Chapter 18: Awake

Adam slowly blinked his eyes open, the sudden irradiation of light making him shut them closed again before finally reopening them. His sight adjusted to the dim light that filtered in, blurry at first before clearing more and more. His gaze was fixed on what seemed to be a ceiling made of stone, leading him to question his current whereabouts. He slowly sat himself up, taking notice of the wet cloth that fell into his lap. Raising a hand to his head, he noticed that his mask was no longer in place. On second thought, neither were his coat and shirt. Instead, bandages covered his torso and a blanket covered him from his stomach down. Another set of gauze was wrapped snugly around his head.

Looking around, he carefully inspected his surroundings. The room he was in certainly was a cave, and from the looks of it, it was situated in the middle of the forest, for he could see various trees through the mouth of the cave. A fire was crackling quietly a few feet away and he noticed the numerous rocks that were placed around it, like they were organized in that order to be sat on. Looking to the right, he spotted a few piles of clothes, mostly pants and tops, and a cloak, all neatly stacked together.

Where the hell am I? he asked himself, not sure what to make of his situation. Obviously, he was in the home of someone and it looked like that someone was living in the forest which was basically impossible.

The rustling of underbrush made him snap his attention to the opening of the cavern, and a few moments later a figure stepped inside. Due to the light that illuminated the person's silhouette, he could at first not distinguish if it was a man or woman. But once his sight had adjusted, he realized it to be a young girl.

She was walking towards him and he took this moment to study her. Her black hair was cut short and she was wearing a dark red top with black shorts, black stockings that reached to her mid-thigh and dark green combat boots. He tried reaching for his weapon, spotting the bow she held in her hand. His move did not go unnoticed as the sheets rustled in the process. It was enough to make the girl look up at him. Her eyes were a bright blue, staring at him in surprise, as though she had forgotten he was there.

"Oh, you're up," she spoke, a small smile forming on her lips. She put aside her weapon and the quiver with arrows that was slung across her shoulder before stepping over to him. No sooner was she in reaching distance did he jump out of bed. Using his strength, Adam pushed her body against the wall, his arm pressed firmly against her throat. The girl let out a surprised gasp but that was it.

Odd, he mused.

Serena wiped a hand across her forehead. She had been out hunting but had remained unsuccessful thus far. Somehow, her head was in the clouds. She didn't really have the focus to kill anything properly today. The sun beating down on her head didn't help much either. So, instead of wandering aimlessly through the forest, she decided to head back home to check on her patient. The fever had gone down so he should wake up soon.

She giggled to herself. It's almost like in that novel, "The English Patient". Now the only thing that's missing is that he's some kind of spy or secret agent. Her imagination could already image it. If only she had known at the time how on spot her fantasy had been.

Ajax joined her half-way, nuzzling her cheek affectionately, noticing her odd behavior. As they neared her home, Serena told her friend to return to his own, explaining that her guest could not see him yet. He seemed upset but still obliged, licking her face once before leaving.

She entered her home, bow in hand and pondered on what she should prepare for dinner that evening. She had bought some potatoes lately — they were quite long-lasting and variable in use, — so, if she managed to catch some fish later, she could eat it with some boiled potatoes. Or maybe mashed?

The rustling of sheets reached her ears and she looked up to spot the man sitting up. She had momentarily forgotten about him. She leaned her weapon against the wall and started to walk up to him.

"Oh, you're up." She tried to make her voice as soft and calm as possible, trying to appeal to him as a friend — not a foe. She didn't want him to think of her as a threat, being very aware of the Faunus' general relationship with humans.

Just when she was about to reach him, he jumped out of bed with surprising speed, and she suddenly found herself pinned against the wall. The weight of his forearm was settled against her throat, slightly cutting of her air supply, yet not enough to choke her.

She gasped in surprise but — surprising herself — little fear arose within her. She briefly wondered if something was wrong with her. The normal reaction to her current predicament would be for her to panic. She was the weaker party here, and he could easily kill her by applying more pressure onto her throat. Really, she should be freaking out right now. But she was calm as ever, as if she didn't even realize the situation she was in.

Locking eyes with her now not so helpless patient, she found angry red eyes glaring down at her. It was the first time she had ever seen eyes like that — the most spectacular eye color in her world would be green or grey-blue. But these here were a deep red, almost burgundy that burned with a passion and — and she realized this with dismay — a lot of mistrust and hatred.

Another thing she noticed was just how tall he was. He easily towered over her, his body over-shadowing hers by almost two heads. She guessed he was somewhere in the 6 feet area, if not even a bit taller. His shoulders were broad and his arms toned, but not overly muscular. Just right, she noted with a blush she hoped he did not see. His voice was low and deep when he spoke, and it sent a shiver racing down her back.

