An Ember In The Dark - 1: Bonding Time Pt. 1
Blake awoke slowly, the sound of birds and the sunlight streaming through her open window serving as her alarm clock. The feeling was pleasant, causing her to let out a content sigh while trying to sink deeper into the covers of her bed. Her head was empty, and she started to relax further, a feeling of warmth and comfort spreading throughout her body. That is, until she came to a realization:
This isn't my bed
And with that thought, all the nice and good feelings she was having went away. Once again, anxiety and dread filled her body, as it does every morning. Paranoid thoughts filled her mind as her hand shot up to the bow that lay atop her head, making sure her biggest secret is still hidden. She let herself feel a small spark of relief, as all worries of being caught flee her mind.
She opened one amber eye to peek down at her scroll, noting the early time. With another sigh, she sat up in her bed in order to observe her new team. While she couldn't see Yang, she could hear her snores, and knew she wouldn't be up until much later. Considering her usual sleeping habits, Blake had no idea how she managed to get up on time for classes. Weiss was the only one on her feet, making her bed with practiced precision. She couldn't see Ruby from her spot on the bottom bunk, but she could almost feel the air around her vibrate with pent up energy.
The feeling shifted as she watched a black and red bundle of joy bounce its way to the door of their room, put on a big smile, and take a deep breath. Blake rolled her eyes as she covered her ears, knowing what was coming next.
"TIME FOR BREAKFAST TEAM"
Blake heard Yang shift and groan from above her while she shared an annoyed look with Weiss. How that girl had so much energy this early in the morning, she had no idea. She remembered trying to tuck in late last night with her most recent book, re-reading sentences and paragraphs as she attempted to drown out the sounds of the younger girls scroll games. Eventually she gave up and tried to sleep, but it was well after midnight.
The Faunus stood from her bed, feeling it shake slightly as Yang landed beside her. One glance at her teammates face revealed two dark circles under her eyes, hair splayed in every direction with some of the messiest bedhead Blake had ever seen, and a face that screamed "Five more minutes." She watched the blonde shamble to Ruby, grab her in a headlock and started rubbing her fist hard through her sister's hair.
Ruby let out a small squeal as she was lifted off the ground, legs flailing wildly, silver eyes filled with a mixture of panic and joy. "Yaaaaang, what are you doing!"
"Trying to find the snooze button." Blake heard her now-awake teammate grumble, before dropping her sister, grabbing a towel, and throwing it over her shoulder. "First dibs on shower!"
Ruby shook out her hair once she was steady on her feet again, shot a playful grin towards her attacker, and bounced over to her other team members. "So what's the plan for after breakfast? Sparring? Hunting? Sparring AND Hunting?!"
With every word, Blake could see their leaders eyes light up further. By the end of her sentence her fists were balled up near her chest, vibrating with excitement.
Weiss tapped a finger to her lips and hummed. "I need to go into town today and pick up a few things, I guess-"
"TEAM SHOPPING BONDING TIME YAAAAY"
Blake winced at the sudden sound, as she felt the cold tendrils of anxiety once again fill her body. She didn't particularly want to go shopping, nor did she want to be out at all. In fact, curling up with a book in front of a fire sounded like a perfect way to spend her weekend. She started to speak up, but one more glance into her leader's eyes sapped her of all of her strength to say no. And along with her strength, the third sigh of the day left her body, this one dejected.
I can't avoid them forever. I'll need to get to know them eventually. Might as well be today… Though I can probably fit in some reading before we go.
And with that thought, she grabbed her book and turned to her bookmark, fully expecting to read through breakfast.
This is a lot harder than I thought it'd be…
It wasn't that she hadn't read in public places before. In fact, she liked to think she had a knack to tune out all noise and conversation so she could focus on her material. She had managed to get immersed in a number of places, including in the middle of White Fang rallies. She even managed to zone out both Ruby and Yang during their first night at Beacon. The problem this time, however, was the conversation was being directed at her.
She saw her teammate shoot her a glance over the top of her novel. "What'cha reading?"
"Books." She didn't want to sound cold, but she didn't exactly want to be talking either. Questions have been coming her way since they left their dorm, and she could feel the dull throb of a headache building. Questions about everything, including her past, which she wasn't inclined to share quite yet.
