Hello and welcome all to my brand new story!

Update 03/23/2019: It's a series now. Yay?

Beta: Jiu-Jutsu Dude

Chapter One

"This is just infru… infi… in-fu-ri-ating!" The red-haired girl exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air. Exasperation and despair were audible in her voice, and the slight, alcohol-induced stutter in her speech served only to stress it more. Her companion, however, didn't seem to be the very sympathetic type, because her only reaction was a single perfect brow raised in amusement.

"I keep helping him with…" The redhead stumbled for a moment, searching for the right word. "With… school stuff. Y'know, notes and ass…" A loud hiccup interrupted her speech. "Assignments. Yes, assignments. Only yesterday, I helped him with Oobleck's essay that he was late on." The girl's expression turned dark. "And you know why he was late?! Because he was too busy writing another poem… for that… that witch!" She spat the last word – quite literally. Her companion dodged the spittle with a flowing grace and gave her a look of disgust mixed with pity. "Ugh, sorry."

The black-haired woman sitting across the table made a dismissive motion with her right hand.

"No harm done. I suppose it is my fault, after all. I should've known that you weren't used to alcohol." She took a small drink from her own wine glass. "Still, it was only a couple of glasses and I have picked this wine specifically because it is very light, almost a fruit juice." She shot an amused look at her slightly tipsy drinking companion and smiled. If her features were less refined and aristocratic, it might've been called a smirk. "But apparently, I overestimated your endurance nonetheless. A pity, really." She sighed with mock compassion and made show of admiring the play of light on the wine glass in her left hand.

The redhead ignored the jab – if she had registered it at all, that is – and leaned across the table, gripping the woman's right hand with both of hers.

"Cinder, please, this is serious! You have to help me! I don't know what to do!"

Cinder looked at her younger companion and saw only a sincere plea for help written on the girl's face. That, and maybe traces of alcohol intoxication taking hold. Still, she was sure it wasn't the alcohol talking. The girl was indeed desperate, and looked at Cinder as if she was her only hope and savior.

Cinder rolled her eyes. The irony wasn't lost on her.

"Pyrrha, darling, stop worrying so much. You're doing fine."

"Really? Do you really think so?" Pyrrha positively beamed with joy and relief.

The expression of radiant happiness written on the girl's face was almost physically painful to look at. It would be just as painful to crush it, but it had to be done. Sometimes you needed to hurt people in order to help them.

"Of course, my dear. Keep this up, and I'm sure you will be his…" It was unbearable even for Cinder's nerves of steel to see the elation in Pyrrha's eyes after those words. "… best friend in no time." There, she'd done it. It was a necessity, and it was for Pyrrha's own good, but it made Cinder feel like a villain nonetheless.

It took a second for Pyrrha to process Cinder's words and then she slumped in her chair like a ship sinking beneath the waves.

"How did you know what he told me?" She asked grimly. "After I helped him with that damned essay, he told me that I'm his best 'girl-friend'. Yeah, he said it exactly like that, and then proceeded to ramble about how he didn't mean it in 'that way'. " Pyrrha made air-quotes sound like they were a pair of tongs which she used to handle something disgusting. "Honestly, it was almost insulting."

Cinder snorted at that.

"Believe me, it didn't take a genius to figure that one out." She shook her head in a show of amusement, but sighed mentally. How could this girl be so blind and, frankly, so narrow-minded? And that's when it hit her: Pyrrha Nikos was not just a young girl with all the emotional turmoil and inexperience that accompanied youth, but a young girl molded into a perfect warrior. A perfect warrior… and nothing more. One does not simply win her first tournament at the age of fourteen and hold the title for four years in a row – not unless she was trained for that for her entire life. Did someone ever take the time to show her the world outside of an arena? Cinder sincerely doubted it. After all, who cares about a gladiator's, no, a sword's feelings and its plight? It has to be sharp and do its job when needed, everything else was… excessive, irrelevant. And it was always more expedient to forge a new sword then bother repairing the old one when it finally broke.

She couldn't tell if she was thinking about Pyrrha now – or herself.

That's why she was helping this girl: because she knew all too well what it was like, to be a weapon wielded by someone else. She couldn't change her own past or Pyrrha's, but perhaps she could help the girl have a better future. It was worth a try, and it was more that anyone ever did for her.

Cinder dived out of her thoughts and focused on the task at hand. So far, she had successfully directed the flow of the conversation towards a certain point, and all that was left now was one final push. She put on her best nonchalant expression and went for the kill. "You are so supportive, so eager to help, of course the boy is happy to have such a good friend."

