Destiny No More

Chapter 9

Pyrrha watched the man stare at her in disbelief, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"You're screwing with me, right kid?" His voice was teasing, but there was an underlying hint of concern there as well. When she didn't respond his forced amusement fell away. "You're serious."

Pyrrha tried to speak, mouth opening but no sound coming out. She could still remember the pain from earlier, could still feel it burning her. She struggled to keep her right eye open, even while the left one failed her entirely.

Though her vision was hazy she was certain she had never seen the man who had saved her before.

Her throat burned and constricted as she struggled to speak, desperate to ask questions that she had to know the answer to.

The man shook his head. "Take it easy, there's no real way for us to know how badly you're hurt. I've never seen an attack like that before."

Pyrrha closed her mouth and nodded, taking the man's advice. Whatever Cinder had done, it had nearly killed her... again.

"So you really don't remember me?" Pyrrha nodded softly. "Do you at least remember your own name?"

Pyrrha stared at him with an unimpressed glare. He thought she had amnesia?

"Geeze, if women could kill with a glare." The man scratched his chin and sighed. "Well, I won't hold against you I guess. Name's Qrow." The name sounded familiar but she couldn't place it, she was certain they had never met before. "I don't suppose you know who your attackers were?"

Her eyes turned hard, she nodded once.

"We'll get names later." Qrow waved his hand when she tried to speak once more. "It's not worth the risk of permanent damage. You've already got enough new scars as it is." Though his voice was gruff, his eyes were soft. "I don't think those are gonna heal either."

Qrow handed her his scroll, having opened the camera so she could see. Pyrrha froze.

It wasn't the scars that bothered her, though Qrow was likely right when he said they wouldn't heal, rather it was the face underneath. A face she recognized but was not her own.

Brown eyes stared back from the screen, her brown eyes. It was strange, seeing it finally caused her to notice all the things that were wrong. Her skin was noticeably darker, her hair far shorter than it once was and now sat on the edge of her vision, and above it all, eyes that weren't her own.

Qrow saw her expression and assumed her response was due to the scar tissue that marred her face.

"All good huntsmen and huntresses have at least a couple scars." He tried to lighten the mood somewhat. "I've got quite a few of my own, even a story or two to go with em."

Pyrrha hadn't been able to look away from the image of Amber's face, her face. Scared and broken.

The Being, whatever he had really been, had told her he couldn't create anything new for her and that he would have to work with what already existed. She hadn't understood at the time but now she did. He wasn't able to make her a new body, for whatever reason that was beyond his ability, so instead he had given her one that was no longer in use.

The body of the Fall Maiden.

Qrow reached out to take the scroll, pulling it out of her hands with little resistance. She looked down at her palm, finally noticing just how alien her body felt to her.

"We'll figure out what all you can and can't remember later, for now try to get some rest." Qrow gestured towards the nearby table. "If you're hungry I managed to find a little bit of food in the cabinets."