Cinder ran through the forest. Her lungs burned and her feet hurt. But she was determined to put as much distance between herself and that Grimm. Behind her, she could hear Zwei panting so she knew the others were keeping up.
How the hell was that thing so tough!? She had faced Beowolfs before, but they never took that much of a beating! She was well aware her semblance wasn't that developed, but even so, she should have killed it with her last attack!
"Ahh!"
A cry behind her caused Cinder to look over her shoulder to see Ruby had fallen and was struggling to get up with Yang (who had put Zwei down.) attempting to help Ruby up. Annoyed, she skidded to a halt, then went back to the sisters.
"Come on! Get up! We have to go!" Cinder said angrily as she grabbed Ruby by the arm and forced her to her feet. However, when she set the young girl up right, she let out a cry of pain and fell onto her butt.
Blood flowed from her knee out of a nasty scrap and Ruby looked ready to cry. Yang gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before looking at Cinder. "She needs to rest and do something to stop the bleeding." She explained. "I think there's a river nearby. If we-."
"No. We keep going." Cinder cut in harshly. "We don't know if that fire killed the Grimm. And if it's alive we need to put as much distance between us and it as fast as possible. Now stop being a baby and get up!" She made to grab Ruby and force her to her feet, but Yang stepped in between them, glaring at the older girl.
"She needs to rest!" Yang yelled. "We need to stop the bleeding now, or risk infection!" Cinder glared at Yang, then raised her hand, showing off the deep cuts all across her palm.
"This is much worse!" She snarled as blood ran down her arm. "And I'm not crying like a baby! So shut the hell up, and let's get moving! I'm the oldest! And Summer left me in charge! So you have to do what I say! Now move!"
Yang curled her hands into fists angrily. She understood Cinder had a point, but at the same time she wasn't going to put Ruby's life on the line for a hypothesis.
"Well, I say we rest!" Yang shot back, making Cinder tremble with rage. "Dad says rest is important, because without it you can't do much else! And my opinion is that dad knows wh-!"
"Shut up!" Cinder bellowed, silencing Yang immediately.
"It's your fault we're in this situation to begin with!" Cinder screamed at the Yang who's eyes began to widen in surprise. She had never been yelled at like this before. "You don't get an opinion! Every idea you've ever had has been making problems for everyone else! So for once in your useless life, SHUT! THE! FUCK! UP!"
Before Yang could react, Cinder smashed her fist into Yang's face. The blow knocked the girl onto the ground and caused blood to pour from her nose.
"Yang!"
"Woof!"
Ruby and Zwei rushed to Yang's side, both checking if the girl was alright. She was bleeding heavily, but her nose didn't appear to be broken.
"See. Ruby can move just fine." Cinder said shortly. "Now get up and keep going." Without another word, Cinder turned around and began walking.
Yang lay on the ground staring up at Cinder's retreating back. Then her gaze turned to the ground and a feeling of despair filled her stomach. Cinder was right, all she had ever done was cause trouble for everyone else. Even putting herself and Ruby in danger just because she wasn't the center of attention. She should just shut up and let the older girl make the decisions.
"Yang, are you okay?" Ruby asked as she helped her sister up, a worried look in her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Yang replied, then she stepped ahead of Ruby and knelt down offering her back. "Climb on." She said, looking back at the younger girl. "You can't run like that. I'll carry you."
To her surprise, Ruby shook her head. "No thank you." She said with a smile. "Cinder's right. I got up and ran to you just fine. I can keep going." Yang frowned. She opened her mouth to protest, but then stopped.
That's right, she was done forcing her stupidity on others.
"Okay." Yang said quietly as she stood back up. "If you change your mind, let me know, okay?" Ruby nodded, then took her older sister's hand. She gave her a cheerful smile, then they ran after Cinder.
Cinder wasn't sure how long they had been running. But right now she was beginning to feel light-headed. She had lost too much blood and needed to treat her wound. As much as she hated to admit it, she probably should have taken Yang's advice from earlier. They had slowed because of their injuries.
