"It's been three days, Ozpin. You`ve had more than enough time to think about this." Qrow said, leaning on the headmaster's desk to glare at him. "We need to discuss Cinder."
Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, then laid it aside. He was slow to do so, and Qrow knew it was on purpose – he wanted to delay their discussion for as long as he could.
"There's nothing to discuss, Qrow." He said, forcing his voice to sound casual.
"Excuse me, Mister I'm-the-wisest-man-on-Remnant, but I have to disagree with you!" Qrow exclaimed angrily. "This is not a matter we can just push aside and pretend to forget."
"So what do you propose we do, then?" Ozpin asked, growing frustrated by his friend's insistence. "Should we tell Cinder that she's destined to become a murderous monster? Maybe we should lock her up, for our safety! Surely she wouldn't mind."
"Well, when you put it like that, every plan is a bad plan!"
Qrow paced around the office, tapping his fingers against his head as he tried to find a solution to their problem. Ozpin watched him quietly, waiting for him to calm down a bit.
"I understand your concern, truly I do." The headmaster said. "But I believe the wisest path is the safest, at least this time. The most probable outcome of us keeping Cinder is the dark is her being the end of this madness."
"She was a master spy, assassin, thief… She'll find out." Qrow sighed. "But… Fine. You win. I won't whisper a word of this to her. Just don't expect me to sing your praises if the school somehow burns down because of it."
"I appreciate your co-operation." Ozpin smiled, then lifted his mug politely. "Coffee?"
Qrow grimaced, then left the office. Ozpin shook his head, disappointed by his friend's unjustifiable disgust of his favorite beverage.
"You know, Nora, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should." Weiss said cautiously as she sat down at the cafeteria.
Nora tilted her head dubiously, making the stack of pancakes on her head fall to the side. Unfortunately, they all landed on top of Ren, who was caught by surprise and fell to the floor.
"My friends are weird." Weiss noted quietly, as if that had been the first time that thought had occurred to her.
"Hey, I take offense to that." Blake said, sitting beside her.
"You're not my friend!" The heiress smiled happily, only to become horrified as she realized what she had just said. "I mean, you're more than a friend!"
Blake shook her head, amused by how awkward her girlfriend could be sometimes, despite her rigorous social training. The faunus rolled her eyes as she felt Yang elbow her lightly on her side.
"We all know you're more than friends!" The blonde wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Especially after we saw those stains on our carpet-"
"Quiet!" Weiss shrieked, tossing one of Nora's pancakes at Yang's face. Then she turned to face their sister team and smiled widely. "I don't know what she's talking about."
Ruby frowned, desperately trying to connect the dots between Weiss and Blake's relationship and the stains on her team's carpet. Her face lighted up as she came to a realization, and then she looked between the two girls with a mixture of horror and fascination.
Yang took no notice of her sister's experience as she scanned the cafeteria leisurely, thinking of nothing in particular. Her eyes narrowed as she sighted Cinder gathering her meal on a tray.
It had taken Yang a little while, but after her rage died down a bit, she started to notice how strange of a state Cinder seemed to be in. Everything about her screamed power – her fiery eyes, the strength and skill she displayed at almost any task – but her behavior reflected the complete opposite of that. If Yang were to confront her right now, she doubted Cinder would protest, or even defend herself from an attack.
That didn't mean she liked her, but it did awaken a sense of sympathy for her. Maybe that was everybody else was feeling too – except Ruby, obviously. Yang groaned as she noticed her sister's blurred form near Cinder, and then hurriedly bring her to their table.
There was an awkward silence as Cinder stood beside the table, thinking on whether she should comply with Ruby and sit down too. The redhead frowned and began to poke her belly furiously, until Cinder was forced to give in, despite her best intentions.
"You shouldn't reward her for such rude behavior." Weiss noted sharply, breaking the silence.
"Hey!" Ruby protested while she chewed on her food. "I'm not rude!"
"…Something about your reply makes it sound inherently wrong." The heiress said. Ruby frowned, trying to figure out just what her partner had said exactly.
