I have been listening to the Fifthteenth Doctor's theme all week. Cannot wait to meet him proper.
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
So much of her past was a blur for one reason or another, some understandable, others not so much. Cinder could only remember bits of the past.
The long hours scrubbing the floors in an orphanage in Mistral.
The fights the other kids picked with her because she was weird.
And here and there, there were some memories of having to comfort Cass because of what happened during the day.
Back then, it was only her and Cass. They came from wildly different places, but they didn't care. Cinder's exact origins were still unknown, even to this day. And Cass? A child orphaned by an accident, and then dumped by some relatives after she got too...expensive.
In the orphanage, the two of them had grown close. Cinder was older, so maybe she felt this need to protect the young Cass. She was half Cinder's age, after all, and more prone to falling victim to the roughhousing kids in the orphanage.
But maybe the two didn't have to worry about that anymore.
She came one day.
She'd come seeking wards to be taken away from the orphanage and considering the sum of money she was willing to donate to the proprietors of the children's home, they were more than happy to oblige. Out of the handful of kids the orphanage had, she selected the two found-sisters because they "looked presentable".
And now, here they were, standing in front of a hotel in the City of Atlas. Cinder only knew the country back then. The shining city in the clouds, with all its lights, sounds, people, and advancements, it was all so brand new to her. She peered up at the building and looked around at bystanders down the street.
"Big," the younger Cass whispered as she held onto Cinder's hand carefully.
"Yeah," Cinder murmured, as she and Cass were amazed by the size of that building.
The Madame stood in front of the door to the elegant yet still imposing building. Light could be seen shining out from the windows. Situated above the porch, right in front of the main window, was an illuminated sign that read, in stylized script, The Glass Unicorn. Bit of an odd name, Cinder had to admit.
"Come now," the Madame said sternly, snapping Cinder and Cass out of their shock. The Madame opened the door to her hotel and led the two inside to a crowded, ornate lobby with people happily conversing about their day, some even doing so over a nice, alcoholic drink. It helped to deal with the stress, if there was any, from everything prior. Most, if not all, of the guests seemed to be Hunters. Madame led the two through a door behind the front desk, into an employee room. She cleared her throat to get Cinder's attention.
Cinder and Cass looked over to see two other girls beside the Madame. One had brown hair and wore a more boyish but still feminine outfit, the other had blonde hair but had a dress on. They both had their mother's skin, a headband and turquoise colored eyes.
And both of them had that same bitchy expression painted on their face.
But Cass wasn't really focused on that. Her eyes were on the loaves of bread behind the two, seemingly freshly baked if the steam coming off of them was anything to go by.
"You two of you are to make sure the laundry is folded, the dishes are spotless, and the floors are clean enough to eat off of." The Madame said as she walked away.
"C-can we have some food?" the younger of the new arrivals asked.
Cass' words caused Madame to freeze and her daughters gasped. The straight-haired one raised an eyebrow at her and the curly-haired one giggled. With a sly smile, the madame picked up a roll and tossed it onto the floor in front of the two.
"Now hurry and get to your chores. The floor looks filthy." The Madame snarked.
The girls laughed like the little bitches they were, before they walked out. Cass and Cinder shared an uneasy look, before they both knelt down to pick up the roll.
"I thought we were gonna go someplace better…" Cass whispered.
So did I, Cinder thought to herself, trying her best not to cry.
The next year of their life was nothing but a hellish routine they had to follow. The two girls were basically working a normal nine to five job, completely unpaid. The worst part was that they were basically doing every single bit of actual physical work in the entire establishment. No other help was present, making the Madame's true intentions for "adopting" Cass and Cinder all too clear. She just wanted cheap labor. Washing clothes, cleaning the dishes, serving food, dusting the glass statues that decorated all five floors of the hotel, all of that was handled by two young girls.
Punishments were dolled out for the simplest of things, from breaking one of the glass statues to missing a speck of dust. They varied in delivery to, from "no dinner" or "a creative punishment from the girls". After those started becoming more common, the Madame decided to up the ante.
Cinder learned about the new "accessory" to her hotel outfit after she broke some dishes by accident. The Madame had a sadistic streak to her which she showcased here in a rather cruel display. First, she comforted Cinder, giving her the tiniest ounce of care since she'd gotten here.
"There there," the hotel owner said, rubbing Cinder's head in reassurance, "It's okay. We can replace them."
