Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Right. Well. This was an excellent way to kill a few minutes, but I plan on spending this train ride being useful, so if we're all done pretending you can train to be a bird?" he eventually said into the brief, awkward silence that filled the air after Raven raised her voice, tapping into the latent mom energy she'd been storing for approx. 19 years

"Stellar. Great chat everyone. Good work all around. Please leave me alone"

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Right. Well. This was an excellent way to kill a few minutes, but I plan on spending this train ride being useful, so if we're all done pretending you can train to be a bird?" he eventually said into the brief, awkward silence that filled the air after Raven raised her voice, tapping into the latent mom energy she'd been storing for approx. 19 years

"Stellar. Great chat everyone. Good work all around. Please leave me alone"

"If you seriously think a semblance can turn someone into a talking animal then maybe yours is to turn into a pretentious dork." Mercury chimed in from where he was still taking up one couch all by himself, nearly done his second magazine already and droning like a dad trying to read his morning paper.

 

[MyrtenRose]

Emerald stopped, held her back to Cinder for a few seconds as she chewed her lower lip in pensive, somewhat frantic (from the front) silence. This was about to go one of two ways. Naturally, the first option that occurred to her, the one she impulsively wanted to follow, was to blurt out everything, admit that yeah, something about Cinder's smug air of elusiveness was kinda cool, and while it wasn't really her style she didn't think it sounded that awful when she said it in her head.

But that...

That would've been lame.

This was compromising her. This was a chance, hopefully, to put it to bed. She mustered the mothers of all thieving gamefaces and nonchalant facades and turned her head to flash Cinder a smile, perfectly benign in every way except for the words that accompanied it.

"Who said you could even be my friend?"

"I...I guess nobody?" Cinder answered, uncertainty plaguing her voice. "I just...before all this? Before Beacon, before I had this power? I had next to nothing." She shook her head sadly. "My parents saw to that. They wanted a servant more than they wanted a kid. To do their work for them, to maintain the house, even to hunt game for their meals. It got to the point that I was even eager to do that last one, if only because it got me out from under their cruel eyes for a while. And of course, all that meant they really weren't keen on me having friends. They made sure to limit my chances to make any. I didn't go to any combat school before Beacon, that's why my weapon is simpler than most, with their fancy transforming guns. My hunting bow and blades were the closest thing I had to friends." That sounded way more sad and pathetic when she said it out loud. A fact not lost on her, going by her expression.

"I suppose that's why I try so hard to be friendly. I may not know much about having friends, but I really want to learn. Even with Watts, at first, before we settled into this...whatever you want to call it. And even as much as he annoys and angers me way too often, that's still better than what I had. I guess I'm rambling now, sorry about that. I just..." She fell silent for a few moments.

"...Forget it. This was stupid." She shook her head and turned around to go head back the way they'd come.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Neo narrowed her eyes slightly at that, and she pulled her knee a little closer to herself. Her own frown grew more taut, and her eyes briefly cast over the room to see where the rest of her team was before she let them settle on Eve again.

She got Neo's nod again in response

One could practically see dots connecting in the aggressive faunus's head as she stared the silent huntress down, features rigid save for a faint curl in her lower lip. She let her own gaze follow Neo's almost as soon as she cast it elsewhere, picking up on what went unsaid in the glance. Best to make this brief.

"...I'm sorry if I made you relive anything. I don't expect you to take it, but it's true. I want... my enemies to be afraid. Not children."

There was nothing flowery or particularly good about the apology, a blunt sequence of words meant to directly explain her feelings what she deemed most appropriate under the circumstances. She gave a stiff nod, took some pizza and left.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

One could practically see dots connecting in the aggressive faunus's head as she stared the silent huntress down, features rigid save for a faint curl in her lower lip. She let her own gaze follow Neo's almost as soon as she cast it elsewhere, picking up on what went unsaid in the glance. Best to make this brief.

"...I'm sorry if I made you relive anything. I don't expect you to take it, but it's true. I want... my enemies to be afraid. Not children."

There was nothing flowery or particularly good about the apology, a blunt sequence of words meant to directly explain her feelings what she deemed most appropriate under the circumstances. She gave a stiff nod, took some pizza and left.​

This was frustrating, and for once it wasn't because she couldn't just say the words she wanted to

No, it was frustrating because she wasn't even sure what the words would be even in she could talk.