Cinder slowed down before coming to a stop next to a tree. Leaning against it, she tried to rest while she waited for Yang and Ruby to catch up. Both girls were a little ways behind her, still in sight, but far enough that she would have to yell to be heard, something she didn't have the energy for right now.
"Yang!" She called when they got close enough. "Is there a river or something close by?" The girl nodded and pointed off the path. "Not too far that way. I used to clean myself up on my way through here." Cinder nodded, then pushed herself back onto her feet.
"Good, we'll take a quick rest, treat our wounds, then run the rest of the way home." She said, trying her best to hide her exhaustion. "Yang! You lead the way. No detours." Yang nodded compliantly. She pushed her way through the brush, leading then to the river.
It only took a few minutes, but to Cinder, each second was harder than the last. By the time they got there, Cinder couldn't keep herself up right.
She stumbled to the river and plunged her hands in. Before splashing the cold water on her face, helping her to focus.
Using the running water, Cinder cleaned her wound, then tore off a piece of her dress and used it to stop the bleeding. Besides her, Yang was helping Ruby treat her knee. Wiping it with a clean cloth, then bandaging it with a handkerchief.
Once the bleeding had stopped, Cinder tore off even more of her dress to bandage her hand, before collapsing against a fallen log. As much as she hated to admit it, she was stuck here until she was sure her wound wasn't going to reopen.
"Hey!" Cinder called to the other girls, who turned to look at her. "We'll rest here, for now. Then we are running straight home, got it? I don't want anymore complaining on the way back." Cinder closed her eyes and waited for the protests. She had already prepared her responses.
"Okay!" Ruby called back. "Not a single complaint! Thanks for letting us rest, Cinder!" Said girl didn't respond. She kept her eyes closed and waited for Yang.
But to her surprise, she was met with silence.
Opening one eye, she glanced over at Yang, who had finished treating Ruby and was now sitting on the ground, very interested in a bug that was crawling on a tree above her.
"Hey! Did you hear me?" Cinder asked, annoyed. "I said no complaining on the way back! And make no mistake, once we get home, you and I are going to have a very long talk." She glared at Yang as she spoke, daring the stubborn girl to talk back.
"Okay, if that's what you think is best." To Cinder's great surprise, Yang's tone was that of defeat, not defiance like she had been expecting. As she scanned Yang's face, she saw no trace of the trouble making girl that she had met before. Yang wear an expression of numbing sadness and blank hopelessness.
Cinder thought about rubbing it in, but decided to examine herself for other injuries instead.
As she looked over herself using the river as a mirror, she saw she had no other major injuries. Just a few cuts from the Werewolf's claws from when it pinned her and a large sensitive spot on her chest where it's palm had slammed against that would a an ugly bruise tomorrow.
With her hand bandage and no other grave injuries, Cinder was about to order them to get moving again when she remembered she wasn't the only one who might have been injured during the endeavor.
Yang had been in the basement a good while before she had arrived. And as much as she'd love to let the girl suffer for putting her and Ruby through hell, she figured Summer wouldn't be happy if she got back with a bled out Yang.
With an annoyed sigh, Cinder got up and made her way over to the blonde, who was looking over a big piece of paper. It looked like an old map, but Cinder didn't know where it was, and if she was honest, she didn't care.
"Hey!" Cinder said to announce her presence to Yang, who looked up but didn't respond. "Get over to the river. I'm going to make sure you don't die until I get you back home." Cinder had expected a counter argument, but Yang simply stood up and followed Cinder's instructions.
Confused, but not complaining, Cinder sat Yang down on the log and began checking her for injuries. Luckily, it didn't appear that Yang had gotten hurt beyond a few scrapes and bruises.
And a very sore nose, but Cinder knew that wasn't from the Werewolf.
"Lucky bastard." Cinder hummed. "You didn't get hurt during your stupid little adventure. Of course that's going to change when we get home and tell Summer what you did. I'm sure she won't be happy when she finds out the danger you put both me and Ruby in."
