Chapter Text
Kari Silvers opened her eyes, an immediate feeling of sickness overtaking her.
She made to sit up, and her head burst; she smacked a palm to forehead, digging in her nails. Shook her head, mess of long scarlet hair becoming even messier. "Ugh..." She rubbed her eyes and examined her surroundings: still in the safehouse, but not her room in it. Someone else's. Her cape was in a heap on the floor, along with her armored chest piece...and everything else of hers - pants, undershirt, boots, socks...underwear?
No. She was in someone else's room...and bed?
Movement, from out of edge of a blurry eye - a rustling of blankets, a little brush of flesh against hers. Bare flesh on bare flesh!
Kari rolled off the bed, snatched the hilt of her weapon off the nightstand and whipped her arm around, extending the blade to full length. It shot out right across the throat of the man who had been laying beside her there. The man froze instantly, wide eyed, looking at her sideways. Kari froze, too.
"K-knew it, knew you were going to kill me over it..." he quavered out, blowing a breath. He brought his hands up. "But you know what? Worth it."
Kari retracted her blade, straightening, her back to the man. She gazed at the wall, putting hand to her head again. Alright, Kari, think: you wouldn't have had sex with anyone if you didn't want to - not anymore. Those days are long past. Ergo...you must have wanted this. If you didn't, you would have found a corpse on the floor, not a living person on the bed. But why this man? Why did you choose him of all people?
She couldn't remember a thing about what had led up to this. She remembered going to a tavern with Roman and Neo - their attempt to get her to have some kind of "fun", at least to their standards - and she remembered being brought back to the safehouse afterward (after some, admittedly, fun chaos she had caused all those criminals and thugs), recalled some kind of argument with Roman...but the contents eluded her. And, after getting back again, what had even happened after that? Why was she here, what had led up to this?
Why would she give herself like this to another person, after so many years now...? After breaking from doing it the first time, and losing it? Had she broken so thoroughly that she was simply insane now?
Even if she entertained it, even if she let herself...Salem was out there, her followers were out there (Tyrian and Hazel had been broken out by Salem personally, mere hours after the Battle For Vale's end; prisoners reported a woman with red eyes gliding through the halls, after security cameras and lights had all shut down at once). Doubtless, they were on the lookout for Kari. Not simply for being her, a traitor, but for being the Maiden necessary for the Vault at Beacon. At some point, sooner or later...they would come for her, regardless of anything. Because they would have to. And they would use any means necessary to ensure cooperation from her.
Kari had broken from Salem because there had been literally nothing left to take from her, nothing that woman could do to her anymore - but if she allowed herself to have something to be stolen away again...something to be lost again...? Another partner, another lover, another...potentially child with that man-
No!
Kari began dressing herself, quick and methodical. Once finished, she strode for the door without a word or glance to the man in the bed.
There was no reason to learn a name, because there was no reason to remember a name going forward.
It was better to have nothing to lose - to just let things stay how they were now.
Wasn't it?
No need to lose another team, or another Wyn...or another Cobalt.
Kari was certain that it was, in fact, better. Even so...she still felt a pain in her chest as she accepted the notion.
"All right, we'll have you go on the count of three! The first one back to Vale is the victor!"
Cinder glanced down from the blue skies of Sanus, where the transport airship hovered high, brushing her hair back behind her ears. She held her scroll loose in hand, a smile on her face. "I'm ready whenever she is," she spoke casually into it. She shifted on her seat, trying not to show the discomfort her sheer black shorts were bringing her (she really wished she could have just been in a dress for this - but she'd learned her lesson years ago on that). She leaned forward over her motorbike, Midnight, its glossy black and blood red paintjob reflecting in the sun's light nicely. Gazed out ahead, down the empty, curving stretch of rare, actual asphalt road lined by trees. Faded, bumpy, but it existed.
"Tough talk - you ready to back it up?" Yang laughed, throwing a sideways look and a grin Cinder's way. "Or are you just ready to lose again?"
