AN 1: WARNING! PLEASE READ
This chapter has mentions of; abuse (both physical and mental), as well as negligence. If you don't believe you can or are hesitant to go on and read, but would still like to know what the chapter is about - please do not hesitate to message me to do so. I will be more than happy to provide you with information or a summary of this chapter.
Chapter 6 - - - Provenance . . . Part 1
Cinder looked around in the dark abyss surrounding her. Her glass heels clicked with each step despite no floor being set in sight. As she kept walking, gray, shadowy figures surfaced ahead of her, sliding off to the side when she got close to them to create a path. Passing by each figure, they would hiss something at her before dispersing into the air.
"You're done here. Take your money and leave."
"Alright kid, here's your money. Now beat it."
"Scram!"
"Go away, I don't got work for you."
"Try again next time."
"Oh, You're still here?"
"What do you want? There's nothing here for you!"
Each one would tell her its' own variation for her to leave, sometimes with money, but other times there were no context for her unwanted presence. She would oblige by continuously walking. To where though? She did not know. There was nowhere for her to go, no light around for her to see where she was going.
She was alone.
A figure formed in front of her, this time more solid and familiar than all the others, and the sight of Roman caused her to stop.
"Your eyes…" He said, his voice young and raspy as though he were in pain. "They look like mine."
Cinder looked into his dark green eyes; dull, filled with emptiness, and no sense of ambition, but they were not like hers. His eyes were missing other components that she held.
Loneliness.
The thought made another figure form beside him; shorter, skinnier, more feminine, with eyes that would change colors at each blink, but filled with the same dullness and emptiness as his.
Roman had someone; he had his sister to help him make it through his existence. And Neo had him.
Their eyes looked nothing like Cinder's.
With that thought, their shadowy figures dispersed into the air at the same time white snow began to gently fall.
The clicking of her heels slowly turned into the crunching of snow, and once again, she walked in solitude without any shadowy presences forming before her.
But… There was something missing…
She continued walking through the empty cold regardless of the feeling. The snow seemed to fall just as slowly as each step she took. There didn't seem to be any presence of wind as each snowflake fell unperturbed. But, like the shadowy figures from before, each snowflake parted around her, avoiding her.
The sound of joyful giggling broke the silence, causing Cinder's head to snap up and her eyes to focus. She stopped walking, turning her head, whipping it around and twisting her body to find the source of happiness.
Nothing.
More laughter was heard though, echoing and reverberating through the vast emptiness. When finally…
"C'mon sis! Catch me if you can!"
Cinder turned toward the direction of the sound, eyes locking in on a little girl running toward her with a joyful look in her silver eyes that were filled with mirth with her red cloak was trailing behind her.
Cinder's stoic demeanor loosened, allowing a small smile to form on her face as she bent down to catch the girl.
Only for her to pass right through Cinder's body.
Her smile slowly fell. Just as slowly, she straightened back up to stand and slowly turned around.
The little red-cloaked girl continued giggling as she ran and turned her head back, "C'mon slowpoke!"
Cinder tried to run after, but she found her feet frozen in place. She panicked, about to call after the girl to wait, but in its place another voice, not her own, came forth.
"Wait for me Ruby!" The new voice called out.
Cinder tried to turn her head to find the owner of the voice, but felt their presence instead.
A small shadowy and child-like figure passed through Cinder's body and caused a cold feeling to spread through Cinder as it did so. The shadow chased after Ruby with giggles.
"You'll never catch me sis!" Ruby proclaimed as she continued running.
"Just you wait! I'll get you!" The shadow declared, getting closer and closer to Ruby and causing her to joyfully squeal.
Horrified, Cinder tried to call out for Ruby, to tell her that no. That thing isn't her sister. To call out and tell her that Cinder was right there and please not to leave her. To wait, to come back, that Cinder was her sister, oh God please don't abandon her.
But Ruby continued running away, getting further and further away from Cinder. And with each step, the ice that had formed around her feet spread further up her body.
Until finally, only the cold surrounded Cinder, the ice taking hold of her body to keep it in place, and became her only company.
Cinder woke with an abrupt start and cold sweat. The fear had still held its' place around her heart, causing it to wildly beat against her chest. Grabbing hold of her surroundings, Cinder slowly began to calm down.
It was just a dream.
She gave a heavy sigh of relief as she repeated the thought to herself.
It was just a dream.
Cinder closed her eyes, intent on just relaxing as she reached out across the bed hoping to hug the source of causing her fears to help allay them. Only to find the space empty and devoid of any person, even the space there was no longer warm.
Her eyes shot open once again, fear gripping at her heart, and panic seeping into her mind causing questions and thoughts of Ruby leaving her to fire across.
She sat up, hoping that Ruby would be somewhere in the room at least. Scanning her eyes across the vast bedchambers though, she found no sign of her little sister. She strained her ears, thinking that Ruby might be in the en suite getting ready for the day.
Instead… she heard the familiar sounds of her giggling along with snickering outside in the hallway, causing relief to spread through her once again.
Though, it was short lived as a throbbing headache made itself known, reminding her that if she's awake, then she would suffer until she would consume a caffeinated substance to help her get through the day.
Another round of giggling was heard, this time with a shushing sound.
… She should also check on her mischievous sister to ensure she wasn't doing something horrendous. With a groan, Cinder groggily climbed out of bed, dragging her feet across the cold wooden floors. She gently pushed open her bedroom door and stumbled into the hallway. Upon turning, the familiar sight of her little sister in her pajamas, a light brown onesie that had a white stomach and a teddy bear face and ears on the hood that Neo and Cinder had given her, made Cinder quirk a small smile. Her smile quickly turned into a small, suspicious, frown though when she noticed Ruby and a still pajama clad Mercury wearing sweat shorts, revealing both of his prosthetic legs, and a white t-shirt, peeking into Emeralds room while giggling and snickering.
Cinder glanced down at Mercury's prosthetics. Noting that they had just recently been cleaned and finely tuned, something he had been forgetting and avoiding to do regularly the past few months, a product of Ruby not being around to help or watch him do so.
She glanced back up at his face, eyes twinkling with mirth and amusement, things that had been severely lacking during the past weeks and were replaced with quiet, cold anger that was ready to be released at any given moment. His quick snaps would be swiftly followed with him looming over anyone who fueled his ire, his body tense and ready to lash out, itching to look for a fight.
It was very similar to how he was when Cinder had first brought him in.
She had found him when he still had his organic legs, in the midst of a fight with his father, a notorious assassin that Cinder had wanted to recruit. His father had been drunk and angry for whatever reason, and he wanted to beat his son black and blue. Something that was a usual occurrence apparently, but this time Mercury had decided to fight back for once, to protect himself. He was just a mere boy, just at the age of 12, barely even a teen. Yet, he already had to fight in order to protect himself, and he was actually good at it. He had the upper hand in his fight against his father, and Cinder was certain that had she not arrived when she did and put a halt to the fight, he would have killed him.
In a battle against a top assassin, that was definitely impressive.
So, instead of asking Mercury's father if he could join her, she asked the assassin… for Mercury. And although he knew the answer to the question, Mercury still looked devastated when he heard his father agree to cast him off.
On the journey back home, he had been quiet, always quick to snap whenever Cinder tried to question him, causing her to tell him exactly what his place was and who she was.
"Tch… moved from a son of a bitch to one…" Mercury had muttered after taking his head out of her grasp.
Cinder decided to let his comment slide though, as she understood his frustration (though she did not appreciate it). Upon returning to and leaving him alone at the base after showing him around and explaining her expectations for him, he had started multiple fights with other members of the organization, more street thugs that Cinder had picked up here and there, within the first day. His explanation was that he had been "minding his own business" and the other members had begun bothering him. She tried to tell him that he couldn't do that, but after a week of him fighting the other members, it was evident that he would not be able to live amongst them.
So she brought him back to her home she had shared with Roman, Neo, and Emerald, with hopes that the solitude there would be able to calm him.
Mercury had thought that it was punishment though, thinking that Cinder simply wanted to keep him in check and on a short leash.
Entering the house though, the first sight that greeted him was a little kid joyfully giggling and clapping her hands at something, sitting in front of a tan skinned teen who had a small smile on her face.
Upon seeing Cinder arrive, the teen stopped whatever she was doing and snapped to attention while the kid broke out of her trance with a small pout. An expression that quickly disappeared once she saw Cinder though, and broke into a wide grin as she scrambled up to her feet and ran up to Cinder, jumping into her open arms.
It was the first time Mercury had ever seen such an earnest smile on his boss's face.
Cinder introduced him to Emerald and her younger sister Ruby, whom she had left at the house and for Emerald to babysit, telling them that he would be staying at the house to prevent him from causing more trouble at base, leaving it at just that. No other formalities or offers were said to make him comfortable.
Ruby, on the other hand, still only 8 years old at that time, had made his welcoming and comforts a personal duty. She quickly began firing off a slew of questions, asking him where he came from, how Cinder found him, how old was he, what's his special ability, and any other questions.
Her curiosity had greatly annoyed him, and he snapped, telling her to shut up and beat it.
A reaction that was not taken well as it caused Ruby to tear up and pout. Before he could even feel satisfied though, Cinder had grabbed hold of his neck and threatened him to not hurt her sister. Ruby quickly tried to get Cinder to stop and let go, telling her that she was fine. Cinder had reluctantly complied, but had still glared at him.
After that, he learned that it would simply be best for him to just humor Ruby if she ever came up to him.
Which was… a lot.
She would always pop up around him, wanting to engage him in conversation or games, and he would begrudgingly participate. After a while though, she asked him if he was having fun.
"It doesn't look like you are…" Ruby confessed while fiddling with the Legos she had brought to him.
He hesitated, unsure of how to answer because, this was his boss's sister. He couldn't make her sad, otherwise Cinder would know.
