Important Note: Set during Volume 6, this one-shot will contain spoilers. It has no connection to my on-going series, "Dreams Crushed".

Fallen

There's a soft scrape of her cup as she hooks her left hand into it and raises it off the wooden table, neither her eyes nor her mind really focused on the task – although she's not really taking in what's actually happening either, her gaze rests beyond the railing to her right as it follows the every action of the single woman sitting at a lone table by the bar in the floor below, one of her bodyguards on either side of her.

Not that Cinder really likes Lil' Miss Malachite or anything the woman stands for. Honestly, she can't stand her and all her bad habits. Yeah, she's worked with criminals of the like before and all, so what? Doesn't mean her heart has to be in it, as long as she can put on that 'pretty mask' of a face and appeal to their vanity – and just like Raven Branwen, Little Miss Malachite has too much of it.

And people say 'flattery won't get you anywhere' – hah! They just haven't mastered it like she has!

This woman, though? 'Little Miss Malachite'? She's a walking encyclopedia of bad habits, and that is what really riles Cinder up. The purplish ashtray, already filled to the brim but with the heap in it still growing, is but one red flag (honestly, with this woman, the Fall Maiden wouldn't be surprised if it was purple as well, not in the slightest) and speaks volumes of the woman's most obvious bad habit – and yet, it hadn't taken Cinder long to learn that Lil' Miss Malachite also likes her tea with a major shot of something alcoholic. Every stupidly purple cup. And she keeps filing her already perfectly manicured nails, and does that little annoying and loud slurp whenever she takes a sip and smacks her lips right after, and keeps raising her right perfect eyebrow at everything she hears and – ugh! The list could just go on and on, and it's making her mad!

Yet, she's a welcome distraction to focus on as Cinder feels her thoughts drifting off. Something her eyes can follow as her mind is elsewhere, something that isn't inanimate and makes her feel 'mentally inadequate'. More than she already does, sitting in the, at the moment, otherwise empty bar owned by the enigmatic criminal syndicate, on the upper floor, and that all by herself.

God knows where Neo has run off to, slippery and elusive as she is. Like everything she does, she's quiet when she decides to vanish and slip away without any prior announcement, even in the middle of conversations, even knowing how powerful her superior is, as she does when she shows up again out of nowhere the very same way. How Roman could stand it, Cinder really doesn't know, but she'd rather not bring it – him, more specifically, who Neo had adored as a mentor and father figure – up. Not with how fragile their alliance already is.

It's a small surprise to Cinder in itself that she actually managed to persuade the short assassin to work with her after how she set up an ambush for the Fall Maiden in the first place, meaning to get her retribution for Torchwick's death.

Truly, Neo is just an unknown factor, something you can never count in or out, and is bound to never quite give you the result you were expecting – and it irks Cinder, who likes to plan ahead. Whose whole life is perfectly scheduled by herself, as she is in control, she...! She...!

Her empty hand clenches into a fist, the other tightening around the handle of her cup. Violently shaking, it's a small miracle in itself that no liquid spills from it and stains the table, although a stray thought in the aftermath has Cinder wish it would have, as it would undeniably have pissed off Lil' Miss Priss if one of her tables got ruined even temporarily.

No, the Fall Maiden regains her composure just in time, closing her eyes and lowering her cup to rest back against the table's surface. Unconsciously biting down on her lower lip, she starts gnawing on it, not even remotely aware of the pain or how close she is to drawing blood.

She makes her own destiny.

Why that random thought affects her so much, she doesn't know. Or, perhaps, can't recollect – it wouldn't be the first thing that, as much as she hates it, she simply forgets. Suppress, rather, for she knows it's there, burning in the back of her mind, a memory outright refusing to surface and answer her question. Her plea for knowledge.

This all – everything lately – it just doesn't work out anymore like she wants it to. From the Fall of Beacon on – No, sooner. Accepting Ozpin and his relic to be her target? Joining Salem and becoming affiliated with her plans? Meeting that damned witch that only seemed to bring misery with her? No. Even sooner. If she was being perfectly honest, as much as she hated the thought or how much sense it made even though she desired to outright deny it with all her might, because of what this meant for her and her ego, it all may have started when she first...

Unconsciously having raised the cup to her mouth, cold white porcelain touches her lower lip, and suddenly she finds herself wide awake and torn back into reality mid-thought as a sharp and burning sensation of pain echoes through her lower jaw. Free hand shooting up to her lower lip, just barely missing the edge of the table during the hasty movement, her fingertips come to rest against the throbbing pain of her pale lips and she winces, tongue pressing against the sore spot from inside, just where her lip is split.

Just like that, the train of thoughts is gone.

That damn Neo, way too skilled for her own good – to get that many hits on a Maiden, even one that was using but a fragment of her full potential, and that many hits past her defense! To the head! If only the assassin wasn't so useful, she would have her reduced to ashes for that amount of disrespect rather than proposing her to join forces and get revenge on Ruby Rose together! Hell, the moment she'd get the chance, she'd just leave Neo behind and torment Little Red by herself, anyway! In fact, she should just start with Neo for having run off right after their 'conversation' to begin with!

Her hand is, to her further ire, shaking more than it should after such a little slip-up as she puts the cup back down on the table, yet she manages to control it enough as to not spill any of its contents on her bandaged arm. Finally, after more seconds than it should have, she manages to place it right next to the plate of food she hadn't touched in an hour, having ignored it almost entirely ever since one of Lil' Miss Malachite's goons had brought it to her. For a 'low' price, of course, including an additional 'small fee for someone preparing it outside of the usual business hours', but the villainess had found herself too tired and too annoyed after dealing with the gangster boss and Neo to argue or go through the trouble of finding another place to eat.

Plus, she doubted she could really stand the judgmental looks of people for how she looked at the moment, messy hair, bandaged arm and burnt face, hiding as much of her body in her robes as she could. At least she recently got a 'bath' and didn't have to worry about that. Damn that Branwen woman for deceiving and backstabbing her like that!

Baring her teeth and balling her fists, she finds herself glaring at the silverware she's picked up and then put down, without ever using them, countless times since it was brought to her with the plate of now undeniably cold food. For the umpteenth time, she considers actually eating something, to force herself to do so – it's not that it doesn't look or smell delicious, because it honestly is mouth‑watering, but she simply isn't sure if she can stomach it right then. For some reason she can't quite grasp, her stomach has been upset for a while now, outright painfully so, and it's quite disconcerting.

Thing is, she knows she's got to eat sooner or later – her powers and regeneration still relied on it, near divine abilities or not. It had been a while since she last ate properly, Branwen and her bandits may be able to survive on charred morsels and whatever edible stuff they find in nature, as well as their rationed loot from scavenges, most of it canned as to prolong its durability, but it's just not for her, who she is used to fancy dishes and full meals.

To what low levels people could stoop, it was just disgusting – and a woman as powerful as Raven Branwen, even without the Spring Maiden powers she apparently now held, who could take and have everything she so desired, living like that? Why would she? She could live like a queen, feast for days, enjoy life to the fullest – and yet she lived in the wilderness in tents! Off of charred meat and squashed berries, as well as barely ripe fruits! It simply made no sense!

Hadn't she herself agreed to aid Salem in her plans in exchange for these powers, had she had any chance to acquire them by herself with just her own underlings, Cinder would've taken them and lived like she could've only ever dreamed of instead of being forced to wait until the day she was free to do so among Salem's new world order. Whatever that would look like.

However, as she picks her silverware up once again, it's but another pointless attempt at forcing herself to eat. The moment her fork hovers over the, admittedly quite deliciously looking, steak she had ordered – ever since Salem had given her this new arm, she'd found herself craving meat more often, and it was quite honestly starting to worry her – the churning feeling in her stomach simply returns, and she has to put it back down and turn away to avoid the queasy feeling from growing stronger.

Damn everything.

So caught up in her anger, Cinder barely notices the soft creak of the stairs behind her, telltale sign of someone approaching. Honestly, though, she couldn't care less – it's Neo, anyway, no one else is light enough to make this little sound or were stupid enough to approach her when she's in such an obvious bad mood. Lil' Miss Malachite (and thus by extension her goons) has a lot of bad habits, but being stupid ain't one of them, quite the opposite in fact.

Considering that mute assassin could move perfectly silent if she wanted to, it's just her way of letting Cinder know that she's back. Not that the Fall Maiden really wanted to see her at the moment. For being completely mute, Neo could be very forward with her sarcasm and her smugness, almost invasive if she really desired to, and Cinder really wasn't in the mood for that mocking cryptic smile or its owner's shenanigans.

So, leaving Neo to do whatever she does when no one is paying attention to her, knowing that Neo is intelligent and vain – or maybe simply sadistic and brutal, desiring to see the last light in her victim's eyes fade – enough not to literally stab her in the back, the Maiden by force simply turns back to her plate and glares down at it as though it was to blame for her situation and how awful she felt.

And true enough, no two seconds later, Neo strides into her field of view from the left, parasol resting on her right shoulder, one eye pink and the other brown but both resting on her, with that irritating smile. A single twirl too gracious for the audience of one, and Neo has folded her parasol and hopped onto the table neighboring the one that Cinder sits at, her tool-weapon-hybrid finding its place at her side. And, of course, there it is, that condescending smirk that somehow always seems to find its way onto the lunatic's lips, no matter the situation.

Leave it to the crazy one to find some sick sense of amusement in anything and everything.

Silence hangs over them for a moment as the bereaved assassin and the wrongful Fall Maiden stare at another over the table of the yet to be touched food. Of course, such is often the case when dealing with the mute Neo, even in conversations during her non-verbal answers, but it is seldom ever as uncomfortable or irritating as this.

Although their interactions had always been rare and limited to only the most necessary aspects even when Roman was still alive, mostly because Cinder preferred talking to someone in person rather than through their underlings that she was above, it was safe to say that her mentor's death had severely cooled Neo's stance towards her down, and not just because she, at least partly, blamed Cinder for it.

It was, for the lack of a better description, as though Neo had been robbed of the only source of light and warmth in her world, and fallen into pitch black darkness. As if Roman had been the one thing she had once had to hold on to, her bastion of calm in her life, everything this new and cold Neo now did was hollow and driven only by her desire for revenge, retribution against those she blamed for her only friend's death, and if she was being perfectly honest – not that she'd voice it or show it in any way, of course, as that would mean to show weakness – it scared Cinder a bit, almost as much as it fascinated her.

Not just because this vengeance was, in part, directed at her, but because Neo had always been a bit 'unstable' – now, with the only thing to keep her anchored to sanity gone, the mute was more unpredictable than ever, and at the same time more likely to lash out against anyone and anything. Especially once she'd have gotten her revenge and would find that this hunger she now felt would not be satisfied and she'd still be left feeling hollow and numb, at which point she would undeniably move on and direct it randomly, which was the part Cinder was really scared about – all this potential Neo had, partnered with her lunacy, once it came undone...

She shuddered. She hated herself for it, but she actually physically shuddered, and Neo noticed if her confused expression was any indication. But she'd find out, which only stoked Cinder's ire towards the shorter woman – Neo would always find out, was more intelligent than she let on, and had her methods. Oh, and Neo would come to know about this potential she had one way or another, that much Cinder was aware of, it was just that the lunatic would, even once that day came, have no idea or means to direct it. Just like with her insanity, which she very well knew she had, but was controlled by whenever her episodes came, she was powerless before it.

But Cinder, who was as fascinated by it as she was secretly scared of it, she had. She saw what Neo would one day come to realize, to see that Roman had not only anchored her to sanity but also held her true power down, kept it in check, for it needed Neo's lunacy, her unpredictable side, to fully develop and blossom. If the villainess could find a way to control it though, to harness Neo's powers rather than succumb to them – oh, then, yes then, collecting the remaining Maiden powers would be a piece of cake. Get revenge on Little Red and Branwen. And maybe even overthrow Salem, for Cinder Fall would never accept being second to anyone!

It always came down to that 'if', though. If she could somehow harness Neo's powers, for she doubted that the crazed mercenary – which was the term Neo had used for herself during their 'conversation', as that was apparently what she now saw herself as without her mentor, a 'mercenary', a hired gun, but deep down still an assassin, as she would always remain in Cinder's eyes – would ever accept to be her subordinate or ever trust her again, unlike Emerald. If Neo's powers could even be controlled, as it seemed that even their owner required her unstable mental state to fully grasp them.

If only these uncertainties could be removed...!

Realizing she had gotten lost in her train of thoughts and been staring at the table, an inch away from gnawing on her nails – damn it, for such an old bad habit to return, and at such a time, too! – Cinder hastily raises her gaze to meet that of the silent woman and brings her palms down on the table as if to get her attention. Not that it was necessary, as even though Neo had apparently become bored of her at some point and proceeded to let her gaze roam, letting it linger on Cinder's untouched meal just a tad longer than necessary, it moves back to her the moment she does as much as twitch.

Again, leave it to the lunatic to see through her as fast as only Emerald – the only person Cinder had ever willingly allowed to get close to her true self – had ever done before.

And back to that silent staring contest. At this point, it was apparent to Cinder that Neo wasn't simply hanging around for companionship – which, honestly, was the type Neo didn't strike her as, more focused on whims than anything else – or because she was bored. No, if she truly were bored, she'd be out and about doing whatever she wants to do that keeps her entertained, and certainly not hanging around the woman she deemed the murderer of the only person she had ever seen anything in.

Neo wanted something, and was waiting for her to address the Goliath in the room for whatever reason. Knew Cinder, already agitated, would eventually grow tired of her presence and her staring, and do so. Another game of hers? A whim? Or maybe it actually held an ulterior move, a bigger purpose that would only become apparent in the short or even long run? With Neo, you never truly knew.

"Okay, I bite – what do you want, Neo?" she finally growls and leans back over her food, snatching the silverware off the table and quickly digging into her meal. The day she'd allow Neo, or anyone for that matter, to see such weakness from her, especially over such a ridiculous thing as a meal, would be the day that the harsh deserts of Vacuo froze over.

Ahead of her, the mute woman simply crosses one leg over the other as the Fall Maiden's question lingers, and even as Cinder glares up from the steak she was cutting does not bother to actually answer. All she does in return to the question is to put one hand onto her upper leg and raise the other to her mouth, gently tapping her lower lip as she raises her gaze in mock confusion, acting like she has forgotten what exactly she had come for in the first place.

Of course, this action didn't fail to meet its purpose, no matter how little Cinder likes it, as she feels herself tightening her grip on her silverware. Why the mute loves to get underneath everyone's skin so much, or how she always does it without fail, is beyond the villainess, but she hates it. Had it been anyone else – aside Emerald, but she had never once dared to step out of line in the first place, and just wasn't the type to do so – but the mute assassin, Cinder would've loved to wipe that smug grin off their lips, but again, their alliance was fragile enough as it was, and she really needs Neo's cooperation at the moment.

At least, until she manages to get back in contact with Emerald. And Mercury, she supposes. Though Neo's cooperation afterward would still be greatly appreciated, it is not absolutely necessary, something she always feels herself reminded of when the lunatic bothers her again.

"Yeah – why don't you 'tell' her what you want, Neo?"

A shrill noise disturbs the silence of the bar as Cinder's knife drags over the plate and leaves a deep scratch in its surface, somehow masking the noise of her silverware bending under how forceful her suddenly ablaze hands clench down on them. All that under the stare of the mute lunatic in question, whose smirk was slowly taking almost demonic proportions, surpassed only by the grimm-like coldness that was settling into her eyes as they rapidly changed through their colors in between alternating their focus on Cinder and the person that had been silently standing behind her ever since Neo's return.

Of course, the sudden noise had drawn the attention of Lil' Miss Malachite and her goons, but a simple wave from Neo, who did not even turn her eyes to them, had them shake their heads and return to their own conversation. Because they didn't feel what Cinder could now feel, that incredible raw power that fills the entire room and pushes down on her from all sides, forcing her into her seat and applying pressure to her from everywhere at once, most apparent on her throat as it limits her ability to breathe and her eyeballs, which suddenly feel like they're about to burst under the push of non-existent thumbs.

It was like after the Fall of Beacon all over again, the inability to speak and the raspy breathing, how every movement felt as though her limbs had been petrified and not been used in a thousand years. A sudden longing for Emerald to be there settles in, who she could lean towards and whisper words and feelings into her ear to, and secretly lean on a bit more than necessary to comfort herself and tame the raging monsoon of doubts and terrors inside.

She'd never dare to admit it, never aloud, as it would be admitting her weakness and reliance of others, offer others a way to hurt her in ways that could never truly heal, but if she'd be quite honest, Emerald had become the closest person she had ever had. Why, how and when the woman had managed to sneak into her scarred heart like that, she had no idea, but – yeah, for once, she did not resent it, letting someone that close. Even if she'd only ever be able to admit so in her mind.

Still, though she finds herself remembered of Emerald and how she is not at her side at this moment, this is not after the Fall of Beacon, and it isn't the state of her body that was pulling her down like that this time, and as such, it requires just a bit of concentration and focus, sorting her emotions out and calling upon her Maiden powers, to free herself from this paralysation. Just pushing back against this power no one but her could feel, with the power but equal to it.

And as though it had waited for just that, the other power fades as sudden as it had begun, and Cinder follows that example as quick as she can, sealing the powers of the Fall Maiden back in herself right away as to not draw unnecessary attention to herself. Everything in the burnt villainess was desiring to whirl around and face the incarnation of that other power, but finds herself unable to, yet again limited by her own body.

A goddamn Maiden is right behind her, openly showing herself to her in a way only another Maiden would be able to feel it with how their powers react to another, and all she can do is sit there and glare at that backstabbing little traitor Neo, who is at fault for this all, though Cinder has yet to find out how Neo could locate another Maiden and talk her into this.

If only her damn prison of a body – once bursting with might and beauty, a true reflection of her great mind, now part Grimm and marred with burns, on its way to becoming a crippled jail for it after what that damn Ruby Rose and Raven Branwen had done to her! – would not hinder her all the time and work like it has used to!

"...And just what are you doing here?" she manages to choke out between clenched teeth, just loud enough that both Neo and the Maiden behind her can hear, and hates herself for how hollow the threat in her voice sounds, how it carries no real power with its anger, "How did you find me?"

"Ah..." begins the smooth voice behind her, and Cinder turns her eyes to the left as far as she can in hope of getting a glimpse at the woman, though it would only suffice in confirming the identity of the other Maiden as exactly who she has long figured out it was, "Let's just say that a 'little birdie' sung of your survival, your whereabouts and your little deal."