Yang didn't reply, annoying Cinder. She had half a mind to punch her again, but decided to pursue a different method of punishment. "On that note, how about you tell me what that was all about? I'm very curious why you are so incredibly stupid to wonder into a Girmm infested territory without an adult. Even a dumb little moron like you must have had a reason to put your sister in danger."
Yang bit her lip and stared at the ground. She didn't want to say, but after tonight, Cinder didn't really care. "Either you tell me right now or I beat it out of you. I've had enough of your stupidity always causing problems! So you're going to tell me what I almost died for." She raised her hand to strike Yang again. "Last chan-!"
"It's about my mom." Yang interrupted, still unable to look the older girl in the eye. "Summer wasn't dad's first wife. Raven, my mom, was. Ruby and I are half sisters." Cinder raised an eyebrow, but didn't interrupt.
"Not long after I was born, mom left. I don't know why." Yang picked up a rock and began ideally playing with it. "Not long after that, dad and Summer started to date, or something. They wouldn't tell me the details. But right after she got pregnant, Summer and dad got married. You can probably guess the rest." Cinder could, but still didn't understand how that fit into her stupid decision.
"I want to find out why my mom didn't want me." Yang confessed, clenching her fists. "I want to find out why she left, why she didn't try to contact me, her own daughter. Was I just not good enough? Was it because I wasn't what she wanted from her child? I want to know why I'm replaceable. And then you came into the picture and I guess I just thought, now dad and Summer have a new daughter, so they wouldn't miss me if I was gone."
Yang let out a weak chuckle. She looked ready to cry. Her hands were shaking and tears could be seen in her eyes. Her voice shook as she spoke. "Pretty pathetic, huh? I have loving parents and yet that's not good enough for me. I guess when you came in, I thought of you as competition. And after I realized I couldn't compete against you, I took the easy way out and ran. Heh. You were right about me, I'm just a selfish brat."
Cinder watched Yang hug her legs to her chest, burying her face in her knees. Normally, Cinder wouldn't really care about a brat's sob story, but right now she felt a little too attached to the little girl.
She understood how Yang felt about abandonment all too well. And she understood her need to find answers.
With a loud groan, Cinder set on the log facing the other way, surprising Yang.
"I wasn't given the name Cinder." The older girl said. "I'm originally from Mistral, not Atlas. My mother died because my dad couldn't put enough food on the table. She was pregnant with a second child." Cinder could feel Yang's eye on her. She had never talked about her life before the orphanage to anyone, not even Rhodes.
"Due to his grief, he couldn't work and lost his job and the house. After that we left the town as food and resources became scarce. The war had ravaged the kingdom and we had to steal to survive." Cinder paused for a second. She didn't know why she was telling Yang all this, but something compelled her to continue, so she did.
"Eventually, he must have realized I was a liability for his survival. So he struck some kind of deal with an orphanage that used child labor. Don't ask for the details, I don't know them, but he left me with them under the promise he'd return. They gave him a small bag I now know was money, and that was the last time I saw him." Cinder chuckled to herself. It was almost ironic how similar she and Yang were. It almost felt like a bad joke.
"After a year or so, I realized what had happened. One of the other kids there had the same story. Only difference was it was his mom and she told him out right. After many failed escape attempts, I realized that he truly wasn't coming back. There and then, I discarded the name he gave me and chose a new one. I often slept by the fire-place to stay warm, so I picked my name from the thing that had gaven me more warm and comforted more than either of my parents did."
Cinder turned to see Yang staring at her as if she was looking with completely new eyes. All the resentment that she had before seemed to have melted away and was now replaced with surprise and respect, something she never would have expected to see from Yang.
Cinder turned back around to watch Ruby pet Zwei a few feet away. She was grateful she was out of earshot because she didn't want Ruby to judge her on what she was going to say next.
