She paced in a side corridor, licking non-existent- yet still dry- lips. She could feel every slight breath of air over her skin, hear every sound made within a hundred feet. Her veins pulsed and surged with the fire of blood long absent. The subtle warmth of the sun on skin that had withered and died ages ago, the slight chill as she walked under a vent, she could feel it all again, for the first time in centuries.

And everywhere the pungent, seductive whiff of the living and the sweet ambrosia they held.

She licked her lips again, recalling the taste, as she glanced at the clock. Ten more minutes until she was supposed to go.

She tugged at the cheap clothing she was , rough, made en masse by machines and beasts with no regard for craftsmanship. Necessary to present a scapegoat and conceal her nature.

She started pacing again. She was overflowing with energy, with impatience and wrath, brought forth by the blood. It was still too early. Sitting around would accomplish nothing.

She'd go for a walk. Burn off this energy, take in more of the sensations before the blood wore off and they were replaced by that burning, aching need.

Gods she needed a drink.

Something rich and plentiful.

/\/\/\/\/\

Nora sat at her desk, a blank sheet of paper in front of her and a set of homework instructions pulled up on her scroll. To any casual observer she would seem to be just another student, stuck at school while everyone else was in town partying.

In actuality, she was in what Ren called her 'defusal state'. Not that he ever actually said that, but he'd recognize the similarities to how she was when it came time to disassemble her bombs. So if he were the type to giver her moods cutesy names, which he wasn't, that's what he'd call it. Probably.

Either way, her attention was firmly locked on the doorway in the corner of her vision, where the edge of Jaune's laundry bin was just barely visible. Her part of the plan was simple.

When that edge disappeared from sight, she would blitz the hallway and cut loose with her lighter, probably-building-safe ordnance. Technically, she was supposed to herd the culprit into the waiting ambush, but really, as long as they caught the maybe-guy-maybe-girl she didn't think it would matter that much.

Her eye flicked back to the clock on her scroll as it chimed noon. Wait why did she- She flicked her eyes back to the door just in time to see the corner disappear.

Oh, that wouldn't do at all.

Half a second later she skidded into the hall, launching a spread of grenades as she caught her first glimpse of the intruder, fairly tall and garbed in a black hoodie and pants.

And a girl, surprisingly.

Damn, now she owed Ren twenty.

To her credit, the interloper didn't even flinch as the concussion rounds detonated in front of her. Instead she dropped the bin and drew a wickedly serrated dagger as she whirled to face the source of the assault.

Nora could tell something was off. Something about the face-area of the woman was weird, not quite right. In the back of her skull, a faint itch scratched at the most primitive portions of her mind, warning her that something was very wrong with the situation.

It was a moot point, as Nora was already airborne, leaping at the intruder as Magnhild thirsted for aura.

She was not entirely surprised when Magnhild's head tore through the figure, scattering the cheap disguise they wore. She was not surprised when they counterattacked, the vicious blade whipping through the air where her face had been moments before.

She would, however, later confess to a certain amount of shock when the figure dodged through the wall behind them.

/\/\/\/\/\

As she broke contact, she could almost feel her centuries-dead heart hammering a rapid fire beat.

Blood and dust, it had been ages since she last had a proper fight.

Stepping lightly, she dashed around the apprentice before phasing through the wall behind her. To the girl's credit, she sensed the attack before it came and just barely managed to evade, her eyes darting wildly to and fro as she tried to discern where the attack came from.

Idly, the spirit considered going easy on the poor girl. Mortals had a hard enough time around her kind after all.

She decided against it as the girl fired another spread of grenades down the corridor. Ineffective against her as they were, the after effects were still unpleasant. She darted through another wall and emerged a few rooms behind the apprentice. She slammed one of the doors shut before darting past the girl as she whirled to confront the source of the noise. To her credit, there was none of the random firing the spirit expected from a rookie.

She decided to hold back her next attack and watch the girl's reactions. Hunt for any weak point or misstep.

Let the fear build up.

The girl advanced warily down the corridor a few more paces, her eyes wide and flicking to and fro as they searched for any sign of the attacker. The girl threw a quick glance over her shoulder as one arm dropped from her weapon to fish out some small device or another.

It didn't matter, she'd left an opening.

The spirit surged towards the young girl, her blade cutting a vicious arc through the air. She twisted the blade slightly as she recalled the girl's identity, turning what would have been a fatal strike into one that didn't quite break through the girl's aura. Master Jaune might not want the girl killed after all.

Wait, there was something she was supposed to be doing, wasn't there?

She couldn't remember.

/\/\/\/\/\

Nora threw herself down the corridor even as she felt that thing's blade scrape across the aura on her back. Damn, that had been a heavy blow, and she doubted she could take another like it.

Her mind raced as she tucked into a roll, trying to avoid the inevitable follow-up.

The plan was shot to hell. It had been designed with the idea that the pseudo-thief was, you know, human. Or at least a faunus.

Not some sort of vicious, evil, ghostly thing that should not exist.

Hell with it, she needed help.

She darted down a side corridor as she came out of the roll, fishing out her scroll as she went. A few quick gestures, and she'd fired off a message to Jaune. Only a few characters, but he'd get it.

She dropped her scroll as she caught a faint hint of movement ahead, and she jumped back to avoid the thing's strike. It was getting a little easier now. She still, couldn't see it, but she could at least see how it moved.

Which made no sense at all, but she wasn't going to question it right now.

Darting back out into the main corridor, Nora sprinted for the far end. She wouldn't exactly have time to warn them properly, but Blake was a big girl. She could handle running headfirst into a vengeful spirit.

Right?

/\/\/\/\/\

It was annoyed now.

The thrill of the hunt had started to fade. Its quarry should have been more than satisfying. Agile, quick witted, and well armed. Yet something was holding her back. She couldn't kill the girl, not yet, but why…

She had orders. There was a plan. Yes, Master Jaune had told her… something.

It shadowed the girl's panicked flight down the corridor. No, wait, her pace was rushed and hurried, a product of fear, but she was clearly trying to make for a specific goal. She likely had help, which meant that it would have to…

She needed to...

It could barely think. The racing pulse of nonexistent blood through its veins recalled the taste of the real thing and drove coherent thought from the mind.

It needed to calm down. It needed another sip, enough to calm the nerves and let it think, let it plan. It had a purpose here, it had an objective but what?

The quarry ducked into a nearby room, and it pursued, darting through the wall to head her off.

She emerged in some sort of disused storage room, just in time to see the quarry dragging another back out into the hall. It attempted to follow, annoyed by the blatant and clumsy attempt at misdirection, only to be forced back by another spread of those damned bombs.

A growl tore from its throat. To hell with entertainment, it wanted to end this now.

/\/\/\/\

"Hey, Ren?"

"Hm?"

"Just got a text from Nora."

"Time to move?"

"...I have no idea. It's a… picture of a blanket with holes in it, chocolate fudge, and… some sort of screaming face?"

Ren frowned in thought as he leaned over Jaune's shoulder to look at the scroll. He nodded once, then stood, swapping out the magazines in his pistols for a different pair.

"Definitely trouble. Call her."