"It's okay if you say you're not." Ruby said, "I know you're scared of sis and you don't want to hurt me because sis would hurt you. But if you're hurting and don't want to play with me, that's okay. You can tell me."
So he told her the truth, that he didn't like her, or anyone in the house. That he just wanted to be left alone.
Ruby looked hurt, but she left him alone after that and never bothered him again.
Until he lost his legs
Cinder had brought him and Emerald to help her fight someone. Someone who was special that would take more than just brute force to fight. And while they eventually won, he had lost his legs in the process.
Emerald had to steal a cart to place him in so they could rush him to a nearby hospital after. She had claimed that he was her brother and they were running errands when an Ursa came out of nowhere and attacked. He was quickly seen to and his wounds were stitched closed. After a near week had passed and there were no more threats to his life or injuries reopening, Cinder and Emerald had him transferred to the small clinic at base so their doctors could keep watch over him. The two left him immediately after though, leaving him to his solitude.
Once he was settled and wired, Ruby had rushed in to visit him, face full of worry and concern.
He wasn't use to that.
To his further astonishment, Ruby cried for him immediately after seeing his condition and hugged him. He didn't know why.
"Because you're hurt and you almost died!" She sobbed, leaning back as she tried her best to rub her tears and snot off her face. "And I was so scared when Cinder told me, but you don't even care that you got hurt!
"Why?" He asked confused, "I messed up, and I lost my legs. If I weren't so worthless and had done it right from the start, I wouldn't have lost them." He stated plainly, as though reciting from memory.
His father had always yelled how useless he was as he was being beaten, yelling about how worthless he was because he could never do anything right. And he had thought about how right his father had been.
He was useless and worthless now without his legs.
"Don't say that!" Ruby cried, "It wasn't your fault! It was that big meanie's! So you're not worthless! You're not!"
"But I-" Mercury started. He didn't have his legs now… he wouldn't even be able to move around without assistance.
"And if you're not going to cry or believe me, then I'll do it for you!" She proclaimed, hiccupping in between her words as she buried herself into the crook of his neck again.
At her statement, something stirred in Mercury's chest and his eyes began to sting while something lodged itself in his throat, but he didn't know why. This never happened to him before. All he knew was that he couldn't stand the sight of Ruby crying so much, and he just wanted her to stop, but he didn't know why. And he didn't like that he didn't know why, which made him angry because he didn't like not understanding what was going on.
"Don't do that." He started, gritting his teeth and gripping his sheets. "Stop it! Just stop it!" He angrily said trying to shrug her off.
But Ruby only sobbed and hugged him harder.
"Shut up! GET OFF ME!" He yelled as his tears finally fell, bringing his arms up with all intents to push her off him. But his arms wouldn't listen, and instead, they tightly wrapped around the little crying girl.
"I don't understand why you're doing this." He harshly sobbed, causing his body to shake. "I'm not special, I'm worthless, useless." He repeated, hearing his father still screaming at him in his drunken rage.
Ruby merely shook her head, sobbing harder, "You're wrong. You're wrong." She repeated.
Her reaffirmation that he wasn't anything his father said he was only made Mercury sob more. In relief, happiness, comfort, confusion, or a mix of his emotions, he didn't know.
There was still a question in mind though, if he wasn't anything his father said he was… what was he then?
After they had cried their eyes out, they ended up falling asleep cuddling, Ruby gripping his shirt as though making sure he wasn't going anywhere, and Mercury's arms wrapped around her in security.
In the morning, he was woken up with a small stack of paper smacking him in the face, tossed by Cinder. He looked at them in confusion as Cinder explained it to him.
"Those are orders for mechanical, prosthetic legs to be built for you. They should be finished in two weeks time and I expect you to make a full recovery and be in full working order by two months time." Cinder stated
Mercury frowned, flipping through the pages and realizing that they would be built with top of the line products. It was way more than he could hope for, and it was a lot more than he felt he deserved to be treated with. "But… why?" He asked.
"We make sure to take care of each other here," Cinder replied, gathering Ruby into her arms to take home. "As long as you can prove yourself to me, you don't have to worry about feeling useless ever again.
Mercury was shocked silent, still starring at the blueprints for his legs as silent tears fell. Whether those tears fell from gratitude, having a purpose in his life, or from the emotions running last night, he didn't know. "Thank you. I… This means- Thank you."
Cinder merely waved him off before leaving.
After, he worked himself hard in order to make a full recovery and Ruby would ensure to visit him every other day, something he began to look forward to. She would always be sure to sneak in snacks for him to eat, bring games to play, and books for him to read every visit. And every time he did something she thought was amazing, she would always praise him in wonder, things he began to seek for, as his chest would swell with pride.
Over time, he simply just cared for her, loving her as though she were the family he never had, the little sister that would always look up to him in amazement no matter what he did, and he wanted to keep it that way. Her constant belief in him and encouragement was what pushed him and helped him through his pain. The pain he didn't even know he could feel after being beaten constantly for so long. And when the doctors had to connect his nerves to his mechanical legs, he was able to grit his teeth and bare it, because he knew Ruby was in the next room over and if he let out a yell she would worry more than she already had been. So he began to do almost anything and everything she asked to spend time with her, ensuring that she was always happy.
That her smile and warmth would never disappear
Because of that, he began to loosen up, always looking for an opportunity for amusement and laughter, willing to pull jokes and pranks, and becoming much more chatty than before.
A feature that was not evident after Cinder asked him and Ruby a question of, "What are the two of you up to?" causing the both of them to snap up to attention and feigning nonchalance.
"Nothing!" Mercury said
"We weren't doing anything sis! Honest!" Ruby tried
Cinder stared at them, causing the two to fidget under her gaze.
"I'll go get started on making some coffee!" Mercury announced, quickly scurrying away.
"I'll help!" Ruby proclaimed, zooming after him with a giggle and causing him to snicker as they both quietly ran down the stairs.
Cinder decided to leave it at that, as the statement and promise of coffee distracted her and lured her away from the subject, slowly following the two to the kitchen while dragging her feet.
Swaying dangerously down the wooden stairs, she continued treading through and across the living room, then the family room, through the dining room, and to the open bar. She slowly eased herself onto the high chair, and lowered her upper body on the bar as she held her head in her hands. The smell of coffee being brewed invaded her nose and made her sigh and relax her body in contentment.
Ruby snickered at the sight, "I almost forgot that you can't function without coffee." She teased from the kitchen side, leaning over the open bar to lightly bop her sister on the nose
The action caused Cinder to frown and wrinkle her nose for a bit as though to shake the feeling off. "I function better than you do when you haven't had strawberries or cookies." She smirked
"She's got you there, Squirt." Mercury gestured toward Ruby with a hand and leaning back on the bar as well. "I remember the last time you didn't have either one of them for a whole day, you were all jittery and nervous, you even got irritated at us! I didn't even know that was possible until that happened. You have a problem."
"No I don't!" Ruby denied, "I don't know what you guys are talking about! I was fine! Totally fine! You want to know why? Because that never happened." She huffed, sticking her nose in the air.
"Oh. If that's the case, I suppose you won't have any problem with knowing that we don't have either in stock." Cinder hummed
Ruby gasped, "You're lying! That's not true! It can't be true! We need to have them!"
"Need?" Mercury quoted.
"Yes Mercury, need!" Ruby hissed
"I do believe, dearest sister, that Mercury was correct." Cinder said, "You have a problem."
"No I don't!" Ruby continued denying, "If anyone here has a problem it's-"
A sudden screech of "RUUUUBY!" rang through the house as the sounds akin to a stampede followed after along with a door slamming open and more stomping. Each sound made Cinder wince and groan as they made her headache worse.
Finally, only the sounds of angry huffs were left. When Cinder turned her head, she was greeted with the sight of Emerald covered in shaving cream from the top of her head to her stomach, with feathers sticking out of from her hair and on her body. Her eyes were a lot more red than usual, emphasized by her heated glare.
Mercury and Ruby were trying to hold back their snickers, and failing admirably so.
"What the HELL is this?!" Emerald demanded.
Ruby snickered, leaning against Mercury as he did the same to her. "Looks like… you got to shave off some feathers." She stated, causing another round of loud snickering to occur between her and Mercury
Emerald let out a growl, her fists shaking as she began a round of reprimands at the two. Though not out of rage, just annoyance at the two for pulling such a stunt on her.
Seeing her like this, it was difficult to remember that when Emerald had first been recruited, she had actually been quieter and skittish, always afraid to speak her mind and had difficulty processing her emotions.
That can happen when one had been placed and raised in a bad orphanage. The supervisor had been horrendous, putting the children in the orphanage to work and holding them all to high expectations, as it was only natural. Yet never bothering to give any of them the time of day. Food was scarce in the orphanage as well; it wasn't uncommon for each child to get one meal a day, as the orphanage was over-crowded, and not well funded. That meant nothing to the supervisor though if there was a particular child that wasn't liked, the supervisor would not even bothering to give the child that one meal.
This was a normal occurrence for Emerald as her looks were exotic and her semblance had been unlocked early on. The supervisor had thought her a witch, a freak of nature, and was sure to let Emerald know during her every waking moment. Even all of the other children didn't want anything to do with Emerald, and as children, they typically would follow the role of the adult they were under the care of and call her names as well or avoid her. Some children, the supervisor's favorites, would unload their chores onto Emerald for her to do, threatening to tell on her if she didn't do so as the supervisor would believe them and not her. After the feeling of constant hunger, the lack of interaction, and tiresome work, Emerald had finally had enough, and ran away from the orphanage at the tender age of 11.
She began wandering the streets and although now she had not been experienced in the art of thievery, she had much better luck obtaining and had eaten more food during the first week than she had regularly eaten in that time back at the orphanage. For her, it was a lot, but to the common person… it was much too little to be surviving off of.
It wasn't much later that Emerald learned that she could use her semblance into tricking people to give her food or to allow her to take food from them.
