Faunus.
Weiss was six when she heard Father use That Word. It flared from Father's explosive temper, decimating their peaceful family dinner within seconds.
"How can they let those animals get away with this?!" Father slammed his scroll on the table. The dishes rattled with fear.
Lavender grew ten shades paler at Father's outburst. Her inflated white sleeves made her look like a trembling marshmallow.
"What the fuck do the Military think they're doing with our tax dollars?!" Father hammered his ist down, almost knocking over one of the wine glasses.
Weiss' baby brother, Whitley, excitedly pounded his small hands on the table, sending bits of food flying everywhere. If Weiss or Winter did that, Father would've yelled at them for embarrassing him in front of Uncle.
"Weiss, calm your brother," Mama said.
Weiss didn't understand why she always had to take care of Whitley. It wasn't like their servants couldn't sing to him.
She scooped Whitley out of his booster seat and onto her lap, quietly humming his favourite lullaby into his ear. She ignored Lavender's quiet snickers from across the table. Weiss could already imagine the insults her cousin would throw at her later that evening.
"I didn't know you worked as a nanny, Weissy," Lavender would likely say once the adults were out of sight. "My father hires enough servants to care for our family. If you're desperate, maybe we'll hire you too."
Weiss sighed in relief when her brother's squeals finally went silent.
"I knew it was a shit idea to let the Faunus work in Atlas! Soon they'll demand to live in our neighbourhoods!" Father continued.
"What is Atlas Military doing these days? If it were me, I'd have every single one of those animals tagged for public safety," Uncle said coolly.
Mama once said Father looked up to Uncle. She could tell from the way Father mirrored Uncle's fashion choice. The only thing Father didn't adopt was Uncle's clean, shaken face and his preference for dark navy suits. Father also didn't adopt Uncle's temperament, as Mother always liked to say. Unlike Father, Uncle stayed calm through any circumstance, but something about him always left Weiss with goosebumps.
"Those fucking animals are going to turn Atlas into a dump at this rate," Father spat.
"I say we exterminate them while we're ahead," Uncle said, taking a sip of wine. "It's how we've dealt with violent wildlife in the past. I don't see why we've stopped treating animals like animals."
Weiss waited for silence to settle on the dinner table before shyly speaking up, "What's a Faunus?"
"Weiss." Winter kicked her from beneath the table. "Be quiet and finish your dinner."
Uncle burst out laughing as if he'd heard the world's funniest joke," Surely your daughter knows what a Faunus is."
"She's a child, Brother," Mama snapped shortly. "It's too soon to talk politics with her."
"I told Lavender as soon as she could read. There's nothing wrong with educating your kids about universal truths, Sister. It's embarrassing for a Schnee to be so ignorant.
"Perhaps you're unfamiliar with this, Jacques, but our father educated us about those animals once we could talk."
"Our father also sacrificed our childhood for the business," Mama scoffed.
"I-I suppose we have pampered her a bit too much." Father coughed.
"Jacques!"
"To answer your question, Dear Niece," Uncle addressed Weiss with a grin. "Faunus are a nasty breed of creatures - killers and thieves. You can recognise them by their animalistic features, like horns and tails."
Horns.
It was something Adam had, but he couldn't be a Faunus. He wasn't mean or evil like Uncle said. He was the nicest person she's ever met. He had to be Human.
"You're lucky to have never encountered one, dear niece. They're a hideous breed that's as violent and vile as the Grimm."
"S-so they're like the Grimm?" Weiss gasped.
"They are people," Mama cut in before either Father or Uncle could answer. "Their culture and genetics are underdeveloped compared to ours, so they're prone to violence. That's all you need to know."
"But–"
"Enough. Put your brother down and finish your food, Weiss."
"Sister, you ought to teach your daughter–"
"I will not have my six-year-old daughter discuss politics at this age! Let children be children, Brother." Mama glared at Weiss when she still hadn't put Whitley back on his baby chair.
Weiss bowed her head and did as she was told. She wasn't sure why the food on her plate now tasted like cardboard or why she couldn't stop thinking about Uncle's description of the Faunus. The more she went over his words, the more her stomach twisted into sickening knots.
What was wrong with her?
She almost choked on her food when Father suddenly said her name. She wasn't sure what the conversation was about, but she caught the part where she was going back to the Mine to learn more about Dust Harvesting. Her heart quickened. Father didn't say anything about which Mine they'd be visiting.
"Are we going back to the same Mine as last year, Father?" Weiss asked, bracing for Father to grow angry at her for asking a foolish question.
"Yes. You have a good memory, Weiss. Very good." Father beamed.
The twisting knot in her throat vanished at his answer. All that mattered was that she could finally see Adam again. She still couldn't believe she had a real-life friend now!
"I expect the both of you to be ready to go by the end of the week," Father added.
"I thought you said you would take them next month." Mama frowned.
"An old friend of mine is celebrating a promotion next month in Anima. I was invited to attend the party."
"Oh? And what businesses does this friend do?" Uncle asked.
