A/N: Happy New Years! Finished this one a little earlier and though it would be a good start for the year to upload this today.
I hope y'all enjoyed the last chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this one, I tried a different spin on this character, hopefully I made her a little sympathetic, along with giving her a few motivations for doing what she does. Holy hell this broke the five thousand word mark, so literally the longest chapter I've ever done. Achievement get! Hahaha XD Hope y'all have a wonderful New Years! Enjoy!
Marshmallow: Hahaha XD underage doesn't mean anything. I'm still a year or so away from legal drinking age too :P Thanks for the review, I'm glad you decided to give this story a chance :) And I update this story every Tuesday, barring holidays (and my whimsical, earlier than usual updates, like today XD). Usually. ^-^
A stranger without an account: Wow, that's some dedication. You do realize that I update this story every Tuesday (mostly), right? XD
There were a lot of differences between a Hunter and a Bartender. One makes sure that the people around him are safe and happy, going above and beyond to do what's right.
The other kills Grimm.
Joking aside, Jaune knew that there were things that he lacked that made it difficult for him to be a competent Hunter, not that it's stopped him from trying before. Of course, there's also several things that would have made him a fantastic Hunter. His acute sense of knowing a dangerous situation for example. It was a shame that he often ignored it.
His sense of danger rarely went off while he was in his bar. There wasn't much that he couldn't handle with his authority, as well as the protection of simply being the person who served good drinks to everyone that came here.
But when he looked at the newest addition that walked into his bar, with her black heels clacking against the aged wooden floor, the first thought in his mind drowned out every other thought.
Run.
His body locked in place for a second, nothing moving inside the bar, as if time stopped, no one even breathing.
She was gorgeous, and that was looking at an objective standpoint, as Jaune usually liked a completely different type of woman. She had raven black locks, her eyes almost glowing like a faunus's would, but it was obvious that she wasn't one. She wore a simple red dress that complimented every part of her figure, and she practically glided along the floor as she walked, the only noise that anyone inside could hear was the sound of her heels hitting the floor. It was enchanting.
It was terrifying.
She stopped in front of the bartender, giving a small smile that gave him tingles along his back, but also made him fight a shiver from rising along him. Never before had Jaune received such contradictory signals of 'run and hide' and 'kneel in front of her'. She wasn't an ordinary woman, that was for sure. And that scared the Dust out of Jaune.
"I hope I haven't come at an inconvenient time." The woman said quietly. She didn't whisper, instead talking in a low volume that traveled easily through the room. It helped that there was no other noise as well, everyone still not daring to move. She waited in front of Jaune, until it became apparent that he needed to reply.
"I-it's not. Inconvenient. Would you, ah, like something? To drink, I mean?" The normally smooth Jaune tried to straighten out his speech pattern, but every time he met her eyes, his thoughts faltered, making it hard for him to act professional. As he berated himself silently about how awkward that was, the woman smiled gently, nodding as if he hadn't just massively flubbed his words.
"Yes, thank you. Please give me the best wine that you carry."
"T-the best?" Jaune asked, uncertain. Most people didn't order wines when they came to the bar, but he did keep a modest stock somewhere in the cellar, although most of them are pretty high priced.
The woman's eyes flashed in briefly, but she kept her polite smile on her face. "Will that be a problem?" Her tone didn't change, but Jaune's back straightened, the hairs on the back of her neck rising.
"No! Of course… not. Let me just go grab the bottle. So that I can drink—I mean pour it. For you." The blonde cringed and decided to just cut his losses, scampering away, not wanting to look behind him. The brief chat with the woman lasted barely a minute, but turned Jaune into a complete idiot, as he dropped his keys trying to grab them. It took another three or four tries before he found the right key to unlock the cellar doors.
Closing the door gently behind him, Jaune didn't take a step further, resting his head on the door.
