"It's getting closer." James muttered, his attention glued onto the gigantic grimm as it reached down for something in the forest. It didn't lower itself completely, standing tall as ever even when it was crouched in the way that it was. Hunched over, like it was prepared to shovel something from the ground into its mouth. "You know that it's getting closer."

"We are all well aware, James." Glynda responded, stepping up close to him and peering out in the distance. When James watched her, all that he could do was imagine whatever justices for the beast Glynda was imagining. She had to be thinking about whatever sorts of things she could do. Stones in the forest, the best way to do damage, how a tree could be used to stop it in its path.

James had his doubts that he would be able to go into this battle himself when the time came. He'd been injured too many times over and all of them were more than well aware of that fact. Another bad hit, and it was entirely possible that his career was done. Among other things.

"Yeah." Qrow groaned. "I guess we've gotta start thinking about how to take it out, don't we Jimmy?"

James shot the other man a glare. Normally he would have gone ahead and he would have done something to reprimand Qrow for his behavior. It wasn't as though Qrow wasn't aware of the fact that James hated that particular nickname, the issue was that Qrow rather plainly didn't care at all.

"We do." James growled back, doing his best not to grit his teeth with the words. "I'll be having a specialist come in tomorrow night, but for the time being, we need an emergency plan in case it gets any closer."

They were all silent for a long time. All three of them had gone through this sort of thing so many times in their lives. James had mostly experienced that sort of fight in Atlas, and he was better at planning for the frozen landscape that he called his home.

Vale was different. It wasn't his territory, for one. That alone made it much more difficult for him to be able to do much of anything.

"Of course we do." Qrow groaned. "You know, it would be a lot easier if Oz was here to talk about all of this but..."

"But Ozpin is busy with a meeting." Glynda snapped, bringing Qrow's attention over to her. "And will be until later in the night."

"Yeah, yeah." Qrow muttered. "But of course. Always too busy to help us out."

"They help us plenty." James grumbled, standing up tall and sighing. He could feel a headache beginning to set in, and it wasn't going to be something that would let up so easily. "And Ozpin asked for us to do recon and try to make plans around what we find."

"Well, that's not very useful." Qrow complained. "You know just as well as I do that we're going to end up using Oz's students to clean this up to some level."

"We're all very well aware." Glynda answered, sounding like she'd been wound so tight that she was actually going to lash out and strangle Qrow in a second if he didn't stop. "Those students are my students too."

"Yeah, I know." Qrow mumbled. "But I don't see why we need some stuck-up Atlesian specialists here to help us out with things they don't know anything about. Or generals. Or anything. We can handle this on our own, regardless of what Oz says."

James grit his teeth. He didn't want to do anything to make this worse, but Qrow was really reaching out and pushing at him in every way possible. This wasn't going to get easier anytime soon, and James knew that perfectly well. It just meant that things were going to be hard to deal with for a while until this was over.

But he couldn't just let himself be the target of everything that easily.

"I'm a huntsman just the same as you are." James said as calmly as he could. "Though I suspect that's something that you don't particularly care about, Qrow."

Qrow leaned in towards James, placing himself directly in James' personal space and it more or less took everything that James had not to try and lash out and punch the man for that. It wasn't something that he wanted to deal with on any level. The absolute last thing that James needed to deal with was the fallout of whatever would happen if he went ahead and actually allowed himself to show what he was feeling and thinking when it came to Qrow.

"Oh, I care." Qrow muttered. "I just don't know why you care about us here out in Vale, Jimmy. You know that Atlas is nothing like Vale, and I don't think that you're going to be able to get anywhere near as much done like this as you want to think."

James shook his head. "Why do you think that i have a specialist coming?" James growled. "I'm trying to get better professionals that are more used to the area than I am available to help me on this."

"It won't work." Qrow grinned. "Your specialists don't know anything about what it's like to be in the field like this and you know it, General."

James had to use everything in his power not to make his displeasure over that little comment in particular too obvious. James knew that Qrow was doing his best to go ahead and get a rise out of him, and he absolutely refused to let it show. Not if it was going to let Qrow get any worse.

"My specialists are better suited to this because they are able to spend more time on varied ground." James said in a deadpan, not looking over at Qrow directly. "And the specific one that I have called for has been working around the continent of Sanas for the last year or two." He knew that it wasn't going to be able to get Qrow to leave him alone. It was worth saying otherwise.

