Chapter 18 — Awake

"Constant kindness can accomplish much.

As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate."

— Albert Schweitzer

Adam slowly blinked his eyes open, the sudden irradiation of light making him squint them shut again before finally reopening them. His sight adjusted to the dim light that filtered in, blurry at first before clearing more and more. His gaze was fixed on what seemed to be a ceiling made of stone, leading him to question his current whereabouts.

He slowly sat himself up, taking notice of the wet cloth that fell into his lap. Raising a hand to his head, he noticed that his mask was no longer in place. On second thought, neither were his coat and shirt. Instead, bandages covered his torso and a blanket covered him from his waist down. Another set of gauze was wrapped snugly around his head.

Looking around, he carefully surveyed his surroundings. The room he was in certainly was a cave, and from the looks of it, it was situated in the middle of the forest, for he could see various trees through the mouth of the cave. A fire was crackling quietly a few feet away and he noticed the numerous rocks that were placed around it, like they were organized in that order to be sat on. Looking to the right, he spotted a few piles of clothes, mostly pants and tops, and a cloak, all neatly stacked together.

Where the hell am I? he asked himself, not sure what to make of his situation. Obviously, he was in the home of someone and it looked like that someone was living in the forest. Which was basically impossible.

Forever Fall forest was Grimm territory. People wouldn't survive longer than a day there.

The rustling of underbrush made him snap his attention to the opening of the cavern, and a few moments later a figure stepped inside. The bright sunlight blinded him for a moment, making it hard for him to see this new person. But once his sight adjusted, he was greeted with the sight of a young woman — girl would be more appropriate.

She was quietly approaching him and he took her obvious absent-mindedness to study the new threat.

She was of average height with short black hair. Her clothes were simple: a dark red top, a pair of black shorts, as well as black stockings and green combat boots.

What did, however, set his mind at unease was the bow she carried at her side. A quiver of arrows was strapped to her back, the tips of some poking out over her shoulder.

Readying himself to attack, he tried reaching for his weapon, only to notice that it was nowhere to be seen. The move did not go unnoticed, and he cursed internally as the girl's blue eyes landed on him.

He remembered seeing blue eyes sometime when he came to. So she had been nursing him.

But even so, she was an enemy.

"Oh, you're up."

Her voice was soft and kind, as was the smile that appeared on her lips. He watched her move, surprised when she put away the bow and arrows.

He almost wanted to laugh at her — she'd just willingly relinquished her only means of defense against him.

His eyes followed her like those of a hawk watching its prey as she moved closer. No sooner was she in reaching distance did he act.

Flinging away the blanket, he leapt at her. Body colliding with hers, he pushed the human against the stone wall behind her, his arm coming to press down on her throat.

Apart from the quiet gasp that escaped her as he did this, the girl did not put up any kind of resistance.

But what truly surprised him was the lack of fear.

Odd, he mused.

Serena wiped a hand across her forehead. Her hunting trip had been unsuccessful thus far — it seemed her head was in the clouds, and she refused to kill anything when she wasn't one hundred percent focused on the task. Deciding that she might as well head home, she strapped on her quiver, shifting the bow in her hand.

She let her mind wander to her patient as she made her way home. The fever had broken the night before, and she was certain he would wake during the course of day. A thought entered her mind, making her giggle. It was just like in the novel, The English Patient. Now all she needed was for him to be some kind of spy or secret agent. Her imagination ran wild at the prompt, not realizing how close to the truth she was.

Heavy footfalls joined her light ones and she looked to the side to greet Ajax. The Grimm happily trotted up to her side, his much larger head bumping her shoulder in greeting. Her friend had become surprisingly good at telling that something was off about the human and came to visit her as often as he could. It was nice to know that he worried as much about her. Still, there was no way she could let her patient see the Grimm just yet.

"I'm sorry Ajax," she said softly, hand coming up to scratch him under the chin. "But this is where we part ways. Thank you for accompanying me."

The Grimm nuzzled his snout to her cheek before disappearing in the underbrush, steps muffled by the leaves coating the forest floor. Exhaling deeply, she let her mind wonder about what to make for dinner. She could do something with potatoes — she'd bought them in the city lately — before they expired. Maybe a bit of fish with boiled potatoes. Or how about mashed?

The soft sound of rustling sheets interrupted her thoughts, and her head swiveled to the side to see her patient sitting up in bed. She was surprised he woke this early, but nevertheless glad to see that he seemed well enough to be able to move around. Leaning her bow and quiver against the wall, she made to approach him, a small smile on her lips. She casually let her arms hang by her side, showing that she was unarmed and meant no harm.

"Oh, you're up."

Stupid first words, but nothing else came to mind. Beside, the tone of her voice was more important than the words spoken. The last thing she needed was for him to think of her as an enemy.

When she was just a few steps short of her bed, her patient moved. With speed she had never before witnessed, he was out the bed, slammed into her and had her pinned against the wall, one arm settling threateningly at her throat. Her eyes were wide as plates as she looked at the sudden shift in the situation, but she reminded herself to stay calm.

Which wasn't all that hard. There was no fear in her, to her own shock.

Was there something wrong with her?

She should be terrified, should be trying to get out of his hold, should kick and scream at him to let her go. Instead, her heartbeat was normal — if not a little accelerated — and her eyes steadily trained on his.

The color of them shocked her even more than did his assault. They were red — a bright and deep red, close to blood but not quite the same shade. Almost maroon if she had to name it. Inside them she could see anger and confusion. The confusion she could understand, not the anger however.