It was frustrating that this woman seemed to be looking down on her, yet it wasn't as if she could pretend that it hadn't touched a deep, nasty part of her memories when she saw what she did around that corner, and that her knees hadn't been shaking when she stepped backwards. It was frustrating that she'd even been scared in the first place; she'd worked so hard to get over her fear of the grimm, of violence, and of seeing others be hurt. She couldn't be a huntress if she froze at the sight of blood, and yet it still happened. Something about the sheer level of carnage, the way the blood had carried across the halls itself, was far too real and familiar. It was frustrating that she wanted to thank this woman for saving her from Yang's rampage, even though she'd obviously put up a bodycount that made her team leader's one look puny.

It was frustrating that it was making her feel like she hadn't treated him fairly in the first place.

For once, Neopolitan was glad she didn't have words, because the blunt apology and thinking about what brought it up would've left her silent anyways or some sort of rambling idiot.

As Eve turned to leave, a hand caught her sleeve. Neo caught her eyes as best she could behind the mask and gave her one last nod, the frown softening if not fading and the tension uncoiling from Neo's shoulders before she let Eve go so she could be on her way.

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"If you seriously think a semblance can turn someone into a talking animal then maybe yours is to turn into a pretentious dork." Mercury chimed in from where he was still taking up one couch all by himself, nearly done his second magazine already and droning like a dad trying to read his morning paper.

"We've seen one man make four multicolored clones of himself, and one of the people in this traincar turns into a semisolid cloud of rose petals. I'm not exactly going to be wow'd if someone's aura has achieved shapeshifting." He mused back, not drawn in enough to look away from his screens.

"Besides, if I needed a semblance to do what you achieve so naturally, I'd be rather depressed."

 

[Gus Gungus]

"I...I guess nobody?" Cinder answered, uncertainty plaguing her voice. "I just...before all this? Before Beacon, before I had this power? I had next to nothing." She shook her head sadly. "My parents saw to that. They wanted a servant more than they wanted a kid. To do their work for them, to maintain the house, even to hunt game for their meals. It got to the point that I was even eager to do that last one, if only because it got me out from under their cruel eyes for a while. And of course, all that meant they really weren't keen on me having friends. They made sure to limit my chances to make any. I didn't go to any combat school before Beacon, that's why my weapon is simpler than most, with their fancy transforming guns. My hunting bow and blades were the closest thing I had to friends." That sounded way more sad and pathetic when she said it out loud. A fact not lost on her, going by her expression.

"I suppose that's why I try so hard to be friendly. I may not know much about having friends, but I really want to learn. Even with Watts, at first, before we settled into this...whatever you want to call it. And even as much as he annoys and angers me way too often, that's still better than what I had. I guess I'm rambling now, sorry about that. I just..." She fell silent for a few moments.

"...Forget it. This was stupid." She shook her head and turned around to go head back the way they'd come.

Cinder's hand snagged on something. Emerald's hand was that something.

"...So I'm not really the sharing type..." She admitted after a thoughtful few moments, still mulling over much of what she'd just heard. "Or the friends type, honestly. I had way too many stab me in the back growing up to care anymore... But I do get you. Like, 'this mostly isn't news to me but it's nice to hear you say it' get you. You're not that special outside your magical god powers, you know; I pretty much had you pegged from the beginning. Your partner might be a pampered little rich kid used to having his meals brought to him, but this whole normal life thing is new to more of us than you think. And I bet even he's about as familiar with the friends territory as you or me."

Her pause made it seem like there was more to come, but she reminded herself some strategic tongue biting was still very much gonna be needed here to make her not look like a complete idiot.

"We all missed a trick or two when it came to having people in our lives. It's whatever. So don't lemme hear you start moping like you're the biggest freak at the academy, okay? I mean, have you seen your team? Something is wrong with Tyrian."

That old grifter bluntness she wore so well faded for a brief instant, to be replaced by a more sincere smile. The eyes that framed them, though, were laced with a twinge of sadness.

"...And as for all that other stuff, I just... those rumors Cardin made up made it a little awkward talking to you, that's all. I mean, the dude is dead! I thought his lies might die with him, but everyone still starts getting cute whenever the two of us are alone together. It's embarrassing."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"We've seen one man make four multicolored clones of himself, and one of the people in this traincar turns into a semisolid cloud of rose petals. I'm not exactly going to be wow'd if someone's aura has achieved shapeshifting." He mused back, not drawn in enough to look away from his screens.

"Besides, if I needed a semblance to do what you achieve so naturally, I'd be rather depressed."