Suddenly, the moment was not so awkward anymore. Weiss continued to mystify Ruby with fancy sayings; Nora forced her whole team to play thumb-wrestling (Pyrrha won easily, to no one's surprise); and Yang began to poke Blake as the faunus tried to read a novel. Cinder ate her meal quietly, not sure if to feel welcomed or estranged.
After a few minutes, Blake raised her head, having only partially managed to block out Yang's insistent poking. She had a frown on her forehead, as if she had just remembered something very important.
"Has everyone written the composition for Port's class tomorrow?" She asked.
"Why, yes, of course I-" Weiss paused, her face slowly becoming a mask of horror and shame. "I haven't even started! Goodbye!"
The heiress raced off, as if the composition was a matter of life and death. Blake shrugged and left too, but considerably more calmly than her girlfriend. Yang, suddenly lacking a target for harassment, stood from the table and wandered off quietly.
"Who cares about compositions?!" Nora exclaimed.
"I do." Ren noted quietly.
"Nobody asked you, Ren!" Nora crossed her arms. "I will not part from this table."
Jaune and Pyrrha nodded knowingly to each other. Each grabbed one of Nora's shoulders and, resisting her violent protest, dragged her away. Ren followed contently, for once not having to be the one to deal with his partner's wackiness.
Cinder eyed Ruby curiously. The redhead seemed to have developed a sudden fascination with her fingernails.
"What about you?" The pyromancer asked.
"Me? I already wrote the composition." Ruby said quickly.
Cinder raised an eyebrow dubiously.
"Do you really expect to fool me, Ruby? I was a master of deceit." She smiled lightly. "Why, I think I feel a little offended, to be honest."
"N-no, I'm not lying!" Ruby looked away frantically. "I wrote the composition this morning!"
"Really? What is it about?"
The redhead opened her mouth, but no answer came out. Frustrated, she crossed her arms and sunk on her seat.
"Go write your composition, Ruby." Cinder chuckled.
Ruby grumbled. She was accustomed to Weiss, Blake, and even Yang forcing her to do her schoolwork, but Cinder? That was just too disappointing. She realized Cinder was not as perfect as she thought (conveniently forgetting she already knew that, what with the White Fang affiliation, Beacon infiltration and hurting her feelings).
Cinder watched the redhead leave with a small smile of fondness. How Ruby managed to be such a skilled and clever warrior while neglecting her school duties was a fascinating mystery.
The pyromancer frowned as she heard the sound of something metallic hitting her table. She looked down, only to find the pointy end of her fork on the table, while she held its other melted half in her right hand. She hastily hid the damaged silverware from view, both embarrassed and disturbed about the occurrence.
Her powers had always manifested when her emotions flared, but she had trained to control them to such a fine extent long ago, that this had not been a problem for years. But now, not only did she find herself unwillingly letting off flames and melting held objects, but she also did it because of the slightest motives.
She supposed if thinking too fondly of Ruby led to melting things, then she had better stop, or the cafeteria would feel a severe lack of silverware.
Cinder frowned, feeling a familiar sensation of being watched from afar. She scanned the cafeteria silently and proved the sensation to be right. Qrow leaned against one of the corners of the room, staring at her with intense eyes, his cloak making of him almost a shadow that no one would cast a second look at.
Her eyes narrowed. How dare he spy on her, and so obviously at that? Had she not earned his trust, having not laid a finger on his niece ever since she had been welcomed back? Few things ignited her ire, but being doubted again and again for no discernible reason…She ought to teach him a lesson in humility…
The rest of the fork slid down her fingers, forming a pool of hot liquid metal on the table. Cinder stared at it, her hand shaking, vision wavering helplessly. She stood abruptly, and, ignoring the nearby students' startled looks, left the cafeteria in a hurry.
Qrow waited a moment before parting from the wall and following her, the hand that held his folded scythe hidden by the fabric of his cloak.
Yang sneaked through the upper halls of Beacon, where the staff's rooms were located. It wasn't exactly forbidden for the students to navigate that part of the school, but most of the teachers liked their privacy, and being caught there might lead to mysteriously low grades.