Her eye trailed down the rest of his body on their own accord, taking in his considerable height — he dwarfed her by almost two heads and had to lean down so he was at eye-level with her, — as well as the fact that he was still not wearing a shirt, which gave her a really good view of his torso. She blushed at the sight of his toned arms and stomach, gaze snapping back up to his for fear of turning any redder.

The situation was totally uncalled for, and still she went and blushed about a man being close to her.

A shiver ran down her spine as he spoke up, his voice low and deep, breath barely ghosting across her face.

"Who are you? And where the fuck am I?"

Adam increased the pressure on the girl's throat as he barked out the questions, eyes narrowing to glare into hers. He felt her hands grasping onto the limp but ignored it. She could not possibly possess the strength to draw his arm away. Instead, he focused on the even though strained breathing of the human; something that really irritated him. She should be begging in fear, not look so calm and collected. He could crush her neck with one hand if he so wanted — her entire head would probably fit in his two hands.

A sudden stab of pain made him grimace and he relented his hold on her in favor of grasping at the still hurting wound on his torso. Taking a step back, he watched in surprise and confusion as the human rushed to his side. He tried shaking her off, but she persisted as she supported him, slinging his left arm across her shoulder, other hand going to circle behind his back.

"You shouldn't move yet," she scolded him. "Come, lie back down."

She dragged him over to the rock he'd been lying on and which he now identified to actually be her bed. What the hell kind of girl was she to sleep on a rock?

All attempts at pushing her away remained unsuccessful, and he begrudgingly lay down on the surprisingly soft bed. The human darted away and returned moments later with a pot and a ceramic cup she had fetched from the fireside. Pouring some of the pot's content into the small cup, she placed the pot by her feet, offering him the cup.

"Drink this. It will help with the pain and speed up the healing process," she advised.

He pushed her hand away, the action making the tea slop out over the rim of the cup, burning the girl's hand. She gave a quiet hiss but remained silent otherwise. Her eyes locked with his, and he could detect a hint of annoyance in the blue depths.

"If you don't drink it, your wound might get worse."

He didn't care. He wasn't about to just go and drink something some human offered him. For all he knew, she could be trying to poison him. Humans were ready to perform any deed if it meant hurting a Faunus was the reward.

And indignant expression crossed her face and she said, "It's not poisoned."

To prove her point, she herself took two sips of the green liquid, and his eyes watched as she swallowed it, tracing the movement of her throat. He waited— waited for her to vomit, to drop to the floor and die. But nothing happened. She was sitting in front of him, eyes defiantly staring into his, a small triumphant smile twisting her lips.

"See? No poison. So, if you want to get out of here as soon as possible, I advise drinking it. It's the best I've got."

Grumbling and cursing the Maidens for his bad luck, he snatched the cup from her hand before quickly downing the tea as one would strong alcohol. The taste wasn't bad — it actually reminded him of some medicine he'd taken in the past — and slid down his throat with pleasant warmth. In an act of defiance, however, he dropped the cup, and it would have shattered on the floor had the girl not reacted quickly and caught it.

He wanted to strangle her as she rolled her eyes at his behavior but refrained from doing so. For the time being, at least.

The human got up and went over to the fire burning to the side, poking at it with a branch.

"I'm actually glad you woke up," her quiet voice floated over to him. "I wasn't sure you'd make it, with that wound of yours."

He glared at her back. It would take more than a couple of Grimm to kill him. Pushing aside his dented pride, he addressed more pressing concerns of his.

"How the hell did I get here?"

Her body stopped its poking for a moment before she resumed the action, back still turned to him. The fool — he could easily kill her if he wanted to.

"Well…"

She trailed off for a moment and Adam felt his irritation grow. He wasn't the most patient of people, and if she didn't talk soon there would be physical violence involved.

"I was taking a… walk, so to say, and noticed your group being surrounded by Grimm. You were already passed out, but I managed to convince the Grimm to let you go. So I got you here and treated your wounds. You were out for a couple of days with a fever, but it seems you're all better now. Though I'm afraid you'll have to remain here for some time to give your wounds time to heal."

The last sentence displeased him greatly. "How long?" he asked.

"I'm really no doctor, but if I were you, I'd wait at least two weeks before getting back out there to fight. Maybe even longer, if you continue to go hopping around and attacking people," she quipped and he felt his hands clench in order not to kill her right then and there.

But that wouldn't do. So far, she was not a threat and had helped him. Given the fact that she lived alone in the most secluded place in the entire kingdom, he opted to keep her alive, if only so she could treat his wound. But as soon as he was healed, her fate was sealed and he would dispose of her without a second thought.

Still, two weeks — possibly three — was too long a time. He couldn't possibly stay away from the White Fang for that long. He voiced his discontent to the girl.

"I'm afraid you'll have to deal with it. You're in no condition to cross the forest — you couldn't even stand on your own only moments ago. You go out there now, you're dead. Two weeks. After that, you're free to leave."

Her tone was final and he gritted his teeth in anger. Curse this damn human! Curse the damn Grimm! Curse Eric and Steve for getting him into this situation in the first place!

This made him halt. He had seen no sign of either of the men, and a quiet fear crept up to him. "Hey girl," he barked, making her turn her head, eyes locking with his. "What about the two men that were with me? Where are they?"

A look of sadness crossed her face, and she gave a small sigh before shaking her head. "I'm sorry. But they were already…"

She didn't finish the sentence, but she didn't have to. Adam knew from those words that both Faunus were dead, probably swallowed by the Grimm. Again, he cursed everything in existence.

Edited 02/01/2018

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.