"I'm...I'm sorry," Cinder muttered, daring not to make eye contact with her boss.
"Listen, we all make mistakes." The Madame explained."Even I do…" She reached into her pocket and pulled something out.
"Here. A gift for you," the Madame held out her hand to offer the terrified girl something. Cinder looked down to see a necklace with a finely-cut yellow jewel in the center.
Cinder was purely enamored with it, immediately putting it on and allowing the widest and happiest grin to appear on her face.
"Do you like it?" The Madame asked.
"Y-yeah! But why are you giving this t-" Cinder never finished her question. The Madame brandished a remote and quickly pressed a single button. Cinder suddenly felt a shock run through her body before she let loose a bloodcurdling scream. The painful current was too much and she collapsed to the ground, huffing and puffing as it felt like her heart would leap out her chest..
"Like I said, girl. We all make mistakes. Mine was being too lenient on you." The Madame frowned. She walked off, not noticing Cinder starting to tear up a little. The tiniest bit of compassion was nothing but a lie.
The abuse to poor Cass was far worse than Cinder had ever expected. Because she was smaller, Cinder's "sisters" found it easier to "mess" with her.
Physically. Like the little sociopaths they were.
"Oh, don't worry," Bella (The Blonde) grinned, as she slammed her foot down into the weakened Cassandra.
"This one doesn't talk. She never does! And even if she did, she'd never say a word against us." Livia (The Brunette) slammed her heel down on the glass bottle that Cass had dropped, shattering it to pieces.
"Oh, how clumsy you are!" Livia sneered. "Sister. I think she needs to be taught a lesson-"
Bella brought down her sharp heel once more, aiming to strike Cass on the head- she'd just tell her mother that the servant made another clumsy mistake, not a big deal. The glass fragments could serve as their defense.
Of course, it was their fault for breaking the glass in the first place. And you know that saying, karma catches up to you at some point?
The sisters were going to fall victim to that.
The sister's heel slammed down on Cass' head, expecting her head to bust open, but instead, her body just...glitched, small bits of energy crackling around her diminutive frame. The sister raised her eyebrow, but she shook it off as a trick of the light. She just tried again and again and again, each hit accompanied by that same cackling energy effect.
Before long, Cass shot her tormentors the angriest look a child of her age could muster-
And exploded.
Cinder didn't remember a few big details but she remembered the scene of the room, the blood and the sight of glass fragments being caught in the sister's bodies. Bella was unlucky enough to get some glass lodged in her eyes.
Not that she didn't deserve it. She was the cause of all that trouble.
She didn't remember what Madame did next but it was a while before she saw Cass again.
A very long time.
The next memory Cinder remembered took place a few weeks after that. The sisters were lucky. Because this was Atlas and their mother was rather wealthy thanks to this accused hotel, they were able to get fixed up in no time. A big perk of Atlesian medical science was taking a major injury like what Bella suffered and turning it into something not so physically traumatic. One would think they would have learned their lesson, but they were a stubborn duo. They just blamed Cass for blowing up at them, "unprovoked" they told the Madame.
Cinder didn't remember how long exactly since Bella was injured and to be honest, she didn't want to. She was- at this point she was desperate to free herself and Cass from their tormentors. Just as luck had smiled down on her twin tormentors, Cinder had gotten some good fortune herself. A Huntsmen, not from Atlas by the look of him, stopped in at that building. He seemed, well, Cinder didn't really care what he was like, she was more concerned with the fact he had a few too many weapons on him. From what she could see, the man had two large maces on his back and a backup sword in its sheath at his side.
The sword probably didn't see much use anyway, so he wouldn't even miss it. When he wasn't looking and most of the other guests at the time just ignored her for being "hired help," Cinder managed to steal the blade.
Stolen weapon in hand, she had retreated back to her 'room'- a makeshift bedroom in one of their storage areas. It was barely lit, had a mattress without a bedframe, but it was the nicest thing Cinder ever had in a long while.
Well, beyond the sword. Cinder had never held a weapon before, only seen them. And this...this was a beautiful sword.
She looked over the weapon, what little light there was barely reflecting off the blade. It was obviously heavy in her smaller hands; there was no way she could swing it properly. But you didn't need training when you wanted to stab someone. With this stolen sword, Cinder and Cass could both be free of this hell.
But there was just one problem with her plan. Not all the guests were as unobservant as she'd hoped.