Cinder flashed a smirk, tossing her head to her right. She gripped the handles of her bike tightly, then relaxed them. She breathed. Just a bit of fun again, remember? Just one last, fun little race before you're off to Mistral this evening! "We'll just have to see," she acknowledged, with a nod.
"Look at that, she's learning - hah, it only took you three years!" Another silly grin of Yang's.
Cinder forced herself to laugh, too, instead of snarl at her at the reminder of her own failure; She had learned, and she was damn proud of herself for it! She didn't have to like it, but she at least didn't have to be a sore loser about it. Pyrrha liked her when she did that humility and grace stuff, even for losses. Or, maybe especially...
Winning or losing doesn't matter - but it would be nice, she reinforced to herself.
Cinder placed her scroll into the slot in the center of her bike's console, tapped at it to bring up the map of the race's route. A winding path, with only a few splits - fairly straightforward, all in all. Except...that it would take them through a long set of tunnels, to get them through a mountain standing between them and Vale. And inside of those tunnels, it was going to be anything but straightforward.
There were hardly any signs in there, and not even they had entirely mapped it out beforehand - neither had most people, honestly. Nobody could be bothered. The original maps of the structure were long since lost, as well. Originally, they were Dust mines, but the place had long since been picked clean, and the tunnels were now just a convenient way to save time having to go around the entire mountain. Of course, cave-ins and Grimm infestations had happened plenty of times over the years, so maybe it wasn't really so convenient in recent times...
"Now, remember," Pyrrha's voice came again over the scroll. "while our racers and our respective teammates may be allowed to run interference during the race to aid them - along with our chaotic wildcard, Team RNBW - no one is-"
"No one directly affects the bikes!" Cinder and Yang said simultaneously.
"Or I'll kill whoever it is that does it," Cinder added viciously.
"Please, no threats," Pyrrha sighed. Then, as an aside, as if she were talking to others. "She doesn't actually mean it - you all know that by now."
"No, I definitely mean it for this one," Cinder refuted firmly.
"No you don't," Pyrrha responded, just as firmly.
Cinder let out a snort, but decided not to keep arguing with her. "Sure," she said simply, placating. "Can we start yet?"
"Alright...ahem: Racers, start your engines!"
"There's only two of us, and they're already started," Cinder said, amused.
"R-right, then...oh, just go on three," Pyrrha said meekly. "One...two...three!"
Cinder twisted the throttle, and started off, perfectly neck and neck with Yang Xiao Long.
Immediately, a loud noise split the air, over the engines, over the airship's even louder whining engines - and a streaking Dust round came in from above to strike the dirt not an inch in front of Cinder's motorcycle.
Cinder threw a glance up at the gliding airship that was following alongside the race easily; the cargo bay was open wide, and standing braced against the side, was Ruby Rose. The young woman's sniper rifle was out and in hand.
Cinder smirked, giving her head a shake. Starting up with it already, are you? Do you think you can actually even make me flinch?
As her and Yang reached the first fork in the road, another Dust round came flying down for her - this one, a bursting blue. It struck five feet in front of her, and an icy mound that looked like a large flower appeared. Cinder pushed her Aura through Midnight, enveloping her entire bike in intense concentration, and she rammed right on through the ice without stopping. Her Aura flared, and she let it go with a sigh through gritted teeth. Even temporarily trying to encase something larger than a handheld weapon in your Aura (like a vehicle, or another person) was not something even the most skilled people tried to attempt - and if they did, like Cinder had, it couldn't be done for more than a brief moment or two. It was incredibly taxing, and so unless you had a very large Aura capacity at your disposal, you were just going to end up with a one-shot, shattered Aura for it. There were plenty of other options available to a huntress before even thinking about doing something like that, if you even could.
At least, in a life or death situation.
But this was just a fun race, and so Cinder was free to do whatever she wanted - even if it was what everyone else would have called "foolhardy" and even "idiotic."
