133

Chapter 133

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"I don't have much time. Miss Branwen- Cinder… I am sorry. I thrust this life upon you and left you to handle the consequences on your own. I promise that I will explain as soon as I can… however it has to happen. Qrow- you know what to do. Glynda… I wish I could have had more time to make the transfer of power smoother, but you are the headmistress of Beacon now. I leave this school in your capable hands- however you choose to do so. There are four relics around the world that you need to retrieve, they may be our only hope of defeating Salem- the relic at Beacon is still safe. Go to Mistral, Haven. Leonardo will know what the visit means if you say that I sent you. I did not foresee this turn of events, but the contingencies our allies have set up in case the worst should come to pass… hopefully they will see us through…"

"Watching it again, huh?" Pyrrha murmured as she sat down next to Cinder as Professor Ozpin's, the two of them having found themselves in the woods nearly on the entire other side of Sanus from Vale, right on the coast bordering the stretch of sea leading to Anima. They were alone at the moment, having decided to take some time to themselves while everyone else relaxed in the camp they'd set up for the evening. "Do you think he wanted Team JNPR to go find the relics specifically? I… I can't imagine that it was on purpose… but he wanted me to be the Fall Maiden too, didn't he?"

"Yeah. I don't know. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't… whatever the case may be, we gotta get to Haven. That's where Ozpin will be… or… something. I still don't know what he meant when he said that he'll explain when we get there. Maybe he left a scroll or something in a box or whatever, but… there's no way in hell he's explaining it to us face to face when he's dead," Cinder grumbled, folding her scroll away again as she slipped it into her pocket and leaned back slightly, the air around her remaining warm and autumnal despite the snow clinging to the ground.

Cinder sighed, shaking her head.

They were going to miss Wynterfest at this point. Or at least, they'd have to spend it far away from their homes, possibly hiking through the backwoods of Mistral because there weren't enough long distance airships to actually make it from the coast to the main city. Not in any timely manner at least- Mistral's airships were largely used to deploy Huntsmen, and anyone trying to make it from the other settlements and cities to anywhere else usually went by car.

"Gods, what a fucked up mess everything's become. At least we have a signal booster so we can still send messages back to Vale and make sure things are okay but… gods…" Cinder sighed again, flames rippling around her eyes as she turned to Pyrrha. "I kinda wish you'd stayed back and went back to Beacon, y'know? I mean, I know Professor Goodwitch is here to make sure that we're all okay, but… gods. Assassins, plots to end the world, Vale getting torn up, Beacon getting almost destroyed… shit's bad, Pyrrha. Is it weird that I'd rather your entire team just… stay behind?"

"... I wouldn't say that it's weird , but… the four of us chose to come along on this trip. And as much as it truly is a dangerous, possibly life threatening journey we've found ourselves on… Professor Ozpin needed someone to come help, and I… I'd be a poor hero if I didn't step up at some point, wouldn't I?" Pyrrha shrugged, smiling ever so slightly as she patted Cinder's shoulder- the two of them sitting there comfortably on a fallen log and relishing in the warm air that Cinder's powers allowed her to emanate. It wasn't like her usual burning heat, but it was like… sunbeams in September. A warm breeze in October. It was cool and calm and unlike the usual furnace-like heat that Cinder was capable of putting out. Gentler, calmer, a little less prone to burning. "I just hope that this will all end up being unnecessary. It's a weird sentiment, right? That our hunt to try and find the ultimate weapon or something against that Salem… person… will end up being entirely unnecessary… but… if it's unnecessary, then it means that someone else found a way to resolve the problem without us. That the world would be saved some other way."

"I understand. It's not weird at all. I'd really like it to be unnecessary now before we end up an entire continent away from home, though," Cinder snorted, rolling her eyes a bit as she looked up at the setting sun and started counting the first stars poking through the haze of pinks and violets strewn across the evening sky. "Hey Pyrrha?"

"Yes, Cinder?"

"What's your favorite fairytale?"

Pyrrha blinked. "Is… is this supposed to be an explanation like how Professor Ozpin does- did- them? Because my favorite fairytale from a long time ago was The Warrior in the Woods. I suppose my favorite modern fairytale is still The Girl Who Fell Through the World . Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering is all," Cinder answered, still staring up at the sky as she leaned forward and rested her cheek on her hand, elbow supported against her knee as she watched the sky darken bit by bit. "I used to hate fairytales, y'know? All kinds. The happy ones for being unrealistic, the sad ones for being too realistic, nothing ever just felt like an attainable goal to me when I was a kid. I grew up in an orphanage, then got sold into slavery until I was thirteen, so… you can guess why I hated anything that felt like an escape from reality that I wasn't allowed to have."

"I- er… yes… that's… awful though. I'm so, so sorry that-"

"It's fine," Cinder cut off Pyrrha with a casual wave of her other hand, snorting a little as flames licked at the corners of her eyes. "I got over it a long time ago, more or less. Ruby saved me, y'know? It's why I'm doing all of this. She saved me when I was an angry, tired, absolutely broken thirteen year old, and seven years later… I'm doing this because I want to make sure that whenever Ruby wakes up, she'll know that her big sis Cinder is doing her best to make sure that she never has to worry about that bitch Salem hurting her ever again."

A lopsided smile overtook Cinder's expression as she watched the shattered moon rise, sighing quietly as her flames died out and the chill of winter began to blow gently against the little bubble of warmth that she'd created. "But as it is… y'know what I was thinking of?"

"What?"

"How much you and Jaune remind me of the Rusted Knight and Tarnished Lady," Cinder hummed, idly looking Pyrrha up and down with a considering eye- she'd changed her armor again after the near destruction of Vale and Beacon, bringing it in line with something similar to old plate armor, something more… elegant and regal. "The Knight had a sword that summoned thunder and lightning, striking down foes like the lance of the gods. The Lady had a shield that flew like the wind, always returning without fail to its lady's hand in time for her spear to skewer her enemies dead. Took some inspiration there, huh?"

Pyrrha blushed, clearing her throat a little as Cinder gave her a knowing look. "Perhaps some…"

"Heh, it's cute honestly. But yeah… just… thinking, y'know? My favorite fairytale after a while… I think it was the Story of the Seasons for a while, just because of the thought of there being real magic in the world," Cinder paused, then rolled her eyes. "Yeah, not my favorite anymore, not after what we went through- what Amber went through… gods, I'm actually glad you don't have to deal with this- I keep feeling like her presence is in my head and it is so weird…"

"I… see. Is… there anything I can do to help?"

"Probably not, but if I stop mackin' on Neo and Emerald and start acting way nicer than normal, it's probably Amber taking over my brain for a bit," Cinder deadpanned with a light huff as she stood up again and shook her newly cut short hair- all of them having changed their appearances somewhat in the wake of the Cataclysm , as the Vale media called it, in order to try and keep a slightly lower profile… though, a pack of nine Huntsmen and Huntresses all traveling together wasn't exactly inconspicuous . "I'm pretty sure she can do that now, she just… hasn't yet."

"... Right."

There was a moment of silence between the two as Cinder and Pyrrha stood there, not sure whether to go back to camp or to start aimlessly meandering about.

Then, Pyrrha spoke.

"Gods, our lives are so fucked up now that I think about it…"

Cinder chuckled. "Yeah. They are. Wanna go back to camp now?"

"Yes please, I think Ren said something about beef stew earlier?"

"Oh gods I could demolish a bowl of stew right now. Fuck yeah, let's go."

Notes:

Sometimes I forget to actually give JNPR proper chapters and I'm sorry for that