"Okay, genius, sure. A semblance can turn someone's body into a bird body. His semblance is having feathers and hollow bones." Mercury hummed in return, not drawn in enough to look away from his magazine that he wasn't even reading.

"You can't do anything I do naturally, Art. Maybe you should be depressed."

"But you wanna know the really scary thing about him? What makes him a bigger threat than anybody?"

The bird standing stop Arthur's work when he turned back to it's beady eyes gleamed with mystery and intrigue, none quite so mysterious as the fact that it was a crow who leaned into the Atlesian suspensefully and opened its beak with the voice of a man.

"A MUSTACHE!"

Qrow finally answered his question with gallant pride, swooping down to alight on Watts's table again, having momentarily taken refuge to preen cheese out of his feathers.

"Saw a picture of it once. Lemme tell ya, kid, it was... bushy. Too many people who could grow incredible facial hair don't because they never have the guts to try. Think about it, kid, that's all I'm saying."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

This was frustrating, and for once it wasn't because she couldn't just say the words she wanted to

No, it was frustrating because she wasn't even sure what the words would be even in she could talk.

It was frustrating that this woman seemed to be looking down on her, yet it wasn't as if she could pretend that it hadn't touched a deep, nasty part of her memories when she saw what she did around that corner, and that her knees hadn't been shaking when she stepped backwards. It was frustrating that she'd even been scared in the first place; she'd worked so hard to get over her fear of the grimm, of violence, and of seeing others be hurt. She couldn't be a huntress if she froze at the sight of blood, and yet it still happened. Something about the sheer level of carnage, the way the blood had carried across the halls itself, was far too real and familiar. It was frustrating that she wanted to thank this woman for saving her from Yang's rampage, even though she'd obviously put up a bodycount that made her team leader's one look puny.

It was frustrating that it was making her feel like she hadn't treated him fairly in the first place.

For once, Neopolitan was glad she didn't have words, because the blunt apology and thinking about what brought it up would've left her silent anyways or some sort of rambling idiot.

As Eve turned to leave, a hand caught her sleeve. Neo caught her eyes as best she could behind the mask and gave her one last nod, the frown softening if not fading and the tension uncoiling from Neo's shoulders before she let Eve go so she could be on her way.

As she was turning away, Eve's thoughts couldn't help stray towards irony. For the more socially concerned, apologizing to that girl must've been a real pain. She just... looked at you. The hand grasping her sleeve while she was unawares probably could've gone very badly, had Neo not been under five foot and just flat out too unimposing to trigger Eve's fight or flight instincts. There was nevertheless a sharp, almost flustered urgency to the faunus's first attempt to pull away, but she cut the effort short upon catching Neo's eye, and the meaning held therein.

Her next act, however subtle, was a curious one for anyone who had observed the White Fang warrior... do anything. By now, most of the squad had personally witnessed her face contort in all sorts of ways; anger, loathing, condescension, sheer murderous intent.

None had seen what Neo glimpsed for just that fleeting moment. It was a face she had worn long before any of those other emotions started to bubble up and warp her thoughts, one that found its provenance in the very first day she took on this mask and became who she was. An expression dating back to the immediate aftermath of the first valiant act she ever committed in the name of her people, to the first time she held a child in her arms and knew their life was better because of her; the first time someone looked at her and saw something that wasn't meat, wasn't property, wasn't weak and afraid.

They saw a hero. And the hero wore a smirk that was kind, that reassured and offered solace through their shared torment, nothing affected or forced; just a confident, unpretentious smile that was as protective as it was rallying. Nothing that came before mattered—Eve Taurus was born with that smirk.

Years had passed. She wasn't sure the hero was alive anymore. But the smirk was, and every so often feelings of pride or fulfillment bid it flicker across her lips just long enough to keep her hoping the hero was still alive too. That was the look Neo earned for the simple act of accepting her apology, and Eve wore it with contentment as she turned away to once more resume her isolation.​

 

[MidwayLives]

As Eve confronted and spoke to Neo, the huntress’s partner wasn’t far behind. Rather he’d gotten comfortable in a seat and...simply fallen asleep with his hat having fallen off his head and onto the floor.

Things were going to get rough soon and he was scared. But he could never tell Neo that. She was tough, tougher than he ever could hope to be. The people they were going to fight, a monster like Ozpin. It terrified him like nothing else ever could. The Grimm had taken everything from him.

Except her.

