Cinder Meets Salem

Cinder had a frown on her face as she was seated in a chair waiting for the Huntsman to come back. She's been here for about a half hour with still no answer or permission to go back to her rented apartment. She wished they would hurry up since she didn't want to be here anymore than she needed to be, and she still needed to call her father and reassure him that she was fine.

'This is taking longer than normal, it's just a simple report of a young woman trying to stop a firebombing nothing more. Then again, when it comes to paperwork, it can take up a matter to hours which is foolish for something that's so simple to be this complicated.' She thought while pressing her fingers to brow in annoyance.

Taking her mind off it, she decided to look around the station. Not much going on, there weren't that many officers in the building and there was only a select few still in the station. Other than the occasional chatter there was nothing that caught her attention, at least until she spotted her.

Her eyes gazing over to the corner of the room, standing there was about a girl her age with her arms crossed. What caught Cinder's attention was the mint-colored hair that girl had and her red eyes that shined like a gem.

The expression on her face looked like she was bored, wanting to be anywhere rather than here at the station. Cinder then noticed the girl's eyes slowly opened and her head peered upwards, staring right at back at her.

She quickly looked away pretending to look at something else. The mint-haired teen stared at her for a few more moments before letting out a sigh and then walked away from the area.

Cinder slowly looked back over to the area where she saw the girl only to find that she left and let out a sigh. She didn't mean to stare but the sight of her hair color was very intriguing. It's not every day where one would see a mint-hair color. Then again, she never really was a social person.

'Maybe next time instead of just staring at someone, just take a quick peek and move on.' She thought as she scolded herself. At the same time, Hazel had just arrived back from where he came from.

"Little one." He called out, earning her attention as she gazed up at him. "I apologize for making you wait, had a small inconvenience to deal with."

"It's fine." She waved off, not wanting to show him that she was really annoyed and wanted to leave. "Am I free to go?"

"Actually…" Hazel started causing her to frown. "…. there is someone that would like to speak to you. They say you are familiar with them."

Cinder raised an eyebrow at this, there were only a small circle of people who knew about her and that circle is very small.

"May I ask who this individual is?"

"They rather meet you in person."

"Fine. Just take me to them." She relented.

Hazel simply nodded his head, not at fazed by her irritation.

"Right this way." He signaled as the younger woman sat up and followed the man. The direction led them out of the main room and up the stairs to the second floor. Heading down the hall, Cinder couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about this meeting.

Who else could've known about her? Is this because of what she did for attempt to stop a crime? It's not like anyone else was around to do it.

Or was it about her investigation on Spider, sure she's been a bit relentless in her pursuit of them but everything about them has been dark, not giving her any leads.

Or was it about….

Cinder shivered as that last suggestion that came to her head. She hated it as it would remind her of memories, memories that she wished she could forget. But you know what they say… the past never forgets.

"We're here." Hazel's voice brought her out of those dark thoughts, they were now standing in front of an oak door. The tall man opened the door for her. "They're right inside."

Cinder nodded her head and walked into the room, Hazel had closed the door afterwards and then stood in front of the door with his arms crossed and closed his eyes. Like a guardian, he was ready to keep people from interrupting the conversation.

Once the young woman entered the room, she immediately noticed that the lights were off and the that only source of brightness was coming from the windows with the moon shining through the glass. That was also the moment Cinder noticed the other person.

Standing in front of the window, was a woman with fair skin donning a white two-piece dress consisting of a sleeveless diagonally overlapping white backless pleated top with a raised pale blue halter-top collar adorned with a rhombus shaped crystal on the clavicle surrounded by two smaller ones. Her long, high-waisted skirt was white with a faint purple tint; adorned with white diamond emblems and white wavy lines near the bottom hem which was ruffled around her waist and completed with a purple sash.

She also donned many accessories. She wore gray circular earrings, a pair of dull brown bracers, and a thin leather strip that holds the same crystal over the sash. Her long fingernails were painted pale lilac and faint purple heeled flats obscured by the skirt.

Cinder was in awe at the sight of the older woman before her, she looked like a goddess like the ones in the stories her father told her when she was younger.

"If you want, take a picture, it'll last longer." The older woman teased causing Cinder to let out a small yelp at being caught then shook her head. Gazing back at the woman, she cleared her throat before speaking.

"S-sorry." Cinder whispered.

"It's quite alright. You aren't the first girl to act like that and you won't be last. In fact, I'm sure you yourself has earn a few gazes as well from both genders." The woman complimented as Cinder looked away with a blush.

