Three years ago.
A young woman with a slim build and an hourglass figure emerged into a clearing filled with various fungi. Her waist-length hair, with a dark chocolate hue, brushed against the grass as she crouched to pluck an unfamiliar mushroom with a gloved hand. While her violet top, designed with lilac stripes at the end of the long sleeves, remained dry, her dark blue jeans glimmered in the morning dew. She scanned her unnaturally silver eyes along every curve and edge of the fungus to check for poisonous content. Requiring closer examination, she took a gentle sniff of it and immediately frowned.
"Y'see, this is why you need to take a shower." She quipped as she glanced over her shoulder.
"Well, fuck you too, SJ." A younger man retorted as he brazenly strolled into the clearing. He was dressed in a simple green shirt and midnight blue jeans while he donned the all-too-familiar military hoodie.
"Whatever, Sissy." She smiled triumphantly at her little brother's scowl as she reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a brown notepad.
The fifteen-year-old crouched and silently approached his older sister and peeked over her shoulder. "Ladies and gentlemen, today we are going to observe Sera Jeyne Walker as she sniffs a bunch of shrooms." He comically whispered as he used the hilt of Lyssa as a microphone.
Sera chuckled at her idiot little brother's antics and responded with a backhand to his face. "Draksis, go stab something while I find something to poison you."
"Okay." Draksis shrugged as he sprung himself to his feet. He blinked when he realised what she implied. "Wait… what?"
"Just fuck off." She sighed as she began to take notes about the unknown mushroom.
"Alright. I gotta say; you're not a very 'fungi' to chill with." Draksis chortled as he dodged the oncoming shrooms. "Okay! Okay! On a serious note, I can't actually fuck off. I'm supposed to be here."
"Elias sent you, didn't he?"
"Yep."
"Why? I am older, smarter and better-looking than you. So I can take care myself just fine."
"That's what I told him! J-just the last part. Not everything else."
Sera sighed. "I understand his reasoning, though. Your combat skills and instincts are sharp as hell since that… incident."
"You mean that 'camping trip' dad brought me to?" Draksis flatly recalled as he made air quotes with his fingers. "The one where he abandoned me in a forest? Flooded with Grimm? Alone? For nine months? With nothing but my bare hands?"
"Yeah. I hated him as much as you did for that. You came home all shredded and bloody. It's a miracle that you recovered in the hospital, let alone came back at all."
Sera remembered how frightened she felt when their dad came home without Draksis, saying how her little brother just disappeared without a trace. She posted missing posters everywhere and took part in any and every investigation regarding her lost brother. She was furious when her dad wasn't trying to help and, instead, tried discouraging her from searching for Draksis. Her anger and hate only multiplied when she found out that her dad left him to die in the woods. He was only ten years old. One morning, she found her unconscious brother at the doorstep and immediately treated his wounds to the best of her ability before she dragged him to the hospital. Sera was elated when the doctors told her that she helped save Draksis and they would never have succeeded if she didn't heal him in the first place.
"On the bright side, I wouldn't be awesome at kicking ass if he didn't bring me there." Draksis recalled how he unlocked his semblance and became very adept in combat from his near-death experience.
"True. But, did you really have to go that far with him for revenge?"
"Well, he blamed me for our mother's death and he made my life a living hell. Every day, he would yell at me for being so pathetic and worthless. So I decided to show that bastard different." Draksis shrugged as Sera returned her notepad into her bag.
"There's something I've wanted to ask you about that for a while now." Sera began.
"Oh, yeah? Shoot."
"Did you ever regret any of it?"
"No."
Satisfied with his simple answer, Sera nodded began to leave the clearing.
"Actually, tell a lie…" She stopped. "There is one thing that I do regret…" She turned to show that her brother had her attention. "I regret not doing it sooner."
"Fair enough. Now we should head back. Elias might be looking for us." Sera stated as she left the clearing.
"Thanks for confirming that your godfather's request to go with you was completely redundant." Draksis followed his sister out.
Present time.