He didn’t want anything to happen to him before he told her how he really felt about her. Cheesy? Probably, but he didn’t care. Merc and Emerald would laugh and most definitely tease him if he told them about it.

It had to be the right time and place. ...Whenever that’d be. As he stirred in his sleep, soft murmurs could have been heard coming from him as he slumbered.

“Mh....Neo...I wanted to tell you...”

He didn’t finish and his head turned to the side. When he woke up, he really hoped this train was still in one piece. He didn’t wanna fight for his life before he’d gotten his beauty sleep.

 

[MyrtenRose]

Cinder's hand snagged on something. Emerald's hand was that something.

"...So I'm not really the sharing type..." She admitted after a thoughtful few moments, still mulling over much of what she'd just heard. "Or the friends type, honestly. I had way too many stab me in the back growing up to care anymore... But I do get you. Like, 'this mostly isn't news to me but it's nice to hear you say it' get you. You're not that special outside your magical god powers, you know; I pretty much had you pegged from the beginning. Your partner might be a pampered little rich kid used to having his meals brought to him, but this whole normal life thing is new to more of us than you think. And I bet even he's about as familiar with the friends territory as you or me."

Her pause made it seem like there was more to come, but she reminded herself some strategic tongue biting was still very much gonna be needed here to make her not look like a complete idiot.

"We all missed a trick or two when it came to having people in our lives. It's whatever. So don't lemme hear you start moping like you're the biggest freak at the academy, okay? I mean, have you seen your team? Something is wrong with Tyrian."

That old grifter bluntness she wore so well faded for a brief instant, to be replaced by a more sincere smile. The eyes that framed them, though, were laced with a twinge of sadness.

"...And as for all that other stuff, I just... those rumors Cardin made up made it a little awkward talking to you, that's all. I mean, the dude is dead! I thought his lies might die with him, but everyone still starts getting cute whenever the two of us are alone together. It's embarrassing."​

She didn't get manage to get more than a single step back as a sudden tug on her hand kept her from moving on. Cinder blinked, looking down at the hand clutching hers for a moment, though her gaze quickly lifted to meet Emerald's.

"..." She couldn't help from wincing at hearing the thief talk about getting stabbed in the back so many times that she ceased to care, couldn't keep herself from frowning in sadness at the whole idea that Emerald was only as familiar with the whole 'friends' thing as she herself was...but the single tear that threatened to slide down her face when the other girl talked about getting her? Cinder managed to keep that from happening, the tear burning up in her eye before it could get anywhere. It was...a really great feeling to know someone else understood. Beyond great, even! But as Watts would have said(she could just imagine his annoying voice echoing in her head): pull yourself together, kid. We have reputations to maintain.

"I'm...yeah, you're right. We don't need moping here now. Sorry." She replied, her face brightening in an instant. She even snorted when Tyrian was brought up. The maiden couldn't exactly say Emerald was wrong on that.

The look on Cinder's face quickly shifted back to serious though, as gold eyes peered deep into red ones...the hint of sadness in them did not go unnoticed. "Emerald..." Cinder glanced down briefly and this time it was her not already held hand that reached out to take hold of Emerald's likewise free one. Her gaze swiftly returned to staring at the thief's face. "...Is that really all it is? Rumors and lies? Nothing more than that? Just friendship that some dickheads tried to make into some kind of mess, because they were that pathetic and had nothing better to do?"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Okay, genius, sure. A semblance can turn someone's body into a bird body. His semblance is having feathers and hollow bones." Mercury hummed in return, not drawn in enough to look away from his magazine that he wasn't even reading.

"Hey! Don't knock it like that, a semblance that can allow somebody to fly isn't a joke." Ruby interjected, this time with a mouth not full of pizza. Though it soon would be.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

She didn't get manage to get more than a single step back as a sudden tug on her hand kept her from moving on. Cinder blinked, looking down at the hand clutching hers for a moment, though her gaze quickly lifted to meet Emerald's.

"..." She couldn't help from wincing at hearing the thief talk about getting stabbed in the back so many times that she ceased to care, couldn't keep herself from frowning in sadness at the whole idea that Emerald was only as familiar with the whole 'friends' thing as she herself was...but the single tear that threatened to slide down her face when the other girl talked about getting her? Cinder managed to keep that from happening, the tear burning up in her eye before it could get anywhere. It was...a really great feeling to know someone else understood. Beyond great, even! But as Watts would have said(she could just imagine his annoying voice echoing in her head): pull yourself together, kid. We have reputations to maintain.

