Roots

— Jaune Arc

***Roots*** is the sixth chapter of *RWBY: Witch Hunt*.

## Plot

Cinder slowly woke up from her slumber. She cracked her neck gently, and looked around. Her vision was a bit hazy from only just waking up, but it didn't take her long to realize she wasn't where she had fallen asleep. She was in a small room that was simultaneously well furbished and ragged. Looking around, she saw her two swords resting on the small dresser beside the bed. Well, they were only her swords because she stole them on her way to Mistral. Cinder stood up, straightening out her short, red dress, careful around the yellow details, which were actually Dust woven into the fabric.

Sliding her swords into their sheathes, Cinder was suddenly startled by a loud thud outside the room, followed by additional commotion. With one hand ready to pull a sword if need be, Cinder carefully cracked open the door. She peered down the hallway, and though she could hear the commotion, she couldn't see the source. Following the noise cautiously, Cinder rounded a corner, and found the noise was numerous people in a bar fight.

...A bar? A tavern, rather. She wasn't even properly a legal adult yet, much less age appropriate to be in a place like this. With everyone distracted by the fight, Cinder managed to scoot along the side of the room to get out of whatever this place was. ...Wherever this place was. She still hadn't figured that part out. Stepping out of the tavern and into the street, she turned back to see the sign on the building read 'The Skillful'.

She sighed, a mix of aggravation from her confusion, and relief from at least now knowing where she is. Within the two years since her return to Mother Gutthuida's Orphanage, Cinder had become well read about Mistral and its territories. Because of that, she knew The Skillful was the tavern in the Central Strip of Kuchinashi, a city to the south of Mistral. At least now she knew where she was. But there was still the question of why she was there to begin with.

She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be in Mistral. The night before, she had fallen asleep with the excitement of today's initiation into Haven Academy. And now she was in an entirely different city. Had she just dreamed about getting to Mistral? No, she couldn't have. She had been in Mistral for a few weeks by this point. She had to take the exam to be accepted into Haven, and she had gone to sleep in Haven the night before. Had they sent her to Kuchinashi since they have a combat school? She wasn't exactly trained in any official sense, but she certainly was trained professionally. But if she had to go to a preliminary school, certainly she would've just been told that? The current situation felt almost like a kidnapping.

Cinder looked up to the sky. Damn, overcast, maybe on the verge of rain. Using the sun's direction wasn't gonna help. Still, though, if she picked a direction and walked, she'd eventually get out of the city. She might run into Kuchinashi's criminal populous, but she wasn't particularly worried about that. She had taken on numerous Grimm on her way to Mistral, many as dangerous as the people in this city. Though, she didn't have much of a choice in that regard. It was either face the Grimm on the way to Mistral, or stick around to be apprehended. Again. If she had a Lien card for every time she'd burned down a previous place of residence out of anger, she'd have two Lien cards. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Anima's large wilderness was a double edged sword. On one hand, it meant burning down the orphanage wouldn't be seen immediately, though patrols would've come around to see the smoke eventually. On the other hand, it made traveling a dangerous endeavor.

Cinder decided not to waste more time, immediately taking a few steps down the street. Though, she was cut short.

"Hey, girlie."

Cinder stopped, and with an annoyed look, turned to the source of the gravelly voice. A man, at least semi-drunk, stood at the opening of a nearby alley. He must've been around ten years older than Cinder. His hair was shoulder-length and dirty blonde, and his ragged outfit was colored black and grey, aside from his worn red bandana around his neck.

"You seem a bit lost," the man laughed.

"And I take it you think you can help?" Cinder said with a skeptical tone.

He chuckled again, and stepped closer. His stench only further solidified the alcohol he had. "I'm pretty familiar with this city. Name's Shay."

Shay put his hand out, but Cinder took a step back, opting out of the handshake. "...Cinder."

Rolling his eyes with a disgruntled look, Shay pulled his hand back. "Where are you headed?"

"I need to get back to Mistral. If you're so familiar with this place, then I assume you can get me to the exit."

Cinder didn't actually trust Shay's expertise in this situation. Or really trust Shay at all, for that matter. But, it didn't seem like he actually was capable in a fight. And if he took her the wrong way, she'd just go the opposite direction and hope for the best.

"Mistral?" Shay's expression turned disappointed. "You sure you wanna head there? This place is... a lot more fun. If you know where to go."

"It's important."

"Fine, fine." Shay shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking down the street. "Come on."