Of course, James didn't want to fill in the extra blanks and let others know just who he'd called on. Qrow and Glynda didn't need to know that James had contacted and requested Winter Schnee because it meant that he would be able to make sure that Weiss was taken care of. That was just a part of his intentions, and very much one on the side.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Qrow grunted and stretched just slightly, walking up to the edge of the cliff so that he could get a better look at the grimm. James doubted that it was going to be able to do anything to help at all. "It won't change my mind."

"Yes, we're all aware of that." Another voice broke into the conversation, and James didn't give himself a chance to answer before he looked back over his shoulder.

Ozpin was standing there, with their cane resting in front of them and watched the other three of them like they were expecting to learn something. James, Qrow, and Glynda all stepped away from the cliff to face Ozpin properly.

"Hey, Oz." Qrow greeted them calmly. "What's going on?"

"I was hoping to see how you are all doing." Ozpin commented, looking over their shoulders and out at the Grimm as it was moving around in the forest. "I do hope that I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Trust me when I say that you aren't." Glynda deadpanned, rolling her eyes in the process. "Just the typical bickering between these two."

"But of course." Ozpin said, smiling just slightly. "Have the three of you come to any conclusion on how to handle that... beast."

"Not really." Qrow answered, a little too nonchalantly. "Jimmy here was talking about how he thinks that he can solve everything himself with his little specialists, and we were putting up with it."

James grit his teeth, and a thousand insults rushed through his head at once. Normally, he liked Qrow quite a bit, but when it came to work James tended to want the other man at a very safe distance from him more often than not. That was how he was able to maintain his sanity.

It seemed that this was a case where Qrow wasn't going to allow him to calm down at all. The great thing that James could take comfort in was the fact that Ozpin wasn't likely to just take Qrow's words at face value. They knew how Qrow could be just as well as any of them did, but that didn't leave James any less annoyed over having his words and intentions so badly misrepresented.

"That's not the case." James said, standing up tall and reaching up with a gloved hand so that he could adjust his tie. "I mentioned that I was calling in a specialist to give aid in the case that it is necessary. That however is not my only reason for requesting her presence."

"Of course, James." Ozpin said calmly, taking a few steps forward and walking past all three of them until they were standing on the edge of the cliff. "I suspect that the only plan in place so far is that a group of students would be sent in along with some members of Beacon's faculty."

"That would be the situation at hand, yes." Glynda said, stepping in and sidling up to Ozpin's side. "Selecting teams for this assignment will be difficult, but I have faith in our students."

"I would expect as much." Ozpin replied, not looking away from the grimm as it moved.

In the distance, the great beast stood up tall and turned its head so that it could stare at the four of them, like something had managed to somehow alert it to their presences. James couldn't help the way that it sent a chill down his spine seeing that happen. It reminded him once again of how the status quo had changed over the years.

The grimm that he had been taught to fight when he'd been young had been notable for being mindless. They ran on instinct and were drawn to primal things. Emotions, mostly, but they were known to follow after bloodshed when the time came for it.

If this grimm had any proper resemblance to the ones of his youth, it wouldn't be acting like this. It would have just moved for the city and gone for the kill. Lingering out on the horizon like this, waiting for something... that was unheard of.

Whatever it was waiting for, it was going to be a serious threat. When the time came, they were going to have to grapple with a beast that was more powerful than the average man would have been able to handle. Even back when Grimm had been weaker and more plentiful, they had been meant to be fought by teams.

Now it felt like what they needed to go after the beasts was an army, and the number of people that were capable of fighting grimm weren't plentiful enough in numbers. It only got worse when the fact that deaths were inevitable were brought into consideration.

Here they were, preparing to send children in to fight when they weren't going to have better ways to handle things. Here they were, preparing to send children in to die.

What monsters they were.

James let out a slow exhale and tried to force away all of his frustrations so that he could ensure that he was going to actually be able to get things done when he needed them done. Dwelling on these things wasn't going to get him anywhere, and that was something that James was all too well aware of.

"This is a high-risk situation." James stated as calmly as he could and distancing himself from the emotional side of this job as quickly as he could. "No matter what, we're going to have to be sure that the beast isn't going to be able to get close to Vale. If it does, we'll have untold deaths."

"But of course." Ozpin said, grimacing. "Will you be able to call upon air support in case it gets that close?"

