Chapter 2 - Meet The Family

Dry.

Everything feels so dry. It's like I've been sleeping in the middle of a wasteland. Instinctively, I swallow down a sliver of saliva. It scraps down the back of my crusty throat making me let out a small groan. Waking up in the morning has always felt really crappy but it's never been this bad before. I open my weary eyes. Strange. I don't recognize the colour of the ceiling.

Slowly, I attempt to sit up. Every fibre of my being aches as my body bends forward. I let out a hiss as my spine straightens. My gaze drifts around the room. Grey walls, blue curtains, room emptier than it should be. This... this isn't my room.

"W... What?" I croak. What am I doing here? Why aren't I-

Snow. Monsters. Rose petals.

My eyes widen. I throw off the covers cuddling my body. There, wrapped tightly around my bare waist, is a bandage. On my right side is a dried splatter of blood. It happened.

Last night was real.

"Oh, god..."

I bury my head into my hands, rubbing my temples. I don't understand this. I don't understand any of this. Why did this happen? What did I do? Did... Did I do something wrong? Did I screw something up somewhere? But... but I didn't do anything! I never hurt anyone! I was going to...

I stop rubbing, sighing deeply as I do. Sitting here and wallowing in self-pity isn't going to solve anything. Right. Okay. So then...

How do I get back home?

I roll my shoulders back. Well, first things first, let's get out of this bed. I'll grab my clothes: grab my stuff, grab a map somewhere, find out where I am and then I can figure out what to do from there. I don't know anything about this place. It's better to have some kind of idea before I jump into anything.

I nod to myself. Sounds like a plan.

Twisting my sore body over, my eyes catch the contents on top of the bedside table. Both of which make me raise an eyebrow. The first is a bowl of what looks to be soggy corn flakes slowly being assimilated by the excessive amount of milk. The other is, believe it or not, a neatly bundled stack of clothes.

My clothes. My face tilts slightly. I step off from the bed but, as soon as I put pressure on them, my legs falter and I almost end up on the floor for my troubles. Luckily, I manage to latch onto the table to halt my momentum.

"Crap!" I exclaim, climbing back onto my feet. It's like my legs had never been tasked with holding me up before. I was only out the night. Stupid wimpy body.

I continue to rely on the table for support. Wobbling, I pick up my t-shirt stacked right on top of the pile. I can only tilt my head. Instead of a hole big enough for me to stick my whole arm through, I find that the hole has been expertly stitched up. Seriously, the work is so well done that it forces me to look closer to see the patch. It's like it was never harmed in the first place. That's...

Weird. This entire situation is just uncompromising in how weird it all is. I shake my head. Focus. I need to focus. I flick through my folded pile of clothes. Just a quick check.

T-Shirt. Check. Jeans. Still on, thank God. Taking the shirt off was bad enough, I shiver. Socks. Check. Shoes. Check. Hoodie...

Where's my hoodie? Wh-where is my hoodie!? My phone in there, too! I need them!

My eyes dart around the table. Not at the side. Not underneath. No, no, no. Oh, come on! Where is it?! Where is it?! Where is it?!

I start panting heavily. I put a hand up to my heart. Calm down. Calm down. Calm... My heartbeat slows itself. Alright. Stop panicking. If they took my shirt and socks off, then they must'be taken my hoodie and phone too. They should still be in this house somewhere. The plan hasn't changed. Hoodie. Phone. Map.

Let's get dressed first.

The door closes with a delicate click. Cautiously, my gaze switches from corridor to corridor. Thankfully, there's nobody to be seen.

Good.

My hand hovers over my wound as I walk away from the door. Now, I have two options on where to start looking. First, there's upstairs. Right where I am. Here, there's an ensemble of closed doors scattered throughout the hall. My phone might in one of them if one of the family members decided to keep it for themselves.

On the other hand, there's downstairs: where the bins are likely to be. If they decided to trash my hoodie, it's bound to be in one of the bins down there. Of course, I might be wrong on both accounts. They could both be together or they could already be gone by now...

I rest my fingers on my chin. So, where should I check first?

...Right.

Let's check downstairs first. I did leave my phone in my hoodie afterall. There might be a chance they didn't bother with it and simply left it alone. I'd save a lot more time if that's the case. My phone's considered pretty ancient nowadays.

Step by step, I tentatively trail down the stairs. Trying my best not to make too much noise. Instead of there being a front hall at the bottom, I walk down into what looks like the living room of the house. Warm brown wooden walls, paintings adorning the room complete with rugs a dark mixture of green, and a soft looking sofa facing what looks to be... some sort of box? I'm not sure exactly what is it. It's kind of like a TV box set without the actual television.

