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Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]
- Thread starter MyrtenRose
- Start date
MyrtenRose
Knight of Rebellion
"Hey. I don't know if you can hear me in there, but..." She started, looking downward at her unconscious twin brother. She'd brought him along into a more isolated part of the ship, ironically where that messed up stranger had been lurking before she'd made her presence known. "...I'm likely only going to be able to say this once, so you better try damn hard to listen." Two fingers rose to rub at her temple as a heavy sigh escaped her mouth.
"I've been thinking a lot about what you said, what you asked. It has been on my mind in some form or another almost constantly since, it feels like. I suppose Yang was the start, and then you, and...honestly, it is difficult to not dwell on every mistake you've ever made, every choice that turned out to be a poor one in the end, when you got another version of yourself walking around to compare against. As I do with this other me. This different Raven. One that seems better in so many ways, just from what I've seen, hard as it is to admit. If Summer were still here, she'd probably try to appeal some better nature she thinks she sees in me. Before, I would have just brushed that off, told her that the world's cruel, and that she's living in a fantasy. That she's so blinded by her idealism that she sees the good in people, even when it's not there. But now?"
"Not as easy to deny, when there's another you strutting around and making it clear with every word and action that it is possible for even somebody like me to be...less like me. And..." Raven glanced off to the side, biting her lip as she thought deeply about whether to say it or not. What that stranger had thrown at her back there before starting a fight in the vast ocean.
"I've been thinking a lot about what you said, what you asked. It has been on my mind in some form or another almost constantly since, it feels like. I suppose Yang was the start, and then you, and...honestly, it is difficult to not dwell on every mistake you've ever made, every choice that turned out to be a poor one in the end, when you got another version of yourself walking around to compare against. As I do with this other me. This different Raven. One that seems better in so many ways, just from what I've seen, hard as it is to admit. If Summer were still here, she'd probably try to appeal some better nature she thinks she sees in me. Before, I would have just brushed that off, told her that the world's cruel, and that she's living in a fantasy. That she's so blinded by her idealism that she sees the good in people, even when it's not there. But now?"
"Not as easy to deny, when there's another you strutting around and making it clear with every word and action that it is possible for even somebody like me to be...less like me. And..." Raven glanced off to the side, biting her lip as she thought deeply about whether to say it or not. What that stranger had thrown at her back there before starting a fight in the vast ocean.
...when some corrupted grimm creature, someone hardly human any longer in any sense of the word, when even somebody like that was calling you out for your life choices...maybe it was long past time to take a good look in the mirror. To look at that small part of herself that'd she buried inside long ago, the part locked away behind wall after wall, the part that held plenty of self-loathing...and to acknowledge it rather than avoid dealing with it. She had already started, somewhat, after Qrow's rant, but after hearing that coming out of that mouth? It somehow hit even harder in certain ways. As a result, Raven felt that she had to accept it more fully and do more to distance herself from who she had been. Still...
"..." She didn't want to bring up being called out by Maria like that and refrained from doing so entirely. "I just want you to know-" She continued with that, instead of revealing any of the talk in the ocean. "-I'm not sure if I'll ever be as good a person as the other me you've taken a liking to, who's made a bond with you even after only this little time. I'm not certain if I can be as good as I used to be. Hell, with everything I've been involved with, some of the things I've done...I don't even know if I could ever get all the way back up to truly good. But, I think all this, the stuff going on in this world...I believe that it's a chance to do better. That if I get up every day and try to make things better, eventually I might come to find that better is good enough." She fell silent for a few seconds after stating that, unnecessary as it was considering she was talking to someone still unconscious.
In some weird way, she couldn't help but feel that Qrow's current state made it easier for her to put all her cards on the table like that. Perhaps it was fear of him having the opportunity to shut down those feelings that made her appreciate that he was still out cold. Or perhaps, she feared that he'd make things even more awkward in support of her. As if she needed any help on that front, this already felt awkward enough.
"If any part of you heard that, do me a favor and don't go sharing it around." Raven asked before she quieted again, moving for one of the crates scattered around the hold and jumping up to sit on it, preferring to be isolated from the rest for now.
"..." She didn't want to bring up being called out by Maria like that and refrained from doing so entirely. "I just want you to know-" She continued with that, instead of revealing any of the talk in the ocean. "-I'm not sure if I'll ever be as good a person as the other me you've taken a liking to, who's made a bond with you even after only this little time. I'm not certain if I can be as good as I used to be. Hell, with everything I've been involved with, some of the things I've done...I don't even know if I could ever get all the way back up to truly good. But, I think all this, the stuff going on in this world...I believe that it's a chance to do better. That if I get up every day and try to make things better, eventually I might come to find that better is good enough." She fell silent for a few seconds after stating that, unnecessary as it was considering she was talking to someone still unconscious.
In some weird way, she couldn't help but feel that Qrow's current state made it easier for her to put all her cards on the table like that. Perhaps it was fear of him having the opportunity to shut down those feelings that made her appreciate that he was still out cold. Or perhaps, she feared that he'd make things even more awkward in support of her. As if she needed any help on that front, this already felt awkward enough.
"If any part of you heard that, do me a favor and don't go sharing it around." Raven asked before she quieted again, moving for one of the crates scattered around the hold and jumping up to sit on it, preferring to be isolated from the rest for now.
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MyrtenRose
Knight of Rebellion
It was now closing in on a month and a half since the attack on Haven academy, after the destruction of the CCT tower there thanks to the Shadow Fang. Wherever they were in the world of Remnant, the passage of time and the absence of certain people likely weighed heavy on them. It most assuredly did for the young Cinder Fall. After weeks of travel, walking across the massive continent of Anima with only her fellow maiden as company, she found she missed Tyrian's enthusiasm and Hazel's calm go with the flow attitude even more than she had expected she would(which had been expected to be a lot, just not THIS much). Even hearing Arthur's voice shouting for her, obviously intending to chew her out for something or start some nonsense argument about something or another...even that would have raised her spirits significantly.
But she couldn't complain about it. Not when it had been her choice to leave, to do what she thought necessary. She shouldered the pain of that decision, she had to. So it was that she forced herself to grin and bear it. No matter how long the daily walking time took as they traveled slowly and discreetly across the continent. No matter how arduous it was hunting for food out in the wilds and dealing with any grimm that they stumbled across. And no matter how badly it hurt during the times when she could train, Vernal doing what she could to pass on not only stuff about the maiden powers but also in general combat stuff, things she'd picked up over the years. It was beneficial, sure, but still pushed Cinder to her limit and then some. The once bandit didn't believe in taking it easy when it came to that sort of thing, shocker. So many days ended up with the Fall Maiden barely able to stand in the later hours of the night, and begging for time to go find a village or inn somewhere with a working shower.
Too often that was denied, Spring just telling her to summon a stormcloud while out in the wilderness and simply let the rainwater wash her down. Hygiene wasn't as important to the person who had lived in a camp in the middle of nowhere, also shocking. Strength and toughness and endurance, all that was important to Spring though. Something Cinder grew used to. The scathing remarks that came out of Vernal's mouth about all those things or more accurately for Cinder, the lack thereof, they got easier to handle the more times she heard them. Which was a lot.
Eventually their slow journey of walking/hunting/slaying grimm/training/avoiding potential trouble with authorities, since Vernal was a wanted criminal for more than just that attack on the school, it brought them to the coastline. To Argus.
Her look was less impressed with the walled city in the distance than it probably should have been. She was just so tired. Yet once she entered the city proper, that tired feeling practically evaporated as she took in the sights with levels of excitement that could hardly be contained. Most of her life had been spent growing up in a tiny village. The time in Vale had been a welcome change, but the more she got to see other places, the more Vale seemed...not quite as nice. The sights in Mistral had been such a treat for the fall maiden, and as she walked these cobbled streets of Argus, she felt even more livened up by the vibrant sights here. Vernal was less than enthused, often rolling her eyes as Cinder ooh'd or ahhh'd at seemingly every little thing.
"Yeah, kid. Really nice. Swell. Could we maybe focus here, huh?" Vernal remarked from under the hood she wore, one hand reaching out to grab hold of Cinder before she could speed off to the next thing that drew her eye. "Still gotta figure out a way to get you to Atlas, since you're that desperate to go there." You know, relic and all? That went unsaid as Cinder crossed her arms with obvious frustration, grumbling back. "Nothing wrong with appreciating some culture..."
But she couldn't complain about it. Not when it had been her choice to leave, to do what she thought necessary. She shouldered the pain of that decision, she had to. So it was that she forced herself to grin and bear it. No matter how long the daily walking time took as they traveled slowly and discreetly across the continent. No matter how arduous it was hunting for food out in the wilds and dealing with any grimm that they stumbled across. And no matter how badly it hurt during the times when she could train, Vernal doing what she could to pass on not only stuff about the maiden powers but also in general combat stuff, things she'd picked up over the years. It was beneficial, sure, but still pushed Cinder to her limit and then some. The once bandit didn't believe in taking it easy when it came to that sort of thing, shocker. So many days ended up with the Fall Maiden barely able to stand in the later hours of the night, and begging for time to go find a village or inn somewhere with a working shower.
Too often that was denied, Spring just telling her to summon a stormcloud while out in the wilderness and simply let the rainwater wash her down. Hygiene wasn't as important to the person who had lived in a camp in the middle of nowhere, also shocking. Strength and toughness and endurance, all that was important to Spring though. Something Cinder grew used to. The scathing remarks that came out of Vernal's mouth about all those things or more accurately for Cinder, the lack thereof, they got easier to handle the more times she heard them. Which was a lot.
Eventually their slow journey of walking/hunting/slaying grimm/training/avoiding potential trouble with authorities, since Vernal was a wanted criminal for more than just that attack on the school, it brought them to the coastline. To Argus.
Her look was less impressed with the walled city in the distance than it probably should have been. She was just so tired. Yet once she entered the city proper, that tired feeling practically evaporated as she took in the sights with levels of excitement that could hardly be contained. Most of her life had been spent growing up in a tiny village. The time in Vale had been a welcome change, but the more she got to see other places, the more Vale seemed...not quite as nice. The sights in Mistral had been such a treat for the fall maiden, and as she walked these cobbled streets of Argus, she felt even more livened up by the vibrant sights here. Vernal was less than enthused, often rolling her eyes as Cinder ooh'd or ahhh'd at seemingly every little thing.
"Yeah, kid. Really nice. Swell. Could we maybe focus here, huh?" Vernal remarked from under the hood she wore, one hand reaching out to grab hold of Cinder before she could speed off to the next thing that drew her eye. "Still gotta figure out a way to get you to Atlas, since you're that desperate to go there." You know, relic and all? That went unsaid as Cinder crossed her arms with obvious frustration, grumbling back. "Nothing wrong with appreciating some culture..."
Schnee Corp Lawyer
STILL not over Birthright's ending
High above the streets and a few blocks down, a man in a long coat and a half mask leaned against an air conditioning unit on a rooftop, eyes scanning the crowds below as the wind lightly tousled his hair.
"Busy busy Argus. Look at all these people. All these distractions, potential problems, maybe even a few hunters scattered in there. I mean, I like a challenge and all, but just tactically speaking its almost like we shoulda jumped them when we found them three days ago. Y’know, like I said we should.” he drawled to empty air.
