action;

[unhappy]

A. action; closed to rikku
[ Emerald's first choice wouldn't have been Everglade. It was dreary and, while the fog and general yay-murder attitude provided quite the cover, she much preferred the sun. But there was one thing she could do without drawing attention to herself and it was already in the city- get help from an old friend. Said old friend didn't.. exactly need to know the details of why she was laying low, but she was certain she'd played her cards well enough that Rikku would give her the benefit of doubt.

Most people did until it was too late.

It was shortly before sunset when Emerald knocked on the door, keeping her eyes around her instead of at the door, so the first thing Rikku would likely see was her backside. Practically a show of trust. ]

B. action; openish
[ Once she's got what she needs from Rikku, the next stop was checking her previous spots in Genessia: Demyx's old apartment, the hotel. Which meant both Genessia and Nova City. It was definitely risky moving around that much in the open, but it was the evening- she had the cover of darkness, she was fairly certain unless someone was looking for her, she'd be okay. And she knew she could get away from any specific individual if she got cornered. No one had found out yet, even if they knew whose side her piece rested on.

Emerald walked down the street cautiously, stretching her arms above her head. At least it wasn't freezing this time around. She was glad to have missed the winter, even if she was in much more dire straights with her only real ally here being Torchwick. She had no doubt the truth would crush any of the other relationships she built with how prominent the brats were here. ]

Comments

B.

[beacane]

[ ozpin should sleep, and rest, and recover from his battle with cinder. he knows he should, and he's been directed toward the house where most of his students are staying, but he hasn't quite settled down yet. adrenaline is a powerful thing, and ozpin still needs to collect more information, in order to know they're truly safe.

knowing the city is a good place to start, and his brain is buzzing with every piece of information that's been given to him. blake and ruby were extraordinarily forthcoming, and torchwick is here. additionally, weiss, jaune, and sun are also apparently around somewhere, and yang. nora, too, and penny, though he hasn't run into all of them yet.

quite a lot of able-bodied students, but they're just that -- students. no ironwood, no glynda, no qrow. none of his allies. just ozpin, and a lot of students to protect.

he's lost in this thought as he walks, his cane echoing slightly in an alleyway that he comes out of -- and he just happens to spot a familiar figure. what had ruby said? emerald had been there, when penny was killed. mercury attacked me.

fortune hasn't been very kind to him, or beacon academy, lately. the trend continues. ]

Emerald.

[ he calls out, his tone carrying nicely without raising his voice too loudly, and he walks over. slower than usual, with a careful control over where he places his cane. cinder is a monstrosity, as it were. ]

That is your name, correct?

[unhappy]

[ There's a chill up her spine when someone speaks her name and it's not a voice she's familiar with. As much as she knew about Ozpin from what Cinder had taught her, she'd never really heard him speak. But she knew his face. The second she turns around, she recognizes him for who he is. Her gut reaction is to run. Just run. Cinder isn't here, Mercury isn't here, Neo isn't. Roman won't watch her back, that much she's sure of. He's an ally of necessity not someone who cared whether she lived or died. He'd sooner throw her under the bus to save his own skin.

The caution on her face melts away easily, revealing an expression of concern, of worry, of surprise that it's someone she recognizes. He may know her name, but if he's as powerful as Cinder had indicated, starting a fight wouldn't be her best bet. ]

You're Beacon's headmaster, aren't you? Do you know where we are? I got here and there was some kind of smoking device, and I ran, but after what happened in Vale..

[ Emerald's eyes cast downward for a moment, then she looked up again. ]

How did we get here? Does it have something to do with that big flash from the tower?

[ If she could get information out of him and get out of here unscathed, she's consider it a good day. ]

[beacane]

[ the caution doesn't miss his observation -- and, of course, the students are scared. thrust into a new world after such a catastrophe... and, again, the mention of the big flash. that must have been ruby.

the concern, the worry, the surprise -- it all seems genuine, but all of it could be fake, and ruby certainly seems to have her suspicions.

all of that remains quiet, behind a warm (albeit tired) smile, and ozpin approaches, resting his weight on his cane once he's within conversation distance. ]

I am -- my name is Ozpin. It seems we've arrived in a city called Genessia.

[ it's said warmly enough, and ozpin allows his eyes a cursory sweep of the area before resettling his focus on emerald. she's asking him for information, and it may be harmless to give to her. but it also could hurt.

it's best that those who don't know he is missing remain that way, he decides, and he tilts his head slightly, his own expression questioning. ]

Big flash?

[ questioning, tone gentle. for all the world, ozpin looks like he's clueless, and politely asking for information from a student. ]

What happened to my tower?

[unhappy]

[ Letting him get close may be a mistake. She isn't sure what he can do, but it could be dangerous to her health if he doesn't buy her story.

