I'm…cold.

She opened her eyes and blearily looked around, wincing in pain. She caught glimpses of sky above her. It seemed like it was flowing over her head. Then she realized it wasn't the sky, but herself; she was floating down a river. It hurt to move, so she remained as still as she could, slowly floating downriver.

What…happened?

A flash of movement, roars of rage, red eyes…

A soft bump as she floated onto shore. A shadow fell across her face. Dimly, she could feel a hand on her shoulder, hear a voice in her ear, but she could not understand the words.

Who…am I?

Claws swiping, sounds of explosions, exhilarated laughter…

She awoke and sat up suddenly, only to cry out in pain. She collapsed and fell out of a bed and onto a floor made of hardened wood. She curled into a ball and waited for the pain to subside. Eyes blurred, she looked around. She was in a wooden cabin. As far as she could tell, it was just one room, with the bed in the corner and a fireplace on the other end. A large table sat in the center of the cabin and several metal pots hung from the walls and ceiling.

Suddenly the door opened and a man stood in the doorway.

"Are you okay?" asked the man, moving forward.

"Stop!" she yelled, shuffling away from him. She grunted in pain and curled into a ball again.

"It's okay—" said the man moving toward her.

"Who are you?" she said. "Where am I? Get away!"

"You've had an accident," said the man. "You need to rest—"

He placed a hand on her shoulder and she swung at him. The weakness of her punch somehow frightened her more than the unfamiliar environment. The man gripped her shoulders to steady her.

"Look, I know you're scared, but you are really injured. I'm going to help you into the bed okay? It's going to hurt, but it will be over quickly."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"One," said the man. "Two. Three!"

He lifted her up and pain shot through her. Sweat beaded on her head as she was rolled into the bed. Panting, she lay down and closed her eyes. She heard movements by the fireplace and felt a cup being pushed to her lips.

"Drink this, it will help."

She drank and coughed at the bitter taste. "God, what did you put in this stuff?"

She heard a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, needs some sugar right? Unfortunately, it makes the medicine nearly useless." He put the cup aside and looked at her. "I found you in the river nearby. You were beat up pretty bad by something. Do you remember what happened?"

A flash of light, a pain across her back, a splash of water…

"Ooooh," she said clutching her head, feeling the wrappings of bandages around her head and hands.

"Okay, okay, never mind," said the man. "You're still hurt. As far as I can tell, you should be fine after a couple weeks, but you have some serious wounds. A broken rib, some minor fractures, what looks like claw marks on your back and you definitely took a bad blow to the head, though fortunately nothing broken there. I'm Nick. Who are you?"

She looked up at him. She still couldn't see him clearly, but she noticed his unusually shaped ears. He was a Faunus.

"I…I don't know."

This revelation was too much for her. She blacked out.

Time passed.

She could only remember flashes. The feeling of intense heat and a cool cloth on her head. The taste of the bitter medicine. The sounds of a door opening and closing and voices outside the house. Occasionally, she would feel bandages being reapplied to her chest and head, each time accompanied by a flare of pain. Sometimes, she remembered things that didn't make much sense; a black scythe, a giant bird with red eyes, a little girl raising her arms to her. She desperately tried to make some connection, but nothing clicked.

Finally, she awoke to a sun setting outside the window. She sat up wincing. While it was painful to move, the pain had receded and she could take a few steps. Noticing a stick propped against the wall, she grabbed it and used it to support her to the door. Opening it, she took a few steps outside onto a small porch and looked out.

She could see a river from where she stood, less than twenty yards away. She was surrounded on all sides by trees, but noticed a path leading over a hill and out of sight. A small shed was also nearby. The Faunus Nick was sitting in a small clearing, tending a campfire with his back to her. A small pitch-tent was set out and an axe was embedded in a stump next to a pile of lumber. She leaned against the railing of the porch and her makeshift cane bumped a support beam. Nick turned around at the soft noise and saw her.

"Hey," he said. "Are you okay? You really shouldn't be up and about yet."

As he stood, she looked at him clearly for the first time. He was slightly shorter than she was, with brown eyes and black hair. Two black-furred ears stood erect on top of his head like a dog's and he was rather stocky and tanned, as if he worked outdoors often. He wore a plain brown shirt, dark pants held by a thick belt, and a pair of black combat boots, all of which showed much wear and tear.

As he moved closer, her legs started to buckle under her weight and she gripped the railing for support. Nick bounded over the railing and slid a small stool across the porch that stopped just behind her. She dropped onto it in relief.

"Sorry," she said. "I just couldn't sit still anymore."

"That's alright," said Nick, sitting on a second stool. "It's been about a week since you woke up. Since then, you've had a fever that broke just two nights ago. I have to say, you are recovering much more quickly than I thought you would."

"I've always healed fast," she said, then clutched her head as a stab of pain went through her head. "Ow."

"Are you remembering things now?" asked Nick.

"A few flashes," she said. "And facts, but I don't know where they came from. It hurts to remember it."

"While you were in bed, I managed to talk with some people in the town. No one seems to recognize you and the clothes you were wearing were definitely a different style than ours. They kind of…got ripped to shreds after being attacked and falling into a river."

She looked down at herself for the first time and noticed a white nightie covering her. "So you are the one who was changing my bandages? And seeing me without my clothes?"

Nick blushed slightly. "I can only promise I had my eyes closed the whole time."

She laughed, then winced slightly at the pain.

"Sorry," said Nick.

"It's alright," she said. "It didn't hurt as much."

"Do you remember anything else?" asked Nick. "Do you remember your name?"

A smiling man, falling rose pedals, a giant airship…

She shook her head. "Like I said, just flashes. No names or any clear place."

"Well, I can just call you 'Ma'am' or something like that until you recover," said Nick.

"For some reason, I feel like punching you when you call me that," she said.

Nick laughed. "Okay, well what can I call you?"

She looked out into the woods, at the water flowing past the house.

"Well," she said. "I guess for now at least, call me River."