"I'm...yeah, you're right. We don't need moping here now. Sorry." She replied, her face brightening in an instant. She even snorted when Tyrian was brought up. The maiden couldn't exactly say Emerald was wrong on that.

The look on Cinder's face quickly shifted back to serious though, as gold eyes peered deep into red ones...the hint of sadness in them did not go unnoticed. "Emerald..." Cinder glanced down briefly and this time it was her not already held hand that reached out to take hold of Emerald's likewise free one. Her gaze swiftly returned to staring at the thief's face. "...Is that really all it is? Rumors and lies? Nothing more than that? Just friendship that some dickheads tried to make into some kind of mess, because they were that pathetic and had nothing better to do?"​

"I mean, you can be sad. I just think you should save it for something more... something less stupid."

Once she got going it was always easier to numb herself to a lie. It was like it was out of her hands then, same as one of her illusions. Her gaze drooped to focus on her hands when Cinder took both of them, a muted air to the normally uninhibited thief as she listened and gave a tiny shrug once she was through.

"That's life, right? Give someone a chance to let you down and they usually will."

And she was too smart for that.Her thumb stroked a circle on Cinder's thumb briefly while she talked; then the younger student felt the weight in her hands grow much lighter, and Emerald evaporated like a layer of mist.

Then her head leaned out from behind a nearby baggage cart. "I'm over here. You still wanna come do this?"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"I mean, you can be sad. I just think you should save it for something more... something less stupid."​

"Like what?" ​

Once she got going it was always easier to numb herself to a lie. It was like it was out of her hands then, same as one of her illusions. Her gaze drooped to focus on her hands when Cinder took both of them, a muted air to the normally uninhibited thief as she listened and gave a tiny shrug once she was through.

"That's life, right? Give someone a chance to let you down and they usually will."

"...Maybe so. Maybe for some people that's true. My parents, Cardin and his idiot cronies...even Salem to a degree. But not me. I don't ever plan to be the kind of person to let anyone down when they need help. That's a promise." ​

And she was too smart for that.Her thumb stroked a circle on Cinder's thumb briefly while she talked; then the younger student felt the weight in her hands grow much lighter, and Emerald evaporated like a layer of mist.

Then her head leaned out from behind a nearby baggage cart. "I'm over here. You still wanna come do this?"

Cinder blinked in temporary surprise as the thief disappeared before her very eyes, but a knowing smile replaced it immediately. Of course. Her semblance. The maiden's hands lingered in that spot for a few seconds longer, eyes flitting from one palm to the other as if she were still holding on to the illusion. Then Cinder nodded and let out an affirmative "okay" as her hands lowered to her sides and she strode over past the baggage cart.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Like what?"

"Being the fall guy if we get caught." She neglected to include any indication that she was joking.

"...Maybe so. Maybe for some people that's true. My parents, Cardin and his idiot cronies...even Salem to a degree. But not me. I don't ever plan to be the kind of person to let anyone down when they need help. That's a promise."

"Ha. Never heard that one before..." Emerald returned with a note of sorrow, not looking half as convinced as her words let on. She clasped her hands behind her back and expertly feigned schoolgirl innocence for the benefit of the refreshments cabin they passed through, thoughts rolling back on one name Cinder listed in particular. "Guess you must feel like Salem gave you the shaft, huh? You didn't exactly get the education you were promised... How exactly does someone end up with super wizard powers, anyway?"

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Being the fall guy if we get caught." She neglected to include any indication that she was joking.

"Oh." She gave a very forced laugh. "Cinder Fall, your fall guy. Cleeeeeeeever."​

"Ha. Never heard that one before..." Emerald returned with a note of sorrow, not looking half as convinced as her words let on. She clasped her hands behind her back and expertly feigned schoolgirl innocence for the benefit of the refreshments cabin they passed through, thoughts rolling back on one name Cinder listed in particular. "Guess you must feel like Salem gave you the shaft, huh? You didn't exactly get the education you were promised... How exactly does someone end up with super wizard powers, anyway?"

"..." Everything Emerald had just said there made Cinder very conflicted. "I'm not a liar." She muttered quietly though she moved on hastily. "I...yeah, I would have liked it more if she hadn't been keeping stuff from me, if she had been totally upfront from the start. It's my life on the line. But...at the same time...she gave me a new home when I needed one the most. A better home, a real home. One with friends and..." Cinder fell silent, unsure of what word to use there. Eventually she just gave up on trying to find the right word and she moved on. "The maiden thing? I guess some people would call it random chance, or a stroke of luck...but I prefer to think of it as destiny. A way to get away from the road to nowhere I was stuck on. It brought me here, allowed me to meet new faces. Arthur, Tyrian, Hazel, Mercury, Roman, Neo and you. Getting to meet such cool people...I like to believe that's more than just chance or luck." She smiled.