"But I don't want to be his friend!" Pyrrha shot back, before hastily correcting herself. "Well, I do, but I want to be…" Her voice dropped to almost inaudible whisper. "… more than just his friend." Pyrrha's cheeks were rosy from the wine she drank already, but now she was blushing fiercely.

Done. Someone less used to seeing their plans through might've cheered at the success, but Cinder Fall made it into a habit to always succeed in her endeavors.

She put her palms together couple of times, pretending to applaud.

"Finally, our perfect little champion admits that she might have helped her team leader out of something more than just pure kindness and camaraderie." She cocked her head to the side and gave Pyrrha another of her smug smiles. "You know, it is actually quite nice to see that you are human, with your own little desires just like the rest of us, and not some kind of flawless deity."

Pyrrha visibly bristled at the allusion to her hated nickname.

"Don't call me that!" She snarled at Cinder.

Cinder raised one hand in lazy imitation of a placating gesture.

"Relax, I was just teasing." She took another drink of her wine. "The point is that you, my dear friend, are just too nice for your own good. You would never be able to get ahead in this life and gain anything meaningful without being selfish. But, now you have finally made a step in right direction."

Pyrrha's eyes widened and her expression became very troubled. Cinder was willing to bet that she only caught the last part and was now shell-shocked by the revelation.

"Is it… is it really that bad? Am I really being selfish?" Pyrrha asked in horrified disbelief, and then nodded grimly. "Yes, yes I am. I only pretend to help Jaune because I want his attention." Shock and terror were evident in her voice, but Cinder couldn't help but feel that the admittedly dramatic moment of realization was somewhat spoiled by a nervous hiccup. "I am a hypocrite, aren't?"

Cinder let out a long sigh. Was she ever this young and naïve herself? Probably, but she couldn't recall.

"Yes, you are selfish and no, it isn't bad. Or good, for that matter. It's just how the world works: everyone wants something from someone. And the difference between being a hypocrite or not is whether we're trying to lie to ourselves about it. You've just told yourself the truth for the first time. Congratulations!" She saluted Pyrrha with the wine glass. "Do you feel any better? They say that the truth sets one free, after all."

For a couple of seconds Pyrrha appeared to be listening to herself intently.

"A little, I guess."

"Marvelous!" Cinder cheered sarcastically. "Now, with that finally out of the way, care to explain me what you found in him anyway? From what you've shown and told me, the guy is pretty much a wet noodle."

"Don't you dare to talk about Jaune like that! He's a great leader and a brilliant tactician, and his combat skills have improved immensely over the past weeks!"

Cinder chuckled at Pyrrha's reaction.

"Easy there, lioness! There is no need to tear me to shreds defending your knight's honor. I believe it works the other way around." She gave Pyrrha a wink before continuing. "You know, I remember the legend about a great battlemaster of old that I heard once. It's said that he accepted into his army only those soldiers whose face turned red when they were scared or angry, and rejected those whose face turned white." Cinder gave her companion's face pointedly appraising look. "Well, looking at you right now, I can say that you easily could've been considered good enough to command a battalion in his army. Who would've guessed that polite and soft-spoken Miss Nikos had so much fire within her?" She finished with mock disbelief thick in her voice.

But Pyrrha was still angry and refused to accept her light tone.

"Laugh all you want at me, but I won't let you insult Jaune! He is the first true friend I've ever had!" Pyrrha clenched her fists. There was no trace of a stutter in her voice and she spoke loud and clear. It is also appeared that she was speaking straight from the bottom of her heart, bypassing brain altogether. "And even if he is a noodle, he is my noodle, so don't you dare, you hear me?!" Several patrons had given her looks after the last statement and some made double take after recognizing her, but she didn't notice, too caught up in her righteous fury.

There was a pause before her own words sunk in and Cinder had noticed that Pyrrha's jaw muscles made a motion, as if she was going to say something, but with visible effort Pyrrha remained silent, glaring at the brunette defiantly.

Cinder tried to reign in an amused laugh, but it was simply too much. The rich, purring sound of her laughter attracted no less attention than Pyrrha's loud voice, but she had barely noticed it.

"Very well, I won't contest your… claim."She chuckled one last time before sobering up and continuing in completely a different tone. "It is good to see you being so bold and determined, but do tell me: will you be able show the same boldness tomorrow, when you're back in your comfortable school routine, completely sober and, most importantly, when you will be speaking with Jaune and not me?"

That last one hit home, Cinder could see it. The fire in Pyrrha's eyes died out as she slumped in her chair again, lowering her head in defeat.

"No… I guess not." She muttered not raising her head. She felt a stinging in her eyes and tried her best to hold back tears.

