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

[unhappy]

[ She doesn't notice- not at first. But she has aura too- that sense from aura kicks in when there's somewhere watching you, and Emerald knows she can't lead whoever it is back to Everglade. It would be easy enough to just use her semblance and disappear, but she wants to know who it is.

Emerald ends up pulling some poor sap into an alley, looking like she's sweet talking him while reaching for her sickle slowly behind her back. She's willing to bet that'll draw whoever it is out unless they're someone who's not going to do anything anyway. ]

[fade_to_black]

[Blake's eyes narrow slightly as she watches the encounter take place below her. She tilts her head wondering what this is about, then her eye brows shoot up as she sees the girl reaching for her weapon.

A bystander just had to get dragged in at this moment. She feels a jolt of frustration at the possibility of giving her position away, but she can't just do nothing. Can she? Is it possible that Emerald is just going to threaten or rob the guy?

Yeah, because letting someone get mugged is okay. She's a little ashamed she thought that. Even so, she can't take the risk. This is one of Cinder's henchmen. She shouldn't put it past Emerald to be capable of murder.

She detaches Gambool Shroud from the magnet on her back unsheathing it and bringing the blade and hilt together as she slowly prepares to aim the built in striker pistol. She's just waiting for Emerald to try and drop that blow now, so she can shoot the weapon out of her hand.

If she's lucky, she may still get out of this unseen and if she's not lucky, she'll just have to cross that bridge.]

[unhappy]

[ Emerald was careful enough not to let some random guy know there was a murderer around town, even if there were definitely some people she was okay with murdering. All she needed was to put her hand back there, then she turned her semblance on. As far as the guy was concerned, she was still just talking to him. As far as Blake was concerned? She was putting her sickle up to some poor guy's throat as he cried for help.

If Blake actually tried to attack her, she'd probably get the guy in the face and Emerald wouldn't end up looking like the bad guy, so that was enough for her. The illusion she'd made for Blake made it look like she was tensing her muscles, about to rip the blade edge through the man's throat. Any second now and her apparent stalker would reveal herself.. ]

[fade_to_black]

[The faunus's eyes widened to their full extent. Emerald was really going to kill him.

Blake had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could probably make this shot, she'd made more challenging ones than that several times. But this poor dupe was likely some civilian that couldn't even fight. What if he got caught in the crossfire? What if he didn't know how to activate his aura? Did people even know what that was here? Suppressing a growl of frustration she stuck her weapon back onto her back. So much for stealth.

A silent shadow, she dropped down from the roof. If timed right she would land behind the girl and disarm her before she could slice this guy up.]

[unhappy]

[ It was timed well enough, but by the time Blake had her, she had her hands up. From the looks of things, her weapons never actually left their holster. ]

I guess that answers who was following me.

[ She waves one of the hands up to the guy in front of her, who looks completely confused at what's happening. ]

You should run. [ Blake's got her weapon out so the guy has zero problem accepting that. ] Attacking me when my weapons are down, Blake? I thought you were playing for the "good guys."

[ She's already told Ozpin what she did. It isn't like she needs to hide anymore. ]

[fade_to_black]

[For a moment Blake was truly stumped as she blinked, trying to get her brain to catch up with what it was seeing now instead of what it had thought it had seen. For that moment she froze as the guy ran away, Ermerald's words sinking in. She'd been an idiot and played right into the other girl's hands. There was no way her mind could make something that vivid up on its own. She knew what she had saw. Or thought she saw.

For a split second her eyes widened. Then,she gritted her teeth as certain holes in past events suddenly seemed to fill themselves in. Her amber eyes narrowed suspiciously as she looked the other over with no small amount of dislike.]

Yeah. Well, accidents happen when you're made to see something that's not really there.

[It was a hunch, but if she was right and a huge part of her dreaded that she was, then she had gotten in the path of a much more dangerous person than she'd thought.]