"The way it was explained to me was when a previous maiden dies, the power goes out to seek a new host. Exclusively young women. The person the previous maiden is thinking of in her final thoughts, that's the one to inherit the power, unless the maiden's thinking of some dude or an old woman. Which is what the fall maiden before me just happened to be thinking about in those last moments. Then it goes to somebody random, and well..." She gestured to herself. "Here I am."​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

As Eve confronted and spoke to Neo, the huntress’s partner wasn’t far behind. Rather he’d gotten comfortable in a seat and...simply fallen asleep with his hat having fallen off his head and onto the floor.

Things were going to get rough soon and he was scared. But he could never tell Neo that. She was tough, tougher than he ever could hope to be. The people they were going to fight, a monster like Ozpin. It terrified him like nothing else ever could. The Grimm had taken everything from him.

Except her.

He didn’t want anything to happen to him before he told her how he really felt about her. Cheesy? Probably, but he didn’t care. Merc and Emerald would laugh and most definitely tease him if he told them about it.

It had to be the right time and place. ...Whenever that’d be. As he stirred in his sleep, soft murmurs could have been heard coming from him as he slumbered.

“Mh....Neo...I wanted to tell you...”

He didn’t finish and his head turned to the side. When he woke up, he really hoped this train was still in one piece. He didn’t wanna fight for his life before he’d gotten his beauty sleep.

Neo didn't even really notice that she was smiling back at Eve in response to the smirk, and before she could the smile was subsumed by a softer yet infinitely more powerful smile at the sight of her partner just absolutely K.O'd and murmuring her name in his sleep. She found herself slightly jealous of another version of herself yet again as some ephemeral copy of Neopolitan presumably got up to some sort of high jinks, malarky, or maybe even some tomfoolery with Torchwick in his dreams, but at least at least this time the copy would stay gone once it disappeared.

Her smile faded at the thought, and her toe reached down to gently kick the bowler hat up to her hands, catching it on a finger and spinning it while she watched Roman rest. She was his protector. He wasn't defenseless by any means; he'd made it through initiations and a whole year of beacon, and it always annoyed Neo when people just wrote him off as a goof instead of a real threat in his own right. But there were things out there he couldn't handle, and Neo had made it her oath to make sure that she always would be able to step up and defend him in those moments.

Except how was she supposed to do that when the danger was literally a more dangerous version of herself? Sure, she would always look back on the last time she saw her worse half with an almost giddy level of smugness from how she'd gotten one over on the creep, but she knew it was a cheap shot. She'd learned more about her own fighting style just watching that Neo's footwork and handling of hush than she had in the last month of training, and that was when she'd apparently been zipping around doing all kinds of fighting the entire night of the battle of beacon. She doubted she'd be so easy to trick next time.

She really hoped their wasn't a next time.

She sighed and tilted her finger a bit mid spin to let the hat waft off her finger and float gently atop Roman's head

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Okay, genius, sure. A semblance can turn someone's body into a bird body. His semblance is having feathers and hollow bones." Mercury hummed in return, not drawn in enough to look away from his magazine that he wasn't even reading.

"You can't do anything I do naturally, Art. Maybe you should be depressed."

"Aura's certainly a remarkable thing." He droned back, his eyes narrowing at something on one of his screen that he swiftly zoomed in and scanned. If there was anyone who he could talk to without losing focus, it was Mercury. Not because his fellow leader was particulary dense compared to everyone here or anything, but the default conversational tone between them was utterly consistent in that they drifted insults back and forth that it felt utterly routine, with any lines rarely being crossed. Though it did happen.

"Well, I can certainly walk better naturally, which-"

Qrow finally answered his question with gallant pride, swooping down to alight on Watts's table again, having momentarily taken refuge to preen cheese out of his feathers.

"Saw a picture of it once. Lemme tell ya, kid, it was... bushy. Too many people who could grow incredible facial hair don't because they never have the guts to try. Think about it, kid, that's all I'm saying."

"..."

He slowly craned his head over to the bird, his face a mask of pure suspicion.

