Chapter 19 — Surprise

"He saw something that makes a man doubtful of the constancy of the realities outside himself.

It was the shocking discovery that makes a man wonder, If I've missed this, what else have I failed to see?"

― John Steinbeck,

The Winter of Our Discontent

Two days had passed since he had woken up in the girl's home. Forty-eight hours in which he had been told what to do and what not by the human. He hated humans, and following their commands made his blood boil. What irked him more was the fact that she knew his identity. She knew what he looked like, could rat him out to the military if she wanted to. He would be defenseless in that case — the little resistance he would be capable of bringing up would be futile.

Conversation had been sparse over those few days, and Adam did not feel the need to break the lasting silence. What good would he gain by engaging in idle chatter with her anyway? It was against his nature: she was, after all, his natural enemy. Her false kindness could not hide her true nature. He was sure she was just like all the other humans: egoistical, hypocritical, prejudiced beings that hated whatever differentiated from them.

Yet he had to admit: she did save his life. If not for her, he would have been shredded to pieces by the Grimm. And it was also her that treated his wounds. Still, that was a fact he was adamant to ignore. It was what he got from his semblance to a bull; the stubbornness. Plus, he was simply too proud to admit that he was indebted to some human.

The girl herself did not pose a big threat to him. He would kill her once he had fully recuperated. He did not trust her one bit. No doubt she would inform the military as soon as he left. He did not think her stupid enough to try and follow him to the White Fang base, but he'd already been proven wrong many a time in his life.

No, he could not let such a risk live on.

The actual disposal would be easy enough. The little physical strength she had would not help her in a fight against him, and the only weapons she seemed to possess were a stick, as well as a bow and some arrows. He would destroy the bow and hide the arrows when he had the chance, then it would be a piece of cake.

To his great surprise and — dare he say — shock, she had actually returned his weapon to him. The day he had woken up to this new predicament had been when he'd noticed that his weapon was not where it should have been. When he'd asked her for it, she'd explained that she had looked for it after she had treated his wounds. At that moment, she had been hiding it under one pile of her clothes — in case someone should walk by or so she said, which he thought to be a silly thought. The girl was a complete fool, giving him back a weapon with which he could kill her in her sleep. She didn't even consider the possibility of him being an enemy!

The human trusted him blindly and had no second thoughts whatsoever.

Adam was currently seated on the makeshift bed, cleaning his blade and taking care of the pistol that was integrated in its sheath. Cleaning it was one of the few disadvantages of Wilt & Blush. The blade was perfect — sharp and deadly — but the pistol needed to be cleaned regularly. Otherwise, it would jam, and even the blade would become dull if he did not take care of it regularly.

So far he had not been granted new clothes, which still left him in the bandages that covered most of his upper body. He was deeply grieving the loss of his coat. Fortunately, his pants had not been damaged in the fight. And even if the girl was a human, she was still very much a woman — he could only take so much exposure.

He continued his methodical cleaning until he heard said human approaching. She was talking, but he could not detect anyone else's presence.

Maybe the human is crazy? It would certainly fit into her profile, he mused to himself, finding her overall behavior odd.

Serena had been out fishing with Ajax. It had been a surprise, but the Grimm actually helped a lot. His sharp claws and teeth enabled him to snatch the fish right out of the water before they even had the chance to turn tail. It also helped Serena tremendously: he was far faster than she was, and her accuracy at jabbing into the agitated water was still a bit off. One could say that it was thanks to her friend that she got to eat fish at all.

She planned on making them some roasted fish with fried potatoes and some carrots she'd bought in the city lately. It would be a change from the usual plain meal of meat and berries she had, and she was sure her guest would appreciate it as well. Fish had lots of vitamins, so she guessed it could only help with his healing process.

After about an hour or so of her jabbing fruitlessly at the water and Ajax tossing her his catches, she had an entire basket full of fish, enough for at least four people. Maybe I overdid it a little, she thought to herself, brooding over just how the two of them would be eating so much fish. Well, I can still smoke it if there's too much left over.

"Hey Ajax; you like fish, right?" she inquired to which the animal happily snorted, licking its snout to emphasize his reply. "Maybe you'll get lucky today. But only if I have enough left over," she warned the enthusiastic Grimm. She didn't need him stealing their food — it had happened in the past, and it had been a major pain in the butt. The Grimm gave a snort that she swore was a chuckle.

