Info: Break in line means either change of POV or change of setting/time

Chapter 8 — Friends

"The best teachers have showed me that things have to be done bit by bit. Nothing that means anything happens quickly — we only think it does."

― Joseph Bruchac

Serena had to be as quiet as possible.

Silently placing her foot down, she looked around to find another clear spot to settle her left foot. The forest was dense and thus there were many dead leaves and branches lying around. Objects that would easily emit a sound if she were to step on them, which would result in them giving away her presence. She silently cursed to herself when she noticed that there were no more paths for her to walk, so she decided that she had to take to the trees. Despite the thickness of the forest it was easy enough to go from one tree to another without making much noise. Swiftly heaving herself up by a low hanging branch, she assessed her location and chose the next tree by which she would travel for now.

It was time.

This morning Serena would start her training with the Grimm. She had rested the day before and thought about all the possible ways on how to get to know and — if possible — befriend them.

Though the first thing she had to think about was how she would actually find them. As far as she knew, the creatures lived somewhere deeper in the forest, and during all the time she'd trained outside did she not once see one pass by. This fact led her to assume that they had their own areas — like gang territories so to say— where they gathered, and it would be more likely to meet them there than anywhere else.

So, having figured out the best method would be to stroll through the forest and look for them — simple but usually effective. Ever since she had gone off she had been very conscious of not creating too much noise. If she found a Grimm, then she wanted to be able to hear them before they could hear her.
She wanted to be the one to surprise them — not the other way around.

Quietly jumping from one branch to the other she looked around, but still there were no signs of any kind of Grimm. Sighing, she continued her search by hopping and spinning from one branch to the next. It were times like these that she was glad she had not forgotten the movements of yearlong training.
After what she estimated to be an hour of constant traveling there was still no sign of any kind of animal.

Looking down, she spotted what appeared to be a footprint — but not one of a human or rabbit. It looked more like a wolf or bear, the long claws creating large dents in the still moist soil. She quietly jumped down and examined them.

Definitely from a Grimm. I think they're still fresh…

She stood up straight and looked around, staring her ears for any kind of noise — the rustle of a leaf, the breaking of a tree branch… But there was nothing and she thought that maybe the Grimm had already left the area. She wasn't the best at reading tracks, so it could be that she had misjudged the freshness of the imprints.

So back to looking and hopping around, it seemed...

...But before she could do so, she heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by a low grumble not ten feet from her. Her muscles tensed and she held her own breath, hoping that she would survive what was to come. After all, for all she knew her previous luck with the beasts could have been just that — luck.

Another leaf rustled and Serena turned in the direction of the sound, staring at the bushes and trees behind which she suspected the Grimm. She strained her eyes so much that she could actually feel a slight headache coming, but she didn't care — it was a minor nuisance at the moment. She repeatedly forced herself to stay calm and breathe normally. They would sense her fear and weakness unless she controlled herself, though she was not sure that would help her.

Then there was a third rustling and the creature finally left the cover of the bushes at which she had been staring for what felt like an eternity. It appeared to be another bear, though this one had less plates of bone covering its body which made her wonder just what those bones exemplified. Its eyes were as red as the other Grimm's as it came at her, perched high on its two hind legs, emitting a low growl. Once again, she found herself being studied. It was almost as if it was assessing the threat she posed.

How ironic; I'm the threat, not him.

"It's okay… I won't hurt you."

She deemed talking to be the best way out of this. It had saved her life the last time. Maybe the creature could even understand some of what she said. And if it did not, then she at least hoped that her calm tone was any indication to it of her peaceful nature.

"You don't have to be afraid of me. Come here," she cooed as if she were talking to a child. The creature did remind her a bit of one, though she would never say that it wouldn't kill her in two seconds flat. She crouched down, placing a hand on the ground to steady herself and held the other out to the animal. The Grimm only cocked its head slightly, and — slowly but surely — it started to lower itself as well and advanced toward her with careful, heavy steps.

The girl held her breath — she just hoped it had been the right decision to crouch down to the animal's eye-level.