James was a little bit surprised by that request. Normally it was considered for the best if James kept Atlesian air forces as far away from the other kingdoms as was possible, but in this case James wasn't so sure. The fact that Ozpin was specifically requesting it changed things, and James wasn't going to take that without a response.

"It will take some work." James said calmly. "Calling down ships from Atlas can be a logistical nightmare most of the time. I will have to speak closely with the council."

"Do you think that they will refuse the request?"

James paused, thinking on his colleagues and quickly coming to a solution. "I have enough pull within the upper ranks of Atlesian politics and business that I should be able to get them." He hesitated, remembering one of the larger problems that had arisen since his involvement in Vale.

Jacques Schnee was inevitably going to remain as one of the more frustrating parts of his job. He wasn't going to be able to get things done if Jacques found out that he was requesting forces. If Jacques went after the people that James needed to work with, then the whole thing would fall in jeopardy.

He looked Ozpin directly in the eyes and held his head high, tilting his chin back just slightly so that he had a little bit more height as an advantage. "I will do what I can for you, Ozpin, but I cannot make any promises."

"I have my faith in you." Ozpin said, smiling as they turned to Glynda. "I would like to spend some time with you compiling a list of the more capable students at Beacon." They said calmly. "You have a much more direct idea of how these students are than I do, Glynda."

Glynda nodded, and then they all turned their eyes on Qrow, because he was ultimately going to be one of the more important pieces of this equation.

The thing with Qrow, James had realized a while ago, was that the man managed to be a wild card in all of their work. He had connections in interesting places, and had used them before. That didn't mean that it was easy to utilize those things, but James couldn't pretend as though Qrow didn't have his used.

Ozpin and Qrow's eyes locked, and then Ozpin began their instructions to Qrow alone.

"I know that you won't like what I am about to ask you for, Qrow." Ozpin said calmly, unblinking and ever too intense. "If you could reach out for some of your family connections, it could be of great help to us."

James could have sworn that he felt his heart go completely still in his chest, an icicle forming over it that was never going to be able to defrost. The last time that Qrow had been asked to reach out for his more personal connections, things had gone poorly. People had gotten killed, and there had been a reign of destruction left behind that James never wanted to see repeated.

If his fears were correct, then they were going to have so absolutely horrible things to look after.

"No." Qrow snapped, his eyes narrowing as he leaned in slightly. "Absolutely not."

"You know that we will likely need every aid available to us." Ozpin said, still unwavering and lacking any fear. "If you can get their help, then you will be able to sway the equation in our favor."

Qrow took two steps back away from them, and James noticed immediately that he had gone completely tense with frustration and anger. Qrow was drawn completely tight, and James could practically envision the thin man lashing out and punching someone.

It was a good thing that they tended to have these sorts of meetings unarmed. James couldn't help but to fear what they would have had to deal with otherwise. He could think of a few times where he himself had been about ready to pull a gun on someone because a meeting was going poorly. That wasn't something that happened often, but it was still good that they did what they could to avoid that all.

"Yeah." Qrow snapped, sounding completely bitter and angry. "I don't want to do that though, Oz. They aren't family to me, and I don't know that I can trust them for anything."

"I know, Qrow." Ozpin said quietly. "This is a difficult thing that I'm requesting from you, and I know that it must be hard to consider going to do this. However, I need to be willing to do this for the sake of vale and its citizens."

There was near-silence for a long time before Qrow finally responded. He was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes turned down, and his expression falling apart.

Qrow was going to take all of this out on someone later on, and when that happened, James didn't want to be there to see it. Someone was going to have a lot to worry about when it came to Qrow, and James doubted that it would be him.

This was going to only go poorly, that was something that James was too afraid of.

"Right." Qrow hissed. "I'll think about it, but you better make this up to me, Oz. I don't like doing this sort of thing and you know it."

"I'm well aware, Qrow. I can't thank you for your help enough."

"Yeah," Qrow sneered. "Don't hold your breath on it."

Qrow didn't say a word else. He just turned away from them and started on his way to go off and do whatever it was that he needed to do.

James didn't say anything, just did his best to drown out the murmurings that the others were making as they all watched the man leave. This was bad, James thought. But it was also one of their realities.

There were too many ways that this could fall apart. It was only going to be a matter of time before it came to a head in that way. And oh, how James feared the day that came.

Cinder awoke, drowning in silence.