Unfortunately, the visitor rooms were located at that same floor. After much arguing, Ozpin had convinced Raven to accept a room there. Yang had not visited her there yet, so it took her a while to find her, especially because there was nothing to identify which room belonged to her.
When she opened the door, Raven was sitting on a wooden chair while looking out a window. Yang walked in silently and stood behind her. The window gave a vast view of the Emerald Forest, in the outskirts of the school and Vale, coupled with the clear sky at afternoon.
"Wow. Kinda breathtaking, isn't it?" Yang commented.
Raven jumped from her chair and instinctively reached for her katana, which was leant on the wall. When she noticed it was her daughter who had spoken, though, she froze mid-movement. Yang took a moment to register her mother's awkward pose before laughing.
"Hey, stop it." Raven looked away, trying to hide her blushing cheeks. "I'm paranoid, okay?"
"You sure are." Yang wondered if her mother slept with her sword beside the bed too.
"What are you doing here, Yang?" The older woman asked, if only to divert the conversation away from her blunder.
"I'm visiting my mother, why!" Yang exclaimed obviously. She sat at the edge of the bed and looked at the ceiling. "And, well… I kinda wanted to talk with you about something…"
Raven looked at her for a few seconds, before smiling knowingly. She sat beside her daughter and patted her on the thigh.
"Okay, dear." She said. "I know what this is all about. You want motherly advice about boys."
"What? No!" Yang shrieked. "That's not it at all!"
"Oh." Raven did a double take. "Girls? I'm afraid I don't have a lot to impart about that matter… Well, there was that one time, but there was so much alcohol and…"
She paused, noticing Yang was looking at her as if she had just broken some sort of misconceived illusion. Raven cleared her throat.
"What do you want to talk about?" She asked.
"Yeah, uhm…" Yang tapped her foot against the floor nervously. "Dad."
In an instant, Raven's welcoming demeanor was replaced by sunk shoulders and fleeing eyes.
"I see." She muttered. "What about him?"
"I was wondering…" Yang cursed herself mentally. She had run this conversation a hundred times in her head, and she had rehearsed each word she would say and how she would react depending on how her mother did. But now, she felt lost and foolish. "I-I was wondering if… If you were going to talk to him or something…?"
"Yang, I…" Raven's voice wavered. "It's been seventeen years. What do you expect will happen?"
Yang got up and bit her lower lip. Raven immediately regretted her words, seeing the glimmer of tears on her daughter's eyes.
"Yeah. I'm sorry." Yang said. "Forget about it."
Before Raven could do anything, the blonde had turned and left the door, slamming the door behind her.
Raven got up and picked up her sword, holding it as if it could somehow bring her comfort.
It didn't.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in…
Cinder's fingers curled into a fist as the temperature of her room grew even higher. No matter how hard she concentrated, how calm she tried to remain, her power kept manifesting. At this rate, she would be sleeping in what was practically an oven.
She wished there was something for her to discharge her fury on. Sure, that wouldn't actually help her, at least not physically, but it would certainly help emotionally. Or so she hoped. If it went like everything else in her recent life, it would probably just worsen her condition.
Was this the power Mira held at her control? Cinder had always seen herself as a power to be reckoned with, and everyone she came across certainly felt the same, but Mira seemed to be five steps above her… and yet, her supposed mother hadn't showed any sign of struggling with her power.
Mother. It stung to even think of the word. A mother was supposed to be a figure of warmth, of home and happiness, not some possessive stranger who haunted your night and day. She had been immensely happier not knowing who her mother was.
Moreover, if Mira was her mother, who the hell was her father? While at first thought it was hard to conceive that a man would be foolish enough to have a child with someone such as Mira, Cinder was not so naïve as to hold that mentality for long. People are crazy when it comes to love – and wasn't she the poster child of that phrase?
There was a knock on her door, which she pretended to not hear. Cinder restarted her meditation, only to be distracted by another knock. And another, and another, the interval between each one becoming increasingly shorter.
Finally, whoever it was gave up on knocking and the door flew open. Ruby stepped inside, glaring angrily at her.
"Hey!" Cinder protested half-jokingly. "Weren't you taught to knock on someone's door before entering?"
She had never seen Ruby wear such a sour expression.
