24

AN: Every day I struggle to hold myself back from slapping down a double upload. I am currently 2 and a half chapter's ahead on the day of this chapter's release. I want a backlog just in case, but I also want to just release it all.

Also I dont understand weird reviews from people complaining about how Faunus are furries and thats automatically an issue for them. On RWBY fanfics.

Then they choose to read/watch RWBY content. Which has Faunus.

They're barely furry adjacent at best. If you had an oni which is just a human with horns, that's furry too then, eh? Also the setting has big issues that involve them. Why read fanfics of RWBY which has Faunus by default, then complain they exist? Ah yes, this ham and cheese sandwich has cheese so its bad because I'm lactose intolerant and I chose to eat it knowing it had cheese within! Lmao

Robin Arc was upset.

She'd snuck by the Glass Unicorn and snooped about, trying to see if she could find the murder scenes and get a feel for what happened.

Her Semblance, Velvet Room, was a noncombat one, allowing her to sense lingering emotions. She would see the world in black and blue, then see what was left behind.

A Tracker type ability, it was classified. Auxiliary.

Robin liked it.

Sadly, alll Robin saw before she'd even gotten close from the police tape was nothing more than the lobby and a few hallways, all of it faintly smeared with a muddled mess of traces by guests, but most of those were faded.

But in the back corners and places more out of sight some emotions were burnt so deeply in velvet visions that Robin returned, dejected and disappointed.

The sickly yellows, venomous greens, and blackish reds of self-loathing, manipulation, and torment that were burned and scorched deeply through her blue and black vision of velvet had no love anywhere near it.

Oh something was wrong but the murders seemed more normal and decidedly less romantic now. Whomever had died likely had it coming.

Robin had given up and decided to spend her time elsewhere. This was the police's job and she was an out of town Huntress in training.

Nothing good would come of her meddling.

Oh she'd known, deep inside, that the truth wouldn't be so romantic as her fantasies.

Things really never lined up to her personal tastes in romance or in people as a general whole. Not that she actually wanted to be involved in tragic love like that herself either or herself broiled in twisted emotional anguish, though she was curious as to how that might feel.

Even if she daydreamed on occasion.

But there was something exhilarating about observing star crossed lovers, obsessive and controlling passion, and desire for control over one's spouse, was there not?

Dark but lovely~

It was fine to absorb such stories as long as they were left in literature, media, or the imagination. Still she could yearn and desire it.

It would be distasteful in real life. She knew that. Still, Robin was but twelve. She was allowed her childish delusions. To hope to meet someone with dark and twisted conflict, someone broken that she could fix. Or try to. Or fail to.

She wasn't picky. Just particular.

Robin still sighed as she walked through the park, her brother's lunchbox hanging from her wrist. The blue cloth that covered the box had resulted in being accosted by an Atlas military police officer as well due to the culture difference.

Apparently a rectangular bento wrapped in a visually striking shade of blue could be misinterpreted as a potential IED?

Ridiculous. She enjoyed Atlas for the most part, but they were more stiff somehow than some of the people at Mistral who constantly imparted the importance of polite behavior, formalities, etc.

Robin enjoyed some of those concepts. Adhering to a few principles felt elegant. Only the few though, as elegance was mere steps away from restrictive.

Well Robin refused to let this ruin her day. She had a good meal and was going to enjoy it in the pretty and well kept park.

She saw a flash of black sneakers under a bush, but walked by saying nothing.

So Atlas had the homeless as well?

Robin didn't know much about their plight, personally, but she pitied them. Hopefully they'd find someplace warmer soon.

Even in summer Atlas could be chilly.

Robin just quietly found a bench nearby, enjoyed the sunlight, then began unwrapping her lunchbox.

Cin-Amber woke up cold.

She had stolen sheets from the motel and carried it with her in her duffel bag. Wrapped herself in it tightly and took cover under some shrubbery to cut down on the windchill, but the earth still bled the heat from her form.

Atlas was as cold as the people that lived on it.

Worthless city.

Amber had once overheard there was a program for Huntsman Academies to use Scrolls to track one's Aura. She felt like she could use one.

Her night of rest was cold, uncomfortable, and miserable, even with her newfound freedom. She didn't feel like she was at one hundred percent.