Part of her just wants to run now and not let him any closer. The fact that he doesn't know what happened to his tower seems to confirm one thing for her: Cinder beat him, which meant she undoubtedly got the Fall Maiden's abilities. It wasn't a question of probably anymore.

Emerald shakes her head. ]

I don't know. I was on one of the rooftops- there were a lot of people stuck up there, families- kids.. [ Okay, Emerald swallows. Think about something else. Even if the rest of it was an act, the fact is that everything she saw bothered her. Knowing what's going to happen in theory is very different from actually seeing it. ]

Our team came back after we got a message from Mercury's family that they'd be coming to us just as we were about to leave after we'd already let everyone know. I went to watch the rest of the games since Mercury was sleeping, or.. I thought he was.

[ She knows what the story is, and Mercury told her that Ruby saw her. Address the holes in the story, but keep it simple. Keep sympathy on her side. Emerald backs up a little, putting her hands over her mouth and turning away, then shaking her head to look back at Ozpin. ]

That was Cinder's voice over the broadcast, wasn't it? She did all of that? I thought she was a good person. She saved my life- why would she save mine and do that to so many people?!

[ Anger was the easiest thing for Emerald to emulate. Mostly because she was never faking that emotion. ]

[beacane]

[ what a good liar.

ozpin doesn't react visibly at the news of families, and children -- though his fingers tighten slightly over his cane. he hadn't been in the city often, remaining inside the academy, and the vault. his battle had taken place beneath the city, but he knew how much carnage had been wrecked. he could only hope qrow, james, and glynda minimized casualties as much as they could.

but at the mention of cinder, he's reminded forcibly -- pyrrha. cinder murdered pyrrha. yang was now permanently disabled, because of adam. because of this plan, this lunacy that had descended upon his institution. and while ozpin is always fond of second chances and taking people at the benefit of the doubt (like blake, like jaune, like qrow)... he remembers ruby's hesitation. her insistence.

emerald was there. ]

... I doubt I have to tell you, Emerald, that a good number of my students are in the city. I've spoken to quite a few of them, and I would trust them all with my life, let alone with my belief in their words.

[ it's said quietly, still watching her, still resting his weight on his cane. ]

I am going to do whatever it takes to protect them in this city, and should Cinder arrive here, I can do the same for you.

[ he tilts his head slightly, catching her eyes. he's not threatening, but there is a sense that he means every single word that he says, and that it is far better that he asks these questions, rather than someone else. ]

But I am going to need an answer on what happened to Miss Polendina, and why Mercury attacked Ruby Rose before her match when he was supposed to be suffering from a broken leg.

[unhappy]

Mercury did what?

[ She sounded confused, perplexed. She shook her head again, raising up her hands. ] No- no way, I saw what Yang did to him just like everyone else did. The paramedics checked him, and I stayed with him until the doctors wouldn't let me. I talked to his family and that's when I let the others know we'd be going back, but then he told me once he woke up that his family changed their minds and would meet us in Vale and went to sleep. I left to go watch the match while we were there, then that girl- that robot?

[ Her eyes narrow, and her tone turns a little sharp. ] I already said I didn't know Cinder was going to do this.. If you don't believe me here, what are the chances your students will? Ruby was good friends with that robot, wasn't she? If Cinder and Mercury were both in on this, it's not going to matter what I say.

[ Anyone who'd been betrayed wouldn't trust anyone so easily, right? Emerald was already low on trust from her life on the streets, moreso because she knew that she was the one who was responsible for what he was asking. She can't trust them because they can't trust her. Even if part of her wants that shelter, wants to not be sold on this part, there's one big question based on the fact that she knows Cinder should've defeated Ozpin.

The one fact that makes it impossible for her to even consider trying to remedy the fact that she could barely stand the screams and utter despair despite that she'd done horrible things before, like kill and steal. She couldn't revel in them like Mercury and Cinder, but when it came down to it her own safety was important. What Ozpin was offering, even if she told the truth, wasn't reassuring. ]

You couldn't protect them back home from Cinder, what makes you think you can protect me from your students and her?

1/2

[beacane]

[ it's compelling, and the story makes sense. and the idealistic part of him tugs in sympathy -- the girl has been through a lot, she legitimately needs help... but ruby wouldn't have suggested emerald if she hadn't been sure.

the words sting, somewhere -- because it's true, ozpin had failed (and failed in the worst way), and his eyes narrow just a little, at emerald's accusations. but his expression soon softens again, and he allows himself to look tired.

that much, at least, is not an act. ]

My students don't attack people without cause.

[ that much is said at once, firmly, though he is still speaking quietly. ]

And I believe you -- at least, concerning Cinder, and what horrors she's committed.

