saladlove | SLAD: Hot and Cold (Broken Lives, Brighter Hopes)

I wrote things....

The game was over. One wrong move and the world would find out, one wrong move and I would be dead. They closed in like a pack of hungry wolves, on a small little rabbit with no where to run, no where to hide. My heart raced, my fingers twitched, closer they came to the blades that may just save my life and ruin it all together. I gulped, my back pressed against a wall, the darkness shrouded their faces and the light glinted on their weapons, this was it…

Their laughter was broken, their voices fell silent, at the sound of a shovel smashing against a man's skull rang out through the alleyway. In slow motion the men turned. There he stood, shovel in hand, he stood tall over the men, a giant compared to me, his deep brown eyes gazed over each of the men's faces and stopped on mine. I pulled the hood over my green eyes as the alleyway got colder and I slumped back against the wall. Shouts erupted through the alleyway followed closely by the same smashing sound from before. The shouts died and footsteps followed. Slowly all returned to the quiet buzz of the city as the weight of my hood slowly lifted from my head, with a quick hand I pulled my hood back down and scowled at the figure, only for it to be softened by the same deep brown eyes. His hand was outstretched before him, a soft smile on his lips.

~o~

The game was over, finally. I was free, no more sitting around in a boring office, no more rules, no more rich stuck up snobs, no more high standards, no more banquets or board meetings, no more sister that had a stick up her butt; and most importantly, no more father. I could finally do as I wish, live the life I always wanted; yet even this lifestyle came with its own set of hardships, gangs roamed the streets, fighting was a must as evidenced by that day, about a year ago, just a normal girl on her way, not hurting anyone, though it was strange that she had a hood hiding most of her face. Anyways, she must have taken a wrong turn into an alleyway, that’s when I saw them, stalking her like a pack of wolves on a hunt, and I knew things would turn for the worse.

Its strange, all this time that I knew her, since that day and she had yet to take off that hood, though I didn’t question her about it; Its not like I’d told her I’m a Schnee, in line to inherit the biggest Dust monopoly out there; after my twin sister Weiss anyway. There was something about her that made me think she wouldn’t handle that too well… Schnees are known for their dislike--no, hatred--of the Faunus. It’s the blasted White Fang’s fault. I must admit, I too fall under that category; most, if not all are… however that’s my own personal vendetta. Having your family hunted down by terrorists will do that to you. Anyways, I’m trying to leave that where it belongs, in the past.

“Ratt? RATT!” A voice chimed mixed with the knocking coming from the front door. I sat up groggily, my back sore from sleeping on the couch, a slight cough escaping my lips. I walked sleepily to the door, the weight of staying up till 4am hanging on my shoulders and sitting clearly under my eyes. I opened the door and peered out of it, there stood a shortish figure, the hood of their black jacket pulled up, their face covered.

“Yes?” I said with a small smile, already knowing who it was.

“Ratta, you’re gonna be late to work again!” The figure giggled, looking up at him with her bright green eyes shining in the morning light, strands of her red auburn showing from under her hood.

“What about it? I was trying to sleep…” I yawned.
“Well you shouldn’t have stayed up till four am” She giggled knowingly. She was right.

“Anyways” I said biblically “I’ll be out soon”.

With a sigh I closed the door then moments later joined her outside, now dressed in uniform for the mines. Working in the mines was a hard job with little pay, however it was work and it would have to do. Luckily for me it was mostly shovel work. Using a shovel and all was something I was good at; it has aided me many a time in the past. Anyways, I watched curiously as she fiddled with a letter, something strange now a days. Her name was written in curvy black ink on the front saying: My Daughter, Alice.

No address was stated meaning it must of been hand delivered.

“Anyways…” I coughed, her attention quickly turning away from the letter.

“You’re still sick” She sighed.

“I’m still late” I added. “Anyway, why are you here?”

“I was around~” She answered in her obviously lying tone as I started to walk, she followed closely behind, a small skip in her step. a 30 minute walk later we were at the mine. I turned to say bye, yet she was already gone and with a sigh and a sickly cough, I started another long day at work.

~o~

I crumpled up the letter angrily. It was from my father… pleading me to reconsider. I wouldn’t follow in his footsteps even if it killed me. I watched with a sigh as my dear friend, who had saved me all that time ago, Ratta, left to go to work at the Dust mines. He worried me slightly; his eyes seemed tired, his shoulders slumped,his skin was pale--well, paler than usual anyway. Over the past few months it seemed to get worse and worse, however being as stubborn as he was he wouldn’t admit he felt like crap or go and seek help, so he left me watching worriedly. I sighed again, as much as I hated it, I would have to confront Ratta after he got back from work. And on a more annoying-- no, infuriating--note, my father wanted to meet up and as much as I wanted to ignore It, I couldn’t. It's a rare case with my father to see him not ‘working,’ being one of the higher ups in the White fang. I could refuse to join, but a meeting I can not.