"Must be a reaaal interesting read if you're so into it you won't talk to us…"
"Mmm." Blake made the non-committal sound as she reached for another bite of toast. In actuality, she could focus so little she didn't even know if she was enjoying her book. It was almost an excuse, a place to look and something to do that didn't involve her team.
It wasn't like she didn't like her team members. Ruby was hyperactive, sure, but she could turn it off to get a job done. Weiss was a bit standoffish at first, but it was hard to argue with the results she gave, both on and off the battlefield. And Yang was…. Yang. Blake wasn't really sure what to think of her yet, but the love she showed for her sister was admirable.
No, her team was fine. But they were too naive, too innocent. With the way they acted, the faunus guessed they had to have lived sheltered lives, oblivious to the way the real world worked. They wanted to be heroes, they wanted to hunt monsters, and they wanted to save people. It was admirable…
Blake had wanted that too, once. But the harsh reality was that you couldn't save everyone. In order to save the majority, you had to take lives. You had to do things you didn't want to do. How else were you supposed to stop the bad guys? The world isn't black and white like her teammates believe.
"Ohhhhhh, I wonder what it's about. Murder mystery? Fantasy?"
"Mhmm." Once again disregarding the question, this time from her team leader. She tried to imagine the younger girl, scythe in hand, standing over an enemy that wasn't a grimm, face set in a hard expression... but with no success. In fact, had she even seen Ruby frown? That girl was always so happy.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Weiss giving her a sympathetic look. "She's obviously immersed, we should let her be for the time being."
Blake's thoughts turned to the girl trying to save her. While she appreciated the attempt, she knew it would do nothing to stop the sisters. Would Weiss be able to do the unthinkable? Possibly, if the situation called for it. But judging by her pale skin, leading her to believe she lived a sheltered life as royalty, Blake wasn't sure if she was even aware of what being a huntress really meant.
Then there was the last member of their group… Yang was a bit of a wildcard. Maybe, under the pressure and the want to protect those dear to her, she could do what was needed. She was loud, she was brash, and she loved to tease and prod. In a nutshell, the complete opposite of herself. How they were going to get along, she had no idea.
"Guys, don't be silly. For her to be that engrossed, it's probably something more 'mature'. Right, Blakey?" the aforementioned blond teased, with a sly grin.
"Mmm, yep" Another non-committal sound, as she turned the page. The table was oddly silent, which struck her as strange considering the company. She looked up to two mortified expressions and one victorious, her face turning red as she realized what she had just confirmed.
"Wait, I-"
"Wow Blake, Didn't know you were into that stuff. And in public too…"
Blake frantically looked at everyone but Yang, her tormenter, for support. Weiss's blush contrasted her skin hard, and Ruby's face all but matched her hood. Feeling the lack of support from her teammates, she turned back to Yang, trying to stammer out any kind of response.
The blonde smirked, stood up from their table and lightly punched Blake in the arm. "Let's get going, I need to hit a few stores. Make sure to bring your porn, I might want to borrow that later."
Yes, Yang was a wildcard. Normally Blake wouldn't take that from anyone else, but something about her teammate was different. She was friendly, she was reckless, and you didn't want to be on her bad side.
She reminded Blake of Adam. And that was a relationship she didn't want to repeat. She shook her head, trying to bury all the bad thoughts in the back of her mind. She stood up to follow her teammate, trying her hardest to ignore the blushes that still lingered on the faces of her team.
"Oooh, this one is cute!"
Weiss eyed Yang warily. "Since when were you so fashionable?"
Yang shot back a smirk. "Girls gotta know how to look good. I'm sure even someone as antisocial as our team librarian has a few outfits hidden away somewhere."
Blake ignored what felt like the thousandth jab in her direction with a roll of her eyes. They had been all over vale, some highlights including a dust shop, a bookstore (which was very nice), and a sweet shop, as requested by their leader. Weiss had dragged them into a clothing store, almost literally, as she was running on fumes.
Spending so much time in libraries, as well as being surrounded by… misguided faunus for the greater part of her childhood, left her social skills lacking. Already she felt tired from the constant energy radiating from her team, and keeping up was a struggle. The greater part of her stamina was spent avoiding conversation and the constant jabs, mostly from Yang. The more she tried to distance herself, the harder the blonde pushed, and the more her mind was filled with thoughts of Adam.
"...Blake, you okay? I know you don't like to talk, but even for you this is extreme." She looked down into two pools of silver, filled with concern, and she felt her leader grab her hand, which she immediately pulled away from.