“That’s why you’re not the ones calling the shots.”
He snickered and put his hands up, not bothering to look to where he knew the masked cat would be standing at his side. “Yea, yea, don’t worry Hand I know my place. Just making sure you understand how dangerous it is to let a dog off its leash in a place like this, yea?”
Blake finished the last few strides to the edge of the roof and crouched down to study the streets below “I know what I’m doing Hound. Just get in position.” She ordered coolly as she watched one maiden snag the other before she could wander off.
“Aye aye, fearless leader” he simpered before he spun his spear to rest across his shoulders and leaped off the side of the building into the alley below. Blake rolled her eyes with a scowl. Hound just wanted blood as soon as he smelled it; trying to pick off a maiden in the wilderness was a daunting prospect. Too much room for them to maneuver, too easy for them to use the full brunt of their powers. The streets were to the advantage of the weaker party, and the extra bodies in the way would hopefully limit how much firepower the maidens brought to bear. She’d only been tasked with dealing with spring; she hadn’t decided yet whether Fall also being was a bonus or a complication. Probably both.
It didn’t matter. Lord Ozpin desired that Blake brought him the Spring Maiden, and the Spring Maiden he would get. Whatever the cost. He would always get what he wanted, until the faunus were finally free.
“Position check. Wolf?”
“I’m finishin’ up the last ‘a my checks on this end, chief. Should be good in ‘bout eighty ticks on th’clock! Y’know, this isn’t exactly the sorta thing I usually get paid for, and m’not sayin I can’t do it, just that-” crackled a rough, feminine voice over the comms.
“-Just make sure you’re ready. Tiger?”
*insert Tiger’s reply here*
“Raptor?”
“Got my eyes on the prize. Ready run interference on your orders, Miss Belladonna.” came a calm and breezy voice, heavy with wind intereference.
“Don't use that name in the field, idiot. Hound?”
“ You literally just saw me. Bored and itching to go already.”
She took a deep breath. That only left… she turned around to where the last member of this strike team was behind her, her voice losing its rough, ice cold edge for just one syllable.
“...Bull?”
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-Two Weeks Ago-
Tengu castle’s throne room was as ominously lit as ever, the torchlight flickering against Sienna’s skin where she was draped in her throne, casting her dark skins in hues of orange and painting her even more so like the tigress she presented as. Her cheek rested on her knuckles as she regarded the faunus kneeling in front of her with a small, satisfied smile.
“Eve Taurus.”
This wasn’t the first time Eve had been brought to this throne room since her return, yet there was a wholly different energy pervading the space than those times. The first time Sienna’s voice was taut and cold, the guards weapon’s always pointed at the Eve from the moment she walked into the room. She had been ordered on a mission with Bear, the bull faunus given an aura dampening collar and the Talon given the remote.
The second time, Sienna’s voice was still cold, yet the guards stayed at ease. she was sent alone.
The third time Sienna’s voice was merely regal. Eve was given command of her own squad of shadowfang initiates, young, still impressionable faunus warriors. Unspoken of and perhaps unnoticed was the winged watcher who recorded the results from high above.
Between each of those times, Sienna spoke to Eve. Quiet, firm, strangely caring, yet with an undercurrent of fiery zeal. She reminded Eve of the faunus plight, she talked of Salem’s plans, how her actions and inactions had shaped the world into what it was today.
This was the fourth time, and it was the first time that Sienna was smiling. At her side were her guards as usual, yet right beside the throne, a masked cat faunus knelt, her head downturned and eyes fully hidden.
“One month ago you walked through those doors an enemy. A traitor to the faunus cause, the leader of the misguided White Fang. A lost soul who was lashing out, who had been deceived by the humans and led down a horrible path. How much can change in so short a time.”
She rose from the throne, her hands clasped behind her back as she slowly strode down the stairs. “Vacuo. Vale. Mistral. Three times, enemies and spies rose to act against us, or violent humans lashed out at innocent faunus. Three times, you cut them down. There are those in the Fang who say that isn’t enough; that you deserve far harsher penance than what I have deigned to give.”
She stopped a few feet from Eve, and her smile briefly hardened into a glare as she looked up to the shadows in the ceiling. “They are wrong. Our sister was hurting, my fellow faunus! She did not know her own hand, even as it cut at us; false morals and ideals had been planted in her head, born of a beautiful wish of true equality and justice that can never exist as long as a human reigns! But... she has been healing.”
Her gaze tilted back down, and Sienna’s smile was almost proud as it returned. “She has seen the error of her ways. The Eve Taurus that we remember, the staunch hero who gave the faunus their masks and helped light the fire in the hearts of so many has returned to us! To fight by our side, and to put her mighty strength to work at digging the humans out of power so that we may finally have our day in the light! Eve Taurus, when you walked into my throne room a month ago, you were already a prisoner, in mental shackles of human design; already living your own penance. No longer. You leave this room a Talon.”
She snapped her fingers, and in a blur of motion the faunus by the throne was at her side, sending Sienna’s robes rippling in the wind for a few seconds as she smiled and gestured towards Eve. The other faunus reverently held out a mask, her amber eyes finally tilting up to meet Eve’s own in a storm of emotions.
“You leave this room as Bull”
"Busy busy Argus. Look at all these people. All these distractions, potential problems, maybe even a few hunters scattered in there. I mean, I like a challenge and all, but just tactically speaking its almost like we shoulda jumped them when we found them three days ago. Y’know, like I said we should.” he drawled to empty air.
“That’s why you’re not the ones calling the shots.”
He snickered and put his hands up, not bothering to look to where he knew the masked cat would be standing at his side. “Yea, yea, don’t worry Hand I know my place. Just making sure you understand how dangerous it is to let a dog off its leash in a place like this, yea?”
Blake finished the last few strides to the edge of the roof and crouched down to study the streets below “I know what I’m doing Hound. Just get in position.” She ordered coolly as she watched one maiden snag the other before she could wander off.
“Aye aye, fearless leader” he simpered before he spun his spear to rest across his shoulders and leaped off the side of the building into the alley below. Blake rolled her eyes with a scowl. Hound just wanted blood as soon as he smelled it; trying to pick off a maiden in the wilderness was a daunting prospect. Too much room for them to maneuver, too easy for them to use the full brunt of their powers. The streets were to the advantage of the weaker party, and the extra bodies in the way would hopefully limit how much firepower the maidens brought to bear. She’d only been tasked with dealing with spring; she hadn’t decided yet whether Fall also being was a bonus or a complication. Probably both.
It didn’t matter. Lord Ozpin desired that Blake brought him the Spring Maiden, and the Spring Maiden he would get. Whatever the cost. He would always get what he wanted, until the faunus were finally free.
“Position check. Wolf?”
“I’m finishin’ up the last ‘a my checks on this end, chief. Should be good in ‘bout eighty ticks on th’clock! Y’know, this isn’t exactly the sorta thing I usually get paid for, and m’not sayin I can’t do it, just that-” crackled a rough, feminine voice over the comms.
“-Just make sure you’re ready. Tiger?”
*insert Tiger’s reply here*
“Raptor?”
“Got my eyes on the prize. Ready run interference on your orders, Miss Belladonna.” came a calm and breezy voice, heavy with wind intereference.
“Don't use that name in the field, idiot. Hound?”
“ You literally just saw me. Bored and itching to go already.”
She took a deep breath. That only left… she turned around to where the last member of this strike team was behind her, her voice losing its rough, ice cold edge for just one syllable.
“...Bull?”
------------------------------------------------------------------
-Two Weeks Ago-
Tengu castle’s throne room was as ominously lit as ever, the torchlight flickering against Sienna’s skin where she was draped in her throne, casting her dark skins in hues of orange and painting her even more so like the tigress she presented as. Her cheek rested on her knuckles as she regarded the faunus kneeling in front of her with a small, satisfied smile.
“Eve Taurus.”
This wasn’t the first time Eve had been brought to this throne room since her return, yet there was a wholly different energy pervading the space than those times. The first time Sienna’s voice was taut and cold, the guards weapon’s always pointed at the Eve from the moment she walked into the room. She had been ordered on a mission with Bear, the bull faunus given an aura dampening collar and the Talon given the remote.
The second time, Sienna’s voice was still cold, yet the guards stayed at ease. she was sent alone.
The third time Sienna’s voice was merely regal. Eve was given command of her own squad of shadowfang initiates, young, still impressionable faunus warriors. Unspoken of and perhaps unnoticed was the winged watcher who recorded the results from high above.
Between each of those times, Sienna spoke to Eve. Quiet, firm, strangely caring, yet with an undercurrent of fiery zeal. She reminded Eve of the faunus plight, she talked of Salem’s plans, how her actions and inactions had shaped the world into what it was today.
This was the fourth time, and it was the first time that Sienna was smiling. At her side were her guards as usual, yet right beside the throne, a masked cat faunus knelt, her head downturned and eyes fully hidden.
“One month ago you walked through those doors an enemy. A traitor to the faunus cause, the leader of the misguided White Fang. A lost soul who was lashing out, who had been deceived by the humans and led down a horrible path. How much can change in so short a time.”
She rose from the throne, her hands clasped behind her back as she slowly strode down the stairs. “Vacuo. Vale. Mistral. Three times, enemies and spies rose to act against us, or violent humans lashed out at innocent faunus. Three times, you cut them down. There are those in the Fang who say that isn’t enough; that you deserve far harsher penance than what I have deigned to give.”
She stopped a few feet from Eve, and her smile briefly hardened into a glare as she looked up to the shadows in the ceiling. “They are wrong. Our sister was hurting, my fellow faunus! She did not know her own hand, even as it cut at us; false morals and ideals had been planted in her head, born of a beautiful wish of true equality and justice that can never exist as long as a human reigns! But... she has been healing.”
Her gaze tilted back down, and Sienna’s smile was almost proud as it returned. “She has seen the error of her ways. The Eve Taurus that we remember, the staunch hero who gave the faunus their masks and helped light the fire in the hearts of so many has returned to us! To fight by our side, and to put her mighty strength to work at digging the humans out of power so that we may finally have our day in the light! Eve Taurus, when you walked into my throne room a month ago, you were already a prisoner, in mental shackles of human design; already living your own penance. No longer. You leave this room a Talon.”
She snapped her fingers, and in a blur of motion the faunus by the throne was at her side, sending Sienna’s robes rippling in the wind for a few seconds as she smiled and gestured towards Eve. The other faunus reverently held out a mask, her amber eyes finally tilting up to meet Eve’s own in a storm of emotions.
“You leave this room as Bull”
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Gus Gungus
One Thousand Club
Time away made you forget things. Eve was never more keenly aware of that fact than in those moments when she knelt before the high leader, heard her voice, her words. She understood now why she was never enough. Why it didn't matter how much strength, how much conviction, how many shattered pieces of her heart and psyche she laid bare at Blake's feet with each increasingly humiliating encounter. She never stood a chance of breaking the fanatic spell over her. Nobody did. Except her. The power Sienna wielded, the influence she could exert over a room simply by opening her mouth... that kind of power outpaced anything Eve could ever hope to achieve with her sword or her rage by so much it made her red to her ears. She could only imagine how childish she must've seemed to Blake in comparison. How, unknowingly, her obstinance and hysteria, her obsessive behavior and relentless lecturing, all of it could've been driving Blake further and further into Sienna's embrace without her knowing it, an embrace that was eloquent, reassuring, and above all validating. Words Blake actually wanted to hear. It wasn't even a comparison—Sienna's was the voice telling her she was right, that her place was at her side, that their years hadn't been wasted in the throes of senseless bloodshed.