There was just enough room for her to quietly free herself from her cocoon, grimacing as she noticed the blonde hair of a girl sitting on a bench not far away.

Ugh. She wouldn't even be allowed to shake the dirt and mud from her one sheet without drawing attention.

Amber quickly moved to roughly fold up the blankets in a way that would at least bundle up the dirt and muddy side of the sheet inwards.

The last thing she needed was to get the rest of her few belongings dirty. She felt gross enough as is.

Amber gave herself a quick sniff. She smelt fine. Still like cheap soap from the motel, but fine.

She hadn't sweat much in her sleep. Never really had.

The blanket entered the duffle bag, slowly zipping closed as quietly as could be managed as Amber crawled out an away from the girl on the ben-

Her nose itched.

She was downwind of the blonde girl and something that she couldn't place tickled at her sinuses.

Her hair was hateful, she disliked blonde hair.

But her feet carried her in that direction against Cinder's, no Amber's will.

Her throat swallowed involuntarily.

It was a noise that was just loud enough for the blonde girl to turn around.

There was a long streak of deep blue dyed into her hair. Amber's subconscious fixated on that blue streak, ignoring the rest of her blonde locks.

Disassociate. Disassociate. Disassociate.

What the hell was she going to do, run from the face of every blonde forever? Just disassociate.

The blue haired girl was pretty, like a gentle peony. Or a crane. Something oddly elegant in a way Cinder-Amber had rarely seen before.

Her back was gracefully and perfectly straight, dressed in a black and blue dress that reminded her vaguely of a sort of uniform. It was pretty in a way that her's had never been back at the Glass Unicorn.

An almost fluffy looking length of golden fried (Amber noticed what looked like a shrimp tail, but was confused as shrimp were supposed to be tiny and curly) something hung from an elegantly held pair of dark reddish brown wooden chopsticks.

Mahogany. Amber recognized it. Had polished the legs of chairs made of the stuff.

The fried length of whatever it was passed over shiny pink lips as the blue haired girl bit down and her other hand came up to hide her lips with a dainty hand to hide her chewing lips with the tips of her fingers.

It was beautiful and elegant in a way those monsters had only dreamed they could be.

The blue haired girl chewed quietly and quickly, her chopsticks smoothly placing her fried (it did look like shrimp, that meat, but why wasn't it curly?) shrimp back down in her lunchbox.

The lunchbox was pretty and elegant like the girl too. The gentle seams that broke it into two layers didn't do much to mar the image of black lacquered wood with the scene of softly curling blue waves.

"Hello there." The blue haired girl smiled, her gentle hand leaving her lips. "I'm Robin. It's nice to meet you."

Cin-Amber. She was Amber right now, dammit.

Amber nodded quietly, suddenly aware of the drool pooling in her mouth.

The Unicorn had chefs that cooked like professionals, but it didn't smell anywhere as good as what wafted from this box.

She swallowed again.

"O-oh." She cursed her stutter in her mind. "I'm Amber. Nice to meet you too."

"Amber. Amber." The Robin girl muttered, before smiling. "Ah, I see. Amber like your eyes. How fun."

Robin's eyes flashed from her blue to a bright golden yellow, like pools of gold.

She stared at Amber strangely, her head turning cutely, as gold flickered up and down, as if taking in everything about Amber's form. Now Amber realized that the girl was probably like her someone with Huntress training. Amber was ready to dismiss herself and walk away if she asked too many questions.

And she smiled with a soft intrigue.

"My eyes don't quite turn amber but they're close, no?" Robin joked lightly, her eyes flashing back to her normal blue with a gentle grin. "That makes us alike, yes?"

She lifted the top layer of her lunch box, revealing a different but similarly lavish display of food.

Amber saw a small corner pocket of rice topped with a black sprinkle of something that curled in the breeze, a small bright orb (a berry? Some sort of fruit?) nestled utop the black shreds.

Strips of some sort of sauced chicken shone like juicy gems in one segment. Glistening thinly sliced fragrant short rib pieces teased playfully in another. Her eyes, though, drifted to some sort of brightly vibrant mix medley of vegetables, glistening in a way that indicated they'd been given just ever so faintly a light steaming, tantalizingly crisp.