"I am an idiot." He whispered to himself, knocking the door repeatedly with his forehead. Just when he thought he was able to move past his lack of self confidence, something came to remind him that he was still the same boy as the one that ran away from his family less than a year ago, leaving them to die.
Fists tightened as he tried to fight the growing chasm that threatened to swallow him, closing his eyes and forcing himself to remember. To remember that he was helping, and that people cared for him. Count to ten, Jaune thought to himself.
One.
Lonely Penny, finding friends as she found her place in the world, as she continued to be reassured that she was as human as the rest of them.
Two.
Immature Ruby, and how she learned to grow, to become the leader that her team needed, that Jaune knew she could be if she just learned to be stronger.
Three.
Overworked Glynda, who found in Jaune someone to care for, someone to relax with so that she wasn't stressed out every waking moment, someone he depended on just as much as she depended on him.
Four—
Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, freaking him out, as no one should be down in the cellar except for him. Whipping his head around though, he discovered no one, except maybe the barest flicker of a shadow in the corner of his eyes that faded quickly enough that Jaune wasn't sure if he had imagined it. Blinking slowly, Jaune looked around again, as if trying to see if there was anyone that was hiding.
Shaking his head, he banished those thoughts, grabbing the bottle of Valean Wine, heading back upstairs. Pausing at the door, Jaune turned around one more time, peering into the darkness that hid the room. He could have sworn that he saw…
No, that was impossible.
Jaune locked the cellar behind him and slid back behind the bar counter, smiling at the woman in front of him. At this point in time, everyone had slowly gotten used to the woman's presence, and chatter was slowly beginning to get louder, the alcohol helping everyone's courage.
Presenting the wine to the woman, Jaune waited to see the woman's reaction. The raven-haired beauty sat there with a raised eyebrow, nodding once after her eyes roved up and down the bottle. With a small flourish, Jaune popped the cork and started to pour the drink into a waiting wine glass, handing it to the woman. She reached out and grabbed the stem, gently brushing Jaune's hand while doing so. Withdrawing, Jaune let his hands slide under the counter, where he rubbed the spot that she touched, his skin unusually warm from the brief contact.
"Thank you Jaune." She said, smiling as she sipped the glass, closing her eyes in pleasure before placing the wine back down, hands on her lap.
"Happy to serve." Jaune said automatically, glad that his professionalism was finally taking hold. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Miss…?"
"Just Cinder, please." The woman in the red dress said quickly, hand touching Jaune's chest. He swallowed nervously and took a step back, feeling incredibly hot in his suit.
"Cinder, then." Jaune corrected himself as she withdrew, looking pleased with herself. She raised her glass again, silently toasting, but to what, Jaune wasn't sure before drinking again. Jaune couldn't help but think that she was playing with him, which aggravated him. Once again ignoring the voice in his head to just play along and let her leave as fast as possible, Jaune leaned forwards, smiling.
"What do you think of the alcohol content in the wine, Miss Cinder?" Jaune asked, surprising Cinder with his forwardness. Returning the favor, the dark haired woman decided to answer truthfully.
"It is… disappointing. But when you have aura, there aren't many drinks that can satisfy you." She answered, looking straight into his eyes. She expected him to back down, Jaune realized. The woman in front of him was used to getting her way, used to things falling in place in front of her. Well, Jaune thought to himself, that's going to have to change.
"Mmm, I had a feeling you had aura." Jaune snapped his fingers, looking thoughtful. "Say, would you like something… stronger?" Jaune said carefully, hiding the anticipation rising in his stomach. "I have something specially made to give a good… kick to Hunters and Huntresses." Cinder's eyes flashed with unknown emotion at the mention of Hunters, as well as a larger, more easily identifiable emotion lurking behind her big eyes.
Curiosity.
Cinder had to admit that she had known about this place for quite a while now, and the longer the place stood, the stranger the rumors grew around it. Of how everyone who was anyone seemed to visit the bar, from the General of Atlas himself to the right hand woman of Headmaster Ozpin. And the rumor that they had both left… well, not flat out drunk, but noticeably inebriated?