And Eve was the one telling her all of that was wrong.
She couldn't deny that as implacably as she carried herself, as immune as she thought herself to be, even she couldn't ignore the near-hypnotic effect Sienna's words had over a room. The first time she had to kneel before the throne she felt scared, like she was being put on trial by her own people, a weight that had her shoulders hunch and posture shrink until she felt like the smallest thing in the room. Some cornered, caged animal facing damning accusations and the sharpened points of spears. She managed to keep her composure by reminding herself that that throne was just a chair, the woman seating it no more an authority over her than vice versa, and that the voice coldly bidding her was not the voice of her people. It was just that. A voice.
It still proved easier to put a collar on Eve Taurus than anyone would've ever expected that day. The act itself provoked no more than a surprised hiss and a firm, impulsive glare up at the rafters, eyes that were furious and pleading as they instinctively searched out anyone who could help, who could see the hypocrisy in subjecting any faunus to this even as deeply in Sienna's thrall as they were. It could've been that. It also could've just been a wild, fearful look around for the one pair of eyes in the room she could depend on to keep her calm, if they were even watching at all. Either way it was fleeting, and in all subsequent visits to the throne room she never once cast her gaze up to where her kin judged from the shadows again.
From that point forward, it was as if she was never gone. Each mission was carried out with the same lethally efficient determination of the unstoppable bull of old, and with every return visit to Sienna's court the posture she took a knee with became fuller, more situated, more confident. This, this she could do. Doing this was the only thing that ever made her anyone of consequence to begin with, and whatever was becoming of the rest of her she had only gotten better at it. She kept away from her peers for the most part, rarely engaging or emerging from the lodging she took in the fort's highest tower. But any doubts that Eve Taurus was back and fully committed were gradually being quelled, and by the time she returned to receive Sienna's favor they were nought but whispers, ones scarcely any were brave enough to direct to her face. She listened in quiet acquiescence as Sienna spoke, eyes shut and fist flat against the floor, a staunch refusal to look over at the Hand who waited by her side. If Sienna was still scrutinizing Eve's reactions for any signs of disloyalty, she should've been satisfied by what she saw. Her posture was cowed and submissive while she recounted her crimes; the eyes she lifted her head with saddened and contrite when she spoke of her ilk's opinion of her. But she visibly swelled when the tigress started lavishing her with praise, and that much was wholly genuine. She hadn't been the recipient of such fond descriptors since she left, no less eager to bask in them than she was then.
There was just one crucial difference. The Eve from then had been blind.
The one from now had the benefit of perspective. Her lip curled a bit at Sienna's last sentence, though only faintly. And as the Hand came forward to bequeath her new mask, Bull's chin was slow to lift in turn, though when it did her own eyes never ventured above the neckline. She hesitated for a moment before proceeding, whether it was her lack of familiarity with such formalities or something else tripping her up anyone's guess. Whatever the case, she decided to meet it with the levels of modesty, eloquence, respect for ceremony and aplomb as one might expect from someone being bestowed the title of Bull.
"Thanks," she grunted, snatching it.
---
It was uncanny how said operative always seemed to be conveniently in the middle of glancing away whenever Blake turned to her, which when coupled with the very faint aura tingling she felt every time her back was turned might've given the ninja the impression she was staring at her. That level of attention didn't quite correspond to their verbal interactions since Eve returned, though, which in general had been stiff, abrupt, and very, very awkward.
"Let's just get this over with."
Came her muted, hollow murmur of a reply, one hand on Wilt as her eyes scanned further up the street like that was where they'd been lingering this entire time and not the curve of Blake's shoulders.
Where ambush tactics were concerned, as long as she was next to her old partner she was already in position.
And Eve was the one telling her all of that was wrong.
She couldn't deny that as implacably as she carried herself, as immune as she thought herself to be, even she couldn't ignore the near-hypnotic effect Sienna's words had over a room. The first time she had to kneel before the throne she felt scared, like she was being put on trial by her own people, a weight that had her shoulders hunch and posture shrink until she felt like the smallest thing in the room. Some cornered, caged animal facing damning accusations and the sharpened points of spears. She managed to keep her composure by reminding herself that that throne was just a chair, the woman seating it no more an authority over her than vice versa, and that the voice coldly bidding her was not the voice of her people. It was just that. A voice.
It still proved easier to put a collar on Eve Taurus than anyone would've ever expected that day. The act itself provoked no more than a surprised hiss and a firm, impulsive glare up at the rafters, eyes that were furious and pleading as they instinctively searched out anyone who could help, who could see the hypocrisy in subjecting any faunus to this even as deeply in Sienna's thrall as they were. It could've been that. It also could've just been a wild, fearful look around for the one pair of eyes in the room she could depend on to keep her calm, if they were even watching at all. Either way it was fleeting, and in all subsequent visits to the throne room she never once cast her gaze up to where her kin judged from the shadows again.
From that point forward, it was as if she was never gone. Each mission was carried out with the same lethally efficient determination of the unstoppable bull of old, and with every return visit to Sienna's court the posture she took a knee with became fuller, more situated, more confident. This, this she could do. Doing this was the only thing that ever made her anyone of consequence to begin with, and whatever was becoming of the rest of her she had only gotten better at it. She kept away from her peers for the most part, rarely engaging or emerging from the lodging she took in the fort's highest tower. But any doubts that Eve Taurus was back and fully committed were gradually being quelled, and by the time she returned to receive Sienna's favor they were nought but whispers, ones scarcely any were brave enough to direct to her face. She listened in quiet acquiescence as Sienna spoke, eyes shut and fist flat against the floor, a staunch refusal to look over at the Hand who waited by her side. If Sienna was still scrutinizing Eve's reactions for any signs of disloyalty, she should've been satisfied by what she saw. Her posture was cowed and submissive while she recounted her crimes; the eyes she lifted her head with saddened and contrite when she spoke of her ilk's opinion of her. But she visibly swelled when the tigress started lavishing her with praise, and that much was wholly genuine. She hadn't been the recipient of such fond descriptors since she left, no less eager to bask in them than she was then.
There was just one crucial difference. The Eve from then had been blind.
The one from now had the benefit of perspective. Her lip curled a bit at Sienna's last sentence, though only faintly. And as the Hand came forward to bequeath her new mask, Bull's chin was slow to lift in turn, though when it did her own eyes never ventured above the neckline. She hesitated for a moment before proceeding, whether it was her lack of familiarity with such formalities or something else tripping her up anyone's guess. Whatever the case, she decided to meet it with the levels of modesty, eloquence, respect for ceremony and aplomb as one might expect from someone being bestowed the title of Bull.
"Thanks," she grunted, snatching it.
---
It was uncanny how said operative always seemed to be conveniently in the middle of glancing away whenever Blake turned to her, which when coupled with the very faint aura tingling she felt every time her back was turned might've given the ninja the impression she was staring at her. That level of attention didn't quite correspond to their verbal interactions since Eve returned, though, which in general had been stiff, abrupt, and very, very awkward.
"Let's just get this over with."
Came her muted, hollow murmur of a reply, one hand on Wilt as her eyes scanned further up the street like that was where they'd been lingering this entire time and not the curve of Blake's shoulders.
Where ambush tactics were concerned, as long as she was next to her old partner she was already in position.
MidwayLives
"What's your favorite scary movie...?"
Whatever feelings might have been had about Eve's return to the fold, Tiger didn't share them to anyone.
The Taurus she knew was a excellent fighter. Someone that Tiger probably wouldn't have minded dying to if things ever went south.
Irregardless, she was back and Tiger wouldn't question it.
If even for the slightest second though that Bull stepped out of line, Tiger would be upon her.
"Naturally, I'm ready. I'm a professional."
Going up against this target sounded like it'd be one of the hardest tasks Tiger had embarked on since gaining her position.
She was absolutely thrilled.
Be that as it may, Tiger detested hurting those weaker than herself. It provided no challenge and merely left her with a bitter taste in her mouth. So, she'd do all she could to bring the target down with just her raw strength alone without needing to resort to underhanded tactics.
Gave things more credence that way, least of all when fighting someone worth a damn for a change.
Rolling up her sleeves, a whispy purple misama ebbed from Tiger's body as her muscles began to bulge. The muscle definition was absolutely incredible and her torso swelled with power as the outline of her rippling abs pressed against her outfit. Her relatively lanky arms had gone from their normal composure to looking more like biceps that even the world's best bodybuilder would be jealous of.
She'd thought about Tock's opinion on them for some time. Wasn't like she had much else to do besides what she was told. There were things that Tiger considered dishonorable/something she wouldn't stoop to if it were up to her but for most of her life, that freedom of choice hadn't been made available. Not without hurting others due to lack of control of her semblance.
This one time she felt like she could truly do what she wished.
"45% of my strength. I hope that's respectful enough.." Tiger thought quietly to herself.
MyrtenRose
Knight of Rebellion
To have to deal with her trying to poke as many buttons as she could and still force themselves to put up with it, day after day, the shadow fang at least had admirable levels of determination and perseverance.....at least, that is what she wished she could think about the Shadow Fang and all those that followed under Sienna's terribly misguided leadership. In truth, a guard who could put her to sleep with just a single touch was an inspired choice. So much time of that self-chosen imprisonment had been spent dozing off. So much so that it seemed over and done with much sooner to Tock than to the Shadow Fang. Eventually, they just decided to cut her loose, albeit doing so only after making sure the croc couldn't come back. She had more than exhausted her welcome. Imagine that.
They even kindly dropped her off at the broken remains of one of her apartment hideouts.
Tock took one look at the wreckage before she turned on her heel and made her way off. Ten minutes later she returned with a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin in hand. The croc faunus dropped her duffel bag before she entered the ruined residence and studied it from the inside. Every broken bit scrutinized as she stood there and casually sipped the coffee, trying to judge how much it would cost to repair all this and if it would even be worth the cost.
This is fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine, she thought. A little elbow grease, some can-do spirit...yeah! It would be easy enough to fix this...for somebody else. Tock pulled out her scroll, freely returned alongside her weapons and made a call. After a few rings, it was answered and Tock cut off any attempts at a greeting by getting right into it.
"Nila. It's Tock...again."
"...So soon?!" A gruff female voice hissed back, annoyance made clear in the first five seconds for reasons beyond being rudely interrupted like that. "Who the hell did you piss off this time, huh?! We were just there like--"
"I fuckin' know, alright? It ain't my fault that so many people want to test themselves against me, guess there's just somethin' about me that brings on all the challengers." It sounded less like a complaint and more a boast, as far as the woman on the other end could tell. There was a heavy sigh on the other end, deliberately extended far beyond the length of a normal sigh, for emphasis. "I'm getting so familiar with your place that I might as well live there myself! But fine, fine! I'll get the crew together and head on up, assess the damage."