Glare turning to the traitorous lunatic, Cinder ignites her good eye just long enough so that Neo can get the unspoken threat and no one else gets a glimpse of it – though proud of her powers, the last thing she needs is someone hunting her down now for these very powers, not as she is at the moment. Of course, Neo sees it and understands, but it isn't the reason that she's looking both amused and irritated at the same time – rather than that it's the obvious taunt towards her muteness that had her left eye twitch dangerously once. Not that the Maiden behind Cinder seems to care, as she just continues talking, even as a small jolt goes through the Fall Maiden's body, who is slowly regaining control of her movements.

"You see, informing me of that was a..." she trails off, chuckling, as though she's looking for the right words to use, "...'safety measure' of sorts. Just in case that you decide to go back on your own word, dear Cinder."

The molten silverware falls from Cinder's hand as her fingers finally relax. Experimentally moving them once, confirming that she has regained their function and her joints are recovering one by one, the villainess finally forces her body to turn – albeit clumsily – just enough so that she can finally direct her rage towards the other Maiden.

And lo and behold, it's just who she has figured out it was.

"How did you get here?"

A chuckle, that is what she gets in response. All that Raven Branwen is willing to spare her, lips parting just enough to reveal the upper row of her teeth to the Fall Maiden and the mute assassin that had led her there, blood-red eyes closing while her shoulders shortly rise in the amused exhale that escapes her.

"How did I get here?" Raven repeats in obvious exhilaration and fake wonder, and Cinder can't help but notice how relaxed the bandit leader seems as she stands there. One hand resting on the grip of her blade as far from pulling it as Raven would ever get, fingers of her other hand gently drumming on the white Nevermore mask attached to her hip, shoulders slumped and head leaned ever so slightly to the side, she is the strangest display of complete comfort and yet absolute efficiency Cinder knows she would ever get to, so at ease and yet ready to shift into a battle ready stance in the blink of an eye if necessary. Which she apparently doesn't feel like at the moment.

It's an odd sight for sure, especially given that Raven has all but 'killed' her during their last encounter and thought her to be dead. And somehow, it irritates Cinder more than anything else, the knowledge that Raven apparently doesn't deem her a threat at the moment, doesn't take her serious at all. A joke, that is what she is to the Spring Maiden, and if only she could feel her legs, she would've thrown caution to the wind and choked the life out of the bandit until the Spring Maiden's powers were finally hers!

"Well..." again, Raven trails off, and though she opens her eyes, she only does so to – dares to, actually! – raise a mocking eyebrow at her, laughing as she continues on, taking her hand off her sword to shrug at the burnt woman in front of her, "How did you get here? Same as me, I suppose."

"You know damn well what I mean, Branwen!" Cinder bellows before she can catch herself and actually hammers her human fist down on the table so hard that the plate jumps a little and the bent knife falls off it. And yet, Raven just smiles and turns her head, casually waving to Lil' Miss Malachite with her free hand as though she wasn't the leader of a rivaling criminal organization, and somehow – even if looking slightly perturbed and more hostile than before – Lil' Miss Malachite actually beckons her bodyguards to calm down and to let Raven continue her business.

That's it for Cinder. Everyone else has obviously gone mad.

"Ha!" Raven chortles and turns back to her, completely caught up in her amusement by this point, and just rolls her eyes at the other Maiden like it's just an everyday situation and they aren't two of the most powerful beings out there, "What, you think I go everywhere by portal? Don't flatter yourself – you're not that important."

Another blow at her ego. She's aware of what Raven is doing, purposely provoking her, but that doesn't mean it's not working – it is doing exactly that rather well, sadly, no matter Cinder's attempt to stay calm. Screw Neo and her ability to get beneath her skin, Raven could do that to her even easier. Just had to be present, if anything.

Deciding not to be defeated like that, not with mere words, the Fall Maiden rises from her chair and leaks just a bit of her power into the atmosphere, gently lifting off the floor to hover no more than an inch over it – from the floor below, it wouldn't even look off, and there's no one on theirs other than Neo, who already knows, to see it. All to remind Raven who she is talking to.

But Raven is not impressed by the weak attempt at intimidation, Cinder knows when Raven hasn't even dropped that smug grin or shifted in her stance.

"You seemed to think otherwise back in Haven." growls Cinder lowly and lets just a tad more power leak from her eye – and Raven answers in kind, even if only in between two blinks, the cold blue that's the clear opposite to Cinder's deep scarlet glow existent for just a second. Her last victory has strengthened the Spring Maiden's resolve and confidence, and the villainess hates that it's not even unjustified. She would've been just like that had she actually won and claimed the relic from the Vault.

Speaking of – where was the relic? It didn't seem to be on Raven's person, as it was too large to be hidden that easily, but the bandit leader would never leave it back at her tribe's camp, guarded by only her mismatched band of ragamuffins, not with how much – according to Salem, at least – importance it held or would draw the Grimm towards it. Maybe back when her second-in-command was still there, but Cinder herself had seen to it that the fake Spring Maiden was no more.

How she had fallen for such a simple distraction was still both baffling and outright embarrassing to her – perhaps Raven's best gamble to this day. One that cost both sides dearly.

"You mean when I all but killed the Fall Maiden? With due respect..." Hearing Raven say this with voice laced in both poison and sarcasm, Cinder quickly snaps her gaze back up to meet that of the other Maiden, ignoring the curious stare they both receive from Neo, and feels her earlier ire return with how the bandit's face seems to speak of all but the mentioned respect, "...this pathetic picture of misery right here before me hardly intimidates me. I see no powerful Fall Maiden." Raven stops for dramatic effect, enjoying it as Cinder's eyes begin to narrow dangerously, twitch, as if to dare her to finish that sentence. Which, of course, she does. "Just measly old Cinder Fall."

Name not even fully finished, Cinder lunges at her fellow Maiden with hands engulfed in fire, but with Raven having anticipated this, she merely misses as the bandit sidesteps, finding herself falling forward onto a table. Though touching it for merely a second to push right back off it, the wooden tabletop just crumbles to ash right beneath her spread fingers, not even giving the piece of furniture the chance to ignite, just leaving two hand-shaped holes in it.

Hands still ablaze, the Fall Maiden enters her counterpart's personal space and goes for her throat, yet has them curling around cold hard steel instead of the desired flesh as Raven pulls her sword. Of course, the blade doesn't withstand the near divine powers for long, but it's more than the Spring Maiden needs to kick the villainess in the stomach – and as Cinder stumbles back and struggles to regain balance, the blade breaks into three pieces – two falling to the ground and the last remaining stuck to the handle – and yet the Branwen Twin merely smiles.

Even before her opponent stands upright again, having recovered from her stagger, she has inserted the handle with its broken blade back into its sheath, has it rotate once, and pulls it with a new blade, lands three quick strikes and steps back again, ready to face Cinder as though nothing has happened. With that same self-assured grin that has Cinder's blood boiling.

She needs to calm down, anger is getting her nowhere, Cinder knows that as soon as she touches the spot the blade had hit last – it's what Raven is counting on, her to be deluded and lured in by her anger, as though the bandit was without a doubt a berserker herself when it came to it, she knew how to use and direct her rage, had been trained to do so since early childhood days, unlike the younger Fall Maiden, who would only end up controlled by it.

First step – extinguishing her hands. Although there is no way she can take Raven on without the powers of the Fall Maiden to level the playing field and make them equal in strength, they stoke the flames of anger if they're already kindled, and she knows she needs them asleep until she's regained a more relaxed mind and can use them without having Raven turn them against her.

Of all the times Raven had to show up, it's now when she's already in a terrible mood and emotionally a mess, the worst state to be in for a Maiden. That their fight, ending in her loss, in the Vault had been just a few days ago doesn't make it any better. It's still too fresh on her mind.

For a second, she contemplates using her Grimm arm – unlike her Maiden powers, it benefits from these negative emotions – but abandons the idea just as fast. As long as she just sticks to the fire aspect of the Fall Maiden's powers and doesn't ignite her eyes, they're easy to explain and hide, but the Grimm arm? The moment the bandages come off, it's in plain view and nothing she say would ever explain it. After all, no known method or semblance would allow to become, even in part, the very essence of darkness humanity had sworn to fight.

No, she needs something else to even hope to fight the other woman, and with Neo not going to be any help – not when she purposely brought Raven here for this in the first place, but at least she wasn't siding with her either – this leaves Cinder with nothing but one thing: the old methods.

Locating Lil' Miss Malachite out of the corner of her eye is easy, the organization's leader isn't exactly a stealthy one, all that purple is making her stand out like a sore thumb, and is even less so when she's watching a 'show' before her unfold with curiosity – although unlike when Cinder had to fight Neo, which the gangster leader had been prepared for, she's obviously tense, fingers clutching her cup just a little tighter than she'd usually do. Whether because she was bothered by potential damage to her property or by Raven's presence, Cinder can't tell, and doesn't really care. It doesn't matter for her scheme.

It is almost too simple for someone like Raven to fall for it, hence why it's even more of an insult to the bandit leader when she sees Cinder suddenly turn her head in surprise and, even though hesitating for a second, follows the example by turning her eyes to see what could possibly distract Cinder from their fight, especially when Cinder's life depends on it – and promptly finds herself pushed backwards with her midsection enveloped in an extreme heat.

Distraction, cheating, betrayal – Cinder's oldest friends.

And had Raven not raised her sword out of precaution, turning its blade to shield her front and thus blocking most of the fireball aimed for her stomach, things would've probably gone somewhat in the Fall Maiden's favor, too.

Of course, this doesn't sit well with Cinder, who had hoped to land a solid hit and turn the tide of battle to her advantage, but it gives her confidence a small but needed boost, a new hope of being able to at least repel Raven and then make a tactical retreat – not that Neo, that snake, wouldn't follow and eventually find her, but she can't help but add that it would be in Neo's best interest not to.

Exactly one time, that was her rule – no one would get to disappoint, let alone betray, her like this twice. She had made Neo this offer once, and the result was that she went and told Branwen on her the moment she had the chance. Next time, the runt would get to feel the powers of the Fall Maiden, rather than just witness them.

In the wake of the deflected fireball, the villainess quickly raises her hands and opens them wide, willing the flying embers to gather within them into the old familiar bow. Couldn't believe she hadn't used it in this long despite its potency, and though it feels weird to use it with one hand now being that of a Geist, raises it to be level with the taller woman's deep red eyes, drawing back a single arrow. A threat to retreat that even someone as stubborn Raven would understand.

Except she doesn't seem to, just raising an eyebrow that the Fall Maiden isn't sure if it means to show her opponent's confusion, or to signal her to dare and shoot an arrow. Either way, letting go of the projectile reinforces her point, no matter if the bandit had understood or not – and it was only about them now. No Neo, no Little Miss, and especially none of her goons. Not that the latter could do anything against her, even as far from her peak as she was at the moment.

That Raven is prepared and deflects the arrow with perfect timing doesn't matter, nor does that she's shattering it into thousands of shards. The idea to reassemble them and surprise Raven crosses Cinder's mind, but she momentarily finds herself surprised when the remnants of her arrow refuse – then it clicks that just like she's using the bow as an extension of her powers, Raven is obviously channeling the Spring Maiden powers into her blade and thus canceling hers.

Doesn't matter, she still has the advantage of range, especially since Raven didn't seem too intent on relying on the Spring Maiden powers in public either and risking it to become known that she is their inheritor, not after that complicated plan of having Vernal pose as it not too long ago, and especially not with the head of a rivaling criminal organization and more or less information broker sitting in the same room, watching her every move.

Concentrating on creating three arrows at once is second nature to Cinder, she's done so long before getting the second half of the Fall Maiden's powers, and it's putting only a little more strain on her than a single arrow does compared to the volley she sends at Raven's way this time, as does the next set of three she follows up with, knowing that hesitation will only kill her.

She's right. The first volley is deflected by Raven's blade almost effortlessly, the three arrows not spaced out enough that it would be difficult for the swordswoman to cut them all apart in one strike, and even though flying at breakneck speed slow enough for the woman that's capable of stopping bullets with her blade to be able to prepare for each of them.

What's worse, by the time Cinder releases the string for the third time, the bandit sets into motion, actively running into the arrows to close the distance between them – and still finds the time to cut apart the projectiles, not even pausing when one half of a deflected arrow still continues on past her and impales Neo's throat, beheading her. Or rather her illusion, the short woman sitting on the table shattering apart into colorful light accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, the actual – or, what Cinder imagines to be the actual – Neo appearing on another table to their left unscathed and unfazed, quite the opposite. Always prepared. Cinder hates it.

Not as much as how easy it is for Raven to enter combat range, however, making the bow effectively useless. The sound of glass shattering is her this time, breaking her bow in two perfect halves, and though this means that Raven has an even easier time reaching her now, it at least gives her the means to fight back – as powerful as a single giant sword had proven to be against Raven down in the Vault of the Spring Maiden, she had once upon a time trained almost excessively to wield dual blades, after all. And with Raven, it all came down to skill.

Even though made of glass as opposed to the metal version of it that she once used, they don't shatter as Raven's blade slams into them, the proof of her powers that she needs to keep going on in the face of a foe this dangerous. Still, Raven's sword, much like its owner, holds the advantage in raw physical strength and Cinder finds her left arm pushed aside by the blow, but quickly proceeds to make use of this unwanted momentum and twirls on the spot, ignoring the slash Raven landed across her back and let her aura take it, both of her own blades parallel to another and ready to cut the other Maiden.

The strike is blocked, but at least keeps Raven from starting another attack of her own – no matter how much strength she or her sword held, they're just a tad slower than Cinder and her aerodynamic dual blades, enough for her to keep the taller woman on her toes. In fact, much to her own surprise, she finds herself forcing Raven back as she falls into a flurry of attacks, step by step gaining ground back.

Short-lived as it is, it's effective, and she actually gets past the other woman's defense, Raven hissing out as she blocks one of the Fall Maiden's strikes and finds the slash had been executed by only one glass dagger, the other waiting for that exact moment to be pushed past the blades to stab her. Her aura saves her from it, of course, but she still feels it.

Hence why she stops playing around, suddenly not in the mood for it anymore, and takes an abrupt step back. Cinder prepares to execute a similar maneuver, ready to intercept the next strike, but it never comes – never completely, that is, a feint.

It's an insult, the attempt to use the villainess' own tricks against her, but she isn't as easily deceived as others – she's unsure what tips her off, as Raven behaves the same as before, but she knows that the next slash would never connect, instead luring her closer to the other woman, and so she quickly drops her entire weight back. It saves her.

Halfway through her swing, Raven moves her sword to the side and extends a leg, turning around her own axis to kick the other Maiden's legs out from underneath her. Misses as Cinder does a backward cartwheel, and again finds herself at the receiving end when the Fall Maiden reconnects her dual blades in midair to fire a single arrow at her counterpart before landing almost gracefully on a table.

A direct hit into the center of her chest, the explosion not only pushing Raven back several feet but shaking her to the bone, eliciting a groan from her and stoking the flames of her rage. Part of her wishes to freeze and shatter Cinder after that, but alas, she knows she can't give away her secret of being the Spring Maiden in public. No matter how much she wishes to at that moment, as it calls back the bad memories of the Vault.

She resorts to blocking the next volley of arrows, however, even though the new angle at which they're fired is making it harder to do so, which is down at her, now that Cinder has the higher ground, and would only get more complicated the closer she gets to this elevated position, and waits for the smoke from the explosion she'd been in the center of to clear.

The moment it does, she leaps. Leaning out of the way of a set of arrows, not caring where they end up or how much damage they'd cause to Lil' Miss' property, she rushes at the Fall Maiden once more, cutting arrows into shards, before diving out of the way of the final volley – after that, even with the difference in height, it's as though history repeats itself, Cinder breaking her bow apart into blades to intercept incoming strikes.

But Raven knows better than to fall for the same thing again – Cinder must think her a fool to use the same trick twice.

Blades clash, the bandit's downward strike blocked by her opponent crossing her blades in front of her self. A bold move, Raven has to admit that, as had the difference in strength been just a tad bigger, the deep crimson blade would've cleaved deep into the other Maiden's skull with how close it came to Cinder's forehead for a second. Even crippled from their last fight and heavily burnt, Cinder doesn't lack courage – yes, she loves to stoop to cowardly methods, embraced distraction and deceit, but she certainly does have the guts to face problems head-on if necessary.

Too bad traits and power like that are wasted on a subordinate. To Salem, at that.

Glass meets metal again and sparks fly briefly. A silent curse escapes the burnt Maiden when she feels how shaky her left arm is as she pulls back, Raven's two-handed strikes and raw strength getting the better of her in her weakened state. Again, the thought to abandon the fight and retreat arises, more appealing than ever, and she briefly considers to swallow her hate for it and follow it through – never before considered ever since becoming who she is now, it's survival over embarrassment and shame. And she loathes it.

Alas, the decision is not hers.

A slash from the left takes her by surprise, Raven changing the direction halfway through the attack, and Cinder barely manages to follow and intercept, albeit with the wrong hand – it doesn't go well, the villainess knows when she feels a harsh stinging pain in her left arm, and hears the sound of something hitting the floor somewhere close by.

That the sword has gone straight through the auraless arm of darkness and penetrated her left shoulder, going through her weak aura, as well is something she doesn't even realize until Raven moves it and an uncomfortable sensation arises within it.

One blade short and a gash in her Grimm arm, the hiss that escapes her is both because of the pain of Raven pulling her sword back – an action that is accompanied by the sound of Cinder's aura finally giving in and breaking, too weak to even fully heal the wound left in her shoulder by the tip of the scarlet steel – and her own fury at the prospect of her own stupid mistake, but she doesn't hesitate to react when the other woman doesn't stop her assault.

Still, the disbelief of Raven having already managed to break through her aura is immense. She knows she hasn't fully recovered from her last defeat at Raven's hands, down in Haven's Vault. Not after her short fight with Neo, which had already managed to leave faint traces. She knows she should've eaten her food and rested more to help it recover. And yet, for it to break that easily – her aura, enhanced by the powers of a Maiden!

But she takes up stance, shifting her left side back – even if she had aura, as Raven had pointed out during their last fight, that arm was Grimm and no aura would ever protect it – and her right forward and in front of herself, raises her remaining glass weapon and prepares to fight. Her Grimm arm feels heavy, shadows leaking through the bandages where her opponent has impaled it.

