"Is… [Emerald] RUBY… here?" Cinder asked.
Penny's auditory sensors warbled a bit at her voice, but she blamed the glitch on the poor state of the huntress' throat. "She is, yes. Right now she's in the bathroom, though. Did you need her for something?"
Instead of answering, Cinder pushed past Penny and crossed the threshold into Ruby's room. Such behavior was extremely rude in Penny's opinion, especially without asking Ruby's permission to enter first, but she didn't know much about Cinder or her relationship with Ruby. Maybe barging into each other's personal spaces was normal for them?
Regardless, Cinder was here now. While Ruby was indisposed with waste removal, Penny could use this opportunity to gain a new friend in the castle (even if said potential friend kept distorting her ocular sensors, especially when Penny tried analyzing her unusual arm attachment).
Oh! Maybe that could be her ice breaker!
"Do you have gravity dust in your prosthetic?" Penny was genuinely curious. Maybe a custom dust brew of Gravity and Lightning to distort electrical fields? "The metal composition is interesting, too. Did you design the alloy yourself?"
Cinder ignored her (again). She impatiently tapped one foot and scratched furiously at her right shoulder. Though Penny couldn't accurately scan Cinder's biometrics due to the distortion, she did notice inflammation where her lower arm connected to its cybernetic half, the skin burning red and raw. Hmm… that implied the operation was recent (as well as a possible infection). So maybe she just didn't like chatting about a fresh injury (even worse if the accident happened at the tournament).
What else could they talk about? Did they have any shared interests—wait! There was one safe bet!
"So…" Penny began searchingly. "How did you meet Ruby?" Shared interest secured!
That got Cinder's attention, her one visible eye locking onto Penny instantly. "What… you… say?"
"What you say?" Penny echoed, not understanding the awkward grammar of the question. "Is that slang of some kind? I've never heard it before."
Cinder glared at her, which implied Penny made a mistake of some kind—oh! Oh dear! That wasn't slang, it was a speech impediment (most likely related to her throat injury).
You're ruining her first impression of you. Apologize!
"Apologies, friend Cinder. I understand now. I'm sorry if I offended you, that was not my intention."
Cinder exhaled deeply through her nose, closing her eye for a moment as she steadied her shaking fists (that was a bad sign in terms of achieving friendship status).
"Repeat… about… Ruby."
She practically hissed at her last word, spitting out Ruby's name like a curse. That… that was worrying. Were she and Ruby not friends after all?
"I was just asking how she and you met," Penny replied neutrally, testing whether she misunderstood Cinder's feelings. "When I first met Ruby, she changed my life forever. Did she help change yours, too?
If Cinder had looked upset before, she was furious now. The distortion around her arm expanded in Penny's vision, transforming Cinder into a red, violent blob her sensors couldn't pinpoint any part of, like everything she could recognize as the huntress Cinder Fall was devoured entirely by whatever the distortion was.
The rage in her voice, however, was unmistakable.
"You… dare… test… me." Her one eye lit up with fire, most likely an after effect of her semblance (perhaps similar to Yang's). It burned bright enough to shine through the distortion, a beacon of light within an otherwise shadowy mess of static.
If this was how Cinder reacted to just talking about Ruby, then Penny had seen more than enough to make her decision.
"Perhaps you should leave," Penny suggested (strongly). "This is not polite behavior to bring into Ruby's room."
"Ruby's… room?" The distortion receded, focusing once more around her cybernetic arm. Her rage dissipated with it, replaced entirely by confusion. "What… you… mean?"
It took Penny a few moments, but eventually she reasoned Cinder was asking, 'What do you mean?' and responded accordingly.
"I meant exactly what I said. If you are upset with Ruby right now, perhaps you should leave her room until you've managed to calm yourself more."
Though, as Penny spoke, Cinder did calm down. If anything, she seemed… smug? She was certainly grinning, for reasons Penny could not fathom.
Cinder cackled, coughing slightly at each garbled laugh. "Right… Ruby's… room."
Cinder became even more of an enigma with each passing second. Was she unwell? Her mood shifts regarding Ruby were confusing… and a little scary.
What if she hurt Ruby?
Before Penny could repeat herself and ask Cinder to leave (with force, if necessary), the bathroom door opened.