"I owe you another one. Ya know where to drop the bill when it's all done." With a click Tock ended that call and slipped on out of the broken remnants of her soon to be once again serviceable apartment. The duffel bag was pulled back up as she exited, slinging it over a shoulder and taking a bite of the muffin as she started to make her way back for the spot she'd shown Ilia. When she got there, the pastry was long gone and the coffee had cooled enough that Tock threw it away. There was some good news at least, that became apparent as soon as she opened the door.
Her ship, in one piece still! The croc appreciated that she had not been wrong to judge the chameleon good enough of a pilot to handle her...and appreciated even more that she had left it here. The SS Eternity was more than ready to head out...question was, where?
"........."
She didn't really want to do so, but Raven and the others had been headed up to Atlas...and that seemed the best place for her to be. Tock shook her head and cursed but nevertheless strode in to start her beaut up. As well as make absolutely certain there were no bugs planted on it for anybody to discreetly listen in on or track her.
They even kindly dropped her off at the broken remains of one of her apartment hideouts.
Tock took one look at the wreckage before she turned on her heel and made her way off. Ten minutes later she returned with a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin in hand. The croc faunus dropped her duffel bag before she entered the ruined residence and studied it from the inside. Every broken bit scrutinized as she stood there and casually sipped the coffee, trying to judge how much it would cost to repair all this and if it would even be worth the cost.
This is fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine, she thought. A little elbow grease, some can-do spirit...yeah! It would be easy enough to fix this...for somebody else. Tock pulled out her scroll, freely returned alongside her weapons and made a call. After a few rings, it was answered and Tock cut off any attempts at a greeting by getting right into it.
"Nila. It's Tock...again."
"...So soon?!" A gruff female voice hissed back, annoyance made clear in the first five seconds for reasons beyond being rudely interrupted like that. "Who the hell did you piss off this time, huh?! We were just there like--"
"I fuckin' know, alright? It ain't my fault that so many people want to test themselves against me, guess there's just somethin' about me that brings on all the challengers." It sounded less like a complaint and more a boast, as far as the woman on the other end could tell. There was a heavy sigh on the other end, deliberately extended far beyond the length of a normal sigh, for emphasis. "I'm getting so familiar with your place that I might as well live there myself! But fine, fine! I'll get the crew together and head on up, assess the damage."
"I owe you another one. Ya know where to drop the bill when it's all done." With a click Tock ended that call and slipped on out of the broken remnants of her soon to be once again serviceable apartment. The duffel bag was pulled back up as she exited, slinging it over a shoulder and taking a bite of the muffin as she started to make her way back for the spot she'd shown Ilia. When she got there, the pastry was long gone and the coffee had cooled enough that Tock threw it away. There was some good news at least, that became apparent as soon as she opened the door.
Her ship, in one piece still! The croc appreciated that she had not been wrong to judge the chameleon good enough of a pilot to handle her...and appreciated even more that she had left it here. The SS Eternity was more than ready to head out...question was, where?
"........."
She didn't really want to do so, but Raven and the others had been headed up to Atlas...and that seemed the best place for her to be. Tock shook her head and cursed but nevertheless strode in to start her beaut up. As well as make absolutely certain there were no bugs planted on it for anybody to discreetly listen in on or track her.
Gus Gungus
One Thousand Club
Meanwhile, far across the ocean, in the frostier regions of the world where days were growing shorter and the night's breeze a more bitter chill, Yang's stint as a housepet was mostly uneventful.
She was fed well, her every need taken care of to the highest standard of luxury, and given leave to walk the expansive manor grounds freely any time she liked. Weiss enforced a certain degree of respect and acknowledgment of her position, but provided her hospitality was never spurned too badly ended up being remarkably tolerant in what she was willing to allow; whether the huntress got away with the occasional bout of misbehavior typically came down to whether it made Weiss laugh or not. She drank wine like an oligarch and seemed to get bored easily, so it was usually fine. Occasionally she found herself pressed for a bit more information, but for the time being the councilwoman appeared largely content with the footing she'd secured herself, so provided Yang showed even the slightest willingness to compromise and give her something on the rare occasion she asked it never grew to be notably tense.
Outside of that, Weiss took to her like she was a doll at a tea party. She never let herself appear vulnerable or opened up any sort of emotional cores like the Weiss Schnee of another world did, but it was surprising how quickly there came to be a genuine fondness in the way she chatted to the huntress, condescendingly explained things to her and invited her on her morning walk around the grounds every single day; even if it was ethically wrong to call the hour she woke Yang up to ask at 'morning'. There was no better an example of her fierce discipline than in how little free time she actually allowed herself, though, and it wasn't uncommon for days to go by without Yang seeing a single trace of her host, only for her to turn up completely out of the blue one evening sipping wine in her nightgown.
What quickly became apparent was that for as many people as the executive saw day-to-day, her personal life was completely empty; lacking in any real friends or confidants to speak of outside the pack of corgis she let roam her mansion (causing destruction as they pleased). There was something inherently sad about a woman with such an obvious social drive who ended up spending all her spare time drinking alone in a gigantic house, but if Yang's tone ever veered towards sympathy she also had an ugly habit of dialing up her arrogance to stamp it out, Weiss not one for being pitied. While she could outsource most of her duties as a business owner to others, her political sway over the city required her constant presence and attention to maintain, while her off hours were mostly spent consigned to the manor courtyard where she could freeze their massive fountain over into a makeshift arena and practice attaining mastery over her maiden abilities. Positions of power were often tenuous, enemies from multiple angles would soon be closing in, and she was dead-set on ensuring her skills, aura, weapon, dust and semblance all blended in perfect harmony with the newer and more diverse range of abilities she had access to, devising her own training regimen to ensure they were an asset she could employ to its fullest potential like any other rather than something that overshadowed her fighting style from the word go.
That regiment was convenient in that it also allowed her to work on her stamina and aura expenditure when it came to the use of her semblance, given she was providing her own targets. White beowolves, creeps, manticores and ursi spawned in groups only to be wiped out without hope of defending themselves, Weiss like a blizzard given form as she ricocheted around the confines of the arena, using maiden flight to boost her momentum and carefully ordained glyph trails to control her trajectory as the grimm were wiped out by the dozens during her obscene crisscross game of death pinball. She was presently surfing around the rim of a literal tornado, gravity glyphs keeping her footing stable as she shot to and fro cutting down every grimm getting swept up in the icy shards. The twister was abruptly shattered by the titanic suit of armor that barged through it with a hack of its mighty cleaver, but Weiss's only reaction was a raised eyebrow and a self-satisfied "hmph" as she rode a graceful glyph spiral free of the aftermath and raised a hand towards the knight with a flare of crystal blue. The ice shards left over by the blizzard swirled and reformed into a different shape, and the geist knight found itself speared and impaled by icy lances from multiple angles before a final glyph sent her pinging off to behead it with a slash imbued by vortexes of blue flame.
She landed with her back to the dissolving summon, legs crossed demurely below the shins and Myrtenaster embedded in the ice at her feet as she started tying her hair back tighter and checked the scroll-watch adorning her bare wrist. A moment later she clucked her tongue in displeasure.
"...Not fast enough. Mark a twelve-second improvement on scenario 38 and reset."
The scroll timer did as instructed, and Weiss started measuring out summons for the grimm horde this scenario dictated as she drew Myrtenaster from the ice with a flourishing spin and prepared for attempt 57 of scenario 38.
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Schnee Corp Lawyer
STILL not over Birthright's ending
“...okay”
The word was soft and hesitant, and Blake was slow to turn back around, but by the time she reached to her mask to reactivate her comms her shoulders were squared and the Right Hand was speaking once more; her voice hard and fiery as she slipped into the persona with the ease of melting into a warm embrace, donning the mental armor Sienna had spent the years forging that turned Blake Belladonna into the weapon wielded by the Faunus.
(0:00-1:52)
“Both of these maidens now serve Salem; so long as she controls them, she controls two of the relics, and as long as she controls the relics, her stranglehold on this world will be that much harder to break; What we do today will rip out half her teeth. Do not underestimate them; None of us are strong enough to take either of them on by ourselves, but we are the hand and five talons, and we will act as one. Lord Ozpin wants Spring alive. Do everything in your power to make that so, but…”
She stood up from her crouch, unraveling Gambols shroud’s ribbon from her arm with a ritualistic slowness, the hate that had been so carefully cultivated in her heart bubbling up to the surface with a scowl as she drew the weapon from her back. For the first time since the battle of Beacon, her opponent wasn’t another faunus. For the first time since then, she could show her true fangs.
“...They’re only human. If it comes down to one of you dying or one of them... “
She pulled the hood up on her robes and stepped off the side of the roof
“kill them.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apart from the chill in the air, it was a nice day for Argus. The sun was bright, only a few fluffy clouds drifted across the sky, and there was a distinct lack of giant monsters attached to the side of any buildings. A few winter birds were even in the air, their chirps harmonizing with the buzz of the crowd as Vernal and Cinder made their way towards the port.
There wasn’t any grand declaration of battle, no huge explosions, no ultimatums; even her aura’s warning seemed to come just an iota too late; just the gentle caress of something smooth on her neck, before Cinder felt herself violently wrenched by that part of herself over someone’s shoulder and whipped down an alleyway. Barely a sound accompanied the violent motion, and if Vernal turned towards where Cinder had been just a moment ago only a vaguely humanoid shape was there, already fading away into black mist. Even the rest of the people around them seemed confused as to what just happened; no one was screaming in surprise or terror, only one or two people blinking in confusion as they tried to process whatever had happened in front of their eyes.
No, the screaming didn’t start until Vernal’s aura did warn her moments before the ground she stood at exploded into flames from a dust round coming from on high, causing a nearby car to careen to the side of the road and into a building, the crowd to erupt into panic, and signalling Tiger and Hound it was time to make their move on the Spring Maiden; wherever Vernal dodged to, a gleaming red rocket of a projectile slammed into her with treacherous accuracy, sending her spinning to the ground. The red projectile went zooming back in the direction it had come, and a soft clank echoed past the din of the panic crowd as Hound strode onto the sidewalk opposite the side of the street from where Vernal had landed, gently spinning the weapon in his hand back the right way. If Vernal looked at him, he just grinned and pointedly glanced above Vernal, to where Tiger was falling from the roof she’d been stationed on.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
For as lean as her build was, there was a lot of strength in Blake Belladonna’s arms. Cinder hit the ground so hard that she skipped and kept almost almost all her momentum, until the ribbon still around her neck brought it to a sudden and painful halt. She finally had a moment to get her bearings, but only a moment; the faunus on the other end of the Ribbon was already on her after that, Gambol shroud in sword form as it came swinging down for the crown of Cinder’s head.
The word was soft and hesitant, and Blake was slow to turn back around, but by the time she reached to her mask to reactivate her comms her shoulders were squared and the Right Hand was speaking once more; her voice hard and fiery as she slipped into the persona with the ease of melting into a warm embrace, donning the mental armor Sienna had spent the years forging that turned Blake Belladonna into the weapon wielded by the Faunus.