And besides, Cinder had spent some of her time over the last three years trying to expand her Aura capacity. She had about fifteen percent more to spare these days than she might have before; she had made the choice to increase her Aura so that she had more to work with when it came to both her Semblance, and her Dust mage abilities before running out. She could do more, more often, and do it for longer than ever before, too. It was a daily training regiment, and an investment that was well worth it, in her opinion.
Cinder could spam fireballs like hell these days, and she loved it.
Cinder leaned forward, glancing down at her scroll as she took the left path - Yang went right. "Em, try to slow her down for me, please. I need to be the first one into those tunnels."
Excited squealing burst out of her scroll's speakers. "Oh, I'm on it! She won't even see it coming - until she does! This is going to be fun."
"Thanks," Cinder said shortly, rolling her eyes at the young woman's exuberance. "Just get it done for me."
Pyrrha Nikos gripped the airship controls as she gazed down out the forward windshield, watching the progress of her fiancée (a fact she was still in a bit of shock about, even several weeks on). She smiled as the sun's light caught the golden ring on her right hand, and that beautiful gemstone of deep red set into it.
She smiled even more at the memory of the proposal. Even if it had been discussed beforehand, for over a year, when it had finally happened Pyrrha had been overwhelmed - and overjoyed. It had been on a night together, just two weeks before graduating Beacon, when Cinder had so awkwardly but determinedly taken her into Vale, to the same park where they had had their first date...and it was there, and then, that Cinder had presented the little black box to her.
"Do you...even still want to marry me?" Cinder had asked her, keeping her head bowed, her eye on the grass, as she knelt before Pyrrha. The only person she would have ever put herself into such a submissive, vulnerable position for - willingly, anyway, Pyrrha knew now...
"I do," Pyrrha had assured thickly, blinking at tears. And she had taken the ring and put it on, then and there, and then she'd taken Cinder's hand and helped her up.
Rarely had she taken it off since - the major exception being bathing.
"Hey, you can't interfere with the interference!" Emerald's voice, high and indignant.
Pyrrha glanced to see Weiss Schnee looking very satisfied with herself, while Emerald wobbled in the cargo bay and grabbed at the open door frame.
"I don't recall any rules against it," Weiss replied, crossing her arms. She caught Pyrrha's gaze. "Are there?"
"It was assumed," Pyrrha responded, laughing. "But let's make it clear for everyone: no one interferes with each other while they're...interfering. Alright?"
Weiss gave a pouty look, but conceded to the clarification. Then she got a fierce look on her face as she stalked up beside Emerald. "If you're going to interfere with mine right now, then I'm going to interfere with yours. I won't just let you get away with this!"
Emerald smiled faintly, immersed in concentration as she was, a hand to her head. "Go ahead; Cinder can handle anything you can throw at her!"
"What, exactly, are you doing to Yang?" Pyrrha questioned lightly, with another glance back.
"Making her see some totally terrifying Grimm," Emerald grinned.
"Well if that's how you want to play this, then I'll give yours some Grimm too!" Weiss exclaimed furiously. She stepped back, kneeling in the cargo bay. She flourished her blade and stabbed it into the floor - a massive glyph appeared under her, and an even larger one began to form right in front of her...
Pyrrha shook her head at the pair, hand over her mouth as a giggle escaped her.
This was either the most wonderful idea ever to do on the last day before her and Cinder would leave on their vacation to Anima...or one of the most terrible things to do on the last day here.
Possibly both.
"If she's going physical with this, then we should get physical help for Cinder," Blake spoke. She set her gaze on Team RNBW's huddled members. "We request a wild card!"
"Alright," Pyrrha said seriously. "Which one would you like to put into play? And remember: you won't be able to use one again for the next five minutes."
Blake looked at Nora, a small grin on her face. "I choose her."
Nora hefted her grenade launcher, matching the grin. "Let's do this thing! Pyrrha, get us over to Yang," she called to the front. "I've got a few presents for her right here!"
Pyrrha nodded from the pilot's chair, and altered the airship's course over the trees, swerving to the right...
Goddamn Schnee!
