If I had to describe my house in one sentence, I'd say it's a cozy little cottage in the woods, small, quiet, and supposedly built by my dad's old team, STRQ. I wasn't born back then, so I can't say for sure if that's true or just another one of Yang's dramatic stories.
With that thought, most of my earlier excitement started to fade. Gaining my Semblance was, of course, amazing and awesome, but I had more important things to do right now, like finding that hidden cookie stash or checking if anyone was actually home.
Opening the door, I called out, "I'm home!" and waited a few seconds. When no answer came, I sighed and came to the obvious conclusion: nobody was home.
So, naturally, I did the only logical thing in this situation, I went to find the cookie stash Yang hid from me yesterday.
After about half an hour of searching, I finally found it. Turns out it was sitting right on top of the kitchen shelves, the one place I didn't check because it was too obvious. In hindsight, I really should've started there instead of wasting time on that totally unnecessary "attic exploration mission."
After claiming my victory, and eating more than a few cookies, I decided it was time to experiment with my Semblance. I wanted to know just how fast I could go.
First, I tried to remember how long it took me to get home earlier, about ten minutes, give or take. I couldn't calculate the exact speed, but judging by the distance and time... yeah, that was definitely faster than sound.
Probably.
Still buzzing with energy, I decided I couldn't just sit around thinking about my Semblance, I had to use it.
I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "Let's see... hmm... aha! Step one, see how fast I can run from the kitchen to the front door."
Easy, right?
I took a deep breath, focused, and in an instant, the world blurred again. The wind rushed past my face, and the next thing I knew, I was standing outside.
"Oh my gosh, it worked!" I cheered, right before realizing I'd accidentally slammed the door so hard it came off one of its hinges.
"...Oops."
Maybe I should test somewhere with fewer breakable objects.
So I headed out into the woods behind the house. The air was crisp, the leaves rustled softly, and for a moment I just stood there, letting the excitement settle into focus.
"All right, Petal Burst," I whispered. "Let's see what you can really do."
And then I was gone, streaking through the trees, petals swirling around me like a tiny storm. Every movement felt effortless, every step light as air. I zipped between branches and darted over roots, laughing in pure excitement. I had never felt so free in my life.
Then, before I knew it, I was running straight toward a tree.
"Ahhhh!" I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut and bracing for impact, but... nothing.
When I opened them again, I was standing behind the tree.
"What the-?" I blinked, looking around in disbelief. "Did I just...? No way."
Dumbfounded, I turned back to stare at the tree. That's when it hit me, I hadn't just moved fast. I'd phased right through that tree.
"Okay! Okay, note to self," I panted between laughs. "Steering needs work, and apparently, there's a lot more to this Semblance than I thought."
Despite the adrenaline still rushing through me and my heart pounding in my chest, I couldn't stop smiling. This was my Semblance, my truest expression of self. After all the waiting, the training, the frustration, it had finally happened.
All that effort had finally paid off. It was real. I had finally awakened it.
An indescribable wave of emotion surged through me, pride, joy, disbelief, all tangled together until I could barely breathe. Even so, I forced myself to stand, brushing leaves from my cloak and trying to calm down.
That's when I heard it, faint, but sharp.
Pop.
(1/14 = https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4497-( this SCP is basically a mantle that has a lot of side effects but due to the high role all of the downsides disappear and Ruby's red cloak is basically enchanted to make her do things flawlessly or at least more smoothly especially for cooking it has supernatural effects for cooking.)
I froze.
"Another one?" I whispered. The last time I'd heard that sound, my Semblance had awakened.
I turned toward the source, but it didn't seem to come from anywhere. It wasn't in the woods, it was as if it were inside my head.
My pulse quickened. I looked around. Nothing had changed. The forest was still. Quiet. Peaceful.
But that sound, it didn't feel like nothing.
It felt wrong.
I glanced around again, my breath quickening. Suddenly, the woods didn't feel so welcoming anymore.
The shadows between the trees seemed darker, deeper, like a Grimm could leap out and attack me at any moment. The air felt heavy, thick, almost suffocating, like I was trying to breathe underwater. My chest tightened, each breath growing faster and shallower, and a cold chill ran down my spine as paranoia began to creep in.
"Okay," I muttered between shaky breaths, trying to steady myself. "Nope. We're done here."
Deciding the woods were getting way too creepy for my taste, I activated my Semblance and sped back toward home.
But as I moved, something felt off.
Each step, each motion, it all felt too smooth. Too practiced. Like I'd done these exact movements dozens of times before. My body flowed perfectly, almost automatically, guided by instincts I didn't remember having.
It was the strangest, most unsettling feeling I'd ever experienced.
Still, I couldn't afford to panic now. My fingers tightened around Crescent Rose, I hadn't even realized I was holding it. Forcing myself to breathe evenly, I slowed down, trying to keep calm before I accidentally attracted any Grimm to my location.
My thoughts were spiraling, looping through questions I couldn't answer. I shook my head, trying to ignore the unease gnawing at me. For now, I just needed to sit down, think, and maybe distract myself with something simple, like cocoa. And cookies. Definitely cookies.
Whatever was happening, I could figure it out later.
Seeing my house come into view was a massive relief. I rushed inside, slammed the door behind me, and headed straight for the kitchen. My nerves still refused to settle, so I focused on something I could control, making hot cocoa. That always helped me think.
As the milk warmed and I busied my hands, my thoughts started to spiral again.
I heard a pop, then my Semblance appeared. Another pop, and now, nothing. Was there a pattern? Was that sound part of my power, or was something else causing it?
I frowned, lost in thought. Maybe the pops were connected to my Semblance somehow, or maybe my Semblance was causing them.
Before I could puzzle it out, something new hit me, the smell of sugar and chocolate.
Blinking, I looked down.
Somehow, without realizing it, I'd made an entire cake, two cupcakes, and a tray of cookies.
And I hadn't even been near the oven, let alone touched it.
They smelled amazing.
I just stared at them, completely dumbfounded.
"Okay," I said slowly. "Either I'm secretly a baking prodigy, or something really weird is going on."