Die

Summer sighed as she looked out the window, watching as apartments and suburbs gave way to large manors and high-security stores. The past few hours had been a little rough, what with Persia taking her to get new clothes. She was not used to this level of attention, but the woman had the good sense to keep conversation to a minimum. Plus, they’d at least gone to the thrift shop she frequented due to the kind people.     But now…     The car stopped and Summer took in a breath, flipping her hood up, shoulders hunched as she followed Persia inside the store. It bisected into a clothing shop and what resembled a forge. She’d never stepped foot inside a Hunter shop, so the juxtaposition was beyond strange. It was even stranger with the outfit displays. Everything from more mundane, practical pants and shirts to highly impractical skirts with excessive frills. Even heels. Heels ! How did anybody fight in those damn lady stilts?!     With a snort, she turned her attention from the bizarre clothing section and back to Persia. She spoke with a woman in hushed tones who nodded every so often before they both approached. “Summer, this is Scarlet. She’s one of the best Hunter tailors I’ve met. She’ll help you get set up with your outfit.” Persia smiled and Summer wrinkled her nose. Why did Hunters have such outrageous outfits? It didn’t make any sense to her. Pants and shirts sufficed just fine! The world she was entering made no sense, but she’d just have to grin and bear it. Maybe she could pick up some non-Hunter skills at Beacon and not have to enter this bizarre world after graduation…     She glanced at Persia, then Scarlet who smiled. “Don’t worry, Miss Rose; Headmaster Ozpin called ahead of time and told us someone with a unique Semblance was coming in. Then Persia told me what it was.” Well, it certain explained why the shop was empty when it like shouldn’t have been. But she nodded and took in a deep breath as Scarlet withdrew a notebook.     “How would you describe your personality?” Summer looked down as she thought. It was difficult for her to quantify exactly as she hadn’t interacted with people very much. That was how most people figured things out, right? Well, if nothing else, she knew how she approached things, so that was a start.     “I don’t like conflict and tend to hide in the shadows. I hate drawing attention to myself. If I have to stand my ground, I will as a last resort. I grew up on the streets, so I see most things in the outfits here as excessive.” She winced as Scarlet blinked from her Semblance’s assault, but she nodded, scribbling in the small notebook. Summer could easily see the gears turning in her head and could only wonder what she was thinking. Could she really come up with an outfit from scratch from just four sentences? If she could, she’d be more than a little impressed.     After a few more moments of feverish writing, Scarlet put the notebook away and grabbed Summer’s hand, leading her to a raised platform surrounded by mirrors. “Could you remove your hoodie, please? It’ll be difficult to get the proper measurements with it on.” Summer felt the color leave her cheeks but capitulated, closing her eyes. She heard a soft intake of breath from Persia and she felt more blood drain away. She was well aware of just how skinny she was, hence the year-round hoodie.     Scarlet kept the session mercifully short and Summer hopped off the podium, pulling her hoodie back on. Persia led her over to the forge where an identical woman met them. Identical twins always creeped her out. Damn doppelgangers. Regardless, the woman smiled at her warmly. “I’m Cinnabar, but you can just call me Sina. I heard what you said to my sister, but I’ll need a little more information to get ideas for your weapon.” She scratched her cheek and Summer could tell she wasn’t too enthused about the endeavour. Making a weapon for someone that fought as only a last resort. Not the easiest task.     “What else do you want?” It was just far too open ended to be helpful for her.     “I guess your Semblance is a good place to start. Do you know how it works exactly?” Summer nodded and she could see the clear relief on Sina’s face.     “Well, you can already feel the passive effects of it, but the intentional ones are devastating. I can make people feel what I want them to with a word or music. I find music a lot easier to work with in that regard.” Despite everything, Summer had learned a great deal about music. She’d invested as much time as possible at the library learning about theory and studying different genres. It worked well with her Semblance since she could focus on the notes coming out of her mouth rather than worrying over everything else. She had far too many songs locked in her head with nasty effects to inflict on people. It ranged from sorrow to complete psyche destruction. She rarely used them, but when she did…     Sina nodded and cupped her chin, again allowing Summer to see the gears turning in her head. “It’ll be a huge rush job, but I think I have an idea I can get done in a week and a half.” Summer nodded, her throat tight. A Hunter-level weapon in a week and a half? It sounded impossible, but if Ozpin and Persia held the sisters in high regard, there had to be good reason.     “I was thinking a lyre as the base form, but you can shift it over to a sniper rifle for range with a half staff that can fold out into a short spear for melee.” Summer’s eyebrows shot up as she buried her hands in her hoodie pocket. All of that just from hearing her talk about herself? Well, it sounded like it’d be a pretty good fit for her. It’d even let her use it outside of combat for singing. But she nodded and Sina smiled, offering a bow before heading to the forge.     Scarlet approached again, buried in an armload of dark, mottled fabric. The greens and greys almost consumed her and Summer smiled a bit. Yes, that fit her perfectly. Scarlet flashed a return smile as she dropped the materials on the nearby counter. “Well, good to see you approve of my idea. Do you have a preference for urban or wild?”     “I’m used to urban environments, but I’ll be going into the wilds a bit in Beacon. So… Could you make them reversible?” She knew it was strange, but it made sense. Coming from an urban environment to wilderness would be important if, by some unlikely chance, she did become a Huntress by choice. It might even be needed if she took on missions in the upper years. There was no real telling what Beacon would throw at her…     Scarlet just nodded, letting out a faint hum of affirmation. “Feel free to look around the displays to see if there’s anything you’d like added. Nothing but simple pants, shirts, and a coat or two here.” Summer just breathed a sigh of relief. She could imagine wearing one of those damnable ‘combat skirts.’ She knew and cared fuckall about clothing especially extravagant stuff like this. She just didn’t understand the need for such showmanship. Hunters provided a necessary service for the kingdoms; they didn’t belong to a circus.     She stopped at a corner, though, seeing a sample cloak resting on it. Somehow, dust speckled the white fabric, the mannequin itself tucked behind another one. It looked long forgotten and she couldn’t help but pull it off the display. The weight felt just right in her hands and she could couldn’t stop herself from smiling a little. Mottled grey camouflage lined the inside. She couldn’t help but clip it around her shoulders and laughed a little as the overlarge hood fell over her face. It was clearly made for someone at least three inches taller with the way it swept around her ankles, but it just felt right.     She headed back over to the counter and flipped the hood down, a warm smile on her face. “So you want to add a cloak? THey’re about fifteen years out of style due to being so restrictive on movement. I have to warn you of—”     “I want this one and I think I can survive.” The thing was overlarge, sure, but it would go a long way. It was a hell of a lot better than the hoodie with the the white being so visible and the hood so large. It’d act as a very clear marker if she was feeling chatty or not and it’d hide some of her movements. Plus, she could blind an opponent by flaring it up and out. It’d be risk to wear, but it just felt right .     Scarlet side eyed her but nodded. “If you’re certain… I can give an eight percent discount. Not sure how I missed it, but I did.” Summer just smiled and nodded as she flipped the hood back up. She was on the road to becoming a Huntress…even if she wasn’t terribly happy about it.