[unhappy]

[ Emerald used the time that Blake was stumped to move out of range, actually drawing her weapon now. The trouble with that sort of semblance was that it worked even after you knew what it was, so it wasn't as if Emerald couldn't use it again. But she wasn't. ]

I'm not here to fight, but I will defend myself.

[ The last thing she wanted was getting attacked in an alley when she didn't have a ton of allies here. Emerald looked Blake over. She definitely held herself a little differently than she used to when they were "friends." ]

I don't like feeling like someone's following me. I'm sure you know the feeling.

[ Adam seemed awfully interested in her, after all. ]

[fade_to_black]

[So now she was in a situation where she was not only found out but couldn't really be sure that what she was seeing was what she was seeing. Well, on the bright side it wasn't going to get much worse. Blake's hand tightened on her own weapon, not trusting Emerald a bit. She readied herself to use her own semblance....to protect herself from something that she probably wouldn't see coming...great.

But something flickered in Blake's eyes at that last sentence.]

What do you mean?

[She regretted that question almost the minute she asked it. If Emerald knew something about her, she had likely just confirmed it.

Oh you have no idea Emerald.]

[unhappy]

You know what I mean. He's not here, you don't have to skulk around stalking people on his side to find out. Just ask.

[ Looks like she's not even denying that much anymore. She's already figured out that there's very little chance of people believing somehow her entire team except for her was involved in this. ]

[fade_to_black]

[Blake draws a blank for a second. Of course she knows who Emerald means, but she's actually wrong. She wasn't looking for Adam. But she's more than happy to let the girl believe it. It's better than admitting that she was trying to find out where Cinder might be hiding. There may not be much she can do right now about that woman, but if there's a snake in the grass better you at least know where it is.

Beyond that? That she was still figuring out. She was angry and she was determined not to let anyone else get hurt, but she wasn't stupid. Cinder had destroyed Pyrrha, one of their best.

Furthermore, Emerald actually believes Adam is on their side? He hates humans. Blake never could figure out what the White Fang was doing with Cinder's group when the guy leading them would sooner stab people like Cinder than look at them. Maybe she had something on him. Assuming she knew Adam at all anymore these days.

But he always knew how to bide his time. That much she knew hadn't changed and had she ever been reminded the hard way.

Blake carefully covers her surprise. Well, even if it showed it could mean anything.]

No, I suppose if he was I would know it by now. [This is stated dryly. With so many of her friends here he wouldn't have been able to resist toying with her. Emerald probably is telling the truth. This time.] Though better safe than sorry.

I wasn't 'skulking'. I happened to see you and was curious. Thought I'd make sure you weren't going to assist in wiping out another city, killing hundreds of people. [No small amount of venom in that last statement. At least Blake doesn't have to fake that. She was definitely following Emerald for more than just that, but the 'good guys' can lie too.]

[unhappy]

[ She more meant that Adam was watching Blake, but eh. She'll take whatever understanding of that Blake took. She was being vague purposefully after all.

Emerald rolls her eyes and goes to pick up a bag she dropped before getting the guy's attention, holding it up. ]

Want to see what I was doing?

[ She tosses the bag to Blake's feet. It's a bag of sweaters, some cash. Stuff from the last time she was in Genessia. There's also a camera in there but she's very much using her semblance to make sure Blake can't see that. Just some stuff the hotel they'd acquired before had kept aside for them- mostly her stuff and the completely damning video tape that would screw her and Roman over a hundred thousand times if anyone saw it. ]

[fade_to_black]

[Blake instinctively raises her weapon. She wasn't expecting to have something tossed at her. She regards it carefully. After all with Emerald it could look harmless and be the opposite.]

You really think I'm stupid enough to trust my eyes around you now that I know what you can do? Revealing your semblance wasn't necessarily a smart move, Emerald. Before I might have just suspected. Now, I'm sure.

