Chapter 24: Trust

Serena woke up like every morning; with the first rays of sunlight. She quietly got up and looked over to the male who was taking up her bed and was still sleeping soundly. She was always the first of the two to rise which gave her enough time to take a bath and get dressed without worrying about him seeing her in any indecent way. She took out her black shorts and a black top with some undergarments. Pulling her cloak, because it was still fresh in the morning, over her pajama which consisted of a simple pair of loose pants and top, she secured the cloak over her body and began her trek to the little pond. The path to it was clean and she did not need shoes, the leaves and earth soft under her feet.

Quickly brushing her teeth and washing her hair, she pulled on her clothes and padded back to the cave, drying her short black hair with a towel. It was a good thing she had short hair, seeing there was no electricity and longer hair would take ages to dry. Brushing her hair once to make it look presentable, she pulled on her stockings and boots and walked outside. Adam was still sleeping and she was greeted by Ajax, who always came over at this time, before starting her daily morning practice, running her course and then training her gymnastics. When she got back inside, she saw that her guest was up, running a hand through his tousled red hair. She noted to herself that she should check his injury and see how it was coming along.

"Good morning," she greeted, walking over to the eggs which lay, safely stacked in a carton, on one of the rocks in the kitchen. She received a small grunt in response and immediately set to cracking the eggs open in a bowl and mixing them. Adding some pepper and salt, she poured the liquid into a pan that she had set on the fire.

"Could you get two plates and cutlery please?" she asked while stirring the eggs, not wanting them to burn. Adam quietly and without response got what she asked for and a minute later they were sitting both in their respective spots by the fire and eating their omelette. The sound of metal meeting porcelain was the only sound that filled the air, both eating in silence.

"I'll have to check your wound today, see how it's doing. If it's healed enough, maybe you could take a bath. It's already been five days and I guess you want to clean up," she said, picking some egg onto her fork. It was not that he smelled or anything, but she guessed that he must be feeling pretty uncomfortable. She herself could not go a day without washing her hair and by the look he gave her, he was the same.

"Okay," was the only reply she received before he looked back to his breakfast and continued eating.

It was twenty minutes later that he was sitting on her bed, back to the wall and her hovering in front of him. Serena observed the wound carefully; the flesh had mended some and she guessed that, if she put on fresh bandages afterwards, it would be okay for him to take a bath.

"I guess we can risk it. The skin has mended some, though not fully, but I'm sure that a little bath won't hurt. But just in case, you should leave on the bandages so that it won't reopen. I'll change them after you're done, okay?" she told him, wrapping the bandages around the wound again.

Adam nodded once and grabbed Wilt & Blush again when she was done, putting on the red shirt that she'd bought him before once again cleaning his weapon. He briefly wondered how she knew what size he had, but he guessed that she had simply checked his previous, now torn shirt and gotten the size from it. Both his sword and gun were spick-and-span, but since there was nothing else to do for him, he cleaned it yet again.

The girl went outside, taking her stick with her and he could hear her talking to the Grimm, Ajax, when she exited the cave. She always disappeared into the forest around this time of day and came back some hours later with food. Once, she had even brought back a whole deer and he could almost not believe his eyes. Everyone always said that the animals had been scared away by the Grimm, but there she had been, a whole deer resting on the back of the Grimm that always accompanied her. His eyes had almost budged out of his skull and she had laughed at the face he had made. He could still remember what she had said back then.

"Yes, this is a deer. I know that everyone thinks that the animals got scared away, but they're wrong. There are still enough animals in the forest here, you just have to look for them."

"But why did you kill a deer? There is too much meat, it will go to waste."

He had never before worried about food or if some would be left over, but here, it was different. Back in the White Fang, the food had always been abundant and he could cook for himself in the kitchen that was designated for the higher-ranked members. The only thing he had to do was go to the chefs and ask them for what he needed, be it fish or meat.

But this girl lived from what she hunted, as primitive as it might be, and until then they had only eaten fish or dried meat that she had bought in Vale. Never before had she come back with an animal this big and he was honestly questioning just what she planed on doing with the left over meat. Sure, Ajax could eat it, but still.

"Don't worry. We'll eat as much as we can and then I'll smoke the rest of it. Besides, you'll need something else than just dried meat and fish. It will help your wound heal better and I have eaten so much fish in the time I've been here that I'm willing to kill this one animal so that we can live off it for a few days."

She had skinned and cleaned the poor animal afterwards and roasted it in the fire. Adam had never eaten deer before but he had to admit that it tasted good. And if it helped him in getting better than it was worth it.

The girl reentering the cave brought him back to the present and he looked over to see her holding a basket filled with fish in her hands. She placed her stick back to where it belonged and went over to the big stone in the kitchen. Emptying the basket, she set to work and skinned and prepared them.

"I guess we'll be having fish for dinner again," she said while cutting off another head and throwing it to the Grimm who devoured it hungrily. Another thing which surprised Adam was that Grimm could actually eat normal food.

"Dinner?"