The colors were beautiful.

"Would you be so kind as to keep me company for lunch?" Robin smiled like an angel that had descended from a dream. "I'd be so very grateful. Grateful enough to share a meal with you, Amber."

Amber found herself sitting down wordlessly next to Robin, though at a bit of a distance on the bench. Robin just softly put her half of the lunchbox next to the opposite side of Amber before lifting up the other half from her lap and seemed to almost float it over to her.

"Lucky me for always carrying spares." Robin laughed like tinkling bells, holding a second pair of chopsticks that unwrapped from a small black cloth. "Do you know how to use chopsticks?"

It had been a while, but Amber had been from Mistral. Even if it had been seemingly forever she'd manage. She'd be clumsy though.

She nodded.

"Yeah. Haven't… in a while though." She admitted.

Lies were more powerful the less you had to use them.

And there was no need to lie to the weird blue haired girl offering her a free meal. Yet.

Amber blinked, suddenly feeling content. Relaxed. Sort of sleepy again.

Where was her meal? The bento in her hands was suddenly empty. Her body felt sluggish but warm and her Aura buzzed softly over her skin.

A small burp erupted from her lips, blushing as Robin gave a demure giggle.

She was younger than her. Why did she feel older than Amber for some reason?

"Well now." Robin smiled prettily, "You and I have shared a meal, sat together and enjoyed the noontide sun. That would certainly make us friends now, does it not?"

"I-" Amber stuttered, still only half-awake. "-we just met, still. We're strangers." She insisted.

"Nonsense." Robin waved her off. "Mother Noelle always taught my siblings and I that strangers are but merely friends we have not met yet."

In a fluid motion, she packed the layers of her bento back up, it all neatly packing into the square of blue velvet cloth, tied gently over Robin's left wrist that turned up as if she was holding onto a little purse.

She stood up and turned to Amber and offered her a small, smooth right hand.

"Let us go for a walk to digest my brother's cooking, shall we? We shall be such good friends, Amber."

Amber hated how easily she took that hand.

Instinctive and needy.

It was weak.

She… no. She'd use this to her advantage. She could use this to her advantage.

Robin was a perfect smokescreen.

Perfect, pretty, elegant, and polite. She was everything that a good little Atlas girl was meant to be. She'd learn from her and use her as a shield against prying eyes. A… a social smokescreen. That's what she was.

Social camouflage.

Amber wasn't weak for taking that pretty hand.

She was just using her.

"Ok." Amber smiled, feeling muddy and still a bit dazed from her meal. "That sounds good. I could… could use a friend right now."

"Delightful!" Robin smiled like an angel. Beautiful.

She pulled Amber up with more strength than she expected, transferring her hand over to her left, then pulling out a Scroll, messaging someone labeled 'Baby Brother'.

"Let me just request a bit of spending money and we'll go shopping!" Robin giggled, like chimes on the wind.

"Wait-"

"Oh. You've got amber eyes." Juniper heard Jaune observe their sister's new friend. "Cool! My friend Blake's got amber eyes too!"

His sister Robin rarely made any specific request of Jaune, so he was happy to sneak away after doing a bit of guest speaking, his preferred black beanie on as a casual disguise.

His father Julius had attended, intending on giving his son some moral support but soon he had promptly fallen asleep. Jaune didn't take it personally and left him a note stating such and that Robin asked for some of his time. That he'd be back later and had his Scroll in case of emergencies.

He knew his dad worked hard and needed the extra rest. The note said so too. And that he loved him.

Honestly Juniper was sure that it helped that even while Julius was sleeping, having his dad there for him was a huge confidence boost for Jaune. Imposter syndrome was an eternal issue that Jaune would likely have to fight for the rest of his life, but Jaune had built up at least a little confidence after helping tutor Emerald; thus his little brother pushed through.

That ability to lecture and teach, while amateur at best, was something that was purely Jaune's alone. Speaking of something that was now Jaune's though…

Emerald Sustrai. Hmmm.

Crazy what a small world Remnant could be at times.