"Alright, what gives?" a voice faintly echoed behind her, "Someone took my damn sword."
"Uh oh." Cinder said, quickly shoving the sword under her mattress. It was the best place to hide it- her mother would refuse to touch the 'old mattress', because it meant she had to do work.
"Apologies for the inconvenience, sir," One of Cinder's step sisters said, she honestly couldn't tell which and she didn't care, "We'll help you look for it."
That made Cinder panic slightly more. With more people looking, the more likely she was to be discovered.
Cinder just laid in her bed for a while, hearing the shuffling of feet and the chatter of others. Atlas always had a large collection of hunters around.
Somewhere during that time, she must have relaxed and let her guard down, because, what seemed like an hour or so later, she was surprised by someone speaking out.
"I think I know where my sword went now," a familiar voice said, that of the Huntsmen she stole the weapon from.
Cinder stood back up, shocked that someone had found her back here, in her corner of nothing. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, as she took a stance, like she was ready to fight.
"Easy, kid." The hunter said. "I'm not gonna fight you."
To show he was serious, the hunter took the two maces off of his back and laid them on the ground, hopefully a good enough gesture. Cinder was about ready to rush him to land the first hit, before he kicked the weapons away, letting them roll a few feet in front of him.
"See?"
Cinder lowered her guard a bit, but only a bit. If something happened, she would strike back. She knew how her "mother" worked. The kindness she was shown was always a lie.
"Where's the sword?" The hunter asked.
"It's...um..." Cinder hesitated, inadvertently looking over to the mattress in her panic.
"Uh-huh," he kept his hands raised in front of him as he started to walk around Cinder towards the mattress. He looked at the living conditions she was dealing with, but describing them as such might have been generous honestly.
The hunter lifted up her mattress slightly, and picked up the sword. "Huh. Must have been mistaken. This isn't my sword"
"…what?" Cinder asked.
"You heard me," the hunter smirked a bit before handing it back to Cinder, his hand carefully gripping the blade so she could take the hilt, "Now, I get the feeling I know what you're thinking. Not getting the fairest treatment around here, are you?"
"No...we're not," Cinder said, "and I'm going to-"
"Hurting them's not gonna make things better. If anything it'll make things worse. You can run, but you'll never stop running. Or you can take another way."
"…what's the other way?" Cinder asked. All she knew was agony, and revenge was the fastest way to get freedom of some sort.
"How old are you?" the hunter asked, letting go of the sword once Cinder had taken hold of the sword's hilt.
"Ten." Cinder said. The man's face contorted a bit. He seemed a bit shocked and angry at that revelation.
"Ten," his face softened a bit, "Seven years then."
"Seven years...for what?"
"For training. So you can take the Huntsman exam. That is, if that's the path you want to take."
"What can a career as a huntress do for me?" Cinder asked, a bit confused.
"You get to travel, meet people...and help people like yourself." The man said. "The forgotten."
"The forgotten," Cinder repeated, looking down at the blade. She was silent for a moment, thinking it over before she added in one thing.
"If I say yes...will you teach Cass too? Whenever she's...let out?"
"Sure." The man nodded, "Is she your-?"
"Sister. Not…not related but still," Cinder nodded.
"I get it. Sometimes the family you find is better than the family you have. I'll teach her."
"Thank you," Cinder said, bowing her head in respect. "Um. I never got your name, by the way, Mister..."
"Please. Just call me Rhodes." The man smiled.
Cinder smiled back a bit, feeling more hopeful that she had for...well for the entire time she and Cass had been here.
A few nights later, Rhodes visited Cinder again and started her training. By some miracle, Cass had been released from her imprisonment as well. After introductions were made, the two could begin training together. Just some basic sparring so Rhodes could see what he was dealing with. There was definitely talent there, for both of them, they just needed to refine it a bit. Cinder threw a few punches at Rhodes that the more experienced Hunter was able to easily block or redirect, while Cass watched from the sidelines.
"You have your thumb tucked inside the knuckle. That's not good. Punch too hard, and you could dislocate your thumb." Rhodes noted. "You need to put it outside of it."
"Like this?" Cinder asked, trying to correct her mistakes before throwing another easily deflected punch.
"It's better, but your guard is too low. You have to remember to keep a good guard up." Rhodes said. "But at the same time, you have to be hyper aware of your surroundings. Weaponize it, if you can. But NEVER leave the vitals open."