"So here's some free advice from someone older." Cinder said, her eyes hard as she kept her gaze away from Yang. "If someone doesn't want you, don't waste your time trying to reach them. They left you all alone while they ran away, doesn't matter how or why, if someone abandons you, then you should just leave them and their memories behind to rot. Don't let them have any part of your life. Don't sacrifice everything you have for someone who didn't want you in the first place."
Yang stared wide-eyed at the older girl, mouth hanging open. She hadn't expected that kind of wisdom from a fourteen year old girl. Maybe she was right. She should just forget about her birth mother. She didn't need her. She already had two wonderful parents who loved her. Maybe that was good enough.
But at the same time, she still wanted to know about her birth mother. Why she had left and all. Yang couldn't help but wonder about her. If she followed Cinder's advice, she'd never know anything about her birth mother, but If she didn't, then those feelings of confusion and empty longing would just increase until she did something stupid again.
She couldn't decide what to do. She wanted to move in and cherish what she had, but in the same breath, she didn't want to give up either. She wished she could choose both, finding her birth mother and cherishing what she had. It was so confusing.
But there was one thing she knew she had to do for sure.
Turning to Cinder, Yang took the older girl's injured hand and pressed it against her own forehead. "Thank you." Yang said much to Cinder's surprise. "Thank you for putting up with my stupidity! Thank you for saving me! Thank you for everything you've done to make mom and dad happy. I'm so sorry for how I treated you before, so please don't hate me! I promise I'll change, I won't be such a brat as before. I know you probably won't forgive me just from this action, but right now it's all I can do. So once again, thank you for everything for me and I'm sorry for everything I've done to you."
Cinder blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected her story to affect Yang like this. Slowly, she placed a hand on the younger girl's head and rubbed it awkwardly. "Umm. Thanks? I guess. That story was meant to make you stop doing stupid stuff, but I'll take theses results too."
Yang looked back up at Cinder, a small smile on her lips. "Don't miss interpret." The blonde girl said. "I'm apologizing for how I treated you and thanking you for what you've done. I was wrong. But that doesn't mean I like you. You have some incredibly annoying parts about you too. Like how you jump to conclusions too quickly. But let's call a truce and try to get along even with our shortcomings."
Cinder playfully rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away from Yang. "Like your one to talk about jumping to conclusions. But fine. If we're being honest, I still don't like you either. However, I'll try to be…slower to punish your anger issues. Just try to be less of a pest, will ya?" Yang gave her an exaggerated offended look and slapped her arm.
The two girls laughed and Cinder shifted to sit facing the river with Yang. She doubted she would ever truly get along with Yang, but after learning how similar their history was, she did feel a contention between them. So maybe they could stand to live together.
"Aaaahhhh!"
Ruby's scream caused both girls to jump, then spun around and race to her. Ruby had fallen to the ground and Zwei was standing next to her, growling at the tree line.
"What is it!?" Cinder demanded as she skidded to a halt next to Ruby, Yang running to her other side. "What's got you in such a-!?" Before she could finish, a deep growl came from where Ruby was looking.
Feeling her blood go cold, Cinder turned to see the Werewolf of Patch slowly lumbering towards them, sniffing at the air as it approached.
Cinder saw blood leaking out of it's right eye. Meaning it was still completely blind. With this knowledge, she turned to Yang intending to make a break for the trees. If they could get somewhere that was difficult to navigate without eyes, then they should be able to esc-!
"Running away again? I thought you said you didn't have to run anymore."
Cinder froze. Then turned back to the Werewolf to see it's head had been replaced with Rhodes' rotting face, not unlike a mask made of flesh.
"Why are you just standing there?" He taunted, slowly pulling the glass from his eye. "Run away! Run back to whomever is protecting you! That's all you'll ever do, all you'll ever amount too. A coward, running from everything. A fitting life for someone like you."
With one final laugh, Rhodes' face melted off the Grimm and became a black drop of putty that fell to the ground with a splat. Cinder felt anger build inside her. Rhodes was wrong about her! She didn't have to run anymore! Not from him, not from her mistress, not from Anyone!