"Sorry about that Penny, just had to—" Ruby froze in the doorway (wearing a new pair of pants, oddly enough). And she wasn't just surprised at seeing Cinder, either—
She was terrified.
Her heart rate spiked at an alarming rate, eyes darting between Cinder and Penny frantically. She braced her arm against the wall to catch herself, as though she were about to fall over.
"C-cinder," Ruby said shakily. "I… I wasn't expecting you."
Ruby's fearful reaction was the only excuse Penny needed to raise her hands in a fighting stance. She may not have had her swords on her (and, in fact, maybe she never would again), but that didn't mean she wasn't perfectly combat ready. She solidified her aura around herself, focusing it around her joints, fists, and shoulders, both to reinforce and strengthen her already titanium-grade body.
However, before she could jump between them (and protect Ruby if necessary), Cinder broke the growing tension with her weary, ragged voice.
"Wanted… apologize… you."
Penny strained to form a coherent thought from Cinder's jumbled half-speak, but Ruby figured it out instantly.
"You… wanted to apologize to me?" Ruby said, Penny's sensors detecting palpable disbelief in her voice. "That's why you dropped by?"
Cinder nodded, approaching Ruby carefully. She reached out with her right (organic) hand and traced her fingertips along Ruby's shoulder.
Ruby flinched at the contact, but slowly leaned into the touch. Her heart slowed considerably, no longer in the sporadic range Penny detected previously.
Penny backed away, not seeing a reason to step in (immediately). She still kept a wary watch over Cinder, in case her mood flipped to something more aggressive. Though, her restraint faltered as Cinder's hand continued to wander across Ruby's skin, descending from her neck and torso until it hooked itself near Ruby's waist.
Something in Penny's core bristled at the sight of it, a jolt of energy that did not feel pleasant as the electricity settled slowly and reluctantly, as though itching to be released. And if Cinder kept scraping her nails like that against Ruby's hip, Penny might just let that electricity run free. Who was Cinder to touch Ruby like that? She wasn't deserving… no—she wasn't worthy of such an honor.
Worthy. That word felt… right, for some reason. Only someone worthy could touch Ruby like that, like they… like—
They owned her? Is that what Penny wanted? For Ruby to… belong to her?
That thought had Penny stuffing that electric feeling back into her core, repressing it until she stamped it out like a trash fire. Where did it come from? Those were not the kind of thoughts someone should have about their best friend (or anyone else, for that matter). Ruby was her own person. If she liked having Cinder up in her face, whispering sweet nothings into her ear, that was her own business (and Penny fought very hard to keep it Ruby's business, purposely refraining her auditory sensors from hearing what was clearly a private moment between the two).
Mercifully, whatever Cinder had whispered in Ruby's ear seemed to be the end of their interaction. The fiery huntress pulled away from Ruby, smirking as she turned away and walked back towards the hall. Before she did, she gave Penny one last narrow-slitted glance. She hesitated briefly in the doorway, as though she wanted to say or do something else to Penny, but held herself back at the last moment and left through the door. She did not close the door behind her (yet more proof of her rude and erratic behavior). Penny elected to close it instead, before glancing over at Ruby to check if she was okay.
Ruby was leaning back against a wall, breathing heavily as she hugged her own chest, gently caressing one spot on her skin:
The last place Cinder had been touching her before she left.
Penny didn't like the implications of what that meant (especially concerning the physical intimacy they seemed to share with one another). She tried not to dwell on it. "Ruby, what was that about?"
Ruby's glazed out expression took a second to focus on her. "Oh? You mean the whispers? She was just asking me to stop by her room later tonight to talk…" She sighed happily. "Among other things."
Penny did not want the clarification behind what "other things" entailed. It also wasn't what she meant to ask about in the first place. "No, not that. I meant… what was she apologizing for?"
At that, Ruby's happy, almost drunken demeanor became something guarded. "Why do you care?"
"I… I just wanted to ask in case it was something serious. She seemed very…" She searched her database for a word with far less negative connotation than 'unhinged'. She eventually settled on, "Spirited."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby rounded on her without warning, causing Penny to back away. "Speak plainly, or not at all."