The first thing she was greeted by was the warm kiss of Dustlight on her skin, acting as a soothing balm that was better than any medicine or healing that she'd ever been given.

In a way, it all reminded her of home, of a much simpler time before she'd found herself involved with Haven Academy, or men that looked for secrets or gods. It reminded her of her father's back as he worked or ignored her, or of her sister's smile. It reminded her of lying in the grass and bathing under the sun.

It was a reality so far away from the one that she lived in now.

Cinder opened her eyes and looked around the cavern. It looked like people had been busy during the time that she'd been resting. At some point, someone had moved their camp into the cave, and the murals on the walls had faded again in their brightness.

She took a deep breath and forced herself upright. It was difficult, and it felt like the action had nearly drained all of the energy out of her on its own. Whatever had happened the night before had been serious. It wasn't like the injuries that she'd gotten in a dream.

Not a dream, a voice at the back of her mind insisted. It was a vision. Cinder tried not to pay it too much attention. Not if she wanted to be able to get up and take care of things for herself.

The truth of the matter was that Cinder was so tired, and for so many reasons. It was a mix of injuries, hard living, and the fact that she was involved with people that were so unlike her.

And really, she didn't think that she hated any of them. Watts managed his moments of kindness, Tyrian shed that he cared in his own very unique ways and then Hazel...

Well, Cinder didn't know how she felt about him anymore.

There were a lot of reasons for that. The fact that she kept on closing her eyes and being presented with images of a girl her age, with a bright smile and the same brown skin as Hazel's had a lot to do with it. The fact that the man reached out for her like he was afraid for her to be left alone or hurt didn't help.

Really, it just left her wondering what his angle was. Little comments from Watts didn't help either. The man kept on making little implications that Hazel was somehow hiding things from them. He made it sound like Hazel knew more than anyone else, and that he had much more personal stakes in things than any of them could have possibly imagined.

What was she supposed to think? Cinder thought as she looked over at the spot where Hazel was sleeping. It was possible that Watts was trying to play her for something, but...

She would figure it out eventually. But for now, Cinder knew exactly what she wanted to do. What she needed to do.

Cinder climbed down off of the slab that she'd been laid out on the night before and did her best to ignore the pain that rushed its way up her body. It was almost enough to make Cinder want to collapse, but she fought through it.

At the end of the day, Cinder knew that she couldn't continue to allow herself to continue to need the others so much. They didn't respect her and Cinder knew it. She was absolutely positive that a lot of that had to do with her not doing much for herself. Too many times she had slowed them down in some way, either by arriving, or injury, or something else.

No more.

Cinder would be stronger.

On the way out of the cave Cinder managed to collect her weaponry before taking step after shaky step until she was outside.

A pool had formed there, by the lip of the cave. When she and Tyrian had come there the night before, it hadn't existed. The thought only managed to make Cinder's skin crawl as it was yet another reminder that nothing was natural.

A part of her expected for something to come of it. A prickle of heat on her skin, a throbbing of her scars, a voice in her head.

Cinder walked to the edge of the water, unsure of what to do. She'd originally been meaning to just see whether or not she was capable of drawing a bow after so many injuries. She needed to know whether or not she could shoot, and if he couldn't, she needed to learn how to compensate for her injured eye.

But what she found seemed like it had almost appeared there with the express purpose of stopping her.

Cinder wasn't going to take it. She stared down at her own expression and for the first time in days she saw her face and the ways in which it had been ruined and disfigured. The missing eye on the left side of her face was unsightly, and the scar stretched down her neck and across to the right side of her face, looking like it was something between a healing burn and a half-mended laceration.

And the most prominent part of it was the brand. It circled over the space where her eye should have been, and Cinder realized that she would need to find ways to deal with that. She brushed her hair aside and got the best look at the injury as she possibly could.

If she was going to be able to get by, she needed to be able to cover the brand. The others had all managed to find ways to hide theirs. It would be up to her to find a solution of her own to compensate.

No more piggybacking. Cinder was dedicated to that.

She stared at her reflection a little bit longer and allowed for her expression to twist into one of unadulterated anger. For just a moment, Cinder could have sworn that she hadn't seen her reflection react, and the thought was so real that it wasn't enough to keep her stomach from turning.

One day, when all of this was over, Cinder was going to be sure to distance herself from as much spooky stuff as possible. She wanted her life to make sense, and it seemed that was too much to ask right then.

Someday.

