First story here! While it isn't my first time writing, it's the first time I've decided that the story I have in mind is normal enough to publish, and won't fill me with a feeling of imense regret as soon as I hit the button to upload it.
Anyways, this story is a relatively lighthearted one, something I've found a lack of in terms of RWBY stories. In other words, there will be very little flashy fights and cool new weapons.
I hope it's good enough anyways, and I hope you all enjoy it!
PS: If I take too long to update it's because of school. I'm almost through it so I can't relax just yet!
The night air winds blew cold against the dark-green foliage of the forest. Moonlight illuminated a few areas while others remained almost pitch-black, covered from the light above by the thick branches of leaves.
It was a picturesque sight, natural beauty at its finest. Yet, within all this beauty lurked beings who were… Less than beautiful.
Bodies of pure darkness, flashes of white bone-like armor and eyes red, filled with an insatiable hatred for anything and everything moving and breathing.
Most people feared these creatures, some fought them while others cowered from their very appearance, others however?
Well, "others" wasn't the proper term. "One" was a more accurate word for it. Yes, "one" was different. "One" neither feared nor fought these creatures. Why would she? She was the one in control of them.
However, "one" wasn't the proper term for very long.
While this "other one" didn't gain a sliver of control over these creatures, this "other one" still neither feared nor fought them. Why would she? They seemed content enough avoiding her, why fight when no fighting is necessary?
The "one" and the "other one" were both very alike, yet so different at the same time, it was a fascinating thing. Neither had anything to fear from the creatures that made most of the rest cower, yet they found the world, the same world, in very different lights.
"One" was blinded by anguish and hatred, and spared not any of anything else towards the rest of the world.
The "other one" was the exact opposite. Even if both had been treated with unfairness and cruelty. The "other one" exerted an air of such understanding and care, it would almost seem an insult to even compare the "two", to place them in the same category for any reason.
It was no issue however, the "one" would be indifferent, uncaring, while the "other one" would simply smile in that ever-understanding way. Neither would be particularly insulted, yet in different ways.
While the "one" would seek to harm others, the "other one" would seek to comfort them.
But in a world as cold as this one, and many others, people had a hard time accepting help from others. They would react with suspicion, distrust. Most of the time, this distrust is not misplaced. There is after all only one like the "other one".
However, if she did her job right, reached her goal, it wouldn't be that way for much longer… But it would not be easy.
The light claps from the steps of the horse echoed throughout the moonlit forest, the road that slithered hither and thither getting darker and darker as the foliage grew thicker, almost blocking the light of the moon completely.
The horse's rider, a young female whose face was obscured by the hood of the great black cloak she wore, held the reigns of her mount in a light grip, her mind calmed by the silence of her surroundings, rather than unnerved by them. Strands of her hair, almost inhumanely well-kept, weaved a bright contrast of pure white onto the silver armor covering her chest, seemingly cutting away at the night itself.
Suddenly, as the wind seemed to stop, the night air was instead filled with screams. The rider reacted… Perhaps not like one would expect, by tugging at her mount's reigns, halting their movements.
She did not rush into battle, intent to save the people being hurt, nor did she turn away to save herself from whatever induced those screams of agony.
She simply stood, and listened.
The screams continued, only growing fiercer and fiercer by the minute, threatening to cut away at her very sanity. Her instincts fought, urging her to move. Where wasn't a concern, but it mattered little anyways, she had no interest in what her instincts told her.
The screams finally died down, and only then did she move.
Her mount lightly trotted onto the streets of what was once a small village, having been rendered to smoldering ruins, blood and death.
She could hear crying accompanied by growling, and soon enough she could see the source of both as well.
A little boy, looking to be just beneath his first double digits in age was crouched above a dead woman's body. He was the source of the crying.
Towering bipedal wolf-like creatures in black, with white bone-like armor and red markings and eyes, all surrounding the boy. They were the source of the growling…
Yet, as she approached, as calmly as ever, the creatures who previously had the intention of killing the boy as-well, seemed to change their mind.
Their eyes, full of pain and hatred, traced her every move as she drew closer. After a while, they changed their minds again. They fled the scene, leaving her alone with the still crying boy and the numerous dead bodies that littered the village once full of life.
It was a painful sight, but she had decided herself not to intervene.
Her hands, covered by silver-armored gloves reached up to her hood and pushed it behind her head, revealing a deathly-pale yet youthful face. Her eyes, the same color as those of the creatures that caused him so much pain, naturally frightened the little survivor of such a catastrophe, yet even he could tell that they were different. Hers held a soothing warm light, rather than the burning panic-inducing light of the cruel creatures.
Her armor clinked to her movements as she extended her hand to him from atop her mount, accompanied by a small, almost apologetic smile on her face.
The boy hesitated. He was weighing his options, she realized. Such intelligence from such a young soul was rare, even in the wake of this kind of event. She saw a myriad of emotions pass through his eyes, distrust chief among them. She didn't fault him, and allowed him the time he needed to decide.
Eventually, the distrust in his eyes was stamped out by his will to live, and he carefully laid his hand in hers. Ever so tenderly, she lifted him up to join her on her mount, setting him down in front of her before tugging at the mount's reigns once more, commanding them to move.
The boy wasn't crying anymore, but quiet sobs were still heard from the bundle of sadness cuddled up against her chest as they moved throughout the forest. Again, she did not fault him. Crying alleviated the pain of some events, it was a natural reaction to losing people one had a personal attachment to.
She couldn't ease his pain, but with her he was at-least safe. The creatures would not bother him as long as he was with her, that was all she could offer him at the moment.
It didn't take long to reach the tall, quite imposing walls of the Kingdom. And while she found them imposing, the people behind them felt safe enough, that is why she chose to leave the boy behind them.
He was fast asleep when she reached the little building that was one of the many orphanages that littered the Kingdom, but this one was best suited for him in particular.
She didn't knock on the door when she arrived, rather she wrapped the boy in a blanket and left him on the doorstep.
He wouldn't freeze, the area was calm in terms of possible criminal activity, and she knew the man who ran the orphanage wouldn't hesitate a second to take the boy in as if he were his own… Like he had done so many times before.
She didn't stay long, and left as soon as she had made certain that the boy was still asleep and comfortable enough for the night. Her horse's galloping steps echoed throughout the city and most likely woke several people up as she passed, while some who were still out and about had barely a second to register her appearance before she had already disappeared from their view.
In almost no time at all, she was back at the village where she had found the boy. Nothing had changed, everything remained just as she had left it. Silence all around, no insects littered the streets, no flies surrounded the bodies of the dead, even the flames remained quiet and unmoving, flying in the face of everything she knew of how such things functioned.
She shook her head and allowed a small chuckle.
Everything she learned back then was useless to her now. This place was different.
Here, everything was alive. From the wildlife to the forests they lived in, even the rivers from which they drank.
Even the unmoving bodies who lay in the dirt, carcasses of their former glory, were not completely beyond reach.