An idea she thought of upon seeing a little Ruby sitting outside a grocery store, snacking on bread and sharing it with some birds while talking to them. If she could just make the girl think there were more animals… and a large one coming up to her as Emerald got closer…
"Whoa!" Ruby exclaimed, looking up at Emerald wide eyed. "You're a big birdie aren't you?"
Emerald nervously stood in front of Ruby, trying to focus on the image that she was projecting onto the younger child and making sure she saw the bird nod before it craned it's neck down and nudged her shoulder while Emerald used her hand to do so.
Ruby giggled at being nudged, reaching her arm up to affectionately rub at Emerald's arm, or rather, the beak of the bird.
The touch made Emerald's arm warm, until she remembered that she was tricking this little girl for her food. She reached for the bread, giving it a gentle tug.
"You want this bread birdie?" Ruby asked curiously, receiving a nod from the imaginary bird. "Oh, here you go." She smiled, stretching her hand up with the small loaf of bread in it as offering.
Smiling, Emerald snatched the bread before running off, happy to receive food that would sustain her for a while and eager to eat it.
Cinder had just exited the grocery store at this time though and had seen her sister hand some stranger her bread. She didn't think much of it at first, as Cinder knew that Ruby had a warm heart, but upon walking up to her, Cinder had some second thoughts.
"Sis! Did you see it? Did you see it?" Ruby excitedly asked
"See what dear?" Cinder asked, confused
"There was this huge bird that came out of nowhere! And it wanted my bread so I gave it!" Ruby grinned, waving her arms wildly to gesture the size of the bird.
Cinder frowned at this, knowing fully well there was no large bird, but another child in front of her sister that took bread. The question though, was why Ruby saw one thing happen, when something entirely different happened instead?
There was no use is standing around in confusion if she could just ask the child instead.
"Come along Ruby, we need to find someone." Cinder stated, shifting the few grocery bags onto one hand and holding her other out for Ruby to grab.
"Who?" Ruby asked, grabbing hold of her sister's hand.
"I don't know yet, but it would be interesting to find out."
Cinder knew the child couldn't have gone very far if she was as skinny and tired as Cinder had seen. Knowing fully well that the child had the look of hunger, she 8would have wanted to go someplace close to eat. Cinder simply decided to go in the direction she saw the child head off to, hoping that she would just come across her.
And she did.
After running off with the small loaf of bread, Emerald had stopped by a small playground, abandoned for the winter and sat on a bench, and began eating. She knew not to eat too quickly, despite it being so difficult for her to do so, but it was necessary to keep her stomach from lurching in protest.
"How did you do that?" Cinder asked, walking up behind Emerald, causing her to jump and whip around in surprise.
"I-I don't know…" Emerald tried to stammer out.
"Sis? Who's she?" Ruby asked, peeking her head out to the side and from behind Cinder.
Emerald looked down, upon seeing the little girl she took bread from, her eyes quickly snapped up in fear as they made eye contact with Cinder.
"P-Please. I-I didn't mean to. I-I was just so hungry and I-I thought…" She tried
"What's your name?" Cinder asked, interrupting the hungry child.
"E-Emerald…" she muttered quietly.
Cinder repeated her name for Ruby to hear, causing Emerald's red eyes to flicker back and forth between the sisters.
"Oh." Ruby voiced, glancing to the other kid. "Is she the person we were looking for?" She asked, looking back up to Cinder.
"Perhaps." Cinder replied, returning her gaze back to Emerald. "This is my sister, Ruby. She told me a rather peculiar thing when I came out of the grocery store, telling me that she saw a rather large bird and gave it her bread. Now I know that's not true because I saw you take her bread instead. Tell me… how did you do that?"
"I-I…" Emerald stammered
"Please take note that I am not a patient person," Cinder warned, her voice low and dangerous as her eyes narrowed. "And I especially am not tolerant of those who try to hurt or fool my sister."
"N-No! I-I didn't- I-I wasn't!" Emerald stuttered heavily, fear taking hold of her as she took a step back to put some more safety between her and the dangerous teen.
"Cinder!" Ruby scolded, "Don't be mean!"
Cinder frowned at being chided by her sister, but she still held her glare on Emerald, causing her to loudly swallow.
"I-It's my semblance." Emerald confessed, "I-I can… create illusions." She winced, shamefully hanging her head.
Her semblance was what had made her a "witch" at the orphanage, and kept everyone away from her as they thought that she would cast some terror onto them at any given moment. Her hair and red eyes didn't help either.
Cinder arched an eyebrow, "Impressive." She said, causing Emerald to snap her head up in disbelief. Cinder turned to her sister who had been tugging on her arm to ask what that meant, "She can make you see things that are not there. Like that large bird you saw."
Ruby's face fell, "That birdie wasn't real?"
Cinder shook her head, "No, but I'm sure if you ask nicely, Emerald here wouldn't mind showing you again once we go back home."
"What?" Emerald asked dumbly, not sure if she heard right as it seemed as though Cinder had implied that she was going with them.
For her part, Cinder merely gestured with the grocery bags in her other hand, "Come with us, and we'll ensure you don't ever go hungry again."
Emerald merely eyed the bag, her stomach aching for longing at the sight of it and the prospect of food. For a kid that had been on the verge of starvation for most of her life, the promises of meals were enough to convince her to follow them.
She didn't talk at all during the walk to Cinder's home and always jumped whenever Ruby asked a question particularly loudly.
With the prospect of food hanging in the air, Emerald had thought that Cinder would use that as leverage in the event she decided not to answer her sister's questions.
After all, that was what happened at the orphanage
So Emerald would answer Ruby's questions, while nervously glancing back up at Cinder to ensure that she met her approval. Cinder though, didn't seem to pay any mind to Emerald. Instead she just kept looking forward and tugging her sister off to the side if she was about to run into something or hold her up to keep her balanced when Ruby decided to jump and walk along a short wall.
When they arrived to the house, Cinder simply walked in without a word to Emerald, causing her to awkwardly stand at the doorway. Ruby didn't seem to mind playing hostess though as she let go of her sister's hand and latched onto Emerald's and tugged her in.
Which… ended up being a common occurrence for Emerald since then.
Ruby would always end up popping out of nowhere, effectively startling Emerald and pestering her to play, ask questions, or if she would conjure up an illusion for entertainment. Naturally, Emerald would oblige because she had just begun eating full meals every day, three times per day, and she would be damned if one meal was missed because she wouldn't babysit her boss's sister.
Although initially Ruby's constant presence and pestering were unwelcomed and had inspired anxiety in Emerald, after some time, Ruby's happiness and curiosity of Emerald was something to look forward to. It was a constant reassurance to Emerald that she was not a freak like everyone back at the orphanage told her she was, that she was someone that could be interacted with without eliciting a look of disgust. It was a reminder that her semblance was not something to be condemned, but a talent that could be useful, something that could be enjoyed.
There was one constant action Ruby did especially though, that cemented her into Emerald's being. It was during every meal, Ruby would glance over to Emerald's plate that she had made, a small portion that she dared not increase out of the idea of taking more than what was granted, and Ruby would scoot over closer and take some of her own food to place it onto Emerald's plate.
At first, the action angered Emerald as she thought that Ruby simply could not finish her own food and was being rather wasteful of it like a spoiled brat who didn't know what it was like to starve. But, after learning more about Ruby… Emerald understood what the little girl was trying to do.
She was trying to share Emerald's pain, and the pleasantries she had been raised with.
And it wasn't until after the second week that Roman had told her.
"She knows how that feels you know." He had plainly stated, "But because she had the fortune of never experiencing that again, she wants to make sure you don't either. So when you only grab that tiny ass portion of food? That hurts her. And to her, if she only has to experience an hour of hunger, that's fine with her, because that means you're full."
Ever since then, Emerald had begun accepting more food onto her plate, but Ruby would still take some of her own food to place onto Emerald's. So, instead of pushing it away, Emerald would trade her instead. Ruby handed her a slice of her crepe? Hand her some extra strawberries. Ruby gave her a piece of chicken? Trade it in for some mashed potatoes. Overtime, their exchange transformed of course.
But it evolved most frequently when Mercury arrived.
Ruby had been quieter at the table, and instead of glancing over to Emerald; she would glance over to the new kid.
She still traded food with Emerald of course, but her attention had become split. Emerald was unsure why at first, but it was a little displeasing.
Not only that, but she couldn't help but feel a little pang in her chest when Ruby began bothering her a little less than normal. Emerald would even feel irked when Ruby would mention Mercury during their time spent together, but because she didn't know what to do or how to deal about those odd feelings, she never said anything.
It was even worse after Mercury had lost his legs. Which may have sounded bad, but Emerald didn't give a damn at the time. Something good was finally happening to her and she had been feeling better about herself, and the one person who was responsible for that wasn't spending as much time with her as usual.
Then there was the fact that Mercury's condition had been making Ruby sad. She had been returning back to the house with a small pout and wet eyes every time she came back from visiting him, and Emerald didn't like the sight of that.
But still… She didn't know what to do about it. What was she supposed to do? She wasn't even sure what those feelings that were bubbling up inside her. She didn't even know if she was allowed to feel them. How was she supposed to deal with them? If she showed them, she was most certainly going to get in trouble.
Just like back at the orphanage. If she showed any signs of anger, she would most certainly be punished. And if she showed and signs of sadness, she would be mocked.
… What was she supposed to do?
Even after Mercury started feeling better, Ruby still hadn't returned to her usual bubbly self, nor had she bothered Emerald as much as before. In fact, she seldom even stopped by to chat anymore.
And… Emerald didn't like that.
She wanted Ruby to keep bothering her, to keep running up to her and ask her to join in on something she was doing, to ask if she could make her see something.
But how was Emerald supposed to convey that? How… could she voice out her thoughts without any sort of repercussions?