Cinder swerved around a wispy white Beowolf that lunged for her from out of the trees, ducked to avoid a trio of flying Lancers, and then pulled her bow and shot off an explosive arrow at the still-forming Nevermore in the sky. It disrupted it, but it wasn't enough to keep it from materializing.
Four more Beowolves emerged from the side of the road, snarling and growling at her as she quickly approached them.
Cinder blew them away with another arrow, driving right on through her own fireball, her Aura flickering to take the damage.
She wasn't going to lose speed on evasions!
A glance at her scroll's map showed her that Yang's dot was a fair bit ahead of hers, on the other side of the trees.
Clearly, she wasn't being too bothered by Emerald's illusions (knowing that they were just illusions).
Well, then I'll give her something that will bother her... Cinder smiled to herself, bending low over her bike as the Lancers came back around for her, pursuing. "Emerald: I need a very specific illusion from you."
"What do you want me to do?" Emerald asked promptly.
Cinder's smile grew. "Let her see her sister."
Yang Xiao Long sped down the road, yellow hair fluttering in the wind, gazing straight ahead through her protective goggles.
The Nevermore came soaring down from above the trees, screeching with its beak wide open.
Yang pumped a fist, sending out a Dust round that passed right through it - a second later, and she passed right on through it as well.
She laughed, shaking her head as the image disappeared behind her.
Even if any of these had been real, Yang could have taken them without stopping.
Cinder Aryle might be impressive on a bike after three years, but Yang had been using hers since she was twelve - and racing with it since she was fourteen (not that her dad had ever found out).
Yang gave a glance at the map of their course; they were about to converge again - and Yang still had the lead by a healthy margin.
The transport soared low overhead, traveling alongside her.
Yang gave it a look, and spotted Nora readying her grenade launcher in the open doorway.
Yeah! Let's kick it up a notch!
She swerved right to avoid the first, tracking its trajectory before it even hit. She went left and hit the handbrakes a brief second to avoid the second explosion. She sped up and popped her back wheel up to let the third grenade slip past her and blow apart a tree.
Yang gave another glance to the airship, expecting another grenade volley.
What she didn't expect was to see her sister suddenly tumble out of the airship, freefalling to the hard road below her!
"Ruby!" Yang accelerated, reaching her arms out and slamming the brakes at the precise moment to catch her-
And Ruby fell right through her arms and disappeared.
"What?! Shit! That was such a dirty move, you bitch!" Yang yelled furiously up at the airship, accelerating again from her total standstill. She swore she saw Emerald sticking her tongue out at her. She growled and tried to calm her racing heart, taking a look at her scroll again.
Cinder's dot had caught up to hers, and had even overtaken her by a small distance!
Yang smacked a hand to her helmet, letting a grin come to her face. "Alright: good, if dirty move - but it's not like it's enough to secure you the win!" If that was what Cinder really thought...she had another thing coming.
The spread of trees between their two paths was gone now, and they looked at each other anew.
"But if you want to play dirty? Well let's play then!" Yang cocked her gauntlet and hurled a missile at Cinder, leading her shot from several feet ahead of her black bike.
Cinder had just dealt with the Lancer summons, eliminating every last summon harassing her, when she merged back onto the main road with Yang.
She saw Yang pump her arm, and a large Dust projectile came flying out for her; Cinder avoided the missile as it struck the ground in front of her, kicking up debris and pelting Midnight's frame with hot asphalt chunks. She cursed in her own head, snarling at Yang as she stabilized herself.
Cinder flashed out her arm, sending a stream of ice for the front of Yang's bike; Yang slowed on a dime, dropping her legs to pass over the ice safely before speeding up again.
The trees on Cinder's left glowed green, and suddenly powerful branches stretched out across her field of view.
Cinder swerved around it, nearly slamming into Yang in the process as she moved to the far right side of the road.
She glanced at the airship - who in the world had Plant Dust on them?
It wasn't the Schnee's usual arsenal...Bondi, then?
Bondi liked her Dust just as much, and she was a pretty decent Dust mage herself these days (she'd wanted to really improve her skills when it came to long range attacks, rather than just relying on her Semblance, and close quarters combat with her brass knuckles and daggers).