It only took about an hour to reach the end of Kuchinashi. The two got a little ways down the path before Shay stopped, stretching his arms a bit as he spoke. "Alright. You keep heading down the path, a few forks in the road later, you should be on a straight path to Mistral."

"Got it." Cinder began walking away from Shay.

"...HEY!"

Cinder turned with a cock eyebrow to an annoyed Shay. Shay's expression turned to a creepy smile. "Don't you think I deserve some thanks for the help?"

"Er... Thanks?" Cinder said in an unsure and insincere tone.

"Oh, that won't do."

Shay got closer. He reached a hand out towards Cinder, but Cinder took hold of his wrist, and activated her Semblance, Scorching Caress, immediately burning his wrist, causing him to scream out in pain and pull his hand back. Cinder then pulled her swords out, readying herself.

"You... Bitch!" Shay pulled a small revolver out, pointing it at Cinder. "Didn't anyone ever tell you? Don't bring swords to a gun-"

Cinder took the advantage of Shay's disorientation and talking to get a hit in, slicing his gun right above his hand, then bashing him in the head with the butt of her other sword. Shay went sliding across the ground, only stopping as he hit against a tree. He groaned as he got up, then glared at Cinder. He took a running stance, then charged at her, only to fall to the ground unconscious, electricity crackling over his body. Cinder looked confused at first, but then saw the source. A young girl, the same age as Cinder, with red-orange hair. She had markings of the same color as her hair over her face, indicative of her Faunus trait as a red panda. She wore a hanfu-esque outfit, colored black, brown, and tan. Her eyes had flashed yellow with electricity before fading to brown. It didn't seem she used Lightning Dust to do that. Her Semblance maybe?

"You too, huh?"

It took Cinder a moment, but she realized she recognized the girl. Vaguely, anyway. This girl, whatever her name is, was one of her fellow students at Haven Academy, meant to be at the initiation today.

"Cinder, wasn't it?" She straightened her stance before walking around the unconscious Shay. "I'm Ruth Bear."

Even travelling at a brisk pace, taking minimal breaks only when necessary, it still took Ruth and Cinder over a day to get back to Mistral. It would have been faster if they had run into any available airships, but no such luck. Well, it didn't much matter, now. They were back in Mistral, and it was time to figure out what happened. The two took the elevator up the mountain, finding themelves back at Haven Academy not long after. In the courtyard of the academy, there was a small stage set up. Surrounding it were two groups of students. One group was smaller, and off to the side, comprised of first year students like Cinder and Ruth. The other group stood in front of the stage, facing it, and was much larger, being comprised of upper classmen. Opposite the other first-years a few more students, one of which motioned for Cinder and Ruth to come over to them.

"What's going on?" Cinder inquired as they reached the group.

"You'll find out" A student said.

An older lady dressed in blue, who Cinder recognized as Haven's Professor Picton, took note of Cinder and Ruth's arrival, typing something on her scroll soon after. It wasn't long until they realized what was happening. The impromptu trip to Kuchinashi didn't make them miss the initiation. It was the initiation. Which meant...

"For our next team," a man said at the microphone on the stage. This was Leonardo Lionheart, Haven's Headmaster. "Opal Matthews, Ruth Bear, Cinder Ella, and Drew Ought." The four students stepped forward in that order. "The four of you survived Kuchinachi, and the treacherous journey through Anima's wilderness back here. For the next four years, you shall be known as Team ORCD. Led by Opal Matthews."

The crowd gave their congratulations through applause. Cinder blinked. Led by Opal? Did that mean she was going to have to take orders from her for four years? Opal, a tanned girl with platinum blonde hair and a green outfit, had a confident smile on her face. Opposite, Cinder had a scowl aimed at her, which she then turned to Lionheart.

"Why should I have to take orders from her?!"

Cinder had forced her way to Lionheart's office as soon as she possibly could. She already wasn't happy about having to be on a team, but to have to take orders?

"Miss Ella," Lionheart responded, sitting at his desk. "Please. Try to be reasonable-"

"*Reasonable?!*" Cinder interrupted. "You kidnapped us in our sleep and stranded us across the kingdom!"

"And you survived. Our initiation strives to warn our students of the dangers of not just Mistral and it's unfortunate criminal underbelly, but the dangers of the entire world."

Cinder's fist clenched. She already knew the dangers of the world. Many considered the Grimm the dangerous ones. Cinder, however, considered people, humans and Faunus alike, to have more potential. Especially people like those she had to deal with in her past.

"I am not here to take orders! Especially not from some-"

"Some what?" Lionheart cocked an eyebrow, a skeptical look across his face. "From what I can tell, you barely know the girl. You've hardly any grounds to determine if she's a proper leader for your team."