She reached her hand out a little further and closed her eyes for a moment when the Grimm got close enough, holding her breath, waiting if she would lose her hand or not.

But she never felt pain.

Instead, she could feel the creature's warm breath ghost over her open palm and when she opened her eyes she was staring directly into those of the Grimm. But as before, she saw no malice in them, no intent to hurt her. She only detected sorrow and what looked like appreciation, as if it were actually happy that someone wanted to pet it.

The raven-head slowly laid her hand atop the Grimm's snout and slowly began to move up to its head, patting and scratching once she reached its ears. The animal did nothing except let out a low growl and pressed its head into her hand more, as if to tell her to please continue what she was doing. A soft smile graced Serena's lips — she could not believe that she could actually handle these creatures that were supposedly the incarnation of negativity and just plain evil. She was overcome with happiness, subconsciously starting to cry. Only when the Grimm licked her face with its rough tongue did she notice the moistness on her face. She identified the motion as concern and began to cry even more, touched by the sheer concern and care the animal seemed to have towards her.

"I'm okay, don't worry. I'm just so happy…" Another sob racked her body, all the penned up emotions coming rushing. "I'm not alone anymore… If you want, then you can be my first friend here. I haven't really had the chance to meet anyone else, and I think I'll appreciate your company more than that of humans at the moment," she spoke, feeling the need to reassure the animal that seemed to understand her. The Grimm suddenly took a few steps back and turned around, advancing a few steps before turning its head to look at her.

"Hmm? What is it?"

The creature nodded his head in the direction it was turned, before looking at her expectantly. She took it as an indication to follow and stood up, dusted herself off and then closely followed. It coerced her deeper into the forest, and she could spot a row of mountains in the distance.

"Could it be you live here?" she inquired as though she were actually expecting a response, momentarily forgetting that she was — in fact — talking to what was essentially an animal. The bear snorted in reply and continued on, trotting towards what seemed to be an enormous cave, far bigger than her current home. The forest here was even denser than before, and she had to keep close to the Grimm so that the branches that were pushed away by it would not smack her in the face. When they arrived at the cave, the Grimm gave a loud sound that strangely resembled the howling of a wolf and only moments later several other Grimm appeared, all bears.

Some were small and had no bony plates or spikes, which made them look extremely similar to large black bears, while others' bodies were almost fully covered by them. To her, they were the size of monster trucks. Serena temporarily lost her courage, intimidated by the sheer number of potential dangers that were all gazing at her with their vivid red eyes.

A gentle nudge against her back made her focus again, and she looked behind her at her companion who was growling lowly, comforting her with his simple presence. She felt like he was telling her that he had her back and that it was okay. The girl took this as encouragement and slowly approached the other Grimm, her new-found guardian following shortly behind, ready to protect her from its own kind. She opted to approach the biggest one that sported the most bones — it seemed he was the leader of the pack. If she could get approval from him, then surely the others would accept her as well — or would at least not be allowed to kill her.

She once again extended her hand in front of her and approached at a slow but steady pace, heart thumping wildly in her chest. Sweet Jesus, please let this work, she prayed, trying to remain as calm as possible, though inside she was a maelstrom of emotions. But she knew that she had to focus and not mess this up, or else she might not leave here alive.

She may have one of them on her side, but one Grimm could not fend off an entire pack.

When she finally reached the biggest of them all, — who couldn't have been smaller than a mining haul truck — the beast sniffed her hand. Only after a tense few moments did she find herself patting it and was soon surrounded by the others as well, some sniffing her curiously while others took to licking her face.

She could burst, and internally she was, but she only allowed herself to laugh, once again doubting that one person could possibly have so much luck. First she survives a deadly plane crash and then she befriends creatures that no other human dares to near without heavy-duty weapons. It all seemed like a dream to her.

"Thank you." She repeated the two words again and again, not really knowing who exactly she was thanking and not really caring. She was just grateful that it had all turned out like this.

The following days she visited the Grimm more often, and every time she improved her interaction with them to the point that she was almost a member of their family now. She had even given them names.