[ murdering pyrrha. destroying vale. ozpin falls quiet again before inhaling, letting his eyes scan the area again before refocusing on emerald, with a quiet frown. ]

Trust is a difficult thing to come by, especially in the darkest of times. I trust my students, implicitly. I trust them to make rational decisions, and I trust them to listen to me when they ask about this conversation, and I tell them that attacking you is incredibly irresponsible -- not that any of them were planning on doing that in the first place.

[ he pauses, and glances down at his cane, considering carefully what he wants to say before speaking. ]

I believe that Yang Xiao Long and Pyrrha Nikos are [ he can't use past tense with pyrrha, not yet ] huntresses of the highest caliber, and would not attack anyone so maliciously. But I also believe that you are in over your head. And I -- and I am sure you, too -- want the truth. From all sides.

[beacane]

[ ozpin pauses, then, before continuing, sounding even more weary. ]

Additionally, the student that was lost had a name. It was Penny Polendina.

[ ruby, surely, would take offense to simply calling her a robot, when she was more than that ]

[unhappy]

[ Well, he's right about one thing. Attacking her would be incredibly irresponsible. There's a reason she and Mercury were able to all but obliterate Team CFVY and it had everything to do with their skill on the battlefield. Ozpin couldn't defeat Cinder alone; but Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury could defeat Amber. Emerald didn't think she could handle Ozpin on her own, but she knew she could make his students see things that would do half the work for her.

Emerald took a deep breath, ignoring the acknowledgment of Penny as a person. She wasn't. She was a robot that Ironwood designed and input into a tournament that was supposed to be a celebration of cultures coming together, not a weapons showcase. Even if their side had done terrible things that far overshadowed it, Ironwood had already crossed the lines of what was okay and what wasn't. He jammed a soul into a robot with the face of a child and tried to spit in the faces of the hard work of all of those huntsmen and huntresses from the academies. Some people might say it would've been worse if there had been blood shed, if a real human had died, but what happened bred mistrust. A broken union between nations added far more fuel to the fire than a single person appearing to be brutal. Ironwood made what they'd done easy.

Emerald backed away from Ozpin, putting a few more feet between her and him. ]

The truth is this: the "Invincible Girl" panicked and attacked that robot because she would rather win a fight than take a hit. Blondie still chose to break the leg of a boy with no aura left instead of blocking what she thought to be an attack. Whatever anyone else did, that won't change. That's who they are.

[ She shakes her head. ] I have all the truth I need. If you don't know what happened at the tower, I don't have anything else to tell you.

[beacane]

[ skittish. nervous. not wanting to be near him. ozpin can't say he's used to such anxiety from students, given all of his seem completely comfortable around him, but emerald is different. she's also not one of his, and someone who clearly wants nothing to do with him..

a threat, perhaps. an interest, definitely. someone to keep ruby away from, absolutely.

he watches her for a long moment, his expression still tired, his eyes narrowing slightly at calling pryrrha the invincible girl. ]

Whatever choices you make in this city are your own, Emerald.

[ and he takes his own step backwards, resting his cane against the ground once more. ]

But my door remains open, should you have a change of heart. My students will leave you alone, but I trust that you will leave them alone, in return.

[ that much is not a suggestion. ]

[unhappy]

[ The step back makes her feel slightly less like she's about to need to make a run for it. She shakes her head, deciding to at least tell him one thing. ]

I'm sorry for Vale.

[ There's some guilt in her expression that she's not doing quite well enough to hide, but she swallows and looks directly at him. ]

I know who the only person to ever actually help or believe in me is. Don't make promises you can't keep, Ozpin.

[ But she doesn't say anything about that open door. There's a pit in her stomach now, weighing down even more than before. It's not like she wants to be on their side, but if Cinder comes here and asks her to do something that ends up like Vale again, she's not sure if she can force herself to get used to that. ]

Are we done talking? I need to find a place to stay tonight.

[beacane]

[ "sorry for vale." as if that would change the death tally. but ozpin catches that look of guilt, that hesitation -- and he listens, quietly, as emerald continues. but when emerald asks if they're done talking, he arches his eyebrows, and, to his own surprise, ozpin allows a short laugh -- quiet, more of a huff, an exhale, but still a laugh. ]

I'm hardly forcing you to stay. You may leave whenever you want.

[ and ozpin gestures toward the road ahead ]

And thank you, for taking the time to speak with me. Be safe.

[ with a slight tilt of his head ]

You never know who might turn up.

[unhappy]

[ If Ozpin's people aren't going to attack her, unless they find out that she even apologized for what happened she won't have to worry about that. Emerald gives him a look like she's not really sure what to make of him, then decides skedaddling is her best option.

And making her best effort to make sure that she can't be followed. No matter what she's thinking, if she's not back she's going to get an earful from Torchwick. ]