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Neopolitan woke up in the dead of night. Cinder was up and about.
Neo shivered as she sat up. Atlas's climate was rather inhospitable at the best of times, and tonight was no different. Despite the tent and sleeping bag Neo had stolen, she could only sleep lightly when the wind wasn't howling.
Cinder had left the tent. Neo pulled the flap back, frowning as she found Cinder, ten feet away and struggling with something. It looked like....
A saw?
Cinder snarled in pain--not a cry or scream, but a primal snarl of hate and anger, and her Grimm hand--the clawed, wretched thing--fell to the snow in a splatter of blood.
Neo gagged, covering her mouth. Cinder dropped the saw, panting. Then the Grimm hand began growing back. Not to quickly, but slowly and surely.
Not sure what else to do, Neo sat down next to Cinder. Cinder jumped. "I--I didn't see you! I--sorry, did I--I--" Neo grabbed Cinder's hand. She gave Cinder one of her looks--a sad one, but portraying some of her annoyance. When you couldn't speak, when you had no voice, you had to find some way to tell people your feelings. Neo did it with her looks.
They said "if looks could kill". If they could, Neo was sure she'd have found the look by now.
"I'm sorry, I just--couldn't bear to keep looking at that thing," Cinder said, unable to meet Neo's eyes. She wasn't crying--despite the massive amount of pain she had to be in, she was only breathing heavy. Cinder was tough--it was most of what Neo admired about her. Neo reached out and grabbed the Grimm claw, holding both Cinder's human and Grimm hands in her own. Neo dropped the human hand, holding up the Grimm one.
Cinder flexed the claws, watching the black muscles work with disgust. "I...I..."
Neo kissed her, long and hard. To let her know she cared about her. Not about whether or not her arm was human, not about what she'd done in the past. But about Cinder's heart, at that moment, that night, and about how Cinder never gave in. She never yielded. She always stood her ground. Except to Neo.
Neo was the only one she gave in for.
The mute met Cinder's eyes. Cinder broke away from her. "You deserve better than me."
Neo pinched her. Why would I want something better than you? she thought, shaking her head and smiling. You're all I want.
Cinder stared at her. Unfortunately, both of their scrolls had run out of power on the journey over, and they had no pencil or paper. Neo had run out of ways to say exactly what she meant, as Cinder didn't know sign language.
"How can I make myself deserve you?" Cinder whispered.
Just be you.
"Salem's not going to let us be. Even if we do break away...she'll come after us. I'll put you in danger."
Neo shrugged. I don't care. We'll make it.
"Perhaps..." Cinder grimaced. "Maybe, just maybe, I have an idea. We...we go to Ruby. If they want to fight Salem, they'll need us, and if we want to escape Salem...we need them. I'm not sure if it's possible, but neither is running from her on our own, without their help."
Dammit, she's right. Neo grimaced.
"I know, I know. We came all this way to kill them, and now we're going to help them? Ugh." She shook her head. "But I'm not about to bow down and beg them--nor am I going to place myself under them. That would be just as bad as if I were still with Salem."
Neo nodded.
"Are...are we in agreement?"
Neo hesitated. Then, she picked up the saw and hurled it as hard as she could into the woods. Cinder smiled. "It didn't work anyway. Come on--let's get moving." She jumped to her feet. Neo did as well, but pointed to the moon. Cinder frowned. "What is it?"
Neo held up hand. "Stop?" Cinder asked. Neo pointed back to the moon. "Wait. Wait until day. Perhaps, but I think we should get a move on to--"
Neo kissed her, then grabbed Cinder's hand, leading her back to the tent. Cinder sighed, but, once again, gave in to Neo.
And Neo was happy with everything they'd talked about--maybe they'd escape. Maybe they wouldn't. Maybe Ironwood would gun them down within seconds.
But what mattered was that they tried.