"...Really? The evil me has a mustache? The absolute most cliched 'change one thing about a person to show they're evil' change? Really?"

 

[MidwayLives]

She sighed and tilted her finger a bit mid spin to let the hat waft off her finger and float gently atop Roman's head

As the hat gently touched atop his head, Roman’s eye slowly quirked open.

“Thanks, partner.~”

Truth be told, he’d been so out of it when they’d first got on the train to now. He hadn’t even noticed his hat had fallen off. Whatever he’d dreamed of, he’d keep it to himself. But as he smiled at his partner, he knew what he had to do.

Incase he never got the chance to.

“Hey Neo...um...you mind if we uh ‘talk’ in private?” Putting special emphasis on talk because, well, yeah. All while not noticing the mustache that’d be drawn on his face while he’d slept.

Maybe it was for the best...

 

[MyrtenRose]

As Roman asked his long time friend for a private talk, Raven couldn't help but frown. As she sat there, she had been thinking of asking the same thing, only in regards to Yang. Someone who, despite her best efforts, Raven had been unable to tear a lingering gaze away from. How could she even approach a talk like that? I know what happened to you. I'm sorry you lost your arm like that. I wish I could have been there for you. All those and a dozen other possible approaches were currently swimming around in her head...and they all sounded so utterly terrible. "Damn it." Raven whispered under her breath, followed by a low sigh that was difficult to make out among all the talking.

One hand rose up to rub at her temples. This was going to be a real long train ride.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Vernal, somewhat emboldened by the fact that Emerald was no longer in the cabin or anywhere in sight for that matter, finally moved from where she'd be sitting on the floor next to one of the seats. She stepped over to one of the pizza boxes, her admittedly hungry stomach unable to resist the savory smell of the hot food calling out to her. The bandit grabbed a couple of slices but rather than return to her previous spot, she lifted her head to look up and did as Eve did. A small jump took her up to the lights fixture running across overhead and she moved into sitting up there, staring out the window at a pack of grimm in the distance that were getting smaller the further the train pulled away from them and chewing on the delicious pizza she'd nabbed.

Ruby on the other hand, was doing all she could to push all the other conversations and distractions out of her head, utterly committed and focused on absolutely destroying the final boss in the video game she was playing on her scroll. The weak spot was on his giant back, she just needed to get a few solid hits...​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"..." Everything Emerald had just said there made Cinder very conflicted. "I'm not a liar." She muttered quietly though she moved on hastily. "I...yeah, I would have liked it more if she hadn't been keeping stuff from me, if she had been totally upfront from the start. It's my life on the line. But...at the same time...she gave me a new home when I needed one the most. A better home, a real home. One with friends and..." Cinder fell silent, unsure of what word to use there. Eventually she just gave up on trying to find the right word and she moved on. "The maiden thing? I guess some people would call it random chance, or a stroke of luck...but I prefer to think of it as destiny. A way to get away from the road to nowhere I was stuck on. It brought me here, allowed me to meet new faces. Arthur, Tyrian, Hazel, Mercury, Roman, Neo and you. Getting to meet such cool people...I like to believe that's more than just chance or luck." She smiled.

"The way it was explained to me was when a previous maiden dies, the power goes out to seek a new host. Exclusively young women. The person the previous maiden is thinking of in her final thoughts, that's the one to inherit the power, unless the maiden's thinking of some dude or an old woman. Which is what the fall maiden before me just happened to be thinking about in those last moments. Then it goes to somebody random, and well..." She gestured to herself. "Here I am."

"Everyone's a liar." She bounced back so casually it was reassuring if a little unnerving, narrowing her eyes with a knowing smile as she led the way to the front of the train where the storage car probably was. The role Emerald most often found herself playing socially was the confidant, listening with patience and understanding to people who'd obviously been deprived of it so she conveniently never had to share much about herself. It started off as just another one of her scams, of course, but over time Emerald found she actually enjoyed being that listening ear for people, even if much of that enjoyment ended up being derived from ironic amusement.

That wasn't the case for Cinder. The fall maiden had evidently led an interesting life, her past mining the same shared vein of specific misery she only really saw in the rest of her team otherwise; plus heart shaped goggles made everyone seem more interesting anyway.

