HA16

"You – You arrogant fool!" Cinder brought both hands forward, slamming force into him until he was dragged up off the floor and pinned against rock. "Do you think I can't kill you? Do you think I'm going to magically let my guard down so Roman's rat can stab me in the back? I wasn't born yesterday, and I can keep both of you down!"

"Yeah?" Jaune grimaced and worked one hand free. "Then what about this!?" Pushing off the wall with all his strength, he turned his back on her to shield his hand from the biting wind. The brief instant let him move freely and he hurled the object in his hand up into the air. "Fire in the hole!"

Cinder's eyes widened. One hand came up, drawing the wind with it and up toward the ceiling of the cavern.

The simple rock he'd thrown was blasted aside.

"Wha-?"

Cinder's localised hurricane whirled across the ceiling, collecting all the smoke from the fire that had risen there and blasting it about the cavern. It descended like a smog, whirling around the outside edges of the vault and rushing into the centre when it found the edges of the wind targeted at him and Neo, the difference in air pressure causing the smoke to rush in toward Cinder instead.

The storm cut off with a sudden cough and a hack as Cinder Fall, maiden or not, suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Summoning more wind to herself, she blasted the smoke aside, revealing Neo an inch away from her face, swinging her sword down.

The acrobatics that Cinder had to pull off mid-air were mindboggling, the woman twisting upside down and to the side, deflecting Neo's attack with the back of her arm even as she left herself open on her other side, where any competent opponent would strike.