough to help protect Ruby. Which reminded her.
"You know, I still don't see the big deal with the enemy hunting you," Cinder admitted. "I mean, I I get that your eyes are supposed to be special but I haven't actually seen them do anything."
Ruby slumped. "Ugh, neither have I. Ozpin and my Uncle just keeps saying they have some special power. Not like they'll tell me what it is other than being strong against Grimm."
Just then there was a shiver up Cinders spine. Something warning her. Her eyes locked onto the square, searching for anyone who might be looking their way…
Nothing. What was that?
"Hey, I'm up." Qrow suddenly called from the alley behind them. He slung his arms around each of their shoulders. "You two ready to get going?"
There was a murmur of a reply. He rolled his eyes as a grin cracked across his face. "Alright, alright, I'll make it up to ya. Hey Cinder, you want to practice making some of those glass swords again as we walk?"
They perked up at that, Cinder for the offer of training and Ruby because she loved watching Cinder use her semblance.
He laughed at their reaction as he led them away, out of the village.
They didn't see the people watching them as they left.
But for now, those strangers kept their distance, leaving the three of them to their own devices.
It would be another few years before things changed again, between their travels throughout Vale, and the many adventures Cinder and Ruby would get into, as well as just as much trouble, but, they would change. When Cinder turned seventeen, and bid her friends goodbye, taking a ship to mistral, and promised to return one day as a fully-fledged huntress.
Things don't always turn out the way you expect them to however.
…
…
Ruby swallowed nervously as she stared down the bow sights.
Cinder held it drawn, ready to fire. But she was hesitating, and even beneath the mask the young-huntress-in-training could see it in her eyes.
"That is you, isn't it Cinder?"
The black-clad figure breathed heavily.
"You shouldn't be here," she growled. "You're two years early. You should still be with Qrow!"
"Cinder just tell me what's going on!" Ruby appealed, taking a step forward. The infiltrator flinched but held the bowstring tight. Ruby knew she wasn't prepared to shot. "You told us you were going to Haven, what happened?"
"Is that really important right now?" she snapped. "This isn't the part where you ask questions Ruby."
"Then just TELL me what's-" she froze, eyes going wide with horror. "You can't…" she whispered. "You're Romans…" she shook her head. "Why!?" she cried, louder this time. Behind her, the nearly forgotten Penny shifted warily, unsure of what to do.
"You're working for her? For Salem? She hunted us for years!"
Cinder glared. "She made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
This was bad, the half-maiden thought. This whole plane relied on stealth, on infiltrating the festival with her team. If Ruby was here the whole thing was shot. She needed a new one.
But first.
Cinder took another breath, and that was all the warning the reaper got to dodge before an arrow fired through the space her head had occupied all of a second ago. It wasn't quite a miss, and Ruby winced as the tip sliced her cheek.
Heat grew in her palms as she rushed the two younger huntresses. The Penny girl raised a sword in time to block her own made of carbon fibre blades. The shattered instantly upon impact, but that was the idea, the shards flying into the girls face and startling her for a second. Cinder lashed out with a kick, sending her careening back into the wall.
She leapt back in time to avoid Crescent Rose as it came down in the space between them
Cinder's eyes bore into silver. She didn't let her maiden powers show, that would be too risky.
"That attack was slower than you're others," she said. "You're holding back."
Ruby opened her mouth to say something when the elevator dinged behind them. Someone had called it.
Her eyes widened and she spun on her heels, dashing towards the window. She needed to get out of her before people came to reinforce them.
"Wait!"
She stopped, almost against her will as Ruby called out. She didn't turn around, getting ready to move at the tiniest notice.
"This isn't you Cinder," Ruby cried. "Just talk for a second and we… we can have this all figured out. You know what their planning don't you? Please!"
She growled under her breath. Leave it to Ruby to make her hesitate so far into the game. No, she wasn't going to turn back o it.
But… the plan was already ruined. They'd need a new one. Which meant she could perhaps manufacture something else.
"Merlot," she said aloud. "Merlot industries had been occupied again, in Mountain Glenn."
Cinder could practically feel Ruby's smile without even looking.
"That's-"
"This isn't to help you," she snapped. "This is for myself. An easy way to get rid of you, and a way to get revenge on that man for what he did to me. I'll warn you once; if you go travel to Mountain Glenn, whoever you send, whatever team Ozpin trusts to fight there… I guarantee at least one of you will die. Maybe more."
That would be it. It had nothing to do with her. If Ruby died there because of her own foolishness even with her warning then she would not care for her fate.
She wouldn't.
The elevator rang out again and the three of them tensed. It was about open. Well, if she was going to leave she might as well have a parting word.
She held Ruby's gaze for a moment longer and smirked as best she could. "Tell the old bird he's gotten old since the last time I saw him."
"Ci-"
She didn't wait, lunging forward as the door opened and General Ironwood, along with the headmistress of Beacon stepped out of the elevator.
There was a cry from the woman behind her as her body hurtled through the thick layer of glass and she fell to the ground below.
At the last second, her eye flared and flames shot out from her hands. It slowed her descent just enough that she was able to roll to a stop.
She got up and brushed herself off. Right, she couldn't go back to the dance, not with her cover blown.
An alarm cut through her thoughts suddenly, and her eyes widened.
There were shouts from inside the ballroom, students wanting to know what was going on as Atlesian soldiers spread through the grounds.
Cinder ran for it.
Heading towards the cliffs into the city.
She needed to get out of Beacon.
Watts was going to have a field day with this.
…
…
Back up in the carnage that was the CCT, the four remaining people stared at each other in shock.
Or, at least Miss Goodwitch stared at them. Ironwood was already inspecting the computers trying to see what damage was done, and perhaps trying to direct the situation onto what he felt was a more important matter.
But there was no ignoring what the woman saw in front of her.
A destroyed communication centre, scorch marks on the walls, Ruby looking suitably worse for wear in her prom dress, the alarms ringing in her ear, and the sounds of panicked shouting from below. Oh, and a girl with a hole where her heart should be and sparks shooting out from it.
This whole thing was too much even for her all at once.
"What just happened here?"
...
And that's the end of this chapter. This of course is a big step away from Cannon, what with Cinder's backstory. Mainly because she actually has a backstory now, since RT haven't given her one yet. they might later, and it will probably be better than this, but it's just another example of how this isn't the same story you're used to.
So Ruby and Cinder used to be besties, kind of one of the major plot points here but you'll have to see how it works out. as of right now we'll be moving on to will be the most... intense few chapters. at least I hope so. Next week should at least have you excited.
I'd also like to thank anyone who took a look at my other RWBY story Unbroken it takes a different theme than this one and I was wondering what the reception to the first chapter would be. Seems positive so far.
Still would like more Reviews though, even if they're not completely positive the best feeling for me is reading reviews and knowing how people see these stories.
Anyway, that's all for now. Be sure to follow and Favourite if you liked it, and also make sure to Review, feedback is always read and appreciated.
Until next time.
Bye!
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