(A/N: Don't forget about that powerstone goal. If we don't hit it this week I might do again next week and lower it so its far more achievable.)
XOXO
I pulled my left foot back, shifting my body aside as a paw slammed down, its claws narrowly missing me. The pitch black limb hit the ground, shaking the greenery around us before pulling back, heavier smacks and swipes sent my way. I twisted, bent, and even used the Grimm's lumbering form and slow strikes as a board to spring off of it, all the attacks avoided.
Ursa, with their large bear like forms, were a far cry from the size of something like a deathstalker, but they packed enough strength in their thick forms not to be as susceptible to telekinesis as beowolves.
Using pressure to slow them down was all too easy, however.
The smokey smell of burning wood assaulted my nose.
Avoiding another heavy swipe the Ursa rose onto it's hindlegs for, I backpedaled. Before it could drop to pursue a loud roar left it, scattered parts of its body filled with small holes. Pieces of wood, all aglow with hot orange heat and gradually falling away into blackened ash, floated in front of me, telekinesis forcing the speeding objects to a dead stop before they could touch me.
Given that by the time of the show Cinder already wielded a portion of a Maiden's power, there had been no definitive way to say where the power of her semblance started and ended. I'd assumed it would be powerful just to be on the safe side when I came to blows with her but to think she could just pick up some lose wood the Ursa's rampage had torn out from the trees and pierce said Grimm with something so mundane.
The potential there was something else.
That attack drew the Ursa's ire, the beast turning despite the many holes across its body, Cinder now its primary target. One sword held defensively, she allowed it to close in, back flipping away from a swipe and reaching into the pouch along her side. A dark red crystal, taking on the same glow that the wood turned ash had, was sent flying with a flick of her wrist, picking up even more speed as it brightened.
She'd drawn its attention only to finish it off with a superheated dust crystal.
BOOM!
I think that was the plan anyways.
The crystal exploded between them, Cinder sent tumbling across the dirt while the Ursa hardly flinched in the face of such force, angrily roaring as it rushed through the dark cloud between them.
Stepping into a jump, sword flying from my back and into hand, I dropped on the Ursa's back just as it reached her, blade driven clean through its body. It went limp, falling aside before Cinder who'd made it back to her feet, blade held defensively.
A crack, small but impossible to miss with my eyes, had formed along the worn weapon.
I stepped off the dissipating Grimm, dropping to Cinder's level who looked away, expression already twisted into a glare. She didn't need any criticism and I didn't really have any.
This facet of her semblance, being able to control things she heated to some degree, was only limited to a fast straight forward propellant at the moment and still new to her. The fact that she could stay calm and use it in the middle of a fight was a good thing. Once she had some better control over the heating while doing it, using dust like that would make for a handy strategy.
Letting go of my sword, I guided it towards my feet, stepping onto it. She eyed my blade like one would some kind of abomination, before putting her sword away and stepping up onto it, hands on my shoulders.
With a kick up of dust we were speeding back towards the city.
Either during jobs or between them, I've started taking her out into the wilds to test some of what she'd been practicing. That sort of real world experience could be effective, but it had its own problems, the inherent danger of it chief among them.
I needed to look into finding us somewhere in the city to test more combat orientated uses of her semblance.
Not long into the ride, the city's upper portions came into view, the walls protecting the lower half following as we shot out of the forest and above the trail leading up to the gates. I shifted slightly, Cinder picking up on the message and doing the same, the both of us jumping off my blade. She stumbled a bit while I landed into a walk, blade flying to my back.
The guards didn't give us any trouble, halfassing a standard check, well aware that if we were smuggling anything in on the Spiders' behalf, they'd get their cut like usual.
We didn't split up immediately once we were past the gates, however, Cinder stopping. It was slow but starting from her right side of the body, her aura shield began to fade away, both her leg and arm done well enough. Once she got towards the middle her entire shield flickered away despite her best attempts otherwise.
"You did good today." I said, nodding my head to her. That went ignored, her usual scowl back in place.
It feels like a lifetime since I went through that same frustration. As much of a motivator as that was, I'd been lucky enough to have a group of people going out of their way to make sure it never brought me down too much, distracting me with a bunch of different things.
And the way Cinder liked to live, she could do with a distraction or two.
XOXO
I swiped through my plain black scroll, part of my attention on Cinder who sat across from me at a table just outside one of the many bakeries across Mistral and the rest on countless news articles about things happening across Remnant.
The way Salem operated, everything but her biggest moves would fly beneath public notice or would be difficult to attribute to her at all, however, I still liked to stay updated on whatever was big enough to make headlines. Would I ever get a lead out of any of it? Probably not but there was no downside to staying tuned in to things.
Unless being bored counted.
