Disclaimer: Dark themes ahead, this is your warning to turn back if you find dark material: offensive, distasteful, and/or triggering. You have been disclaimed and warned.
Review responses at the end under the 'authors notes'.
I don't own RWBY, only the OC(s).
Well Wishes
Chapter 2- A path to pave
"Welcome back, Miles."
The lack of any real emotion in that sentence would have betrayed any real expectation I had of the young man sitting in a very relaxed position across the room from me. Supposedly Doctor Tanner was one of the best, being a Harvard medical graduate, in the city but his behavior was unbecoming and unprofessional of a proper psychiatrist in this instance.
"Yeah." I responded, giving a halfhearted wave.
There was a silence that made the whole room very oppressive. I looked around the newly redecorated office and saw that the old beige carpet had been replaced with a very nice cinnamon color vinyl flooring, the walls had changed from a light blue to a soft brown that reminded me of morning coffee though that may just be the heavy air fresheners that Tanner uses.
"Well, I suppose you are doing fine, you look better physically than you did last time you came in here." Tanner said as he leaned forward and crossed his legs.
"Oh look at you Mr. New Money," I waved my hand towards the floor and walls. "If mom were here she would tell you how much of a waste of money it is to renovate an already perfectly good room." I said, finally looking at him.
He was younger than me, but not by more than eight months. We shared similar facial features but he looked far better off physically. Less pale and his posture spoke of someone with confidence and power. My younger brother was a far better looker than me but despite that, he still has yet to even show interest in starting a family where as I was currently saving up for an engagement ring, these bimonthly sit-downs weren't helping much there.
"Is that cashmere?" I asked incredulously as I looked him up and down, his old black and white formal wear was replaced by a tan and dark brown suit.
"Oh that's what gets you to open up?" He said, this time a hint of amusement broke through his usual 'stoic' persona.
"Yeah I mean, that must have cost a small fortune. Wait, is that why you couldn't see me yesterday?" I asked, relaxing my tense shoulders into a slight slouch.
"No, I was busy with a date yesterday." he said, his 'professional persona' completely gone, a huge smile appearing on his face.
"No shit?" A massive grin making its way onto my face.
"Yes Miles, 'no shit'." He said, doing a terrible impersonation of me.
There was a pause in the conversation as we stared at each other with a serious expression. Then, we both began to laugh hard. Until I felt my lungs begin to burn and began coughing. My head began to spin and my body felt cold. My ears began to ring and I could see panic on Tanner's face as he got up to help. I felt a wave of pain wash over me before-
My eyes snapped open as I felt my right arm spasm slightly, sending waves of pain throughout my body. Blinking the memory away, I looked around, the light of day painted the area around me in a warm light. Briefly, I felt panic as I didn't know where I was or why I was in such pain. Memories of last night flashed through my brain and I let out a dry cough. The swelling around my eyes had subsided enough to give me almost full vision again.
"Fuck." I venomously whispered.
Looking up in defeat I was greeted with the same black box that hovered a few feet above me. I sighed quietly as I read the text on it.
[ Congratulations on surviving the night! For completing the quest "A soul lost" you have been awarded with the Basic System. ]
I simply stared at the words. My head was begging to pound, I assumed the cause is a combination of all the bullshit that has happened the past 30-ish hours. I reread the box and let out a dry laugh as a whirlwind of emotions rages on inside.
Recalling a moment from last night I searched the ground with my good hand well keeping a wary eye on the box above me. Finding what I was looking for, I grabbed the knife and held it above me, poking it into the box. The box dispersed into quickly disappearing pixels. Then another box took its place.
[ Warning, you have been inflicted with an infection. Seek a way to remove it or you could face possible death! ]
"Fuck me." I groaned as I tried to sit up.
Slowly to avoid bumping any of the injured parts of my fucked up body, I stood to my feet and limped over to a tree. The box followed me along and had firmly planted itself in front of me, when I looked to the left, it would follow my head to keep centered.
"Well fuck you too." I said as I raised my good hand to give it the finger but lowered it when I saw my swollen thumb and pinky.
