(A/N: Think we'll get that powerstone goal if we cope hard enough? Either way, we did get a lot more than expected. I'll probably drop the goal to 400 next week but I'll let you all know Monday.)
XOXO
Dark stains that been lazily painted over, my gaze able to pick out the slight differences in the wall. A smell that the few scented candles I'd taken to placing around barely beat back, filling the small room with a tainted flowery aroma. So little space to work with that I couldn't get in all my usual exercises.
Sighing I dropped my gaze from the walls of the cheap apartment, refocusing on my sword.
Maybe it was time I moved into a better place. Between all the money the Spiders paid out and Cinder willingly spending most of her time around me, there wasn't much reason to stay in a place like this. Its not like I needed to keep an eye on her at all times anymore.
I passed my sword to my other hand, giving the first a chance to rest.
No. That was complacency talking. One lapse in judgment, one bad decision, and she could end up with Salem and her people.
Killing her would be easier. I beat back the thought the moment it appeared, silently cursing myself.
Summer was better than that. I had to be too.
Knocks hit my door, Cinder on the other side, my telekinesis having tracked her leaving her room. This was new. We met up for work and training, sometimes walking together out of pure convenience when we left at the same time but heading to the other's room for anything was new territory.
Better not to poke at the privacy of the other.
I hadn't expected her to be the one to cross that unspoken understanding.
Using telekinesis, I brought my sunglasses over to my face then used it to open the door without ever stopping my exercise.
"You can come in." I said, glancing over from my sword. It took her a moment, but she was quick to hid any signs of hesitation, stepping in, her eyes making a swift sweep of the room. The place was barren, nothing to see other than my mask sitting on the kitchen area counters. "Need something?"
After that scan of my room, she fixed me with her hard stare, neither her glare nor usual agitation present.
"Train me."
"Aren't I already?"
"In more than just aura." Cinder said. "You're…" She grimaced, pausing, but forced herself to carry on. "Strong. Stronger than any of those bastards in Spider."
Stronger than her was the part she refused to say.
I lowered my sword and turned fully to her.
Fists curled up. Eyes not far off from bloodshot, bags forming beneath them. And the tightening of her jaw. She'd been losing plenty of sleep trying to rush her aura practice along but there was more to it than ordinary impatience, frustration, or innocent curiosity about the process.
It was desperate obsession, plain and simple.
Mom would say that was a good thing and I was the last person who should be trying to refute that. In hindsight, all the training I'd been doing over the years was no different than a form of obsession, Salem such a distant concept back then that it'd been difficult to even stay motivated.
But Cinder wasn't anything like me.
It was a dangerous aspect of her, but it made it all the easier to predict her. I could use this to kill two birds with one stone.
XOXO
"You see that building over there?" I said pointing below the balcony we stood on. There were countless buildings across this upper district, this portion of the city nearly adjacent to marketplace we frequented, and the eastern asian style Mistral preferred more intricate compared to the lower levels. Among all the plated roofs, the building I was pointing out was no more than a plain metal box with little thought put into fashion. That simple aesthetic made it stand out far more than any of the other painstakingly decorated buildings.
"That's a kind of training facility. Hunters who don't feel like making the trip to any of the local academies and students get priority, but it is open to the public as long as we're willing to pay." I explained.
"Then why are we up here?" Cinder asked and it was a fair question. Unlike the lower parts of the city, similarly to the marketplace, this one was more expansive, we having climbed several sets of stairs just to get this high. Residential, commercial, entertainment: this one area of the city had it all, one technically able to live out their entire lives without leaving it with the right job.
A far better place to stay while I was here.
I jabbed a thumb over my shoulder, Cinder turning to follow. Behind us was a tall building. The eastern aesthetic wasn't nearly as prominent across it, the thing possessing a more modernized plain look to accommodate its many floors.
"And this is an apartment building. I've more or less handled the business I had on the lower district so I'm going to be moving up here." I said. "You should consider doing the same. It'll be more convenient."
Cinder crossed her arms, frowning as she looked the building over. "It looks expensive."
"Saving up for something?" I questioned rhetorically while pushing off the railings I'd been leaning on. "No point in having money if you aren't going to use it. You'll just be missing out on all the best parts of being in a city if you never do. Not like you can take it with you when you kick the bucket either." Strange how that wasn't just a saying but reality for me.
I took off towards the building, the streets not so busy this late. Rapid steps soon followed behind me.
Pulling open one of the building's glass doors, we stepped into a large lobby that was already leagues better than any part of that cheap building we'd been living out of. Air that didn't hold some kind of weird musk, proper lightning that wasn't threating to give out at any moment, and an actual receptionist, a man sitting behind a long wooden desk at the center of the room.
While the outside didn't much follow Mistral's usual aesthetic, the inside possessed the usual hallmarks from their wooden furniture and different decorations.
