Chapter 25 — Deal

"As you work through your grief,

you may have times when you simply need

to get your mind off of what you're going through

because you have done everything you can do about it;

there is nothing else you can do

except wait for the full healing to come."

— Unknown

Two days had passed since their violent discussion, and neither Serena nor Adam had interacted much with the other. Whereas the Faunus did it out of pride, the girl did it more so because of her own thoughts. She had a lot on her mind — different theories and ideas how to help Faunus and people get along better being one of them — and was actually glad for the silence.

Today was her sister's birthday, and Serena felt more than just a little depressed. They had always celebrated together, or with their family. But this year, Jasmin and her parents would have to celebrate without her there. Serena was sure that not only her own heart ached at the thought. She could only imagine what her family had to be going through.

So she celebrated in silence, isolating herself in the farthest corner of the cave, and sent her thoughts to her little sister.

I hope that you are happy, and that all of you are well. I cannot imagine what mother and father have to be going through, but I hope that, somehow, they'll know that I'm fine. I'm content with my life at the moment. It's not perfect, but better than being dead, right?

A sardonic smirk lifted the corner of her lips upright, and she gave a quiet laugh. She had to think of her current annoyance of a guest at the thought. She was sure that Jasmin would have liked the Faunus; in a way, he sometimes reminded her of her sister.

Another cloud of depression hung over her, and Serena quickly finished her so-to-say prayer. Once done, she exited the cave to take in the fresh air. The soothing scent of leaves, flowers, and earth always helped calm her mind.

She watched Adam as he went through a series of motions with his sheathed blade, a few yards away from her, and an idea was born. Quietly approaching him, she sat on a nearby rock and watched him. Even though he was slower due to his injuries, the blows and slices were still full of energy and power.

Adam noticed the girl from the corner of his eye, but did not stop to acknowledge her presence. He was still on hostile terms with her as far as he was concerned, and he was not one to let things go easily. Another trait of his Faunus heritage, it seemed.

He could feel her eyes on him as she watched him like a hawk, and he began to understand why she'd chided him back then. It was unnerving, to be watched so closely by someone one was not familiar with. He wondered if this was her retribution for his treatment of her.

"I have an idea." Her voice was quiet as the wind carried it over to him, and he stopped his training at the sound of it.

It was the first she had spoken to him yet. The tone was calm, as always, and he guessed she was trying to relieve the tension that had built itself between them. For a moment, he entertained the thought of simply ignoring her, but the notion of breaking the oppressive silence sounded appealing even to him. He liked a little quiet, but he couldn't stand the silent treatment they'd been giving each other.

"Which would be?"

Her eyes seemed to spark for a moment at his answer as she laid out her plan before him. "How about I teach you how to get along with Grimm, and in return, you teach me how to fight?"

His mind immediately analized the offer. The prospect of learning how she commanded those monsters, and even achieving it himself, would be a great asset, not only to him, but to the White Fang, as well. He could teach other members, and they would be able to use the creatures in their future plans. Spike would kill to gain such knowledge.

Then again, she expected something in return. The idea of him teaching her combat struck him as odd. She did not seem like the type of person to engage in battle; if anything, he would see her as the one trying to avoid conflict in any way possible. Still, he questioned her motives. He knew that she was not inept when it came to fighting. He'd seen her train all those mornings he'd been here. So why the need to be trained any further?

"What kind of fighting would you like me to teach you?" he probed cautiously.

"Nothing much," she waved off with a lofty hand. "Just a few things; you know, to extend my arsenal."

After a moment, he nodded his head. "Alright. Deal."

"Really?" the girl asked him, her face quite stupefied by his benevolent behaviour. He blinked as she pumped her fist in the air, hooting a small "Alright!" before slamming her hands over her mouth. Looking over to him with what could only be described as a sheepish and embarrassed look, she mumbled, "Sorry."

He smirked as she attempted to compose herself by clearing her throat. "So, when would you like to start?" After a moment, she added pensively, "Maybe it's best if we start with the Grimm…"

"Why start with them?" He was honestly curious. He would have thought she would want to start her combat training immediatley. As far as he could tell, this human loved learning new things, no matter how small or trivial they were. She was like a sponge: soaking up any knowledge thrown her way.

He actually liked that about her. At least she was not brainless like some of the White Fang's members.

"We could start with combat first, but I think it would be best to give your wound a few more days to heal. You know, just in case it's not mended completely yet. I don't particularly fancy patching you up a second time," she explained.

That made sense. He nodded his head in agreement.

EDITED 28/09/2017

Changed this up a bit. Figured it to be more realistic than the previous version. Hope you like it.

And I've got a surprise for you in Chapter 26, which is a completely new chapter *Wink*. You can thank me later, hehe

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of its characters. All I do own are my OC and the idea and plot of the non-canon parts of the story.