Raven is faster. Relentless. Although she had recovered near immediately from the attack and adjusted to her now being single-handed for the remainder of the fight, the swordswoman is already in the middle of her next well-aimed strike – Cinder never sees it coming, but she feels it, the slash that hits her just below her elbow and travels along her forearm, emerging again just above her wrist. The pain is unbearable. She growls as her arm falls to her side, what could be considered a torrent of blood bursting from it.

Her right arm near useless, the cut is just deep enough that it affects her but wouldn't have her bleed out in the near future, made with incredible precision, and she can already feel her own blood dripping down from her nearly numb fingers, she quickly turns her blade around, holding it backhanded, to use it not unlike a combat knife – it's short enough, and with the dull side resting against her forearm just below her wound she can stabilize it somewhat and still put all the strength she has left in it. It doesn't matter how much that burns.

Not nearly enough strength, however, she knows it the moment Raven's sword connects with it and it shakes her to the core, but at least it's something, and better than giving up and surrendering straightaway by all means. But what had been her advantage before is now her bane – at range, the higher ground had been in her favor, but up close and with one badly wounded arm?

Turns out even with two blades she couldn't have prevented it, Raven had already won, and the lucky hit at the end had actually just been a minor setback in her defeat. Aimed lower than any strike before, Cinder screams out as the attack – without the protection of her aura – cuts into her left shin and she stumbles, but it's the following slash that decides the outcome of the fight.

It's a clean and fast cut, not even meeting any resistance. Cinder is halfway down on one knee when it hits, and it hits hard for where it's aimed – and the last thing the falling Maiden sees is Neo's face, lighting up in glee, eyes growing wide in wonder and lips curling up into that smile that would've made Grimm run away in fear.

Right before Cinder finds herself falling forward into Raven, the last slash having taken out the table's legs.

The hand curling around her throat, catching her out of the air, is cold and hard due to the gauntlet it is covered in, each segment piercing her skin and forcing a choked sound out of her she hadn't heard since regaining her voice and thought she had left behind then. It's a short journey from there, everything a blur, Raven swinging her through the air and slamming her through a table into the railing only a meter or two from where she had sat earlier that night.

Everything hurts. Her arms, her leg, but most prominently now her back. Splintered wood lies to her feet, some of it covered in her blood, which she hopes is from her arm or leg, and not another, perhaps worse, wound. She'd check, but as she is reminded that moment by the pressure on her throat increasing and the sword resting against her side daring her to use her Grimm arm that's holding the hand against her throat by the wrist, Raven is still choking her, holding her down on the railing in an uncomfortable, backwards bent position.

She doesn't know where her second blade ended up, lost during the last few seconds of the struggle, and though she finds the one Raven had knocked out of her hands by coincidence when her left foot touched it, that hope died even faster when her aggressor kicked it past the railing and sent it falling into the floor below. It shatters there.

And even if she wanted to, with her dominant hand out of the picture, even if she were to summon new blades, there was no way she'd turn the fight around and win. Even retreating and making a run for it was now out of question.

Raven had overpowered her, and won.

"I think I've proven my point. Really, Cinder, that was just weak. Your little mint-haired pet would've been more of a challenge." coos the woman with the name of a bird, and Cinder – who had thought herself she had given up – bucks against the grip at the mention of Emerald, "Don't have enough yet? What does it take to confirm you're but a shadow of who you once were? That you can't win against me? You lost at your best – what makes you think you can take me at your worst? You've had enough, trust me, you'd only die if we continue."

Narrowing her eyes at Raven, the Fall Maiden scowls and, even though knowing it serves no purpose but to further aggravate the bandit, makes sure to dig her fingers into her wrist, moving them against it just enough for the talons of her Grimm hand to emerge from the bandages. Raven doesn't care, only spurred on by the pain.

Off to the side, Neo leans forward and rests her elbows on the knee of the leg she's put over the other, folding her hands beneath her chin. Beneath her vicious smirk. The lunatic is enjoying the show she is provided, that much is clear, but so is the little twitch in her fingers for Cinder. Much more than for the show to continue, Neo would love to join it, color the bar scarlet. That sadist.

"I quite agree, she had enough."

Hearing Lil' Miss Malachite chime in, Raven raises her gaze to glare at her over the top of Cinder's head, finding the organization leader glaring right back. Had she been able, the Fall Maiden would've met Little Miss' gaze as well, mostly out of curiosity for the interruption and both the moment and choice of words, but she wasn't exactly in any position to. Or any comfortable position, really.

"As had my home. Ladies, as much as I enjoy a good show, I believe this has gone on long enough. I was generous before, leaving you to your own devices in my abode, Branwen, but even my hospitality has its limits. So, unless you behave..." Little Miss trails off ominously, and though it hardly intimidated Raven, and even less to see the female bodyguard of the gangster leader draw her revolver and aim it the berserk bandit's way, it didn't fail to bring the point across.

"Tch." With this sharp hiss of disdain, Raven surprises Cinder by actually letting go of her, not only allowing her to get up but actively helping her to do exactly that – before grabbing her roughly by the shoulder and forcefully directing her sideways into her old seat. If not for the railing, which her upper back hits rather painfully along with the side of the backrest, it would've fallen over, Cinder is assured of that as she fights the pain and forces her eyes open to face the raging Raven.

Who doesn't even look back, and yet holds her in check just by pointing one gauntleted finger at her. A silent threat, the other hand resting on the now once again sheathed sword, which Cinder knows the bandit can pull in the blink of an eye. And with all of her own aura gone – no, it would be foolish to attempt anything, even Cinder knows better than that.

Once upon a time, she wouldn't have. Before the Vault. Even with her aura gone, she would've just ignited her hands and lunged at her aggressor and cremated them. There had been no stopping her back then, and if killed she would've laughed in the face of death and just turned it to ashes as well. She was Cinder, the true Fall Maiden, everything should bend to her will and kneel before her.

'Was' being the keyword. But is she really anymore? She doesn't know. Didn't know after her defeat by Raven's hands in the Vault beneath Haven, and doesn't now as she faces another embarrassing defeat at the same woman's hands. So she just keeps quiet, the only smart thing to do. To let Raven have this moment of victory, and get revenge in the future.

Speaking off silence, hovering just behind Raven is a certain mute traitor that Cinder feels even more desire to incinerate towards at that moment – and by the grin on the assassin's lips alone, Cinder can tell just how much Neo is enjoying this. A glare through narrowed eyes, that's all she can do against Neo at the moment, even though it only serves to fuel the shorter woman's amusement.

"Now..." began Little Miss again, making sure to have the bandit's full attention, "If someone were so gracious as to pay for the damage I was willing to let happen for this little entertainment of yours..."

Raven holds her stare for a moment, no emotion visible in her eyes and none to be read from her expression, although Cinder can feel the irritation in the way the gauntleted finger is retracted and joins the rest in a fist. And then, the woman again surprises her by rolling her eyes and relaxing, turning her head to Neo and nodding towards Lil' Miss Malachite, who is watching the wordless exchange expectantly.

Cinder isn't sure what catches her more off guard – that Raven just reacted in a way that seemed to be something she'd expected from an irritated, but not quite angry yet, Xiao Long (come to think of it, there was a lot of resemblance there), or that Neo just shrugged in return to Raven's signal, and pulled out a small satchel of Lien from behind her back to throw it to the organization leader down in the floor below, who doesn't waste a second to pass it to her male bodyguard to check the contents – smart, Neo wasn't to be trusted and definitely not above turning such a simple thing into a trap – and count the Lien. But Cinder doesn't waste any thoughts on that, mind racing.

First, she doesn't outright kill the Fall Maiden after what had happened in Haven, and now Raven actually complies with this gangster's ludicrous demands? Neo backstabbing her had to be expected, but this?

What had happened to the world while she was frozen?!

A nod from her bodyguard confirms the sum is sufficient and safe, no Dust-infused trap or poison in the satchel, and Lil' Miss, who had watched from the corner of her eyes, nods back. Payment received, she raises her hand to tell her guards to step back down, then focuses on Raven a last time to narrow her eyes in a threatening glare – and then turns away herself to return to her table. Horrible mistake in Cinder's eyes, which she can't believe someone like the organization leader would actually make, as this would've been the perfect moment to strike; a back turned is the perfect target for anyone who isn't a sniper, and she knows that both a trained assassin like Neo and a woman such as Raven agreed – and yet, neither of them struck. They really didn't care about Little Miss, didn't consider her a threat at all.

With Lil' Miss Malachite retreating and the 'truce' between the Mistralian criminals restored, the attention of the swordswoman and the assassin shifts back to their original target – and though she swore not to flinch or show any sign of weakness, Cinder was well aware that she actually shrinks a bit into her seat when the taller woman's deep and unsettling crimson eyes found hers.

To believe that even after everything, after attaining the powers of the Fall Maiden, it gets such a disgusting human reaction out of her. Fear, even as slight as this, should've long become history, no more than a myth she had believed in when young – and yet, here it was again. Instilled into her by what had to be the most Grimm-like rendition of a human next to herself, even though she had stopped fearing the Grimm over a decade ago.

"That woman!" Raven's quiet mocking voice alerts Cinder to the new position of the bandit, having proceeded to walk over to a table in between the weakened Fall Maiden and the mute assassin to rest against and cross her arms beneath her chest, "Thinks she's doing her stuff in secret beneath my tribe's nose, in our territory, and successfully gets away with it, when really we just allow her to. Doesn't even know we've got a little mole in her group. Alas, we need her to keep doing her stuff as she does and not start a small war she has no hope of winning against us, anyway. Too bad, there's little more that I want to give her than a taste of my fist for all that sass and disrespect she's given me and my tribe."

At least that explained her willingness to pay for the damage.

"So..." The bandit shakes her head and the smirk that, again, reminds so much of Xiao Long returns, and Cinder just knows it is aimed at her. Off to the side, Neo takes off her – well, once upon a time, Roman's – bowler hat and starts to spin it on top of her finger. Not out of boredom, her face tells Cinder so, but out of her own smugness. That psychopath was enjoying this, especially Cinder's suffering, way too much, even as she saw how much it enraged her. Maybe even more because of that.

"Are you convinced now? You're not all that powerful, Cinder. Maybe once upon a time, you were, but now? That little light-show of yours is just that now, for show – nothing like what you could do last time we met." the mockery in the bandit's voice had Cinder curl her right hand into a fist, her nails almost painfully scratching across the wood of the banister, so much that she moves her hand to the table just as Raven continues, "Certainly not that of a Maiden. Not at the moment, no. And I'd be a fool for waiting around until you'd recover, right? Until you find enough strength to go on another killing spree?"

Of course, the question was rhetorical – Raven was not expecting an answer from her, Cinder knows that much and keeps quiet. Instead, she lets Raven turn to Neo and smile, glad for any second she doesn't have the woman's undivided attention.

There is something intimidating about her, that bandit, something murderous in her presence. It had been easier to ignore and play down when she still felt invincible from the rush of power that the Fall Maiden's powers offered, but with that gone, the older woman's threat has become ever more apparent, and so have other small details. With what confidence Raven carries herself, and in retrospect had done even when faced with an imposing danger that could very well mean her end, only slightly wavering at the death of her second-in-command. The bit of additional height Raven has over her, which now, defeated by her once more, felt greater than it actually was. Their difference in physique, Raven rough and muscular from living out in the wild and the countless tussles she has fought in, the complete opposite to Cinder's own lithe and smooth elegance which she prefers not to needlessly have marred in battle – after all, that was what one had subordinates for.

The scarred part of her face burns with more intensity at the thought of how perfect she'd once been, before Little Red, and her nails dig into the wooden tabletop. She kind of hopes Raven can feel the glare drilling into the back of her head and will end up choking on the grin she is offering Neo, even though a larger part of Cinder hopes she doesn't and just keeps her entire focus on the little two‑timing mercenary.

Mostly because that part of her knows that Raven is right – even though still in possession of the Fall Maiden powers, that part of Cinder is aware that she just isn't the same anymore. Not who she was before the Vault. And certainly not the same she was before the Fall of Beacon.

It's not the Fall Maiden powers that have changed or forsaken her – it's herself. She's the problem, what's happened to her, what's on her mind, and that is what's really dragging her down so much. What's really bothering her. What has her losing sleep and appetite, and keeps her occupied during every hour she's awake since she's crawled out of that ditch. Of course she'd never admit it aloud – not only would it mean to admit she's grown weak, but it would also mean to admit that Raven is right.

Which she is, and Cinder hates it.

"I'd put that away if I were you." Raven's cold and threatening voice pulls Cinder back into the present, and it's only then that she notices that her hand had lit up in response to her emotions, bright flames flickering dangerously close to the wood while she had glared absentmindedly at the other Maiden. No wonder Raven mistook it for a threat. Luckily, extinguishing it seems to be enough for the Spring Maiden to relax, although Cinder doesn't like the quiet "good girl" she's being offered at following the order as though she were a common dog following a command for a trick it had learned.

Cause if that is what Raven thinks of her, then Cinder will make sure she'll end up bitten.

But Raven's attention rests upon her again now, that self-pleased grin that Cinder would've loved to wipe off in a torrent of fire. A fast and oh so simple movement of her human hand. The desire to leave deep scratches, scars that would never heal and always remind the bandit of her insolence and its consequences, across Raven's face, a deep-rooted grudge within. To watch as scarlet blood would run down pale skin from deep gashes and drip off light pink lips, eventually to turn crimson as it congealed. Now that – that would fill Cinder with glee.

"Tell me, Cinder..." There it is again, that condescending tone that has the Fall Maiden's hair stand on end and glare, that tells her just how little Raven thinks of her and what threat she is, "...what is it you plan to do now? Hypothetically speaking, of course, were you to somehow walk away with your life..." The bandit's sword is unsheathed by the push of a thumb against its crossguard, just a small bit, enough that Cinder catches the reflection of light on the silver of the blade, "...which I don't see you do yet. Come on, what do you have to lose?"

Trying to ignore the mocking tone best as she can, Cinder raises her stare from the weapon to the crimson eyes of its owner and narrows her eyes – not that it fazes Raven, who removed her thumb from her sword and had it fall back into its sheath in order to reach for the left side of her neck to scratch it. Mosquito bite, Cinder presumes, Mistral is full of them as night falls thanks to its humid climate and marshy biomes. Or maybe its just a sore neck, living outside in tents doesn't exactly have a lot of luxury.

"You're awfully confident for someone within reach of my flames." The threat is hollow and Cinder knows it, Raven has proven already that she isn't easily burnt, and the bandit seems to remember that awfully well – although she halts in her movements and seems surprised at the harsh reply, her smile simply grows and she sends a glance into Neo's direction, who Cinder had momentarily forgotten (as much of an advantage as a curse of muteness, Cinder finds herself musing, the ability to go unnoticed and forgotten), as if to ensure she heard right.

'Did you hear that? Get a load of this!' Raven doesn't say it, but Cinder knows that this is the silent, motionless exchange between the bandit and the mercenary. Again, at her expense. She's the laughing stock of the situation, and it displeases her almost as much as that she isn't able to turn the situation around somehow.

"What does it matter to you?" she curses, glare moving back and forth between the two other women, and Raven just smiles – and then has the audacity to shrug!

"Amuse me."

"I'd be a fool to tell you! You'd know where to find me!" she hisses towards the corvine woman and knows she's hit home when Raven's eyes light up in amusement, but Cinder finds her gaze travelling towards the mute woman off to the side that has done her best to stay out of the conversation, and makes sure to add extra bite to her next words, "Besides, I believe Neo has already told you."

Still sneering, Neo just slowly raises her hands and shrugs exaggeratedly, not blinking once as to ensure she'd be keeping eye contact with her former partner's boss – one of two targets of her grudge-driven quest for vengeance. Eyes pink and brown, uncharacteristically leaking into another, it seems as though Grimm-like fangs could grow from the madwoman's teeth any second; this went beyond the 'mischievous' or just 'playful', as Torchwick had loved to call it, behavior she knew Neo for.

This was the true lunacy within. The malevolence the assassin really strived for. What Cinder had thought to be just seeds of distrust that Neo had sown had long grown into thorny weeds of chaos and imminent betrayal, planted long before Torchwick's death as it turned out, and she found herself afraid of finding out how far they really expanded. Where else Neo had sown them. What Neo believed to gain from them.

"How presumptuous of you, my dear Cinder, to still not even consider that you won't make it out of here. How foolish to still cling to that diminishing hope, a delusion, that you could drive me back and flee. Were you paying any attention to anything that has happened just now?" Raven shakes her head and laughs, but then waves it off, "Whatever, yeah, let's just go with that for now if it makes you feel better. Now, I wouldn't exactly say that Neo 'told' me..." Another obvious taunt of Neo's inability to speak, earning Raven another glare of her new ally, which remains ignored much like its predecessor, "...but I'd like to hear it from you, Cinder. In your own words."

"For your own sick amusement."

"Well, mine and that of Neo." shrugs the bandit and leans further against the table behind her, a weak gesture into the direction of the third woman that proceeds to jump off her own seat and, parasol against her shoulder, starts to stroll around the area. Still listening, Cinder can tell, the mismatched eyes never leaving them for real. Raven doesn't care, but it unnerves Cinder. Not that she shows it. She hopes.

"You look like an unruly child, Cinder. Have you ever been told that before, or is this the first time that you don't get what you want? Really, all that's missing now is a pouty 'I hate you'." chuckles the bandit, and as if already aware of the comeback that immediately springs to Cinder's mind, continues, "May not have much experience raising my own, but the tribe has its fair share of those. They learn how to fall in line. Eventually."

The taunt dying on her lips, Cinder decides against opening her mouth, although this only serves to please the other Maiden more.

"Explains why your two mongrels are like that, too, Cinder. Got to say, you trained those two strays you picked off the streets well to listen only to your word, but they really need to learn how to get a hint and not lash out at anyone who as much as looks at you. Perhaps I should pay them a visit and knock them into shape?" Immediately, Emerald's face flashes before Cinder's eyes and she flinches, only realizing this is the reaction Raven had been going for in the first place when Neo stops to glance over and Raven flashes her teeth at the villainess like a predator stumbling upon a den of its favorite prey.

"You may have had Torchwick wrapped around your little finger and your two bastards trained to follow you like loyal puppies, but this one?" Raven gestures to the shortest woman behind her, who didn't take too kindly to the mention of her late mentor, somehow knowing exactly where Neo had moved without ever turning, "You're going to have a tough time. You'll fail. It's a mistake to trust her or think she can be tamed – knowing her, she'll just fake her loyalty and exploit you until she no longer gains anything from it. Until you're expendable."

As though she had just been offered the greatest of all compliments, Neo's indifferent expression lights up into what could be considered at honest smile – at least by her standards – and she curtsies towards Raven's back.