"Never leave vitals open...right. Grimm are just like animals, so they'd go for those..." Cinder mused.
"We'll worry about how to take down Grimm after you pass the exam, alright?" Rhodes chuckled a bit.
"And the most important thing. NEVER lose control in the fight or flight moment. Adrenaline and instinct can give us that "special" energy which urges us to ignore defense to attack to the bitter end. ANd while it could work against SOME people, it'll never work against everybody." Rhodes pointed at his facial scar. "This was from a mistake I made when I was in my 'fight or flight' mode."
"Right..." Cinder muttered to herself, going for another hit.
Rhodes quickly blocked another strike, the wooden blade thudding against his own. She'd been practicing, good. He unleashed a small flurry of his own strikes, Cinder managing to block most of them save the last one which cracked against her shoulder. She recoiled a bit, but before Rhodes could call it off, Cass joined the fray, throwing a pretty good right jab into Rhodes' side. There wasn't too much force behind it, but she aimed it perfectly to stagger the veteran hunter a bit, giving Cinder time to recover.
Their sparring session was lit only by the moonlight pouring in from the windows, the moon itself now showing a partially broken phase, a sign that time had passed significantly.
"You're improving." Rhodes said. "Good footing, great positioning. you might have found a calling, kid. And here Ironwood told me I wasn't teacher material."
"Teacher?" Cinder asked.
"Yeah. A few years back, I tried to wiggle my way into Atlas' academy for some benefits and break from some travels, but Ironwood turned me down for some reason. Said I wasn't 'what Atlas needed'."
"What Atlas needed...guessing that's really only a decision he makes?"
"Feels like that sometimes, even with the other counselors there. But, silver lining's always something to look for there," Rhodes smirked a bit, "If he said yes, might not be here."
"What were you even gonna teach?" Cass asked.
"This." Rhodes said as some purple energy flashed around his body, "I wouldn't mind having some kids take me on. I can take any sort of blow that comes my way."
"Semblance?" Cinder asked.
"Wow. They really kept you in the dark." Rhodes realized, a bit disappointed. He held up his arm, as some sort of metal formed around his arms. "I call it my Metal Skin. It's useful against a lot of bullets."
"What...can a Semblance do?" Cass asked, interested.
"That depends on the person. Semblances themselves aren't entirely understood. Some people think it's a manifestation of the soul. It takes a part of your personality and turns it into a power. Everyone's Semblance is gonna be different. Some people have super strength or speed, some have telekinesis, some of them can't be turned off. Way too many differences to give a solid answer."
"So everyone has a super power then?" Cass perked up.
"If you wanna think about it like that, yeah. But there are two steps to finding out what your Semblance is. One is unlocking your Aura. You can either do it yourself with training, or have someone jump-start it. The second is to actually unlock your Semblance which can happen any time."
"How'd you get yours?" Cinder asked.
"I was fighting a Grimm. Almost got tackled by a Boarbatusk, brought my arms up to try and tank the damage. Skin went iron and then the Grimm bounced off, a lot more hurt than me," Rhodes said.
"Cooooool," Cinder and Cass said in awed unison.
"Hey, Cass. When the twins hurt you and you unleashed that weird pulse of energy. Do you think that was your Semblance?" Cinder asked, tilting her head.
"Maybe? I just couldn't take anymore hits from them, and...yeah." Cass frowned.
"Maybe that was it. After all, stress is the most common factor to awakening a Semblance," Rhodes theorized.
"Wonder what my Semblance is," Cinder pondered, as she looked down at her hands.
"There are some rare cases of people not having one. It's a sad situation, but it increases their skillset in a way by working harder." Rhodes said. "Trust me. Things will get better from here on out. I'll help you in any way I can."
At the time, Cinder thought Rhodes was the best.
But in the present, all she saw him for was just a miserable man, trying to do the minimum to help someone.
From that first night of training, though, more and more time passed. Rhodes had, essentially, turned the Glass Unicorn into a sort of home-away-from-home. Every other night when he was there, Cinder and Cass would train under his watchful eye. Sometimes they just practiced the motions on the air, other times they would spar against each other or Rhodes himself.
The days were hellish, with both girls suffering under their step sisters and step mother, forcing the two to work themselves to the bone. But the nights quickly came to be adored, since that was when they could actually prepare for something beyond the walls of the hotel. But Rhodes was still a Hunter, he had missions to go on and other people to save. During those absences, they still practiced what Rhodes had previously thought them, but each day felt longer and longer than when he was there.