(0:00-1:52)
“Both of these maidens now serve Salem; so long as she controls them, she controls two of the relics, and as long as she controls the relics, her stranglehold on this world will be that much harder to break; What we do today will rip out half her teeth. Do not underestimate them; None of us are strong enough to take either of them on by ourselves, but we are the hand and five talons, and we will act as one. Lord Ozpin wants Spring alive. Do everything in your power to make that so, but…”
She stood up from her crouch, unraveling Gambols shroud’s ribbon from her arm with a ritualistic slowness, the hate that had been so carefully cultivated in her heart bubbling up to the surface with a scowl as she drew the weapon from her back. For the first time since the battle of Beacon, her opponent wasn’t another faunus. For the first time since then, she could show her true fangs.
“...They’re only human. If it comes down to one of you dying or one of them... “
She pulled the hood up on her robes and stepped off the side of the roof
“kill them.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apart from the chill in the air, it was a nice day for Argus. The sun was bright, only a few fluffy clouds drifted across the sky, and there was a distinct lack of giant monsters attached to the side of any buildings. A few winter birds were even in the air, their chirps harmonizing with the buzz of the crowd as Vernal and Cinder made their way towards the port.
There wasn’t any grand declaration of battle, no huge explosions, no ultimatums; even her aura’s warning seemed to come just an iota too late; just the gentle caress of something smooth on her neck, before Cinder felt herself violently wrenched by that part of herself over someone’s shoulder and whipped down an alleyway. Barely a sound accompanied the violent motion, and if Vernal turned towards where Cinder had been just a moment ago only a vaguely humanoid shape was there, already fading away into black mist. Even the rest of the people around them seemed confused as to what just happened; no one was screaming in surprise or terror, only one or two people blinking in confusion as they tried to process whatever had happened in front of their eyes.
No, the screaming didn’t start until Vernal’s aura did warn her moments before the ground she stood at exploded into flames from a dust round coming from on high, causing a nearby car to careen to the side of the road and into a building, the crowd to erupt into panic, and signalling Tiger and Hound it was time to make their move on the Spring Maiden; wherever Vernal dodged to, a gleaming red rocket of a projectile slammed into her with treacherous accuracy, sending her spinning to the ground. The red projectile went zooming back in the direction it had come, and a soft clank echoed past the din of the panic crowd as Hound strode onto the sidewalk opposite the side of the street from where Vernal had landed, gently spinning the weapon in his hand back the right way. If Vernal looked at him, he just grinned and pointedly glanced above Vernal, to where Tiger was falling from the roof she’d been stationed on.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
For as lean as her build was, there was a lot of strength in Blake Belladonna’s arms. Cinder hit the ground so hard that she skipped and kept almost almost all her momentum, until the ribbon still around her neck brought it to a sudden and painful halt. She finally had a moment to get her bearings, but only a moment; the faunus on the other end of the Ribbon was already on her after that, Gambol shroud in sword form as it came swinging down for the crown of Cinder’s head.
MidwayLives
"What's your favorite scary movie...?"
Tiger's muscles tensed up...
It was time.
That damn grin...
"Alley oop."
Tiger leaped down from the roof, demolishing the ground beneath her as she rose up to her full height behind Vernal. Her eyes hidden away by the lenses of her mask. Her bodacious biceps on full display, she lashed out with speed quicker than someone with her musculature might have you believe.
Gripping Vernal by the head, Tiger sought to smash her straight into the nearest wall and through it.
"You have great power. You should be proud."
Tiger's muscles tensed up again.
"It's a shame you have to lose here."
"Alley oop."
Tiger leaped down from the roof, demolishing the ground beneath her as she rose up to her full height behind Vernal. Her eyes hidden away by the lenses of her mask. Her bodacious biceps on full display, she lashed out with speed quicker than someone with her musculature might have you believe.
Gripping Vernal by the head, Tiger sought to smash her straight into the nearest wall and through it.
"You have great power. You should be proud."
Tiger's muscles tensed up again.
"It's a shame you have to lose here."
Attachments
MyrtenRose
Knight of Rebellion
What the...
There was only enough time for a brief side glance in between her aura warning her of danger and said incoming danger violently yanking her away.
"Arghrk." Cinder let out in a half grunt, half choking gurgle as she got brought to an abrupt halt after she bounced off the ground. Still, the teenager didn't let that disorient her, the bow on her back pulling apart with a loud snap into two sizable blades of her own. One rose to intercept the blade of Gambol Shroud coming down, colliding with the darker weapon with enough force to create sparks. The other sliced out in an attempt to sever the ribbon still wrapped around her and force the tight hold to slacken. "Seriously?!? In the middle of the city?? Why now? Can you just leave me the hell alone, I champion faunus rights, good lord." She hissed out in annoyance.
"..."
"What the shit--" Vernal started, caught off guard by this. She had thought she was doing well enough of a job of keeping an eye on her back that she couldn't possibly be ambushed, no matter who it was. It came with the lifestyle she'd led so far and well, her status as a maiden. You had to even sleep with one eye open, lest somebody else get some ideas. Yet, here she was. Getting knocked to the ground by that sudden weapon slamming into her with great force and...
She was warned by more than just Hound's sight, her aura pinging her in time. Tiger missed her grip entirely despite her speed, her hand gaining hold of nothing but air as Spring's roll brought her up back up to standing a few yards away, her twin weapons of Tempest held in both hands. "Don't get ahead of yourself, now." Vernal mocked, throwing one of her crescent shaped blades to send it colliding into Tiger's skull and bouncing off it to return to her hand like she was Captain America instead of a maiden.
"I handle punks like you before breakfast." She growled, cracking her neck before this thing really got started.
"I handle punks like you before breakfast." She growled, cracking her neck before this thing really got started.
Indolent
Thirsty for Pink Cosmopolitans
Gus Gungus
One Thousand Club
Her grumbling complaint was largely cut off by an echoing BANG reverberating between the walls of the alley, putting a sword hilt with all the momentum of a bullet on a collision course with the base of her skull in what was to be a discombobulating strike if it hit its mark as the weapon in question bounced off her aura and back into the hand of its owner. She was already charging the fall maiden herself from behind, snatching Wilt out of the air as she did after making a silent landing in the alley behind Cinder and aiming for a simple thrust into her back with the energy stored from the ricochet, the impact with her aura meant to take her off balance and drive her forward into Blake's next offensive. Her assailant was silent behind the mask, but the visible lower half of her face was set in a grimace of stoic resolve, unmoved by Cinder's plight to the extent her features betrayed.
Schnee Corp Lawyer
STILL not over Birthright's ending
"Hah?"She was warned by more than just Hound's sight, her aura pinging her in time. Tiger missed her grip entirely despite her speed, her hand gaining hold of nothing but air as Spring's roll brought her up back up to standing a few yards away, her twin weapons of Tempest held in both hands. "Don't get ahead of yourself, now." Vernal mocked, throwing one of her crescent shaped blades to send it colliding into Tiger's skull and bouncing off it to return to her hand like she was Captain America instead of a maiden.
"I handle punks like you before breakfast." She growled, cracking her neck before this thing really got started.
Vernal's waiting hand never got her weapon back.
There was a red blur between her and Tiger that embedded itself in the building beside them, and Vernal finally got a good look at Hound's weapon; What had looked like a simple spear in his hands had transformed. Small thrusters extended out of it around the weapon's haft, with a larger one on the bottom. The half of tempest that Vernal had thrown was slowly spinning its way down the haft of the spear before it got caught on one of the thrusters, Hound somehow managing to hit that miniscule bullseye midflight with the tip of his spear.
"Y'hear that, Arena meat? The feral mutt here thinks she's hot shit!" He cackled and raised a gloved hand, and as he twisted his fingers the thrusters on the spear lit back to life, tearing itself out of the building and spinning into the air before another flick of the fingers sent it rocketing back to Hound's waiting other hand. a twist of the wrist planted it into the ground beside him, and his foot came to rest on top of the half of Tempest he'd snagged before he pulled the spear back out of the ground.
"S'that so? Alright then, alright, show us what you got if that's the case! Better do it quick, though.... " He added, tossing his head back in the direction Cinder had been abducted into
Whatever other bonds might've shriveled, cracked, or faded between Eve and Blake, their teamwork wasn't one of them. With Blake so close the ribbon was slack everywhere but directly against Cinder's neck, held in place their by an expertly looped knot, and getting any leverage to cut it at it would've taken two hands. Time Blake didn't intend to give her; she pushed off the blocked strike and landed on her feet in time with Eve's own strike, and caught Cinder on the underside of the chin with her sword as she stumbled with an uppercut slice, only to slam her foot on the ribbon at her feet to suddenly pull it taut and bring Cinder slamming back down to the ground.
"...Cuz I don't think your little mutt pup's ready to take on the Hand and Bull at the same time." Hound finished as he lolled his head back around to Vernal
MidwayLives
"What's your favorite scary movie...?"
She was quick on her feet...
Good.
Good.
*doink*
The weapon cracked Tiger across the head and she merely took a step back.
"Not a bad response.."
The weapon cracked Tiger across the head and she merely took a step back.
"Not a bad response.."
Tiger didn't say anything. Witty banter wasn't something she excelled in. She left that up to others more....suited for such measures.
"As usual..."
Tiger spread her feet apart and pressed her index finger against her thumb as if she were going to flick something.
"You talk too much."
The same purple miasma from before ebbed from Tiger's body, muscles along her arm and hand tensing up. Energy seemed to cackle around her thumb and finger in particular.
Her semblance was powerful, sure. She could crush somebody's head in with her bare hands. She could break a limb with just a sharp yank.
Yet all it did on the surface level was pump up her muscles. It wasn't anything spectacular.
The first shot pinged a wall beside Hound leaving a bullet sized hole where it'd struck.
"Aim was a little off."
She focused and fired upon Vernal. She didn't see the need for a conventional weapon given what her semblance afforded her. An ax or spear or sword would only slow her down. So, she took her semblance and improvised. As much as you could with something as lackluster as this.
Schnee Corp Lawyer
STILL not over Birthright's ending
Meanwhile, far across the ocean, in the frostier regions of the world where days were growing shorter and the night's breeze a more bitter chill, Yang's stint as a housepet was mostly uneventful.
She was fed well, her every need taken care of to the highest standard of luxury, and given leave to walk the expansive manor grounds freely any time she liked. Weiss enforced a certain degree of respect and acknowledgment of her position, but provided her hospitality was never spurned too badly ended up being remarkably tolerant in what she was willing to allow; whether the huntress got away with the occasional bout of misbehavior typically came down to whether it made Weiss laugh or not. She drank wine like an oligarch and seemed to get bored easily, so it was usually fine. Occasionally she found herself pressed for a bit more information, but for the time being the councilwoman appeared largely content with the footing she'd secured herself, so provided Yang showed even the slightest willingness to compromise and give her something on the rare occasion she asked it never grew to be notably tense.
Outside of that, Weiss took to her like she was a doll at a tea party. She never let herself appear vulnerable or opened up any sort of emotional cores like the Weiss Schnee of another world did, but it was surprising how quickly there came to be a genuine fondness in the way she chatted to the huntress, condescendingly explained things to her and invited her on her morning walk around the grounds every single day; even if it was ethically wrong to call the hour she woke Yang up to ask at 'morning'. There was no better an example of her fierce discipline than in how little free time she actually allowed herself, though, and it wasn't uncommon for days to go by without Yang seeing a single trace of her host, only for her to turn up completely out of the blue one evening sipping wine in her nightgown.