It was a mystery that Cinder couldn't have resisted even if she tried.
Pausing a little longer to make sure she looked uncertain, the woman nodded, giving Jaune a small smile.
"Yes, I'd quite like to see if your claim is unfounded or not."
Taking that as a yes, Jaune turned and procured his proudest achievement, a dark bottle of swishing liquid, about little less than half full. The bartender frowned a little, noting the level of liquid and making a note to himself to fill it back up soon. Taking out a shot glass, Jaune paused, looking back at the elegant Cinder.
"Ah what the heck." Jaune muttered to himself, before bringing out a special cocktail glass, filling it with a very strong gin, along with some lemon and grapefruit juice, adding in a few other things as well, like citrus syrup before topping it with his Hunter's drink. Cinder looked at him, her face collected into an unimpressed mask, even though her eyes followed Jaune's every move.
Making sure that Cinder was looking at him, Jaune grabbed a long-nosed lighter and placed it close to the rim of the glass and flicked it on, lighting the drink aflame. The fire licked the nozzle of the lighter for a second before Jaune withdrew it and let the fire finish burning, the tendrils flickering lazily on top of the drink. Jaune wasn't sure what he expected to see when he looked back at Cinder, but the last emotion he was expecting certainly wasn't pleasure.
The smile on her face looked content and lazy, and the flames on the glass reflected off of her eyes, which looked relaxed and distant, as if she was thinking about something. As the fire faded away, the woman's expression slowly closed back up, her fingers deftly grabbing the stem of the glass, tilting her head towards the bartender.
Taking a sip, Cinder's eyes widened, before sliding half closed, an expression resembling ecstasy filtering through, making Jaune's cough uncomfortably. The woman caught his expression and smirked, lowering the glass.
"Something wrong, Mr. Bartender?" Cinder teased. Jaune shook his head, a light blush across his face as he did so. Cinder shrugged and continued to drink, savoring the taste as slowly as she possibly could, for the first time letting herself feel the alcohol coursing through her body, making her warm. "Tell me," She said abruptly, "What's this called?"
Jaune shrugged sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I never really thought of a name for it. I've always just thought of it as a 'my drink' or something. It's not really… on the menu, so I wasn't ever required to make up a name for it." Jaune explained. The woman in the red dressed hummed, stroking the glass with her fingertip, looking thoughtful.
"I think you should have a name for this. It would be… a shame, I would say, for something so wonderful not to have a name."
"And why's that?" Jaune asked, bemused. The woman tapped the counter with her fingernail, a sly smile spreading across her face.
"Because, Jaune, names," Cinder said, raising her hand, stroking Jaune's cheek with her palm. "Names have power." She said quietly. "And it would be a disservice to the world if I had to praise such a drink and wasn't able to give the name out to anyone I described it to." Cinder shook her head slowly. "Such a shame."
Jaune tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, but found that he couldn't, and decided to squeak out his answer instead of stand there and suffocate. "I-I'll give it some thought then." Cinder nodded, withdrawing her hand and taking another drink, waiting a second to enjoy the flavor before continuing to speak.
"I think you should name it… Firebrand."
The bartender blinked, looking at the woman before noticing her glass was empty, deciding to refill it, adding just a splash more of his concoction into the martini and lighting it on fire. He waited until he was finished with everything and handed the drink to her before speaking.
"Why?" Came the simple question, Jaune curious about her motivations to name the drink. Cinder paused, the drink halfway up in the air before she set it back down, her seductive smile back in place.
"Why not? After all, the feeling it gives when it just burns down my throat is so… exquisite, Jaune, that I don't think any other drink will ever… compare." Cinder said, letting a finger trail from her chin until it hit her collarbone, letting Jaune follow the line. "Just a sip… brands me for life." She said, smirking at the captivated Jaune. It was only his sixth sense that was screaming that she was going to murder him that allowed Jaune to snap out of his spell.
