Chapter Text
"When I grow up, I'm gonna be a big an strong huntress just like you!"
A woman in a white cape smiled down to the young Ruby. She smiled kindly, but Ruby couldn't remember her eyes.
"I'm sure you will, dear. Just like mommy."
But her lips never moved. The woman stood in place but Ruby could still hear her talking. The white lights of the field slowly turned red, then black illuminated by a red moon.
"Protect him."
Ruby turned to see Pyrrha, standing across from Ruby. She was missing her sash and there were several wounds along her arms. "Pyrrha?"
"Protect him, Ruby. He needs someone now more than ever."
"I'll try Pyrrha, But what do I-" But before Ruby could finish her sentence, Pyrrha was gone. Ruby stood alone in the darkness, the sensation of eyes on her all over as she heard a cruel hiss of steel escaping it's scabbard.
"The end of it all. That is what I desire, my young student. An end to humanity, to life itself. I will hold that power and become more than a mere man. I will become a God."
Ruby looked to see Professor Nicol Bolas, his tail swishing behind him as he held his blued steel sword to the side. She tried to reach for Crescent Rose, but felt nothing.
"Just like before. You were nothing when you entered, and you will always be nothing."
"No! I can beat you. I've already escaped you once!"
"No, you haven't."
Ruby spun around to see Ozpin, eyes gone and bleeding. "You can never escape the failure you have wrought."
Ruby flinched, turning to see the shadows of Pyrrha, Ozpin, Bolas and her own mother staring down at her. They grew taller, looming over her until she felt like she was drowning.
Ruby opened her eyes suddenly with a quick gasp. She looked around the room and saw Tai-Yang, now startled awake, sit up from his chair and inspect Ruby.
"You're finally awake!"
"Ugh... what happened?"
"Qrow, he found you, unconscious. He got you out of there, though, and brought you home safe. Ruby, you don't know how happy I am..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ruby rapped softly on the doorframe to Cinder's room.
"Come in..."
Ruby looked at Cinder and her heart dropped. Her cousin, the one person who was invincible against everything... Cinder looked more tired than ever before, like a piece of her had died. Ruby wanted to say something, anything, to her cousin to try and make it better but she couldn't. Any words she tried to find stuck in her throat as tears filled her eyes. Nearby was an old picture of Cinder's former team, Team Crimson. The only reason she'd be looking at that...
Before Cinder realized what was going on, she felt a gentle yet firm hug around her waist. No words were exchanged between the two, but the silence spoke more than any mere words could.
Cinder could feel her face burning as tears dripped onto her bandaged arms, gentle sobs silently shaking her as Ruby cried with her, the two mourning the loss of yet another family member.
The two stayed like this for a long time, neither moving for fear of breaking. It wasn't until Tai-Yang came to tell them that lunch was ready that either of the two moved.
Ruby released her hug but then turned when Cinder started speaking.
"Thank you." was all Cinder could croak, her voice hoarse from crying so much. It was the most Vulnerable Ruby had ever seen her cousin, and yet Ruby could see something in Cinder's eyes. Something they all desperately needed right now.
Hope
A week later and they held a funeral for Amber. The five of them gathered around to pay their respects as Amber's body was buried beside her grandmother. Cinder was silent through all of this while Yang let silent tears of pain and rage fall.
"It isn't fair."
Cinder could only nod as she once again put a friend to rest. Ruby could tell that it was hitting her cousin hard, as well as her Uncle Qrow. Ruby couldn't think of a time where he'd looked more sleepless and tired.
As the late summer turned to fall, Cinder tried to move her arms again, despite protesting from Tai-Yang, and began to try and train once more. Ruby had returned to her routine of training, even more so now that Jaune had returned alongside Nora and Ren.
Nora and Ren both asked Cinder to accompany them as they too paid their respects to Amber. Ruby didn't understand, but she had known that the two had a close history with team Crimson when they were young.
Cinder had begun wearing her choker less and less as she gradually took off her bandages around her arms. Several long and jagged scars had formed all along her forearms from whatever Cinder had done. Cinder wouldn't say but Ruby knew it had something to do with Ambers death, that night when everything went wrong.
But she never asked.
Ruby knew that she couldn't reopen old wounds for Cinder. She never wanted to be so cruel as that. Not to her sister, not to her cousin, not to anyone in her family. But Ruby could only feel lonely as Cinder trained on her own and Yang simply sat in her room. It wasn't right, but Ruby knew she couldn't do anything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had taken a lot of time to find a secluded part of the woods far away from any hunters or loggers. Cinder was thankful to her dad for trying to hold it together for her. The two walked in silence to the training ground they had made for themselves.
"I still hate this."
Cinder turned to her dad, his sleepless eyes now burning with rage. She imagined that's how she looked when he had found her. "You're right. This sucks. But I'd rather it be me than Ruby or Yang. I only wish..."