"And yet, you associate with her." It feels good to shoot something back at Raven after being mocked so much, but seeing Neo laugh mutely and start walking again and the bandit just smiling wider immediately kills that feeling again.

"I know. She's a perfect fit for the tribe, isn't she? A band of thieves, cutthroats, cheaters, liars. Of social outcasts. Of the strong." Even Raven's smile had become close to wicked at this point, once again leaving the villainess to wonder if she was the only one anchored to sanity while everyone around her went mad, "What do you think I recruited her for? She's proven that she has the strength and thus a rightful place among my tribe long before I first met her. She's done all those things and more, and that despite her disability. Some of my best men and women haven't done half of the things she's done at twice her age and louder voices than is good for them. So, when she searched us out, who was I to deny her joining us? I know her rules, I don't hold her back or try to tame her, and she offers me her, admittedly arguable, loyalty in return – for the moment, her being part of the tribe is what's beneficial for us both, so it works just fine."

"So she's your new lieutenant then? How fitting, considering that the position was just vacated. Is she your last toy's repla...!"

A warning glare is all that Lil' Miss Malachite shoots Raven as she hears wood break, but she doesn't say anything considering that she'd been paid more than the prior damages cost her. As for Cinder, she simply finds herself staring at the clean gap in the wood between her right index and middle finger, and for a moment doesn't dare move them in fear of finding them detached. When eventually pulling her hand back, however, she discovers that the blade had indeed missed them – just a small cut, no more than a papercut, right in between them from which a scarlet pearl pools.

The last warning shot she'd get, she knows that much as she lifts her gaze just in time for Raven, her face an unreadable mask of perfect indifference, to pull back her sword and sheathe it.

"Vernal cannot and will not ever be replaced. She was one of a kind. Was." Raven's voice is low and threatening, outright hostile, for the first time that evening completely void of any hint of joy or amusement. Cinder knows she's overstepped a boundary right there and then, more than she had hoped to achieve, for the first time ever cursing her own mouth. "And I have you to 'thank' for that. So no, Neo is not replacing anyone."

Strolling past that moment, the woman in question is openly enjoying Cinder's mistake with her head tilted towards the villainess and a smug grin gracing her face, but remains ignored for the sake of the two Maidens slowly returning to their prior positions. The same couldn't be said about the atmosphere, as though Raven leans back and crosses her arms beneath her chest, momentarily closing her eyes, the tension remains.

Things really weren't working in the Fall Maiden's favor. A simple mention of the woman that had once been Raven's right hand – rather than turn the situation around in her favor, that had been all it took to make things much worse for Cinder.

Now, in the hostile silence that followed as a consequence, Cinder quietly regretted bringing it up. If Raven, by whatever miracle, had been willing to negotiate ever so slightly before, then she had just eliminated any chance of it – and with that, any way to escape without violence. Considering that the bandit had already shown just how well that went. She'd need new strategy, and that fast.

If anything, the Spring Maiden had been right about one thing, and it was that there was no way through her. In the pitiful state that she currently was in, for the second time in two years crippled after an embarrassing defeat, even the full powers of the Fall Maiden wouldn't allow Cinder to win against the much more experienced woman. No, Raven was right, victory was a delusion.

A 'tactical retreat'? Just as unlikely to achieve a positive result. Not only did Cinder not know what limits the bandit leader's portal semblance had – looking back, she hated never having asked while they were on the same side, as short-lived as that was, if even it would've gotten an answer out of the taller woman – but even if she managed to outrun Raven, by itself a miracle considering Raven could turn into her namesake, that still left Neo. Sure, Raven was agile, but the assassin? Escaping her was too big of an unknown factor – especially since she knew Neo could go what might as well be considered invisible thanks to her illusions. Escaping one was a miracle, both impossible. So no, simply running wouldn't get her anywhere either. Not that she had anywhere to hide, too.

Then what? Do both? Run and fight whoever came close? Flee and use her powers to hinder them from following directly, at the risk of being discovered? Go directly for them in a feint, and then run? More promising than just one by itself, still unlikely to achieve anything.

But then what? Was Raven right, was there no way to get away with her life this time? She'd try until the end, of course, the only way she'd go down was to die fighting, no other way would she allow herself to go out but knowing she'd have done her best until the end. She wouldn't stop for as long as there was a small chance.

A feint aimed at Raven, as much fire and smoke as she could gather thrown at the taller woman to hopefully impair her vision for as long as possible, and then a retreat it was. But which way? Down the stairs or out a window? And where to? She had no allies nearby, no hideouts, and knew no one but Lil' Miss Malachite who'd be willing to help. Going back to Salem, the only place Raven would not dare to follow her? That was where Emerald and Mercury were, the only allies she had left with the White Fang in splinters. But to even make it that far? And even then, what punishment would she face for having failed yet again?

It doesn't matter. Not for now. That's a thing she can worry about when she makes it. For now, she needed a way out.

"Why?"

"Hm?"

Cinder is still in the middle of surveying her surroundings when Raven speaks up after what must've been minutes – and her voices carries no intent to murder anymore. Just... confusion? Irritation? Cinder isn't sure how to put it, like many things with Raven all she gets is mixed signals. And it's not like Raven's face is exactly expressive, lips a perfectly straight thin line and eyes closed. She's perfected wearing a mask beneath her physical one, to not express what she really thinks or feels as to not be vulnerable in any way, Cinder can tell. It's what she wishes she herself had achieved long ago.

So much distrust, so much regret and hurt, so much anger – she doesn't know how Raven does it, but she admires it on some level.

"You're obviously no fool, Cinder. I'd even say you're more than just decently smart, considering the careful planning it must've taken over the years to pull all these things off, to adjust to the small failures such as getting only half the Fall Maiden's powers during your first attempt at Amber's life, or the breach happening ahead of time, on such a short notice." Raven finally opened her eyes again and frowned her way, suddenly raising an eyebrow, "Oh, don't look so surprised, Cinder. Just because I'm leading a nomadic bandit tribe in the middle of nowhere doesn't mean I don't keep my ear to the kennel or don't know what's happening in the rest of the world. And, of course I know that these things are related to you. Honestly, I've known for a long time, but why bother getting involved? My brother wouldn't listen to my warnings, and neither would Ozpin, and who am I to lead them astray of the blade they so desperately wanted to run into? No, this wasn't my fight. Not until you came to me and made it."

The corvine bandit gently pushed herself off the table she was resting against and shrugged her shoulders as she took a few steps towards the wooden handrail, eventually leaning onto it to observe the nearly empty floor below, where Little Miss Malachite was still sitting at her table – smoking, going through a stack of documents before her – while several of her goons were moving things around and keeping the place clean. Neither of them was really paying any attention anymore to the third woman with them, even though Neo still hovers around them as if to take in the exchange of the two enemies in from every possible angle.

But Neo had no part in this, not anymore. She had betrayed Cinder and brought Raven to her, but this is between them, between the Maidens, and not the lunatic that was hoping to gain something from it.

"You have cunning intelligence and great power on your side, even before you lured Amber into your trap and robbed her of half her power. Have an eye for subordinates, how to make them bend to you and obey, soothing any doubts and questions in you that they may have ahead of time. You're a natural leader, need people looking up to you and that are at most your equal – why then, Cinder, do you follow that woman, no, that thing?" As Raven turns to her, her eyes are hard and full of accusation, and Cinder initially finds herself recoiling at the intensity with which the other woman is glaring at her, but the bandit's voice never raises above the low hiss she's been speaking with since the mention of Vernal, "Tell me, Cinder, are you really someone to easily submit to others? Why submit to Salem?"

The answer is, and Cinder finds herself surprised by how quick the answer comes to her, that she doesn't really know. Again, Raven is right – it doesn't remain unnoticed by the villainess that Raven was trying to appeal to her ego and making no attempt of hiding it, but still, Raven is correct in all points. So, why was it that she has submitted to Salem? Why has she chosen to follow the witch, when she can't stand being someone's pawn, to be less than her own leader, in control of her own life in all aspects?

More power? Does it really all come down to just that, again and again? Was she really that easily swayed by a mere concept? But that is what Salem had promised her in exchange for loyalty and successfully carrying out all demands, long ago – if she was being honest to herself, however, it seemed like such an empty and worthless promise in retrospect. Especially as she's failed Salem not once, not twice, but three times now after Haven.

Much more weight, however, carries the lack of desire for more power that she feels for the very first time in her life, something she had always clung to, a hunger that could never be stilled, suddenly toppled and gone. Brought only to her awareness as Raven points it out and wakes the questions in her already insecure self, which she's been ever since waking up after losing the fight with Raven.

Before that, she'd have answers. Answers she had, once upon a time, truly believed in and followed. But now? No, it's not that she has no answers – it's that she has no answers anymore. The moment she opens her mouth to throw one back and nothing more than strangled sounds escape her, she knows that. No answers that she can truly believe in anymore.

She had thought, believed, that the answer to everything was power. With power came control. Over your own life. Over those of others. It wasn't anything like Raven's belief in strength prevailing, and yet so closely related in that those who had it would continue to live while those who didn't have it – the weak – died.

And yet, even though she had been in possession of such power, it had failed her when it counted most and she'd been defeated, nearly killed, by one with at best the same amount of power. That was what didn't add up and shook her resolve. No matter how she turned it, the fight beneath Haven, a situation in which either of them should've come out victor, it never seemed to change in its outcome – that Raven won and survived.

Everything she had trusted in for years, destroyed in a single event. No mistake. No accident. Not even a coincidence.

Power, which should have given her control, which should've made her realize that Vernal had not been the Spring Maiden and that it had been Raven all along, which should've defeated Raven or at least have saved her from that humiliating defeat and near death, which should've given her the relic, had failed her!

Not even in retrospect, it could've changed anything, and that was what made no sense! What truly didn't add up! But then what? If power was not the answer, if it didn't give her the control she desperately desired, that she needed, in this maelstrom of constant change, then what was it?!

"Do you believe in destiny?"

And there it was again, that seemingly simple and innocent question that keeps haunting her these past few days. Or was it weeks? Months? She couldn't tell anymore with how often it came up, this little quiet voice that nags her from the very back of her mind whenever the slightest bit of insecurity comes up within her.

Much worse, though, was that it always has her pondering. The answer she gave that night, and what she had truly meant with it. That simple 'Yes' she had mouthed. Now, too, it has her losing focus and losing herself in that train of thought, like nothing else is able to do.

Yes, she believes in destiny. Always has, most likely always will. That she is destined to be so much more, that is, to be powerful. To rule. Forged in fire and marked in its ashes from birth on, how could she be meant for anything less? From a young age on, she knew that and lived by it to this day.

Or, at least, until very recently.

With everything that's been happening lately, she's been finding herself questioning this firm belief more often than she's willing to admit, especially to herself. It was easy to hold onto when things were just falling into place as she followed her path – she didn't even have to search for Emerald, she all but stumbled upon her only shortly after first hearing of these odd thefts, Mercury was practically waiting for her when she arrived at Marcus Black's residence, and even half the Fall Maiden's powers were easy to achieve. Hell, even the second half wasn't, despite small hickups, problematic to get, although it tested her patience quite a bit.

And that should've been it. From that point on, the most problematic part should've been to track down the other Maidens with the resources provided to her by Salem in exchange for the relics she'd get along the way, and kill them to gain their powers as well. She was already as powerful as them, being one, it should've been easy.

But since then, she's come across nothing but resistance. Ozpin. Nikos. Then Ruby and her silver eyes. The immense pain as her skin was irreversibly scorched and her left eye, now hidden beneath a layer of molten skin, was blinded forever. Sight gone, like her flawless beauty that she had worked hard to upkeep, knowing what an effective weapon it could be. It had always tickled her ego to see men and women alike fall for her charms.

'Once burnt', she believed she had once been told by someone, and although she could for the life of her not remember how the saying had ended or who had even bothered her back then, it felt eerily accurate – now more than ever. And honestly, she could figure now how it ended.

Once burnt, nothing was as it had been before.

After all, had she not been crippled for months following that event? Unable to use half her body, with her arm so beyond any hope of ever healing, of her ever being able to move it again or even regain feeling in it, that Salem had eventually replaced it with the arm of a Geist, living in constant pain as the slightest touch – even the minimal weight her clothes provided – would make it feel as though her scarred skin was on fire? Even now, over a year since the Fall of Beacon, she sometimes felt light anguish, most often as a result of the weather conditions. Day after day, twice – one time after waking up and another time before going to bed, sometimes a third in between if it was especially painful – Emerald had put lotion on her body with the utmost care.

And her voice. Never before had she been able to relate that much to the, then still missing in action, right hand of Torchwick before – but to be trapped in your own body, your very own golden cage, without the means to properly communicate? To express yourself? Hell, although it had been a constant ache in her dry throat, she had at least managed to rasp instructions into Emerald's ear, barely loud enough that the thief could hear them when she put her ear to Cinder's mouth, but to be completely mute? No, she definitely didn't want to trade with Neo, under no circumstances.

But that passed. The pain stayed, her skin never fully recovered, but she felt some strength return, as did her voice. Learned to deal with her new restrictions. Regained control of the Fall Maiden's powers.

Though for what? Her run of bad luck had never ended. She learned that much when she fell for Raven's deception, never suspecting that Vernal was not the Spring Maiden, that she was being led astray – in the past, that would've never happened. But she fell for it, and her betrayal ended in her second crippling defeat, this time at Raven's hands, and another narrow escape from death, even closer than the previous one. Too close. In fact, this time, she'd tasted it.

So how? How was she supposed to cling to this belief any longer? After everything she'd seen and experienced, how it always came back down to losing to someone of equal – at best! - power! She was supposed to be powerful! Have it all! Reign!

...was she not?

Could that be it? Could it truly be, by whatever slim chance, that... she had been wrong? But, if so, then what? If power wasn't the way and what she had thought to be her destiny was but a mirage she had clung to, then what could she believe in any longer?

No. She believed in destiny. She always would, nothing would change that, even at that very moment questioning this concept seemed wrong and hurt her deep down. Then was it that this all, this path she'd followed, was not the right one? Not her path? Was she not meant to have all this, all she had ever dreamed of?

There would be no answer. Not now. Not in this silence that enveloped them, with Raven somewhat impatiently waiting for her answer, and Neo quietly hovering around them. Only time and a long while spent thinking, reassessing everything she had thought a given, would provide it – and she didn't have that, Raven had made that much clear.

But the Spring Maiden had a point. So when was it that she had lost herself? Was it before Salem or afterwards? In her childhood or much later? And, much more importantly, how often had she unknowingly lost part of herself? Only by answering this would she be able to satisfy Raven's curiosity, and at this point her own as well, about why she'd willingly submit to the wicked witch that now controlled and owned her life.

The answer came across her lips surprisingly easy.

"Once upon a time, I..." She heard her own voice say, breaking through the silence, but earning barely any recognition from the bandit other than the slightest raise of an eyebrow. Hesitation sparked within her after all, and she swallowed hard, throat suddenly constricted. Thank god she was pale, or her weakness would've unmistakably shown much more than just by the weak shaking of her hands. "I was lost and... weak. Young and inexperienced. Naive."

She hated it. Hated how much the past she desperately avoided to think about still affected her to this day. How easily she was able to recall it, images of a time long passed flashing before her unfocused eye. That day. The Grimm.

And Salem. Who had exploited her weakness...

"Weren't we all?" Raven comments decidedly, arms crossed beneath her chest and eyes closed, but something tells Cinder that it isn't meant to be dismissive nor disrespectful. There's a story behind it, one that Raven isn't too keen to share. Not at this time, not with her. Another time. Another place. Maybe. Cinder just nods in understanding. Sympathy.

"I... didn't have parents." Cinder eventually finds herself continuing. But, of course she had. In a biological sense. You don't just come to be, are not a whim of the universe given flesh. Not random, not a product of mere coincidences, arbitrary things coming together in undisclosed locations in haphazard ways. Usually, you don't, and neither has she. "Or maybe I did, and they just didn't care. Maybe just not enough, who's to say?"

Raven remained quiet with no sign of having heard the other Maiden, but Cinder knows her words are not unheard by the bandit. They don't matter to Neo, who has finally given up on following the conversation and retreated to one of the tables to type away on her Scroll. Probably playing some game, maybe taking notes, possibly something else. Texting seems unlikely, not when anything past local communication is down along with the CCT network. 'At least one thing that lunatic has no interest in', Cinder finds herself thinking in that quiet moment, before she turns her attention back to the taller Maiden, 'Sob stories. Hardly a surprise though, given her profession.'

Yeah. Assassins hardly care who you are or what your story is. All that matters is that someone wants you dead and is willing to pay money for it. But Raven? A bandit? You'd think she would care just as little, if not less, but though she doesn't react at all, this silent invitation to continue her story says otherwise. In fact, that Raven isn't stopping her, even asking her for her story in the first place, rather than just cutting the whole affair short and killing her – asks her not in sadism but another, yet unknown and hard to distinguish, and perhaps confusing even to the Spring Maiden herself, motive – is perhaps the biggest of all surprises.

Given Vernal's fate following Cinder's betrayal, Raven had any and all reasons to.

"All I knew was that my place was not with them. That I had to go out and find it, wherever it was."

"Your place in the world."

"...Yeah." she agrees. She'd have preferred to nod, honestly, as her throat felt as though it was that sore all over again and would allow no voice to pass through, but Raven still had her eyes closed and wouldn't see it. Considering that Raven seemed reasonably for the circumstances, and she'd rather not risk changing that for as long as possible. Not when it bought her time she might need – despite the more civil tone, if you could even call it that, their conversation had taken on, she hadn't forgotten the threat of the bandit.

This was her chance. Her moment. Neo is distracted by her phone, clearly not paying too much attention, and Raven had her eyes closed, her hands away from her sword. Honestly, she should just throw her chair at the bandit and jump out the window while she still could – even if Raven would react in time to pull her blade and cut the chair apart before it hit her, it would slow her down, and it would prevent Neo from going right after her as she'd have to get past the Spring Maiden first.

And afterwards? She didn't know how Raven's semblance worked, sure, but it had to have some form of limitation or the bandit would use it more often, especially in battle. When Raven had thought her dead, she hadn't used it either to definitely confirm it, so it couldn't just take her to the other Maiden either. That was good. That meant getting away from her was possible. Neo was actually the lesser threat here, even with her illusions, because she was limited to normal movement and line of sight.