Seriously, what did the people who actively chose to fill their free time watching the news find so appealing about draining away the hours like that? I'd much rather be doing something like reading through comics or-
An onslaught of noise, a mix of chatter and footsteps, came from a building not far from us, groups of kids our age stepping out onto the streets. Another screening must've just come to an end, the countless theaters within Mistral popular among all ages, but the young especially packing the places all throughout the week in the later hours of the day and across the entirety of the weekends.
Catching a movie didn't sound like a bad idea. Between Cinder more or less being under my watch and all the sword surfing I could do when it was just the two of us, I had far more free time to get acquainted with the city, something I'd been neglecting despite the temptations to enjoy everything it had to offer.
"Dammit." Cinder cursed as her shield flickered away once again. She'd made good progress in a short time, but it was starting to halt thanks to frustration. She might not have realized it yet but her wild aura was all the more unruly, reflecting her bubbling agitation. She could do everything right but, in that state, she wouldn't be making any strides forward.
We got some looks from those closest to us but few other than kids paid us much attention. Between the books, her weapons, and aura, we looked no different than a pair of aspiring hunters.
Not the most common sight but far from a rarity.
"How about we call it early today?" I suggested. After another failed attempt, Cinder looked up at me and I pointed towards the theatre behind her. "Ever been to one of those places?"
Cinder turned around but didn't give the building or any of the eye catching posters set up along it a chance, turning back just as quickly. "No."
"I haven't been to one since I was a kid." I admitted. Not like I could blame mom for it but that and a whole lot of other things I liked had become things of the past. Not really many luxuries out in the wilds. "Want to go see one?"
"What part of watching a movie is going to help with this?"
"Relaxing is an important part of any training but if you want some extra challenge, I guess you can try and deconstruct your shield while watching whatever we see." I said with a shrug before coming to a stand. She already struggled with it while trying to ignore the countless distractions of the marketplace, so it was too early to be trying to split her attention like that but knowing Cinder, it'd probably be the only reason she'd agree to it. "So, you coming or what?"
As usual when it came to anything outside of combat, she didn't bother with words, but stood up, book in one arm as she headed towards the theatre.
She really needed to work on those nonexistent communication skills of hers.
XOXO
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I popped a handful of popcorn into my mouth as gunshots and explosions revibrated throughout the entire room.
Ah, popcorn. Even in Remnant it was a common go to for things like movies, and just like in my former life, I couldn't say it was my favorite thing in the world. It wasn't bad or anything, the popcorn sold at theaters tasting especially better than any of the ones that could be heated up in a microwave, but getting pieces of the stuff stuck in my teeth was annoying as all hell.
Chocolate was way better.
Faint, nearly inaudible, crackles came from beside me.
I looked away from the over the top action scene being projected ahead and to Cinder, her shield crackling away yet again. She hadn't been interested at first but with her eyes now glued to the movie, her attempts were failing far earlier than usual. That said, her aura had already begun to settle somewhat.
With how skeptical she'd looked coming in I'd half expected her to blow the movie off just to practice. Good to see she could actually relax.
The cheap girl hadn't bothered buying anything other than her ticket though.
I refocused on the movie while eating my popcorn. By the time it was over, both of us shuffling out along everyone else and back into the long carpeted halls full of doors leading to other viewing rooms and bathrooms, I'd completely finished the bag.
"Enjoyed it?" I asked while dropping the emptied bag into a nearby trashcan.
Cinder shrugged.
And there she goes again with those crappy communication skills. I guess I should help her along.
"Come on, I've got to make sure you were paying attention. Wouldn't be much point in training like that if you were just pretending to watch it." I said, glancing over at her. "You must've had a favorite part."
"…the explosions." She said. "I guess." She added, shrugging again.
I hummed along. "Yeah, they were pretty good. Couldn't tell if they used actual dust for all of it or if some of the effects were computer generated."
Cinder looked over, brow raised. "Computer generated?"
"Yeah, like animation." She continued looking at me as if I were speaking gibberish. "You know what a cartoon is, right?"
"Obviously." She said sharply, getting all defensive like I was questioning her intelligence or something.
"And you know how they're made?"
"With drawings."
"Think that but done using software on a computer." I explained. "Look it up. You might find it interesting."
I knew survival was her primary concern, but I'm surprised she didn't know about something like that. It wasn't exactly new technology in Remnant so even the elderly should've known what I was talking about.
The effects of a bleak upbringing like hers, I guess.
As we and the rest of the crowd stepped outside, the sun was already setting, the plentiful lamps in the area mixing with the sun's rays to keep things lit.
It was about time we got to work.
XOXO
(A/N: Cinder has very narrow range of experiences when it comes to the world as a whole. Talon is the opposite. Naturally he's in a good position, if he can overcome her prickly personality, to actually introduce her to all the things others tend to do in their day to day. And I doubt someone who's actually learned to appreciate life would join someone like Salem. Probably not. Who knows? Anything can happen.
As always, if you want to read ahead here's the link:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
See you all in the next chapter or in the comments.)