The sound of a marker squeaking and tapping interrupted her idling, causing her to turn in surprise toward Neo. The tiny teen turned her whiteboard, a gift from Ruby after she realized she had no way to communicate with Cinder, around "You know, you're allowed to ask questions and show what you're feeling."
Emerald blinked in confusion, garnering an empathetic smile from Neo before she turned the white board back toward her and erased the contents.
She wrote again, flipping it around. "I know it's hard, but you're allowed to talk about what's on your mind or what you're feeling. At least with Ruby."
"But I-" Emerald began, fidgeting in nervousness. She was stopped with a polite gesture from Neo, who had begun scribbling on her board again.
"You won't get in trouble. You're not there any more. You're here. Away from those who silenced you." Neo's board stated.
Emerald blinked, starring at the board for what might have been forever. When the words on the board finally registered, her throat closed up, and her eyes welled up.
The reaffirmation and reassurance that she was away from that awful place, the confirmation of being allowed to do something she had been holding back, that she had a right to be heard and to speak. That here, she did not have to worry about getting in trouble, not with Ruby at least.
"I-I…" Emerald started, only to garner another sympathetic smile and nod from Neo.
Looking up, red eyes connected with sad, understanding, and pained silver eyes and Emerald understood. Neo knew what she was going through.
"You should talk to Ruby. You'll feel better." Her board stated
Emerald nodded as she expressed her gratitude, and proceeded to head over to where she knew Ruby would be at that moment, with Mercury in his recovery room at the clinic.
"Emerald." Mercury stated, though it sounded more like a question, as he was a little shocked.
Ruby whirled around, a small expression of excitement formed on her face, though it quickly fell when it seemed like she remembered something and she looked away. The action made Emerald's chest ache, but that's what she was here for, to try and relieve that ache.
"What a surprise. What's up?" Mercury asked
"Oh…" Emerald's hand twitched in annoyance at the other kid, but she wasn't here for him. "I… wanted to… talk to Ruby." She hesitantly said
Ruby snapped her head up in surprise and happiness, "Really?" She asked, until she remembered something again and her face fell.
Emerald nodded, "Er… Yeah…" She awkwardly stated. "I-It's just…" She audibly gulped.
She couldn't do this. She couldn't talk about herself. It was just too difficult.
"You… You stopped bothering me." She blurted out, though it sounded more of an accusation. "I want to know why."
Mercury's eyes widened a fraction in surprise, as though he had not been expecting her to say such a thing.
Ruby for her part, looked utterly lost and confused. Was Emerald mad or was she sad? She couldn't tell, but she figured she would answer her question. "I uh…" She glanced over to Mercury before looking down at the thin book she was fiddling with. "Merc told me that you might not like being bothered, and you might want to be by yourself sometimes like he did… And I didn't want to bother you…" She confessed, her legs swinging in the air nervously from the chair she was sitting on.
Emerald frowned, "Well… He's wrong!" She said, once again sounding more accusing than a statement and making her wince. That, wasn't supposed to come out the way it did. She tried to glance over to Mercury apologetically, though it didn't seem like she had succeeded in the facial expression, as he looked incredibly confused and a little offended. Emerald tried to back track, "J-Just because he liked to be alone doesn't mean I do!" She winced again, and hung her head in shame.
She was really terrible at this. She should just stop before she makes things worse for herself.
"So… You like being bothered?" Mercury asked, causing her head to snap up once more and meet his hazel eyes filled with sympathy, and understanding. He knew fully well what she was trying to convey and was trying to help her.
Ruby's eyes lit up in hope, glancing back and forth between Emerald and Mercury.
"No!" Emerald accidentally blurted out, "I just mean. It's weird when she doesn't bother me! It's kind of annoying actually because now I have all this free time that I don't know what to do with. So…" she gestured in the air, leaving her words hanging.
"You missed her!" Mercury claimed with a grin before nudging Ruby to get her attention, "She missed you! Isn't that great Ruby? She want's to keep spending time together!"
Ruby seemed to understand as her whole face beamed in happiness and she turned to Emerald. "Do you want to read with us then?!" She asked, "Mercury was going to help me read this book, it's about this large dragon that is lonely and then! The hero… heroi-heroine comes! And they become friends!" Ruby grinned.
Emerald fidgeted her hands nervously, unsure of how to accept the invitation and display her excitement. "… Fine." She lamely said, though it seemed a sufficient enough answer as Ruby beamed and scrambled onto Mercury's bed so Emerald could take her seat next to the it.
Once she sat, Emerald glanced up to Mercury who gave her a small smile, and she returned it with gratitude. "Want to help with visual effects?" He asked
"… I guess…" She shrugged, though her answer caused Ruby to vibrate with excitement and cheer.
Mercury and Emerald smiled at the little girl's excitement before Mercury began to read and immerse the three into the story, prompting Emerald to conjure up illusions for Ruby's entertainment.
Later when Cinder stopped by to take her sister home, she was surprised to find the three together, Emerald stuttering and trying her best to speak what was on her mind while Mercury would seemingly tease her with what was the truth. Ruby would continuously look at Emerald to ensure that what Mercury was saying was correct before roping Emerald to continue with their activities.
Over time of course, the three's interactions began to evolve and Emerald began to feel more comfortable speaking up, though she still had trouble conveying whatever it was that she was feeling. That didn't seem to pose a problem for anyone else though, as gradually everyone began to understand her. Though… the rest of the members of the organization still could not tell what she was feeling, for the most part she always seemed like an angry and annoyed teenager.
A persona she was definitely portraying at this moment due to the little prank Ruby and Mercury pulled on her that she definitely had no qualms in shouting at them for.
Something Cinder was most definitely not appreciating at the moment, as it was still too early for her to even be functioning.
"Shut. UP." Cinder growled, throwing Emerald a vicious glare, emphasized by her eyes glowing.
Mercury and Emerald both immediately snapped their mouths closed with an audible click.
Ruby frowned at her Cinder before chiding her for her behavior. "Sis, I know you haven't had your coffee yet, but you need to stop being so grouchy."
Cinder merely grumbled as she buried her head into her hands once again. She just wanted her coffee.
"What's with all the noise?" Roman asked, emerging from the stairway slouched over and rubbing an eye. Neo sleepily trailed after him, swaying lightly from side to side as she mirrored his action, rubbing her own eye. "It's too early for you guys to be causing such a ruckus…" He said with a tint of annoyance as they continued making their way to the open bar.
The two blood siblings were about to pass Emerald, but paused and turned their heads in sync.
They stared at her plainly, and at once, both of the corners of their mouths quirked up in amusement and let out a snort of amusement.
The action caused them both to groan and clutch their head as their already prevailing headache worsened for a fraction.
Emerald on the other hand, huffed in annoyance at the happiness they were showing from her expense, stomping away back upstairs to clean herself up.
"What a lovely way to start the morning…" Roman groaned, running a hand through his messy hair. It was a habit he did when he was a little stress, though it typically showed in a manner of him fixing his hat.
"Good morning Roman!" Ruby happily chirped, leaning on the bar with her arms crossed on top of the surface. "Sleep well?"
"Like a baby." Roman yawned reaching across to affectionately ruffle Ruby's head in greeting.
Ruby beamed under the attention, though it quickly turned apprehensive once she remembered Mercury was standing besides her, causing her eyes to dart between the two boys.
Roman and Mercury have always had an odd relationship. Initially, Roman simply just did not like Mercury when he first started living at the house, the older boy would always frown in disapproval at the younger's direction or suspiciously glare at him. The cause of Roman's disapproval was most likely due to Mercury's treatment toward Ruby. Mercury on the other hand, plainly just did not like anyone and had scowled at everyone who looked his way. Noticing Roman's constant attention on him whenever the older boy was in the house though, Mercury was always sure to bring it up and attempt to start a fight between the two. Though, Roman made sure not to be provoked into it, he sure didn't put a stop to their disputes.
After Mercury had warmed up to the youngest household member, one would have assumed he and Roman would make peace and get along. In place of that scenario, tensions between the two skyrocketed. It seemed that instead of bonding over their shared views and soft spots for Ruby, their competitive aspects of their personality emerged and took control when one saw the other showing affection of any sort toward the young girl. As Emerald would often say when she noticed Mercury doing something or helping Ruby out, it was a competition of finding out who the award for best brother of the year would go to. (Neo would sign to her brother that it was more like a competition of measuring who was the most whipped, as they would often throw each other smug smirks when they did something Ruby wanted to do without complaint. For example, Neo once convinced Ruby to give a very frilly apron with ribbons and sparkles to Roman, complete with his name etched on the chest – bedazzled. The petite girl also convinced the younger one to gift Mercury frilly pants with an embezzled word of "Sparkly" on the pants' behind. Neo explained to Ruby that these were something the two boys had always wanted and would be happy to wear. Upon receiving their gifts, the two didn't even bat an eye, immediately putting the articles of clothing on to show their appreciation and began bickering over whose was better.) It was not uncommon for the two to be engaged in some sort of verbal disagreement or to sneer and mock the other while Ruby tried to placate the two
As predicted, Mercury scowled at the display of affection and smacked Roman's hand away before fixing Ruby's hood back to the way it was.
A gesture that made Roman frown of course, but instead of quipping back at Mercury as he usually did to prompt an argument, his headache pleaded him not to and caused him to wave a hand in dismissal. "Shouldn't you be off making breakfast like a good boy?" He asked, sagging down in the seat next to Cinder. "I do believe, it is your turn."
Ruby gave a sigh of relief. As much as she loved the two, they could be a bit much when butting heads. She quickly tensed back up though, upon learning it was Mercury's turn to cook.
The members of the household normally had a set schedule for cooking, usually made as a cycle and only switched when someone would be too busy to cook. Of course, they didn't cook every single day; as they would order take out sometimes. Regardless, there was still a cycle of whoever would be cooking.