What quickly became apparent was that for as many people as the executive saw day-to-day, her personal life was completely empty; lacking in any real friends or confidants to speak of outside the pack of corgis she let roam her mansion (causing destruction as they pleased). There was something inherently sad about a woman with such an obvious social drive who ended up spending all her spare time drinking alone in a gigantic house, but if Yang's tone ever veered towards sympathy she also had an ugly habit of dialing up her arrogance to stamp it out, Weiss not one for being pitied. While she could outsource most of her duties as a business owner to others, her political sway over the city required her constant presence and attention to maintain, while her off hours were mostly spent consigned to the manor courtyard where she could freeze their massive fountain over into a makeshift arena and practice attaining mastery over her maiden abilities. Positions of power were often tenuous, enemies from multiple angles would soon be closing in, and she was dead-set on ensuring her skills, aura, weapon, dust and semblance all blended in perfect harmony with the newer and more diverse range of abilities she had access to, devising her own training regimen to ensure they were an asset she could employ to its fullest potential like any other rather than something that overshadowed her fighting style from the word go.
That regiment was convenient in that it also allowed her to work on her stamina and aura expenditure when it came to the use of her semblance, given she was providing her own targets. White beowolves, creeps, manticores and ursi spawned in groups only to be wiped out without hope of defending themselves, Weiss like a blizzard given form as she ricocheted around the confines of the arena, using maiden flight to boost her momentum and carefully ordained glyph trails to control her trajectory as the grimm were wiped out by the dozens during her obscene crisscross game of death pinball. She was presently surfing around the rim of a literal tornado, gravity glyphs keeping her footing stable as she shot to and fro cutting down every grimm getting swept up in the icy shards. The twister was abruptly shattered by the titanic suit of armor that barged through it with a hack of its mighty cleaver, but Weiss's only reaction was a raised eyebrow and a self-satisfied "hmph" as she rode a graceful glyph spiral free of the aftermath and raised a hand towards the knight with a flare of crystal blue. The ice shards left over by the blizzard swirled and reformed into a different shape, and the geist knight found itself speared and impaled by icy lances from multiple angles before a final glyph sent her pinging off to behead it with a slash imbued by vortexes of blue flame.
She landed with her back to the dissolving summon, legs crossed demurely below the shins and Myrtenaster embedded in the ice at her feet as she started tying her hair back tighter and checked the scroll-watch adorning her bare wrist. A moment later she clucked her tongue in displeasure.
"...Not fast enough. Mark a twelve-second improvement on scenario 38 and reset."
The scroll timer did as instructed, and Weiss started measuring out summons for the grimm horde this scenario dictated as she drew Myrtenaster from the ice with a flourishing spin and prepared for attempt 57 of scenario 38.
Yang was slowly losing her god damn mind.
She could've handled being a war prisoner, or at least she liked to think she could've. She was tough. She'd been through hell and back already. Physically and emotionally she'd been put through the wringer and came out better for it, and if this Weiss tried to break her, she'd be the one to shatter in the end, like a glass hammer trying to crack a tempered steel sword. She also could've handled being a house guest to a friend. Like. Obviously, duh. There weren't any real badass boasts to be made about that. But this middle ground? Being treated like the amalgam of a prized possession and a child? It was pushing some seriously uncomfortable buttons in Yang's brain.
She couldn't just play the part of the embattled prisoner; she'd been angling for info right back, she was determined to keep herself in peak condition, and neither of those were gonna happen if she was chained up in some cell for getting too mouthy or violent. She didn't even want to anyways, not really. For all the obviously (to Yang :| ) terrible decisions she'd made, the longer Yang spent with this Weiss, the more sure she was that... it was Weiss. As dumb as that thought probably sounded, after meeting herself she had some backwards hope that it wouldn't be the case, that Weiss would be some simpering, seven foot tall villainess with a bad anime laugh that Yang could bury into the floor fist first and do so with a grin. But that wasn't it. She was cold, she was arrogant, and while Yang hadn't seen it herself yet, she couldn't help but assume she was cruel, with whatever it was she'd sent through that portal. Yet she was also structured, confident, and as ever kind of bad at hiding how hilarious she found Yang's absolutely stellar sense of humor. She doubted the morning hellos and walk offers were an important part of Weiss' evil schemes. Or that Weiss had a good, tactical reasoning behind letting Yang keep herself in shape using her gym. The more time she spent here, the more sure she felt; this was Weiss.
...Or she was doing a very good job pretending to be, for Yang’s sake, for whatever motives that could be.
Those ventures into sympathy did happen, but only once or twice; After she was shut down on that front, Yang just settled for being friendly; despite the ever present undercurrent of ‘gonna kick your ass one day’ she fronted, her greetings were genuine, she commiserated if Weiss had to unload about a particularly bad work day, and on at least one occasion she dredged up an old, old edition of Battle For Remnant out of one of the Schnee manor backrooms and heckled Weiss relentlessly until she took the time out of her day for at least one game. In her head, this was all the long con. She was poking and prodding at Weiss’ own mental defenses just like she knew her own were being tested, gently fishing for information, and just as gently (if not exactly subtly) trying to get on Weiss’ good side, and make it that little bit harder for Weiss to do anything drastic to her when this all came to a head. Good old fashioned mental warfare.
That was what she tried to tell herself anyways. But after the third or fourth time Weiss went on some business trip or whatever and vanished for days on end, Yang was forced to acknowledge that was at best only partly true; Laying in the bed she’d been given, staring at the ceiling, and being forced to bask in the deafening, relentless silence that pervaded Schnee Manor’s vaunted halls, it hit her.
She was lonely.
She missed Weiss.
She missed her own Weiss more, of course. She missed her sister even more, and they’d only been separated for a month. The ache that was burned in her heart from being away from Blake for so long was threatening to finally burst. But outside of bunnycop, who’d made herself scarce after Yang ravaged her fields and pillaged her verbal kingdom in a single move, Weiss was the only person Yang got to see. She just wasn’t wired to deal with that. Not without anything to do, no excitement she could give herself without jeopardizing her chances at being rescued or making her own escape. Weiss was fun, in her own obnoxious, domineering way. She met Yang’s own verbal bites halfway without turning vicious, and for as terrible as the rest of her life had gone she was surprisingly funny.
The thought really did make her feel pathetic. This place was getting to her. No wonder this Weiss turned into such an ice queen, or that her Weiss was so sharp and fragile when they first met. She hadn’t even met Jacques Schnee, but the building itself was gonna drive her up the wall. So big. So quiet. So cold. Too large to think of as a prison, so instead it was becoming her whole world; a tiny bubble of isolation from the rest of Remnant that tiny parts of Yang whispered she was never going to leave. She stopped her exploring; she kept mostly to her own room, the gym, the kitchen, and Weiss’ own spaces. At least, after she tried avoiding Weiss for a bit when she realized how much her being the only human contact she had was getting into her head, but that only lasted a week before Yang was dead certain that she was about to explode from unsaid words and the god damn fucking quiet.
There was one light, in all of this, a smattering of little stars she could look to. One besides the North Star that Weiss was, beckoning her closer to the edge, or the blank, empty space in the sky of her mind where she just had to hope and pray that her sister’s and uncle’s own star was looming closer and brigther, just invisible.
It was the corgis. There were so many. Tiny balls of energy and destruction that Yang could relate to on a spiritual level. One of them was her current focus as Weiss trained, the pair in a hall overlooking the courtyard (Had to keep tabs on just how much butt Weissy could kick. Yang still thought she could take her. Definitely. For sure, six outta ten times) Yang crouched down next to it after it had ambled over and given her a single, solitary bark for attention. “Y’know” she mused as she watched Weiss eviscerate the same pack of faux grimm for the fifty eigth time “I had a corgi back in my world. Little buddy was named Zwei”
“Mrgh?”
“Yep! Never really knew why Dad gave him an atlesian name. Maybe you guys are related!” She suggested with a grin as she glanced down over at the pup. The grin wavered a bit. “...huh… maybe you are related. You look… exactly like him…” She mused, pausing her scratching so she could instead use her arm to check his nametag.
“...No way.”
There was only one way to be sure. She rotated herself to face him fully and gently gripped the bottom of his doggy chin to make eye contact. “If this starts to hurt at all, bark, okay?”
“Woof.”
She gave a solemn nod, rested her arm across the whole of his back, and started to press down, gently at first, then hard.
When she pulled away, the dog was impossibly flat except for his still wagging tail, before he suddenly returned to full size with a *pop!*
“WEISS!”
The door to the courtyard slammed open a few minutes later, Yang striding in with the corgi hugged to her chest with one hand looped under its front legs. She came to a stop at the edge of the impromptu arena and tilted her back to present the pup to Weiss.
“Why do you have my dog : |”
MyrtenRose
Knight of Rebellion
Before Cinder could make any move, either to lunge at Blake as she pushed herself back after the sword clash or to react the hint of danger from behind her aura provided...said danger hit her square in the back of the head. Right in the spot that signified the end of her skull and the start of her neck. The blow snapped her head forward and down, and it was quickly followed as Eve's thrust pushed the rest of her forward too. Right into a uppercut strike that would have taken her higher up, if not for the still attached ribbon yanking her back down almost immediately. Cinder's red aura flickered as she scraped across the ground, her teeth gritting in pain.
Yeah, she knew how to fight, and she was a maiden...but she was also young. Green. Inexperienced. In a battle with two people who were remarkably skilled themselves, and with great teamwork...that inexperience really showed.
Her head lifted and she flinched when she got a look at her second attacker. She wore a different mask but...for a few seconds Cinder was stunned into silence, until: "...No. You too?? Were...were you planning to turn against us the whole time we were on that train?! How many of you were just waiting to stab us in the back??" Cinder's eye flared with rage, and unlike with Vernal there was nothing to consider about how Eve might be useful to her in the future. Nothing to quell that anger.
After that, Cinder forwent any attempt to free herself from the ribbon still wrapped around her. Instead she sought to turn that disadvantage to her advantage. Fire exploded out of her boots, sending the fall maiden surging forward at incredible speeds to the end of the alley. By the time she reached it, her flight path had climbed enough that Cinder just narrowly sailed up past the building's outer wall instead of smacking into it. The teenager did all she could to pull the weapon attached to this damn ribbon out of Blake's hands and along with her as she soared clear of the alley.
If that went as intended, Cinder took the time she believed she had just bought herself to hurriedly try and free herself from this infernal ribbon.
Yeah, she knew how to fight, and she was a maiden...but she was also young. Green. Inexperienced. In a battle with two people who were remarkably skilled themselves, and with great teamwork...that inexperience really showed.
Her head lifted and she flinched when she got a look at her second attacker. She wore a different mask but...for a few seconds Cinder was stunned into silence, until: "...No. You too?? Were...were you planning to turn against us the whole time we were on that train?! How many of you were just waiting to stab us in the back??" Cinder's eye flared with rage, and unlike with Vernal there was nothing to consider about how Eve might be useful to her in the future. Nothing to quell that anger.