RWBY, JNPR and Draksis gathered at their table in the cafeteria. Nora's enthusiastic description of her recurring dream captured the table's attention with the exception of a few. Draksis had his earphones on and watched something on his scroll from beneath the table. Weiss was busy filing her nails. Blake kept her face buried in her book. Jaune seemed to be in his own little world; probably mulling over his loss from Goodwitch's combat class. After seeing his performance in class, Draksis knew that Jaune had great potential in combat. All he needed was a little push.
After Nora wrapped her exaggerated tale up, Pyrrha shifted her attention to her partner.
"Jaune, are you okay?" She concernedly asked. It took a moment for the question to register and shake him back into reality.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Why?" He replied, unconvincingly.
"Well, it's just that you seem a little… not okay." Ruby added.
"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously, look." He tried to wave them off by giving a thumbs-up and a nervous laugh.
Mocking laughter suddenly reached their ears. Their attention focused on team CRDL who was picking on a Faunus girl with brown rabbit ears. Draksis removed his earphones and stuffed his scroll back into his pocket, frowning at the sight.
"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha stated.
"He just wants to mess around. Just a bunch of practical jokes." Jaune weakly justified.
"He's a bully." Ruby bluntly pointed out.
"He's a prick." Draksis elaborated which earned him some looks from the others. "I'm an asshole and Cardin's a prick, there's a difference." He added.
"Oh, please! Name one time he's-"
"Don't even play that card." Draksis interrupted.
"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha tried to reassure him.
"Ooh! We'll break his legs!" Nora shot up from her seat with an ear-to-ear grin.
"No!" Draksis argued with a sharp gaze. Nora's grin shrunk slightly as he slowly towered over her from across the table. "We'll break his back." His sharp gaze shifted into an evil smirk and gave Nora a high-five.
"Guys, really, it's fine!" Jaune stood up with his empty tray. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."
As if to prove Jaune's point, the mocking laughter got louder and the girl began to cry out in pain. "Ow! That hurts!" The girl stopped her struggling and grimaced at Cardin who pulled at her ears. "Please stop…"
"Okay! Time to solve violence with more violence!" Draksis stood up and looked at Jaune who was about to leave. "Jaune, just sit down and enjoy the ass-kicking with all the other kids, 'kay?" Jaune nodded and sat back down.
Draksis casually vaulted over the table without hitting anything or anyone. He walked towards Cardin as he let go of the girl's ears and stared him down with smug grin. "You gonna do something- AARGH!" He cried out when Draksis twisted his arm into his back and dislocated his shoulder.
"You pick on any Faunus, you're gonna regret it."
The minute that Draksis finished his threat, a particular idiot with a mohawk rushed to aid his leader; only to be comically floored with the world's simplest snap kick. Students who were watching laughed at the humiliating display. Draksis kept his grip on Cardin's dislocated shoulder and stared at the remaining CRDL members with challenging eyes and smirk. "Make a move… I dare you. I whooped your asses once, I can do it again."
Satisfied with the lack of aggressive movement from the lackeys, Draksis shrugged and bashed Cardin's head against the table. While Cardin's lackeys helped their leader hobble to the infirmary, Draksis tended to the bullied girl as everyone returned to their own business.
"Hey. You okay?" He asked with a gentle tone. She nodded but Draksis ignored it. "You shouldn't lie about your injuries. You'll just make it worse for yourself." He suggested as he checked her for injuries, the girl stayed quiet and blushed as he did so.
"Your ears are bruised like hell. Doesn't that prick know a person when he sees one?" Draksis scoffed as he helped the girl to her feet. "Come on, I've got just the thing to fix you up." He took her hand and walked her out of the cafeteria before she could say anything.
"Yang?" Blake nudged her partner.
"Huh?"
"You've been staring at him the whole time. Something wrong?"
"Nah. It's just… he did a good thing." Yang calmly replied as she looked towards the doorway where Draksis just left with that girl.
Blake hummed in agreement as she kept her eyes on Yang. "Yes. Punishing CRDL and helping that Faunus was certainly good thing."
"Heh… he might just get himself laid with her." Yang waggled her eyebrows as Blake rolled her eyes.
Suddenly, the TV screens caught their attention as it showed the newscast on Vale News Network.