Cinder blinked and took the step away from the waters. Focusing on what she had seen there wasn't going to get her anywhere, not if she was truly dedicated to being stronger and being better. If that was going to happen, she was going to have to start before any of the others could get up.

Her weapon was still resting on her back, and Cinder slowly removed both of the blades from where they'd been strapped to her. The two pieces of the weapon snapped together easily enough, and Cinder looked around the area, seeking out a proper target for practice.

In the end, she selected a tree at the other end of the clearing. She was certain that she was still strong enough that she would be able to get an arrow all the way over there once she let it fly. This was just going to be a matter of dedication, testing herself, and working her way back up.

Cinder knocked the first arrow and raised the bow. The first thing that she hadn't been really preparing for was how much of a strain drawing the arrow back was going to be. She could feel her arm beginning to shake, a burn rocketing up it from the injuries that she'd sustained. If it wasn't for the burns and the scars, she could have been fine.

But as things stood, she was weak.

With a slow exhale, Cinder let the arrow fly, and she watched as it veered off to the left and landed in a bush near her target. That wasn't going to do, she thought to herself as she lowered her bow once more. It wasn't good, but she was going to have to take her time doing her best to get back to her old baseline.

Cinder didn't let herself stop for too long. The arrow was sure to still be complete on the other side of the clearing. It was going to be a pain going over and getting back out, but that was something Cinder could deal with. After all, she was sure that they would have time before it was time to leave their camp where she could do her own thing.

THe second arrow flew a little bit closer to target, and the third was about to do that.

Instead of letting go like she was supposed to, Cinder felt the pain flare up so badly that she let loose too early, and she watched in dejection as the arrow landed in the black pond and sank down into it.

The thick fluid of the pond rippled, but instead of rippling outwards from where the arrow had landed, it all went inward until it began to bubble up in the centre.

Just like she had seen in a dream.

No.

A vision.

Cinder's stomach flipped, and if she was sure that she would have her voice for it, she would have gone ahead and called for the others.

Out from the waters, another grimm emerged. This one was fairly small, but it looked exactly like the ones that they'd trailed the day before. The beast's head poked out from the centre of the pool, and Cinder had to take a step back as she watched it emerge bit by bit.

All at once, it shook its body and the black sludge that had been clinging to it slipped off of the beast and splashed down onto the ground, evaporating into smoke on contact.

The grimm, beowulf, Cinder reminded herself, sniffed the air, its mouth open like it was trying to taste for something. The beast didn't pay her the most attention, but it did turn towards her slightly, watching for something.

Cinder kept herself as still as she possibly could. If there was a chance that she was going to end up accidentally drawing it to her, Cinder didn't know that she was going to be able to fight.

But then again, when it was considered that half of the things that she'd been through since meeting with Hazel, Tyrian, and Watts had all been unnatural, maybe it was there for a reason. She wondered whether or not their supposed goddess would send a creature to them to fight.

Maybe it was a test, Cinder thought to herself.

She just made sure to remember that she had to be ready to fight.

The grimm walked around the side of the pond, lowering its head and sniffing in search of something. Cinder didn't let herself speak, and she didn't let herself move quickly, but she took the chance to slide back away from the grimm in careful controlled step.

The Beowulf picked its head up, and Cinder cursed internally. It had heard her, she was sure of it.

All at once, its gaze settled onto her, and Cinder watched it open its large mouth to bark at her.

That, that was bad.

Already Cinder was sure that the grimm had managed to wake the others, and she wasn't going to have time to break her bow apart so that she could use it as the pair of swords that it could also be.

But she had one thing on her side that she could.

The beowulf lowered itself to four legs and went into action, charging her with an open mouth and sharp teeth.

Cinder took a step back and raised her hands in an act of desperation. She practically had to scream for every part of her body to react, and in a moment of relief, Cinder felt her semblance snap into action.

The flames left her in a fast torrent, burning into the grimm and wrapping around it until all that was left there was a pillar of rising black smoke.

There wasn't a single sign that the grimm had even been there anymore.

Cinder watched as the smoke rose, completely unsure of what she was supposed to do at that point. It fit in all of the stories that she'd been told about grimm, that they never left behind remains. It was legendary, really.

Seeing it in person was something else entirely.