"What are you doing sitting on the ground?" The redhead asked, inspecting the pyromancer as if she were a weird aberration.
"Meditating." Cinder sighed. "Or trying to…"
And just like that, Ruby was sitting in front of her with a helpful look on her face. Cinder smiled lightly, once more impressed by her ex-girlfriend's admirable nature.
"Can I help?"
"Well, meditating is something you do alone…" Cinder said slowly. She didn't want to disappoint Ruby. "But… I suppose we can do something else."
"Like talking! Talking is cool and nice and helpful!" Ruby suggested cheerfully. "So, why are you meditating?"
"I was meditating to try to get a better hold of my power. It hasn't worked, as I'm sure you've already noticed."
Ruby nodded, swiping a bit of sweat off her forehead.
"What's so different from before, anyway?" She asked. "You didn't use to cook things up with a look when I first met you."
Cinder blinked, momentarily distracted by the thought of cooking herself dinner with her power.
"I think Mira changed me, somehow." She said. "Maybe she overloaded me with her own fire. I feel like I'm going to burst."
"Ouch. Sounds painful." Ruby stated.
"Not at all, actually! It feels… Amazing." Cinder looked at her palms hauntingly. "I can't describe it well enough. Whatever I could do before, it's been turned up to eleven. And when I use it…" She paused, not wanting to make the conversation awkward. "It's good. But I have barely any control anymore. I'm setting fire on wood, making my room unbearably hot at night… Melting my forks…"
Ruby smiled and patted her comfortingly on the shoulder.
"It takes time to become skilled at something. I'm sure you'll be able to kick Mira's butt in no time!"
"Hmm." Cinder looked away bitterly. "Not probable."
Ruby was silent for a moment, as if were divining what Cinder was thinking. The pyromancer shrunk, feeling as if her very soul was being inspected.
"You're pretty upset about your mother, right?" Ruby asked.
"…She's not my mother." Cinder muttered. "She's a monster who assaulted me and made me… Made me feel like this."
"Hey. It's not your fault she defeated you. I mean, even my uncle Qrow had to run away from her, and that was fifteen years ago, when he wasn't an old man!" Ruby said. "Next time, you'll be prepared, and you'll defeat her."
Cinder nodded. Even if she didn't believe, it felt good to pretend Ruby was right. It took a heavy weight out of her shoulders.
"I never really knew my mother too well, you know?" Ruby said suddenly. "She died when I was a kid. She was an awesome Huntress, even better than my uncle. But… I guess even she wasn't strong enough, in the end. She left me."
"Oh." Cinder didn't know what to say. She had had no clue Ruby was motherless… And that made her feel angry at herself. How could Cinder not know such a thing? Her job at Beacon had been to learn everything about its students, and… And how could she not know about something so important to Ruby, of all people?
"I'm not really sad, though. I miss her. She was so cool, what with the baking of cookies and slaying of monsters, but… She's gone, now, and that's it. Gotta move on." Ruby shrugged. "What use is there to holding on to the past, right?"
Cinder looked at her, amber eyes shimmering like fire as she took in those simple, yet powerful words. She still didn't understand why she felt so strongly for Ruby, but it was moments like these that made her not bother herself with questions – she just needed to feel.
Without thinking, Cinder leaned forward and captured Ruby's lips with her own. The redhead tried to mumble something – a protest, probably – but it was a half-hearted attempt, and she didn't raise any real resistance.
The pyromancer would have screamed with happiness if her mouth wasn't already occupied. She had missed this even more than she had thought – to be connected to someone, to Ruby, to feel the heat and connection between them as if it were a living thing…
Cinder's right hand flew to Ruby's neck, gently caressing its side, while her other went to the redhead's back. The kiss grew hungrier, greedier, so much that Cinder's mind was void of any thought, just living the moment as it was, with no fear or-
And then Ruby rose to her feet with a hiss, holding the side of her neck, a painful grimace on her face. Cinder stared at her, furious about having their little session interrupted – until she took full notice of the situation.