"The Vale Police Department traced an emergency call to a factory that was formerly used by the Schnee Dust Company. It was discovered that the White Fang used this location as a base of operations. However, their plans were thwarted by an unknown individual who killed all the White Fang members on the scene. Police officers have dubbed this killer as 'Hell's Angel' due to what appears to be a message that was left on the wall." The news reporter displayed a picture of a skeleton with angel wings and "Hell's Angel" written in text below it, all drawn on the wall of the factory in blood.
Draksis opened the door to his dorm and allowed the rabbit Faunus to enter first.
"Just sit down on my bed." He closed the door behind him as the girl did what he asked. "You got a name?"
"V-Velvet Scarlatina." She shyly spoke for the first time since meeting him.
"Well, Velvet, nice to meet you. I'm Draksis Walker." Draksis replied as he opened his mini-fridge and pulled out two bottles of lemonade and handed one to Velvet. "Here. A little bit of sugar will always help."
"T-thank you…" She muttered as she hesitantly opened the bottle and took a sip. She shivered as the cold drink refreshed her energy.
"Relax, Velvet. I'm here to help you, not hurt you." The gentle tone in Draksis' voice immediately calmed Velvet's tension. For some reason, she felt that she could trust him completely. She tried to find any ulterior motives in his actions but found none. Draksis simply treated her like an equal. A relationship that her kind wanted for generations.
"-vet? Velvet?" Draksis snapped his fingers in front of her. He chuckled when she jolted back into reality. "You okay? You zoned out for a second there?"
"Yes. Sorry. I'm fine." She steadily spoke with more confidence as she gazed into his dark eyes, feeling herself get drawn towards him. She shook herself out of her trance and gulped a large portion of her lemonade.
"Right. I'm gonna pretend that I believe you." Draksis smiled as he moved to his desk. He reached into a drawer and placed a case on the table. He unlocked the case and took out a vial of ice dust and sprinkled it all over his hands. "Alright." He sighed. "Time to play Doctor?"
"W-what?!" She recoiled in extreme embarrassment as her face reddened.
"Ah, shit! I'm sorry. Wrong wording. Very wrong wording." Draksis sheepishly groaned as he mentally slapped himself. "Just… forget that I said that, please?"
She furiously nodded her head. "Yes, please!"
"Okay, sorry." He pulled up a chair and sat in front of the rabbit Faunus. "Just relax and, if it helps, close your eyes." Velvet nodded before she took deep breaths to calm herself and closed her eyes.
She initially flinched a little when his hands touched her ears but she felt pain in her ears fade when Draksis began massaging them. In a matter of seconds, the cool sensation of the ice dust made her bruises vanish. She gave out a sigh of delightful relief as she slouched a little. Soon, the pain and any evidence of injury became non-existent before her body began to feel a sensation of pleasurable jolts. Draksis' ministrations eventually stopped, much to Velvet's chagrin.
"That should do it. Feeling better?" Draksis leaned back into his chair and shook the remaining ice dust from his hands.
Velvet pouted and let out a huff of disappointment. "You know, I think my ears are still a little sore."
"Oh, really?" Draksis smirked and raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. And my shoulders are a little stiff. Ooh. Ow." Velvet clutched her left shoulder and let out a fake groan before she sheepishly smiled.
"Just go and see that Faunus counsellor." Draksis rolled his eyes amusingly and laughed.
Velvet sighed in defeat. "That won't be necessary. Thank you, Draksis." She smiled sincerely.
"Um, d-do you mind if I finish this?" She waved the bottle of lemonade in hand.
Draksis raised his eyebrow. "The hell do you think I gave you that for?"
"Fair enough." She giggled. "Thank you… for everything." She spoke in a more serious tone.
Draksis scoffed and waved her off. "Not a problem. Any more problems, you check in with me, cool?"
Velvet nodded and made to leave the dorm. However, she stopped mid-way and walked back to Draksis. She quickly kissed him on the cheek and rushed out of the door, downing the lemonade to hide her blush.
Draksis blinked a few times and processed what happened in the space of half a second. He simply shrugged and faced the desk to drink his lemonade then muttered one thing.
"Women."
Author's Note: Just want to note: Eirnin Lloys and Sera-Jeyne Walker belong to my sister. They are not my creation. Every other OC and the plotline is mine.
On a separate note, uploads will be much slower because it's exam month and I need to study a ton.