After that, Cinder forwent any attempt to free herself from the ribbon still wrapped around her. Instead she sought to turn that disadvantage to her advantage. Fire exploded out of her boots, sending the fall maiden surging forward at incredible speeds to the end of the alley. By the time she reached it, her flight path had climbed enough that Cinder just narrowly sailed up past the building's outer wall instead of smacking into it. The teenager did all she could to pull the weapon attached to this damn ribbon out of Blake's hands and along with her as she soared clear of the alley.
If that went as intended, Cinder took the time she believed she had just bought herself to hurriedly try and free herself from this infernal ribbon.
"......" That was one way to disarm somebody, but Vernal definitely did not appreciate it, just judging by the glare directed his way. Spring didn't even so much as react to what Tiger began firing at her, just letting it bounce off her and seemingly unaffected by any of it in a similar manner as:
Her glare at Hound didn't last long though, broken as she followed his gaze just to see Cinder's head smack into the cement. "Thanks for the tip." She snarled, head starting to turn back...
Her glare at Hound didn't last long though, broken as she followed his gaze just to see Cinder's head smack into the cement. "Thanks for the tip." She snarled, head starting to turn back...
Her head fully turned to face him in the same instant his did likewise with hers. But this time, her glare stood out even more than before, as her eyes were now fully black in a frankly ominous display, not a hint of the white or blue that would normally be there. And in an instant both Hound and Tiger witnessed their vision goes just as dark. The split-second after that settled, Vernal sliced out with her the crescent blade that she still held onto, a sizable orange laser shot out from the weapon that likewise swung out in a wide arc, intending to knock the pair back and off their feet. If it worked as intended, however, she didn't press her advantage by continuing to assault them. A gust of wind swept through to propel her other half of Tempest back into her hand and she turned away from them both.
In favor of going for Eve, jumping through the air for the bull. As she came down, she swung out with both blades in a criss-crossed X slice attack.
"Hey. Long time no see!"
In favor of going for Eve, jumping through the air for the bull. As she came down, she swung out with both blades in a criss-crossed X slice attack.
"Hey. Long time no see!"
MidwayLives
"What's your favorite scary movie...?"
Tyrian didn't know how far he'd run or whether anyone was following him.
His hands clutched on either side of his head and the tears ran like rain.
The voices....The voices!!! They wouldn't shut. UP! They continued to feed into his fears! He'd lost everything worth caring about!
Ichabod, Cinder, his team....
All gone away in the wind and he'd been unable to do a damn thing about it!
Coming to a stop near a particularly sturdy looking tree, Tyrian lashed out. Smashing his fists into it over and over again.
"RAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!!!!! AAAAGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
He screamed for all that he'd lost.
...But nobody came.
He continued to swing wildly at the tree before finally leaning forward to prop his forehead against it. No matter how much he beat on this tree, it wouldn't erase what had been done. He'd stood idly by while the brightest star of their team ran off to face the unknown. Who knew what horrors she'd face or if she'd ever miss them like he desperately missed her?
"Cinder..."
*THWACK*
He smashed his head against the tree trunk.
"Cinder..."
*THWACK*
Over and over again.
"I'm useless!!! USELESS!!!"
Tyrian removed the aura around his forehead and brought his head down.
This time he stumbled back and fell onto his rear, blood running down from where he'd smashed his head.
"I'm...I'm sorry Hazel...eeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!"
Tyrian sobbed as blood mixed in with the tears. As sad as it was and though the promise was made between friends, the only place Tyrian found comfort when he was alone: Was through utter pain.
~~~
~~A month and a half later~~
He'd truly lost track of how long it'd been.
He tried not to think too much on it. It brought back bad memories of what had once been.
He'd run, run for what felt like forever. When he'd finally met her again.
'Tyrian!' She cried. 'What the hell happened-your-your head!'
Ah, she was probably referring to the nasty scar along Tyrian's forehead. He'd have to try hiding that with his hair.
The time to catch up was nice if a bit awkward. What Tyrian refused to say or go into made his fellow arachnid uncomfortable. Where he'd gotten the scars from or what had become of his old friends. Still, he had told her what he could. Like how he'd lost his tail and whom had done the deed. Much to Tyrian's absolute shock, she didn't like hearing that he'd gotten himself mixed up in some crazy...whatever this was. She'd completed his tail in the travel to meet him but what was the point of giving it to him if he was just going to risk endangering himself for a world that didn't give a crap about them?
He reassured her that was behind him. For better or for worse.
He'd had time to collect his thoughts and as the two roamed the streets of Mistral, he knew exactly what he wanted-what they both wanted. Something that the two of them could achieve.
Revenge.
Trifa accepted but only because something seemed off with her old rival. The glint in his eye seemed...dimmed.
~~~
"Hehehehe!~"
Footsteps were plentiful and the fear was palpable.
Tyrian could hardly restrain himself from giggling as he sprinted after his target. Tyrian and Trifa had been asking around about the Shadow Fang and it'd made some people uneasy. After all, faunus one of whom looked as scarred as Tyrian asking about one of the worst terrorist organizations this side of Remnant? You weren't going to get away with that without raising at least a few eyebrows. Needless to say, Tyrian and Trifa had ended up on some people's shitlist. Thanks to Trifa's 'Natural Alarm' semblance however, nobody ever got the jump on them and those who tried? Their broken and battered bodies were left laying in the streets, a warning of what was to come to humans who stuck their nose where it didn't belong.
Case in point, the one they were pursuing. If they could get any information at all about the Shadow Fang's whereabouts or how to get in touch with them, it'd be all good.
If not?
Well, they could still have some fun with this chump.
He threw down pallets, bins, whatever he could as Tyrian cleared them and lashed out with his new tail. Mechanical in nature, it'd been surgically attached to the stump of his original tail. The process as Tyrian would put it made him cry like-
"Like a bitch."
His tail hooked around the ankle of the human he'd been chasing and yanked. Looming over his captive, Tyrian cheerily smiled down at him.
"Hello there friend, my name is Tyrian. I believe you might know somethings.."
The human looked to be shortish and didn't exactly look like he was in the best shape of his life. He certainly hadn't planned on being chased through alleyways by two faunus. Speaking of which where was-
*THWIP*
The man's hand which had been reaching for his jacket pocket was webbed straight to the ground. Hopping down beside Tyrian, the lenses of Trifa's mask narrowed. "...Are you sure this guy is really gonna tell us what we need, Tyrian? I sensed ill intent coming off how he was reaching for his jacket just now but-"
"So what if he isn't? Maybe he'll point us in the direction of someone who'll know what we want." Tyrian's tail tensed up and the stinger loomed over the man's chest.
"Please! God, please don't hurt me!!!" The man pleaded and Tyrian smirked.
"God? Why, I'm afraid they're not listening right now." The faunus's tone took on a more gentle and soothing disposition. "But I am..."
The stinger leaned in closer.
"Tell us where we can find the Shadow Fang..."
It got even closer.
Gus Gungus
One Thousand Club
It was easy to point towards the sharp focus, the discipline, the wintry disdain she could bring to bear against somebody or the glowing self-confidence that verged on dangerous arrogance when it came to drawing parallels between this Weiss and Yang's own. In truth, every single one of them paled in comparison to one very specific similarity, which was that this Weiss Schnee was never more Weiss Schnee than when in the presence of her sweet, precious little bundles of noise and fur.
"IS THAT MY SWEET WITTLE PUWFECT ANGEL I SEE COMING OVA TO SAY HEWWO???? IS THE BIG SIWWY BWUTE FILLING YOUW HEAD WIT ALL SORTS OF NONSENSE LIKE YOU DON'T BEWONG WIT MOMMY FOWEVER AND EVER??????"
She cooed, simpered and fawned, gently hovering herself down with arms raised to either side and hands splayed amid swirling currents of snow and fog that made her look every bit the benevolent goddess she seemed to think herself to be.
"Bark bark!" Zwei agreed as his tail reached speeds sufficient to lift off like a helicopter if Yang wasn't holding him tightly enough, having no idea what Weiss was saying but very much enjoying the tone she said it with. The heiress gave a doting little titter as she hung in the air, indulging Yang's question with an altruistic smirk and truly magnanimous bounce of her hair.
"Zwei's a rescue, like all my wonderful little darlings. Shelters all over Remnant are overflowing with animals displaced by Grimm attacks and lack of proper care, so I sponsor them and let them live in my mother's old menagerie. I'm sorry, was I supposed to say something more supervillainous?" She teased with a lightly audacious smirk, inverting herself to let Zwei go insane trying to play with her ponytail as it dangled.
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Schnee Corp Lawyer
STILL not over Birthright's ending
Before Cinder could make any move, either to lunge at Blake as she pushed herself back after the sword clash or to react the hint of danger from behind her aura provided...said danger hit her square in the back of the head. Right in the spot that signified the end of her skull and the start of her neck. The blow snapped her head forward and down, and it was quickly followed as Eve's thrust pushed the rest of her forward too. Right into a uppercut strike that would have taken her higher up, if not for the still attached ribbon yanking her back down almost immediately. Cinder's red aura flickered as she scraped across the ground, her teeth gritting in pain.
Yeah, she knew how to fight, and she was a maiden...but she was also young. Green. Inexperienced. In a battle with two people who were remarkably skilled themselves, and with great teamwork...that inexperience really showed.
Her head lifted and she flinched when she got a look at her second attacker. She wore a different mask but...for a few seconds Cinder was stunned into silence, until: "...No. You too?? Were...were you planning to turn against us the whole time we were on that train?! How many of you were just waiting to stab us in the back??" Cinder's eye flared with rage, and unlike with Vernal there was nothing to consider about how Eve might be useful to her in the future. Nothing to quell that anger.
After that, Cinder forwent any attempt to free herself from the ribbon still wrapped around her. Instead she sought to turn that disadvantage to her advantage. Fire exploded out of her boots, sending the fall maiden surging forward at incredible speeds to the end of the alley. By the time she reached it, her flight path had climbed enough that Cinder just narrowly sailed up past the building's outer wall instead of smacking into it. The teenager did all she could to pull the weapon attached to this damn ribbon out of Blake's hands and along with her as she soared clear of the alley.
If that went as intended, Cinder took the time she believed she had just bought herself to hurriedly try and free herself from this infernal ribbon.
As the flames shot out of Cinder's feet and she rocketed off, the only communication Blake bothered to give Eve was a tilt of her head towards Vernal. Then she was gone.
There should've been a jolt, a sharp, painful tug on the neck as Blake's weapon was ripped out of her hand or the faunus kept her grip and was pulled into the sky along with the young maiden, but it never came. The ribbon stayed slack, right up until the moment Blake appeared again. Somehow above her. In the split second before what happened next, they made eye contact. There was something deeply wrong with the look in those yellow eyes, in how familiar it was in such an unfamiliar scene. She'd seen that look before; in Watts grim professionalism, in Hazel's dust induced growls, Neo's easy grin. Cinder herself had felt that look in her own eyes... but never pointed at a person.
That was a look of a hunter staring down a beowolf. The absolute surety that the beast she was staring down didn't have a soul. The righteous, full hearted belief that the world would only improve with this kill. That it couldn't even be considered violent act to remove this creature from the earth, only a good and noble deed. There was none of the frustrated anger and zealous preaching she'd pointed at Eve or Ilia in there fights. Blake wasn't fighting Cinder; She was killing her.