Ahah! There's it is! My hoodie practical pops out with its navy shade of blue against the green sofa. A bright smile on my face, I rush towards the hoodie. They didn't throw it out afterall. Thank god. I pick up the hoodie with gusto. However, my smile quickly fades. Much like the T-Shirt, there is a patch stitched where the hole from last night was.

Except, this one isn't finished. Half of the patch isn't stitched into the fabric leaving it sticking out like a sore thumb. Right where the stitching stops is a thread and a sewing needle. The fact that these people tried to sew up my clothes is weird enough but, it looks like somebody had to rush out or something. Strange. Just... strange. Maybe I could try and sew it myself?

A scoff escapes from my throat. Yeah. I'll probably just screw it up as usual. Maybe end up with the needle stuck in my thumb. I'd better come back to it. I stuff my hands into its pockets. Nothing. Of course. Should've known it was too good to be true. I'm not that lucky. After putting the hoodie back down, I peer over the side of the sofa. Carefully placed right next to it is... a dog bed?

The hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I spin around to see...

"Arf!"

A Corgi. Small, dark... and just the most adorable little thing I've ever seen!

Wait, wait. Cool it. He might be cute but he also has teeth. Sharp teeth. Better make sure he's friendly first. Slowly, I put up a hand in front of the dog's face. It might be a little dangerous but if I run now, he's sure to catch me easily. He sniffs my hand intensively. Despite trying my best not to, my hand jitters ever so slightly as he does. If he tries to bite me, I'll be ready to dodge. He stops sniffing.

He licks my hand. Yes! He's friendly!

"Hey there, little guy!" I stroke him under his neck. The dog leans into my hand and wags his tail energetically. Oh! He's just so cute! He's as cute as my dog! Well, okay. Almost as cute. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? You are! Yes, you are!"

I take a closer look at the dog's red collar, cradling the dog-tag in my hand. Engraved on it is the dog's name.

"Zwei, huh?"

"Arf! Arf!" Zwei barks cheerfully, his tongue laying comfortably outside of his mouth. Aww! How could anything with a face like that possibly be a danger? He's just a little cutie!

I shake my head. Focus. Focus. Still need to find my phone. I bend my knee slightly, lowering myself closer to the excitable Zwei. "Hey. You wouldn't have seen my phone around here, have you?" The Corgi just tilts his head. My fingers mimic the size of the phone. "About this size. Silver casing. Hurts when you chew it?"

The words "Arf," are my only answer. I sigh again.

"Didn't think so." Better try upstairs then. Before I started moving, I catch the large bookshelf stuffed in the corner of the room. Neatly compiled and sorted are copious amounts of books. Almost as much as my sister's room, and that's saying something. I rest my hand on my waist. Might be an idea to try looking for that map here.

However... that bookshelf's tall. I mean, really tall. Yes. Definitely very tall. I mean, tall enough that any person of average height would surely have problems with it. Yes, that's it. Definitely too tall. Very tall. Have I mentioned that it's tall? I wouldn't be able to reach the whole thing because it's tall, not because I'm sho...

...rt. I sigh deeply to myself.

I'll, just, grab the nearby chair.

"Bloody small body. You suck..." I place the chair exactly where I need it to be, carefully planting my feet onto the fluffy cushion. I cycle through the list of books they have available. Nothing really interesting stands out to me. There's a few on gardening here and there. I see one on a how to work what I think is a motorcycle and the rest are fiction books with names I've never heard of. No map so far. I keep my feet steady as I lean towards the bookshelf more.

I reach out for the very top but my arm's length halts before I can make it. "Damn it," I curse out loud.

"Arf!" Zwei barks. Yeah, I hear that. This thing has to be a pain for anyone under six feet. Unfortunately, I can't see any of the book's titles from here. I'll need to... use the very top of the chair to reach it.

Oh. This is going to end poorly. I just know it. With no lack of hesitance, my right foot stands firmly on the chair top. I count. One. Two. A one, two, thre-

"What are you doing?"

My leg jolts. Caught off balance. Falling! I'm going to land on my neck!

My momentum comes to a stop. My feet scramble around for something to secure themselves on and find the chair again. I have to blink twice. My heart is pounding something horrible. Gulping, I look down and see that someone had hooked their arms around mine to stop me.

"Woah! Geez. Jumpy much?" The voice is feminine, I could tell that much. It's light. Upbeat. Jolly even. I tilt my head up to see...

Violet? No. Lilac eyes. She smiles at me.

"You okay?"