"I've got a plan." Cinder said as she turned to Yang. "It can't see, but can still sense negative emotions. We have the upper hand. Yang, follow my lead. Hit it's bad leg when you see an opening, I'll finish it." She took a step forward, but was stopped by Yang who had grabbed her hand.
"No!" She hissed. "Let's just get out of here. It can't see, so let's just run into the forest. The thick trees will make it impossible for it to follow." Yang's tone was pleading, but Cinder ignored it and pulled her hand free.
"If we run, then it'll haunt us forever!" Cinder argued. "We kill in now, or spend the rest of our lives watching our backs. Besides, in an open area with plenty of space, it won't be as hard as an inclosed basement that's on fire."
Yang opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off by Cinder beckoning to Ruby. "Go hide in the trees." She ordered. "We'll get you when this is done." Ruby wasted no time scooping up Zwei and running to hide near the river.
As she ran, Yang noticed the Werewolf's head following her. Could it somehow tell where she was?
Before she could say something, Cinder charged at the beast, meaning they couldn't escape without leaving her to die. With an annoyed groan, Yang ran behind her, planning her next move if things went south.
Surprisingly, the Werewolf didn't try to move or attack as Cinder ran up to it. It just stood there shielding it's face and chest. Deciding not to overthink it, Cinder slid to one side, positioning herself behind the beast. Then she jumped towards it, grabbing onto her sword still stuck in it's back.
Cinder landed gracefully on it's back and began pulling on her swords. She felt them move very slightly, but held fast. They must have been driven in deep when it had smashed her against the pillar earlier in their fight.
Suddenly, the Grimm began spinning on the spot, like a child trying to make themselves dizzy. However, the Werewolf was spinning dangerously fast, not only preventing Yang from getting close, but also making Cinder hold on for dear life.
Her vision became a blur as she spun, her head began to hurt and she felt nauseous. She didn't have any aura to protect herself or activate her semblance. So the only thing she could do was hold on until it got too dizzy to continue.
Suddenly, her blades came loose, launching her across the clearing and into a tree. She hit it painfully with her spine, then fell into a heap on the ground. Her back ached worse than when she had just been forced to move heavy luggage from the bottom of the Glass Unicorn to the sweet on the top floor.
Cinder struggled to her feet, still dizzy. But she had her swords, so now she coul-.
"Look out!"
Cinder looked up at Yang's scream, but it was too late. A massive claw tore through her stomach all the way across her chest and up to her shoulder! Blood flow from her wound as she was launched a few feet away, collapsing on the cold ground.
She lay helplessly as she stared wide-eyed at the blood pouring from her wound. Her body screamed in pain, but she was too horrified to react. That didn't just happen. It couldn't. Yet it had made a mortal injury stretched right across her body, leaking blood for all to see.
A loud footstep broke her trance. Looking up, she saw the Werewolf standing above her. She tried to scream, but as she breathed in, her lungs filled with blood, silencing her and making her cough. Somehow, not even being able to speak made it a hundred times worse.
"Nooooo!" Yang screamed as she threw herself forward and punched the Werewolf's injured leg. It howled in pain and fell to one knee. But instead of swinging at the new attacker, it tried to attack Cinder again. Only missing her by a hair.
As it raised it's arm to strike again, Yang leapt onto it's back and trying to hold it's arm in place. A little ways away, Ruby had bolted from her hiding place and was running towards them. Zwei had already reached them and was viciously biting the Werewolf's injured leg.
Furious at the interruptions, the Werewolf smacked the dog several feet away with where he rolled painfully across the ground, before coming to a stop. He wasn't moving and from her angle, didn't appear to be breathing either. Cinder tried to cry out to the dog, but began choking on her own blood, causing her even more pain.
With the dog gone, the Werewolf gave his other arm an aggressive jerk, causing Yang to go flying off. The girl landed in some bushes, tangling her hair up. As she struggled to free herself, Yang was now helpless as well, letting the Werewolf to turn its attention back to Cinder.
