"Damn it's cold tonight." I said as I pull my jacket closer to my body. It didn't help though as there were a few holes throughout the sleeves. I found the jacket in a dumpster behind an apartment complex. I'm right now in one of the many alleys in the city of Vale, hiding from the wind. Oh, I'm sorry I completely forgot to introduce myself. Hiya, I'm Gray. I'm 6 feet tall, have gray hair, 16 years old, and have silver eyes. Now you might be wondering why a 16-year-old kid is in an alleyway with an old, torn jacket, and starving. Oh, did I not mention I'm starving before? Yea, I'm freaking hungry. I haven't eaten in 36 hours. Anyway, I've been homeless for about a week now. I'm homeless because I'm a Faunus. A wolf Faunus to be exact. Under the black beanie that I usually wear, is a pair of furry wolf ears. My story obviously began when I was born. My parents lived in a small village, that didn't really like Faunus. Neither of my parents were Faunus but contrary to popular belief, a Faunus can be born from non-Faunus parents. When I was born, my parents were disgusted with my wolf ears. They said they had a mutant freak for a son, so they gave me away. Luckily my uncle on my father's side was not as discriminatory. He took me in after he heard that my parents didn't want me. He loved in the same village as my parents so, to keep me safe, he put a black beanie on my head to hide my wolf ears. I was always taught to never take off my beanie in public. That if I did, the village would either kill me or run me out of town. My uncle was very nice. He loved me, even if I was a Faunus. He taught me to use a sword and even taught me how to use dust to do different spells. I had a pretty normal life for the longest time. Until my 16th birthday. On the day I turned 16, my uncle bestowed upon me the family sword, ironically named, silent wolf. It's a steel katana with a black hilt and sheath. It's the very same katana I have at my hip right now, freezing and starving in the alley. Anyway again, my father did not like the idea of a "mutant freak" having possession of the family sword. My uncle and father had a huge fight that night before storming off. Later that night, as my uncle and I were sleeping, a mob appeared at our house. My father had gone and told everyone that my uncle was harboring a Faunus freak. Needless to say, the village was not happy about having a Faunus hide right under their noses with help from someone in the village. The mob broke into the house. I awoke after they broke in, but I was already too late. They killed my uncle while he was sleeping. I decided to run. I ran so far away with only my sword, beanie, and the clothes on my back. Eventually I ended up in central Vale, so I decided I'd live there. Turns out finding a job is harder than you think, so here I am, cold and hungry in this alley. It's not that bad though. The stray animals sort of like me. So as I'm sitting in the alley, I see an old man walk past me, mumbling something about being late for dinner. He stops just as he passes me, turns, and looks at me. I noticed him looking at me, so I grabbed the hilt of my sword, just in case this man tries anything. Sure he's old, but looks can be deceiving.
He takes a step closer to me, kneels, and asks me, "What's a boy as young as you doing in an alley on such a cold night?"
I scoff and reply, "I'm not young, I can take care of myself." He chuckles.
"Well when you get to as old as I am, everyone is young. But you still haven't answered my question." He says.
"I have nowhere else to go," I say simply.
"No family?" he asks.
"Sore subject, old man," I say sort of rudely. Hey, I'm still a little sore over my village killing the only person that loved me in cold blood. Give me a break.
"Hmm…" he looks as if he's thinking about something. I keep my hand on the hilt of silent wolf, just in case. "Why don't you come to my house? I can't let a youngster like you go hungry and cold. I'll give you a warm meal and even let you uses my shower, if you want." As you can guess, I'm surprised. Here's some old man that met me 7 minutes ago, barely had a conversation with me, and now is inviting me to come to his house and feed me. It seems a little sketchy to me. Too good to be true. I know most people in vale wouldn't even bat an eye in my direction.
"What's the catch?" I say suspiciously.
"No catch," he smiles sincerely, "Just want to help a youngster that needs it.
I growl, "I'm not young… but fine. A free meal's a free meal. Thanks." I say as I get up. I keep silent wolf at my side. I may be accepting but I'm not stupid. He gets up as well and he leads me to his home. On the way I ask his name. He says that his name is Jacob Hartraft and his home is a dust shop called "From Dust to Dawn." I smile at the name of the store. When we arrive, I see a broken window that's being replaced out front and I ask what happened.