Qrow's eyes widened at this and he exhaled heavily. "It's not that she didn't want to tell you. You'd tried to keep away from this side of things for some time. Amber only felt that if you knew, you'd be forced to come back. She loved you like a sister, but that's also the reason why she kept her distance. I suppose, in a twisted way, that's just another form of love. Damnit I hate this."
"The sappy feelings, the lack of booze or this conversation?"
Qrow turned to Cinder, who was smiling as tears fell. "I know, I know. 'You know what I meant' and all that. But... I only wish I could tell her of how proud I am to have met her. Even if this magic business is super finicky. You wanna know who I saw at her grave?"
Qrow sat on a nearby log they'd been using as a bench during rest periods. "I doubt it was James or Oz. Ice Bitch?"
Now was Cinder's turn to sigh, now from exasperation. "Winter, yeah. I went over to pay my respects again and... She's doing well. She's still struggling, still hurts. But... She's happier."
Frowning, Qrow looked down then back to his daughter. "Kid..."
"She wishes that she could have been there with us. She... She was crying. I think that was the first time I've ever seen her actually crying before, even on our first mission. She feels that... She feels that Amber's death was her fault somehow. She's trying to carry all of this responsibility on her own, just like always."
Cinder smiled wistfully. "It's stupid, but I guess that's why I always, and still do, love her."
Qrow listened silently, staring at a bush of black roses.
I think I understand that feeling kid. More than anyone else, I think I can understand it.
"I guess that it's not something you wanna hear about. I think I just... I needed someone to share that with, even if it's my dumbass dad." Cinder said with a soft smile.
"And here I was worrying you hadn't recovered yet. But here you are insulting your old man like old times." Qrow said, slightly irritated by Cinder calling him a dumbass.
"Not recovered, but healing. I think all of us are, in our own ways. But not there yet."
Cinder stood up and dusted her pants off. "Well, I want to try and train this 'Maiden' thing before we can't see our way home. Mind helping me out or are you too old to keep up?"
"The score is still Four Ninety-Seven to One, so don't go calling me old just yet."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nearly two months had passed since then as Cinder continued to recover. She looked much healthier now, though she no longer wore her choker. The scars along her forearms had mostly healed, thought there were a few exceptionally deep scars that would never go away. Ruby couldn't help but feel guilt even though she knew she had nothing to do with them. Cinder had even changed her style, wearing a red and gold 3/4 shirt stopping just barely below her elbow along with a pair of long but sensibly tailored slacks and a gray scarf lazily wrapped around her neck and face.
Qrow had made the joke that he's slowly but surely warming Cinder up to the idea of a cloak, despite Cinder telling him the contrary. Ruby couldn't help but feel happy about this as it meant they were healing. Ruby could feel it again. Hope that everyone had been so lacking.
It was now firmly into the Winter months as snow had finally fallen and stayed on the ground.
Ruby and Cinder both stood in front of a white marble gravestone sitting by a cliffside.
"Hey mom."
"Hey, Aunt Summer."
"It's..."
Cinder placed a hand onto Ruby's shoulder. "It's been tough. So much has happened that... I can't explain. So many things have gone wrong..."
Ruby nodded. "But... Some things have been going right, right? You've healed and you're getting better at all of this. You..."
Ruby hesitated, after all of the talks about Maidens and Silver eyes. She didn't want to assume Cinder had been practicing with the powers.
Cinder smiled softly to her cousin. "Yeah. I guess I'm a maiden now. Amber... She always had to have the last say in everything. So... Yeah. Never would have thought I'd go from some scared kid to being the protector of the world. It's... It's kinda daunting if I'm being honest, Aunt Summer."
"But... We've also got friends. Friends who'll help us save the world. We just need to prove we can."
The two stood there as a cool breeze blew past them.
"Ruby... I think you were right. It does feel good... Talking all of this out. I wish Aunt Summer were here right now, seeing just how much of a fine huntress you've grown into."
Cinder brought Ruby close, hugging her cousin from the side. Ruby smiled and nodded. "She'd totally have cheered you on during your festivals, Cin. It's hard, and I will always miss her, but I'm glad you and me talked with her."
Cinder nodded. "We should get going and pack. Your friends said that they'd wanted to get a move on as soon as possible. It's a good idea, especially if we're travelling by foot."
The two turned towards home, walking away from the grave as white rose petals fluttered past the grave stone.
"You ready, Rubes?"
Ruby turned to her cousin and nodded. Cinder already had her pack ready to go as well as Midnight strapped to her back. The two walked out into the snowy clearing where Jaune, Nora and Ren stood waiting.
"Ready?" Jaune asked
"We know what we need to do. If we can, we need to stop Salem. I think I know where she's going to go next, so we don't have much time to waste."
The group nodded and Cinder smiled.
Soon they set of, not noticing a single crow looking on with a slight gleam of pride in its eyes before it too began flying towards Haven.