Years passed, with Cinder and Cass having aged a bit more from when they had first met Rhodes. The Hunter had aged as well, now sporting noticeable streaks of gray in his hair, at least when the two girls saw him. The last time the duo had seen him, Rhodes gave them the best news they could've ever heard.
"Two more years. Two more years and neither of you will need your guardian's permission. You'll be free," Rhodes nodded. Cinder and Cass looked at eachother, the latter practically ready to cry in joy at the news. Just two more years and then they'd never need to worry about this hellhole again.
Now, Rhodes had left a week ago, the very morning after he told the girls, for another mission. This one was in the tundra of Solitas, so the return trip wouldn't be that bad.
There was just one problem.
The Madame of the hotel was organizing the paperwork and payments from a profitable day's work. Some of her customers had established payment plans to rent rooms for weeks, a worthwhile investment if one were to ask her. But as she filed away another payment, her daughters rushed into the lobby.
"Mom, come quick!" Bella spoke up, "It's Cinder! She has a weapon!"
The madame raised a brow at that, but decided to follow them.
Nineteen minutes later, Rhodes entered the lobby and took immediate notice of the lack of staff in the lobby. Usually the owner herself would at least be up for a little while. He walked up to the front desk, looking around before calling back.
"Hello? Anyone?" Rhodes asked.
Rhodes looked around the area. The Madame would usually be at her desk. She didn't go to bed until around 12. Where was she?
That's when Rhodes heard something crash in the room over.
He rushed over to the source of the crash to investigate, shoving open a partially closed and racing back. An uneasy feeling started to crawl up his spine when he came to the door that led to Cinder and Cass' room. He threw open the door to see the worst possible scenario, right as the clock struck midnight. Both of the madame's daughters were lying limp on the stone floor. Cass was nowhere to be seen but Cinder was at the far end of the room, holding her stepmother by the throat. The Glass Unicorn's owner was rapidly clicking on the button to activate Cinder's necklace, constantly shocking the girl.
"You're right. Without you I am nothing," Cinder said with her eyes closed, ignoring the pain, "But because of you, I am everything!" The girl opened her eyes and a sudden, sickening crunch filled the room. The shocking stopped and the remote to the necklace clattered to the ground, followed by the thud of the madam's body limply hitting the floor.
"Cinder..." Rhodes trailed off, in total shock at the carnage around him. When she heard his voice, Cinder turned to her mentor and her eyes widened before she forced herself to give a broken, uncertain smile.
"W-we won't have to run now!" Cinder stammered.
"No. That's all you'll ever do now," Rhodes said sadly, before he drew his twin maces.
"…what?" Cinder whimpered, her face shifting to a confused expression.
"You shouldn't have killed them. They were assholes…but you crossed a line." Rhodes frowned. Looking at Cinder was hard right now.
"But-but they would've taken away our weapons! They would've made sure we never saw you again! They knew!" Cinder yelled on the brink of tears, trying to rationalize her actions.
"And I would've covered for you." Rhodes said. "You should have waited-"
"…I've waited…years for an escape." Cinder growled, anger growing in her voice. "I've endured nightmares and survived abuse from these terrible people…and you just let it happen. I wanted to BELIEVE that you could help me get out of here! WHY WERE YOU SO OKAY WITH WHAT THEY DID?!"
"You thought I was? I wanted to get you out of here, but money's what makes this damn city work. I can't just brute force my way through every problem!" Rhodes argued.
"YOU SHOULD'VE! I DID AND IT WORKED!" Cinder yelled, tears of rage pouring down her face.
"…you're not well. I'll make sure Cass gets in a better home-" Rhodes began, before Cinder leapt at him, weapons aimed for his neck.
"YOU'RE NOT TAKING HER!" Cinder yelled as she struck. Her blades met with Rhodes' maces, the weapons clashing before Rhodes quickly slammed his head into Cinder's, knocking her back and onto the ground.
"Last chance, Cinder!" Rhodes said, hoping she'd take the offer. Cinder just got back to her feet, completely ignoring the hit she tanked. She wasn't done yet. With her answer all but confirmed, Rhodes spun his maces in his hands, the heads expanded outwards slightly to reveal gun barrels. His fingers hooked the triggers and he began to open fire. The younger Cinder was hit twice by the opening barrage, sidestepping the other shots and letting them hit a wardrobe behind her.