"Some guy named Roman Torchwick tried to rob me. Luckily, a girl with a red cloak saved my shop and me. I sure was surprised when I found out that she was only a student at Signal Academy." I shrug, not really caring for the red-cloaked savior of his. He leads me inside and walks to the kitchen. "The bathroom is down the hall, third door on the right," He says, "Go and get yourself cleaned up, you smell like crap." He grins well heartingly though. I ignore his little insult and just reply with a thanks. I go to the bathroom and start the hot water as I strip. I step in and OH GOD SWEET HEAVEN THIS FEELS AMAZING! I forgot how good hot showers felt. I quickly wash my hair and body before just enjoying the hot water rushing over me. I disappointingly decide it's time to get out. I get out and quickly dry myself with a towel that was under the sink. I dress in the same clothes and walk out before Jacob quickly stops me. "No! No no!" He says, "You can't wear those again! They stink and that shower would be for nothing! Here!" He shoves a pair of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt into my arms. "Put those on and give me those other clothes. I'll wash them for you" he says/demands. I sigh, walk back into the bathroom and does as he says. I walk back out and walk into the kitchen, where he is. He's finishing up some spaghetti as I sit at the table. He sets a bowl of the spaghetti in front of me and sets another one at the opposite end of the table. He sits down and we both start eating. The dinner between the old man and me is silent at first until he asks me a question. "So what's your story, if you don't mind me asking of course."
I don't answer for a little bit before I sigh and reply, "You let me into your home, it's only fair I tell you." So I do. I even take off my beanie when I tell him I'm a Faunus. I wait for his eyes to narrow when he sees my ears, or yell at me and throw me out, but he just keeps looking, waiting for the rest of the story. I tell him everything from my parents not wanting me, to my uncle training me, to the mob and me running. At the end of my tale, he looks sincerely at me. He's quiet for a little while before I say, "Now I have a question for you. Why did you really invite me to your home? Most people would turn a blind eye at a homeless teenager. Others would call the cops on a homeless Faunus for being an eyesore."
Jacob smiles and says, "Like I said, just want to help a kid out. And judging by your story, looks like you needed it." He stays smiling before he looks like he's thinking about something. Finally, he says, "Hey. I can't let you go out back there. So how's about a deal?"
"What kind of deal?" I ask.
"Well," he replies, "How about this. You can work here, in my dust shop, and in return, I'll let you stay here and eat here. I'll even throw in some money for working here too. As long as you're fine with minimum wage." I look at him suspiciously before deciding to think about it to myself. I mean, it's a good deal. A bed, a roof to sleep under, food, and even money. But can I really trust him, sure he fed me and he's nice and all but…
As I'm thinking he speaks up and says, "Don't worry, it's not hard work. All you really got to do is man the registrar, sweep, and some other small things." I keep thinking and finally decide to accept his offer. I trust him, and if he tries anything, it's not like I'm defenseless, I think to myself as I feel the wait of Silent Wolf still on my hip.
"Sure," I say, "That sounds like a good deal. Thank you. Really, thanks." I smile for real for what feels like the first time since that night. We both nod in agreement and finish the rest of our food. I help clean up (even though he kept saying there was no need of my help). He showed me upstairs to where I would be staying while I was there. It was a simple bedroom, a bed, a window with curtains, a bedside table, and a closet with some clothes. Jacob says there were his sons before he moved away and they looked to be my size. Jacob says he's going to head to bed and I do as well. He leaves my room as I get into the bed. I keep Silent Wolf close just in case. One can never be too careful. I stay up for a little bit just taking in the events of the night. About 2 to 3 hours ago, I was in an alley freezing my ass off. Now I suddenly have a home, a job, and even some clothes. Maybe God and Uncle are up there smiling upon me after all. I soon fall asleep. After that my life got to pretty much normal for the next few months. I work in the shop most days and on the weekends I just walk around. I've only told Jacob that I'm a Faunus. Everyone else just knows me as Jacob's normal apprentice. But I have a feeling that soon everyone will know about my wolf ears.