"Uh yeah. I'll think about it." Jaune said. It was a good name, he had to admit, but it was also his drink. He wasn't going to let anyone name it but him. Cinder smiled understandingly and drank from her glass, before settling it down and asking another question.
"How much would it cost for me to acquire a bottle of your drink?" The woman asked casually, looking at Jaune. The boy hesitated, sliding the bottle away into its compartment.
"It's not… really for sale. It takes a while to make it," Jaune explained, "and I'm not really putting a price on it. Think of it as a… complimentary add-on to your drink." Cinder raised an eyebrow before pouting, leaning forward.
"Oh. That's quite the disappointment." Cinder sighed, making Jaune's eyes flicker up and down for a second before he could control himself. "I'm sure many would pay top dollar for a drink like this." Cinder tapped her glass, making it ring out softly.
"E-even so." Jaune said firmly. "I simply can't sell bottles of this stuff." Cinder's lips thinned into a line, her eyes flashing dangerously, but Jaune still refused to back down. The standoff took a second or two, but lasted a lifetime for the two of them, before both broke eye contact, Cinder taking another sip of her drink, face schooled to hide her anger.
"Very well." Cinder sighed, relenting. "I suppose I will just have to come here more often for this." The woman handed Jaune her empty glass, which he took happily, glad that she wasn't going to pursue the issue.
"Thank you." Jaune said, frowning for a second as he found parts of the glass warped from what looked like extreme heat. "Why would you need a bottle of it anyways?" Jaune asked, curious. "Unless you've got a party to throw with only Hunters and Huntresses, it'd take you a while to go through the whole thing." Cinder waved her hand, grabbing the new glass offered by Jaune.
"I was simply hoping for something to tide me over for a while. I don't always have… the time to go out."
"Too busy?" Jaune asked conversationally.
"Something along those lines." Cinder answered back with a small smile. Jaune nodded, deciding that he would just throw away the glass, with there being nothing he could do to fix the glass.
"Well, it's always a good idea to take a break from work." Jaune said hypocritically, smiling at Cinder. The woman shook her head, her eyes shining in a sadder light.
"Some things simply cannot be put off." She said quietly. Jaune paused what he was doing, looking at the woman sitting in front of him. There wasn't much of a change physically, Cinder still sitting elegantly, her aura poised. But… there was something else to her. Something that Jaune could almost point out.
"You would be surprised." Jaune answered back, making Cinder look up in question. "Some things are more important than the job."
"And what if it was your goal to finish this job?" Cinder asked quietly, her eyes piercing through Jaune. The boy paused, thinking about her question.
"Then you definitely need some time off." Jaune answered back honestly, surprising the woman. "You would be surprised, but taking a rest every once in a while might actually help you finish the job faster." Jaune shrugged, looking a distance away. "At the very least, you won't make as many mistakes and make things worse accidentally." Jaune added, this time a lot quieter, almost as if he was talking to himself. Cinder heard what he said of course, and nodded to herself.
It was true that she was overworking herself. Barely a night went by when she needed to meet up with her contacts, set up her plans, train her underlings. And the days she had free were spent furthering her plans and training to hone her skills, newly acquired or not. She could hardly afford a day's worth of rest.
Cinder had been silent for a while, tracing her finger along the rim of the glass as Jaune watched, waiting to see if she would reply. Suddenly she looked up, eyes focused.
"Tell me Jaune…" Cinder paused, before continuing. "Do you believe in destiny?"
The blonde bartender was caught off guard by the question, and couldn't think of a very appropriate response.
"Uh." Jaune said eloquently, "I- I don't think so? It's… it's hard for me to accept that the world works for a reason." He confessed, shrugging. How could he believe such a thing? It's a little hard to swallow that his whole family died just because 'there was a plan' that the world held.