A bag of sand fell next to Cinder from atop the wardrobe after it was shaken loose by the bullets. She quickly grabbed and threw the bag of sand at Rhodes, but, thinking it was something heavier, the Hunter shot it and the sand exploded everywhere, blinding Rhodes for a moment. The girl took the chance and not only based one of the Hunter's weapons aside, she landed a series of four rage-fueled slashes on her former mentor, causing his purple Aura to flicker.
Cinder's rage was all consuming, spreading throughout her body like a red hot fire. The rage built up more and more, reaching a boiling point. Quite literally.
Cinder latched onto Rhodes' arm, and her eyes lit up. "DIE!" She screamed.
Cinder's hand began to glow and began to burn. Rhodes cried out in pain and, in response, slammed his mace into Cinder's face, knocking the rage-fueled girl into the nearest wall and causing her Aura to break. Her sword skid across the ground as Rhodes loomed over Cinder, his Aura now breaking entirely.
"I'm sorry, Cinder," Rhodes sighed.
"So am I," a softer voice whispered, before the sound of metal piercing flesh echoed in the room, causing both Cinder's and Rhodes' eyes to widen in shock. Cinder's sword, the weapon that Rhodes had knocked away from her, was now piercing his chest.
And Cass was holding the hilt.
"…why did you sit by and watch us suffer with her?" Cass said, as she stepped into the light. She had scrapes and bruises all over her body. "They beat me, you know. They wanted me to tell them who gave us the weapons. But I refused to sell you out. And you repay us by…by…"
Cass just closed her eyes and slowly slid the sword in deeper. "I hate you," she hissed.
Rhodes looked behind him in utter shock, before another blade pierced his body. Cinder had recovered and stabbed the blade she still had into the other side of her former mentor's body.
"We just wanted out," Cinder sobbed, "That was it!" Much to Cinder's shock, Rhodes put a hand on her head, like he was trying to comfort her.
"I know..." Rhodes muttered, before Cass ripped the blade free of the Hunter's body. Cinder reluctantly withdrew her blade as well, almost like she was in shock, before Rhodes' body slumped and fell to the ground.
Cinder stared at the bodies for a few moments. The stillness of what was once living was strange for her. Cinder half expected them to get back up, but alas. No such response.
Not that she wanted it.
"...Cass. We need to clean one last time before we leave. It's rude." Cinder said, walking towards the bodies. She got the blade from Rhodes' lifeless body, and walked over to the Madame's. "Help me cut her up."
"I have a better idea," Cass said, grabbing a few pieces of cloth from around the backroom, "We burn this place."
"But people will notice faster." Cinder countered "And they'll never find them..." Cinder kicked the Madame in the head one last time. "I want the world to see them like this."
"That's fair, I guess. I just...don't like the idea of this place still standing. Let someone else use it the same way she did."
"One day, when we're older, if this place is still up, we'll burn it down. Together. Does that sound nice?" Cinder asked.
"I'll hold you to that," Cass replied.
"Now. Hold her head." Cinder said, and Cass did so. Cinder swung the blade-
The scene the next morning was described as 'gruesome'. The smell of death hung in the air, but there was no discernable source. It felt like it was everywhere.
When some of the tenants of the hotel awoke and discovered the grim scene, the police were immediately called and the bodies discovered. Rhodes was immediately identified, given his signature dual maces. While some of the tenants did make mention of the two wards that the madame had on staff, it was believed that they were kidnapped. However, no evidence ever surfaced about this kidnapper and the case ended up going cold.
Cinder and Cass were already halfway out of the city by the time the police actually started looking into things. From there, well, it would be some time before the duo would meet the Dark Queen herself. The details for that meeting would have to wait, however.
Hours must have passed in the real world, for when Cinder woke, the sun was already shining in on her. She sleepily got up and blinked a few times. Were it not for that dream, she might have slept more peacefully. She was still rested, though, and in the end, that's all that mattered to her.
Cinder looked up at the sky for a few moments, and then her hands. Years ago, she took the life of Rhodes, a man she could trust...but he failed her. So many people had failed her.
But the situation at hand was a great opportunity.