After Ruby was enrolled into Beacon Academy though, that cycle (or rather… simply cooking) was put to a halt. Not only did the household no longer hold fresh food, but everyone was simply too depressed and stressed out to do the chore, much less go grocery shopping. From what Roman had told Ruby (though she was certain he was dramatizing everything), Mercury lived off of protein bars and canned food. Roman and Neo seemed to do well for themselves, stealing snacks here and there and going out to dine and dash. Emerald stole other people's meals from the base. Cinder, much to the younger sibling's dismay, rarely ate – only doing so to placate her stomach. Unfortunately, that was no longer here nor there as it was everyone's fault for not taking care of themselves.
Though, it was a little irksome to learn that everyone didn't even bother to try to maintain routine after she left. The last time she was home, Roman had cooked – meaning Mercury was supposed to follow after. Something he's about to do right now since he is making breakfast.
... Maybe Roman wasn't exaggerating when she and he talked last about there never being food in the house.
Scowl still in place, most likely there due to having to actually listen to Roman and do what he said, Mercury took a few long steps over to the fridge and pulled out a number of items, purchased just the night before Ruby came to visit. Among the items he pulled out, Ruby tried to decipher what he would be cooking; milk, eggs, bacon, a melon, cantaloupe, and…
"STRAWBERRIES!" She gasped, whipping her head over to throw a pointed look at her beloved sister. "You told me there wasn't any!"
Cinder didn't get to say anything as she was interrupted by a loud snort from Roman, and an amused huff from Neo.
"Red, the day we never hold either strawberries or cookies in stock while you're in is the day we hand ourselves over to the devil themselves." Roman drawled out, resting his head in one hand.
Ruby frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked as Neo sluggishly made her way over to her and plopped herself over Ruby's back, snuggling into it.
Neo brought her hands around and began signing; starting it off with a pointed finger at Ruby's nose to indicate that she would be talking to her. Using the same finger, she curled it, hooking it into Ruby's mouth and lightly pulling at it then dropped her hand, wiped it on Ruby's shoulder, and loosed hugged her over the shoulders to cuddle.
The sentence wasn't exactly complete, but Ruby knew exactly what Neo had told her.
"You're addicted."
"I am not addicted!" She pouted, emphasizing her statement with a light bang on the dark marble counter.
Another snort from Roman, "Yes you are." He stated, poking Ruby's nose to emphasize his affirmation.
Cinder lazily looked up, noticing how much closer and open Roman and Neo have been, a stark contrast to the previous 2 months.
Roman and Neo had been more closed off, acting rather exclusive to each other and never willing to talk to another person any longer than necessary. And when they did, it typically came with a form of abuse or violence. They almost never rarely came home, granted it was mostly due to not wanting to incur Cinder's wrath and ire, but it was also because neither one of them wanted to be around… well, anyone.
It was eerily similar to how the two first acted around Cinder when they first met.
Though, it only made sense as Roman and Neo only had each other to rely on for so long.
The two had been raised in a household of a dysfunctional single mother, their father abandoning them soon after Neo turned 4 years old and Roman 7. An action that was taken harshly by the mother, and she acted out on them against the two children, though albeit differently.
Roman, who looked so much like his father, took the brunt of most of her physical attacks. Every single day he would suffer a hit from household objects and obtain a new bruise. Beatings that he suffered from whip-like objects were relished, as the attacks were quick and only left a stinging sensation he was more than okay with. Days when his mother looked particularly angrier than usual though, were days that he feared as the beatings were worse and she would occasionally break a bone. Due to never being able to go to a clinic to get his injuries seen, his bones had never been able to heal and set correctly, causing him to be a little more fragile than the average person. It was why he wasn't a good fighter and typically had to rely on fighting dirty. It was also why he had to walk around with a cane. Although he hid it very well, Roman still walks with a slight limp and experiences pain in his right hip if he stands for too long.
His pain is something that he would carry for the rest of his life.
Neo rarely suffered from physical injuries, but was frequently locked in a closet as her mother shouted profanities and insults at her, and never let out for long periods of time. With her natural two-toned hair, ever changing eye-color, and muteness… her mother thought her a freak, an abomination, and could never believe that she gave birth to Neo.
For Neo, the worst part was… she believed her. Her hair was unnatural. Her eyes changing colors was odd. But the one thing she hated the most, was her muteness. It was an inconvenience, it made her useless and because of it, she could never cry for help or offer words of comfort to Roman. Worst of all though, Neo could never shout for her mother to "Stop".
Or at least the option to tell her so…
Roman and Neo had to rely on each other to make it through that hellhole. When they could, they would help each other; Neo would help bandage Roman up, while Roman would sneak her out and give her food. Their reliance on each other came to the point where neither was able to accomplish anything besides getting their mother to focus on the other. If Neo were being dragged back to the closet, Roman would run over and grab hold of their mom, shouting at her to stop. If Roman was bearing a particularly bad beating, Neo would run over and try to stop their mom by grabbing hold or trying to get her attention by whacking her with her tiny arms.
Finally, when Roman was 12, he had enough. His semblance unlocked, a rather passive one where something on or around the person he was looking at would highlight, a sign of weakness or a sign of wrong about the person. At that time though, he didn't actually know what was going on, all he knew was that he acted on his instincts, and it saved him and his sister.
Their mother had been much more brutal that day and had gone out, drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Upon coming home with more cases of beer, their mother immediately grabbed Neo and shoved her in the closet. To add to her sick humor, their mother threw 3 bottles in after, smashing them against the wall and shattering the glass among the floor before locking the door. After, she swayed down the hall toward Roman who had been trying to get his mother to stop what she was doing against Neo, only to start backing away upon noticing she had set her sights on him. As she walked, she had accidentally broke the bottom half of the bottle after smashing it at the side of Roman's face with enough force to throw him against the wall. Causing some shards and alcohol to get caught in his right eye.
Angered at losing more of her drink, she began blaming her son for the loss of it, holding the broken half bottle toward Roman with intent of beating him with it. At this, Roman was fully frightened for his life as he backed up against the wall, and when he looked back at his mother about to plead for her to stop, he noticed the bottle highlight with a quick trail flowing up and above her head for a fraction of a second, then her stomach highlighted, and finally the staircase behind her.
She hadn't raised her glass weapon at the time, but as if in slow motion and following the exact trail in his vision, he instinctually knew what to do. Her center of balance was already off due to the inebriation, but it was further thrown off as she raised her weapon above her head. So a simple push at her stomach would cause her to stumble back, and down the staircase.
One would think it would be rather satisfying for a person like her to be knocked out unconscious at the foot of the stairs.
To Roman though, it was absolutely terrifying. When she awoke, he and Neo would be in for the worst beating in their lives.
So, he panicked.
He ran to the closet, ensuring his sister that it was him before he began desperately unlocking it. Quickly after, he frantically began telling Neo that they had to run.
And they did, never once looking back.
Living on the streets was difficult at first, but it was… incredibly liberating for the both of them. So much so, they actually did not mind it. It didn't take long for them to get into the swing of things, or rather… It didn't take long for Roman.
With his new found semblance, The Cheater's HUD - a self proclaimed title he came up with - Roman quickly found that he could easily hustle people. The only problem of course, was to ensure that he and Neo could back up what they say.
The two soon began watching others, constantly learning and figuring out how to make a way for themselves. Roman found his way in gambling card games, using his semblance to watch for "tells" and know when it would be safe to place bets or fold in. Neo on the other hand… began fighting.
Underground, brutal - one on one, fighting.
With her petite size, it was so easy to fool fighters into thinking she was some delicate little girl. Her opponents were quick to find out that not only was she flexible and nimble, making it difficult to land a hit on her, but the strength and muscles of her legs were frighteningly strong.
With her strength and Roman's wit, the two were ruthless in obtaining money. Their names quickly grew and became well known in underground gambling world, always known to have the other lurking somewhere in the shadow.
Cinder, a mercenary for hire at the time, did not know of them though. So when she dropped in on one of Roman's more dangerous gambling session of poker and killed the person who would have made Roman rich for the month, she had thought she met someone like herself. That she may have found something like a companion, a person to confide in.
But then, Neo came out and Roman introduced her as his little sister and Cinder realized, he was nothing like her.
Regardless, the three continued running into each other after that as Cinder continued stealing Roman's marks after that before he could obtain any money. Occasionally, Roman would accidentally allow the mark to get away before Cinder could get to them. It was becoming nerve wracking and stressful, so the three ended up living together out of convenience – if only to work out a better solution or compromise for marks. Aside from speaking of that though, the three never conversed with one another for no reason. Roman of course, tried; but Cinder's apathetic and stoic personality made conversing very difficult. To be fair, Roman and Neo's seemingly exclusive interactions with each other didn't exactly allow others to feel comfortable talking with the two.
It wasn't until Roman opened the door on a cold winter's day with Neo behind him to see a panicked and desperate looking Cinder who was gasping to catch her breath while holding a little girl in her arms. The sight of emotion being displayed on Cinder's expression was enough to freeze the blood siblings at the spot. The sound of her barking an order to obtain supplies and food for the sick and cold child out was enough to snap them out of their stupor and follow.
"Where did she come from?" Roman asked, "Did you pick her up from somewhere? Who is she?" the questions to the identity of the child fired one after another after Cinder had placed her into bed.
"Her name is Ruby," Cinder growled in annoyance, effectively silencing the other teen. "And she has been out in the cold for Remnant knows how long with no food. Which means she has Hypothermia and is on the verge of starvation, and if you are going to continue standing there like a bumbling idiot and ask questions unrelated to her condition, then she is going to die. Now go do some useful or stay out of my way!"
Hearing Cinder raise her voice and speak more than one sentence was another surprise for Roman and Neo. The reason quickly became prevalent as to why and who was making her act that way.