So why then? Why couldn't she get herself to do just that? Jump out of her chair, chuck it at Raven, and make a run for it? Usually not her style, but the circumstances didn't exactly allow for anything else. What was it that was holding her back? Stopping her from doing just that, when it may be her only chance at getting away with her life?

Why did she want to continue this conversation so badly, no matter its consequences? It wasn't just about distracting Raven and buying her time, it had never been just about that. But if not, then what was it?

"So, did you find it?" Raven's voice is calm and as stoic as her face when she finally breaks the silence to ask the question that's been left hanging in the air, but the deep breath she takes before opening her eyes and turning her head ever so slightly to face her fellow Maiden betrays how she really feels. And while she'd love to say that she doesn't care, something about this encounter with Raven is completely different than the last time.

It's not that there is no ill feelings, saying so would be a blatant lie – even at this very moment, feeling something akin to empathy for her, there is a seething rage towards the Spring Maiden deep within her for how things ended last time, something close to hate that she knows is mutual. It would be a surprise if it wasn't considering what she had done to Vernal, who Cinder knows Raven was close to. Raven doesn't like showing that she cares for someone, afraid of them becoming her weakness, the woman with the ashen name can tell. And relate.

If things had been different, hadn't once upon a time led her into the arms of Salem, then perhaps she would've turned out more like Raven. Angry and distant, shying away from emotions and bonds beyond the strictly platonic.

They've both been hurt. Not by other people, not directly, but by the weight of the decisions they were once forced to make. Decisions that had both led them here, on this day, crossing their paths for a second time as a consequence of the decisions they made during their first encounter. In particular the ones that she had made.

Bad blood reigned between them, the mere presence of another has them on edge and full of the desire to stain their hands in each others blood. Should reign by any logical conclusions, and yet here they were – Raven hadn't cut her down yet and she hadn't incinerated the bandit yet either. At this point, it isn't the fear of being recognized as a Maiden and hunted for her powers that's stopping her, and it's not that she's no match for the sword-wielding woman, sure to die if she as much as tried, not anymore.

Something in her cares just enough to keep this 'civil' and see where this will get them, and it seems to be the same for Raven.

Taking the villainess' silence as the answer she'd been looking for, the swordswoman lets out a quiet sigh and averts her gaze again. Arms still crossed beneath her chest, she lowers her gaze to the floor in front of her and momentarily seems to think things over – at least, that's what it looks like to Cinder – and then actually hesitates after opening her mouth, almost as if unsure if she should tell the Fall Maiden what's on her mind.

"I figured." she comments eventually, and Cinder wants to laugh. She's unsure why, but there just is something absolutely hilarious about Raven acknowledging that no, the villainess has never found her place in life, with such casualness that Cinder has a hard time not bursting into choked laughter. Or maybe it's actually the opposite. She doesn't know. But she manages and keeps a straight face. She doesn't really feel like laughing, despite that impulse.

But again, Raven has a point. Not spoken aloud but silently implied, as is the equally unspoken rule between them, had this not been what this all had been about in the beginning? Before it escalated into the unquenchable hunger for more power, hunting faceless figures from fairytales and becoming prey to silver-eyed witches? When it had started for her, when all this wasn't part of it, all she had longed for was finding a place she belonged. Where she mattered.

And hell, she's not found it with Salem, that she knows! She's found a place alright, but it couldn't be her place! If so, she definitely didn't want it!

"It's a place you can't return to now." Raven muses aloud, again as if reading her thoughts. She must be slipping up real bad if it's become that easy to see through her, something she always thought nigh impossible. It makes her wish this all was over already and she could be herself again, where all this weakness didn't matter and mere words couldn't influence her that much, to be the Fall Maiden again that stood up to the bandit in the Vault instead of the injured Cinder Fall that struggled to even deal with herself that she's been since waking up inside that body of water. "Unless you want to die, of course, but I can give you that fate at less of a cost. You just have to say something."

This has Cinder perk up, just as Raven had intended if the low chuckle is any indication, but the first answer she is given is a nonchalant shrug and a roll of the bandit's head, who obviously didn't feel any obligation to elaborate on that for the moment. At least, not until Cinder rolls her eyes and huffs to show her irritation, giving her the amusement she's been hoping for.

"I told you, even though I don't interfere much, I always have my ear to the kennel. You won't believe the things you hear in public places when people think no one is listening, or what what they're willing to share in the pubs after a few drinks and a bit of persuasion." the bandit laughs, and enjoys it as she sees Cinder's eyebrow rise just a tad higher than before, "Your Doctor Watts likes to monologue just a bit too much while around his subordinates, and they just like to indulge in alcohol more than they should after work, especially around the pubs in Atlas my men stationed there frequent. Sooner or later, work always comes up as a topic if it's stressful or important, plus points if you've been told it's secret and no one should know. You pay for a round or two, and just... listen."

The smug grin creeping onto the bandit leaders's lips tells Cinder volumes of how full of herself the sword-wielding woman is about this, and it makes her furious. And wonder if that is how Hei 'Junior' Xiong, Vale's go-to information broker and a former contact of Roman Torchwick, gets his intel. Listening to drunk morons blabbing out things they're not supposed to know or keep secret. It sounds so stupidly improbable and unheard of, it's likely to be true, and it upsets her even more.

This was why she liked to stick with as few and qualified subordinates as possible and only told them as much as they needed to know, especially around mere henchmen and goons like the White Fang.

"Face it, Cinder – Salem is furious with you. You failed to get the Fall Maiden's powers once, and although you have made up for that and acquired the second half as well, you were off to a bad start. And now? You didn't get Beacon's relic when it mattered and Ozpin has most likely moved it to a new and even harder to reach location at this point. You may have killed Ozpin but failed to stop him from reincarnating, even ended up crippled and unable to act out Salem's other plans. And just when you had recovered, I stopped you from finishing your ploy to get the powers of the Spring Maiden and Haven's relic at the same time, and you're in possession of neither."

The Fall Maiden slowly balls her fists, nails digging into her flesh, but remains seated despite the obvious attempts to provoke her. Instead, hoping that it distracts her enough to stay calm, she focuses on the third woman that neither of them has been paying attention to for a while, watching Neo's nimble fingers dart across the screen in hunt of flashing colors. It's definitely some game, she can confirm it at this point, and is glad that it occupies the lunatic for the moment – her walking back and forth while completely uninvolved in the conversation had become annoying. This way, she's at least not going to intrude any further until they're done talking.

"If you go back, you'll die. Without hesitation, she'll have your replacement kill you to have the powers of the Fall Maiden in the hands of someone she deems less likely to fail her, and that will be about it." Raven continues, her voice now even and cold again, then offers another shrug, "Word has it, she's considering Emerald to become your replacement."

The chair scrapes over the wooden floor and slams into the balustrade behind her, almost drowned out by the sound of her fist hammering down on the table, as Cinder finds herself jumping out of it. She doesn't move any further than that, thousand things going through her head but unable to decide on one, and it seems that Raven hasn't expected anything else as she hasn't reacted to it at all. Hasn't even looked up or moved a hand to her sword, as one would've expected her to after such a sudden movement from an enemy.

No, Raven is calm and just waves it off with one hand, not even removing the other from its position across her chest, quickly to be joined again by its counterpart as soon as the gesture is complete. But the smile that finds its way onto the bandit's lips is anything but.

"Why the shocked reaction, Cinder? Afraid of being replaced, just like that?" the Spring Maiden mocks, and even Neo looks up from her game to witness her response, pausing it by the simple movement of her thumb – but then, Raven's smile grows even wider and her lips part to reveal teeth surprisingly immaculate for a woman that's lived years out in the wild in a camp full of bandits of which some couldn't care less about hygiene, testament of how well she's keeping care of herself nonetheless, "Or perhaps, you're not as self-centered as you want everyone to believe? Careful, one like me might start to believe such a ridiculous thing like that you actually care about Emerald and are afraid of what will become of her if directly exposed to Salem's corrupting influence."

The grin on Raven's lips is shit-eating, any other description would've been unfit at this point, and that, along with the emphasis the taller woman had put into the second half of her phrase, made very clear just what she believed to be true.

Cinder doesn't reply. Her hands are shaky for some reason and her legs feel weirdly weak, leading her to slowly drop back onto the chair and take a deep breath. This was not how she had wanted things to turn out. Far from it. Emerald, becoming her replacement? One of Salem's generals and to succumb to the drawbacks she has discovered come with the Fall Maiden powers?

Once more, Raven accepts the silence that follows as the answer she was looking for and lets out a deep hum, nodding to herself but not pursuing the topic any further right away. Rather than that, she gives the other Maiden the time to think and shifts her attention to Lil' Miss and her goons, equally ignoring the curious glance of Neo shifting back and forth between her and Cinder, almost as if not completely sure if she's missed some context or not.

She makes a few hasty gestures the bandit leader is sure are inquiring about this, but she doesn't pay enough attention to them to decipher their meaning. She isn't well-versed in sign language to begin with, anyway, but she understands enough from the few things she's picked up from the interactions between a hearing-impaired bandit and a friend.

Of course, being intentionally ignored has Neo fuming, puffing her cheeks like the little brat she is and narrowing her eyes dangerously at her new superior, but she doesn't attempt again, as Raven figured she would once realizing no one would pay her any mind – she eventually just rolls her eyes and starts her game back up again, leaving the two Maidens in their silence.

A silence that Raven has no intention to keep up for too much longer.

"Heh." she chuckles audibly to regain the other Maiden's attention, but closes her eyes once Cinder looks over, not interested in making eye contact – as much as the right glare could help with intimidation and getting your point across, people weren't kidding when they said that 'eyes were the window to the soul', as they betray you and what you really feel quite easily.

"Family." she begins, once more feeling the distaste for this word welling up within her, reminded of the many times it was used against her and what meaning it held for her personally, "Family is not dictated by blood." Secretly, she balls her hands into fists, hidden by her arms still being crossed beneath her chest, and quietly hopes Cinder won't see it – too fresh are her own daughter's words still on her mind, the accusations thrown her way that she knows are true, but that Yang will never understand the true reason for, "Family is what we make it."

She doesn't elaborate, knowing that Cinder understands why she brought it up now, after mentioning Emerald and Cinder's reaction to the bad news. She wasn't lying about Cinder's intelligence, she thinks the villainess above average and smart enough to catch on.

And catch on, Cinder does, and she reacts – once more – just as Raven had long figured she would: She gets angry. She flashes her teeth and hisses, an almost terrifying frown emerging – for a second, her remaining eye even sparks with the power of the Fall Maiden, a short burst of flames as a result of Cinder not having her emotions in check, then it's gone. The bandit leader doesn't even pay it any mind.

"Family? You're one to talk about family! Want to kill your own brother; abandoned your own for a bunch of scum!"

Of course, there it is, the obvious 'comeback' she was waiting for. It doesn't even sting anymore, not from Cinder at least, so all Raven does is momentarily hesitate when her daughter's face flashes before her inner eye and then sends a glare the way of the other Maiden to let her know she doesn't appreciate it being brought up. Not that Cinder cares, obviously, but it doesn't hurt to reinforce that she is in control of the situation and not the crippled Maiden she's left within an inch of her life before.

If you could call it that, considering that had if it been anything but water she hit when falling into the depths beneath Haven, the frozen Cinder would've shattered into tiny little pieces and wouldn't even be sitting opposite to her.

But she didn't and here they are – by what inane force or sheer chance, Raven doesn't know and doesn't care, and it honestly doesn't matter. Cinder would guess it was 'destiny', whatever that truly was, but it was clear – she had a second chance.

What for or how Raven was involved, she didn't know, but was desperate to find out, and it was getting strong enough to overpower her desire to keep the conversation going, even questioning what it really meant anyway.

"Enough of this! We've been dancing around this topic we've been avoiding the entire time now, and I'm getting tired of it! So tell me already, what are you really here for, Branwen?!" she demands to know finally – and is shocked to be met with loud guffawing, but most of all genuine, laughter from the bandit tribe's leader, Raven going as far as to even throw her head back.

This isn't what she's expected. It doesn't even make sense to her. In a way, she isn't even sure what she's expected Raven's reaction to be, maybe it was some form of enjoyment, but whatever it would've been, she had expected it to be more... 'controlled'. Something that fit Raven better than whatever this was.

"Not exactly touchy-feely, are we, Cinder?" the swordswoman chuckles as her laughter finally dies down and she regains some sort of composure, and follows it up with a small shrug, "But that's fine with me. I don't like all that sentimentality either. So yeah, let's talk business if that's what you prefer."

Business? Yeah, bullshit, but Cinder's not going to call her out on it. Instead, she keeps quiet and just watches as the bandit leader raises a gauntlet-covered hand and waves it in the direction of Neo to get the attention of the mute mercenary – whatever would follow, she wanted to to know. She gets it, and though all Neo does is look up from her game momentarily to return to it almost right away, it appears to suffice for the Spring Maiden, who turns back to her counterpart.

Her face falls so fast, Cinder has to wonder how much of the bandit's amusement was real and how much was but another mask she had put on. She wouldn't get an answer, she knew that, especially not out of the woman herself, but she couldn't help but silently ask anyway, if only to not be intimidated by the swordswoman's attempts to do so. It isn't easy, Raven has a powerful presence and a glare to match it, after all, but every bit helps.

Until the scarlet blade is unsheathed slightly by the push of a thumb, fast and purposely audibly. She doesn't show it unsettles her ever so slightly or that it shakes her confidence, no one – and especially not Raven – could ever be allowed to see it, but she understands the gesture, the threat, and lets the bandit know by a quickly glance down to the sword at her hip. Raven hasn't properly grabbed it, hand still wrapped around the sheath and thumb resting against the deep black crossguard, quietly bouncing it back and forth, but Cinder had witnessed herself just how fast that could change.

When she lets her eyes trail back up to the other woman's face, the deep crimson eyes are resting on her. The blade falls back into its sheath rather loudly for the silence they're in, followed by the distinct rattle of the revolving mechanism in the weapon being set in motion. Cinder's seen it before, the way Raven's sword can change between the many colorful blades, and she doesn't doubt that each is infused with its own type of Dust for a handful of effects she'd rather not be at the receiving end of. They're not indestructible, she's proven that, but there are quite a few, and that is what Raven wants to remind her of. Another step in her plan to intimidate her – Cinder wouldn't have done it any different if she'd been in control.

But this is it, the thing she'd been waiting for. The sign that this wasn't a game anymore, the end of their temporary truce and fake civility.

"Stay away from Ruby if you know what's good for you."

It's her turn to laugh. Raven's request – no, wait, it was a command, was it? Either way, it was just that hilarious that it burst right out of her, causing even Lil' Miss Malachite to look up from the documents she was reading and frown, probably wondering if she had entirely lost her mind now, but Cinder couldn't care less what that woman thought of her. Soon, she wouldn't have to put up with her anymore, either way.

But does Raven even know what she's 'asking' of her? Trying to dissuade her from going after that silver-eyed witch that ruined everything for her? To not hunt her and her little friends down, destroying everything they held dear, and to watch them suffer? She wanted to break that naive little thing, take everything from her again and again, to burn her until even her precious sister couldn't recognize her, and then watch it as the light faded from her eyes as she choked her with burning hands once it would be no fun anymore! She deserved nothing less!

For ruining the moment she had ascended! For taking her power! Her beauty! Her voice! Her eye!

And Raven wanted her to let her go just like that?!

"You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?" Cinder mutters barely loud enough for the other Maiden to hear. She shakes her head slowly when Raven doesn't react, lets her tongue trail along the upper row of her teeth, never taking her single eye off the bandit. "The desire for vengeance is a hollow hunger that can only be fulfilled, Raven, lest you want it to grow and consume you. You can't just swallow it down and ignore it. You don't know what you're asking of me."

To her surprise, Raven just accepted that – she removed her hand from her sword and actually relaxed, something that neither the villainess nor the mercenary off to the side had been expecting. Gently pushing herself off the table she was resting against, the taller woman took a deep breath and rolled her neck, and for a minute Cinder found herself wondering if Raven was thinking about leaving, as it certainly looked like she was planning to head out. Of course, that was just wishful thinking. She didn't know the bandit well but had a good enough understanding of her, and Raven certainly wasn't someone to just accept defeat, especially by mere words, and retreat. Not without a good reason and ulterior motives, like waiting a situation out until desperation took the other party over and they had no choice but to accept her terms.

But that wasn't it, Raven had made it clear that she had no intention to just let her go. She and Neo had come to some kind of agreement, they must have, the older woman had brought it up at the very beginning, before things had escalated – and yet, Neo had made no attempt to interfere when Raven had announced her rather drastic change of plans. Probably because it was fine with her as long as she got to see Cinder suffer, something she had made very clear to the villainess with her previous attempt at beheading her.

So when Raven starts fumbling with the sash around her waist that's holding her outfit in place, slowly undoing it, naturally both of them are caught off guard. Tightly wrapped as it is, it takes Raven a moment, giving Cinder plenty of time to exchange a confused glance with the lunatic across from her, only to learn that Neo is equally lost about this new course of action and not sure how to deal with it either – the game, still paused, is forgotten.

Raven never undoes her sash completely. The moment it's loose enough, she lets go of it and lets her hands drop to her sides, allowing her dress to drop off her shoulders ever so slightly, now held up only by the loose sash and Raven's bosom, with only the sarashi – a thick cotton cloth wrapped around her chest – to keep her decency intact. And what is unveiled that way has Cinder speechless all over again.

"Don't I, Cinder? Do I really not know what I'm talking about?" The amusement in Raven's voice is dry, barely enough to turn the villainess' gaze up to her face for a second to find an emotionless smile, barely the raise of the corner of her mouth, before it dropped back to the bandit's exposed left shoulder. "I know better than anyone else how much the need for revenge can consume you, how it feels like a constant void deep in the pit of your stomach and a burning fire in your breast – and I learned just how pointless it all is."

Smooth ivory skin beneath long ebony tresses along the crook of Raven's neck, supple but marred with the feint reminders of marks received in battle – in the flickering light of the nearby candles and soft shine of the paper lanterns, with her dress hanging loosely off her shoulders, it made Raven look like some kind of otherworldly, ethereal beauty. A war goddess.

"You have no idea of the strain it puts on me to not keep grudges, Cinder. I'm a vengeful, bloodthirsty sort of bitch. Have always been since my earliest childhood days. The stories my tribe could tell you..." speaks Raven in a tone of absolute calmness, sounds distant and out of this realm, as though she's not even sure herself if she's left her body and speaks from afar, "But...", and motions to her left shoulder, lets the sleeve drop off it in its entirety to show the full extent of what she's revealed to the other two women, "...every time I see this, I know better than to do so. I've went one step further than you, and I've got my permanent reminder of my sin."