And speaking of that....[There's a positively dangerous look in Blake's eyes now.] What exactly happened with Yang? With Penny?

[Her voice is shaking with anger and it's hard to keep her body from doing the same. Hard not to lunge forward and punch the piss out of Emerald, no matter how risky it would be.]

[unhappy]

[ And people wonder why she latched onto the only person to ever see her semblance as something useful. Any person who knows it seems to have the same reaction, since it can't really be used against Grimm. It's no wonder she ended up on the streets. ]

I already told Ozpin and he said you all would leave me alone as long as I left you alone. Good to know he's a man of his word.

Yang saw what she said she did. She still decided to break his leg instead of just blocking a really straight-forward and simple kick without any firepower. Pyrrha saw a few extra weapons and decided she'd rather attack Penny with her semblance than lose a meaningless fight. I can't make anyone do anything they wouldn't on their own.

[ She rolls her eyes. ] If I really wanted to get away from you, I'd be gone. [ She's moving forward to pick up her bag. ] I wouldn't need a show of sweaters because I'm freezing.

1/2

[fade_to_black]

Ozpin had nothing to do with my coming here. As for leaving you alone, cry me a river. You got followed. That's nothing to what you put the people of Vale through. What you put my friends through. [Blake spat the words feeling her anger growing. But her shame was piling up too. If there was one thing that made her feel almost as bad as not being able to stop Adam from taking her arm, it was ever doubting her. Yang didn't lie. Blake, as her friend, should have known that. But she had gone not trusting people for long...]

2/2

[fade_to_black]

[Blake looks at the girl incredulously.] Yang reacted to something she had no time to prepare for! And Pyrrha would never have struck with that amount of force if she didn't see that equal amount of force coming her way! Is that a sick joke? You're really going to act like you didn't manipulate both of those situations?! You say you can't make anyone do anything and I suppose that much is true. But you know how neither of those scenarios ever would have happened, Emerald? You not putting crap into people's heads that was not there! Do you actually believe your own lies?! Is that what she tells you every time you screw up someone's life on her orders?

[Blake really is shaking now.She cannot believe that this girl is writing off the effects that her actions have had on others so easily. No wonder she was with Cinder. With the lack of a conscience, she fit right in. She didn't stop Emerald from getting her bag, but she didn't lower her weapon or her guard either.]

It'll be your turn one day you know. [Blake was saying it before she realized she was thinking it.]

[unhappy]

You know what, I'm going to go with "Ask Ozpin" as my answer. Again. Yell at me all you want, Blake. I'm not defending myself and I didn't have to give you or him answers. I shouldn't have.

[ And yet Emerald's taking one of those sweaters out of the bag and putting it over her shoulders, then swinging the bag over her shoulder and looking at Blake. ]

Just make sure you tell Ozpin I said "I told you so" when he asks what we talked about. He'll know what I'm talking about.

[fade_to_black]

I'm asking you. [Blake really was disgusted. Did this girl take responsibility for anything?]

If you're still around by then, sure why not? [Blake lifted her head, regarding Emerald with contempt and maybe something softer. Not pity. No, she doesn't want to pity someone who made both Yang and Pyrrha look like psychopaths.

She sheaths her own weapon and prepares to step back into the shadows.]

People like the ones you work with? The don't care about anybody. They just throw people away after they're done with them.

[unhappy]

[ Emerald moves closer to Blake, looking her dead in the eye and pointing at her. ]

We both know you're a traitor and no one gets away without paying for it. I did the best with what I had, and Cinder came and gave me everything. I would trust she and Mercury with my life. I owe everything to her. You're out here alone when I'd be willing to bet most of your classmates are huddled up trying to pretend there's safety in numbers. Why aren't you with them? What part of whatever reason you haven't been killed yet for what you did to Adam makes you think I want to follow your footsteps? Why would I? I can't stand any of you. You're so deluded and hopeful and just-- Just because I felt- [ She shakes her head and backs up again. ] It doesn't matter. I'm not a traitor.

