Cinder had always had a desperate craving for validation. For a short period of time, she had achieved such a thing only to have it swept out from under her in the most unceremonious and abrupt fashion. It took only a day for her situation to change from being a potential high-ranking agent of Those Above All to that of an irrelevant child seen as illegitimate by all of her peers and elders. Over time, that desire for validation warped within her, steeped in anger and twisted by resentment.
By the time she had met Salem, she desired power more than approval, and had learned that she could only trust her own ambitions. Even so, Cinder's attitude had shifted slowly, and her guard had slipped ever so slightly. Salem's words seemed so genuine, and her promises of opportunity sweet enough that Cinder found herself beginning to relax around her new allies. Despite all that she had been told about the white witch, life seemed so much more straightforward in her new line of service. And so it was that when Tyrian approached her as she was giving orders to her former superiors to continue cleaning the wreckage around the temple, Cinder was caught completely by surprise.
"The goddess demands your presence," the faunus said as he rubbed his hands together before himself. "You and I are going on a little journey…"
Cinder blinked, the sudden cold pit in her stomach having nothing at all to do with the climate of her surroundings.
"A… journey?" the young woman asked as she brushed back an errant lock of long black hair. "But there's still so much work to do here…"
"That isn't for you to determine," Tyrian chided. "Furthermore, with our conquest of the mountaintop and your former clan, the resources to tackle multiple problems at once are now within our reach. You should be honored that you've been entrusted to handle one of them so far from here so early in your tenure with our goddess. She seems to have faith in your abilities, for whatever reason."
"Far from here?" Cinder asked as she narrowed her eyes. "Where?"
"I see no reason to inform you," Tyrian evaded as he circled the girl, his hands still clasped. "It would spoil the fun."
"This is fun to you, is it?" Cinder snapped. "My entire way of life was just uprooted, and now, suddenly, I not only have to work directly with you, but S-"
Cinder let out a sharp cry of pain as a searing bolt of agony rushed through her grimm arm. Her only warning was a quick warming sensation within her clawed fingertips before a pain unlike any she had ever felt occupied the entire limb. The sensation was intense enough to make her nearly pass out as black dots danced around the edges of her vision. Cinder's breathing became labored and she lurched forward, clutching the limb. Just as quickly as the horrible sensation had gripped her, it disappeared, leaving her looking needlessly dramatic to those gathered around her.
"Mm… it appears that you've upset her," Tyrian said in an airy tone. "It's never good to keep her waiting, you know. As for whether or not I find this 'fun'… I absolutely do. Even more so, now. Do try to keep up."
Cinder clenched her teeth as she watched Tyrian walk away, his scorpion tail swaying happily behind himself. She could feel the weight of the eyes of her former clansmen upon her as she struggled to stand up straight, her breathing still ragged and her head pounding from the sudden assault of pain. Without a word, she let out a frustrated breath through her nostrils and moved to follow Tyrian to the temple and up the steps. The massive wooden doors had been propped open, leaving the entrance to the structure to be just as cold and bright as the rest of the mountaintop. Not a single candle remained in sight, and the deeper in Cinder walked, the darker the atmosphere became.
It wasn't until one of her footsteps resulted in a squish rather than the clacking sound of boot on stone that Cinder had expected to hear did she realize just why the temple darkened so quickly. Upon looking down, the woman found the floor crawling with a black organic material not unlike that of her grafted arm. Cinder quickly realized that the walls, too, were slowly writhing, and the throne upon which Salem sat seemed to pulsate gently around her.
"Child," the witch offered as she extended a hand outward. "Come to me."
Cinder did as she was told and approached. With a moment of hesitation, she dipped to one knee and bowed her head just before the throne. She could see Shrike standing just next to the great stone chair, and Tyrian on the other side.
"…Tyrian has informed me that you have a task for us," Cinder began. "I am ready to serve."
"Are you?"
The question was enough to make Cinder's spine tingle. Even being on her side, Salem's gaze was enough to chill her to the core more than the coldest weather of the mountaintop.
"…I will go where I am needed."
"You will go to Mantle," Salem ordered. "One of my agents in Solitas has informed me of an… opportunity that I cannot afford to let slip away. I've been monitoring the situation closely, and now seems to be a rare and welcome time to broaden my influence. Civil unrest is bubbling steadily. You and Tyrian will be enough to make it boil over, until even Atlas cannot float above the tide. All it will take is the removal of a few key pieces for the entire system to collapse. Pack well. It will be a year or more before you return."
"A year?" Cinder questioned as she finally stood, looking over her superior with an expression of shock. "But…"
The question died in the woman's throat as Salem stared her into silence.
"Ozma can wait," Salem said. "Raven and Qrow are being taken care of by their Watcher. Leonardo and Hazel are heading to Mistral to destabilize the area. In time, Shrike will join his comrade in Vacuo. I will remain here, with a select few capable subordinates. All will be taken care of."