Something overcomes her that moment, Cinder can't help it – her good hand slowly rises to meet the rugged skin on the left side of her face just beneath her eye, gently sliding along the many areas where she could barely feel a thing, the deep craters left by the countless blisters from that night. She's careful, doesn't want to feel pain. But her eyes, they still rest on Raven's left shoulder.

On the long stretch of reddish brown skin that starts just above her left breast, emerging from beneath her sarashi, and seems to reach diagonally all the way around her shoulder and down her back to about the same height. It's jagged and uneven, on one side almost running up to the crook of her neck and on the other reaching the side of her shoulder, and Cinder shudders as she realizes that this giant scar told the story of someone having attempted to cleave Raven in half once and having almost succeeded, if not done so. Like a blade of pure heat had cut through it and sealed it right back up.

What really has her blank out for a moment, though, is that the texture of the Spring Maiden's healed wound is terribly familiar to Cinder, so much that for a few seconds, she relives the past and her entire left side feels on fire. The most excruciating pain she had ever felt in her life, it's back, a ghost of it.

Slowly, the Fall Maiden shakes her head – Raven's left shoulder is scarred in the same way her entire left side is.

"This is the consequence of my foolish quest for vengeance." growls the corvine woman and gently caresses her own disfigurement, a single finger running along the mark up to her shoulder, "I've seen it, felt it, what the silver-eyed warriors can do – look what it cost me, Cinder. It took me years of training to use my arm like I used to – and it still hurts on some nights. But you know that as well as I do, right?" A dry chuckle escapes the bandit as though she felt the other woman's memory of the pain the silver light had caused, "The night I went for revenge – I got this... and lost a dear friend to my own hunger for more strength."

A silver blade had cut her, that was what Raven was saying, and Cinder understood it well. How that changes your life and how they cut more than just your body. Unlike her own, Raven's wound was deep and focused, used with precision that Ruby didn't have, had cut straight through instead of just burning the skin and the soul – whoever had done this to the Spring Maiden, she had been in control of her eyes' powers and trained their use. That Raven stood there before her, it either meant the silver-eyed warrior had shown her mercy – that of a close friend, as the bandit herself had hinted – or not hit her mark correctly, most likely by accident.

She's curious, but she doesn't dare ask. And somehow, aware what it was like, doesn't want to know. How and when it happened, that was Raven's terror and hers alone, a living nightmare not to be shared easily. And somehow, she doubts it is any different for the other Maiden.

It's something else that has her turn her gaze away from the bandit leader and face Neo, a stray thought she comes across when remembering Ruby Rose. Raven had told her to keep away from Ruby, to not pursue her desire for revenge on the young huntress‑in‑training, which by itself was so grotesque and nigh impossible to accept for her that it had made her laugh. Admittedly, Raven's revelation had woken some doubts in her and diminished that rage a bit, had turned the hunger into a queasy feeling, but not erased it.

But what about Neo? She knew that the mute woman lusted for revenge on the scythe-swinging girl just as much and wasn't as easily swayed by logic and other conventional things. Hell, Cinder was well aware that even their alliance was temporary and Neo had merely agreed to it to get both targets of her retribution in one spot, something she wouldn't allow the runt to exploit when the time came. Neo wouldn't let it go, even if she'd allow Raven to sway her. Additionally, their deal would be off, and Neo would sooner or later go after her.

So what was Neo's stance on this? Had she known that Raven would want this of her, putting a stop to their plans to get even with 'Little Red'?

The truth is, Cinder can't tell. When she turns her head, Neo's face is perfectly expressionless, if not bored, although the game on her Scroll had been turned off at some point and the device put away, so she had listened as Raven had wanted her to. As though her quest for vengeance wasn't at stake, Neo just sits there and stares into nothingness, doesn't seem to be in thought. Just indifferent.

It's hard for Cinder to give up on this, something she is not willing to do right then and there – it's not something you can do just like that, if given it requires a lot of time to think about, too many things that needed to be properly assessed – but even if she'd come to do so, how would Neo?

Absolutely sadistic and full of lunacy, of chaos, how would Neo be able to just accept the death – murder, for all they knew – of her mentor and just move on? Of the only person in her life that had ever mattered, if Cinder was informed right, that had ever been there for her and been her anchor? Just let Ruby go? No, out of question, Neo wouldn't.

Then again, however, maybe it was harder for her to let go of this and move on then it was for Neo to begin with. In the end, Neo still had the villainess to blame for her friend's death, whereas Cinder – who held no such affections and attachment, to whom Roman had been but another pawn; whose reason for hunting down the young huntress‑in‑training was completely selfish and self-imposed – had nothing to fall back onto.

Neo would backstab her the moment they had eliminated Ruby, that much was clear. Maybe slightly before that, when she would expect it even less, Cinder had already pondered that possibility. Either way, in the mercenary's eyes, she was still to blame as well. A cushion she could fall on with Ruby as a target removed, a dampener, a purpose to exist beyond.

She wasn't afraid of Neo's wrath. Not as it was.

"There is one more thing I want to know, Cinder. Something that I need to know."

Cinder feels herself flinch when Raven addresses her again out of the blue, head whirling around to meet the taller woman's gaze. She's fixed her clothes, dress pulled back up onto her shoulders and moved into place as to hide the part of the scar that spread closer to her neck, sash tightened around her waist, and now her left hand rests on the mask still attached to her belt. There's a genuine curiosity in her deep crimson eyes that Cinder had not expected to meet, a gentle frown that seems to deepen with every passing second of silence as the bandit hesitates with the question.

"Tell me, Cinder." she begins again and looks down at the floor to Cinder's feet, a phrasing Cinder notices she falls back to whenever she isn't quite sure about something, but then raises her eyes. Dangerous crimson meets glowing amber. Her voice is quiet, but steady. "Has it fulfilled you? Has it made you happier? You wanted these powers and now they're yours. You're the Fall Maiden. Have they proven to be what you desired?"

Now she lowers her gaze and Raven watches. They back fall into silence and Cinder back into her thoughts, reflects silently. Back to when she first heard of the powers from Salem. Then, it was a wish, a desire. From the first moment on, she knew these powers were to be hers, her very own destiny.

First, though, she had to acquire them, and there was Amber, who had them. One option would've been to simply kill her, but that was a task in itself if you weren't a Maiden yourself, and had the Fall Maiden before her been any more experienced with her powers, their encounter could've easily turned out different. Could've easily been Mercury, Emerald or even she herself meeting their end instead of the tanned staff-wielder. Yet, with Salem's Grimm-infused glove, she got her first taste of the Fall Maiden powers then and there. And had that dusty old crow, Raven's brother, not intervened, she would've probably even got them in their entirety.

Living with half of the Maiden's powers had been a thrill. Yes, it had been accompanied by that hollow feeling, the halves craving to be reunited, but how much power she suddenly had – it was fantastic and exhilarating, and she could barely wait to experience the powers in full.

And then, for a moment, she's back in Beacon. Not in the Vault, where she acquired the full powers with a single arrow to Amber's heart and had killed Ozpin with them, where everything had been as it should've and her dreams had been fulfilled, it's not that iconic moment she finds herself in when thinking of that moment, but on top of the tower. With bow in hand and a defeated, broken Pyrrha Nikos to her feet. Where that question had been asked. Ruby isn't there yet, the arrow has not been released. It's just them, the new Fall Maiden and the young woman who'd almost become it.

What followed that night is a rush. A descent. A whirl of emotion, pain and misery. Suffering and recovery. Deceit, betrayal and defeat.

So, is she happy? Have these powers truly fulfilled her and given her everything she had ever wanted? Gone are the days of being forced to submit to changes she didn't sign up for, made by someone else's decision. She's got them now. She's living her dream. She's powerful.

"...and yet, the answer is still 'no'." she admits, answering herself more than Raven, and yet the taller brunette accepts it and begins to nod to herself. It was the answer she had expected, Cinder can tell that much, because Raven knows what she doesn't. Raven had these powers before her, has more experience than her, spent more time as a Maiden.

Raven knows that they bring nothing but misery.

When Cinder went for the powers of the Fall Maiden, she'd thought they'd still her appetite. This constant feeling of hunger she's always had and that had only grown worse after receiving only half the powers of the Fall Maiden. She'd be full, satisfied, for the first time in her life. Only to realize that she'd already long sated her hunger before even getting them and had just bitten off more than she could chew.

She's overgorged on them. Grown lethargic. She's had a feast, a buffet, that's questionable if it was hers to have, and she's had it all – too soon, too much. Because the food was rotten and the drinks were poisoned, and she's missed it. Trusted the beautiful exterior.

It makes her wonder if Raven had known about it before claiming the powers of the Spring Maiden, or if she had dug into the beautiful feast just like her and learned the hard way what it truly meant to have these powers.

Quietly, under the watchful eyes of the other Maiden, Cinder lowers her gaze to her right hand – of what's left of her humanity – and sparks her powers. It's not the violent flame it used to be that comes forth, it doesn't encompass her hand and doesn't lash out. It's calm, shakes gently and shines bright, like a candle, hovers above her open palm.

She crushes it in her fist.

"But now I have them. I can't just give them away again, not without terrible consequences and sacrifices, my own death." she tells herself aloud, and the last embers of the dying flame burst forth from beneath her fingers and rise into the air – and she raises her gaze to meet that of Raven, "They're now my burden to bear." And Raven, crossing her arms beneath her chest again, nods. "Just another one."

"Just another one." confirms the Spring Maiden eventually after a long silence had settled in between them, and it is followed by another. It's not uncomfortable though, not entirely, as it gives them both time to think and deal with their own thoughts. Something they both are in terrible need of. At least, that is what Cinder figures.

Off to the side, Neo puffs up her cheeks in irritation at the exchange and the quietness that follows, slumps her shoulders. It makes her angry how this turned out, the other two can see it, but neither of them actually cares enough to pay it any further attention – after all, it wasn't about the mute any longer. Something akin to a pretense under which they could meet again and continue where they had last left off, if less violent. That's what it feels like to them.

So it comes as a surprise to neither of them to see Neo pout and jump off her table, unfolding her parasol in the process, and just start pacing again, albeit more angrily. But they still don't care. Aren't sure what the short woman expects of them, anyway – Raven had said her part about the issue at the beginning, so what was left to say? To do?

Then again, you couldn't look into Neo's head to begin with. She didn't work like normal people, so you couldn't just expect her to think and behave like it. Logic didn't just work with her under normal circumstances, and honestly, it was providing Cinder with an entirely new (and yet still comparably little) respect for Torchwick – when he had still been around, he had somehow been able to understand his right‑hand woman, often even without sign language, and been the only one to anticipate her moves.

Eventually, Cinder just disregards her entirely, and goes back to her thoughts. What else is she supposed to do? She doesn't feel very comfortable saying anything after all that, and even if that wasn't the case, what was she supposed to say? Should she even say anything?

Raven makes the decision for her, though not in a way Cinder would've expected her to. With a deep sigh, the bandit leader rises to her full height and abandons her spot against the table, something that prompts even Neo to stop her movements in anticipation. But for Cinder, who had been thinking about the entire evening and the things Raven has brought up in the moment of silence she had been given, this prompts an impulse to be forward after all.

Maybe the last chance she has to do do so.

"What about you?" she inquires before she can stop herself and watches as Raven's indifferent face twists into surprise and confusion. Immediately, the villainess regrets asking, isn't even entirely sure what possessed her to do so, but the damage is done – the raise of an eyebrow tells her that the other Maiden isn't going to let this go. Finds herself forced to elaborate. "You asked me if these powers have been everything that I wanted, if they had made me happy and fulfilled me. Now I'm asking you the same. Have they made you happy and been everything you wanted?"

The eyebrow sinks back into place and the confusion fades from the swordswoman's face, although now it is replaced by actual hesitation. Even more so, surprising Cinder again, Raven actually turns away from her and takes a few steps towards the stairs, and the villainess finds herself unable to comprehend – wasn't Raven going to attack her, after all? Was she seriously going to just leave? She had 'killed' her last time! She had told her she wouldn't let her escape again!

And now, she was just leaving?

She doesn't. Only a few steps away, she stops and the hesitation flashes across her face again, coupled with an emotion that Cinder is much more used to from Raven, something that befits the bandit leader way better – anger. Rage. Her lips curl back and she bares her teeth, deep wrinkles spreading all across her face as she stares at nothing in particular as though it had just insulted her entire bloodline.

Finally, she turns her head – not completely, just enough to glare at Cinder over her shoulder for a second, but keeps staring down at something just above the floor, something that didn't really exist. Just a point for her to focus her eyes and attention on.

"No."

The answer is short and harsh, but it's all the answer Cinder needs. To know. To feel. To understand. These cursed powers, they haven't brought Raven any happiness either. She wonders if they even can at this point – they had brought her but misery, Raven hadn't gotten anything out of them either, and they sure hadn't helped Amber when she needed them the most. Quite the opposite.

They're not all the legends make them out to be. If she could go back in time and tell her past self anything about them, this is what Cinder would choose at this moment. That, and to stay away from silver-eyed women like Ruby Rose. It would probably not enough to change her past self's mind, and maybe she didn't really want that, but it would at least suffice in preparing her for what was essentially a disappointment – sure, they made you powerful, but not almighty. Didn't sate the hunger. Made you feared, but hunted.

And beyond that, had they changed anything for the better? Not that she had noticed. Otherwise, she wouldn't be sitting here with one of her worst enemies and that lunatic that had kept Torchwick company, and that after escaping death twice, now crippled. She'd be with Emerald and Mercury, the only people she could trust to follow orders and keep their mouth shut when it counted. Emerald more so than Mercury.

"I always wanted to be powerful beyond anyone else, much like you..." Raven suddenly starts and catches Cinder off guard that way, who had not expected her to speak up again at all after that last bit. The corvine woman's fingers drum along the side of the mask on her belt, then gently trace the outer rim of one of its eyes. The expression on Raven's face is unreadable. "...'The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules.', that's what our mother imprinted on me and Qrow since our birth. She was right. I had to be the strongest."

The bandit's hands ball into fists, are shaking, and her indifference hardens into a terrifying, but not unusual for the rather moody woman, scowl. She isn't sure what about that causes it, but Cinder finds herself mulling over what she just learned more than she had expected to. Admittedly, she is still new to this whole 'thinking about others and not just herself'-thing, but it's surprisingly easy, almost natural – and it makes her hate it even more.

Even so, it's quite easy for her to come up with the image of a young Raven still in training – the years had been very kind to the older woman, so it was just a matter of a little bit of imagination to turn back the clock. That, and Yang Xiao Long is a spitting image of her mother, except for the haircolor, with just the right age.

Now, she doesn't know much about Qrow, Raven's twin brother – she's seen him two, maybe three, times, and that only in battle, such as when he had interrupted her from stealing Amber's powers the first time – and yet it proves to be no problem to imagine them in their younger years, still living in the bandit camp, learning to become what Raven was now, as their mother (who she imagined to be the older version of Raven for the lack of any further reference) is berating them and beating her philosophy into her children.

Yeah, that seemed to fit just right for a mother that sent her children to Beacon to learn how to kill huntsmen by becoming one of them. But look how that turned out – one of her children actually turned its back on her and became a huntsman for real, and the other became a probably equally as bitter and terrible mother as her.

But, placing herself in the bandit's shoes and re-evaluating the situation anew actually reveals something much more important to her. Something that she feels is connected to whatever it is that Raven hasn't told her about this yet. She's got a pretty big guess though. One she knows she shouldn't voice – this was still Raven, the woman who had 'killed' her before and wouldn't hesitate to do again when provoked, and this time she wouldn't be able to fight back against her – but something still drives her to open her mouth.

"You're afraid of your own mortality." she announces and is surprised to hear the deadly sweet tone of her own voice as she was used to before the silver eyes robbed her of them. Raven reacts as expected, of course, turning her head sharply and hissing loudly at her in disgust at the idea, but Cinder waves it off internally. Mostly because Raven had not said anything yet after a few seconds, but did look like she had a few choice words in mind for the villainess.

"Tch." the Spring Maiden snarls eventually and turns away again, this time actually sliding the fingers of her left hand into the eye sockets of her mask and unhooks it from her belt. Yet, she makes no move to actually put it on – just lets it dangle from her fingers. Cinder wonders how heavy it is. What it feels like, to the touch. To put it on. Sometimes, Raven seemed like a completely different person when wearing it. Unapproachable. Powerful. Even more intimidating. It made her curious.

"Don't make me laugh, Cinder. That's such a painfully stupid way to look at it." Branwen mocks and her narrowed eyes seek out the blazing amber of Cinder's to make sure she feels the anger, "Perhaps you're more simpleminded than I thought, after all."

"Is it?" the villainess challenges immediately, although she's unsure herself what's got into her to provoke Raven like that when she knows the danger of the situation. Yet, when it becomes clear to her that the bandit is ignoring it, something she should've been glad about, it instead just makes her angry, mad even. "Or are you just too afraid to admit it?"

The words are out before she can stop herself, and this time, Raven has clearly heard them – having unhooked the mask from her belt and turned it around, she's frozen up and now just stares down into it, perfectly still, as she holds it barely higher than her hip. Cinder can't see her eyes, hidden behind the curtain of jet black hair, but she expects fury, deep furrows between Raven's crimson eyes, bared teeth. She can see the latter.

"...Maybe."

The answer catches her so off guard, it evaporates whatever she's felt beforehand and just leaves her staring at her fellow Maiden, who is yet to move and show her face. Beyond her, Cinder spots an equally surprised Neo frowning at the corvine woman as well, and for a short moment, they make eye contact – and whatever it is that Neo sees from her angle, it actually has her stunned.

"Hm?" The sound she makes is unintelligent and would have had her cringe internally on any other day, but she's too focused on the other woman at that moment to care. And then, Raven turns her head, and everything goes blank for Cinder.

It's Raven's eyes. She's used to see them carrying so many negative emotions – anger, hatred, indifference, cold distance, mockery and rejection, scorn and even perfect disgust – but what she finds in them this time has Cinder question what she truly knows about this woman, this berserker.

There's sadness in the woman's eyes.

"I'm..." she starts, but hesitates and looks back down into her mask as if she'd find the answer there, the confidence she needs, "My entire childhood, I trained to be the strongest. To lead my people. To surpass my own mother, who was in the end but a weak fool that got killed by the love for her own family while Qrow and I were at Beacon."