Still, it wasn't as if every connection and person they met were as meaningful. There were plenty of people that Jaune had met at Sanctum that didn't mean anything in the future he knew.

It still felt weird knowing that Pyrrha wouldn't be there until she'd been offered schooling by Sanctum (as well as every prep school in Mistral) after she'd go on to win her first Mistral Regional Tournament.

His genius partner had run off to compete at age twelve in an attempt to save her father's dying sports clothing brand, only to lose him in a car accident a year later.

He… Juniper hadn't known that Jaune had begun Sanctum, only getting flashes of memory and feelings from Pyrrha after he and Jaune had been able to feed her Prana from the release of a Command Seal.

Still, that was proof again that not every connection was truly fated. Sometimes time simply had to turn unabated.

"Y-yes. That's why I'm Amber." The girl just replied awkwardly, her brown hair shaking as she nodded. "My eyes."

She was awkward as hell.

Confidence issues, plus maybe she might have even run away from home, reminding Juniper a little of when he'd snuck off for Beacon. It must have been familiar to Jaune as well, as he could see the gears in his little brother's head begin to turn as he seemed to decide that he really wanted the girl to make friends with his sister Robin.

It really might have been something like that, judging from the way she shifted when any Atlas military police were near.

Juniper saw that Jaune could see that too, and he'd adjust his step to help shield her whenever they were near, somewhat protective of his sister's new prospective friend.

Still Robin seemed to like her. That was rare for her.

Robin rarely made friends. It was something the whole family had always worried over. Her interests were always hard to grasp.

But she seemed to like Amber and both Juniper and Jaune wanted her to have someone to call friend.

"Just don't be too pushy Robin. She seems nervous." Juniper saw Jaune bluntly address it, getting a bit of a wide eyed look from Amber as she overheard his whispering to his sister. "Kinda jumpy."

There was the briefest moment that Juniper had thought back to the memory under Beacon. Of the girl in the metal tube.

But this Amber simply shared the name and hair color. Her short hair that pulled back from her face showing a somewhat thin, boyish face was different from Amber's relaxed and lazy bob.

This Amber was awfully pale, too. Not at all like the woman that had shared her name.

Aura protected from a lot of things, UV rays included. It was why so many Huntsmen and Huntresses tended to be more fair skinned. Usually only Vacuoan Huntsman and Huntresses being the exception.

She was both too pale and young to be the Fall Maiden.

And she was jumpy.

"She is skittish." Juniper nodded in agreement to his younger brother, feeling odd. Sort of like he should recognize her.

But he couldn't put his finger on it.

He considered asking Pyrrha for a second opinion but she was currently slumbering deeply after keeping him company during Jaune's lecture.

He cared for his little brother, but it was hard for him to sit through a lecture about technology that was beyond him from an eight and a half year old that desperately tried to keep himself on topic. Eventually Jaune had honestly just devolved into answering a bunch of questions instead.

To think Jaune would have to do one for every week while he was in Atlas this summer on top of his coordination with Dr. Polendina.

Penny was being put together earlier than in his own timeline, and Juniper wasn't sure how to feel about that. He might have to advise Jaune to make sure the budding AI got to socialize with him and his friends so that she might be less… awkward? Or something. Maybe.

Still, nobody asked Jaune to do a good lecture. Plus even though it went off in many tangents, thanks to the information Jaune couldn't help but to auto-regurgitate as an aftereffect from the Ring of Conditional Victory that fateful night over two years ago, that was exactly what the Atlasean scientists were thirsting for anyways.

So nobody could really complain.

"I'm not skittish." Amber defended hotly. "My-my training was just done in a way that didn't allow me a lot of conversation."

"Your social awkwardness doesn't make you weak." Jaune sounded the way he did when he lectured Emerald, slipping into habit as he subconsciously read between lines that Juniper couldn't even begin to piece together. "Feel free to think of all of this as practice or something. Don't sweat it so much. You're really tense but really, you're fine. Relax."

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his light gray checker textured, single breasted overcoat, long enough to come down halfway to his knees, keeping his tail decently hidden.

Robin wrapped an arm around Amber's left arm as her new friend was about to say something, ignoring the older girl flinching in her grasp.