"So, getting a room or not?" I asked as we headed over to the front desk. Cinder grunted. Best to take that as a maybe.
"Good evening. How can I help you?" The receptionist greeted us with a polite smile, a quick glance given to Cinder's weapons.
"I'd like a unit. A single bedroom if you got one." I said.
One of the benefits of living in a world as dangerous as this? In most kingdoms, exceptions tending only to pop up in the most expensive areas of certain cities, many processes that'd required tons of paperwork and checks were streamlined, accommodating wanders and hunters. A few general questions about how long I planned on staying and the type of room I wanted, and I had a key in hand, a thick stack of lien handed over. Even age was barely a concern when it came to do this sort of thing, what few restrictions there were involving that incredibly light.
As long as you didn't cause trouble there weren't many places, especially private businesses, that'd actually turn anyone away.
"A room near his." Cinder demanded, no attempt made to sound remotely polite.
"Ah, you're colleagues then." The receptionist assumed, running Cinder through the same questions. Like me, though far more reluctantly, she paid out for entire month.
That was the living arrangements solved, and without having to abandon an easy watch over Cinder.
Now it was time to see just how in depth her training was.
XOXO
I rolled my neck, cracking it, then doing the same to my fingers as I stretched, taking a good look around.
The training room, a simple metal room that, like the entire facility's exterior, could be labeled as little more than a giant box, was definitely lacking compared to what I've read about the huntsmen academies. We'd reserved a room without any equipment and, true to its description, it really held absolutely nothing.
Just a big metal room…..
"HEY!" I shouted, my voice echoing.
Cool.
To me at least. Cinder, standing across from me and waiting for me to finish up my stretches, had tensed up, glaring at me, more confused than angry despite the look.
"Just wanted to see if the room had an echo." I explained. An explanation she didn't care the least bit for, glare easing up but very much still in place. She might have terrible communications skills but wore her emotions on her wrist when it came to anything negative. If you were annoying her, you'd know it.
Better not keep her waiting any longer.
"You sure about this?" I asked while rolling my shoulders, doing one last stretch. She nodded. "Alright then. Like aura we'll be starting with the very basics." I said, stretching put to an end. "We'll fight barehanded. I want to see how good you are when it comes to hand-to-hand combat."
Cinder silently raised her curling hands, a simple guarded stance taken and a tense unblinking stare focused on me.
I returned the stare, not moving a muscle.
As the seconds dragged on, Cinder's feet shuffled but she refrained from moving forward. She had some practice but wasn't nearly as comfortable in that stance as she was with her swords.
"If you're concerned about being hurt, don't worry." I said, both hands slipped into my pockets. "I won't be taking this seriously."
That did it, the furrowing of her brow heralding her rush, Cinder quickly closing the distance between us. Quick jabs, all easily avoided with leans. She mixed in a faint with her left, trying to catch me with a strike from the right. That didn't help in the slightest, avoided with a tilt, but she didn't miss a beat, Cinder's weight shifting as her left foot began to rise.
I pulled my right hand free, pushing her right shoulder.
Cinder fell back, kick swinging wide and her butt hitting the metal flooring. The slight widening of her eyes as she looked up at me was done away in a flash, Cinder throwing herself into another flurry of attacks, this time refraining from any kicks. She might've been cleared headed enough to realize that wide swinging attacks wouldn't work against her, but her punches came in quicker and her foot work grew sloppier, the force behind the predictable blows diminishing.
She could throw a proper punch, that much was clear but that was the only compliment I had. Easy to rile up, unsure footwork, a lack of awareness when it came to her own vulnerabilities.
As she pulled back a fist, I stepped forward, open palm slammed into her gut.
A sharp gasp left her as she took unsteady steps back, a fit of coughs following. Her aura shield had dampened the blow, but it hadn't been enough to stop the wind from being knocked out of her.
She was so calm when it came to dealing with Grimm, moving with cold, if a bit desperate, precision when her life was on the line, but she wasn't used to dealing with people. Relentless monsters didn't usually waste time goading and taunting before ripping into you.
After regaining her breath, Cinder retook her stance, some of the impatient agitation replaced by caution.
It didn't stop her from inching forward.
I shot at her, fist flying forward. Eyes widened, Cinder nearly fell over as she leaned out of the way, the blow grazing her cheek. She wasn't able to dodged the next punch at her face, grunting and stumbling back as my fist hit her raised forearms. That left her wide open, a kick to her stomach, punishing the mistake.
Her back hit the ground, but she was quick to stand back up, glaring at me.
There was a lot of work to be done. That determined persistence of hers could help just as much a hinder her.
I rushed forward again, Cinder immediately backpedaling this time, eyes jumping between my fists.
Hopefully she wouldn't hold a grudge over the one sided beating this was going to turn into.
XOXO
(A/N: Huh, for once I don't have anything to run my mouth about.
Link for those who want to read ahead:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
And I'll see you all around!