She'd have to watch out for that fish.

They began their walk back home. Ajax was carrying the basket full of fish on his back with Serena riding on top of him, keeping their meal steady so that it wouldn't topple off. The girl meditated on just what she should be doing during those two weeks that she had the man living with her. His wound wasn't even close to being healed — it hadn't even closed properly yet! — so he needed to rest for at least another four or five days. Depending on the condition of the wound, he could maybe help her around the house — go fishing and the like. Maybe they could even explore some more of the forest together.

But Serena was happy — she would have some human company during that time.

"Now that I think about it… I don't even know his name. Didn't tell him mine either." She gave a rueful smile, thinking back to her mother. "Mom would be so mad; taking in some stranger, giving him a weapon and letting him sleep in the same room as me without even knowing who he is. She'd have a heart attack if she knew this," the raven head joked quietly, more to herself than her friend. Her mother had always told her that her carelessness would be the death of her some day.

Contrary to what Ruby may believe, Serena had anything but adapted to her new life. She merely tried to survive in the unfamiliar situation she found herself in. Her passage to another dimension and the way in which it had happened did not leave the teenager unscathed. The plane crash and death experience had left their scars. And they were deep — both from a physical and psychological point of view.

The nightmares were even worse. It was more than once that she woke up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat and awoken by her own screams of anguish or terror. For the most part, they would consist of her being torn from her family or seeing them at her funeral with an empty coffin. She would be like a ghost: unheard and unseen. She would call out to them, yelling, screaming at them that she was alive and well.

But no one would hear.

They would pass right through her.

One particularly gruesome nightmare had consisted of her reliving the whole crash anew. Everything would be so real — the pain, the screams, the people, the cold… It left her with a suffocating feeling of despair.

Sometimes, she considered ending her life for real this time. The pain would cease, and she could be the one to greet her parents in the next life. But then that exact thought of her parents stopped her from executing her idea. No matter where she was, they would want her to be happy. Serena had been raised a fighter, and fight she would, even if it meant feeling such a profound pain.

She would survive this no matter what and make the best of it. Besides, who would look out for Ajax, Loki and the others if she were gone?

Ripping herself out of her depressing thoughts, she felt the tears forming at the brink of her eyes. She wiped at them angrily and pressed her face into Ajax's neck. By now, the Grimm had gotten used to her sudden mood swings and knew when to just let the girl receive the comfort she needed. She was grateful for that.

"I wonder how they are doing?" she mumbled into his shaggy pelt, her voice muffled. "If they're healthy and what has happened. Jasmin should soon be coming into her last few years of high school. Mom and dad should be doing fine, probably still bickering about petty things like usual…" She trailed off before whispering, "I want to see them. I want them to at least know that I'm okay."

When they reached the cave, the girl got off Ajax and, still immersed in her own thoughts, she forgot about the person inside and didn't admonish Ajax to stay outside. It was only when she heard a chocked sound and the noise of a blade being unsheathed that she snapped out of her own reverie.

Glancing up, she saw that the maroon-haired male had his weapon in his hands and was standing at the ready, his equally red eyes narrowing themselves at the creature at her side. She could feel how Ajax's own mood shifted drastically and saw his muscles tense, body reacting to the weapon the Faunus was threateningly pointing at him. The Grimm let out a growl and bared his sharp canines, ready to attack at any second. But, he remained at her side.

Adam couldn't believe what he was seeing. The girl had just walked in with a Grimm at her side.

A fucking Grimm!

It was on pure instinct that he had drawn his sword — which he had finished polishing just moments ago — and jumped up and out of the bed, settling into his accustomed fighting stance. He glared at the monster, seeing that it, too, had noticed him and was just as ready to attack as he was. The odd thing was: it didn't. It seemed as though the only thing holding it from tearing him into little pieces was the girl at its side. But that was impossible — why would a Grimm listen to a human? It made no sense.

The girl let her eyes glide across both of their tense forms before raising both hands and directing one at each of them. She motioned with her palm for both of them to calm down, pointing at Wilt and Blush and letting him understand that he had best put the weapon down. Like he would do such a thing!

"Ajax," she began quietly, directing her gaze at the Grimm.

Ajax? Since when do Grimm have a name? Adam asked himself, confused.

"This man is not an enemy. You don't need to attack him. Please, just calm down. He is no threat and will not harm me."