"Ah... Um..." I fumble over my words, yet again. I break away from her gaze, blood rushing up to my face. I can only answer with a meek bob. The girl's smile brightens.

"Good. It'd suck if you had to go back to bed just as you got up."

"Yang!" Another voice cries out from the upper level. It sounds high-pitched, full of energy and... eerily familiar.

I blink, and in a gust of rose petals, she appears. The girl with the silver eyes. The girl who saved my life. The girl who annihilated those hell spawn all by herself.

"Yang! Yang! He's not in his room. He's not in his room! He's gone! He's gone! I went into his room and he wasn't there and he's still injured, and I can't find him andIwassupposedtolookafterhimandIdon'tknowwherehe- Oh. You found him. Uh, good job!"

She's... not even close to what I thought she would be. 'Yang' doesn't miss a beat. Taking one of her arms away from me, she waves to her...

"Heya, sis!" Oh. She's her... sister? Honestly, I can't see the resemblance. Well, maybe she's adopted? "You were right! He's even lighter than he looks!"

I flush a bright red.

The clock ticks away as I fidget slightly on the living room sofa.

After 'Yang' moved the chair back, with strength so indomitable that it made me jump out of my skin, the sisters ushered me to the sofa. After seeing Yang lift that chair over her head without breaking a sweat, I didn't dare object.

I managed to catch my saviour's name from Yang.

Ruby. With her dark red hair, red cloak and round cherry face, the name seems rather fitting. Currently, she's sitting in the chair Yang just moved back, swaying her legs to and fro. Every now and again our eyes would meet but I couldn't handle hers for more than a measly second.

Yang, on the other hand, is leaning casually up against the wall with her arms folded. Now that I managed to get a better look of her, she's pretty... tall. A few inches taller than me at the very least. Her hair seems to be on the brighter shade of blonde. So much so that it looks kind of like gold. If it wasn't for their eye colours, they are far too lively to be contacts, I would've just assumed that they dye their hair. Maybe that's just how people look around here. It's not the weirdest thing I've seen in the last day or so.

For the last few silent minutes, I keep my head down and pamper Zwei. I'm pretty much just using him as an excuse to not get into a conversation with anyone. I used to do it all the time. Didn't have anything to talk about? Go play with the pet. It's far less stressful anyway. Occasionally, the two would attempt to ask me questions and every time, I would panic and flounder my words. I feel like reaching out for my hoodie again but with the needle and thread still lodged in there, I don't want to risk tearing the hole even further. I don't want a ruined hoodie.

Suddenly, the front door swings open.

"Girls! I'm back!" The two girls light up as soon as this new voice enters the room.

"Hey Dad!" Ruby jumps up onto her feet.

"Welcome back!" Yang pushes herself off the wall. I turn my head around.

Carrying a bundle of shopping bags in his arms is a muscular tall blonde man who, honestly, looks young enough to be in his early thirties. His voice, while gentle, holds a certain amount of authority to it. This guy is the spitting image of a father. Yang walks over to her Dad, taking the bags in her arms. He thanks her before turning his sight to me.

"Oh! You're up and about? Good! We were starting to worry you were never going to come out." I tilt my head. Huh? I was only out the night. Yang leans in to his ear, whispering something or other. My chest starts to burn up. Wh-what is she saying to him? What are they planning? Th-they're going to do something horrible to me, aren't they?! I bite my lip.

'Dad' nods to Yang, whispering something back to Yang.

"Hey, Ruby. Could you give me a hand with all this?" Yang displays the bags in her hands.

"Hm? Yeah, sure." Ruby follows Yang through to the kitchen, leaving me alone with both the father and Zwei. I have to swallow down the saliva I've been collecting in the last couple of minutes. I grasp my jeans tightly as he moves around to take a seat.

"So, how are you feeling?" I go to answer, but my mouth is adamant that it stays shut. I keep my gaze on my hoodie. 'Dad' rubs the back of his neck. "Well, you don't have to worry anymore. You're safe here." I unconsciously play with my fingers while he talks. "What's your name?"

I feel a clog at the back of my throat. I open my mouth again but the best I can get out were croaks. I look to my hoodie, my arm wavers as I reach out for it. However, I slowly put my hand down. It's still not fixed. I'll just make it worse if I touch it.

'Dad' groans to himself. "Crap. I completely forgot to finish sewing that." He scratches his head. He takes the hoodie in his arms, giving me a small smile. "Just wait a second. I'll have this all finished in not time." I blink but I don't object. I just watch as he goes to work, weaving the needle in and out of the patch. The tempo is hypnotic. It's almost like watching Mum work. I continue watching until he finally finishes fixing it up.