"You've lost people before." Cinder pointed out, bringing him out of his thoughts. It was an obvious conclusion when looking at the bartender's expression. Jaune looked at her with a conflicted expression, before nodding. She nodded back, picking up the glass. "I have too." Cinder said. She continued to speak, gesturing at the two of them.
"It's… hard to believe that the world would take away people so thoughtlessly, just to further its plans, don't you think so?" Cinder asked Jaune. The boy nodded, once again not saying a word. "It wouldn't be a surprise to say that many people would object against the way of the world if that was the case." The woman looked at Jaune carefully. "Sometimes, even violently." She added.
"Do you believe in destiny?" Jaune asked back at her. Cinder looked at the boy, not moving as she took him in. There was a strength in him. Something that would make him a powerful ally.
Or a dangerous enemy.
"I do not." Cinder said. "I refuse to believe that anything could control what we do, what we are going to do." Cinder tightened her grip on the glass. "And if there was," The woman paused, an ugly expression on her face. "Then I will fight it, kicking and screaming if I must."
Jaune looked at the woman, finally seeing her whole for the first time. She was dangerous, powerful. And she was hurt. There was something inside of her that burned brightly, and was lit because of disaster, because of something that had destroyed her way of life from before. And now she walked Remnant angry. She was mad and she wouldn't stop until she found her revenge, whether it was a person or the whole world that did her wrong. He should have felt fear.
Instead, Jaune felt sympathy.
The woman was nothing like Jaune, yet, he could see him in her. There was the loss that seemed to eat at her, and there was the drive which she used to turn her emotions away from the problem.
How could Jaune be scared of her, he realized, when there was a possibility one day that Jaune could turn into her?
"Fighting isn't always the best solution." Jaune said quietly. He didn't know what else to say, all he knew was that he wanted to comfort her, to choke out some of that anger burning inside of her. Cinder snorted uncharacteristically, shaking her head.
"Sometimes it's the only option."
"It doesn't have to be." Jaune shot back, hands forming into fists. He wasn't sure why he was fighting so hard for this, but all he knew was that he didn't want the woman to walk out of his bar filled with the anger that he saw her carrying. Cinder didn't speak, simply looking at the resolute Jaune, her hands completely still.
"I know you're young Jaune," Cinder said, making Jaune flinch. "but I was hoping you would be mature enough to realize that sometimes the world doesn't let you have a choice." He grit his teeth, finding himself irrationally angry at the woman sitting in front of him, mad that he couldn't get through to her.
You can't save everyone, Jaune.
The bartender covered his face with a hand, closing his eyes. This wasn't the time to remember the past, especially not something so negative.
"Why are you trying so hard?"
The question caused Jaune to look up, question in his eyes as he looked at Cinder. Before he knew it, she had finished her glass again, this being her… Jaune couldn't even remember how many she had ingested. All he knew was that she more than likely had several too many. Regardless, Jaune's hands worked automatically, grabbing the glass and creating the burning martini, pushing it forward, although Cinder didn't make any move to take the drink.
"Why are you trying so hard," Cinder repeated, "for someone you don't even know, and want gone as fast as possible?" Jaune winced, not realizing that she had picked up on that. "Come on Jaune," Cinder said, the tiniest hint of bitterness in her voice. "it's not an unusual reaction when people meet me." Cinder glanced away for a second. "Fear is an appropriate response, I suppose."
Jaune opened his mouth to try and deny it, but stopped himself from lying to her. Empty words wouldn't mean much to someone like Cinder.
"Do you… regret?" Jaune asked instead, moving away from the subject. The woman gave him an incredulous look, which was the appropriate reaction to such a vague and idiotic question. "Regret the things you've done." Jaune corrected himself. "To get to this point?" Jaune sighed, hating himself for how fragmented the question was, and repeated himself.
"Do you regret the things you've done to get here?"