Well, Cinder really hoped the woman was having fun with this. Bondi deserved to have some fun; even three years on, she was still struggling with depression issues - though, thankfully, she hadn't tried taking her life again.
Cinder came up on Yang's right, the front of her bike about even with Yang's rear wheel.
The map told her they were coming up on the tunnel entrance soon.
That was where things were going to get even more difficult.
But, if Cinder could just clear it, she would get a real advantage on the other side, closer to Vale's outskirts.
An advantage in the form of her fiancée (it still made her want to squeal every time she had the thought; that Pyrrha had said yes to her - and that she had also said yes to sharing an apartment together - proving, once and for all, that Cinder was not nothing).
Cinder pressed on ahead, her and Yang trading blows and blasts: Dust rounds, streaks of flames and ice at distance; and up close, where one or the other would swerve right into the other's face, and they would swing fists and blades, doing their best to knock the other off the road, or at least make each other spin out and lose their balance.
But neither woman did.
They fought and continued on, swerving and dancing around each other.
They were forced to break their dance apart as they came upon the tunnel entrance, off a little dirt side path. Continuing on the road would mean going all the way around the damn mountain. Going right on through was the fastest way. But, in these tunnels, the slightest mistake here could cause either one to get into a spectacularly dangerous kind of crash. Fatal, without Aura on their sides. With Aura, it would still spell the end of the race for whoever wiped out, automatically giving the other the win.
And there wouldn't be any help in these tunnels, either: for either of them.
It would be pure skill, and nothing else. And Cinder could admit she was seriously lacking that in the face of Yang. Not that she didn't hate admitting to it - but she could.
Cinder brought all of her concentration to bear as she flipped her headlights on, and sped into the darkness and uneven terrain.
"Welp, they're in," Emerald stated, stepping away from the doors as they closed up on her. She sat down in her seat as Pyrrha began taking the airship around the mountainside, swift and expertly maneuvering them.
"H-hey...?" Bondi spoke up, giving her a nudge and a little shy smile.
"Yeah?" Emerald responded.
"A-are you still d-dating that...that guy?"
"Which guy?"
"The one from V-Vacuo..."
"Sun, or Neptune?"
"That's right, you dated both of them, didn't you? Around the last Vytal Festival...?"
"Neither one lasted too long," Emerald replied, shaking her head. "But yeah, I did..."
"You know, that was a year ago, Bondi - her most recent date was Cardin," Blake put in slyly.
"Cardin...Winchester?" Bondi asked, jaw dropped. "I-isn't he...a- a-"
"Still a huge jackass, yup," Emerald answered. "That's why he didn't last too long either! But he started being less of one ever since the Battle for Vale, and that's why I even gave him a chance in the first place."
"A guy like him was really okay with you being...?" Jaune spoke, staring, cheeks flushed.
"Hah, I never said that," Emerald scoffed. She leaned back with her legs spread, and gave a little smack between them. "The guy couldn't handle this any more than he could've handled it if I was a faunus! Sure, he tried, but I wasn't up for putting up with a guy who just tries. At least Sun and Neptune didn't even blink at it! Makes sense for a guy with a tail not to mind a girl with a tail, and another who's bold enough to go for blue hair on the daily..." she concluded fondly. "Oh, man, do I really miss those guys..."
"I miss them, too," Blake offered, smiling.
"Yeah..." Emerald sighed, putting her hands behind her head. "They were idiots, but they were hot, awesome and fun idiots. Where am I ever going to find more guys like them?"
"Well there's no shortage of idiot guys in the world," Nora cackled. "Just walk down the street and you'll run into them by the dozens!"
"I'm sure you'll find someone," Pyrrha assured distractedly, not looking back from her careful piloting work.
"Thanks!" Emerald beamed. "You know, maybe I will meet someone out there on the streets of Vale," she went on lightly. "If I'm going to be hanging out at Cinder's place, taking care of her plants for her, keeping it all neat while you two are off in Mistral...who knows? Plenty of street right out front of your place."