Father gave a funny look to Weiss and Whitley before answering," he's a…Huntsman. The name Orin Blackwood should ring a bell."
The adults shared a knowing glance like they were all in on a secret. Uncle was suddenly more lively than usual, talking about how great Orin Blackwood is. Even Mama piped in with positive comments about him.
Orin Blackwood had to be an amazing person if Mama was complimenting him too. Weiss hoped she'll meet him one day and find out what made him so special.
Father took her to the Dust Mine for a tour when their airship touched down. Weiss kept her face neutral despite the excitement bubbling in her heart.
The Dust Mine was completely lit up with work lights when they arrived. Their guide led them down a sloped path that connected to the deeper chambers. For a moment, Weiss was expecting to see him waiting for her inside, but all she saw were glowing Crystals and smiling guards welcoming her to the site.
Throughout the tour, she tried to look for Adam, but the Mine was only populated with Father's guards.
"Who collects all the Crystals?" she asked Father.
"The Faunus," Father answered with a sneer. Once again, that word left her feeling sick. "They're lucky we even offer their kind work."
"How come we don't see any of them working?"
"We shouldn't expose you to their kind yet, your dear mother wouldn't be happy if she found out." Father's face scrunched up like he ate something sour. "Now, in terms of harvesting Crystallised Dust…"
The day dragged on for what felt like an eternity. At nightfall, Father led her to the lodge where they met up with Winter for dinner. After a quiet meal and a review of everything she learned, Weiss got dressed for bed and waited for the rest of her family to sleep. Like last time, she only made her move once she heard Father and Winter snoring down the hall.
Freshly fallen snow covered Weiss from head to toe when she stumbled into the Mine. The work lights she saw earlier that day were all taken away. Only a string of lightbulbs remained hanging on the wall, leaving the rest of the cave shrouded in darkness. If she wanted to look for Adam, she'd have to walk further inside.
"I'm a big girl now. I can do this!" she told herself with a huff.
Weiss rolled her shoulders back and marched into the shadows, retracing the steps she took during her tour. The world went pitch black until she reached the first cluster of Dust Crystals at the end of the sloped trail.
Glowing Dust Crystals bulged out from the walls and floors, making the adventure slightly more enjoyable. While they didn't completely light up her path, they made the cave feel more magical.
"Adam," she whispered. "Where are you?"
All she heard was the faint echoes of her voice.
Weiss squealed when she tripped over a stray rock on the path, scrapping her palms on the icy ground. She clenched her teeth and tried to examine her hands in the dim light. It was impossible to see anything in detail, but the burning in her left hand was enough to let her know she was bleeding.
Two distant voices echoed from up ahead, making her heart drop to her stomach.
She scrambled onto her feet and blindly searched the cave for somewhere to hide. Just as a white light reached the area she was in, someone grabbed her hand and pulled her into a dark crevice.
Weiss immediately tried to fight her mysterious attacker, but they held her down.
"Stay still," a familiar voice whispered. Weiss bit her tongue, almost gasping out loud at the sound of his voice.
She held her breath when the adult voices grew closer. Adam lay on top of her as a blinding white light swept over the cave, barely missing the fissure they were hiding in. Neither of them made a single noise until the light and footsteps vanished.
"That was dangerous, Weiss." Adam crawled off her. "If the guards saw you—"
She didn't let him finish, tackling him into the tightest hug she could manage. It was only when she had him between her arms that she was certain this wasn't a dream. She squeezed him tighter to confirm he was truly there.
"Ow. Your hugs hurt." He wrapped his arms around her.
"Those are the best kinds of hugs," she said, pulling away from him.
Like when she was five, Weiss unwrapped her knitted scarf and gave it to him. Even now, she thought it was odd that he still hadn't bought a winter jacket.
"Come on, let's talk outside. The adults will hear us down here," Adam suggested.
Weiss winced when he grabbed her left hand.
"What's wrong?" he asked, letting her go.
"I fell and hurt my hands earlier."
"You should be careful next time. It's dangerous down here."
"But I can't see anything. It's too dark."
"Oh yeah…I forgot Humans can't see in the dark," he murmured to himself.
Her belly did flips at the reminder that he wasn't Human. But that couldn't be true. Adam wasn't anything like the ugly monsters the adults described. He had to be Human.
"Hang on, I'll lead us out." He gently took her by her fingers and led her back to the cave entrance.
Yellow lights Weiss once found so comforting now made her eyes hurt. It took her a minute to adjust before she could see Adam in more detail.
He was still shorter than her, and his hair was as red as she remembered it to be. He looked exactly like he did a year ago, even down to the dirty pyjamas and striking blue eyes. Her gaze latched onto his black horns. They were bigger now. The weight in her gut sunk deeper the longer she looked at them.
"Let's see your hands. Mom always says we need to be super careful with cuts," he instructed her.
Weiss nodded and held up her palms. It wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be. Her hands were fine save for a thin red line running down the bump of her left thumb.
"That looks painful," he winced.
"It's not that bad. It just stings a little."
"We can't leave it out like this."