I walked back to my apartment, pulling my hood over my eyes, keeping my head down. My front door was slightly ajar, he was there waiting… I opened the door slowly, chills running down my spine. Soft light drifted from the window, lighting up the empty living room. With another sigh, something I seemed to be doing a lot lately, I closed the door behind me and rested my back against it and slowly pulled my hood from my head revealing a pair of black cat ears, the left tipped with fur as white as snow. The silence of the room was deafening, not a scuffle or squeak, not even the sound of the neighbours shouting at each other as they always do. I looked around the room again, a soft growl formed in my throat as my eyes rested on the white mask on the dining table...

I slowly reached out for the mask, fingers trailing the red swirls of the mask, eyebrows knitted together increasingly forming a scowl. My hands twitched and I slowly reached to pull off my jacket as a presence grew behind me. With swift movements, I reached for my blade that was resting under my jacket on my back. The words Yami written in golden curvy writing on the blade. With a spin towards the presence, Yami changed, the handle growing longer, a trigger appearing and the blade opening to show a gun barrel. I took aim, finger twitching on the trigger… no one was there. The blinds had been closed stopping the light from the window, leaving the room in dim light. Moments later I felt the blade of Raito pressed against my throat. “I win” a rough voice chimed, Raito slowly slipping from my neck while I lowered Yami.

“Taking my own weapon, nice trick dad” I said sarcastically.

“No need to be snarky now” He placed Raito on the table with a soft thud, right next to the mask.

I turned to him. He was already sat in a chair across from me, his chin resting on his hand, that was propped up on the table. A white mask covered his dark green eyes, marking similar to the one on the table. I pulled out a chair and sat across from him, slouching slightly.
“And why are you here?” I asked, snapping slightly.

“Is it wrong for a father wanting to meet his daughter? I was in town, got a job at the mines” He smirked as my whole body tensed. Ratta…

“Is that it?” I asked, hardly keeping my cool.

“Well one last thing” He said, standing up. “The offer is still open dear, you could even join us on the job” He walked around and tapped the mask. I sat in silence. How would I ever get in the mines to stop him… ? Unless…

I hated the mask… but it was the only thing concealing my identity, both from the miners who stood at gunpoint and him.... though I could feel his eyes drill into my back. Shouting erupted behind me, I spinned at the last moment the see a tallish man donning a white mask, shovel in hand, towering over a crumpled figure on the floor… my world shattered. I sprinted to an alcove, just out of sight from the rest and ripped off my mask and the white jacket the bore the White Fang’s symbol. I pulled my familiar black jacket from my bag and a small black mask. I pulled the jacket on quickly, bringing the hood over my ears, wrapping my tail around my waist and zipping the jacket up. More shouts erupted from the cavern as I positioned the black mask over my eyes.

I studied the room, the miners lined the wall, five White Fang, guns pointed at them. The tallish Faunus with the shovel in hand stood over the crumpled figure… Ratta… My father was no where to be seen. I stood there unnoticed. I extended Yami and Raito, the click drawing all the White Fang’s attention. I took stance, Yami in front, Raito behind and took a deep breath. They drew close, guns pointed. “Who are you?” One of the guards grumbled. I smirked, I never really thought they would fall for a simple disguise.

“Me?” I questioned. “I’m the one whos gonna put a stop to this” The men tensed.

~o~

I groggily sat up, dust caked in my black hair. My head thumped, it felt as if I had taken a bullet to the head. I looked around the cavern, there stood three men bearing the White Fang mark, two were on the floor, unmoving and one was stuck against the wall, Ice pinning him to it. My vision was fuzzy. A hooded figure stood in the middle of the group, their weapon was raised. The man that had hit me rushed at the figure, they turned swiftly pointing one of the double sided Naginatas at the man; a gun shot rang out. The man flew back, hitting the wall beside me, he slumped forward. The other two White Fang ran with their tails between their legs. The figure stood, using one of the Naginatas to prop themselves up. The miners cheered out. The figure turned to me, green eyes shining, The smallish figure smiled and lifted the mask, pushing it onto her forehead while wiping the sweat away. She sighed as her hood slipped down…

...To reveal a pair of black ears, the left one tipped with fur as white as snow...

Thanks to Shawn for co-writing and beta-ing