"Oh. Oh no. No, no, no, no…" She jumped to her feet. "Ruby, are you – Are you okay? Did I-"
"No!" Ruby edged away. "I'm fine! I-it's nothing, I'm just nervous!"
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"
"I'm fine!"
Ruby turned and ran away, leaving a trail of rose petals behind her.
Cinder cursed and punched a wall, leaving a scorched mark on it. Her eyes were two pools of fiery light, her voice a booming roar as she unleashed her fury on everything she set her eyes upon.
"Hey, Blaaake…"
The faunus' ears shifted slightly as her girlfriend crouched beside her bed. Blake gave her a cautious look as she set her book aside.
"You know, I really enjoyed when I could read in peace for more than five minutes straight." She said.
"Well, if you're unhappy about our relationship, then…" Weiss crossed her arms indignantly.
"No, no. I'm sorry. That was just a very good book you interrupted." Blake explained apologetically. "Ah, The Clever Boy's Dread…"
"That's great! Do you want to know why, Miss Belladonna?"
Blake raised an eyebrow slowly. Weiss smiled widely, then suddenly produced a book from beneath her.
"Ta-dah!" The heiress sang. "The Queenslayer Chronicles, Day 3: The Stairs of Rock!"
"What!" Blake snatched the book, totally flabbergasted. "But this isn't even out yet! How did you manage to buy it?"
"Why, the Schnees know a lot of people, including renowned authors such as Patrick Fothruss." Weiss said proudly. "Am I the best girlfriend ever?"
"Yeeees!"
Blake tackled her to the floor and started to plant kisses on her neck. Weiss would have been happy to let her continue, but Yang was in the room too, and she had already witnessed enough.
"No! Stop it!" Weiss giggled, forcibly pushing Blake away. "That's enough! We've already given her enough ammunition for a month!"
Blake nodded bitterly, then looked up at her partner's bed. Yang was unusually quiet, which was always a big worry.
"Yang?" She called. "Aren't you going to make a comment about our obvious display of love and sexuality?"
"Huh?" The blonde looked down at them. "Oh. Uhm… Damn, ladies, can I join ya…?"
"…That was weak." Weiss stated. "I almost feel pity for her."
Blake made to jump to her partner's bed to talk to her, but before she could, there was a knock on their door. Weiss went to open it, revealing Raven standing on the hallway.
"Hello." The heiress said.
"Weiss." Raven greeted shortly. "Can you get Yang and Ruby for me?"
"Xiao Long, get over here!" Weiss shrieked, then turned to face Raven again as if nothing had happened. "Ruby is probably harassing Cinder right now."
"Ah, I see." If Raven thought anything of the matter, she didn't let it show.
Yang followed her mother into the hallway and closed the door behind them. She looked at Raven with a mixture of anger and sorrow.
"Why are you here?" She asked.
"I'm sorry about how I handled our conversation before. I wasn't prepared to discuss your father." Raven said. "But… I thought a lot about it. Even if it's been seventeen years, even if he had Summer, and Ruby… I think he should know I'm alive and with you."
"Yes, he should." Yang agreed, her tone becoming much lighter. "So, do you want me to call him?"
"Oh, there's no need." Raven smiled triumphantly. "I already did. He'll be here as soon as he's able."
Yang shouted happily and hugged her. Raven was nervous - meeting her lost love after so many years, explaining to him who she had become and what she had gone through would not be an easy task. She expected a lot of shouting and tears. But if she was already being rewarded this way by her daughter, it was all worth it.
At that moment, Ruby appeared, suspiciously wearing a red scarf around her neck. She looked at Yang and Raven confusedly, then raised her hands in a silent question.
"Dad's coming here." Yang explained, parting from her mother's embrace. "It's going to be a shitstorm."
"A what now?" Raven glared at her disapprovingly.
"A mess, mother. An absolute mess." The blonde corrected sheepishly.
Raven neared Ruby so that she stood between her and Yang, then patted her on the shoulder.
"I hope that's okay with you." She said. "Taiyang is your father too, after all."
"Oh, I don't have-" Ruby paused. Raven had brought her scarf down for a brief moment to discover the burn mark on the side of her neck, then brought it back up. "I-I have no problem with that."