"You seemed to quickly make her leader. I doubt you know much more than I do."

"And that's where you're wrong, Cinder. Opal excelled at the Huntsmen exam, and I kept tabs on every student involved in the initiation over the past two days. When I look at Opal, I see the potential of a great leader. Perhaps even someone with the potential to take over one of the Huntsmen academies one day. But when i look at you?"

Cinder's eyes narrowed. Lionheart took notice, but stood his ground.

"I see a pouting child, throwing a temper tantrum because she didn't get her way. That's no way for Huntsmen and Huntresses to act."

Cinder let out a slight growl of aggravation, then turned away, crossing her arms. It was unclear if she was pondering Lionheart's words, or simply containing her anger.

Sighing, Lionheart stood, clasping his hands behind his back. "Cinder. What do you hope to gain from this academy?"

"What?" Cinder asked, turning back to Lionheart.

"Obviously, you're going to become a licensed Huntress come the end of these four years, should everything work out. But not everyone seeks that out for the same reason. Money, power, fame, or even just the sense that it's the right thing to do. What is it that *you* want?"

Cinder faltered. Truth be told, all she had thought about till this point was the freedom that comes with such a title. Go wherever she wanted, do whatever she wanted. But such an answer might seem trivial, and maybe even childish to someone else. She hadn't given much thought beyond that. Where would she want to go? What would she want to do? The thought was almost becoming overwhelming.

"...Well." Lionheart broke the silence. "I suppose you'll have quite a while to think about it, won't you? I'd at least like you to think about it. And perhaps you'll come up with some form of answer before the end of your tenure here at Haven Academy."

Cinder kept a stern frown for a moment, but softened her expression as she sighed. "Okay."

"Go on, now. The rest of Team ORCD awaits."

Cinder nodded and took her leave. As the door to his office closed, Lionheart let out a sigh of relief, then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"...Ozpin's much better at this than I am. Suppose it comes with the experience..."

## Characters

* Cinder Fall
* Shay D. Mann
* Ruth Bear
* Professor Picton
* Leonardo Lionheart
* Opal Matthews
* Drew Ought

## Trivia

* The chapter was originally going to spend more time at Mother Gutthuida's orphanage. However, I couldn't really think of much of anything to flesh out that part of the story, so I opted to summarize instead. This was the original reason for the chapter's name. Once the chapter's story change, with the title remaining the same, the title then refers to Cinder using her roots of training and abuse to survive. It also calls back to her original motive to become a Huntress.
* Mother Gutthuida is a nod to Mother Gothel from *Tangled*, also referred to as Dame Gothel in the Brothers Grimm version of the story. "Gutthuida" is the origin of "Goth," bringing to mind monochromatic colors. Using Mother Gothel as an allusion further ties Cinder to Salem, as one of Salem's two allusions is Rapunzel, alongside the Wicked Witch of the West.
* Cinder's last name in this chapter is said to be "Ella" rather than "Fall." "Ella" can be interpreted to mean "feminine," bringing to mind pinks. The use of this last name ties to Cinder's allusion, Cinderella.
* "Ruth" comes from "rue," meaning regret or grief, bringing to mind black. "Bear" could bring to mind black, white, or brown, depending on the bear in question. Ironically, Ruth is a Red Panda Faunus, which is not a bear, but a cat. Her name is also a corruption of "Root Beer" which is brown in color.
* "Picton" is a shade of blue.
* "Opal" is a multicolored mineraloid. The origin of "Matthew" comes from "Gift of God," bringing to mind whites and golds.
* Drew Ought's name is a corruption of "drought," bringing to mind the light brown of dry dirt void of water and life.
* Team ORCD is pronounced "Orchid."
* As of this chapter, Cinder is given some form of parallel with all members of Team RWBY:
	+ Like Ruby, Cinder was professionally trained from a young age at least up until the age of 15. Come the Fall of Beacon, both are capable of using some form of magic.
	+ Like Weiss, Cinder grew up in an abusive Atlesian home ran by a wealthy individual. The two also took issue with not being the leaders of their respective teams.
	+ Like Blake, Cinder took to the Huntsmen Academies after escaping an abusive situation. Additionally, both killed their abusers, but Blake did so much later.
	+ Like Yang, Cinder is displayed as having a fiery attitude with a short temper. They also both run into Shay and kick his ass instead of taking shit from him.
* The Skillful is an actual tavern location within Kuchinachi in the canon *RWBY* lore. It is explored during *RWBY: Grimm Campaign*.