Chapter 6

The facts and the feelings

Adam was not seeing Ceres for another couple of days. She has even stopped cooking. Taurus would never admit this to himself, but he was feeling lonely.

I'm mentally ill, Adam.

mentally ill

delusional

„You're delusional!"

Adam snapped out of his thoughts and scratched his scar. He could look at himself in the mirror now. He still remembered how Ceres didn't look away like Blake did.

Maybe this was it. Maybe he wasn't supposed to save the Faunus.

„You cannot save them before you save yourself. You are incapable of it."

Adam turned back quickly and saw Ceres at the top of the stairs. The girl reached her hand to him, again did this thing with her fingers and his weapon started to appear in her hand. She looked at it and had thrown Wilt and Blush to Adam.

„You're free to go. Avoid Menagerie and bigger towns in both Vale and Mistral." - Ceres said and waved her goodbye at him. She smiled and turned back.

„It was good to meet you." - she whispered to herself before going back to her room.

Once again, she was alone.

Adam reached the Edola river the next day. The small town of Edom was placed on two shores of it and it had its charm. Taurus decided to stay there for a couple of days and then decide where he wants to go next.

He had the money Ceres stole for him so he could pay for the night. He was now eating dinner in a hotel bar, small and disgusting place.

„Yeah, we're still looking for him." - the man next table answered his scroll - "We're gonna find him, I promise, sir."

Adam's muscles tensed a little. The man closed the scroll and returned to talking with his companion.

"How are things?" - the companion asked. He had a mark of White Fang on his coat.

"Ghira says he doesn't believe Adam Taurus is dead. But man, how possibly he could be alive? Miss Blake told us she stabbed him twice."

"I don't know. Do you have some of this Atlesian stuff?" - asked the man with visible mark of White Fang.

Adam frowned behind his blindfold. Drugs in the White Fang?

"I have a customer tonight and I hope to get laid, so no, I don't have anything to sell." - the man replied.

"You won't get laid in the following century!" - the other White Fang member laughed - "What kind of girl would like to go to bed with you?"

Ceres was lying on the couch practicing that one spell with appearing and disappearing things when the doorbell rang.

„Hello boys." - she said, inviting them to the living room. She had a mirror and cards prepared. - „Do you have it?"

„We do." - the taller man replied, throwing a little plastic bag at the table. She gave him two banknotes and proceeded to crushing it.

„You want some?" - she asked.

„You know I don't do drugs." - he answered - „Enjoy."

She took one of the banknotes from her wallet and rolled it. The girl pulled her hair aside and snorted the pink powder. It hurt in her nose, but she sniffed the whole line.

And something weird happened.

First, she felt a wave of warmth coming through her fragile, addicted body. Her pupils widened when the drug kicked in. The dealer and his friend sat on the other couch.

„You know, I always thought you were cute with that red flower in your hair. What kind of flower is it?" - asked the dealer - „How's the stuff?"

Ceres stretched herself.

„It's perfect. And it's a kirilla. They bloom only once in ten years and the flower doesn't die for next decade." - she answered. Something was slightly wrong in her head; the dealer now was sitting next to her. And to her surprise, she had nothing against it. The man was taller than her and had brown hair. She had known him for six months by now and she wasn't sure what was he doing.

The man proceeded to touch her face and suddenly everything went red and black and half of the room was devastated.

The man's hand was lying on the floor, still bleeding.

„I should have known better than to leave you alone, you stupid, crazy girl."

Adam's voice was clear and composed. He had his blindfold on. He wanted to say something more, but the scream of the other guy pierced his ears. Ceres was slowly closing her eyes. Adam rushed to catch her before she fell down the floor.

„Quiet." - Adam growled in his exasperation - „What kind of Dust have you given her?

The smaller guy was trembling in fear.

„I asked you a question."

Adam rose his sword and without words he threatened the man with chopping his head off.

„It was some new kind of stuff, she must have overdosed it!" - the man cried - „Please don't kill me!"

Adam looked down upon him.

„Take that disgrace to Faunus and disappear from my eyes." - he said, hiding the sword - „Before I change my mind."

Ceres was not waking up for next six hours. Adam tried to lower her fever, but her brain was slowly boiling in neurotransmitters. When she finally woke up Adam sighed.

„Congratulations you dumb bitch, you almost killed yourself." - he said, helping her take a sip of cold water.

„Did you kill them?"

Adam was silent.

„Oh my gods you did kill..."

„I didn't." - Adam interrupted her angrily - „But I will kill you the next time I see you with powder up your nose. And by the way, who is Vesta?"

„I am Vesta. My name is Ceres Vesta." - she replied, cackling - „I told you can go."

„You cannot save me before you save yourself. And now you are incapable of saving yourself. So I decided to stay with you."

„It doesn't suit your psychopathic self." - she murmured - „You're out of character."

„Let's say my mind is still clouded, but I was supposed to die and you saved me. Now you're supposed to die and I'll save you. Even if you're a human." - Adam replied and once again handed her a glass of water - „You need to drink a lot to get rid of that stuff in your veins."

„I need a fix. Give me my Dust one list time." - Ceres groaned with pain - „I cannot stop thinking about getting a fix."

Adam's face twisted with anger.

„No more fixes for you. I got rid of any Dust in this house. And you're not going anywhere."

He stopped Ceres from getting up forcefully. She was as angry as he was.

„It's dangerous for both of us! I need the fix!"

He reached out to his pocket and pulled a small jar with tablets inside.

„These are antipsychotics. I took them from the guy."

Ceres looked at him with fear in her eyes. She was scared and hopeless and Adam knew he could do anything to her because she was so weak…

But he didn't. That felt weird to him. He, of all people, was taking care of a human and he enjoyed it.