Penny flinched at her tone, surprised at how suddenly defensive Ruby was acting. She quickly tried to explain herself to diffuse the situation. "Cinder was acting erratic before you walked in, and I was just worried about you—"
"You don't need to, so drop it. Now." Ruby's words left no room for argument, the sheer finality of her statement kicking Penny harder than a Goliath could kick an Atlesian Knight.
Penny trembled at the way Ruby was glaring at her—she didn't mean to make her upset—she had never made her upset before! This was new, uncharted territory in their friendship that Penny didn't know how to navigate.
What did I do? Did I overstep somewhere? Am I misunderstanding something critical about this situation?
Whatever the case, Penny just wanted Ruby to stop being mad at her (desperately so).
"Okay," she relented. "I won't bring it up again, unless you do."
Ruby scoffed. "Trust me," she said coldly. "I won't."
Penny flinched again, and it seemed like Ruby was done with the conversation, but Penny didn't feel comfortable ending it there. It didn't feel resolved.
"You can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?" Penny meant that with every nano-angstrom of her being. She'd rip out her circuits and soul if it meant Ruby would believe her. All she had to do was ask.
Ruby's reply was so harsh it made Penny's aura drop by seven percent. "Yeah, whatever."
Their conversations after that felt hollow and devoid of any warmth for each other. Not on Penny's end, but Ruby became closed off and distant, unwilling (or perhaps unable) to maintain the silly and fun banter they were maintaining before. Penny didn't know what to make of this development. Ruby's reaction had her lost in her thoughts, replaying their interaction over and over again to pinpoint where exactly Penny went wrong and instigated her.
None of her own actions stood out to her (aside from the unpleasant, intrusive thoughts she briefly had that Ruby didn't know about to begin with). But one thing became incredibly clear as she researched those few tumultuous moments on repeat:
Cinder Fall would no longer be deemed friend material.
A few hours after Cinder's departure from Emerald's room, Salem finally dropped by to "pick up" Penny. Yeah, pick up, like Emerald's room was a fucking daycare center.
Gods, she was so pissed off. Even after Salem took Penny away to peruse some "better living accommodations" (whatever that meant), Emerald's stomach broiled in low-simmering anger.
At Penny for sticking her nose in Emerald's relationship—
At Watts for being such a bad fake father that Emerald had to carry his own bullshit cover story almost entirely by herself.
At Oz for… well, existing—
"Yes," Ozpin agreed solemnly. "I'm rather disappointed at that myself, too."
Fuck off.
But worst of all, the one person Emerald was the most pissed at…
Was herself.
She was so distracted by Cinder's surprise visit that she had almost forgotten what had caused her to rush off into her bathroom in the first place:
You're about to, Penny had said to her.
The moment Emerald heard Penny murmur those words so sincerely (at the same time as rubbing up all over her body), Emerald knew she was doomed. She should have pushed Penny away immediately, instead of letting the moment fester and… escalate.
"That is a very roundabout way to describe arousal," Ozpin interjected.
Emerald groaned. Ozpin did not need to spell it out for her. She was there, and she was the one who committed the crime. But Gods, he was right though. She had been aroused. Emerald felt so gross for reacting in such a way towards Penny of all people, as fleeting as the emotion was.
"You felt excited after engaging in physical and emotional intimacy with a woman roughly your own age," Ozpin continued. "I fail to see how that is 'gross' as you phrased it. Nor do I think that particular aspect of the incident is the most pertinent for us to discuss. Not compared to how you lashed out at her afterwards."
"I'm sexually attracted to a toaster in a pretty pink bow," Emerald said flatly. "How does that not make me human garbage?" Fuck, did that make her worse than Mercury?
"We've already debated Penny's personhood more than enough to prove her humanity, you're just being needlessly dramatic. I still believe you are missing my point."
"Which is?"
"That she is already enough of a victim in this gaudy place without you berating her. Especially while she is under the impression that you are Miss Rose."
Emerald scoffed. "That's not my fault." That was all Watts' bullshit. And maybe Salem's, too.
"Perhaps not. But her being here is," Ozpin argued. "You already thought it to yourself earlier, Emerald: your semblance is what caused her dismemberment during the tournament."
"Well… yeah, but…" But what, exactly? Even she didn't want to defend herself. "Shut up." Rolling over on her bed, she hid her frustrated, scrunched up face in her pillow.
Ozpin, however, refused to leave her to her wallowing.