Ire has mixed with the sadness now, so unadulterated and powerful, Cinder knows right away that she's found it – the first grudge of the bandit leader that had never been forgiven, the one lasting to this day, directed at a woman that no longer walked among them.

It's the worst kind of grudge, too. The one that's motivated not only by anger, but by sadness as well. The grudge of a child unable to forgive their parent for dying too soon. Of a child that loved their parent and does even to this moment, that would like nothing more but to have them back, but curses their name to hell and back at the same time.

Raven was a teenager already when her mother passed on, was at Beacon when someone struck her mother down. Bound to be connected to blame – at the world, at the murderer, but most importantly at herself. Cinder knows it only too well, the feeling of helplessness, of wishing you'd been there to change things. You know there was no way you could've known, that you could've prevented it, but the possibilities of 'what if' and 'if only' - they haunt you for the rest of your life.

"Backstabbed." Raven continues, unaware of what she's caused in the other woman, and her gauntlet clicks as her empty hand balls to a fist around the lower hem of her dress, "Quite literally, by a woman in her own tribe – her so-called 'family'. For leadership. A fool's mistake that I corrected, reclaiming control of the tribe, sullying my own hands with the blood of my 'family', just like my mother's murderer had."

As if only then becoming aware of what she's doing, the bandit's fist lets go of the dark fabric and jerks back, tenses momentarily so that its fingers bend in almost strange ways, but then relax and slowly sink again, coming to a rest on the hilt of her sword on the other side of her hip. It's as if a surge of confidence goes through Raven immediately, her entire posture relaxes and she rises in height. Gently strokes the black material with her thumb. Sets her mask down on a table in front of her, then switches hands before she turns to face Cinder again with new strength.

"The first victim that I ever struck down in rage. I swore I would not repeat my mother's mistake, that I would be truly strong."

Cinder doesn't reply. She doesn't know how to, if she's being honest with herself, this is far beyond her expertise – most of the things involving someone else than herself is – and more than she can even hope to handle on a good day. Which she is definitely not having.

But that's only one half of the reason she remains quiet. She's a snake in the grass, a puppeteer, she's learned how to play people and how to manipulate them. Knows that if you want to learn some more, and she desperately wants to at this point, it's sometimes best to keep quiet and wait – people will continue and explain themselves. It's a natural, subconscious thing, and she can't even hope to count the times she's made use of it.

And lo and behold, Raven does continue after a few seconds.

"So I became just that. Steeled my body and my will. Became an extension of my own blade. Got the powers of a Maiden, taking them from the hands of a girl they had brought nothing but misfortune to and who wanted 'these terrible powers that can bring no happiness' gone at any price. Who begged me to take them, who was but a weak fool that was offering them to Salem on a silver platter with all her weaknesses."

Raven's voice is hard and cold, but her eyes betray her. They don't speak of the achievement and the mercy that her mouth does – they're hollow of them, suffering, dead. What the Spring Maiden really feels, beneath the walls she's built up to protect herself, and behind the moat of her negative emotions...

It's regret.

"But it cost me my closest friend when she deemed what I thought mercy no more than murder." She adds in what's barely more than a whisper. A momentary slip of her emotions and of her control, which she quickly regains in a fierce glare, "So I cut all ties. I became strong – I won't die!"

The mask doesn't hold. Raven is still in the middle of her exclamation when it breaks and she falls silent. Slowly, she reaches behind herself and places a hand on her Nevermore mask's forehead, while the other just balls back into a fist and trembles ever so slightly. But it's not that what catches Cinder off guard – she doesn't trust her own eye, she knows she can't, but in the split moment before the bandit turns her head away, she swears that she actually sees Raven holding back tears.

"But my heart is weak, just like that of my own mother, and I only just realized this – at the hands of my own daughter, no less." The Spring Maiden's voice wavers. Cinder can't believe it, but for once, there is none of Raven's usual strength or poise, of the powerful warrior – just the fragility of a woman that had made many sacrifices during her lifetime, and lost so much more. And she sees it, feels it, as their gazes meet. "Words cut deeper than any blade, Cinder."

And Cinder knows. All she has to do is look back into her own past, and she knows well just how it feels – the rejection and the feeling of never being good enough, no matter what you do, no matter how much of yourself you pour into it. How powerless you become, how you lack control of your own life.

Eventually, you just end up losing yourself. You look into the mirror and have an image, but it's not yourself. You look into eyes that aren't your own, a warped image molded by those around you, so far from your own shape that you start to fear it. No longer is it the monsters under your bed, in the closet, that you're afraid of – it's whatever that is that's looking back at you. That beast.

Yet, that is where she connects with Raven on some level. Because they'd both done something unheard of, completely separate of another, a decade apart – having lost themselves, with nowhere to go and knowing nothing of themselves, they had looked into the mirror and seen the beast, the only thing they had come to know.

And had decided to become this beast on the inside as well.

"Seventeen years, I told myself that I don't need them. That I was leaving them for my own good, following the path I had long taken – that I was standing strong by it." growls the corvine woman and hammers her fist down on the table so suddenly that even Neo jumps a little, "Seventeen years ago, I claimed the powers of the Spring Maiden, told myself that now I had to take back control of the tribe and be what I was always destined to be! It was all for me, for no one else! NO ONE!"

Little Miss Malachite raises her gaze and frowns at them when Raven erupts like that. Having heard only the scream at the very end – Raven knows to keep her voice lowers when she needs to, she wouldn't be as stupid as to reveal sensitive information herself – the owner of the building glares, hoping the three upstairs would get the hint and be quiet already, lets some ash drop into the tray as though it was a threatening gesture.

The bandit leader sees it and understands, but doesn't care. She just glares back and that's it, Lil' Miss retreats and Raven turns back to Cinder, hissing something unintelligible under her breath. Had the villainess paid attention beyond the scream, she wouldn't have wanted to hear it anyway, that wasn't her cup of tea.

But Cinder's thoughts are elsewhere at that moment. What Raven had said, that she'd done all of this for herself and no one else, somehow it got her gears working and something else that the taller woman had brought up earlier that night comes back to mind.

Something that quickly gives the Fall Maiden a realization she wouldn't have dared, or even thought of, to connect to her counterpart before then. Selfish Raven, queen of Mistral's bandits, a woman as ruthless as they came. Who knew what she wanted and how to take it, who didn't feel the need to justify any of her actions since she didn't care about what others thought of them, and couldn't give less of a crap about those who opposed her.

"You left to protect them." It's not as much a guess as it is the conclusion, the truth no one was supposed to know, and Raven's face tells her she's right. "A Maiden carries a heavy cross at all times, a target painted across their back permanently. Everyone around them is in permanent danger of becoming the means to get to a Maiden. To draw her out in the open."

A shrug. That's the answer Raven gives her, a stupid dismissive shrug that says little about her stance. But Cinder knows she's hit the nail on the head, so she stays quiet – two could play that game, and if that was what her counterpart wanted, then so be it. They'd come this far, she might as well hear the rest of the story – she wouldn't allow Raven to shut down on her now. No way!

"So what? Yeah. Yeah, that's why I really left!" she throws her hands up, but Cinder doesn't shy away this time. Quite the opposite, she's overcome by more empathy for the other woman – a feeling she doesn't like and doesn't want to have, not again. It's been ages since she's last genuinely felt it, but it's just something about Raven – about the things they share, their similarities behind their conflict – that's triggering it. Something that hasn't happened since Emerald, but for different reasons.

Fact is, she doesn't like the feeling, the weakness it brings, and she doubts it is any different for Raven. But to think that, of all people out there, it's that woman she can't stand, her own nemesis, that understands her the most. That she has now confided in and learned so much of in return – it's insane to even think about.

Has how she felt about Raven changed, though? She wouldn't say so. Maybe she understood her better now, and maybe she didn't hate her as much knowing that they weren't really that different from another and had simply chosen different paths, but that desire to to claw Raven's eyes out? Yeah, still there.

And one day, she'd put it into reality, getting back at the bandit for having almost killed her. Raven wouldn't even blame her, she knew that much now, it was Raven's philosophy – 'the weak die, the strong live'. It essentially meant it was her right to get back at the corvine woman.

But today wasn't that day. Today, after everything that had been shared in between them, she simply didn't have the heart – another first for her, ha! – to even think about revenge anymore. And if it wasn't the same for Raven? Then so be it. She had figured she'd been living on borrowed time, anyway, after getting out of death's greedy clutches twice now.

Another thing Raven could relate to, she bet.

"That's why I wasn't there for my closest friend the day she died! Because I'm a weak fool, just like my own mother! For the man I loved and for my own flesh and blood, then but a damn toddler, to be safe! I couldn't let anything happen to them!" In her rage, Raven reaches over and snatches the still mostly full cup off Cinder's table and throws it at the nearest wall, almost hitting Neo with it because of the pacing mercenary's poor position at that moment. Shards of porcelain and whiskey rain down from where it hit the wall, and for a moment, they all just stare at it. That Lil' Miss hammers her hand down on her table in protest is something that both Maidens barely register, as is that Neo seems rather bewildered by the turn of events. "Because I'm a weak fool at heart!"

Seconds pass and neither of them dares to make a move, not even Neo. Ultimately, it's Raven, breathing heavily, who relaxes first and takes a deep breath – and yet, Cinder still waits almost a full minute before she, too, releases the breath she's been holding. She isn't even mad about the whiskey, other than paying Little Miss Malachite a horrendous sum for one of such poor quality. As long as it numbed the pain, though, she supposed.

Something is different now, though. Almost as if a spell had been broken along with the cup, a veil lifted, the magic is gone. Or maybe they just had reached that inevitable point that marked the end of their conversation, what did she know? It was a small wonder in the first place that they'd been this civil all night and had both been in such a strange mood that had led them to talk about their problems instead of fighting – it had been bound to find its end.

Despite how surprisingly long they had lasted, she somehow hates that this moment has come.

When Raven suddenly reaches for her mask and doesn't hesitate a second to put it on, her hand seeking out the sword of her hilt almost automatically, Cinder knows the time has come. Somehow, acceptance comes easy, but whether it is because she is somewhat at peace with herself or because this is the third time she's at this point, she can't say.

It's one of those things you don't want to know.

"I've said it before, Cinder, and I stand by it." When Raven breaks the silence, her voice has gone back to the cold indifference Cinder has come to know her for. The mask – both the physical and emotional one, that is – is back in place, and for a moment, it feels as though the entire night hadn't happened and all the progress they had made was lost, which affects the villainess more than she'd dare admit. "In our own ways, just for power, we've both become monsters."

Had she felt insulted and thrown it right back at Raven last time, Cinder can't help but not and silently agree now. Because why deny it? It wasn't wrong and she's well aware of it – the Grimm arm of hers still itches beneath the bandages. But that's not even what Raven plays at and she knows it.

No, Raven was indeed right. In many different ways, some the same and others quite different from another, they had turned themselves into monsters both on the inside and the outside. One carrying their face and the other their arm, they'd become Grimm on the outside, a match to what people already saw them as – the beasts they learned to be from their warped reflections.

Raven wasn't wrong at all.

"We've both fallen from grace." Cinder agrees quietly, just for Raven and for no one else in the world to hear, their quiet little confession that no one but them meant to know, away from everyone else. Had the world often been against them, taking from them but refusing to give in return, often forcing them to take action and take with force, this, it couldn't take – it was just between them, something they shared. "We've both fallen..."

It's perfectly quiet afterward and neither of them moves. No matter how much Cinder wishes to see it at that moment, to know what's really going through Raven's mind, the mask hides her counterpart's face and everything that she truly is.

What she'd give to know Raven's thoughts at that moment, the true extent of the Spring Maiden and who she was behind titles, masks and strength. She'd cursed this woman's name and everything she stood for at the beginning of the night, but now, there was something else about her. Something that piqued her curiosity.

This night – it had bridged a gap between them, she felt that she couldn't deny it any longer. Similarities and feelings come to light, it wasn't just pure hatred anymore that Cinder felt. It was empathy, not for her nemesis but for a woman that had gone through as much as she had. That knew how pain and loss felt and knew of sacrifices one had to make to follow the path they'd chosen. To fight for what they believed in and wouldn't be easily swayed.

And they weren't easily swayed. What had changed both their views now, it certainly was anything but insignificant.

Perhaps it was a bit of irony that they found compassion in another at such a time, that much she was willing to admit. She hadn't expected this either after everything that had happened, but here they were, on a level of understanding formerly thought impossible. So Raven's next action, it wasn't even a genuine surprise anymore.

The bandit adjusted her mask and turned to the stairs, away from her and Neo.

"Go back on your own word, cross the little runt, and you can expect to see me again."

"...That's it?" Cinder called out a breath later, watching as Raven slows down in response but doesn't stop, turning her head just enough so that crimson and amber could meet, "You're just leaving? You killed me last time, Raven."

This causes the bandit to stop, after all. She turns her head, hooking her thumbs into her belt, and gives her a once-over, eyes first trailing down and then back up before a hint of amusement settles into them that Cinder wasn't expecting.

"You look fine to me." Raven calls back under a snicker, her shoulders jerking up in a weak shrug, "Admittedly, you've looked more alive once upon a time, but..." She trails off, no intention to finish the sentence, knowing it would have more of an effect if she left it open – beneath the mask, she smiles wickedly, Cinder can tell quite easily.

But that isn't what she wants to know, it's not even relevant.

"Why?" The question she asks is short and simple, only a word long, but she knows Raven understands it just fine. Even though the mask is in the way, she sees the Spring Maiden's amusement fade and her face fall, head slowly sinking until she's looking somewhere a little to the left of Cinder's feet and no longer at the villainess herself.

A weak chuckle escapes Raven.

"Consider it another whim of my foolish, weak heart. Thank my daughter for it." The answer isn't anything Cinder had expected and even Neo looks slightly startled by the idea of Raven possessing a heart, "For some reason or another, I just can't consider you a threat anymore, Cinder. And I'm not just saying this to mock you."

Slowly setting into motion, she changes her course from the stairs to the wooden banister and almost cautiously places her fingers upon it. It appears as though she's looking down at what's happening below, but Cinder knows better, see's the emptiness in Raven's eyes as they gaze into the great nothingness.

"You know... Reason tells me to just cut you down where you stand and end this once and for all, as to not have you come after me again should you recover, or for your powers to fall into someone else's hands. We both know that, as you are right now, you couldn't truly fend me off if your life depended on it. Which it would. But..."

The swordswoman's voice is hollow, like the echo of a time long past, rhythmic like the drumming of her fingers against the heavy wood. It is in this silence that Cinder hears the gentle drizzle of nightly rain that had set in not too long ago just outside the window, feels the gentle cold radiate from the window not too far from her as it challenges the warmth inside the building.

And Raven, sinking down to rest on her forearms on top of the banister, really wanted to go, in this weather? It wasn't a storm and certainly no great obstacle, but she knew the camp to be quite a distance away, one in which even this light shower would soak you to the bone.

But would she stop her? The obvious answer was 'No'. No, it wasn't her place. They had just established that they had chosen their paths, forged them by their own decisions, and would not allow any external force to move their hand – even such a meaningless decision as this, she'd honor it now. They'd carry on.

"But my heart's telling me that something changed." Slowly, Raven turns her head to look at her, and though Cinder can't tell what it is, something has her believe that beneath the white face of a Nevermore, Raven was smiling weakly, "Let's not be foolish, you're still the same, as am I. A 'change of heart' is something laughable that has just been made up for children's fairytales, to calm their fears and insist that there's good in even the most evil of men. We both know there's no such thing, not with Salem out there."

"Tch." Cinder hisses beneath her breath at the thought of the ivory-skinned witch in her realm of darkness and her strange obsession with Ozpin – this 'Ozma', as she'd often call him. Her Spring equivalent had a point, Salem was out there and she was what could be described as 'pure evil' – she was beyond salvation, far beyond.

"But you're not Salem. You're just another power-hungry fool blinded by empty promises." continues the bandit and gestures towards her, hums, then points at herself, "Just like me." The hand sinks back down, but Raven's gaze remains upon her, the crimson gazes through the white mask and draws her in, "You're not evil. And if I could see that I was wrong, be it with help from my daughter..."

Raven trails off but Cinder doesn't speak up, allowing it to become quiet in while the Spring Maiden raises to her full height. They exchange a knowing glance, a wordless exchange, Cinder allows her to continue on with no judgment.

"...then maybe I was the same for you tonight and have opened your eyes."

Silence spreads as Raven waits for the words and their meaning to settle in for the villainess. It's strange, to think that at the beginning of the night, she would've adamantly rejected to even waste a single thought about something like this, and now, she's even somewhat moved by the simple concept that someone would be willing to do this for her. More specifically, that Raven, who had absolutely no reason to and should even desire a painful death for her, would think of her and still lean towards showing her mercy. Which, in many ways, this was.

Raven may not like to show it, even outright deny to possess it, but she had a kindness at heart, hidden behind all the darkness she had accumulated to hide her weaknesses and appear as strong as she could outwardly. For her own sake and that of others.

But that, too, she'd deny.

"You know..." Raven calls out and steps back from the banister, but doesn't turn to face the other woman, this time approaching the stairs for real until she stood at the very top of them, "Weak as you are right now, Cinder, you were strong once upon a time. Before Salem. Before Amber. I've done my research on you, and as strange as it may sound coming from me, given our... 'history'..."

She glances the way of the Fall Maiden, one foot already on the first step down, and her hand rests on the steep wooden handrail. What Cinder sees in Raven's eyes at that moment, the only thing visible beyond the mask, it's an emotion she can't even hope to describe, let alone understand, and much less what feeling it causes to well up inside of her with such urgency she suddenly no longer feels at rest in her chair.

"...had you come across my tribe under different circumstances, before Salem, you'd have found it – your place in the world."

Her eyes widen and her mouth falls open in shock. Was Raven insinuating what Cinder thought she was? It couldn't be. No, no, even if, then not anymore. Not after what happened down in the the depths of the Spring Maiden's vault beneath Haven. Not after Vernal.

"I have a feeling that your search will continue on." muses the taller Maiden as she faces the stairs again, calm and somewhat distant, which lets Cinder know that she'd just thought of the very same thing, "Maybe you will one day find it and settle down. Maybe you'll be denied of such a place, have destroyed it without knowing. Or maybe, similar to me, you create this place yourself and become home to others." She chuckles. "Maybe you've already become this place for someone without knowing."