"Hmm... so theoretically there is a way for me to steal your powers, if I just get really dark with it. Good to know," she mused, her sly smirk and lidded eyes making the idea sound way more on the table than it actually was. Then she laughed. "Nah... all that responsibility sounds annoying. You don't seem to mind it much, though. What exactly does a maiden... do when she's not travelling across continents to open doors?"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Everyone's a liar." She bounced back so casually it was reassuring if a little unnerving, narrowing her eyes with a knowing smile as she led the way to the front of the train where the storage car probably was. The role Emerald most often found herself playing socially was the confidant, listening with patience and understanding to people who'd obviously been deprived of it so she conveniently never had to share much about herself. It started off as just another one of her scams, of course, but over time Emerald found she actually enjoyed being that listening ear for people, even if much of that enjoyment ended up being derived from ironic amusement.

"That's...not true." Cinder replied weakly. As much as she wanted to refute that statement wholeheartedly, she just couldn't. She hadn't lied, technically, but...she had kept the secret of the maidens from her team for a long time as Salem and the rest of her brotherhood had wanted her to.​

"Hmm... so theoretically there is a way for me to steal your powers, if I just get really dark with it. Good to know," she mused, her sly smirk and lidded eyes making the idea sound way more on the table than it actually was. Then she laughed. "Nah... all that responsibility sounds annoying. You don't seem to mind it much, though. What exactly does a maiden... do when she's not travelling across continents to open doors?"

"...Uhhhhhh....." Cinder looked noticeably worried and nervously fidgeted in place after hearing that, a mood that lingered even after that laugh and talk about annoying responsibility. "I...really don't know." She admitted softly. "I don't know what a maiden is supposed to do when they're not doing that. I don't know what exactly Salem would want me to do. But...I think I know what I need to do." She stared intently at her own palms as she followed after Emerald. "I need to become strong enough to take down Ozpin. Even if he can't truly be killed, it has to be possible for him to be beaten. It just has to be. And if he's as much a nightmare as the headmistress and the professor and the general make him out to be...there's probably only four people in the entire freaking world who could even have a chance at defeating him." She sighed deeply.

"No pressure there, huh?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Vernal, somewhat emboldened by the fact that Emerald was no longer in the cabin or anywhere in sight for that matter, finally moved from where she'd be sitting on the floor next to one of the seats. She stepped over to one of the pizza boxes, her admittedly hungry stomach unable to resist the savory smell of the hot food calling out to her. The bandit grabbed a couple of slices but rather than return to her previous spot, she lifted her head to look up and did as Eve did. A small jump took her up to the lights fixture running across overhead and she moved into sitting up there, staring out the window at a pack of grimm in the distance that were getting smaller the further the train pulled away from them and chewing on the delicious pizza she'd nabbed.

"Get lost."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"...Uhhhhhh....." Cinder looked noticeably worried and nervously fidgeted in place after hearing that, a mood that lingered even after that laugh and talk about annoying responsibility. "I...really don't know." She admitted softly. "I don't know what a maiden is supposed to do when they're not doing that. I don't know what exactly Salem would want me to do. But...I think I know what I need to do." She stared intently at her own palms as she followed after Emerald. "I need to become strong enough to take down Ozpin. Even if he can't truly be killed, it has to be possible for him to be beaten. It just has to be. And if he's as much a nightmare as the headmistress and the professor and the general make him out to be...there's probably only four people in the entire freaking world who could even have a chance at defeating him." She sighed deeply.

"No pressure there, huh?"

"...That was just a..." She began weakly at Cinder's less-than-amused reaction, before deciding the damage was probably already done with a grim sigh. Her prior awkward turtle behavior was a symptom of Emerald's inherent understanding that her and Mercury's natural sense of humour probably didn't hold much appeal for any 15-year-old who wasn't a complete tryhard, but she was more acutely aware than anybody that when she tried to act nice it was just... off. She turned into a total pushover, a socially clumsy loser who left absolutely no impression on the world. Mean Emerald was hot. People liked mean Emerald.

Just never the right people, apparently. Huh. Maybe this whole thing was just her thief's impulse to covet anything that was out of reach.

"...If that was true, I doubt we'd even be here. Us ordinary people, I mean." She eventually replied pensively, stopping at a gap between carriages to lean on the railing to gaze distantly at the wilderness rushing past. "I don't think Salem ever meant you to take the responsibility of the entire world on your shoulders, Cinder. People your age shouldn't have to think about anyone but themselves. We'll all take the fight to this guy together, and if we can't win you should just... run away. Be like that bandit chick, find some mangy corner of the world where no one could ever be bothered looking and some irrelevant life to bury yourself in, 'cause being a nobody? It's the only way to be... safe."​