Cinder could only bring herself to nod, though her attention was fixated upon the stone sarcophagus in the darkness somewhere behind Salem's throne.
"…and Arowana…?"
Salem tapped her nails against the armrest of her throne in a cascading rhythm, her mouth twisting into a devilish smirk.
"I have plans for him, though the time isn't yet right…"
Bartholomew Oobleck hadn't expected to win in his bout against Adam, nor had he expected the bull-horned boy to hold back so effectively. Where there could have been several killing blows or ends to the fight, there had instead been gentle but firm strikes of the hilt of his sword. When Bartholomew could have scored a hit, rather than dodging, Adam had instead chosen to catch his friend's mace with the flat of his blade or within his hand before shoving it back. The behavior was a drastic change from the faunus' original temperament a year prior, or even within an actual combat scenario. Bartholomew found that he felt incredibly proud of his friend's growth, and disappointed with his own.
He was also terrified of the fire in Adam's eye as he fought.
"Well done," Bartholomew offered as he wiped his sweaty hair from his eyes and adjusted his glasses. "Though I can't help but feel a bit… inadequate as your opponent."
"You were fine," Adam reassured as he spun his katana and slipped it back into its sheath. "You've gotten a little better. Besides- you're not at the forefront of our team, out on the field."
Bartholomew couldn't help but feel that he should be at the forefront- it was a notion that gnawed at the edge of his mind more than he was willing to admit.
"Perhaps not," the boy agreed as he collapsed his telescoping mace and dropped it through the loop on the side of his belt. "In any case, we should head out now, if we're to make it to the city before midday."
"Where's the rush?" Taiyang asked as he stood up from his sitting position at the edge of the lot outside of the Schnee beach house. "I was hoping we'd just be walking there leisurely. There's a lot to see out in the desert."
"…there's sand to see," Roman said with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, there's a lot more to see in the city. I'm thinkin' I might stay the night."
"Is that so?" Adam asked. "Planning to stay with BASS?"
"Nah," Roman answered with a wave of his hand. "I wanna check out that place Willow talked to 'em at. Apparently, there's a good bar and places to stay upstairs. Think I might take a day or two and just see the sights alone."
Qrow raised a brow. It was a move that didn't go unnoticed.
"I mean…" Roman continued, instead choosing to look at Taiyang. "If any of you want in, that's fine. I just figured you'd all want to come back here. That's all."
"…right…" Qrow said, sounding entirely unconvinced. "I might take you up on that, then."
"Me, too," Adam agreed, deepening Roman's sudden look of distress. "I want to see Professor Calavera, and talk to Ghira again, as well. Maybe speak to Velvet while I'm there…"
"Wow," Taiyang commented with a grin. "Things look to be getting set in motion pretty quick, then. Maybe I'll hang around, too. See what there is to see. Is there anything else on anybody's 'to-do' list, or are we just improvising?"
"There is one thing," Bartholomew declared, earning the attention of the group. "I don't suppose any of you have heard of the Vacuan Museum of Cultural Relics before?"
The raised brows and looks of confusion among the group told Bartholomew all that he needed to know, and so, he continued.
"Well, I'd like to pay it a visit while we're here. The place is steeped in the history of not just Vacuo, but all of Remnant. The family that owns and operates the museum is apparently incredibly knowledgeable about all sorts of significant artifacts and occurrences long forgotten. They have an entire section dedicated to just the history and culture of the faunus. All of that on top of the fact that we were transporting a legendary relic leaves me very interested in what we might be able to learn from such a place…"
"…I'm in," Adam said immediately. "I know… almost nothing about my own people, compared to what I should. We should bring Ghira along with us..."
"Perhaps we should…" Bartholomew acknowledged cautiously.
"I'm out," Roman said with a wave of his hand. "Sounds like your kind of thing, Barty, but I think I'd rather gag myself with my scarf. History just isn't my thing."
"I'll join you two," Taiyang offered. "Could be fun."
"Me too," Qrow added. "See if they have any information on my clan… and maybe correct some inaccuracies, if they do."
Taiyang suddenly felt ill. The rising sun of the desert seemed to stop supplying him with gentle heat, and instead, he felt more like he was standing within a field of snow. Something, or someone was feeling vengeful in the proximity, but Taiyang had no idea who it was. He quickly looked between each of his friends, and none of their auras suggested anything of the sort. Taiyang could feel eyes upon his back, and he turned to look out over the dunes as he tightened his grip around the shaft of his trident.
"…uh… you good?" Roman asked.
Taiyang squinted, looking out over the surrounding dunes and seeing nothing. The feeling was still there, though more distant. It seemed to come from every direction, as if the emotion behind it was somehow omnipresent.
"…yeah…" Taiyang said slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just get going…"
Author's Note:
His Daddy Sense is tingling.
-RD