Cinder looked at him, and was given two choices to decide between. To lie, to deceive like she's done so many others, and to walk away from this conversation without gaining anything but wasted time. Or she could tell the truth, reveal to him a side of her that she rarely faced. It wasn't an easy choice, and that was apparent when the both of them didn't speak a word, waiting for something, anything to break the silence.
Their reprieve was in the form of glass shattering, a patron accidentally dropping their glass, drawing everyone's attention to the short girl, blushing extraordinarily from the attention. Jaune looked back at Cinder, who held a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked at the girl.
"Pardon me for a second." Jaune muttered, sliding out of his bar to help the girl out. Cinder only nodded once as indication that she heard.
Casting the conversation with the beautiful woman to the back of his mind for the moment, Jaune approached the mortified girl, smiling brightly towards her. Without asking if she needed help, Jaune knelt down with the dustpan that he had grabbed on his way towards her and started to clear up the glass, reassuring her that it was alright.
"Don't worry about it," Jaune said again, laughing it off. "Breaking glass is something that happens pretty regularly at the bar. Although you are going to have to pay for it." Jaune added seriously. The girl agreed wholeheartedly, happy to reimburse him. Making sure there was nothing left of the shattered glass, Jaune stood up, smiling at her. "There you go. All finished."
"Thank you." She said quietly, before glancing over at the bar and leaning towards the bartender. Jaune subconsciously leaned in as well, lending him her ear.
"Are you in trouble? I can call the cops if you need me to." She whispered to him. Jaune raised his eyebrows in surprise, turning towards the girl. It was obvious that she was nervous, and definitely not confident enough to even try talking any louder for fear of Cinder hearing. It was also obvious that she was determined to help him in any way if he was in trouble. It was humbling to see his customers have this sort of loyalty towards him.
"Thank you." Jaune said sincerely. "But I'm not in trouble. In fact," Jaune added, giving a quick look at the lonesome figure sitting at the bar. "She might be the one that needs the help more than I would." He said, chuckling.
The girl's brow furrowed, confusion setting in. "Why would you help her? She—well," The girl glanced back down towards the ground before flicking back up towards him. "She seems dangerous." Jaune agreed with that observation, but… well. Call it a weakness of his.
"Just because someone looks like… unapproachable… doesn't mean they need help any less."
The girl still didn't look like she agreed. In fact, she had a visible frown on her face as she shook her head.
"You can't save everyone Jaune." She said stubbornly. And for that second, Jaune saw his little sister, adamant with her eyes stern. His third youngest sister Lilith had never liked him, even though he went above and beyond to try and accommodate her. It was simply just a difference of ideals between the two of them that caused the rocky waters. But he still loves her. Loved her, Jaune corrected himself mentally.
Jaune blinked and was back in the bar again, instead of outside his home, desperately trying to save a crow that had broken its wing flying at a window, Lilith trying to pull him back into the house.
"Maybe not." He said shakily, taking in a breath. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't try."
Departing from the table, Jaune emptied the contents of the dustpan into the trash and went back to his usual spot, expression much more confident than before. Cinder looked at him.
"Yes." She said.
Jaune stopped, trying to recall what she was answering. Cinder could see him struggling and rolled her eyes.
"I do. Regret." Cinder said shortly. With that word Jaune remembered what they were talking about and nodded, understanding.
"Ah."
The two of them fell silent.
"You know, you might not think that you have no other options,"
"I don't." Came the reply.
"But you don't seem to be the type of person to be satisfied with being forced to do anything." Jaune continued, ignoring her interruption. "Are you?"
Cinder simply raised an eyebrow, as if the answer was obvious. Which it was.
"Right." Jaune said, carrying on. "So create your own options. Surely, someone like you can do that?"
"Of course." Cinder replied automatically, scowling at the thought of being viewed as helpless, even if it was the causality of the world that made her so. When Jaune's hands touched hers, she froze, every muscle tensing up as if ready to spring and attack him, her body temperature rising to a dangerous degree.
