This little oneshot contains some spoilers (but I'm pretty sure at this point, the whole FNDM knows what happened to Adam).
The young Faunus girl woke up with a start.
A sharp, shooting sensation stabbed right through her heart, and she desperately gasped for air. Beads of sweat started to drip down her chin - if it was because of this random onslaught of pain or the fact that Shade Academy's air conditioning sucked, she didn't know. Grunting, she clutched at her chest in an attempt to alleviate this feeling.
Slowly, but surely, the attack subsided. Her breathing had evened out, and the pain in her chest dulled.
"Well that's new..."
She swung her feet over the ledge of the bed, and sat up. The Faunus girl knew that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep at this point. So she made the executive decision to get started with her day. She then stood up, and stretched her arms above her head - groaning in satisfaction when she felt her shoulders pop. She let her arms flop back down to her sides.
Soon, it became very apparent that her body was still drenched in sweat.
She walked towards the small bathroom across her room. Turning the faucet on, the Faunus girl wasted no time in splashing some water onto her face. Her right eye twitched from the cold water hitting her skin. After thoroughly washing her face, she turned the faucet off - carefully dabbing her face dry with a towel. Lifting her eyes from the cloth, she stared at her reflection.
The girl was met with a sky-blue gaze.
She took note of how her crimson hair was completely disheveled. Grabbing a stray hair tie from the sink's surface, the Faunus girl fixed that small problem by tying her hair up in a half pony-tail. She made sure not to get any strands of hair tangled on her bull-horns while she completed the feat.
Her eyes slowly travelled to the glaring brand that had been left on her right eye. Seeing it used to elicit a flare of rage within her - especially considering what the mark was supposed to remind her of. However, over the years, the Faunus girl became desensitized - numb - to the physical and emotional scars behind the brand.
Soon enough, it became nothing more than just that: a brand.
A brand that was forced upon her because her parents were cowards who didn't know how else to survive.
A brand that was placed on her because she was a hungry kid that stole a few more rations to get her fill.
A brand that she shared with her brother.
She frowned at the thought of the man. It had been years - decades, actually - since she last saw him. She only heard rumours of what he was involved with, and none of those rumours were particularly 'nice.' She always knew that Adam was an ambitious, and charismatic individual but... at the direction he appeared to be going at the moment, he was going to drive the White Fang to the damn ground.
Suddenly, a memory from their past intruded her mind as she thought of her estranged brother.
"Eve, look!"
"We're not supposed to be here, Adam."
The young bull-Faunus looked around to see if the coast was clear. Thankfully, it was too early for any of the guards to be up - which honestly wasn't all that surprising seeing as the sun wasn't even up yet either. She then gave her twin brother a pointed look.
"What are we even supposed to be looking at, anyways? The underside of Atlas? That's nothing we haven't seen before."
Adam playfully rolled his eyes, and scoffed at Eve's question.
"No. Why the hell would we want to look at that?" A smile inched its way onto his face and he pointed across the endless chasm before them. "Just look at the horizon, and wait. It's gonna be worth it."
Eve could only sigh and comply to her brother's request. She directed her gaze back to the gaping cliffside, and waited. However, her eyes widened in shock when Adam took a step towards the literal edge of Mantle.
"A-Adam-!"
"Relax. I know what I'm doing."
The smile never left his face. Soon, he lifted his arms up to his sides and closed his eyes. Eve stared at her brother in wonderment. She had no idea how Adam could appear so serene - despite their surroundings, or the cold. In that same moment, the young Faunus girl felt the warm sensation of the rising sun, slowly blanketing her skin. Eve returned her gaze back to the horizon.
She gasped in awe.
The suns rays peaked out from behind the mountains - making it seem like the mountains themselves were set ablaze. The clouds meshed together in a series of soft, pastel hues and danced across the morning sky. It was gorgeous. She also took note of how the machines from the dust mines didn't start up yet. So their view wasn't obscured by the air pollution elicited by them.
"Do you feel it, Eve?" Adam's voice came from beside her. "The sun's warmth?"
Eve smiled, and closed her eyes - mimicking her brother's stance.
"Yeah. I feel it."
They stayed like that for a while.
