Chapter 27 — Complication
"But the memories that hang heaviest are the easiest to recall.
They hold in their creases the ability to change one's life, organically, forever.
Even when you shake them out,
They've left permanent wrinkles in the fabric of your soul."
― Julie Gregory,
Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood
Serena looked at her pupil — if that was what she could call him — in discontent. The man stood tall in front of her, eyes glaring back and weapon at his side.
"I'll say it for the last time," she repeated what she'd told him at least three times before. "You need to leave your weapon here."
"And I'll answer for the last time: no. My weapon stays at my side."
The tension between the two grew, eyes still locked in a silent battle of wills. Finally, Serena gave a sigh of exasperation.
"Look, I know you don't trust me. But if you want this to work, you need to leave your weapon here. You show up with that by your side, and the Grimm will attack you. And I'm not sure I'll be able to stop them if they do," she finished.
Depending on the fact if I even want to stop them, she added cynically. Honestly, so far he'd been nothing more than a pain in the butt — the few times he was actually civil being excluded — and was truly considering letting Ajax rough him up a but. Of course she would step in if things got out of hand, but she was not against the idea altogether.
"And how am I supposed to defend myself if they do attack me?" Adam countered.
"Don't worry; I know how to handle them. Now, leave the weapon. I won't start training you otherwise."
The male grumbled something unintelligible, before he finally let go of the sword and leaned it against the stone wall.
Finally! Serena rejoiced in her mind. On the outside, she didn't let her emotions show, instead having a perfectly calm facade in place.
"Thank you. Now, would you please follow me?" she instructed, hiking along the path she had ingrained into her brain. The Faunus followed without further comment, but she could hear his footsteps crunch the soft leaves. She led them a good way into the forest before coming upon a large clearing.
"Alright; we'll be performing the first lesson of your training here. Now, before I call Ajax, I need to tell you something." Her eyes turned serious. "It's important that you don't let any negative thoughts cloud your mind. Any sign of negativity and he'll probably attack. But I guess you already knew that," she commented the way he rolled his eyes at her. "Anyway, try not to be too tense. It'll only give him the idea that you're ready to attack."
With those final words, she lifted her hand to her mouth and a shrill whistle rang across the forest. They waited for a short while before the sound of heavy footsteps reached both their ears. Serena saw how Adam tensed up, and admonished him to relax.
Ajax appeared not a moment later, black fur shining in the warm sun, red eyes landing on the human girl. He immediately trotted over to her, pressing his snout to her cheek in a way of greeting. His ears perked and teeth flashed as he noticed the second presence, and he immediately positioned his body so that he was partially shielding that of the girl.
Adam noticed this with great interest. The monster considered her one of its own. He stored the note in the back of his mind, focusing back on the Grimm.
He watched as the girl stepped up next to the Grimm, hand slowly landing atop the Grimm's shoulder.
"Easy, Ajax. It's okay. He's a friend of mine," she soothed the creature, voice a calming sound in the otherwise tense situation. "He's here to meet you. How about it?"
The Grimm seemed confused for a moment, head cocking to the side, inspecting the human male in front of him. Adam watched as its shoulders sank a little, and some of the tension left its body.
"Alright, you can approach him now. But do so slowly; no hasty or rash movements. It'd be best if you stretch out your hand towards him. That way, he can smell you when you're close enough," the girl advised his quietly, hand still on the Grimm's shoulder.
Adam did as she instructed — for once actually following her orders without opposition; she was the expert on Grimm here, after all — and slowly crept closer to the creature, one hand cautiously inching closer to the Grimm. He'd just about reached the pair when a sudden memory entered his mind.
The Grimm felt the shift of his aura, and before Serena had the chance to react, Ajax had pushed her aside with one claw while the other swung at the Faunus in front of them. She hit the ground hard, and gasped as her head whipped around to see the man dodging her friend's attacks.
Scrambling up from the ground, she hurried over to the fighting couple. Knowing of only one way to stop Ajax now, she positioned her body in front of that of Adam, stretching her arms out to try and cover him as best she could.
Ajax, however, had already lunged for another attack. Serena saw how the Grimm's eyes widened in shock as he realized that his deadly claws were heading straight towards her face. In an effort to avoid hurting her, he redirected his slash, claws striking her across her upper arm.
Serena flinched at the sharp pain that flooded her body, biting her cheek to keep from crying out. Her hand immediately clasped around the wound, blood already dripping down her arm. The cut was deep and had cleanly cut through her skin, severing the muscle as it did so. Her arm hung limply by her side.
The soft whimpers from her friend caught her attention, and she gave a small smile. "Don't worry… I'm fine," she panted through the pain. In an effort to assure her friend of her well-being, she lifted the injured arm, waving it in the air once. The pain was even worse, but she suppressed it as well as she could.
"I'm okay, really. But I guess that's enough training for one day. You should go home, Ajax. I'll call for you tomorrow."
With a final bumping of his snout against her cheek as a sign of apology, the Grimm left the pair.