It was the little girl who was shivering and weakly coughing in pain, lying in bed.
And that? That irked Roman and Neo a bit. The two had known Cinder for a better part of a year now, and still had not been able to garner any reaction or emotion out of her. Then suddenly, some little girl comes and only knows Cinder for a better part of a day and she is able to provoke such a drastic change of emotions out of Cinder.
They had no qualms of telling Ruby their feelings and what they thought of her when she awoke a week later while Cinder had to go out and deal with an… issue with a contract.
Ruby had weakly asked for Cinder upon waking; though found that she was in the room by herself. Since she wanted to know where Cinder was, Ruby had decided the best way to solve that mystery was to get out of bed and search. Still feeling a little light headed and chilly, Ruby dragged the blanket with her and out the bedroom door.
The apartment she was in, was small with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. She found no one in the other two rooms, so had gone out to the living room where Roman and Neo had been sitting around and were starring at her.
"Who are you?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head. "Where's Cinder?"
Roman waved his hand in dismissal. "Gone. You should be grateful, Neo and I stayed to keep an eye on you."
"You did?" Ruby asked, before a beaming smile took over her face. "Thanks Neo and… uh."
"Roman." He offered with a shrug.
Ruby beamed and began peering her head around at the apartment, as though looking for something that Roman mistook for her analyzing the place.
"What?" He snapped
Nonplussed, Ruby turned to him with wide questioning eyes. "I just wanted to know if I could do something to thank you."
Neo and Roman turned to each other in confusion, unsure of how to take such an innocent and naive gesture. They turned to the one emotion that had been present prior though, and acted on it. "No." Roman simply stated in annoyance, "Get lost kid." He stated, waving his hand in dismissal before turning away.
Ruby didn't get a chance to say anything as Cinder had entered the apartment at that moment with a brown paper bag filled with groceries in hand. Seeing Ruby up and standing around brought a smile to her face as she took long, quick steps up to the child and knelt down, placing her bag to the side.
"You're up. Are you feeling better?" Cinder asked in concern, holding Ruby gently, but steadily.
The little girl nodded, albeit sluggishly, but with a smile on her face. "Mhm. I feel great!" She stated, pumping her fists to show how strong she was.
Except, her body still wasn't use to feeling healthier than it had been, so her fist pumps caused her to sway and stumble to the side. Cinder seemed to have anticipated that action though, as her hands lightly gripped onto the child and kept her steady.
"Easy there tiger." Cinder said with a small laugh, hold Ruby still. "You're still recovering from hypoth- er… your cold. You need to get some food in your stomach and stay in bed." She finished with a small tap of her finger onto Ruby's nose.
Ruby frowned, "But I'm not-"
Her stomach chose that moment to growl, rather loudly, eliciting her to slowly look down at her traitorous stomach with a pout and glare.
"Hungry?" Cinder chuckled with a quirked brow. She stood back up, "How about we get you tucked back into bed, and I'll make some soup for you since you're not hungry?"
Ruby pouted at the suggestion, "Can I have more than just soup?"
Cinder pretended to contemplate, "How about… Noodle soup? With extra noodles?" She asked. Since Ruby was still in the midst of recovery, she wouldn't be able to eat any solid food without feeling nausea. It would be best if she stuck with eating food that was easy to digest. "I'll even put in some crackers if you want."
Thinking it over, the child deemed the offer satisfactory and nodded, causing Cinder smiled and led Ruby back to the room.
Roman and Neo both rolled their eyes at Cinder's interaction with the child. "Well if you're going to baby her, then we're leaving to get ourselves some food." Roman stated as he and Neo got up.
Cinder waved them off in dismissal, causing the two to frown in disapproval and huff.
Their discontent was seen by Ruby before Cinder led her back to the room, and it was further emphasized by the slam of the front door as they left.
It was an hour later when they came back, only to find the entire interior apartment to have been thrown in chaos.
As they warily entered, Cinder came scrambling back out with a look of desperations and gold eyes filled with fear and worry.
"Have either of you seen Ruby?" She asked, grabbing Roman by his arms and gripping them tightly.
"I… No." Roman said wide-eyed at seeing the frantic look on Cinder's face. Neo slowly shook her head, keeping her eyes trained on the older teen as well.
"She-She's not here anymore." Cinder stated in distress and anxiety. Her appearance seemed to portray her emotions as well; her hair was disheveled, the bags under her eyes from watching over Ruby for the past week were more prominent, her eyes kept darting around in fear as though she may have missed a spot, and her clothing was no longer without crease. "I don't know where she may have gone! I only took my eyes off her for a moment, to wash the dishes, and by the time I went back to the room, she wasn't there!" She frantically explained, eyes beginning to well up.
Roman and Neo glanced at each other, shock and confusion evident in their expression upon seeing the usually stoic Cinder act this way.
"I-I wouldn't… She's the only…" Cinder clambered, bringing her hands up to her temples as though holding her head would allow her to collect her thoughts. She looked back at Roman with a feeling of lost, "She's still sick and-"
She froze as she looked behind Roman, a startling realization spreading across her face. "She might be looking for her mom."
Roman and Neo both were confused at the statement. When the words sank in, Roman glared at Cinder. "Did you kidnap-"
Cinder snapped at him, "I did not kidnap her. Her mother is dead and Ruby was out wandering around looking for 'heaven' of all things when I found her." She worriedly looked back out, "She might be out there looking for her mom again… If she is then she won't… You have to help me!"
It was at that moment comprehension clicked in Roman's mind, Cinder truly and genuinely cares for this girl. The idea of Cinder caring for anyone had eluded him despite all of the signs; it wasn't until now, when Cinder was asking for help that it clicked in his mind. For whatever reason that happened, she had come to care for the child. Not only that, but it seemed as though… the child had given Cinder something that Roman knew had been missing from her eyes ever since they met. He knew that it was something she had secretly been envious of after meeting Neo.
And if she were to lose the one thing she had been longing for, then there was no way to predict the devastating impact it would have on her.
"O-Okay." Roman agreed, casting a sideway glance to his sister. "She couldn't have gone too far. We just have to split up…"
Neo's eyes widen in slight fear, the two of them had never separated so far from one another before. The mere idea of the two of them splitting to search for some child was frightening to her.
Roman gave a shaky smile, "It won't be for long. We just… We have to hurry up."
Cinder frantically nodded, giving a small sigh of relief before she quickly grabbed a coat and scarf. "I'll go south. You two go North West and East." She hurriedly said, throwing her articles of clothing on and closing the door behind her. "If you see her, message the rest of us."
Roman and Neo gave shaky nods, still not feeling confident about separating from one another.
At that, Cinder ran off in her self appointed direction.
The two blood siblings casted each other one more fearful glance before reluctantly separating, running off to help with the search.
Cinder made sure to check around block, every alley, every corner to find Ruby, calling out for her name while still maintaining that hurried and desperate pace. Roman wasn't as hurried, but he still took his time to check every nook and cranny he thought a child would hide in. Or at least, places he knew that he would hide when he were a child. He made sure to call out for her name every once in a while at different spots, telling the silent air around him that Cinder was worried.
Neo… had no idea how she was going to find the child, more less how to convey that Ruby had to come back in the off chance Neo found her. Instead, she found herself peeking around every corner and knocking the wall as though asking "Anyone here?" Only to check more thoroughly after in the event her knock wasn't paid heed to.
After 2 hours of searching and many calls for Ruby and the thousandth knock, Neo found her and had messaged the other two so. The little girl was hunched over in a dirty alleyway, shivering from the cold with lips tinted blue and purple. It seemed that she had heard Neo's light tapping though, but had not seen her so answered with a, "Who's there?" surprising Neo.
Hesitantly, Neo came forth and made her way in front of the child, worry etched over her face due to not knowing how to communicate with her, but it seemed like she wouldn't have to.
"You found me." Ruby stated, her face fallen with a small pout. "I'm sorry…"
Neo tilted her head in confusion, unsure of why the child was apologizing.
"You and Roman told me to get lost." Ruby clarified, "But you found me…"
Neo's eyes widened slightly at her confession, just how naïve does this child have to be to actually listen to people telling her to get lost? More importantly though, if Cinder found out then there was no telling what she would do with her recent change of demeanor.
"Do you not like me?" Ruby asked, looking down at the ground with a small pout. "If you don't, I can leave… That's why I got lost. Because I thought if I did, you would like me. But you found me, which means I didn't do a good job and now you might not like me…"
Neo quickly shook her head, but realized that Ruby couldn't see her. She had to wave her hand in front of Ruby's face to get her attention and shake her head once more.
"So, you do like me?" Ruby asked
That was far from what Neo felt toward the child, but she knew that she had no other choice but to nod in order to get the girl to come along.
Ruby gave a weak smile, shivers now taking over her body. "Do we have to go back?"
Another nod.
"Okay." Ruby easily agreed, shakily standing back up, only for her knees to buckle and cause her to stumble into Neo.
The young teen nearly jerked away out of reflex, but gritted her teeth to steady the child. It wouldn't do to have her return home with injuries.
"Thanks." Ruby weakly beamed, causing Neo to wince in guilt.
The smile Ruby had shown earlier that day was much more warmer, filled with energy that caused the corners of her eyes to crease. The smile she gave now barely peaked out of her blue lips, the corner of her eyes barely creasing. Had Roman and Neo not told her to get lost, maybe her smile would still be the same.
Neo merely nodded to show that Ruby's gratitude was appreciated before letting go and turning away to direct Ruby back to the apartment. She didn't take more than 3 steps when her hand was gently grabbed though.
At that, Neo jerked away as though her hand had been burned, looking at Ruby in fear and confusion.
The child merely pouted glancing between Neo's hand and her own longingly for them to intertwine. Ruby then figured that maybe Neo didn't want to just hold hands and decided to hold up her other hand and looked up at Neo expectantly.