"R-right." Cinder mumbled as she not used to getting complimented. Only so by her father, so hearing from someone else feels different to her.

'This one is quite easy to tease.' The woman thought, her pale blue observing Cinder as she watched her sway back and forth, not knowing that to do.

"Anyways, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Salem Zahaira, Headmistress of Beacon Academy." Salem said giving the girl a small bow with her hands clasped below her.

Cinder was in slight shock that the said headmistress of one of the most prestigious schools was standing in front of her.

'I'm talking to the actual headmistress of the academy, the same school I'm going to!? W-why does she want to talk to me? What did I do to earn her attention!? Is it my activities with trying to find Spider? Did Dad tell her about my problems? What's going on!?'

Unlike most teenagers and new students that would be excited to be meeting the headmistress or headmaster of the school of their choosing, Cinder was filled with panic and alarm. Thinking of any reason she would be meeting with her.

Salem, however, was calm as she observed the black-haired teens' reaction. She knew that she was panicking and was thinking of different scenarios. She followed her eyes as she saw that Cinder was trying to find a way out.

Taking a gentle approach, Salem walked over to and gently put her hand on Cinder's back.

"Cinder." She said softly, bringing the girl out of her thoughts. Amber eyes filled with panic gazing into her own. "Breathe, go slowly, can you do that for me?"

Hearing her voice made Cinder feel safe, it sounded so soft and gentle like a calm breeze going through her body. Following her instructions, Cinder took deep slow breaths while counting from 1 to 60 in her head to calm her nerves.

"Are we good?"

"Yes, thank you and I apologize for my panic attack."

"No need to apologize, you were in a state of panic and my introduction seemed to make uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry. My name is Cinder, Cinder Fall but you already know that." The said girl introduced herself before looking at Salem with narrowed eyes. "How do you know that?"

"Your father, Rhodes had told me about you."

"You know my father?"

"Of course. Rhodes is a former student of mine and a colleague of Hazel, the man that brought you up here. Your father had told me about you applying for my school." Salem explained before picking up a tablet and showed it the screen towards Cinder, showing a video of the latter fighting off the Blood Fang. "Additionally, it's not every day where the police would get a report of a young heroine in the making."

Cinder let out a small groan at that word. While she wasn't looking to be a hero, she wasn't exactly like one either… more of a vigilante.

"My father, he didn't… tell you anything else?" Cinder asked as the blond woman shook her head.

"No, the only thing he told me was that there was something about you that you need to tell me. He didn't tell me directly, but I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was worried for you, and he also told me that it's something I need to know."

Cinder sighed as she pinched her upper brow in annoyance, knowing that her father was a bit protective of her. However, she knew that he was doing it out of concern for her and he had every right too. After all, it was her fault for what had happened that day.

"I…" She paused as she was trying to find the right words to say.

"How about we sit down for this?" Salem suggested as she gestured towards the couch by the windows. Cinder nodded her head and followed her, both taking a seat.

"Continue."

"My semblance, it isn't exactly normal."

"Normal?"

"I can produce intense heat from by body, in other words I can burn things but only if I touch them." Cinder explained, taking something out of her pocket and held it in front of the blonde woman, she was holding a small piece of rubble she picked up from her fight.

Showing her an example, Cinder then held her hands over the rock and activated her semblance to melt the mineral. With concentration, she then opened her hands and showed the rock completely melting before disintegrating into nothing but dust.

"Oh, that's quite an impressive semblance you have." Salem complimented.

"Yes, but it comes with… drawbacks." Cinder whispered with disdain as she vaporized the glass crystal into nothing. "…. It was exhaustion if I use it for too long, but now it's worse."

"How so?"

"I'm… still not sure how to explain it but… let's just say that… I don't use my semblance as much as I want. Not since my outburst."

"Outburst?"

"It was one time but when I was younger, I had an outburst of my semblance. It was right after I started living under my dad's care. I was having a nightmare and reliving something…. and was back there… with them." Cinder whispered as she raised a hand to her neck and slowly rubbed it, almost as if she was trying to feel something there.

"The last thing I remembered was waking up outside, far from our house where it was on fire and my dad, he…" Cinder paused as she remembered the incident from that day. The day she had almost became orphan once more.

"Ever since then, I've been avoiding it. My father has been helping me train it but I don't really use it, I only do if it's necessary because… I'm afraid that the next time I use it, I'll do worse."