"That's good." Raven smiled, as if nothing had happened. "I care about you too. You are a daughter to me, just as Yang was to Summer, so I'll always be looking out for you."
Ruby nodded, even as a deep fear for Cinder settled on her stomach. Raven ruffled her hair, then walked away without another word.
"I can't wait to see what's going to happen." Yang frowned. "I hope dad takes this well. A lot's been happening around here…"
"Yep." Ruby gulped.
"How am I gonna explain to him you were dating a psychopath?" Her sister chuckled.
She opened the door to their room and made to enter it, but immediately returned and shook her head.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked confusedly.
"Weiss and Blake, they're, uhm… They're reading a book together. We shouldn't interrupt them." Yang improvised.
"Reading a book? We can just be silent." The redhead shrugged.
"That's not enough! Weiss is reading out loud to Blake, and she'd be pretty embarrassed if we were listening too."
Ruby crossed her arms and glared at her sister accusatorily.
"Yang, are they making out?"
"…Kinda." Yang replied. Suddenly, she opened the door to Juniper's room and shoved Ruby inside. "I don't want you getting any tips from them!"
"But-" Ruby's protest was cut short as she was dragged away by a singing Nora.
Yang smiled wickedly, then planted her ear on her team's door.
"Now, let's see how much ammunition I can gather here…"
Mira clucked her tongue as she flipped over another one of her subordinates with her foot. He was as dead as the other ones, and with the same fatal injury – a clean stab wound through the chest.
Adam stood at her side in the storeroom-turned-hideout. He glanced at the bodies silently, as if he knew everything there was to know about the situation.
"This isn't an important base at all, Mira." He said. "Barely anyone knows about it, even inside the organization. So this is a message. The killer knows us well. Too well, I'd say."
"Why, yes. Of course." Mira looked at him as if he were an adorable baby. "It was Raven Branwen. It's rather obvious, dear. The clean sword wounds, purposefully dealt so as to inflict as less pain as possible…"
"Yes, I suppose you're right." Adam's annoyance was evident in his voice. "I was getting to that. We've been getting reports from at least a half dozen bases, warning us about a pair who called themselves the Branwens. Supposedly, they are beating goons up, demanding to know where my base of operations is located."
"A pair?" Mira nodded. "That is most certainly interesting."
Adam smiled slightly. Going on the field with Mira was always a risky occasion – if she left unsatisfied, her companion was most likely going to be burned alive. When she was pleased, however…
"Dear, can you be less obvious? We're still out in the open." Mira chuckled. "You know, I grow tired of this game."
"This game…?" Adam asked cautiously.
"This chasing of little rebellious daughters; allowing traitors to roam free killing our men. I believe it's time to make a real move."
"It will take time." The faunus noted. "Cinder has certainly revealed all our previous plans to Ozpin and his colleagues. We'll need new ones."
"That won't be a problem…"
Mira crouched down and touched one of the corpses. Fire lighted on her fingers, spreading over the dead man and turning him to ashes in a matter of seconds.
"I have an excellent plan in mind already…" She moved to the next corpse and did the same. "It will deal with every issue we've been facing lately. My daughter; Raven Branwen; your precious runaway protégé… Tell me, Adam, how do you win a game of chess?"
"You trap their king." Adam replied easily.
"That's the endgame. But before that…" She burned the last two corpses, then rose to her feet, a glimmering fire on her eyes. "You take their queen."
Well, as long as they don't hurt Zwei, I guess everything's fine. (I certainly would never target the dog)
A virtual cookie to everyone who understood the least-subtle-reference to a particular series of book this chapter. Yes, that was an actual reference. It was pretty stupid.
[Sea diary; Day 3
The S. S. Iceberg sunk easily, almost as if it was destined to do so all along.
I grow wary of the chapter titles' anonymity. Their meaning is in jeopardy.
My men have spotted a glorious ship on the horizon. We cannot yet read its name. I hope they won't open fire on us; they surely have many much powerful firepower than us.
Zeroan, proud captain of the S. S. Falling Petals.]
Singing-Nora-sized thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited Falling Roses Burn Brighter!
-Zeroan