"I know you mean well, dear brother, but don't bully my friend." Robin had an ever so slight frown on her pink lips.

Juniper chuckled as Juane's nose scrunched.

"I-I'm not trying to bully her!" The boy replied hotly, though clearly with a tone of apology, "I'm sorry if it sounded like it. I just… I really want her to like my sister and give her a proper chance is all…"

Ah well. These moments of bittersweet childhood normalcy were important for a kid's growth and development as well.

Unlike his dealings with Emerald where Juniper silently watched or offered a small bit of advice, having owed the girl even if she'd been partly responsible for Pyrrha's death, Amber was just some random Huntress in training he knew nothing about. Nothing to form an opinion of her.

It'd be good for Jaune to get along with someone without his big brother breathing down his shoulder. Even if she was more a friend of his sister's than his own.

Or well, watch Robin try to get along with someone. He'd truly never recalled anyone really catching her interest like this. Amber must have been something special that he and Jaune couldn't see.

Juniper chuckled as he closed his eyes, the world around him growing muted as he 'rested', feeling the warmth of Pyrrha, slumbering within him.

The blue eyed boy was too perceptive for Amber's comfort.

Jaune. A decently common Old Mantle-style name, even before the discovery of the Little Professor.

Jaune. Pierre. Jacques. Gusteau. Just a slew of words from ancient Mantle that Atlaseans often tried to associate with to make themselves feel more fancy. What a joke. Hadn't they tried to eradicate self-expression and culture before Mantle had become Atlas?

Hypocrites, the lot of them.

Her thoughts lingered towards The Little Professor. Jaune Arc was supposed to be a Rabbit Faunus, with ties to the White Fang, which was a bit of a political fiasco in Atlas, despite their Kingdom always exclaiming that 'Mistral's worse' which always made Amber want to laugh.

Mistral was a cesspit of corruption. Even when she was a child being adopted she'd known that, held onto hope that leaving that rotten orphanage would lead to anything better.

Robin was a human though, so this Jaune was human as well.

And he was uncomfortably perceptive, but he'd… he'd sort of protected her when they'd walk by a military officer, using his little body as a sort of meat shield.

She felt uncomfortable when Jaune looked at her as if he could read her thoughts, but she found herself… appreciating his actions anyways.

She found herself liking both siblings in different ways and amounts.

It let her not have to not even try to force herself to disassociate memories of the Unicorn away.

His choice of headwear also meant not needing to worry about any blonde hair either, as Jaune's black fluffy beanie made it so that if Amber squinted it looked like he had black hair.

The boy was just currently tapping on his scroll to his friend Blake.

"Oh. You've got amber eyes." Jaune had said, "Cool! My friend Blake's got amber eyes too!"

Hopefully her eye color was associated with something inherently safe and trustworthy. They didn't seem to bat an eye at her handmade 'Huntress' outfit, so Amber could only hope.

She… she wasn't supposed to be having fun though. She was supposed to be getting off Atlas into Mantle.

But that's difficult right now anyways. A traitorous thought seduced from within. We need something to protect us right now while we can't descend.

"I know you like green, but have you considered this shade of red before?" Robin's gentle smile held up a pretty crimson blouse, elegant and smooth, to Cin-Amber's torso. "It would really make your eyes stand out."

"I don't feel super comfortable with standing out that much." Amber replied honestly.

She had to be honest. Earn their trust and friendship. Social Camouflage. Lies had to be for when it mattered, when she'd be most taken at her word.

"At least try it on then, for me? I'd love to see you in it. It's so passionate and pretty. It really could be a good look for you."

It… couldn't hurt. Robin had given her an amazing meal (must have been an older brother, as there was no way that her eight year old younger brother would have managed that) and she was being… nice.

There was an ulterior motive, yes, but… it was because Robin wanted to be friends.

Nobody had wanted to be close like that with her before. Even… Even Rhodes had always kept walls around her, otherwise he would have taken her away. Saved her. He only at the end pretended to put them down so that he'd haunt her dreams.

This only made Amber feel more conflicted. Robin wanted to be Amber's friend, not Cinder's.

Nobody had ever wanted Cinder. Still no-one did. That felt unfair.

Amber wasn't even real!