"Then make options. You aren't restrained by the world. Command and bend the world to your standards. Do what you believe is right, not what you think's the only option for you." Cinder stared at the hand on hers, eyes wide as she took in his words. She wasn't some damsel in distress, and she wasn't someone who was going to quietly and obediently go along with anyone's plans without furthering her own, even if it was the world scheming against her. Maybe… Maybe there were things that she could do. Maybe there wouldn't be the needless bloodshed and the needless murder to achieve her plans. Looking at the boy she could see his eyes shining hopefully, a hesitant smile on his face. It filled her with hope, filled her with a feeling of wanting to change, wanting to take control. But…
She remembered who was watching over her, who had given her this opportunity to change the world. She remembered that hope and belief can't solve every problem out there, and she's seen it firsthand. She remembered that sometimes, all that happens when you push against the world was that it stomped you flat, and smashed you into the ground until you couldn't stand back up.
Jaune had offered her a ray of light, but her common sense stood in the way.
She withdrew her hand away from Jaune's, looking steadily at the boy.
"Thank you for the words Jaune. But sometimes…" Cinder sighed heavily, looking older than she had when she walked into the room. "Sometimes the world isn't considerate enough to move aside when you want to change your course." Jaune didn't know who he was dealing with. If he had, he would've reacted differently, would've realized that his encouragement and advice were all for naught.
Words can't change a monster's purpose.
"Options are hard to find when you've already looked long and hard for them. But…" Cinder looked at the boy, whose eyes still burned even when she rejected his words outright. He would keep trying, Cinder realized. He wouldn't stop until Cinder either killed him or she changed, and she knew deep inside that Jaune could change her. She would never notice it, but she would change. Slowly and surely, she would become a different woman, until one day she would chase down her prey to discover herself unable to kill it.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep looking." Cinder said, mentally relenting to the boy, knowing the dangers she was facing if she continued to visit the boy. Her hands glowed red, her body knowing that she needed to get rid of the threat that was Jaune before it was too late. It would have been an easy enough task to do. All she needed to do was reach over and light her hands on fire. A civilian wouldn't be able to block the heat, and destroying his throat would mean a slow irreparable death, but also meant that most of the patrons in the bar would be busy trying to keep the boy alive. It would be so easy…
But instead, Cinder reached over past Jaune, grabbing the shot glasses, setting one down in front of herself and the other in front of him. Gesturing for the boy to fill them both up, she pushed one of them into Jaune's hands, raising hers into the sky.
Jaune stared at the drink, as if wondering what to do with it. Cinder wasn't sure if she had to show him how to drink the alcohol in front of him. Before she could say anything though, Jaune gave what seemed to be a mental shrug to himself and raised the glass in the air, tapping the glasses together.
"To change." Jaune said quietly, which Cinder echoed back a second later. The boy lifted the glass towards his lips before he turned and tilted the drink into the sink next to him, causing Cinder to give him a questioning stare. He didn't say anything, just giving her a smile.
Finishing her drink, Cinder asked for her tab, paying for it in lien.
As she walked towards the exit, Cinder had the urge rise inside her again. A voice whispered into her head to turn back and burn the place down, to make sure that nothing could stop her plans from going into motion, even if it meant burning down the last dregs of hope that she could find a way free from… destiny.
She almost did it too, if it wasn't for someone bumping into her as he walked into the bar.
"Oh. Sorry about that." His voice was slightly slurred already, and when she identified who it was, her heart sank. Red eyes stared back at her, squinting slightly as if looking through a haze. "Pardon me lady."
A tight smile appeared on her face as she stepped aside. "No problem at all. Enjoy your stay." Before going around him and leaving.
"O…kay then…?" Qrow said, slightly confused at the encounter, but quickly pushing it out of his mind, waving at Jaune.
Cinder snorted, shaking her head.
Destiny indeed.