"Uh… continue?" I told the box.
I could feel my ears reddening at the thought of talking out loud to what is most likely a severe case of brain trauma. I knew this was real, the encounter I had last night tells me that much. Even if I really, really, don't like that thought. But my line of thinking was to take this one step at a time, I've got some experience dealing with trauma and taking it slow has helped.
Falling back on that methodology. I spoke again. "Close." I said.
The box closed and for a brief moment I was happy that something was 'working'. Then another box took its place with a smaller box inside of it, a white arrow at the bottom pointed down. I fought the urge to kick something as my line of sight on the surroundings was once again obstructed.
[ Combat Report! ]
[ You have gained 36 experience points. (base 25 | plus an additional 50% of base (12.5) experience points for killing an enemy over five levels above you.) Beowolf(?) - has dropped 100 Lien and a(n) Ivory Dagger. ]
A thought crossed my mind, forcing out an ugly thought that was beginning to root itself in my mind.
"Okay, I wonder if just imposing my will mentally would work…" I trailed off as I mentally focused on the white arrow.
The original text was pushed up into an unseen space that the box didn't cover as a more detailed log of last nights 'fight' was displayed in white text. I skimmed through the details and grimaced as I saw that rocks had done more damage to me than the beowolfs.
Mentally willing the box closed worked and I stared straight ahead with a slight scowl, anticipating another box to pop into existence. A full minute passed and I softened my expression, content that nothing else was going to pop up.
"One more step." I thought to myself as I surveyed my surroundings. Unsurprisingly, I am in the middle of a forest. I know I am on Remnant. But the forest isn't familiar, that's to say I am not in Forever Fall. Looking at the river I saw a tan colored card with a stylized 'F' in the four corners.
"Ah, that must be the 100 Lien."
Something pulled me out of my musings. In the distance, down the river, I could see smoke rising into the sky.
"Holy shit a sign of life." I muttered.
Testing my right foot, which was still very much sprained. I made my way over to the dagger and over to the card. That's when I noticed the state of my clothes.
"Guess I am holding onto my stuff, wait," I cleared my throat "Inventory?" I asked in a quiet and meek voice.
A gridded box with what I assumed was a currency counter at the top left shimmered into existence in front of me.
Part of me was happy but the other part or parts weren't. I offered the card to the box and in a rather unceremonious fashion, the card disappeared into the box and the zero that was in the top left shot up to one hundred.
"Fuck." I sighed and shrugged off all thoughts as I focused on the smoke in the distance.
"Once more…"
I let out a slight chuckle as I began the trip towards what I was hoping was life. Friendly life.
The journey was painful, if enlightening. I got curious about twenty minutes into the trek and after tripping on a rock with my right foot I opted for a break. I apparently had more than just an inventory, which isn't a surprise but also gave me concern. Every passing moment I spent staring at a floating box was another moment I felt dread of the circumstance finding a gap in my 'small steps' ethos.
Being well aware that delaying the problem over and over was only going to make things worse in the end, I still opted to wait until I wasn't in such a dangerous area for having an emotional breakdown. I leaned over and cupped my good hand as well as I could. I drank the small trickle of water from my hand and continued my path alongside the river.
I began to hum a toon, keeping my mind preoccupied by recalling all the utilities this 'system' gave me. So far I had an 'Inventory', 'Status Page', and 'Log'. The inventory is self explanatory, what I saw was what I got. The Status page measured both my physical and mental 'stats' in some tangible, if arbitrary, mix of numerical and alphabetical value. Finally there was the log which was a journal of sorts, I had a few tabs I could access and even a space to write notes or whatever, but it was mainly a catalog for encounters and quests. Speaking of quests, I was surprisingly already doing one. ["Investigate the smoke!"], which promised a level up.
"Yay." I said enthusiastically.
Looking around, I had autopilot quite a ways but to my dismay when I looked up, I couldn't see the smoke anymore.
"Ah shit, I hope whoever it is, they are still around." I muttered.