Serena turned, her face pale and sweat trickling down it, and made her way back to the cave.
Adam quietly followed her, eyes fixed on her bloodied arm. She didn't have to take the blow for him. He would have been fine on his own. And if he'd been allowed to take his weapon along, this wouldn't have happened in the first place! He'd warned her!
The girl swayed dangerously in front of him, and he could see how the wound took its toll on her body. The way she looked, she could pass out any second.
Grumbling to himself — he couldn't believe he was about to do this — he marched up to her. Not giving her a chance to protest, he put one hand on her back while the other grabbed her under the knees. Just in time it seemed, for as soon as he had a grip on her, her body sagged completely and he was left to heave her up into his arms.
The girl's head was lolling atop his arm, and he shifted his hold slightly so that the side of her face was resting against his chest. He could feel the sweat soaking into his shirt from the contact. Usually, he would be disgusted by this. But right now, he really couldn't bring himself to be.
She had gotten hurt in order to protect him. An unnecessary move, but she still put herself in danger for his sake. So he could let her drenching his shirt in sweat slide for now.
Serena's whole world was as if she were looking from beneath murky water. Her stomach felt queasy and her head pounded. Her arm had started to fall numb, and she could barely feel the drips of blood sliding along her wrist and fingers.
The only thing that gave her comfort was the steady sound of a beating heart by her ear. She tried focusing on it, pushing aside all other feelings. Simply concentrating on that one sound. The steady up and down motion helped her in gathering her mind.
She was ripped from the sound all too fast, her bottom coming to rest atop her bed. She felt the hands on her body leave her, and she felt strangely alone. It was almost like back then, when she was drowning.
She wished she'd had a hand to grab then.
The sudden lump of panic made her other, uninjured hand grasp for something, and she felt the soft texture of a shirt beneath her fingers. Her grip was weak but she did not relent.
Adam looked down at his shirt. One of her pale hands was bunching up the fabric in her grip, and try as he might, she was not letting go. He heaved a sigh of annoyance.
"Let go of me, or I can't help you," he demanded.
Unsteady blue eyes looked at him, and he wondered if the human was even capable of understanding him in her current state. Though something in his heart shifted at the sight. She looked so lost and small. Almost like a child that needed protection.
Banning the thoughts from his mind, he grabbed her hand and forcefully tore one finger after another loose from his shirt. Having regained his mobility, he went in search of the first aid kit the girl had stashed somewhere around the place.
"To the left," her feeble voice told him. He directed his search to the mentioned direction and soon got a hold of the small crate.
Returning to her side, he was somewhat relieved to see that she seemed to have gathered her bearings once more, her eyes no longer hazy. Grabbing her arm carefully, he applied the alcohol with a clean piece of cloth. The human whimpered and grit her teeth, but apart from that, she was silent.
He had to admire that about her. She was tougher than she looked.
When the slash was clean, he took the needle and thread from the box and started sewing the wound. This time, she made almost no sound, and he could tell that she was getting used to the steady rhythm of him pricking her skin and pulling the thread through it.
"The ointment. Put some of the ointment on it," she advised, pointing to the salve she used for his own wound.
He complied without question and in no time was she taken care of. Adam handed her a bowl of water, receiving an appreciative smile from the raven-haired female. She took the liquid in little sips, eyes closing in relief.
"Thank you."
A noncommittal grunt was her only reply, and he left her side to sit himself at the forever burning fire. He disinterestedly poked the fire with a stick a few times, watching the girl from the corner of his eyes. She seemed to be recovering, and he chose now to ask his question.
"What happened back there?" His voice was a mix of annoyance and curiosity, though he tried to hide the latter. "I thought you said you had that thing under control?"
The girl took her time in answering, opting to sit by the fire as well. Poking at the new bandage to inspect it, she deemed it to be good enough. He had practice with taking care of wounds, and it hurt his manly pride that she would doubt his competence in treading hers.
"I do know how to calm them down," she responded calmly. "But I also warned you. Whatever happened there, it has something to do with you."
"Are you accusing me?"
"In a way; yes." Her blunt answer surprised him. "You know how Grimm are able to sense negative emotions. They feed and thrive on them. My best guess is that, during your meeting with Ajax, a strong memory or thought has entered your mind. It made him loose control."
A moment of silence passed between them.
"And I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop him from attacking you. I broke my promise to you."
Was she apologizing to him? She was the one who got hurt, not him. Once more, this human astounded him.
"However, if we wish to keep such interferences from happening in the future, you must let go of all your remaining negative feelings. Whether they are an emotion or memory. It won't work otherwise."
"And how the hell am I supposed to do that?" he demanded.
"Talk to me. It will help you. Trust me," she answered softly, blue eyes looking up at him. "Tell me what bothers you."
The glare he sent her was enough to convey his message: No.
EDITED 20/01/2018
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.
Only minor changes in this one.
Sorry for not updating for some time, but university is kinda a busy place, plus I have finals coming up so… Yeah, you know. Studying.
Anyway, hope you like the improved version.