The Bird and the Garden

Chapter 23: A Storm of Blood

Y/N trudged through the sandstorm, his hand guarding his face from the rocks that had been picked up by the winds. He could barely hear Qrow screaming angrily ahead of him, his uncle completely hidden by the dust.

Inside the storm was dark. The sand blotted out the sunlight - if there was any. It could've been night, for all anyone knew. It felt like hours since they ran into the storm, and Y/N's legs were already feeling shaky and weak. And yet if he were to rest for only a few minutes...

He pushed the thought of being buried alive out of his mind. He pushed on deeper, into the heart of the storm. His cloak was tugged hard. Ren must have tripped again. He reached out to help his ally - only to have his heart sink when he realized he was alone.

"So, there really was an intruder. That failed scientist can be useful, after all." It was a woman's voice. The sand began to clear, but only enough for the hero to see his enemy. A woman with a flowing black cloak stood before him, her amber eyes piercing his like daggers. He felt his fist tighten. But she seemed amused.

"Oh? Do we miss our friend? I wonder how he's doing...?"

Y/N let out an audible growl. No, it was more of a roar. He was infuriated. "What the hell did you do to Ren?"

Cinder shrugged. "I didn't do anything. He was snatched up by the storm a while ago, but you continued walking along. It was me who pulled on your cloak." She sighed disappointedly. "You know, he talked very highly of you. Said you'd be a dangerous opponent. But you aren't very observant... Or perhaps..." A sadistic smirk crossed her face.

"You're just a very self-centered man, aren't you?"

With a battle cray, Y/N launched himself forward. But the woman was already behind him. The hero turned, his eyes wide with surprise. He didn't even see her move. She laughed again. "What're you doing over there? I'm right here!"

He attacked again, but she vanished. Again, she was standing in a completely different spot. A thought crossed his mind. Could she actually he teleporting? It couldn't be possible; Raven made no mention of this woman having any ability like that in Haven. Which only left one possibility.

"Vao... You bastard..."

But Cinder laughed. "He really underestimated you! I'm not Vao. My name's Cinder. But you should already know that. After all..." That smirk grew. "Your aunt told you, didn't she?"

Y/N really didn't like how she said that. But he returned her grin. Cinder seemed unnerved. "What the hell do you find so funny?"

Y/N held up his fist, stretching his thumb towards the sky in a thumbs up. "Gotcha." Cinder gasped when she finally heard the sizzling beneath her feet, the fire dust finally igniting, and the ground below exploded in a fiery inferno.

...

Velvet watched as Vao sat in front of her, eating from a bag of chips. He seemed bored, but his eyes were still alert. He was waiting for her to do something, try to escape. But Velvet only stared back. The villain tossed the empty bag of chips in the air, the wind carrying it into the storm.

"Say something. Entertain me, rodent," he said aloud. Velvet's untrusting stare turned to a glare of disdain.

"You know it's racist to call me that, right?"

Vao didn't really have an expression for that. "So? I've grown to hate faunus, anyway." He seemed to be remembering something hurtful, and stopped talking. Velvet was curious.

"Why? When we last saw each other, you were all about equal rights..."

Vao didn't give a facial expression for this question, either. "That was years ago. Things happened between me and an arachnid. Things I won't talk about." He seemed a bit depressed and angry about the topic. Velvet felt herself internally grinning. This might be her opportunity to escape.