Another quite ten or so minutes of walking; a scent of something being cooked filled the air. "Ah, I must be close." I mused to myself as I surveyed the surroundings as I foraged forward past thick bushes and low oak branches.
Stumbling across the edge of a large clearing about fifty feet away from the river, I could see what looked like a transport truck but I ignored that in favor of the wooden cabin.
"Oh thank God!" I choked out.
Stumbling forward I could feel tears begin to well up in my eyes at the prospect of help.
"Hello? I need medical help!" I called out as I shambled around the truck and over the gravel road it was parked on.
"Hey!" I called out louder this time.
"Is anyon-" I cut myself off as I rounded the side of the cabin and saw the front of the small house.
"S-shit." I stumbled over the word as I took a very shaky step forward.
The front door had been completely bashed in, large claw marks dug into the exterior wall near the door. I squeezed the grip on the dagger and held it out in front of me, chewing on the inside of my cheek as my hand and body throbbed painfully.
Slowly and cautiously, I moved up to the hole where the door used to be and peaked my head in.
"Hello, anyone alive?" my voice trembled as I recalled last night.
I hear what sounded like a can falling on the ground and bouncing a few times before coming to a stop. The sound caused me to jump, landing on my right foot I hissed in pain and refocused on the dark interior.
It looks like a tornado tore through here, the main living room had been torn up completely and the main couch that I assumed was in the center of the wall in-between the only two doors that led deeper into the house was flipped and gutted by large claw marks. A few paintings of landscape were torn up and there looks to have been some kind of tele in the center, in front of the main window next to the front door, that was smashed to pieces, or maybe it was something else. The most noticeable feature was all the damn blood.
I felt my stomach flip weakly as I fought the urge to throw up. I could still smell what was probably a stew of some kind deeper in the house. The blood had pooled in a few areas but there was a trail of it that led deeper into the house, past the door that was to the left of the destroyed couch.
Slowly and carefully to avoid stepping in any of the congealing pools of blood, I made my way into the house, dagger outstretched in what I was hoping was a 'good enough' stance.
The door that was open and had a trail of blood going down led to a hall that went past two rooms to the left and right and a door that was slightly ajar at the end of the hall. I could hear something coming from the door down the hall, looking at the blood that probably trailed beyond.
With every step I took, I could hear my breathing get more and more erratic as the sounds became muffled sobs. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the door. Peaking through the crack, I saw what looked like a tiled floor, the smell of the food was coming from here.
I steady my breathing as I slowly pushed open the door, revealing to me the kitchen in its entirety. The sight in front of me caused a wave of dizziness to hit me.
A body belonging to an older man, balding salt and pepper hair showing his age, was lying in a pool of blood. No color on his face and a slight smile on his face. Over him was a girl, she looked to probably be no older than fifteen and a young boy who looked maybe eight was in a chair staring at me with tears in his eyes as he silently sobbed.
"Ah shit." I whispered to myself.
Fuck
"Ah hello." I said as calmly as I could through the shakiness in my voice.
The girl's head shot up, giving me a better look at her, and I realized that I was undershooting her age by a few years if her face were anything to go off of. She grabbed a sleek metal staff that was at her side and did something to it as I watched it transform into a shotgun.
"Woah woah, no please don't shoot." I said raising my good arm.
She glared at me with red puffy eyes then to my raised hand, I followed her gaze and quickly dropped it and kicked it away from me. She continued to glare at me for a few more minutes, the room was silent save for the occasional sob form the kid in the corner who probably didn't understand what was going on.
"Wh-" the girl spoke then stopped as her voice wavered into a crack.
She cleared her throat, a few tears streaked her slightly freckled face still, and tried again.
"Where did you come from?" she asked, the fear of god in her voice.
"I- I was out camping, last night I got attacked by two Grimm and was tackled into the river. I was knocked unconscious and woke up at a small bank. I followed the smoke," I nodded towards the pot over a fireplace, "and walked down the river until I got here." I said, trying not to lie to kids who just lost their dad.
"Who are you and why did you come here?" She said, ice began to creep into her voice and she was slowly moving to get between me and the kid.