A certain mint-haired thief's face flashes before her eyes and Cinder knows why Raven brought her up earlier that night. Before she knows, red-hot shame flooded her as the many times she'd just exploited the thief she'd took in years ago returned to her – Emerald had always been craving her attention, trying to make her proud, and how had she thanked her? By manipulating her. By misleading her. Even after she'd long become dear to her heart in her somewhat naive way.

"Family is not dictated by blood, right?" she repeats the bandit's words from earlier that night and watches as Raven gently nods, the mask upon her face bobbing up and down ever so slightly. They don't look at another after that. Can't, for this is the one thing that's too heavy for both of them. Family.

One never really had it, the other had to leave it for them to be safe. One made a family of criminal strangers, the other sought out two younger orphans to keep at her side. But not knowing what family felt like, what it really was, they didn't know how to treat them or how to behave in their presence.

It's hard, growing up in a dysfunctional family, and even harder to break the vicious cycle by having a better family one day. But they were both willing to improve. To learn. That's what she's learned from this night. Change can be made. Change will be made.

"You know, what you said earlier..." Raven sighs and gently curls the hand on the railing up into a fist, the only physical reaction that Cinder gets out of her for this, "I know that you are right. That everyone else is right. I do have a very screwed perception of that word, family..." Her head tilts towards the Maiden with the fascination for fire, "So don't go repeating my mistakes if you know better, will you? Go and get Sustrai the hell out there before Salem gains too much influence on her. You'll never be able to forgive yourself if you don't, trust me. And if you aren't at peace with yourself..."

'...then you will never truly be able to find your place in the world.' Raven doesn't finish the sentence, but Cinder is well aware what she's insinuating. Yet, she knows as well that it wouldn't be easy. Salem wouldn't welcome her back with open arms other than to strangle the last life out of her, and getting into the witch's realm without her knowing was impossible. She wouldn't be getting to Emerald that way. Not that she'd leave Mercury behind if he was willing to abandon Salem, but she can't say for sure about him.

As abstract as it sounded, part of her wished at that moment that Raven would offer her help. Part of her wanted to ask the Spring Maiden for it – because who else could she turn to? It wasn't like she had anyone left, and Neo wasn't exactly the most reliable person to go to. Especially if there was no profit for her. Hunting Ruby down was a different thing altogether, since it was about revenge for Neo.

Raven, on the other hand - would she be willing to do so? Even after everything that had happened between them and knowing she wouldn't get anything out of it? With how the bandit had been the one who had brought it up, she can't help but wonder. Yet, it's unlikely. Almost completely out of question. She just kept quiet.

"But..." Out of the blue, Raven lets go of the handrail to audibly unsheathe her blade a bit, once again catching the attention of Lil' Miss and thus earning a warning glare she couldn't care less about, "...another piece of advice, Cinder. I warned you about the squirt here, and I warned you about Ruby and pointless quests for vengeance. And trust me, my warnings usually carry truth in them. Just ask Qrow."

Cautiously, the villainess narrows her eyes in question. At first keeping eye contact, she only breaks it after she's assured that Raven is dead serious, and only to glance down at the blade at Raven's hip, scanning the telescopic sword in its sheath carefully. She'd been able to block it before, and while she had become weaker since then, she hadn't lost any of her speed or intuition.

Slowly, she rakes a hand through her brunette hair and takes a deep breath before finally meeting the other woman's gaze again. She doesn't say anything and neither does Raven, but it's there, the silent command for the queen of bandits to go on. Not that Raven needed it, but it gives Cinder some illusion of control, which she desperately needs at that moment. Some confidence.

"Stay. Away. From Yang."

Each word is sharp and punctuated, like a knife Raven rams into her counterpart's ribs, so cold that even Neo flinches and loses her smile. There was no amusement anymore, no mockery. Just crimson eyes, more than ever before seeming to meld with the mask they were behind, a new beast that was somewhere between human and Grimm, more so the latter than even her with her Geist arm, staring her down.

So much for the mother that didn't care about her own spawn.

"Don't make me regret following my stupid heart with this, Cinder, and leaving you alive today – even my reason has a limit, a point where any grudge becomes stronger than my pitiful heart or my own logic. After all..."

The threat is accompanied by the loud scrape of a Dust-infused blade being drawn and extending, the growl in Raven's throat never stopping. Followed by the sound of a chair being knocked over and two revolvers being cocked, they know that Little Miss Malachite's bodyguards just pulled their firearms on the swordswoman, but neither of them actually turns towards them, too absorbed in each other's eyes.

Slowly, Raven raises the sword above her head, glares through the holes in her mask, irises shining as red as the weapon's blade. Cinder has seen this before, though, unlike the goons aiming at them, and sees the faint scarlet spark it emits just before the bandit brings it down in a large arcing swing to her right.

The finger of the male goon twitches nervously at the sight of the deep red energy that's released by this action, but don't pull it at the raise of his boss' hand beckoning them to wait – not that Raven would've had any problem deflecting any bullets coming at her. She waits, allowing the energy from her sword to reform untypically slow, a spiraling vortex of red to black slowly opening up into a large vertical tear in time and space. One of Raven's portals, her semblance.

Something is off about it, though. Despite having seen it only very few times, Cinder can tell it on second glance – the way the color fades towards the middle, crimson turning to black and then a grayed and washed out image at the center, almost static; the oddly hollow sound it makes as it is created; how everything near it seems to be rejected and not permitted to enter. It's not even wide enough to enter, unlike any other time she's laid eyes on it before.

Raven's portal holds about three seconds, nowhere near enough to fully enter it, if it even allowed one to, before it suddenly collapses with an odd gurgling noise. Raven doesn't even make an attempt to, never even moving an inch. This portal, it hadn't been about transporting anyone as much as it had been about showing her something. Part of the threat.

But it takes her a moment before she realizes it. Before she realizes what she's just witnessed and what she's seen beyond the portal starts making sense. Gray and blurry as it had been, the center had been clear enough to tell where the rift should have led – a clearing in some forest, most likely Mistralian based on the trees, the plant life and the humid climate. But that's not what Raven had wanted her to see.

It was the stone, elaborately carved and bearing the image of a corvid – a raven. A grave marker. Too far away to have been able to read the inscription during the short instance she'd been able to see it, it's what was leaned against the front of the headstone, atop the disturbed ground, that tells Cinder just who it belonged to. The familiar pair of crescent shaped blades with the built-in barrels.

Realization strikes and for the second time that night, Cinder feels her mind going blank and her good eye growing wide. The implication strikes before Raven even gets to finish her sentence, and it wakes something with the Fall Maiden she had thought herself incapable to feel, even more so than empathy.

This grave – it was Vernal's.

"After all..." Raven repeats in a tone that sends a cold shiver down Cinder's spine, somber and full of repressed anger, and it's the first time Cinder finds herself not wanting to know what the face beneath the mask was like, "...you've already taken one daughter from me."

For the first time ever, or perhaps the second as Pyrrha Nikos was somehow still haunting her as well, guilt latches onto Cinder's stone-cold heart. Heavy and painful, it feels like a fist curling around her heart and putting a steady pressure on it, pulling down.

But why? And why now? She's killed countless times, men and women, young and old, always for her own good. All of them were someone's child, many of them were someone's parent, all of them were missed by someone. Never before had it sparked anything in her that was in any way negative, and she hadn't felt anything when she had backstabbed Vernal but disappointment upon not receiving any powers. So what made these two so different? Why the consequences only now?

This, she wouldn't get any answers for. Not from herself, not that night, not from Raven.

The blade twirls, retracts, is sheathed in a trained motion. They don't share another glance, the last message is passed, the last word spoken. There's no courtesy and no farewell, it would only be another blatant lie between them, an act as though they didn't hate each other's guts.

Raven just turns and descends the stairs with her mask of indifference restored and aura of of intimidation intact. The world and the people in it are once again beneath her, and it is with this that she strides past the three gangsters without even paying them attention, something that the gangster boss seems to be more than okay with. Over the brim of her cup, she watches like a predator – a spider, if you will, although Cinder hates herself for making this connection – from the moment that Raven's feet touch the first step. Stalks her with her eyes as the corvine swordswoman reaches their floor, ignores that Raven has one hand on the hilt of her sheathed sword, and turns her head ever so slightly to watch her leave out the closest door.

Of course, Raven doesn't close it behind her, drawing a quiet sigh from the gangster and earning one of her two bodyguards the job to do so. Neither Cinder nor Neo flinch as the male goon reaches the door and leans out to close it, only to be promptly stabbed through the leg by the bandit who'd been waiting outside – one of the oldest tricks in the book, leaving a bait like that, and just Raven's style.

It's a warning for Lil' Miss Malachite, no more than that, otherwise Raven wouldn't have left it at that and let the guy get away with his limb or life, nor would she have kicked the door close herself after pushing her victim back inside. It's another heavy sigh that this earns from the gangster leader, this one actually leading her to put down her lavender cup, a sign that the threat is understood. She raises her empty hand and unenthusiastically gestures for someone to pick her bodyguard up and take care of his wound, but reacts no further than that, her head sinking down into her open palm.

Not exactly a gift for the 'hospitality' Raven had received, having been allowed to use her rival organization bar to settle things with Cinder, was it?

But what does Raven care? Not at all, it would seem, as the raven that flies past the closest window tells Cinder, the last thing that the Fall Maiden would see of her Spring counterpart for a good while. She watches, quietly contemplating what she'd learned during the past few hours, how the jet black figure turns the closest corner and flies down the street, only to then ascend up high.

And she watches until she can no longer tell the slowly shrinking bird from the nightly sky.

Had this really all happened? The whole thing with Neo tracking her down is one thing, but Raven showing up after striking a deal with Neo, who now worked for her, and not cutting her down where she stood, instead choosing a conversation? Opening up to her, of all people, the murderer of her 'adoptive daughter'? Leaving her alive, showing her 'mercy'? And all the things she's brought up, turning the villainess' world upside down, making her question everything she knew...

Nothing made sense anymore. Worse, her head was starting to hurt, a hiss escaping her as she reaches for her forehead. Stress, it's never affected her before like this.

A last glance is cast towards where the portal was, amber eyes almost expecting to see that washed out image again, then turning to Neo and just receiving a stare back that spoke of the shorter woman's curiosity, finally descending down to the food she still hadn't touched.

Sickness overcomes her. She feels queasy, on the verge of nausea, like throwing up but being unable to. It's clear Neo wants answers from her, her perspective, for her to share her thoughts, but that's not going to happen. Had there been a few firsts for her this night, this was not going to be one of them. She wouldn't give that little traitor the satisfaction of being in control any more than necessary.

What she needed now was time. For herself. For her own thoughts. To think. She had wounds to treat, else she wouldn't make it until her aura had recovered enough to take care of them.

"Neo." she calls out, but doesn't look over to the other woman. Instead, she forces her wobbly legs to set into motion, focusing entirely on heading back to the room she's rented – again, clearly overcharged for it, but she's in no state to negotiate even if she would've wanted to, in possession of no more than a few resources she had retrieved from a hiding place she had Emerald put them in before the attack on Haven – simply to have a place to retreat. Something she is terribly glad for at this moment. She makes a gesture to her untouched food.

"You can have it if you want, if you don't mind it being cold." Cinder tells her traitorous associate, not because she's feeling terribly charitable, but because she wasn't feeling like giving Lil' Miss Malachite the satisfaction of discovering yet another moment of weakness – that, and she's not ready to have something she paid more than enough money for being thrown away, stops to turn her head, but doesn't look directly at Neo, "I'm not feeling feeling well, I'm going to retire to bed now."

She doesn't wait for the answer, instead slowly limping off towards her room, but has the feeling that Neo would take her up on the offer after finding some way to make sure it wasn't poisoned, that little paranoid lunatic – if that was where Neo had been lately, then she'd been living off charred meat, stolen non-perishable goods and whatever edible plants could be found near Raven's bandit camp, and surely wouldn't mind a proper meal, cold or not. Besides, if what Cinder had learned during the time working with Torchwick was true, Neo liked mostly cold food, anyway.

Not that it was Cinder's problem, which she was more than just thankful for – after tonight, she had enough things to worry about, and it would be keeping her up for enough hours of the night to come. Raven had brought up so many things, had given her access to a whole another viewpoint she'd never even considered before, and ruined so many things with words alone.

Many of the things she'd done were wrong, she'd always known that – for the progress of oneself, others often had to suffer, a sacrifice she'd been willing to make up until this point, and that she wasn't quite ready to give up on yet. In fact, while most of the things Raven had told her tonight would need reassessment and careful contemplation, would have her go back to square one and ask 'what if?', she hadn't changed her mind about any of them completely yet.

"Trust me, my warnings usually carry truth in them. Just ask Qrow."

The thing is, how should she continue after this? How would she? Until earlier tonight, she had had a plan, but now she wasn't really so sure anymore. Although the original plan hadn't included her, she had Neo at her side now, and even after tonight's betrayal didn't plan on getting rid of her again – not right away, anyway, especially now that Raven was in on it and had threatened to hunt her down should she go back on her deal with Neo.

So what? Find an airship and a way to get into Atlas, where that silver-eyed monster and her team were headed without a doubt, and get her revenge, as planned? That had been the next steps. But then what about Emerald? That couldn't wait, now that she knew about it, any other day that passed which the young thief was exposed to Salem's corruption was one too many. But that needed careful planning, too, much more than fulfilling her grudge towards Ruby Rose. Which Raven had told her to keep away from, anyway.

And what of her agreement with Neo in the first place? It was the only thing keeping her from becoming the lunatic's next victim, their shared idea of vengeance towards the young girl, and now Raven showed up, telling her not to go back on her deal with Neo – which required hunting the scythe-wielder – and at the same time, in a complete contrast, to not hunt Ruby.

Clearly another case of Raven's mind and heart telling two completely different things – though it would require her to find out what relation Raven had to the young girl in the first place and why she really didn't want her hurt – and of Raven's 'not-my-problem'-attitude. And she was right, it wasn't her problem how Cinder would solve this problem, she had made clear that she didn't care much for whether or not the Fall Maiden survived, as long as her powers were safe and wouldn't fall into Salem's hands.

Well, if Neo got them, they probably were, cause there was no way the little runt would never trust Salem and go anywhere near her. And where were they safer than in the hands of a paranoid lunatic serial killer with major trust issues?

Either way, all that Cinder knows is that she's had a long night before her and would be forced to face many things she's repressed and avoided in years.

The moment the door of her room falls into lock behind her, her legs give in and she hits the heavy wood with her back, sliding down on it and curling up into a ball, unable to keep it all contained any longer, the things she's bottled up. The hatred for her body and what she's become.

Yeah, it would be a long night.

After all, it seemed that people were right – a raven is a herald of misfortune and failures, but also of wisdom. Even a fallen one.

Another day, another place, years down the line, as their paths would cross again, Raven would say that 'she, too, has taken many men and women's daughter and regretted so, mourned even, once in solitude, but still had a place to be among her tribe's men, some of who later were these men and women'. It was an indirect invitation.

In the present, though, sitting at the bottom of that room's door and curled up in fetal position, Cinder silently wonders if, even after everything, there would be a place for her in the world. Away from Salem, away from prying eyes, where these powers she was no longer sure she wanted were safe.

Raven's last words haunt her, but deep down, they also wake a silent voice. A whisper that would grow louder as time moved on, slow but gradual.

A quiet voice that wonders if this place she belonged, perhaps, was somewhere in the woods of Mistral, a place no one sane would seek out, where those betrayed and outcast would gather, never to fully settle down and always on the move, and where there was someone, just this one person, that truly understood her.

Oof. Now that was something.

It's been a while since I last posted something, and even less something so close to canon (with a few elements thrown in that I felt fit), of such length. Which, honestly, I was not expecting when I started this. The idea for this one-shot came right after I watched Volume 6, Episode 5: The coming storm (aka Neo vs Cinder). I'd been looking for a plot with Raven and Vernal for quite some time now, especially ever since the finale of Volume 5 with the dare I say epic fight Raven vs Cinder, and when Cinder returned in Volume 6 (which I hadn't exactly expected), I couldn't stop wondering how them meeting again would turn out.

See, the thing is, interaction between Raven and Cinder isn't exactly friendly, and the pairing of them (Hellbirds; which this one-shot has just very light tones of as I had not meant it to be about anything like that) which I've seen gain popularity lately is far from usual, in that it isn't very cuddly or romantic.

Raven and Cinder – they're all about control, about power, and outsmarting each other. They're both 'monsters' in their own ways that seem to act for their own wellbeing before that of others, something that they've brought up in canon and neither of them has denied (Cinder merely threw a 'look who is talking' back at Raven, who never replied back, insinuating she knows this and has come to accept it), and I really hope I managed to reflect this in this work of mine.

At the same time, they do share certain things, and I feel that they really could connect over those (with Vernal's death being a major obstacle they'd have to overcome), while still retaining the constant threat they pose to another. They share such a unique dynamic I was hoping to explore, I instantly felt motivated to write this piece, something unusual for me, as motivation is one of the biggest problems I'm facing in my life. I want to do so many things, want to write so much, but I just physically and emotionally often don't find the strength, something I've been working hard to change for the past months to finally change my life for the better again.

All the more reason I just had to write this, as I've been truly missing how fun and relaxing it is to write, while also serving as practice and a way to get back into things.

Something new I also explored with this was writing a long piece in present tense. Now, I prefer past tense, as those familiar with my works surely know, but I thought it to be fitting here, a way to show especially Cinder's emotions in a different way.

Some might disagree, but of all the villains, I find Cinder to be still the most human and see a very low chance for her to change. Not in 'she has a change of heart and becomes a good guy' way, but for her to turn her back to Salem and become a scheming neutral party with her own goals alongside Emerald and Mercury, much like we thought her to be back in Volume 1 and 2.

My favorite character, Neo, I don't see working with her for too long, her betrayal of Cinder is basically inevitable, and I don't know what she'll do then. Most likely find a way to torture Yang and becoming her next big nemesis now that Adam is gone, she seemed to enjoy that back in Volume 2, and she really fits that role seeing as she is everything Yang is not and was the first one to ever defeat her.

But yeah, that's something for another time, I could easily go on a loooong rant with this (Sorry Time96, who already suffered many of my rants, including that one).

Speaking of Time96 – my utmost gratitude goes to him for making an exception and beta-reading this, like he used to in the past while he was less busy. He doesn't do it for my bigger works anymore, but he still beta-reads most of my one-shots, and I couldn't be more thankful for that, since these are often my more controversial ones.

With this, though, hoping I said everything I meant to say, I want to close this work to hopefully soon update my others again.

It's been too long since I last said this, but...

So long!