#cinder 1

Oz doesn’t wake up in his apartment that morning. Instead, his eyes squint open, head pounding as if he were experiencing the hangover his friend Qrow is prone to, to a room very much like the one he arrived in this city to begin with. He scans his surroundings carefully. There’s a TV screen, flickering in front of him. His cane is by his side, thank goodness, along with a remote with only a play button. As he pats down his chest to make sure Leo’s trinket is still there (it is) he notices something on his wrist, a bracelet?

But the most surprising and disturbing discovery is noticing the glass wall right next to him, through which his room is almost mirrored, except for one thing. The young woman waking up in that room is Cinder Fall, the person who fatally attacked Amber, who stole the Fall maiden’s powers, who he apparently fought, and who personally killed Pyrrha Nikos.

To say the Headmaster is startled is a vast understatement; he had no idea of Cinder even being in the city, but then again, he hadn’t noticed the White Fang until they paid him a personal visit. Keeping his eyes, now narrowed and angry, on her, he grasps for his cane without looking and hits the remote instead. The Video starts to play and he whips his head around as it relays its message and purpose:

“As everyone knows, the truly savvy keep their friends close and their enemies closer. Two bracelets have been distributed between you and one Cinder Fall. If you attempt to go outside of a 10 ft. radius from one another, the both of you will suffer debilitating electric shocks. If one of you tries to kill the other, the both of you will die. Survive 48 hours under these conditions.”

Oh, Oum... This was the scientist’s plan? He lean his head back against the wall that’s been supporting him and closes his eyes. How much did they even know about him and her? Enough to concoct something like this clearly, but the thought is still disturbing, almost as disturbing as the next 48 hours will be. 

He notices the doors far across from them open on either side, but makes no motion to move or leave. Instead, he grips his cane tight and watches his fellow ‘captive’ movements. This could be hell, or even be worse depending on how things play out and he certainly wasn’t going to start them both right off the bat with those shocks. So, he settles for silent observation, with some not- so-subtle subdued glowering, at least for now.