Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, I only own the OC I created. All other credits to RoosterTeeth.
Speech: Hello
Thoughts: "Hello"
Flashback; Hello
Neo: 「Hello」
"I'll be fine, I'm not a baby."
With a sigh, Dove hung up the scroll. Why couldn't parents understand children wanted dependence for once in a while? Probably because it was part of their job to worry. But Dove was away from all that. Vacuo to Vale was a big jump but it was a welcome jump. Well, aside from how cold it felt to Dove. This was a new beginning for him. Free from the boring deserts and doting parents.
Beacon was definitely a sight to behold, due to the distance he had to travel he had to come a few days early so there weren't any travel complications which could force him to be late. So all he did was was explore the school, for there wasn't much else he could do after all. And it was what he expected.
It was perfect.
Now all he had was time to kill. The initiation was in a day and the school was right next to the commercial district, so it was time to shop. He had to wear a lanyard which he received upon arriving at the school so he wondered if he could get discounts with it.
"Where to go, where to go." Dove muttered to himself.
The stores didn't attract to Dove at all, mostly because they sold things that didn't interest him. He was mildly attracted by Tuksons Book Trade but he passed on it because the Library of Beacon could probably satisfy all his needs for it.
Vale was already everything he'd expected and more, but Dove was easily impressed. The buildings to the street itself everything felt like it was just right. Vacuo wasn't a horrible place, it was probably the recency bias.
While walking down the street, Dove's eyes lazily scanned the stores until something caught his interest. "Cyril's antiques, maybe you'll find your treasure today". An antique store? He'd never been in one, let alone bought an antique, but today was a day of new experiences.
Maybe he could get one of those creepy dolls from way back. With a push of the door and a ring of the bell, Dove entered the store looking for something new.
But what he didn't know what that he was taking one step into hell.
The store was eerily normal.
The outside of it made it look much smaller than it actually was, or was it the fact that there was so much crammed in one place? The Grandfather clocks which loomed over everyone to the paintings, which gave the otherwise colourless room a splash of life. The only two people who worked in the store were a rather cute looking girl and a guy who worked behind the counter, though he didn't know if they noticed him because none of them looked at him.
"Welcome to Cyril's antiques. I hope you can find your treasure today."
Something about his voice was odd, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It might have been the way he droned, but it was off-putting, though it could be the nerves finally getting to Dove.
Dove simply nodded and went to looking around the store. On the Corner of his eye he saw the man, who he assumed was Cyril, stood up and folded the newspaper he was reading.
In front of him were coins. Of course, they were behind a glass casing, but it was still fascinating. They weren't just from Vale, either. Each coin seemed to come from a different continent. Dove always wondered how they ended up here. He chalked it up to people keeping them as a reminder of the past and then selling them but who is actively looking for this stuff? Well, rich people had a taste for weird things, so it sort of made sense why this stuff could sell.
"Don't you find it fascinating how these coins show what each kingdom values?" A soft voice came from behind. Dove thought it was the girl, but it was actually Cyril. He had a silver key in his hand.
"Yeah, I guess."
He stepped forward in front of Dove and placed the key into the keyhole for the glass casing and with a lift he opened it. "I normally don't do this, but you seemed really interested. Something I don't normally see with kids." He said while lifting a coin. It was a silver coin which had a fist imprinted on it.
"This coin is from the Great War, exactly 80 years ago. The silver material you can see is from Anima or, to be more specific, Mistral." He put the coin right in front of Dove's eye. "You see the fist?" A nod. "From what you'll learn in the future, Mistral banned the arts and self expression hence the fist. Everyone has a coin, so it served as a reminder to those who'd dare speak out. But it's funny, the people with the most money were exempt from it." He laughed.
Wow. He was way too enthusiastic for Dove's liking, but what he was saying was interesting. How do you ban self expression? The term was way too broad for Dove to really understand.
"Where's that one from?" He said, pointing to a coin which seemed to have a scratch on it.
He picked it up, and it seemed a rather twisted smile fell on his face. "After the Great War, the Faunus were particularly unhappy. They received the Menagerie but that in of its self was a slap to the face. This coin was an attempt to create a new currency to show dependence from the pesky humans who they hated so much. But it quickly failed, and the Lien stayed the dominant currency."
"Huh interesting. Are these for sale? I think I could use it to sweet talk my history teacher, get extra credit." Dove said after some thinking.
"Smart. You know what kid, I'll give it to you for free." He declared with a smile.
"Really? There's no need. You seem to love these coins, I don't wanna take it away from you." Dove said. He was willing to pay for it, but this act of kindness made his heart feel warm.