"There you go. Good as new." He hands the hoodie over to me. I take a once-over on his work. While I'll always notice the patchwork done on the right side, the hoodie doesn't look all too different than from when I was first dropped here. I can feel a small smile crawl onto my face. I can't help it. I reach out and grab the navy-blue hoodie. Here it is. Back in my possession.

Zwei jumps off me, giving me the chance to stand up and quickly put the hoodie on. With a satisfying click from the zip, I close the hoodie over my T-Shirt. Its warmth hugs me. I finally feel safe. I let out a fresh breath of air. I bow my head to him.

"Th... thank you, sir." He waves me off.

"Please. Just call me Tai." I sit back down again; my hands laying on my lap. The pressure on my chest slowly lifting. Tai leans forward. "So, will you tell me your name please?" My gaze drifts slightly across the room. I nod gingerly to myself.

"E... Eren. M-my name is Eren." Tai looks at me like I'm talking a completely different language. I'm not exactly sure why. My name's not that uncommon or anything. Regardless, Tai continues.

"Okay, Eren. Do you have anyone you can contact? Parents? Friends?" I simply let my head dip, shaking my head and mumbling a "No."

"Alright. Do you have anywhere to go?" Once again, I shake my head. I don't know if he's just keeping his emotions to himself, but it doesn't look like Tai is all that surprised. Maybe he's already figured that I didn't have any friends. Heh...

Tai nods. "I see... Okay then."

"U-um..." I start. "Do... do you know where my phone is?" Tai just stares at me for a couple of seconds. I start playing with my fingers again. Suddenly, Tai smiles. He calls out to the kitchen.

"Ruby? Sweetie? Could you grab that device I left in your room?"

"On it!" Ruby calls back merrily. Ruby races up the stairs, returning with the silver flip phone in seconds. "Here you go. Don't ask where the ice cream stains came from." She pauses. "It wasn't me." All... right then.

Tenderly, I collect the phone from her. After a few brief minutes of examination, I'm certain that it is indeed still fully functional. I slip it back into my pocket.

"T-thank you." My voice sounds a bit higher than I intended it to be. I can give it a better look at it later. I don't think it was hit or anything during the attack. It should still be okay. Still, why did Tai leave my phone with Ruby?

"Is there something wrong?" Tai asks me. I flinch slightly, rapidly shaking my head.

"Oh! I-it's nothing." Tai hums to himself, standing up from his chair.

"Well, if you don't have anywhere to go, we'd be more than happy to lend you the guest room for a while?" I step back a little.

"No!" I jump up from the chair. The room goes quiet. I... I think I might have said that a little louder than I thought I did. Both Tai and Ruby are staring at me. It's beginning to feel physically painful to be in the room. "I... I mean, uh..." I'm really not too sure about this. I might not have anywhere to go right now but, this family is starting to creep me out.

Saving my life? Taking me in? Cleaning and fixing my clothes? Giving me food? And now they want to house me?

What are they after? What do they want from me? There's no way that anyone would be this nice and not expect anything for it. It's all a trick. I know it is!

"I... I wouldn't want to be a bother." The silence is deafening. Then, Tai chuckles while shaking his head.

"Please. You wouldn't be a bother. I'm a huntsman. Helping others is what I do." That name gives me pause. Huntsman?

"What's a huntsman?" I say aloud. All of a sudden, Tai's face darkens. I have to step back slightly.

"You don't know what a huntsman is?" Yang appears from the kitchen door. Now, all three pairs of eyes are trailing on me. I should've kept my mouth shut but I genuinely don't know what they're talking about. Ruby jumps in, her face aglow with every word she speaks about these Huntsmen.

"Huntsman are super cool! They're trained elite warriors who fight against the Grimm and protect people who can't protect themselves. Yang and I are Huntresses-in-training! We're studying at Signal and then we're going to go to Beacon!" Oh... Okay. Well, I caught the part about the huntsman at least but...

"Um, what are Grimm?" Ruby's face drops slightly.

Yang folds her arms, eying me incredulously. "Uh, you're joking right? Please tell me you're joking."

"U-um..." Crap. These things much be common knowledge around here. I must look like a complete idiot right now. They're going to ask me so many questions! Tai sighs, tussling his hair.

"And here I thought I wouldn't have to teach today." He pats down on the sofa. "Sit down, Eren. We've got a lot to get through."

A/N: Yeah, just going to skim over all the exposition. I'm not going to waste everybody's time talking about stuff that everyone knows up until this point.

Hope I managed to portray everyone effectively enough. I don't quite think I've gotten a proper feel for everyone just quite yet. I think I'll soon slip into it.