The girl tried to move, to fight, to do ANYTHING to get away, but her body just refused to listen. Even now she could feel herself becoming colder and colder. All around her the world began getting darker and her body just kept getting heavier.
Was she going to die?
"Go away!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Cinder say Ruby hitting the Grimm with a branch that was far too thin to do any damage. She tried to call out, but her voice was weak and barely audible. She didn't think Ruby could hear her.
"Go away you meany!" Ruby screamed as she continued to hit the Werewolf. "Leave my sisters alone! I'm not going to let you take them away!" Annoyed, the Werewolf swiped at Ruby, causing the little girl fell back, blood flowing from her cheek.
Cinder saw tears in the girl's eyes. She was hurt and scared, but she charged forward again, this time hitting the Grimm with her fists. Unfortunately, that wasn't any more effective than the stick.
"N-no…Ruby….run…away.!" Cinder wheezed. She tried to get to her feet, but couldn't even get to her elbows before falling back onto the ground. "You…can't win….just…GO!" Despite her pleas, the younger girl continued to hammer the Werewolf with her bare hands, trying to do something to save her sisters.
Suddenly, the Werewolf backhanded the girl, knocking her a few feet away. She landed painfully on the same side as her already injured knee. And this time, she couldn't seem to get up. She managed to pull herself to her knees, but her leg must have been injured as when she tried to stand, she fell back down.
"No!" Ruby screamed as she started grabbing dirt and throwing it at the Werewolf. "Get away from her! She's can't leave! Mom said we're supposed to be a family! I want both my sisters to be a family! Go away! Please! Please…" Unable to hold it back, Ruby lowered her head and began to sob.
The Werewolf looked blankly in Ruby's direction, then to Yang's, as the girl began desperately ripping her hair from her head, it must be reading the emotions of the other combatants, trying to figure out who was the highest priority, but it quickly turned back to Cinder. It must know she was the strongest and wanted her dead before she could fight back. Cinder let out a dry chuckle. She had always wanted to be the strongest, now she got her wish. And she was going to die because of it.
Cinder squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the finishing blow. She hoped Yang could free herself in time and get her and Ruby out of there. That way she would have kept her promise to Summer, they would be safe.
Her body was casted into shadow as the Grimm's fists rose high above her. Apparently it was going to crush her head and be done with it. Hey, Cinder could think of more painful ways to go.
"NOOOOOOOOO!
Immediately, the clearing was filled with a blinding silver light as what looked like wing shot from Ruby's eyes. The Werewolf turned, face a mask of (what Cinder thought was) terror as the light raced towards it.
As they were both engulfed, Cinder pressed her face against the ground trying to avoid the light. It almost felt like heat as it raced across her back. What the hell was going on!? Was this Ruby's semblance!?
No. Cinder had felt this before when she had fought Rouge. Summer had done something similar to incapacitate the Grimm that had attacked them, only her's had much weaker. Was this why Rouge had been after her and Ruby?
As the light faded, Cinder looked up to see the Werewolf had turned to stone. She only caught a glimpse though, as the next second, it turned to dust that crumbled in the wind.
"What was that?" Yang said as she stumbled over. Her hair was now even shorter and messy that someone could easily mistake her for a boy. Cinder tried to make a rude joke, but found it to hard to move her mouth.
In fact, her eyes were getting heavy and her vision was blurry. She hoped it was from the sliver flash, but she knew full well it wasn't. With nothing left inside her, Cinder laid her head down and closed her eyes letting the darkness consume her.
As her world started disappearing around, she heard Yang's voice as if it was down a long tunnel. "Ruby? Ruby! Cinder! Ruby's not moving! I think she nee-! Cinder? Cinder!? No, no ,no no! What do I do!? Cinder! Please wake up! Tell me what to do! Do you want to run all the way home!? Come on! Give me something! Cinder! CINDER!"
"Oh good grief." Cinder thought. She tried to run down the tunnel to find Yang, but couldn't see anything, it was so dark and cold. She sat down exhausted, trying to catch her breath. A quick break wouldn't kill her, right?