The corner of her eye caught Jaune looking at her, his brows furrowing as he seemed to look at her with some kind of pity.

That didn't make Amber feel great. Something was- no.

She turned back to Robin, agreeing for the sake of avoiding those fearful, piercing eyes that made her feel small, bare, and naked. Amber got into the changing room and away from those blue orbs that seemed to read her soul.

It made her feel in danger. Like everything would fall apart.

He was too damn perceptive for an eight/nine year old.

It made Amber uncomfortable. But she still couldn't hate him.

Robin was right though. She… she liked the way red looked on her. Vibrant, unlike her pale skin that edged on sickly, even drawing attention away from it. Her eyes made it look like the edges of flickering flame, crimson tipped in yellow.

She didn't like how… thin the blouse made her look. But the color was good.

Robin said that it made her look pretty regardless. That she should have more confidence. She'd even joined her in the changing room for a moment, making Amber wildly uncomfortable even though she'd still been at least dressed in the crimson blouse. It hid the ribs that stood out against her skin, her scarf was still on, hiding her neck, even as it now clashed against the top.

Robin simply changed into some clothes of her own to 'prove a point' as she put on a soft pink camisole, thin spaghetti straps holding up silken cloth to her budding torso.

"We're petite, and that's pretty too." That wasn't fair, Amber was like a reed, and Robin was a fairy. "It's just a matter of confidence, dear Amber."

The only thing Amber was confident was in her ability to fight. She was good at-

She felt sick, thinking of the last time she'd fought. Her vision spun. She couldn't lose it here. Not right now. This was bad. This was ba-

Robin's eyes flickered gold as she gently leaned in and quietly held her as she trembled in the changing room, trying not to cry.

"It's fine, it's fine. Crying is healthy." The younger girl insisted, once again somehow feeling older than Amber herself, as the shorter and younger girl tiptoed to hold her. "You're beautiful. Don't fear, Amber. I'm your friend. You can rely on me. I'll help you, whatever it is. I'm here. Lean on me."

She declared it like it was so easy. Like it was normal.

But she wanted Amber, not Cinder. She still wanted Cinder to be free. She didn't want to be trapped as Amber forever. It would be another prison. Another cage. Soft and gentler, but it would still be a cage. A lie.

Robin's Aura was soft, like a cool sheet of velvet cloth, wrapping gently around her heart. A faint tang of copper and iron wrapping dangerously around her senses. Soft but hard.

"There, there." She cooed, making Amber somehow feel small.

Amber hated it. Cinder wanted it. Amber was guilty. Cinder was jealous.

For the briefest of moments as her hands reached up to hug the shorter girl back, Scorching Caress flickered in her palms hungrily, before it sputtered out as Amber completed the embrace, soft sobbing wetting Robin's bare shoulder.

And held her with trembling, fearful firmness, her eyes opening in terror when she saw the lifeless face of Rhodes in the mirror, the mark of her hand scorched into his neck.

AN: Robin is inspired by various elements of the attendants of the Velvet Room (as referenced by her Semblance) from the Persona franchise.

Her weapon of choice is the Azure Administrator, a modified second-generation type Huntress weapon with minimal mecha-shift. (1st gen type would be akin to the unmodified Crocea Mors, 3rd Gens are akin to Crescent Rose, significantly more complex in their design. By this definition, Myrtenaster falls in 2nd Gen.)

It is a durable reinforced Dust-Powered combat chainsaw with twin chains that spin in opposing directions, shredding rather than cutting. It has been modified to house short shotgun rifling by the engine block on both sides of the Guide Bar that can be mecha-shifted out to fire its payload. Robin keeps her weapon loaded with Slug type Dust Shotgun Shells.

Despite her prim and calm demeanor, due to Clarent's influence she prefers orange Combustion Dust Slug Shells. Each shotgun side can load six shells.

Her favorite bird is the Albatross, as it can even soar elegantly at night while asleep by locking its wings in place.

In the Canon Timeline, she dropped out of Haven to go find her brother in Vale, having seen him compete in the Vytal festival before the Fall of Vale. Unfortunately they passed each other in transit and due to the CCT systems being down, she never managed to meet Jaune as he died at the end of Season 8.