Oh, how wrong she was.

"And you," she addressed him this time, and he noticed the way her head turned to him yet her eyes never seemed to break their contact with the ruby ones of the monster. "You should lay down your sword; he won't do anything. But if you keep pointing that blade at him, I won't be able to hold him back for long."

Now he was positive that she was crazy! The Creatures of Grimm lived for the sole purpose of exterminating mankind. Killing was their essence, and they did not show mercy.

How could she possibly believe that it would not kill either of them? What power did she think she possessed to control such a beast?! She was nothing but a human!

But then something disturbed his train of thought. The creature had not attacked them — at least not yet.

Why? There's nothing keeping it from killing me or the human. Except if…

"I will only repeat myself once," the girl's voice rang out sharply, the calm and gentle tone giving way to a more aggressive edge. "Lay down your weapon and calm down, both of you."

The animal seemed to heed the warning and slowly relaxed. Taking a step back, it shrank back to its normal height.

The Faunus hesitated; he would have to give up his only means of defense and trust some lowly human to keep him safe. Fighting an internal battle, he finally conceded and re-sheathed Wilt, but still kept the weapon at his side. Loosening his stance, he also rose back to his full height before glaring at the girl.

Said female seemed pleased as she smiled at the two of them. A soft gasp escaped her lips as her eyes settled on his midsection, and he looked down to see red seeping through the white bandages.

"I will have to change your bandages. I guess the wound reopened from your sudden movement. I told you not to move around so much!" she scolded him lightly, her voice having returned to its serene tone. She almost sounded to him like a mother berating her child. Very odd.

"Fine. Just get to it human," he grumbled sourly. The fact that she would be touching him did not please him. He didn't trust her and the last thing he wanted was for her to be anywhere near his wound. But he would have to cooperate if he ever wanted to fully heal. Damn it.

"I just need to get something; you can sit down but don't touch the wrappings. I'll do it as soon as I'm finished," she instructed, heading outside quickly.

Adam suspiciously eyed the Grimm, the animal returning the stare before he headed over to the large stone at the back and sat down. He watched the girl return with some yellow flower flaunting big leaves. He observed as she placed the plant into a bowl and mashed it with a mortar. She added some other plants and something that looked like oil, mixing it all with a spoon until it turned into a sort of cream.

His eyes carefully followed her as she walked over to him, placing the bowl on the stone beside him before she herself got on it. He felt her crawl behind him and seconds later he could feel her hands on his back, fingers fumbling with the knot that secured the bandages. Once they had loosened, she started taking them off, arms moving around him quickly and skillfully as though she had done this a few times already. When she had unwrapped them completely, she returned to back in front of him.

"Sit back so that your back is against the wall, please," she spoke. Although he didn't like to listen to a human, he followed her instruction and leaned his back against the cool stone wall, granting her space to examine his torso.

Serena furrowed her eyebrows, carefully inspecting the wound. It had ripped open again due to him suddenly jumping up and moving about. Fortunately, the bleeding was not as strong as she had feared it would be. She decided it to be best to clean it once more. Standing up, she exited the cave and headed towards the pond behind it, grabbing a bucket on her way out. Filling the wooden container with fresh liquid, she returned to the Faunus. Taking one of the cloths from the first aid kit, she soaked it in the water before carefully dabbing around the wound, cleaning the skin of any blood that had trickled down. Then she moved to the edge of the laceration much like she had done it the first time, occasionally receiving a hiss from the person opposite her. Surprisingly, he never complained.

Once it was clean, she grabbed the cup with the ointment in it and smeared some onto her fingers. But before she could administer the salve, his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her movement altogether. She glanced up at him, catching his distrustful glare, his deep red eyes illuminated by the light the fire cast on them. Serena knew that he was wary of her — he always looked like he wanted to slit her throat any second — and she also knew that he probably would never trust her. But she would never harm anyone intentionally, especially not someone who was injured. She was a gentle soul, as her mother and father had often said. She even felt sorry when killing a fly!

"What is that?" he demanded in a growl, glare intensifying as he scrutinized the yellowish-green substance drooping from her fingers.

"It's a special salve that helps reducing the pain and accelerates the healing process of flesh," she explained, but she saw he was far from satisfied by the way he was still glowering at her. The answer was just too simple, it seemed.

"What's it made out of?"