The young teen looked even more confused at Ruby's open arms, not entirely sure what the child wanted.
"Carry me?"
From the look Neo had showed, it was as if she had no idea what the heck Ruby had requested of her.
The child decided to take care of that herself, as she tugged Neo down to crouch in silent command. After Neo had questioningly done so, Ruby had climbed onto Neo's back, wrapping her arms around Neo's neck and let out a sigh of contentment.
Still baffled at the request, and now further perplexed at the action placed from Ruby, Neo warily stood back up, tucking her arms under Ruby's legs. She might as well oblige with carrying the child as Ruby was in no condition to carry herself.
Neo frowned at that thought, and her frown further deepened upon feeling how light Ruby was and her legs were so thin and skinny, there was barely any muscle there. It felt as though if there were any more weight placed on her, the child's legs would easily buckle and cause the force of the weight to crush the little girl.
Ruby chose that moment to snuggle deeper into Neo's back and elicit a conflicted feeling to rise in the young teen.
She didn't know what to do with someone so willing to show her affection. Roman still had difficulty doing so as he always treated her as though she were fragile, even with knowing how often Neo fought and was well aware that she could take plenty of hits, but he still thought she was about to break at any more than a light hug. To be fair, she did the same with him as well, as he had a weak body. Regardless, despite the two only having each other to rely on, they had rarely ever shown each other physical displays of affection, and when they did, it was always with great hesitance.
Receiving one that was so willing and full of love and gratitude, it made Neo feel lost. What was she supposed to do in return?
Despite having texted Cinder and Roman earlier to return back to the apartment, Neo was still the first to arrive to the apartment. Upon arrival, she had gently dispatched her cargo back onto the couch, only for Ruby to latch herself back to Neo's side and cause her to sit next to her. The young teen was still befuddled at what to do at this attention, so had begun awkwardly shuffling in place and rubbing Ruby's back as they waited for Roman and Cinder.
They didn't have to wait long as the door was thrown open with Cinder charging in filled with worry with Roman trailing behind her. Immediately upon seeing Ruby, Cinder gave a heavy sigh of relief before crashing into the child and causing Neo to let go while Cinder swung her arms around Ruby to envelope her in a near crushing hug.
Roman had elected to stay standing behind her, raising a brow in question of Ruby's prior position to Neo though. She gave a halfhearted shrug though, a small tinge of pink rising in her cheeks at being caught.
Once Cinder was able gather herself, she leaned back and looked at Ruby in the eye. "Please don't ever do that again Ruby, I was so worried about you."
Ruby, looking guilty, stared down at her feet as she mumbled an apology while her eyes welled up at the reprimand.
Cinder merely sighed, "It's okay. Just… Please don't do that again. You're still sick and you might have made it worse. I… We don't want that to happen right?" She asked, making Ruby shake her head in agreement. The corners of Cinder's mouth quirked up in approval before she stood up straight again, reaching out for Ruby's hand and giving it a light tug to indicate that she should follow. "Come now, we need to get you back in bed and warmed up."
"Can I take a bath?" Ruby asked
Cinder gave a sympathetic smile and shook her head. Applying direct heat to someone with hypothermia could damage Ruby's skin or even worse, cause her heartbeats to become irregular or severe. She shouldn't take a bath just yet. "Not now. But, I got you some clothes and you can change into that okay? And later, when you're feeling better you can take a bath with bubbles."
Ruby contemplated on this, "Will you take one with me?" She asked
Cinder didn't' have to think twice on that, and nodded in agreement. "Of course." She said as she led Ruby back to the room.
Before leaving, the child waggled her fingers toward Neo with a smile on her face, eliciting a similar, albeit more hesitant, response from the other teen.
"So? Where did you find her?" Roman asked expectantly. "Was she looking for her mom like Cinder said?"
Neo shook her head, raising her hands to explain to Roman exactly what happened and that they were at fault for her leaving.
His eyes drooped with guilt once she finished. He hadn't meant to actually send Ruby out in the cold to her possible death, he just… he didn't want her bothering him and Neo at the time.
'We have to apologize' Neo insisted, signing her words heavily with jerky movements. 'If I hadn't found her, she could have died and it would have been our fault! She is not the type of girl who deserves that fate!'
"I know! I know!" Roman relented, sitting on the couch next to his sister. A little girl who is so ready to give her trust to two people she didn't know and show her gratitude by taking their words so seriously and doing so… That is not the type of person who deserves such a cruel, cold, and lonely death. She had done nothing but give a smile to them, and yet they had sent her out to the cold. "W-We'll tell her tomorrow. When Cinder is out. We'll have to watch her anyway so we might as well do it then."
Neo gave a small nod of approval as the two sat there silently, allowing the day's events to sink in.
By the time the following day had rolled around and Cinder requested them to look after Ruby, Roman had felt that the time was much too soon as he loomed in the doorway of Cinder's bedroom, looking over at the bed's occupant.
Neo nudged him forward, causing him to stumble in surprise before he caught himself. Slowly, the two made their way over to the side of the bed, Roman taking the spot closest to the headboard as they watched Ruby stir awake from the commotion.
Turning her head, Ruby began to rapidly blink the bleariness and grogginess out of her eyes, though upon seeing Roman and Neo, she gave a wide smile. "Hi!" She greeted in a singsong voice, causing Roman to cringe at the happiness being displayed toward him.
"H-Hey." He greeted, drumming his fingers against the side of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Better." Ruby simply stated, as she was still not completely awake to convey full sentences.
"That's good, that's good." Roman repeated, still trying to gather his thoughts, "Listen… Yesterday…" He began, trying to choke the words out.
Ruby merely smiled as she shifted her body to lie on her side so she could reach out for his hand and wrap both of her small and trembling hands around his much larger and sturdier one, causing him to pause in his declaration out of shock and look into her bright, and wide silver eyes filled with wonder. "It's okay. Neo told me yesterday you were sorry." She said, causing Neo's eyes to widen in surprise and Roman to turn to her in question.
How did Ruby know, when Neo didn't even speak to her?
"She didn't have to say it, because I saw." Ruby clarified, "So you don't have to say sorry because I know you don't want to. It's hard."
"I…" Roman tried. It was such an easy way out, he didn't have to apologize because she already knew that he was sorry. He wouldn't have to say such hated words that he had been repeating his whole childhood life to his mother all because he looked like his father. He didn't have to…
But… Ruby didn't deserve such treatment. So he would just have to grit his teeth and bear it. "It's hard, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve it so… I'm sorry I told you to get lost yesterday. I didn't mean it." Roman stated, beginning to feel his throat lurch up at the apology. He really hated apologizing.
Ruby for her part though, merely smiled, and tried to grip his hand a little harder and snuggle into it. "Your hand, it's so warm." She sighed happily, causing Roman's eyes to widen in surprise. It wasn't until her statement though, that he realized just how much colder her hands were, so without thinking, he tightened his grip on her hands and placed his other over them to help warm them up.
"They're so small…" He whispered out loud to Neo, who merely nodded her head. Much too small to catch all the problems that may be thrown in her way, and Ruby was much too naïve and trusting to the world that would only be so cruel toward someone so tiny and insignificant. Someone like her with wide trusting eyes that would only be happy to try and catch all those problems thrown her way. Problems that would are too big and too heavy for someone so light and tiny.
The worst part is that she was definitely the type to try and carry all those problems regardless if she were crushed underneath all that weight.
It was unfair for someone like her that was so warm and bright to be born into a world that was so cold and dark.
After that, the two tried their best to help Cinder take care of the child; whether it was to grab groceries, clothing, changing shifts to watch over her, they did it. It was only a mere week later that Ruby was able to make a recovery, and although she wasn't allowed to go outside just yet, she made sure to full heartedly greet everyone with a tight hug when they returned home. It was a nice change for Roman and Neo, as they had never felt so welcomed into their own home. Before, they would be greeted with yells of profanity and violence upon their arrival from their mother. Cinder had never acknowledged them on the chance she was home before. So enthused hugs and happy cheers of greeting was… nice, even if it was difficult for them to get use to at first. Over time, the greeting had become something for the blood siblings to look forward to upon arrival at home and immediately return to Ruby.
It was that moment of realization, that Neo and Roman vowed to ensure that Ruby's light never dimmed no matter what. Call it retribution for their sins, or their resolution to show her that the two of them really were sorry that she had almost faced death cruelly, but it was a mission that they would carry for the rest of their lives.
If there were a way to make Ruby happy, then they would do so. And in return… they would be there to get a little shine of her light.
Apparently, they were also willing to get their moment in her light by teasing her or groggily cuddling with her.
"Listen, you don't understand." Ruby said, still trying to explain that she was in fact not addicted to cookies or strawberries as Neo was nearly asleep the young teen's back. "Cookies and strawberries, they're not like coffee and cigarettes! You can't get addicted to them."
"Doesn't have to be a drug or caffeine for you to be addicted Red." Roman smirked, "I mean, there are plenty of people addicted to games and phones."
"But that's different!" Ruby retorted with a small pout, a sign that she was conceding to his point but still stubborn to refuse to change her view.
"Nope." Roman said with a pop, "You know Red, denial is always the first step in addiction."
Ruby frowned at that and crossed her arms in front of her defensively, "Well! If I'm addicted then fine! I'm not going to stop anyway." She declared, causing everyone to laugh or chuckle.
At that moment, Emerald came downstairs, fresh out of the shower and changed into her clothing for the day. She saw Neo cuddling into Ruby's back and frowned in envy. As Emerald was not that great at displaying her emotions, there were times when she found she wished she could show them as easily as Neo, but unfortunately there wasn't anything she could do about it.
Mercury, nearly finished with cooking, saw the look Emerald had casted toward the 2 shortest people in the house and smirked. "Aw, Emerald. Are you jealous that you're not in on the cuddling session?"