This small moment they had to themselves was so peaceful that she almost forgot about their hardships. Almost. The brand on her right eye began to throb, and brought her back to reality.
Eve opened her eyes once more, and tried to engrave this scene into her mind. She knew that moments like this were hard to come by. So she wanted to remember all of it as much as possible. Shortly after, she directed her gaze towards her brother. He also appeared to be carving this moment into his mind as well.
His gaze became determined.
"We're going to leave the camp, and see the sunrise in different places all over Remnant."
Eve scoffed mirthlessly at Adam's musings. "Right..."
"I mean it, Eve," Adam insisted," and when we do leave, we're going to explore and rule the damn world."
After a moment of dumbfounded silence, Eve finally spoke. "That's a pretty serious statement to make, Adam."
"It's not just a statement." He held out his pinky towards her and grinned. "It's a promise."
Eve couldn't help but humour her brother.
She met him halfway, and their pinkies interlocked.
"Alright, it's a promise."
Eve smiled to herself at the thought of the memory, but then a feeling of melancholy engulfed her entire being.
She was separated from Adam the day after that memory.
Eve sighed.
I hope you find peace, brother.
"Hey, Eve! Are you up?" a muffled voice came from behind her room's door, jolting Eve out of her thoughts.
The Faunus girl exited the bathroom, and quickly put on her mask. It was lacklustre accessory, really - just a blank, white mask that covered the right half of her face. She continued to adjust the damn thing, and answered the person behind her door.
"Yeah, I'm up."
"Good. There are some new students from Beacon who need to get oriented with the Academy. Could you help them out?"
"Er... Yeah, sure." Eve answered. "What are their names?"
"Crap, I forget... but their team name is CFVY. They're waiting in the cafeteria."
Eve frowned at the lack of intel, but nevertheless agreed to be their guide. Once she finished adjusting her mask, she opened the door and walked out of her room.
So these students are from Beacon...
- Four months later -
"T-Team RWBY?! You guys are here?!"
"Long time, no see!"
"Finally..."
"Is there a bathroom here that's not just a hole in the ground? I really need to pee."
A student from her left gasped. "Wait... did they say Team RWBY?"
Eve quirked a brow at the sudden commotion. She turned her head towards the voices, and blankly stared at the scene playing out before her. Team CFVY, the group of hunters/huntresses that she oriented a while back, were warmly welcoming another group of students.
Her eyes widened in surprise when the Headmaster herself approached this 'Team RWBY.'
That in itself piqued the Faunus girl's interest, which caused her to scrutinize the other group of girls more thoroughly.
However, a pit began to form in her stomach as she stared on at them. A heavy weight seemed to slowly crush her lungs, and soon, she found it hard to breathe. In an attempt to get rid of this sudden breathlessness, Eve ripped off her mask. Ignoring the murmurs around her, she took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"She never takes off that mask."
"Does... Does that mark say SDC?"
She lifted her gaze back to the girls who made an appearance.
All four of them gazed back at her - albeit, with differing expressions.
The silver-eyed girl simply stared at Eve in mild shock. The white-haired member, on the other hand, couldn't even meet the Bull-Faunus' gaze and looked off to the side. She was clearly uncomfortable.
Then there was the Cat-Faunus and the blonde.
They looked like they've seen a ghost.
What's going on...?
Realizing that they were all blatantly staring at each other, the Faunus girl wasted no time in introducing herself.
Eve abruptly stood up from her seat and walked towards them. She didn't fail to notice the protective stance the blonde girl took between her and the other Faunus girl. As if she was trying to block Eve from her.
Weird.
She ignored it and pressed on with a friendly smile.
"I'm Eve." She more, or less so, greeted. "Eve Taurus."
Welp, that was a thing.
Anyways, in the whole Adam vs. Blake and Yang showdown Adam monologues a little about his past. There's a part of his speech where he basically mentions that he lived another/different life before he met Blake and that totally grabbed my attention. Then I played around with some ideas and came up with this! I know it's kinda out of left field, but I totally agree with a part of the FNDM that believes Adam was a character with a lot of potential.
Sooo this little oneshot is just me musing about his potential backstory/past.