"Who the hell are you? And where the fuck am I?" Adam bit out the questions, his narrowed eyes glaring the girl down. He noticed how infinitely small she seemed to be, compared to his tall self. He knew his height was superior to that of an average male, but right now, he felt like a giant about to crush a mouse. He actually had to bend down to see eye to eye with her.

The sudden flash of pain emanating from his chest caused him to hiss and stagger back, releasing his hold on the girl. To his surprise — and shock — the human rushed to his side and supported him, draping his left arm across her shoulder.

"You shouldn't move yet. Come, lie back down," the female reprimanded calmly, guiding him back to the rock — What the hell kind of girl was she to have a rock as bed? — he'd been lying on. He tried to push her away from him, not wanting to have to rely on the help of a human of all things, but she was a stubborn one and remained at his side until he was safely back in bed.

"Your wound is not healed yet, so try not to do any rash movements," she advised, pulling the blanket up so that it covered half of his chest. It seemed she sensed his unease and animosity, and therefor chose to leave his arms free. He watched as she went to the fire and grabbed a cup and tea pot. She put some unidentifiable herbs into it, added some water and put it at the edge of the flames. A few minutes later, she removed the pot and poured some of the liquid it contained into the small ceramic cup.

"Here," she said, offering him the cup. "You should drink this; it will help with your healing process."

He eyed the liquid skeptically, sitting up as she motioned for him to do. The liquid inside was suspiciously green and he frowned in distrust. He did not think her above trying to poison him; she was, after all, a human.

"No thank you." He scoffed as he pushed her hand away, the "tea" inside almost spilling onto the girl's hand at the abrupt movement. He absolutely refused to drink anything he could not identify, even if it was supposed to help him heal.

"It's not poisoned," the human replied, and he detected a hint of offense in her otherwise calm tone. To prove her point, she took a small sip, then reached the cup back out to him. "Come on, you need to drink at least some. It's the best I have, and it's far better than medicine."

Adam finally gave up and admitted it to be pointless to argue any further with this girl. And she had proven to him that the drink was not poisoned, for she had not keeled over and died yet. So he decided it to be safe to take a few sips. The taste really wasn't too bad, and he noticed the flavor was the same as the one he had tasted back when he'd been mostly unconscious. He deduced that she had been taking care of him for quite some time, though he did not know how long.

The girl looked pleased and went over to the fire, stoking some more wood into it. "I'm glad you're better. I honestly didn't know if you'd make it," she said from her spot, her back turned to him.

He thought her a fool for turning her back on someone who had threatened her only moments ago. "How did I end up here?" he asked gruffly, wanting to know just what the fuck had happened.

"Well, you see…"

She trailed off, testing his patience. Adam was already pissed off and now she hesitated in explaining to him how he had gotten here? If she didn't talk soon, there would be physical violence involved.

"Actually, I was just making my… rounds through the sky when I saw you and two others surrounded by Grimm. You were already passed out when I got there, so I took you back here and treated your wounds. You were out for two days with a fever, but it seems you're all better now. Although I'm afraid you'll have to stay for a little while; the wound on your torso is quite deep and it will need time to heal."

"How long?"

"I'm no doctor, but I would say at least about two weeks to be safe. Maybe even longer," she responded, poking the fire with a stick, making it crack and sparks ascend into the air.

Adam frowned — two weeks was too long. He needed to get back to the White Fang as soon as possible. He had no time to sit around and sip tea, waiting for his wound to heal by itself.

"I don't have time for that," he grumbled.

The girl turned around to face him. Her blue eyes appeared to be glowing with how the light of the fire was cast onto them and she regarded him with a serious expression. He thought to see a hint of irritation and defiance in them.

"I'm afraid you'll have to deal with it. You could barely stand earlier and if you move around too much before the wound is completely healed, you'll only make it worse," she stated matter-of-fact.

He growled at her — no one was allowed to order him around, especially not some hermit girl. Looking her over, he noticed the obvious lack of noticeable muscles, which begged the question: how did she get him here? And he asked her just that, eyebrows raised in mockery.

All irritation left her expression and was replaced with a smile. "Oh, a friend helped me. I'll introduce you to him some time later, but not now. I don't think you're ready just yet."

Not ready yet? Ready for what? he asked himself, not comprehending the meaning of her words. He suddenly remembered the two other Faunus — Eric and Steve — whom had been with him. He didn't see them anywhere. Did that mean they dead? Possibly captured?

"Hey, human. What happened to the two other men? Where are they?"

A flicker of sadness crossed her face. She remained silent for a few moments and seemed to be debating something internally. When she finally appeared to have reached a conclusion, she threw him a glance before saying, "You should rest."

Then she turned back to the fire, which answered his question anyway. He now knew that both men were, without a doubt, dead.

Edited 14/04/2017

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.

Excuse the mild swearing. For those of you who do not like swearing, neither do I, but I believe it to be appropriate in that part of the story.

Happy Easter everyone!