His question caused her to scowl at being caught, but she was hardly going to admit it. Instead, she huffed in annoyance, "Hardly. I'd rather her leech off of Neo instead of me."
Mercury mockingly cooed at Emerald, "You wish you were cuddled don't you?"
"I just said-" Emerald began, but was interrupted by him once more.
"Ruby, you really should let Emerald cuddle with you some time! She's over here sulking because you won't let her." He stated
"Aw!" Ruby drawled happily, "Really Emmy? You want to cuddle?" She asked expectantly.
Emerald snarled, "I never said I wanted to cuddle!"
"That's not a confirmation nor is it a denial." Mercury pointed out, causing the red-eyed girl to growl in frustration.
"It's okay Emmy, we can cuddle later!" Ruby happily stated
Another growl of frustration, but this time pink rose to Emerald's cheek as she began to speak, "I never said-"
"Shut up" Roman and Cinder growled as they and Neo shot glares at the three (or two in Neo's case) of them while clutching their heads.
Their anger and glares effectively silenced Mercury and Emerald, though only caused Ruby to merely roll her eyes in amusement. Growing up with the three coffee addicts, she had gotten use to their grumpiness in the morning so their glares never had an effect on her. Still, she went over to the coffee machine with Neo still attached to her back, grabbed their own personal mugs that she had stolen herself – Cinder's was a basic red cup with yellow lettering that said World's #1 Sister, Roman's was orange with white lettering that said "Please wait…" and had a loading bar under it before continuing into "Sarcasm still loading", and Neo had a mug with a picture of a sleeping cat with the handle as a cat's tail - and began making their coffee just the way each individual liked it while Mercury finished the rest of the food and Emerald grabbed utensils.
Within just a few minutes, Ruby placed 3 cups of coffee on the side of the open bar and lowered Neo into the last available seat. Immediately, the three grumpy young adults greedily began drinking their coffee in unison and placed them back onto the counter with a sigh of relief as their headaches left.
"Thank you Ruby." Cinder happily sighed, taking another sip of coffee.
Ruby merely smiled as she went back to her place on the other side of the bar, placing her elbows on the marble surface and holding her head between her hands with a happy smile. "No problem. Feeling better?" She asked as Emerald placed utensils in front of each household member and at the two empty spots across Roman and Neo.
"Much." Cinder smiled
"Alright, breakfast is served!" Mercury declared as he began serving food to everyone and placing side dishes and extra servings in the center of the bar.
Ruby, Roman, and Neo, the three - all sharing sweet tooth's, had the same dishes of course, a pile of strawberry crepes with crème. Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald on the other hand, did not share the constant cravings for sugary confections, so all had omelets, toast, bacon strips, and a cup of fruit.
Emerald, of course, stood next to Ruby to eat while Mercury was on the inside of the bar. As everyone else began digging in, Ruby looked over at Emerald's food and quickly snatched her cup of fruit away.
"Hey! I was going to eat that!" Emerald protested
Ruby stuck her tongue out, "Well now I'm going to eat it!"
Emerald scowled before she reached over to Ruby's plate and took one of her crepes away, prompting the young teen to cry in protest.
"NOOO! MY DELICIOUS CREPE!"
Emerald mocked her by sticking her tongue out like Ruby had done before, "That's what you get for taking my fruit!"
"You will pay! Pay for this I tell you! VENGEANCE SHALL BE MINE!" Ruby declared with a shake of her fist. Right after her proclamation, Emerald had already cut a piece of Ruby's crepe with her utensils and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Shut up and eat your food!" Emerald stated with a roll of her eyes, causing Ruby to melt at the taste of strawberries and crème exploding across her taste buds.
"Thish ish sho gurd." Ruby gushed happily, mouth still full as she began gobbling up more pieces.
"Well I am the best at making crepes." Mercury smugly retorted as he took a bite from his crispy bacon.
"I beg to differ." Roman scoffed, "These are hardly sweet enough."
"Better than yours that is overfilled with sugar. You stuff your crepes with cream and strawberries, that's hardly going to be healthy for breakfast." Mercury quipped
"Breakfast is made to start your day off with a bang!" Roman declared, "Who needs healthy when you can feel good right off the bat?"
"Yeah, then have that sugar crash an hour after."
"We do not get sugar crashes." Roman stated, turning his nose up in the air. "We simply get annoyed with life and wish to take a break into the world of dreams." He stated as Neo nodded along with him in agreement. Ruby, Cinder, and Emerald weren't paying attention to them, as they had been busier eating (or watching Ruby eat) than to join in their conversation.
"Tell that to the cot you keep at base." Mercury frowned.
Cinder apparently chose that moment to listen in on their conversation and turned her head toward them. "… You keep a cot at base?" She asked, her eyes steeling and focused on Roman.
"Er." He began, face paling slightly at the intense stare.
Ruby gave a hard swallow to the food in her mouth and smacked her lips once to ensure she got the rest of the leftover flavor, "Yeah he does! Though, it's more like a bed, but it's really comfy. He keeps it in that supply closet in between Sector 14 and 19, which by the way sis, I really think we need to renumber those because it always confuses the newbs."
"Ruby…" Cinder sighed, "I told you before that the Sectors aren't meant to be in numerical order, besides, they all seem to remember the layout after a week."
"That's because they have no choice but to after they get lost for the thousandth time." Ruby quipped. "Anyway, so the bed is in that supply closet. Though, it's more like a room than a closet. And it's nice and warm, so I sleep in it sometimes when I'm bored."
That confession surprised Roman; he actually didn't know that Ruby napped in his secret cot. Regardless, now that she does and the fact is up in the air, the chance of the cot being taken away would be less likely now.
Cinder seemed to mull over the information and glanced over to Roman with a small nod, "Well, it hasn't interfered with your working capabilities… I suppose it should be fine granted it stays that way. Just so you know though, I do not appreciate you hiding this from me."
Roman gave a grin, "Won't happen again boss."
Cinder nodded before she returned to her food to finish it as Roman and Neo gave a small sigh of relief.
Roman looked up at Ruby to send her a silent thank you, only to see a quick, knowing wink thrown his way. Apparently she already knew the little rascal.
He looked back down with a small smile on his face, happy to know that Ruby had his back. Though his happiness was short lived upon noticing the time on his fancy white gold wrist watch with black leather straps. He let out a frustrated sigh at not being able to get second helpings for breakfast as he turned toward Neo, "We have to go."
Ruby frowned, "What? Already?" She whined, she had been looking forward to spending more time with the whole group.
Roman and Neo gave sympathetic smiles, "Sorry Red." Roman apologized, "But we got to get started on Cinder's next phase to stay on time."
"Oh," Ruby perked up at that, her demeanor visibly brightening as she turned her attention toward her sister, leaning forward a little and over the counter. "I forgot that the date was coming closer." She confessed sheepishly, causing everyone else to pause and looked surprise that she might possibly know what Cinder's plans were.
Though they all quickly dismissed it as Ruby's perk of being Cinder's sister. The older sibling had always confided in her younger sister rather easily, and despite Ruby's bubbly personality, she was extremely trustworthy and the least likely to admit any secrets. And when she came across a situation where she had to explain something not meant to be mentioned, she did well on provide a white lie or non-answer.
Regardless of how she knew, it was rather… grating to find that Cinder had yet to trust the rest of them enough to tell them what her plans were
Cinder smiled, "It's alright, you've been working very hard. It's no wonder it would slip your mind."
Ruby gave a bashful grin, "What part of the plan are we on now?"
"We're beginning work on Phase 2."
"Oooh." Ruby nodded in recognition, she threw a glance over to Roman and Neo and gave a wide smile. "Can I help?" She asked with an expectant look.
Before Roman could answer, Cinder decided to cut in and do his job for him.
"We're all going to base today, so I suppose it would be best to leave together." Cinder thoughtfully hummed, further surprising everyone else. The last time they had gone to base all together was a long time ago.
Ruby cheered though, happy to be spending a little more time with everyone at once. "When are we leaving? Are we going right now?" She asked, garnering a nod from Cinder.
"In a little while. You should finish your food first, then you can go ahead and get ready." Cinder suggested.
Ruby grinned and with natural lightning speed she shoved the rest of her food on her plate into her mouth, finished half of her glass of milk, took the extra plate of crepes and shoveled them into her mouth, and drank the rest of her milk, prompting a look of disgust from Emerald at having to witness Ruby practically swallow food. Then, she jumped back and away from the bar in excitement, jauntily saluted that elicited a light chuckle from her sister and an amused grin from Neo, before dashing off up the stairs to get ready.
The moment she left, everyone turned to Cinder, and Roman especially had a scowl of disapproval.
"She knows?" He hissed, "Cinder, I understand that she's your sister and you tell her everything, but that should not mean that we are left in the dark about your plan. We have no idea what we stole the dust for, why we needed to build an organization, or any other reason for anything we've done! All we know is that whatever you're planning is big, but we don't even know if we're doing anything correctly without your approval! We can't have you looking over our shoulder all the time only to yell at us for doing something wrong, when we don't even know why it's wrong. And now, Ruby's in school and we're not entirely sure why and we have no idea how to… work around Ruby." It was a round about way of saying that they didn't know if Ruby needed protection or not.
"Yeah Cinder," Mercury agreed, rubbing his neck nervously for speaking against his boss. "I mean, Emerald and I know that Ruby is helping us gather information from the school for us, but we don't know what its for or even if its…" He trailed off, as everyone understood what he meant.
They didn't know if her being in school was worth it if it meant her being gone from the house.
"You need to tell us the plan," Roman insisted.
AN 2: Hello all! I do apologize for not uploading this chapter sooner, as you can see... it was VERY long. I give many props and applause to my wonderful Beta, JupiterMonkey4, for going through and helping me with this! xD If you have time, go on over and check out their story In the Name of Victory.
Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed this Chapter and look forward to Part 2! :)