Salem stayed silent as she listened the girl's short story. She could tell that there was more to her semblance then the young girl was willing to say.

'It seems this incident has traumatized her and stopped her from using her semblance out of fear. From what it sounds like, she has little control over it but I can tell just by looking at her that she doesn't seem the type to slack off. Still, I won't know for sure until the Initiation.'

As a headmistress, the safety of her students comes first and she knew that she could not let her in if it was something dangerous, however it's also her job as a headmistress to help guide her students.

"I see. Cinder, do you believe you are dangerous?"

"Yes… well… no…"

"Do you believe you will be dangerous others?"

"As long as I don't use it."

"Do you believe you are dangerous to yourself?"

"Yes, what's the point of this?"

"Cinder, just because your semblance is dangerous doesn't mean you're a dangerous person. A semblance is an extension of oneself, a unique aspect of their character related to them and them alone. The nature of one's semblance can also play a role in that."

"Well, I did unlock through the stress and that was because everything just reached a boiling point for me at one time and then the outburst came after that nightmare." Cinder said. "And now I just having a hard time keeping it in check."

"Then you just need help learning to control it. With the right kind of training, you may be able to reign in theses outbursts and get a better grasp on your semblance. " Salem stated in a calm manner.

'If it was only that easy, I don't want to use my semblance any further that I have to.'

"Refusing to use all of your abilities, you're only limiting yourself. You can't be any help to anybody if you're not using every tool at your disposal." Salem noted as Cinder flinched at her words, knowing that she was 100% right.

She could try and wing her way through school without using her ability, but she can only do so much. If she was being honest, she got through most of her fights with Spider through skill and quick thinking. There are going to be times where that will not be enough, and that's where her semblance comes in. Her semblance is another weapon in her arsenal, and if she's going to use it, she needs to train herself on it.

"I understand." Cinder sighed.

"Good." Salem then looked over to the time and saw that it was almost 10:00, which meant that it was time for her to let Cinder go since she is coming to her school and needed to prep herself for the Initiation.

"I believe I have taken a good amount of your time; you should get ready for tomorrow after all." Salem said as Cinder looked at her confused before realizing what the blonde woman meant and immediately stood up.

"Right, um… I should get going, Headmistress." Cinder said as Salem walked her to the door. "Thank you for this um… talk."

"Of course, get some sleep and be prepared for tomorrow. Have a good night." Salem said as Cinder gave her a bow and then walked out the room and down the steps to the first floor and left. Once she was out of earshot, Hazel let out a hum indicating that he wanted to speak.

"Speak your mind, Hazel."

"Do you believe, she's one of them?" Hazel asked, as Salem placed a hand on her chin.

"For now, it's nothing more than theory. And a theory is a one's own facts and ideas of what may or may not be. Yes, while I do think she could be one, I do not have enough evidence to support it." She stated.

"No proof?"

"No, we shall wait until the Initiation. Only then, will our questions be answered." Salem finished as both adults were left wondering if Cinder was a possibility candidate that was or have some relation to them.

Cinder sighed in exhaustion as she entered her apartment, closing the door behind and immediately collapsed face first onto her bed. She then groaned loudly though her voice muffled due to her face still covered by the bed sheets, it was clear to see that she was done with today.

From the failed info on Spider, to stopping a possible fire to getting saved by the huntsman and reporting to the police, to meeting the Headmistress Salem. Yeah, her day was very intriguing.

The black-haired girl turned her on her back and faced the ceiling, her eyes gazing at the blank colorless wall above her. She thought back to the Huntsman Hazel that she had encountered during her fight with the Blood Fang.

She will admit, she was quite surprised that she was able to meet a famous huntsman such as Hazel along with the fact that he knows about her. And Salem.

Cinder didn't think that she would meet her one on one or that she would also get advice from her. While she didn't want to use her semblance, Salem was right that she would only be hindering herself and her future teammates assuming she makes it through without an outburst. Still, if it meant getting better control and not endangering those around her ever again, then she'll do it.

"I will do what I have to get this under control." Cinder stated as she stared at the palm of her hand, before closing it and formed a fist. "I need to if I'm going to find her…." She trailed off and then let out a yawn indicating that it was time for bed.

"But that can wait, right now I need sleep." She said as she immediately changed into her pajamas and then hit the bed afterwards. Not even bothering to cover herself with a blanket and instead grabbed the pillow.

Going to sleep as she was hoping that tomorrow, not only would she pass the exam but also be one step closer to her goal.