Happiness is overrated.

(It) Seems A Little Dangerous To Me

"Don't... Don't judge me for this, Red. I... I lose control sometimes."

"Are you sure about this, Cinder? There are so many... I didn't realize giant nevermore nested in groups larger than 30..." Ruby's voice was tinged with fear, doubts beginning to seep through her mind like a foul miasma.

"Shh, dear... I'm more than strong enough to take them on. I just need you to support me with your rifle and I'll be fine. Can you do that for me, little rose?" Her voice exuded confidence, no trace of any emotion in it at all. The deep amber eyes she bore, however, flickered with amusement as she saw Ruby stand taller and nod, clearly convinced by her. She was so adorable... If only Cinder had time for those thoughts. Alas, now was not the time.

Without another sound, she ran to the edge of the cliff that the nevermore best was perched on, building up her energy within her and focusing it in her hand. When she was within 50 meters of it, she heard the crack of gunfire and saw one of the smaller Grimm fall limply to the ground. A smirk graced Cinder's face as she unleashed the energy in her hands as flames, roasting the few Grimm close to her before they could react to the gunshot. Another crack was heard as Cinder flipped away from the nest, aiming to put some distance between it and give Ruby some time to add supporting fire. While Cinder was very powerful, she had her limits, and fighting aerial opponents was not her specialty.

As several more shots split through the air, it became evident that dust-enhanced ammo was being used for taking down the larger Nevermore, falling them in just several shots as opposed to the dozen unaltered bullets.  Still, Ruby could not take them all down fast enough, and 5 of them made a simultaneous five for Cinder. She crouched down low and took a deep breath, switching her aura from fire to ice, and when the Grimm reached her she exhaled. Instantly, their wings became frozen and they dropped towards the ground, shattering into shards that dissipated into the air shortly. Turning on her heel to dash towards the several remaining Grimm that Ruby had left, she changed her aura yet again, to gravity this time, and make a drop kick motion in the air, dropping three Grimm and pulling two others down several meters. A sweep kick without use of her semblance was enough to snap the necks of the three grounded Grimm and knock the others back. But before she could move to dispatch them, a last shot rang out and pierced through both of their skulls cleanly, a depleted uranium shell powered by gravity dust enough to end the semi-immobilized Grimm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cinder... You can't keep doing this to yourself..." Ruby's voice quavered, piercing Cinder's heart in a way that she despised.

"I-I can and I will, red... Now... Can you help me or not?" She forced the words out, her lungs felt as if they were filled with shards of fiberglass, and for all effective purposes they might as well be. Whenever she used her aura for a breath attack, it always had some negative effect on her body, and for ice it left shards imbedded in her lungs and throat.

Ruby simply gave in and sighed, resting her hands on Cinder's shoulders and using her aura to melt the shards inside of Cinder's body. Of course this caused Cinder to go into a serious coughing fit as her lungs flooded with water, but after a few minutes she was somewhat back to normal and her aura got to work mending the wounded flesh.

"Cinder, please just... Just promise me you'll try not to get hurt so bad again..." Ruby cringed at how weak and vulnerable she sounded, but knew that there was no other way. And when Cinder reluctantly agreed, it was worth it.

'Damn it, Ruby... I can't push you away after I've let you get so close. I'll... I'll try to protect you, sweet little rose... Even if it means I die...'