"...There's no escaping me in the pillow realm, Emerald. There's no escaping me period. So you might as well give up and humor me."
She sighed, submitting herself to the inevitable: a lecture from Oz. "Fine. You're right. Are you fucking happy? I'm gross and awful and I killed a lot of people and gave the literal personification of a cinnamon roll brain damage. Does that about sum it up?"
"Quite succinctly, yes, but let's unpack the rest of that another time and focus on your most recent transgression towards Penny."
Emerald sighed. "You mean when I yelled at her?"
"Yes, let's start there. How did you feel after yelling at her?"
"Like I kicked someone's puppy," Emerald admitted reluctantly.
"Would you say that you regret making that choice?"
"...Yes," Emerald grumbled.
"So you should…" Ozpin trailed off, encouraging her to finish his sentence, like an asshole.
Emerald gritted her teeth. "Apologize," she finished, like a pushover.
"Very good, Emerald. We'll make a functional young woman out of you yet."
Emerald thought Ozpin had been a headmaster of a Huntsmen Academy, not an elementary school guidance counselor.
"I'm a jack of all trades. Eternity will do that to you."
"I agree I might have… overreacted to Penny prying about Cinder." Honestly, even Emerald didn't know where that anger fully came from. She only hoped Penny didn't tattle on her to Salem… and that Penny wasn't too mad at her later. "But I still feel gross as fuck. Why did my body react that way?"
And, again, to Penny? Even if Emerald did consider robo-girl a person in her own right, feeling even a sliver of arousal towards her felt criminal (and not in the way she was used to). Like she was crossing a line by… corrupting her.
"I think you are infantilizing her too much," Ozpin mused. "Cynicism does not equal maturity, nor does optimism correlate to childishness. Life is more complex than that."
"Whatever." Oz didn't know what he was talking about. His incalculable age probably gave him some weird ideas about what was appropriate to explore in young relationships.
"I've been through puberty more times than any man, woman, or child on this planet," Ozpin said with a polite chuckle, as though he were making a joke of some kind. "I think I know a thing or two."
Emerald shuddered at the implication. "I don't need a lecture about the birds and the bees, Ozpin. I'm eighteen." Even if only for the last couple months, she was technically an adult.
"And Cinder is… how old again?"
"I don't know, twenty something?" She changed her answer sometimes, so Emerald still didn't have a clear number. "Why are you even asking? Don't you already know everything I know?"
Ozpin wriggled in her mind, reluctantly dipping his metaphorical toes into more controversial conversation. "Yes, I do. But sometimes, it seems as though you forget what you already know. Especially when it involves Cinder."
Emerald groaned. Not this shit again. "Are you trying to turn me against her? You already agreed to help me fix her. That isn't negotiable."
"I know. You've made that frustratingly clear to me. That's not what I'm suggesting."
"Then what are we talking about?" Why could he never just say what he meant instead of belaboring the point all the time?
"You were a wreck after the damage she did to you, and now you are already leaping back into her bed after a half-baked apology?" He sighed. "I just think you are rushing into this, and you should take a moment to reconsider if that course of action is truly a good idea."
Of course he'd wait to bring this up minutes before she had planned on visiting Cinder. Always cramming things at the very last moment, this guy.
"There isn't anything to consider." Cinder had simply been stressed out, lashed out at Emerald, and then apologized for it. It wasn't that big of a deal.
"Not a big deal…" Ozpin said incredulously, voice rising with his annoyance. "She broke through your aura and assaulted you! You can't possibly tell me you have no misgivings about this."
"It's nothing she hasn't done before!" Sure, it was far more brutal than usual, but—
"But what?" Ozpin challenged. "What, exactly, is your excuse for her?"
A million responses threatened to spew from her mouth, but they all festered too long, souring and sinking back down her throat to the depths of her gut. None of them were lies, not really, but none of them had quite felt like the truth either. Just thinking about it too hard made her stomach curl.
"She said she was sorry," Emerald said weakly, clutching her hands to her stomach. "She said she was sorry," she repeated again, because that meant something. It had to.
Ozpin was dead quiet for a few moments, granting Emerald some time to settle her abrupt nausea.
"...Okay," Ozpin relented. "I won't fight you on this anymore. Regardless of the magic that binds us together, this is still your life first and foremost." With how earnestly he said it, Emerald almost believed him. "I only urge you reevaluate who you are making this decision for, if not for yourself.