"I only used herbs to make this. It's some Gindo mixed with Akara and Zewa, and some natural oil that I bought for these kinds of things. It's nothing bad," she went on. He still wouldn't lighten the hold on her wrist and his eyes looked positively murderous. Holding back a sigh, she eased her expression and pleaded, "Please, I only want to help you, and this is the best I have to offer." Looking straight into his eyes, she hoped he could see that she was telling the truth. She was a terrible liar, anyways.

He seemed to debate this for a few moments before finally releasing her wrist from his iron grip. Gingerly rubbing the appendage, she glanced at him once to be sure she had his permission before proceeding. His head was turned from her and she guessed it was as much of an okay as she would get from him.

Serena carefully dabbed the medicine around the shredded flesh, careful so that it would not enter the actual wound itself. Gindo and Akara were slightly toxic once they entered the blood-flow. It wouldn't kill a person, but they would be faced with severe consequences such as diarrhea and sickness.

After having applied a generous helping of the concoction, she put the bowl away and cleaned her hands in the leftover water in the bucket. Drying them on a towel, she grabbed a roll of fresh bandages and advanced on the man again. She instructed him to sit on the edge of the bed and carefully wound the clean linen around his midsection. Tying it all off neatly, she informed him, "Tell me if they're too tight or too loose."

Since she did not receive any response from him, she simply shrugged her shoulders, getting off the bed. "You should lie down and rest some more. There isn't anything else to do anyway, and it is good when your injury can rest a little. By the way, we're having fish with potatoes and carrots tonight. I'll wake you when dinner is ready."

The red-head gave a nod in reply, lying down so that his back was turned to her. Serena's eyes saddened — it seemed she would be pretty lonely after all. Shaking her head, she grabbed the bucket of water and went out to dump it back into the pond. Taking a few swigs of water herself, she wiped her mouth clean and washed her face. That always helped to clear her head.

Venturing back into the coolness of the cave, she grabbed the basket holding the fish and proceeded with skinning them. The process of cooking was silent as she washed the carrots and potatoes, cutting it all up. Taking one of the larger pans she owned, she poured in some olive oil, heating it all on the flame of the fire before adding in the fish. The side dishes were contently simmering in a pot placed on the edge of the fire. Soon, a pleasant aroma filled the cave.

Serena took a quick breath outside, admiring the sky tinted varying shades of pink and orange from the setting sun. Once she smelt the scent of her food outside, she headed back inside and took everything off the heat, setting the containers on one of the rocks that was placed by the fire and generally acted as parking area. Then she placed down cutlery and dishes for each of them.

Looking over to the slumbering male, she scratched her head, debating on how best to wake her so that he wouldn't actually slit her throat. Coming up with no particular plan, she let her shoulders slump before cautiously approaching the Faunus. She gently shook his shoulder, catching the glint in his eyes when he snapped them open. So far, he hadn't attacked her.

"Dinner is ready."

He got up without a word and took his place opposite of her own. When she handed him his plate of food, he didn't even acknowledge her and dug in without so much as a glance. Serena cast her glum eyes onto her own food, mechanically taking one bite after the other. The silence that reigned weighed even heavier upon her shoulders than she would have thought possible. Though she was curious that he had not asked about Ajax yet.

Adam kept a subtle eye on her, watching her every move for any signs of attack. The only thing he noticed were her lethargic movements and the fact that she never looked at him. Before she had been so curious, but now she couldn't even look at him? Proves that she's just like other humans, he thought bitterly.

He kept to the silence, though he was laden with questions.

How come the Grimm listened to her?

How did she even manage to tame one in the first place?

Why did she save him and treat his wounds?

Why the hell did she even live in the forest?!

No matter how much he pondered these and many more questions, he could not figure out any of them. Fact was he had the unbelievable luck to have been saved by a very unique human. He knew he would get his answers some day — either she talked willingly, or he would make her talk.

No doubt Spike would be interested in her. No one has ever heard of a person possessing such a power. If we can capture her, she would be the key to fulfilling our plans, he realized. The girl was extremely valuable to them — he could not afford to let her slip through his fingers.

The evening passed in silence with the girl drinking some of her tea while Adam further thought about all the possibilities her power would give the White Fang. They would be unstoppable! When it was time to turn in, Adam rightfully took the bed while the girl continued on sipping her brew.

Edited 27/05/2017

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.