1/2

[fade_to_black]

[There's a deadly kind of silence that falls over Blake as she moves in just as close, not faltering a bit as she looks into Emerald's eyes. Their faces could almost touch. Her gaze stays solemn and she doesn't flinch.]

Now who's deluded? You don't know a thing about Adam, Emerald. Whatever Cinder might have on him now to keep him cooperative won't last. He wants to see your kind burn. I didn't leave a life I was born into on a whim. A long time I even lived in denial that anything had changed. That Adam could change. [Blake swallows and clenches her fists.]

But I wasn't going to help them him rain violence down on innocent people anymore, human or faunus. And if I'm a traitor for that, so be it. He can punish me as long as he leaves my friends and other people that did nothing to him out of it.

2/2

[fade_to_black]

[She looks away when Emerald points out that she is, in fact, alone. A part of her is afraid to face them after running away. But it's nothing compared to her fear of what Adam will do to them just for being near her.]My reasons for being on my own right now are my own. I...can't be around them right now.

[And that's all the other girl is going to get on that. But Emerald's hesitation at the end doesn't go unnoticed either. She looks at her uncertainly.]

Just because you felt what?

[unhappy]

She has power. Before she got what she needed at Beacon, she had enough power to take out his entire camp. That's what she has on Adam. An offer that benefits both of us, that's all. I know he'd try to kill us if he actually could, but he can't. You do what you can for your cause, but you don't betray the people who gave you everything, Blake.

[ She rolls her eyes at Blake's admission. ] A word of advice: Not being around them is going to get you killed if the right people show up and Adam doesn't to protect you for his own plans.

[ A shake of the head and Emerald's looking around. It's probably time to go. ] It doesn't matter.

1

[fade_to_black]

[The dark haired girl's eyes show genuine shock. Of course, seeing what Cinder did to Beacon...if she had even a fraction of that power, then Adam would have to have done what he did to protect his people.

She clenches her fists. She's not White Fang anymore and never will be, but they are still Faunus no matter how Adam has brainwashed them. And the thought of that evil woman manipulating her people makes her furious.

Not that Adam was a saint before Cinder showed up, but it never made sense where he fit in with them.]

So she's just going to murder everyone that doesn't go along with her? [Blake is seething.]

2

[fade_to_black]

[She shook here head.] If I'd wanted to betray him, I'd have gone to the authorities. Instead, I stopped aiding a group who's cause had changed. It wasn't small changes, either. We were a peaceful group and the people who were in it wanted to be there. No one was ever meant to be trapped into it or too scared to leave because of what might happen to them. That's not loyalty. That's coercion and fear. It's no different than a cult. [She looks truly disgusted at what Adam had done to them.]

I know that. [Said flatly. She can care less about herself. She's training with Dante for a reason, but she knows if Adam shows up and comes after her now, she'll most likely die. But she can't let anyone else get caught in the crossfire again.]

If it doesn't matter, then why not say it?

[unhappy]

We asked nicely first to help them. On our knees, even. Then we asked nicely again and said it would either benefit both of us, or one of us. He could've said no. We didn't kill them. We offered them what they needed, they just took a little persuasion that we could give it to them. Adam chose to work with us because we had the power to actually make change.

[ Except it would've been very much not good for them. ]

Just because it doesn't matter doesn't make it your business.

[fade_to_black]

I don't believe you. [She might be in denial. She might be foolish to try to defend anything the current White Fang has done, but she knew Adam for years. He might be ruthless towards humans and people that he felt betrayed the cause. But...]

He's a lot of things. But selling out his people to some human because she has a little bit of power instead of obtaining it on his own terms is not his way. I wonder just what form of 'persuasion' Cinder used on him.

If it didn't matter you wouldn't care if I knew it. [Blake recognizes evasion too well for that, Emerald.She knows when someone's running away.]