Then the moment was over as one last semblance dash put her foot into Cinder's back, and the pair came crashing down at blazing speeds into a car parked below with an explosion of glass of metal.
The first sign that something was very wrong was how Hound's expression didn't change when his eyes shifted to match Vernal's and how he kept eye contact despite her semblance obviously working. The second was how he let out a quiet "Ohp!" and leaned way down and to the side, the spear turning to rest across his shoulders as the beam sliced across just above him, ruffling his coat and hair but otherwise leaving him unharmed.
"Oh no, not the dreaded semblance- Hey!"
Vernal did finally get her weapon back, but in the form of it being kicked up into Hound's hands and discus tossed straight into the back of her head with enough force that it embedded itself into the wall on the rebound. Hound was moments behind it in a leaping strike, his spear coming down in a spinning stab for wherever Vernal ended up, despite his eyes still being black as night.
"Go ahead a keep runnin spring, see where that gets ya! But if you play keep away long enough instead of a chat good ol' Ozzy might just want you dead!"
MidwayLives
"What's your favorite scary movie...?"
Tiger's barrage came to an end.
Was it still underhanded when your opponent had potential for power but was too young to fully grasp it?
Interesting food for thought but they couldn't afford to compromise here when Hound and her were fighting someone like Vernal.
Fighting the Bull and Hand would have been difficult, even for her. ...Not that Tiger was one to brag.
That was interesting, everything had just gone black.
Tiger didn't audibly complain about it or bemoan her circumstances. She merely closed her eyes and set her mind to thinking how to adapt to this.
She could feel her ears twitching something fierce under her mask. Maybe it was time to-
"Urk..."
The laser caught Tiger in the chest and sent her crashing to the ground. Her aura shimmered and she lay flat on her back.
That...had actually hurt.
What a relief.
It'd been too long since she'd found somebody capable of getting a good fight out of her.
Unzipping her mouth so she could cough up a storm after the impact from the laser ran it's course on her, she continued to lay there.
Her vision had been stripped from her, yes, but not her hearing...
Sitting up, she moved her hand to the back of her mask and dragged the zipper up.
The mask was zipped up and tossed off to the side. Tiger's flowing mane of hair poured out over her shoulders as she activated her semblance. Buried within her hair were two twitching feline ears and they could hear Vernal making her way off from the two of them. Likely to interfere and protect the younger, weaker, maiden. Obvious enough strategy but Tiger was afraid she couldn't let it happen. Her musculature shifted once more, this time actively looking grotesque as her arms shifted and twisted in order to better handle the influx of muscle and power running through them. The twisting her upper torso did made her resemble more of a bendable doll than a living being.
Hopping to her feet, her arms had taken on a paler coloration and more closely resembled tree trunks with how many bumps coated them and how thick they appeared to be.
Her eyes were still closed but for the first time in a while, she was actually smiling.
"What an opportunity...60% percent.."
Tiger didn't trust her aim to be true with her eyes in this condition. She'd likely end up pinging the mouthy dog than either of the Maidens if she continued with her air bullets.
Rearing both of her arms back, Tiger swung them downwards. The ground gave way to her monster strength and a shockwave barreled towards where Tiger had heard Vernal attempting to engage the others.
As for whether or not the others could be potential collateral?
They weren't invalids, they'd do what needed to be done.
Rearing both of her arms back, Tiger swung them downwards. The ground gave way to her monster strength and a shockwave barreled towards where Tiger had heard Vernal attempting to engage the others.
As for whether or not the others could be potential collateral?
They weren't invalids, they'd do what needed to be done.
Gus Gungus
One Thousand Club
"I don't know, shouldn't you be asking your friend?" She spat with a dark, smouldering glower leveled towards Cinder behind the embossed horns and tinted metal of her new mask, as intolerant of human hypocrisy as ever even if her allegiances had undergone a change. She recognized the age-old huntress tactic of divide and conquer as soon as Cinder attempted it, but when the head tilt she directed Blake was met by a pointed look towards Vernal she huffed out and turned just in time to meet the aforementioned's charge.
"Sup." She agreed, Wilt sheathed in Blush and swung up in a horizontal slice to parry Vernal's blade when it swung in. A sharp BANG exploded in their ears and heralded the katana being ejected from the mouth of the scabbard at whiplash speeds, still grasped in Eve's fist to crack Vernal across the jaw in its arc in an effort to send her spinning into Hound's attack from behind.
Schnee Corp Lawyer
STILL not over Birthright's ending
It was easy to point towards the sharp focus, the discipline, the wintry disdain she could bring to bear against somebody or the glowing self-confidence that verged on dangerous arrogance when it came to drawing parallels between this Weiss and Yang's own. In truth, every single one of them paled in comparison to one very specific similarity, which was that this Weiss Schnee was never more Weiss Schnee than when in the presence of her sweet, precious little bundles of noise and fur.
"IS THAT MY SWEET WITTLE PUWFECT ANGEL I SEE COMING OVA TO SAY HEWWO???? IS THE BIG SIWWY BWUTE FILLING YOUW HEAD WIT ALL SORTS OF NONSENSE LIKE YOU DON'T BEWONG WIT MOMMY FOWEVER AND EVER??????"
She cooed, simpered and fawned, gently hovering herself down with arms raised to either side and hands splayed amid swirling currents of snow and fog that made her look every bit the benevolent goddess she seemed to think herself to be.
"Bark bark!" Zwei agreed as his tail reached speeds sufficient to lift off like a helicopter if Yang wasn't holding him tightly enough, having no idea what Weiss was saying but very much enjoying the tone she said it with. The heiress gave a doting little titter as she hung in the air, indulging Yang's question with an altruistic smirk and truly magnanimous bounce of her hair.
"Zwei's a rescue, like all my wonderful little darlings. Shelters all over Remnant are overflowing with animals displaced by Grimm attacks and lack of proper care, so I sponsor them and let them live in my mother's old menagerie. I'm sorry, was I supposed to say something more supervillainous?" She teased with a lightly audacious smirk, inverting herself to let Zwei go insane trying to play with her ponytail as it dangled.
Yang didn't even try to not not bust out into giggles at Weiss slipping into such enthusiastic baby talk. The beast in her hands proved too much for a one armed Yang to wrangle as Zwei wriggled free to flop onto the ground and proceed to bound up and down for the pony tail, coming up just short but high enough to be at Yang's eye level if she was looking straight forward instead of up at a very petty goddess with a wry grin.
"Naaah. Even if you'd taken Salem's place instead of Oz, there still wouldn't be a safer place for a corgi than in your evil castle." She answered, looking down to track Zwei's bounces as her grin softened. "Just surprised to see my old buddys'all. I don't suppose you know..."
"...nevermind." she trailed off with a frown that she quickly buried as she planted her hand on her hip. "Anyway you've been practicing long enough. We should do something fun, because I am bored outta my skull watching you waste 3 extra seconds doing that little spin move on the ursa at the three quarters point and then complain about your time"
MyrtenRose
Knight of Rebellion
That look, it had a more than sobering effect on the young Cinder. It broke through the intense anger that had swelled up inside her when she saw Eve standing there. After coming to their aid at Beacon. After joining up on the journey to Haven. The look on Blake's face right then, it cut right through the anger Cinder had felt at that sight like a knife through butter. Those eyes, they...everything in them challenged Cinder's worldview. The view that even the lost souls, no matter how led astray, could find their way back. Just because someone stumbled, it didn't mean they were lost forever. If someone was there to show them kindness, or compassion, or simply be there to listen. Even someone like Vernal, as dirty and treacherous as she had been...Cinder had seen the look in the spring maiden's face when she brought the lightning down back at Haven. It was nothing like the one she saw in Blake's. Vernal had a hint of something else in there, even if she did ultimately acquiesce to Qrow's order.
But the cat faunus, Cinder couldn't see even the faintest bit of any conflict in there. The belief that the person she was attacking was no better than a soulless grimm. Nothing more than another face to put down. Somebody whose death could only make the world a better place, instead of making it a little dimmer once they were gone.
It was the fear that death was knocking on her door that struck Cinder down to her core. It hit her even harder than...
...that. Cinder moaned in pain, sprawled out on top the shattered remains of that car. Still, despite the physical pain, despite the emotional gut punch, despite how her aura flickered even more, despite it all...Cinder forced herself to move. She had to be tougher than this, had to be stronger than this. Both hands pressed harder against the car, heating it up rapidly thanks to both her semblance and her maiden ability. After large amounts of the jagged metal and broken glass had been superheated, the pieces reformed in the air at her will, varying in size but now all taking the shape of sharp arrowheads. And then all the many many many projectiles were telekinetically launched at Blake in an attempt to knock her away and overwhelm the cat's aura from the sheer amount of things impacting her.
Cinder pushed herself to roll off the car, landing back first onto the asphalt with a grunt before slowly getting back onto her feet and taking a brief breather.
Cinder pushed herself to roll off the car, landing back first onto the asphalt with a grunt before slowly getting back onto her feet and taking a brief breather.
"So much for fighting the Shadow Fang. Guess you're nothing but a liar in the end, huh? Just like me--"
That bonk to the back of her skull cut her off. As did the loud bang and punch from Eve, her head getting rocked on both sides thanks to the two. Though, it didn't disorient her as much as might be expected. For when Hound's spear came spinning in, Vernal managed to weave around it and her free hand even wrapped around it in a hold of her own too. She would have demanded how he could possibly be seeing right now, but to be honest?
His friend had been right earlier. Like hell she wanted to give the guy even more reason to prattle on. And speaking of said friend...
The spring maiden pulled on where she had grasped the spear herself, attempting to wrench Hound into a position where he would take the brunt of that shockwave instead of herself, as an unwilling meatshield.
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Gus Gungus
One Thousand Club
Weiss didn't like questions directed her way going unfinished. It grated against her suspicious nature, perhaps justifiably given anyone hiding something from you in Atlas was likely to be your enemy. Her hover subconsciously carried her closer to Yang as she probed the blonde with a leading, scrutinizing stare that plunged well below zero in temperature, arms crossed and still inverted to levitate at Yang's eye level.
This also meant Zwei was now clamped on to the end of her ponytail by one of those half-playful, half-territorial jaw grips dogs did during tug-of-wars, and Weiss made it perfectly clear who she blamed for this development as she stayed very, very still save for a finger drumming against her folded arms and spoke only a single word, breaking neither icy tone or glare.
"Help."
Once freed from those adorable clutches and back with both feet touching the ground, she shook her hair back and listened to Yang's proposal with eyes shut and a quiet, pensive frown as she retied it. Nothing broke through that cool mask of an expression until those eyes opened again, but when they did it was with a surprisingly mild blend of bemusement and faint, maidenly curiosity as she clasped her hands politely in front of her with a smirk.
"Have I not been spending enough time with you, Yang? How perfectly impolite of me. Making up holes in my form just to get my attention seems a little beneath you, though." She idly traced a fingertip through the air, glyph spawning a flock of birds for Zwei to chase with a self-congratulatory simper. "And don't act like you don't enjoy the spectacle. Anyway, I'm scheduled for two more hours of this. You're suggesting there's a better way I could be spending my time?"
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