"I'm fine." she snapped. Guilt immediately flooded her body after seeing the hurt in the younger girl's eyes, Ruby holding her hand as if it was burned. Blake scanned the rest of her team, their reactions ranging from surprised to livid.
Red eyes burned into her back as she found the source of the anger in the room. A Gloved hand found her shoulder, pulling her around to look Yang directly in the face.
"Apologize."
She wanted to look away. She wanted to sink into the ground, never to come out. She wanted to go back to the dorms, sink into her bed and shut herself off from the rest of the world. The eyes boring into her radiated an anger she hadn't seen from her teammate before. An anger fueled from passion, love and the need to protect. Under a gaze that strong, the only thing she could do was submit.
"...m' sorry…."
Yang didn't let up. "We're your teammates, like it or not. You better get used to being around us, Blake. You need to let us in."
Anger flared in her own chest. Her head span, and she could feel her face heating up. Her hands started to shake, so she balled them up into fists. She stomped her foot, trying to find some outlet for the rage she felt. It wasn't enough, so she opened her mouth instead.
"No, I don't need to. You don't know what I've been through. You don't know what happens to those who get close to me. You don't know about my past. How dare you assume what I'm feeling, and what I need to do. You aren't me, and you aren't my therapist, so don't tell me what I should and shouldn't do!"
Both the store and her team was silent. She felt tears roll down her cheek, and it felt like a weight had settled on top of her chest. Yang's face was hard, set into a frown with her arms crossed. Her teammate thought for a moment, before opening her mouth again.
"Tell us about your past. Let us help you."
"I… I can't." Coming down from her high, she was filled with both anxiety and regret. Her emotions were rushing through her head so fast it was making her sick. The thought of her friends finding her heritage, finding her origins, and leaving her alone again terrified her. They couldn't know... she needed their help to stop the White Fang. Then she could be alone, her mission complete. But maybe there was a way to get through this without losing her friends? Maybe having company would be nice. But if she was found out, even if her team accepted her, would she be thrown out of Beacon? She hadn't been to a combat school before, she had even lied on her transcripts.
Emotion after emotion, thought after thought flew through her mind as her breathing quickened. One moment she was angry at the girl, and at the world for putting her in this position. The next she wanted to hug her teammate as hard as she could and cry for hours. The rollercoaster of feelings she had been on for the past few minutes left her feeling drained, but she wanted to either punch something or run away as fast as she could. She crouched down onto the ground, not having the energy to stand. Sounds and feeling seemed heightened, as she became acutely aware of the weight of her clothing, her weapon on her back and the bow on her head.
Yang looked at the emotional breakdown unfolding in front of her with a caring look, before placing a hand on her teammates shoulder.
"Hey… It's alright. Noone is hurt. We aren't mad. But you need to let us help you. If you aren't willing to talk to us, I know one other way to get the information out of you."
Blake looked into the blonde's face, one that mimicked her mother when she was younger. She searched for any trace of ill intent for what felt like minutes, before she let out a sigh, stood up and brushed herself off. Having someone there for her… it made her feel better. Yang took her hand and started towards the door, pulling the reluctant faunus with her.
Hey all, Amber here. This is the first story I've ever written for anything outside of an english class essay, and I'm not exactly sure what to think of it. I won't be doing A/N much, but I feel like it has a place in the first chapter.
I'm a 20 year old college student from Arizona. My girlfriend roped me into watching RWBY a few months ago, and I really really enjoyed it. I suffer from General Anxiety Disorder and Depression, and never really found an outlet for it. Our relationship has strained over the past month or so, and I needed some kind of outlet for what I've been feeling.
I'm really bad at writing, and always had my Mom check over whatever I was turning in for school before I submitted anything English related in high school. In college I rushed through all my English courses so I didn't have to worry about it. I have no idea if this story is any good, or if it even reads correctly, so I'd appreciate any kind of criticism or anything about the writing style. This took me forever to write, and even longer to work up the courage to post.
I want to write this story from Blake's POV, and this gives me a way to try to put my own experience into words. I found it therapeutic while I was going through some rough nights, and hopefully I can give some kind of insight on what it's like to live like I do.
Anyway, let me know what you think, whether you like it or didn't, so I can try to improve and stick with this story to the end.
Thanks!