"Exactly," Pyrrha replied. "Try and keep thinking positive, and I'm certain you'll-"
A loud beep over the console, and a crackle over the comms.
"Are they out already?" Emerald asked, rushing to the cockpit to gaze out the window. She looked to the console - to the readouts of both Cinder and Yang's Auras. Yang still had over half of hers, while Cinder had...a bit less than half. Even with her training to increase her Aura capacity! "Wow, she must have really gotten banged up in there..." she murmured with worry.
"No doubt she thought it would pay off to be more reckless and speedy," Pyrrha agreed, sighing with amusement. "I doubt it did, though, sadly..." She pointed out the window, far below them: Yang was a dozen feet out ahead of Cinder, as they continued on their way toward the now visible city of Vale's outskirts.
The comms crackled again, and Cinder's voice suddenly issued from it. "Someone else take over the flying - Pyrrha, I need you to help me win, please!"
Pyrrha sighed again. "Who wants to fly?" she said over her shoulder. "It will only be a couple of minutes, I'm sure," she added quickly.
"I think I can handle it," said Blake, stepping forward.
"We're coming up on a construction site; I want you to crush her for me - figuratively speaking, obviously!" Cinder added quickly. "Just put enough obstacles in her path that I can get a good lead on her, then it's the home stretch!"
"Alright," Pyrrha agreed. "I'll see what I have to work with once we reach it - but I do remember spotting it as we flew out."
"Thank you," Cinder said gratefully.
"Of course!" A pause. "You know, you'll probably be getting a lot of hard sleep on the transport to Anima, after this..."
Cinder smiled. "Probably. Can I use your lap?"
A laugh. "As long as your tongue stays inside your mouth..."
"Down there? No promises," Cinder replied, highly serious.
More laughter - outright chortling, from Pyrrha. "Please..."
"Okay, fine..." Cinder conceded. Why was it always so hard to stay firm in the face of Pyrrha, even when they weren't actually face to face?
"We're coming up on the site," Pyrrha spoke.
"I see it - and you." Cinder raised a hand to wave to the speeding airship off to her right; there was the familiar sight of Pyrrha standing in the cargo bay, her scroll clutched in one hand. "You know, if you had Milo 2.0 with you, I'd ask you to just toss it at Yang - right into her wheel."
"Then she's very lucky that I didn't bring it with me," Pyrrha answered.
"Lucky her," Cinder agreed. Not so lucky with what was about to come her way!
Cinder trailed behind Yang purposefully as they sped into the construction site - a few airship transports, large shipping containers, a dozen feet wide sheets of metal, partially placed railing, and a few large construction vehicles. She stretched out her hand, blasting fireballs at Yang.
Yang dodged, swerving left and right with ease. She twisted around and fired a Dust missile back for Cinder.
"Now! Start throwing things at her!" Cinder spoke into her scroll.
Several sheets of metal rose up from the rest, and flipped themselves at Yang, side over side, the sun glinting off them.
Yang slid under the first one, putting a foot to the ground and putting her whole body to one side, so low to the ground she was almost horizontal. She righted herself and kept on going, taking a wide left turn to avoid the second one. The third, she slammed her fist up right into it, her Aura bursting, sending it flying high over her head to crash down flat behind her.
"Grrr," Cinder growled, hurling more fireballs into the mix, along with some arching Ice Dust blasts to create slippery surfaces out ahead of Yang. "Pyrrha - more!"
One of the large vehicles suddenly slid sideways, grating across the partially finished road, right into Yang's path.
Yang went around it, but she was so close to not making it that she actually had to kick out a leg to clear the side of the vehicle.
Cinder didn't even have to ask again; another vehicle decided to place itself in Yang's way - and then another, coming in to squish Yang between them.
Yang glanced right, then left. She slammed on the brakes, clearly realizing she wouldn't have made it through.
Cinder gained on her, taking a sharp turn around both vehicles and bypassing her.
Yang came after her with a vengeance, shooting missile after missile at her, blasting the road to pieces around her.