"That's-" Tyrian's voice came from the entrance of the cave, and Cinder nearly jumped in fright from it. She hadn't been ready, she'd been too ready for something to come back up after her again. She turned slowly to see Tyrian standing there, his yellow eyes wide and his mouth dropped open. "That's a-"

"Destroyed grimm." Watts' voice broke in, and he actually looked somewhat impressed. That wasn't a look that he normally would have worn, and Cinder didn't know what to make of it. "Did you do this, girl?"

Cinder clamped her mouth shut and nodded slowly, letting herself relax just a little bit. There was no need to keep standing like she was ready to attack.

Watts stepped in close and reached out for her. Instinct told her that she needed to get away from him, but he just brushed her hair aside to get a look at her destroyed eye. "No damage." He mumbled, dropping his hand back down by his side. "You can't speak?"

That was a question that Cinder hadn't exactly been preparing herself for. Really, she hadn't been able to consider what it would be like once the others got up. All that Cinder had been thinking about was making sure that she didn't die.

So she opened her mouth and spoke. "I can." She said, though her voice came out as a hoarse sound. Broken. Painful. "It-"

"Good." Watts cut her off, before she could get a chance to say anything else. "Tyrian, wake up Hazel. We should get going since the girl is apparently well enough to fight."

Cinder clenched her hands into fists at her sides, running through every calming mantra that she had ever heard in the hopes that she would be able to keep herself from lashing out. Really, Watts was doing exactly what she didn't want for any of them, and Cinder hated it.

No, she realized as she glared him down. She didn't hate how he treated her. She just hated Watts.

"We're in no hurry." Cinder snapped at the man, sure that she wasn't going to see anything good from it later on. "He can take his time."

"On the contrary." Watts replied, grinning. There was something in his eyes that Cinder wasn't able to read, and she didn't know that she really wanted to know what he was thinking about. "If Grimm are spawning, then we don't have the time to waste." He paused, tilting his head and his mouth opening before he was interrupted.

"Grimm are spawning?" Hazel's voice was hoarse as ever, but he sounded exhausted. Cinder turned to face him and got a good look at his face. When she blinked she could have sworn that she saw the girl in her dreams in Hazel's place.

Something was very, very wrong.

She forced the thought back at let herself speak. "Yes." Cinder answered, stepping in a little closer towards the others. "I killed it."

"What type?"

"Beowulf." Cinder replied, holding her head up high. "I burned it."

"Good." Hazel mumbled, looking over at Watts. "Balance-"

"Coming back, yes." Watts rolled his eyes. "Do we have an objective yet?"

Hazel hesitated then looked back at Cinder, watching her face for something. Cinder couldn't help the way that her stomach turned over it. This wasn't good. This was far from good. Hazel seemed to know that something was wrong.

He sighed heavily. "I believe we do." Hazel finally answered. "We were brought here for a reason, and we were presented with a lead. Now it's up to us to follow up on it."

"It's insane." Watts said, checking his watch on his wrist. "All of it."

"And yet it's completely in line with what she would want from us." Hazel grumbled, looking over at Tyrian. He stared the thin man down, and then gave an order. "Get your things, Tyrian. We'll have a lot of work to do," He took a half-step back. "Cinder?"

"Yes?" Cinder asked, not sure what the man could possibly be wanting from her.

"Are you able to travel?"

"Yes." Cinder answered, holding her head up high and feeling so much more confident than she had before. Normally, there would have just been an order passed down to say that it was time for them to leave. "I believe so."

"Good." Hazel sighed, gesturing towards the pool. Cinder looked between it and Hazel. "I want to speak to you."

Cinder looked over at Watts and Tyrian, who left once Hazel decided to shoot a glare their way.

Once they were out of view, Hazel began walking towards the pool and Cinder followed after him. The water didn't move to disturb itself at all, but Hazel seemed to want to be close to it.

Cinder realized soon that he was making sure that the two of them were more or less out of earshot before he began to talk.

"We're in for a long journey." Hazel said, his voice hard. "And I need to know that you're up for it."

"I am." Cinder replied. "I need to get used to..." She gestured to her bow. "Without my eye it's not..."

Hazel turned his head and stared her down, searching for something. His only response ended up being a grunt and a nod. "It'll be handled." He mumbled. "With time."

"Right." Cinder blinked, and she looked up at Hazel. He seemed like he was completely far away from her, from all of them. Something was on his mind. "Why did you want to speak to me?"

He was silent, just stared her in the eye and sighed before finally asking one question.

"What's your favorite fairy tale?"