Pyrrha knew that by rights she should've been immensely grateful for the life she had now. She tried to convince herself that she should be happy and content with what she had. She had ran away from her lonely and restricted life in Mistral in hopes that new place would bring change, and her life indeed had taken a turn for the better since her arrival at Beacon. She had found great friends not only in her team, but also in team RWBY too, but… but it still wasn't enough. She craved more. She wanted to be loved by the man she fell in love with. Was that too much to ask for?

Pyrrha suddenly become aware of her dry throat. Was she speaking aloud this whole time?

A surprisingly warm hand had gripped her shoulder. She looked up and found herself looking at her unlikely friend's amber eyes.

"Congratulations. You've told yourself the truth." Cinder repeated her own words from earlier, but this time there was no mockery in her voice. "And there is nothing wrong with the desire to be happy."

Pyrrha blinked a few times and managed to smile. It was rather weak smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"I can sense a 'but' coming."

Cinder leaned back in her chair and made an applauding gesture again, smiling in return.

"My, aren't you perceptive? Of course there is a 'but', there always is." Then her face hardened and amber eyes flashed, any trace of amusement or playfulness gone. "There is nothing wrong with the desire to be happy, but desire alone isn't enough. It never is. If you want to be happy, you'll have to be ready to fight for it. Be prepared to pay for it, perhaps dearly. Do you think that you are?"

"Am I?" Pyrrha thought about it. Was she prepared to fight for her happiness? To make sacrifices for the sake of it? The rational part of her mind argued that it was going too far, that all of this might've been just a 'schoolgirl's crush' she read about, and that they weren't in some kind of romantic melodrama, but she ignored it. She had a strong feeling that this was the real thing – and that it very well might cost her dearly. Was she prepared to pay that price, whatever it might be?

And then Pyrrha realized that she already knew the answer, she just never could put it into words. She made her choice the moment she pinned Jaune to that tree or perhaps even earlier, when they talked before the Initiation, or maybe as far as when she first met him. It didn't really matter now when she made her decision.

"Yes, I am prepared."

Two incandescent emeralds met two pools of molten gold. Perfect white teeth were bared in what some brave soul might've considered a smile. Cinder was one of the few such souls who could appreciate the ferocious beauty of such a smile.

"So you do have a spine after all. Good. Well then, now when you know what your goal is, I suppose it's time to talk about how are you planning to achieve it." Cinder looked at Pyrrha who glanced away with nervous chuckle and realized that her work has just been cut out for her. "You don't have any plan, do you?"

"I'm sorry?" Pyrrha half-asked, half-apologized. "Aside from dealing with aggressive fans, I don't have any experience with... boys."

Cinder sighed.

"I really should've expected this." She took a second to marshal her thoughts and assess her task. "Very well. It is impossible to teach you the ways of women over the course of one evening, but I shall provide you with at least some basic advice."

And so she did. It was quite amusing to watch as the young champion's face changed its color between various shades of red, from rose to bright scarlet, depending on what subject she brought up during her brief lecture. She idly wondered what kind of reaction the suggestion of more… direct approach would invoke from Pyrrha. The poor child would most likely faint, she decided. Or maybe not? Cinder looked at her companion and noticed that, despite her obvious embarrassment, the girl listened to her with rapt attention and appeared to absorb information like a sponge.

"It is a lot to take in, but I'll try my best to use your advice." Pyrrha said slowly, still processing the intel about this completely new battlefield. "Thank you, Cinder."

Pyrrha felt a wave of determination and vigor rising inside of her and it felt good. It felt right. After all, fighting for the prize was what she did best.

The brunet beauty sitting across the table nodded and took one last, long drink, finishing her wine. For a moment, the light sparkling on her long silky hair and her wine glass seemed to engulf her and had given her almost angelic appearance that starkly contrasted with her rather revealing black evening dress and the effortlessly seductive curve of her slender neck. She looked like an angel indeed – a fallen angel, to be precise, because all the males in the vicinity, patrons and staff alike, had been stopped in their tracks by this captivating sight. Women glared at her too, but their stares were burning with entirely different emotions.

Pyrrha giggled at the display.

"Cindy, you're such a show-off!" She shook her head. "Still, I'd be lying if I told that I'm not somewhat interested in how do you do that."

Cinder shrugged, thus making her dress flow in a very interesting way. Muffled gasps and sharp inhales could've been heard coming from the nearby tables.

"Practice makes perfect, my dear. And I suppose it also helps that I – and I can't stress it enough – am by no means what they call a nice girl."

Thanks for reading!

Shout-out to the folks in WiP community, and special "Yarr!" to my crewmates from the 'Monster's Marriage' galleon.

(This chapter was originally a one-shot that won Work in Progress community monthly contest for November-2018, by the way. Not that I'll stop bragging about it anytime soon.)