"Thank you," Cinder said into her scroll, grinning widely.
"You're welcome - but stay focused. You're not quite there yet."
"Currently focusing," Cinder replied, gripping her bike's handles more firmly.
She glanced back; she needed to keep Yang right where she was now - and avoid Yang slowing her down in attempt to pass her.
Cinder twisted at the waist, taking her hands off the grips, and pulled her bow off her back. She began firing off ice arrows, littering the road in front of Yang with icy constructs and sheets of slippery ice.
Yang began rapid fire shotgun blasting at her; several rounds struck her in the back, flaring her Aura.
Cinder fired an explosive arrow at her in return, detonating it right next to her back wheel as she passed it by.
Yang threw her body to one side, slamming a boot to the road. She flipped her entire bike around, three hundred and sixty degrees, and stabilized, continuing on for Cinder.
Cinder's mouth dropped. She shook her head, and began firing off even more arrows, much more wanton - several arrows flew out in under a second, including groups of twos and threes, in combinations of ice and fire, and even lava.
They were on the straightest of straight shots for the edge of the city now.
Yang was relentless, expert in her weaving between and around the barrage of arrows.
But Cinder managed to keep her there, occupied, and behind her, until they passed the first line of warehouses into the city proper.
She let the throttle go, skidding to a halt in the middle of the street, elation bursting in her.
Yang came to a slow stop in front of her, laughing loudly. "Whew! Good going there! You really pulled through at the last leg there, didn't you?"
Cinder straightened up on her bike, running a hand through her hair. "I did, didn't I? Thank you." She paused. "But you still dominated the first two thirds of the course."
"Hey, you knew you just had to win where it counted - and you did," Yang grinned. "Great job."
"Thanks."
"That thing Emerald did, though...ugh, that was not cool." Yang complained, jabbing a finger at her. "For a good five seconds there, I was legitimately terrified."
"And you didn't stop to think that your sister has Aura, and a Semblance that lets her fly for brief periods of time?" Cinder responded, smirking.
"That's part of caring about somebody - you don't exactly stop to think when you see them fall out of an airship!" Yang retorted. "Shit, what would you do if it was Pyrrha?"
"Obviously, I'd-" Cinder froze. She sighed. "Okay, you're right. I would have probably felt just as scared for her..."
"There you go."
Cinder sighed again. "Listen - sorry?" she tried.
Yang gave another grin. "Apology accepted. It was damn dirty of you, but I can't blame you for that. You just wanted the win, and it was in the rules."
Cinder breathed relief. "Okay. Great! Glad you don't...hate me or anything..."
"You'd actually care if I did?" Yang said, surprised.
"Yes," Cinder admitted. "You're...really...fun and stuff," she muttered on, flushing in a way that had nothing to do with medical problems called hot flashes.
"Well thanks," Yang said earnestly. "You're fun, too. We need to do this again sometime, after you and Pyrrha get back."
"I'd love to," Cinder said, just as earnest.
"Here - don't lose these, and don't forget them." Cinder pushed the papers into Emerald's hands. "Follow the instructions every day; I'm trusting you to take care of them. If I come home and any of them are dead - you're dead. Understand?"
"Understood!" Emerald said firmly. "They'll be in such good condition, it will be like you never left! Promise."
"Good." Cinder hefted her suitcase, looking to Pyrrha. "Are we ready to go?"
Pyrrha took a long, critical look around their apartment. She nodded, picking up her own suitcase. "We should be. Emerald, if you need anything at all, just call us."
"Will do," Emerald agreed. She stepped toward Cinder and swiftly hugged her.
Cinder returned the hug with a sigh and a smile, patting at her head. "Thank you - just don't let me down, please..."
"I promise I won't."
"I believe you," Cinder assured. She stepped away, turning and striding for the front door. "Now let's go already - if we're too late, they won't load Midnight!"
"We'll make it, don't worry," Pyrrha said. But she did follow after her with some amount of haste, all the same.
They stepped out onto the street, finally ready to be on their way to Mistral.