Emerald rolled her eyes. "I don't need to 'reevaluate' anything. Everything I've ever done has always been for myself."
If Ozpin disagreed with that statement, his rebuttal would have to wait:
Quarter to midnight. Time to rendezvous with Cinder.
Emerald left her room and followed the same, practiced route she had walked countless times before. She skipped past the kitchen (though, she almost stopped by out of habit) and continued on straight to Cinder's room.
It wasn't until she reached Cinder's door that her doubts resurfaced. Phantom echoes of every bruise and laceration she suffered at her previous visit became as real and sensitive as when they were fresh and bleeding. She winced at the sudden, flaring pain, but it was instinctual more than anything else. Cinder had hurt her plenty of times before, and Emerald wasn't stupid enough to think it would be the last time.
But one day, there will be a last time. All she had to do was keep trying, persistently and ceaselessly, and she'd wake to the day Cinder had no more scars to give her.
She knocked on the door, her trembling knees be damned. Her body should know by now that even if it hurt for a little while, it would feel good, too. Cinder was generous like that, when she wanted to be.
Forget about the hard stuff, and just focus on the stuff that makes you happy.
After hearing a grunt of acknowledgement from Cinder on the other side, Emerald opened the door and shut it behind her quickly (she'd hesitate less that way, if her exit was already closed off).
Cinder was leaning against her windowsill again, staring at whatever she found so interesting out there in the Grimm infested wastes of Evernight. Barely a couple months ago, Cinder struggled to stand by herself, falling apart the moment her only hand (at the time) lost its leverage against the wall by her window. Now, Cinder didn't struggle at all. No support needed to keep herself upright. Not from the wall—
Or from Emerald.
But that was fine. Emerald could be useful in other ways. She needed to be, to keep their relationship stable.
She kept a fair distance between herself and Cinder, in case Penny was on to something and Cinder's mood had been more on the aggressive side earlier. She didn't want to set her off if she was already upset.
So she kept it simple and announced herself. "Ma'am, I'm here as requested."
Cinder already knew she was there, so maybe it was redundant to point it out, but Emerald was relying on routine. She certainly wanted to follow through on the urges Cinder stirred in her earlier… but that wasn't her decision to make.
Cinder glanced at her, but otherwise didn't budge from the window. "Here… please."
Easy enough. She approached as requested. "Yes, Ma'am—"
Cinder was all over her faster than she could react. Gentle yet ravenous hands pulled her into Cinder's sweltering embrace, Emerald's vision blurring from the sudden change in body temperature.
Gods, she had missed this.
Her mistress' lips sailed across the expanse of her neck, peppering her with quick love-bites that felt far too chaste to come from Cinder. But being unexpected did not prevent each teasing mark from sending Emerald into a fit of giggles.
"Feel… good?" Cinder asked, leaning up onto the windowsill and lifting Emerald into her lap. She only paused in her lovely assault on Emerald's throat when she spoke each garbled syllable. "Feel… satisfied?"
"Yes…" Emerald sighed contently, going almost fully limp as Cinder took over. "Always with you."
"I… see," Cinder said, her kisses waning as she reached one of Emerald's ears and whispered, "Then… why… help… Arthur?"
Emerald frowned. "Help him with what?"
"Making… Penny," Cinder continued neutrally. "Arthur… told."
For a second, Emerald was confused. The next, she most assuredly wasn't. Because she remembered telling Watts—
"All you have to do is figure out how to rip aura from somebody and cram it into something else. Good luck puzzling over how to do that, doc."
That had been a joke. A half-assed remark Emerald didn't intend to mean anything of value.
But intention meant nothing to Cinder, only results. And if the result was Penny was online and in Cinder's way because Emerald spoke with Watts—
What was Cinder going to do to her?
"Finally," Cinder said as Emerald froze rigidly in her grip. "Waited… for… this."
Before Emerald could wrap her head around what that meant, Cinder grabbed her by the hair harshly, yanking her to her knees. Emerald whimpered, choking back a sob. The pathetic sound made Cinder visibly shudder, eyes fluttering until they were half-lidded and hazy.
"Thank… you," Cinder continued with a groan, confusing Emerald even more. "So… worth it." She leaned in, looking Emerald up and down with unrestrained interest. "So… forgive you."