He looked outside and, sure enough, the sun was starting to lower again, making the red leaves radiate in an even redder shade. He hadn't noticed that time had flown by this quick. Putting away his two weapons, he got up and walked over, positioning himself opposite the human to watch her while she was preparing their food.

"Can I help?"

He felt useless, juts sitting around and doing nothing and above anything else he was bored too. Figuring that he could at least busy himself, even if it was by making dinner, he strode up to her and asked. She paused her movements and looked up at him, blinking once. It was the first time he had asked to help her and she was surprised.

Don't just stand there. Say something! she mentally told herself, jerking out of her confusion. Giving him the knife, she told him to cut the fish while she would get water. He nodded and immediately got to work, handling the knife skillfully and swiftly, working faster than she had. She grabbed the bucket and went out to get water. Upon retuning she saw that he was finished and she gaped. Just how fast did he cut those?!

"Anything else?" he asked, turning so he was facing her. She cleared her throat and then put the bucket on the ground.

"If you wouldn't mind, you could wash-"

"Serena! I'm back!"

The sudden sound of a high voice and the approaching footsteps made both tense up. Serena instantly recognized the voice to be Ruby's, remembering that the younger girl had said that she would visit her once a week. Adam went over to the bed and grabbed his weapon, but Serena stopped him by putting her right hand atop his, stopping him in going outside. He glared at her, but she only shook her head and used her strength to lower his hand which was still clasping the weapon.

"She's not an enemy, just a friend. Hide behind that rock," she pointed to a big rock that was at the far back of the cave and used rarely. "She won't see you there."

Adam hesitated, not sure if he could really trust her to not rat him out, but after holding her eyes for a moment longer and realizing that he really had no other choice, he went behind the rock and sat down, his body disappearing in the shadows that it cast over him. Serena sighed in relief before smiling when Ruby appeared at the opening of the cave.

"Hey Ruby," she greeted, walking over and motioning for the younger girl to get inside and take a seat. Ruby did so after greeting Ajax who was sniffing her, taking a seat so that she had her back turned to the back of the cave and was looking outside. "What brings you here?" Serena asked as she handed a cup of tea to her guest.

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine. How are Yang and the others? Anything new from Beacon?" Serena inquired, taking a sip from her cup.

"Not much, though they are all busy in preparing for the Vytal Festival that's in two weeks. Yang's totally hyped up about it, she can finally fight other students who are strong. Blake and Weiss are still the same, though Weiss has gotten a bit more sassy."

Adam's breath caught in his throat. Blake. So his former partner was now part of Beacon Academy. He had not expected her to become a Huntress. And she was on the same team as this bubbly girl. He was surprised to know that Blake would actually willingly live among humans, but she had always been soft. No doubt did she still hide her cat ears like before. As if she were ashamed of being a Faunus.

"Vytal Festival?" Serena asked, arching one eyebrow up. She had no idea what that was since it had never been mentioned in the book she had read.

"Oh yeah, you probably don't know it. It's a big festival in which the four kingdoms come together and celebrate their cultures with dances. And there will also be a tournament in which students from all around the world will be competing against each other. It's a pretty big event and everyone is really nervous," Ruby explained, her eyes sparkling in anticipation and excitement.

"I guess Yang isn't the only one excited, huh?" Serena commented with a small laugh. Ruby only laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah. Maybe you could come too. There will be so many people that you won't be noticed by the military or anyone. And my team really wants to meet you after they heard about you."

"Maybe I'll come, though I can't promise anything. I'm a little busy at the moment so…"

Serena's eyes immediately widened when she realized her mistake. Adam tensed up behind the rock, still hiding from sight and sucked in a breath. If she rated him out now, then he would be in trouble.

"Oh really? What's got you so busy?" Ruby inquired innocently, not expecting that her friend was actually hiding a so-to-say criminal. He had, after all, attacked people and trains and whatnot.

"Uh… I encountered some new Grimm and they prove to be a little difficult, so I'm busy training with them," Serena quickly made up. It was a believable lie and by the look Ruby was giving her she believed it.

"Well then; I wish you good luck with them."

"Thanks." They conversed some more until it was getting dark.

"I guess I better go back to Beacon. Miss Goodwitch so does not like it when we stay out late and she's scarier than a Grimm when she's angry." Ruby involuntarily shivered at the thought of the teacher. The last time she had come back late, she had been given a good, long lecture and had to go to detention.

"No problem. Take Ajax with you, he'll accompany you for some of the way," the older girl said, whistling for the Grimm who came only three seconds later. Saying their goodbyes, Ruby left and Serena waved until she could no longer see the red cloak through the trees.

"You can come out again; she's gone," she told Adam who appeared not a second later.

"Why didn't you tell her I was here?" he questioned, scowling at her back. She was still looking into the forest and for a moment he almost thought she hadn't heard him. She did not move and only looked up at the sky, stars beginning to show.

"Why should I? You're my guest. And my friend," came the quiet reply, her breath visible in the cool night air.

It was then that he decided that he could trust this human. At least a little.

A/N: I do not own RWBY or its characters. I do, however, own my OC Serena and any other OCs that appear in this story.

Not much to say so… Review please! And thanks to those who already have; always happy to hear from you guys!