The one that had accompanied was given the name Ajax, and the leader of the Grimm pack was Napoleon. The first name she had chosen randomly, coming up with it one evening before she'd gone to sleep. The other — Napoleon — she had chosen out of a reason. Napoleon Bonaparte had been the man in the French Revolution, leading and winning countless battles in the name of his country. Because of Serena's love for history, she had found the name rather fitting for the leader of such an enormous pack. She did not, however, miss out on the sheer irony of naming such a titanic animal after a tiny man.

She was yanked out of her thoughts when Ajax suddenly stopped in front of her, making her bump into his large shoulder. Her new best friend had shown up at her home this morning and signaled for her to follow him. So, not being one to object to his idea of doing something, she had done as he wanted and had been dwelling in her own thoughts until now.

They had arrived at what seemed to be ruins, though the girl was not sure of what they were. From the looks of them they could be the ruins of a castle, or a bridge that had once stood there. Looking at Ajax, she saw him peering right into the sky, seemingly waiting for something. She did the same and it was only minutes later that an enormous black bird the size of a jet plane appeared from behind the cliff in front of which the ruins stood. It had a long beak and large claws, followed by big pointy and deadly looking feathers. It actually looked like the animal could shoot them like projectiles, and Serena had no doubt that it really could.

The bird closed in on them and landed a few feet away from them, cawing shrilly once as if to communicate with the Grimm beside her. Ajax growled and howled once and after that, he nudged her forward, in the direction of the large bird. It was even more enormous up close and the woman had to admit –– she was scared shit-less. Its beak looked to be quite dagger-like, and she had no doubt that it could rip her to pieces or tear the flesh right off her bones.

Looking back to Ajax, she saw him shaking his head as if to tell her that it was okay. "I'll trust you, friend," she said almost in warning before walking towards the feathered Grimm.

She had to do this differently. She couldn't' just simply reach out her hand — the beast was too big, she would never reach it. So, instead, she walked until she was right in front of it and then touched one claw, waiting for a reaction. When nothing happened, she grabbed some feathers and started to heave herself up, getting aided by Ajax who used his head as prop to help her climb. It took quite some effort and she nearly fell off twice, but when she finally made it to the animal's head, she positioned herself on its skull and then let her own head hang down, looking the creature straight into one of its four eyes. She was fairly sure that this was not the right way to do it, but it was the only solution she'd come up with.

Time passed slowly as she continued staring into the one red eye until the Grimm gave a loud caw and with one powerful flap, she abruptly found herself up in the sky, maintaining eyecontact with the animal. When she saw that it did not seem to mind her on its head, she carefully pulled back and sat down on its head, grabbing hold of the feathers.

"You want to make a little tour with me?"

The bird only continued climbing in altitude until they were so high that Serena could see the city she'd been to. Looking down, she could identify a small black spot as Ajax. When the bird began sailing through the air, she erupted in cheerful laughter, releasing her only safety belt for a few seconds to spread her arms wide and enjoy the feel of the wind rushing past her face and through her dark tresses. She quickly grabbed hold anew when she felt the bird start to dip down and was glad that she'd done so, because not ten seconds later, she found herself spinning in loops, laughing hysterically from the sheer adrenaline kick. When the Grimm flew normal again, she huffed mockingly, "Show off."

They were nearing the ruins again and when they touched down on solid ground once more, Serena swiftly climbed down, using the animal's beak as slide, dropping the last few feet down. Perfectly landing on her two feet, she turned around to the Grimm and bowed in respect and gratitude. She could see that she had found another friend.

"I'm looking forward to some more tours and loops… Aeolus."

She added the name after thinking for a moment. It belonged to the Greek god of the winds and the air, fitting for a creature that could soar through the sky with such skill. The Grimm cocked its head slightly, then cawed and gently nudged her once with its beak before flying off. The female went back to Ajax and hugged him tightly, hiding her face in its black pelt.

"You know, I'm almost happy that I died and came here. I would never have found friends like you and the others back on Earth… I think my life here won't be as bad as I first thought," she mumbled before she started to walk back to her home, her furry friend walking right beside her.

Edited 26/12/2016

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.