"I- uh my name is Miles- Miles Usanagi and I came here seeking help with my injuries." I said, keeping my voice in a nice and calm tone.
A jar. Shove all the fear and anxiety into a goddamn jar.
Taking a shaky deep breath, then exhaling calmly. I felt the new mask fit and gave the girl a half smile and look of sympathy.
She breathed a breath she was keeping in and shook her head after looking me up and down.
"Sorry about that," She looked behind her, at the boy for a second before looking back "Could you please go out and wait in the living room." She said kindly with an almost undetectable touch of tension.
I took a careful step back and nodded as I turned around and walked back into the living room. Finally letting my raised arm drop slowly back to my side. I walked to the busted down door and leaned against the frame with my good arm.
"Grimm are attracted to negative emotions. I can't help but wonder if my brooding last night led to this." I looked at the serene Woodline at the edge of the clearing and the path that was cut through it to make a path for the gravel road.
"Fuck I'm such a mess." I said as I opened the log to check the quest.
[ Quest: "Investigate the smoke!" ]
[ Investigate the smoke in the distance - completed | Investigate the log cabin - completed | uncover the mystery of the attack on the cabin - incomplete ]
[ Optional - Safely transport the two survivors of the Grimm attack to the nearby village of Tsubaki - incomplete ]
"Tsubaki?" I asked myself as I mentally closed the box, searching my memory for anything to help locate where in Remnant I might be.
"Tsubaki." I tested the name slowly as I raised my hand to my chin.
Then it clicked. "Mistral! I'm in mistral. Oh fuck what year is it?" Panic began to rise for a moment before I shoved the negative emotions into The Jar.
Hearing footsteps behind me I turned my head to look over my right shoulder only to wince from the pain. The girl was holding the child, whose face was buried in her shoulder, she looked at me then around the room. Her neutral expression darkened for a moment before walking towards me. I moved out of her way as she walked out of the cabin and put the child down in the grass.
"Here," she turned around and with minimal effort she tossed me my dagger. "I have questions but they can wait."
Her tone invoked something deep in me as I caught the dagger. Looking from the ivory weapon in my hand to the girl, I could taste the doubt as it began to froth in my heart but quickly shelved it. Breathing in sharply then exhaling quietly, I slipped into a more confident mask and took a shaky step forward.
"I can't leave them to fend for themselves." I argued to myself mentally.
"And if you can't keep them safe?" A voice that sounded much like my own responded to my surprise. "I mean, look at us man, we're barely fighting off the pain as is, any more and we could see some real damage." The voice said pragmatically.
"Then I'll have to die trying because- '' I was cut off by the other voice, a mental slap silencing my train of thought.
"Stupid! 'Die trying'? Who do you think we are?" The voice shouted.
"I have a goddamn plan so shut the fuck up." I snapped back.
Nothing came as a response. I turned my attention back outward and saw that the girl was giving me a strange look. The boy was holding onto her shirt, half hiding behind her as he looked between her and me.
"I have a plan." I announced with the confident resolve the mask offered as I looked toward the parked truck.
"I won't leave these two behind, my problems can wait until I have a better grasp on my place in this world. When I reach that point, that's when I will have my 'path to pave.'" I projected inwardly, hoping that the other voice was still listening.
AN: Well, I had more graceful endings to this chapter but I ultimately settled on this. I am debating on committing to an actual schedule or just publishing new chapters whenever I feel like it, both options have their ups and downs. Anyways, hope you all have a good day or night and thank you for giving the story a read.
Ailing Loran: Thank you for the review! Yeah, I was worried about not having enough material in the last chapter but after that long of a gap between chapters I decided that getting something out there was better than workshopping any longer. Anyways I hope this chapter provided you with enough momentum to entertain, seeds have been planted after all :)
selfishgecko: Thanks for the first review! I am new to writing so I expected for things to take a long time to get rolling as I figured out how to approach things, but as you can see in my response to Ailing Loran, I had pressed myself to get a chapter out, even if it was really short and a little lacking. Here's to hoping this one provides what the past two didn't :)