"You… forgive me?" Emerald found the strength to ask.
"Yes… as long… keep it… fed."
Emerald didn't know what she was talking about, until she noticed the precise control she now exhibited with her Grimm arm. "Feed it what?"
Cinder's smile was chilling. "Fear," she replied. "And you… are brimming with it." Her human hand traced up along Emerald's jawline until it stopped at her lips. "I just... have to pull it out… and taste it."
Cinder's splintered voice became more and more complete as she spoke, but Emerald couldn't even question it as her thighs crossed together reflexively. Her throat felt dry. "...Taste it?"
Suddenly, Cinder pushed a thumb past Emerald's lips and into her mouth, hooking it behind one of her cheeks. It wasn't comfortable, and it was awkward, and Emerald didn't know if it was supposed to be scary or sexy. It met somewhere in the middle instead, a bland intrusion. Was it going to lead to something worse? Or better? Lead to somewhere painful? Or pleasant? The confusion curdled in her stomach. She didn't know what to feel.
"Hmm," Cinder said, pulling her thumb out with a wet pop. "That wasn't… quite what I was looking for…" Her eyes rose to her other hand, her Grimm one still holding Emerald by the hair. She pressed down with her claws, and Emerald bit down a yelp of pain as it dug into her scalp, pushing past her aura until blood trickled out. Cinder's satisfaction returned with a grin. "There it is… that's what I need."
Feeling Cinder's claws gain leverage in her hair, Emerald was yanked up to her feet. She hissed involuntarily at being tossed around, struggling to find her balance before Cinder slammed her against the wall. The confusion in her stomach ripened, branching off into all sorts of blood pumping feelings. Mainly adrenaline. And maybe a twinge of arousal that Emerald found herself… not enjoying.
Cinder groaned again, roughly rubbing her nose against Emerald's throat. She sniffed deeply into the skin of Emerald's neck and snarled in satisfaction. "Oh… it seems there are different kinds of fear, huh, Emerald?" She laughed darkly. "The Grimm in me doesn't seem to care about the distinction. Even if it's fun, fear is fear. That's all that matters to it."
Emerald tried to pick a sensation to focus on. The claws in her scalp, Cinder's teeth on her throat, or Cinder's knee rising to meet her crotch. It was maddening. Her stomach felt like a blender, mixing in each new sensation as it was thrown at her, regardless of how messily the ingredients came together.
Cinder continued, purring against Emerald's chin. "You fucked up, my little gem. But I offer you a path to redemption. Just like you helped Watts make a breakthrough… I have a way for you to help me. To make me stronger… to keep the Grimm in me fed."
Emerald tried to maintain eye contact with her, but Cinder's claws dropped from her hair down her back, ripping through her shirt until it scratched against her shoulder blades. She winced and bucked her hips against Cinder, who was the only one supporting her weight at this point.
Cinder smirked, drinking it all in. The Grimm attached to her forearm hummed, as though satisfied. "The line between fear and anticipation is paper thin." She brought her forehead to Emerald's, nose to nose. "Want to explore that line with me?"
Emerald responded slowly. "I… I already told you. I'll do anything for you."
"Then repeat after me: without you, I am nothing."
"Without you," Emerald echoed. "I am nothing."
Cinder growled. "Again."
"Without you—" Cinder's claws scratched down her shoulder, sliding down the ridge of her spine. "I-I am nothing."
"Again."
"Without you, I am—" Emerald screamed as Cinder's knee roughly grinded against her crotch, sending stars straight behind her eyelids. "N-n-nothing."
"Don't stop," Cinder pleaded. "Keep going."
Emerald repeated it again and again until it was gospel. A holy scripture that summoned both heaven and hell to wage war across her skin. Every part of her body was the battleground, a hallowed place where good and evil would bleed just the same as the other.
"Emerald, listen to me," Ozpin said distantly. "This isn't love."
She bit her lip, heart racing with equal parts terror and anticipation. She opened her mouth—
And said it again. "Without you—"
"Emerald, please," Ozpin interjected. "You must have more self respect than this."
"I am nothing," she finished.
Sorry, Ozpin, Emerald thought while staring defeatedly into Cinder's predatory gaze.
But I really don't.