But first they needed to get back to the city. She looked around to see if the Hong Kong gang were awake yet. The fact that she didn't see them probably meant they were outside waiting for her or still asleep themselves. If she played her cards right, she could return to Salem with a powerbase like Zs'skayr's. He has his cult, she'll have an army of brutal crime syndicates at her back.
Cinder got up and walked over, only to find the others were still asleep too. Looks like they couldn't survive the night shift.
"Wake up." Cinder said, plugging Cricket's nose (she was the only one with a visible nose at the moment). Cricket spluttered awake, coughing.
"The hell, Amber!?" She yelled.
"Consider it payment for not actually making it through nightwatch," Cinder huffed, "Now, wake the others up. I get the feeling we still have a ways to go before we're back to Kuchinashi."
Cricket huffed. "Why are we going back there? People want us dead."
"Yes, but I know how to persuade people with the right words." Cinder explained. "I can say what they wanna hear..."
"So...what, you're gonna talk our way back into their good graces?"
"Something like that. That and, well we do need food and a more proper shelter than this place," Cinder jabbed her thumb back towards the shack.
"Touche," Cricket agreed.
Tuck and Skywdd woke up soon after.
"Man...I didn't expect to have a good night sleep." Tuck yawned.
"No one did." Cinder said.
"I mean, aside from the idea that one of the syndicates might catch us keeping awake, I slept pretty-" Skywdd began.
"No one," Cinder interrupted, "Sorry, just...bad dream is all." Cinder couldn't be accused of deceit on that one at least.
"I can imagine the stress dreams you'd have after that experience." Skywdd said.
You couldn't. Not in a million years. Cinder thought.
"Let's just...get ready to head out," Cinder said, shaking her head clear of the stress.
"Still not sure if it's a good idea. Some of them don't really do the talking thing," Cricket said.
"Some of who?" Tuck asked.
"The syndicates. I'm going to convince them not to take the Wave's bounty on us," Cinder answered.
"I'm curious as to WHAT your plan is here." Tuck said. "Those guys...oh, they were something."
"And I have a way with words." Cinder said, with a small smile.
"Right. Well, tell us the whole thing when we get back to the city, ok?"
"Promise."
"Wait, you're ok'ing this?" Cricket asked.
"It's not ideal if we have to owe one of these guys something...but it's even worse with them hunting for us. They already have a full team of Hunters on our trail. With the bounty the Wave's got on our heads, it's only a matter of time before more people get attracted to it," Tuck explained.
"The hell are you gonna offer them?" Skwydd asked. "The lady who put out the order drove a hard bargain."
"Well, depends on which one I'm talking to first. Was hoping we could brainstorm that when we're back in the city," Cinder agreed, stretching a bit, "Now then, think its time we start. We can rest when we actually have good beds to lay on."
"I'll be shocked if you can talk to one without them killing us." Tuck said, as Cinder began to walk off.
"Prepare to be." Cinder said with a grin.
The trek through the Mistralian mountains and forests was mostly uneventful. The most harrowing thing that the group did on the way back to civilization was hide from a pack of Ursai. The Grimm had made a den up here, no doubt attracted by the negativity that still lingered in the ruins. If the circumstances were different, she could just summon up her usual weapons and deal with them easily, but for now, stealth was the best option. After somehow managing to get past the Grimm undetected, they reached the outskirts of Kuchinashi after four more hours of trekking through the wilderness.
"That was a nightmare." Tuck huffed, wiping sweat from his brow. "I dunno if I can even take a fight right now."
"Then just- just stick to the shadows. We can find a place to crash and then think over the plan," Cinder sighed.
"Promise?" Cricket said, her feet aching.
"Always." Cinder said, as they walked towards town.
With the Hong Kong gang's knowledge of the city, it was easy to find a motel that was cheap enough for them to rent out for the night and out of the way enough to where the syndicates wouldn't come knocking. As soon as the gang walked into the room, Tuck walked right up to the nearest bed and flopped down on it.
"Not the best bed, not the worst, I'll take it," Tuck sighed in relief.
"Enjoy it." Cinder said, pulling down the blinds. "We'll be planning our next few moves in here. We won't spend too much time outside, and we'll only get food if we really need-"
Cinder's belly growled. "…it. Like now."
"Something cheap or?" Skywdd asked.
"I'll take anything." Cinder said.
"Ramen. it is then?" Cricket asked.
"Yeah. Ramen'll do." Cinder nodded.
She couldn't plot on an empty stomach.