"It's fine, you're the first student of the year and you listened to me ramble so think of it as a thank you." He shrugged. "Pick which two you'd like then come to the counter." Cyril said while walking off.
How could he just put him on the spot like that? Well, his rational brain was telling him to pick the two he was just told about while his other was telling him to pick something unique. He enjoyed the stories he was told about the coins, so he listened to his rational side. The Anima Coin and the Faunus one. It was his ultimate choice.
He picked up the Coins which were inside small boxes which resembled the wedding ring boxes and went to the counter with them in hand. "I'll play it safe and take the ones you told me about." Dove said while placing the boxes on the counter.
Cyril took the boxes and scanned them just to confirm the purchase. "Here, I hope you make great use of these." He said as he bagged the items.
There it happened again. Dove felt as if there was a weight on his shoulders. It was as if there was a voice shouting in his head to give up everything he'd ever worked. It was as if his there was a weight on his shoulders and the air around him felt heavy, suffocating even. It was as if Dove had been shown his worst fears. The feeling was indescribable.
"T-thanks." He stuttered as he almost snatched his items and attempted to get to the door.
He was creepy, no that wasn't a good enough word for it. He was disquieting, but it didn't add up. Just a few seconds ago he was talking so passionately about these weird coins, and now this. He just had to get out of here. His survival instincts told him to.
Once he reached the door, he pushed.
But nothing.
"Oh, son of a bitch."
The last thing Dove felt was the edge of a blade touching his throat
Cyril looked at the body on the floor of his store.
"Interesting, he didn't put his aura up even when he knew he was in danger." Cyril commented while wiping the blood off his knife with a cloth.
The body twitched for a second, but the student was dead. When you slit a person's throat, you do three things. You sever the windpipe, which means the victim can't scream or shout for help. You also slice the carotid artery, meaning much blood can't reach the brain, and then lastly you slice the jugular too meaning blood from the brain can't go back to the heart.
All in all, a pleasant way to kill.
The reason as to why his aura wasn't up was probably because of Cyril's semblance. He might have doubted the fact that Cyril could be a bad person and didn't see a need to protect himself, but Cyril could tell he was definitely scared.
"Neo strip him and bring his body to the back room." Cyril ordered.
Her face broke into a mixture of disgust and annoyance. "Oh don't act like a child, we're all adults here." She stood on her tiptoes so her face was as close to his as possible. "Well, I'm an adult. Trust me, seeing a naked boy won't be the worst thing ever."
She angrily sighed and dragged the boy's body by the legs, making sure not to bump into any of the shelves.
Cyril, however stood still, and the world around him changed.
10 years ago, Anima
"For the unforgivable crime of murder and the sin of heresy, the Maiden has ordered for Cyril to be executed." A man dressed in white robes read from the long scroll he held in his hand. He had a scar running down his left eye, but the most defining feature was the sun and moon symbols seared onto his forehead. "Do you object?"
Cyril had been chained against a white cross with his hands cuffed and chained. His eyes had been blindfolded, and they had drawn a sun and moon symbol on his chest.
"Do I object to my execution? What do you think?"
Anima was the worst place ever, not because he was being executed, but because the people were all idiots. Believing in a human playing god and devoting their lives to a religion which was fake. But Cyril had never listened to them. The years he'd spent here; everything went in one year and went out of the other. He'd always been good at reading people, and he could tell these guys were a bunch of liars.
"Do not talk to us like that! Your existence has been a plague to our people and has displeased the Lord, but we took mercy on your soul. We gave you shelter, friends, a name! And this is how you repay us? But today that will all come to an end and so will your cursed life." He screamed.
"Will the Maiden be coming today, Father Vasily? I have a few things I want to say to her." He asked.
"And what exactly is that?"
"Tell her when I get out of here, I am going to cave her skull in."
Father Vasily laughed at this. "That is what you don't understand, Cyril. After today you will not exist, Cyril your existence is a stain on this beautiful world, a mistake of the gods, and today we are going to wipe you out." He said after calming down.
"Cyril will no longer exist."
End
Authors note:
This was a fun chapter to write, especially the part with the coins. Dove seemed to be the unlucky guy who had to die in order for the plan to begin, a noble sacrifice. Also dropped some of Cyril backstory which I enjoyed writing, creepy cult vibe and all also Vasily is a dope name. Cyril as a teenager is way different to his adult self as we'll learn later. I don't think he'd say "cave her skull in" as an adult, sounds too violent.
Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter feel free to point out any problems and I'll fix it.