Weiss gasped when Adam ripped apart the fabric of his sleeve. Before she could ask what he was doing, he wrapped the clean half of the fabric over her cut.
"But you'll be cold," she protested.
"I'm used to it." He shrugged, tightening the knot on her hand. "There, that should help keep it safe from germs."
"Thanks, Adam." She smiled, forcing her eyes to meet his rather than studying his horns again.
"I-I'm surprised you still remember me," he said with a nervous laugh. "I was sure you would've forgotten…"
"As if! I'll never ever forget my bestest friend."
"Do you still have to play with your cousin?"
"Ugh! Don't even get me started. She's even more annoying now that she unlocked her Semblance."
Weiss wanted to stuff her ears with cotton whenever Lavender bragged about her stupid Semblance.
"So your cousin's still a big jerk. Got it." He laughed. "How long are you staying this time?"
"Father says we're only staying for three days."
"Three days? That's not enough time!"
"I know, but at least I found you. I was super scared that I'd have to walk deeper in the Mine."
"You're lucky I heard about your visit. I don't usually spend time in those tunnels."
Weiss was going to ask where he was earlier that day, but his growling stomach cut her off.
"You haven't eaten dinner yet?"
"I-I have." His stomach groaned in disagreement.
"You're lying. Even your belly says so."
"Y-Yeah? Well, whatever." He looked away from her with reddened cheeks.
"How come you haven't eaten anything yet? Winter always tells me we need to have a full belly on cold days."
"M-maybe I'm not hungry."
"Adam." She moved in front of him to meet his eyes. "I don't like liars."
"The guards didn't let us eat tonight, okay?" He turned his back on her.
"What? That's not true."
Weiss met all the guards in charge of the Mine. They all treated her kindly when she saw them, greeting her with warm smiles and compliments. She couldn't believe they'd be mean enough to keep him from eating a warm dinner.
"Well, it is! They always get to decide what we can or can't do."
"But they were nice to me."
"That's because you're Human. They don't treat us the same way."
That Word suspended dangerously in the silence between them.
Weiss didn't like hearing Adam say bad things about the guards, but she also didn't want to see Adam hungry when he was already underdressed for the weather.
"I'll tell Father about it. He'll make sure all the bad guards get fired."
"What? No! You can't tell him!" He looked back at her, horrified.
"Why not?"
"You made a promise not to tell anyone about us."
"But you're still hungry…" she protested weakly.
"I'm fine." He wrapped an arm around his stomach when it let out another sad moan.
"What if I sneak you something to eat?"
"Now? There isn't enough time."
"Maybe not now, but I can try tomorrow. We always have a bunch of food left over after dinner. I'm sure I can grab something."
"I-I don't know, Weiss. Won't you get in trouble?"
"Not if Father never finds out." She winked. "Trust me, I'll find a safe way to grab you some dinner."
"You don't have to. I'm really not that hungry," he said with a small smile. "I'm tired of talking about food. Can we please do something fun before you have to go?"
Weiss only let it go because he didn't know how good she was at sneaking around. She didn't catch a wink of sleep after crawling into bed that night. She lay wide awake, wondering what kind of food Adam would like.
Weiss spent the next day at the Dust Factory listening to Father's employee ramble about Dust Processing. Whenever he made an off-handed comment about Faunus workers, it never failed to recapture Weiss' full attention.
"Lazy, good-for-nothing beasts," the man ranted at some point. "You've never seen one in the wild, but I assure you they're hideous creatures to look at! And don't get me started on that feral temper of theirs."
"Mr Schnee told us not to speak about them in detail." The tall strict-looking woman reminded him
"R-right. Anyways, the first step of Dust Processing is…"
It felt like an eternity had passed before she was back at the dinner table with Father and Winter. Their meal that night, freshly made spaghetti and meatballs with a slice of chocolate cake for dessert, was a perfect gift for Adam. Weiss painstakingly ignored most of her cake, reminding herself that there needed to be enough left for Adam to enjoy too.
Bedtime couldn't have come any faster. Weiss dressed at breakneck speed once the lodge fell silent. This time, she made a quick detour to the kitchen before heading out.
Leftovers from dinner still remained out on the counters. She snatched the smallest Tupperware she could reach, making sure she took her leftover cake along with some utensils.
On her way out, Weiss passed by a fruit bowl overflowing with apples, pears, and oranges. Weiss grabbed some apples and stuffed them in her pockets. Mama always said an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Since Adam never wore a winter coat, he needed apples more than her.
Adam was waiting for her at their usual spot. After giving him her scarf, she pulled out the leftovers and apples from her jacket and handed them to him.
"Your meal, sir," Weiss imitated the servers she'd seen at restaurants.
"Y-you really did it…" he gasped, taking the leftovers like it was made of glass.
"Of course I did. I made a promise, right?" She beamed. "I hope you like spaghetti and–!"
Adam barreled into her with a breathtaking hug. Weiss was always the one who initiated their bear hugs, so to finally have their roles reversed left her head swimming.
"Thank you," he whispered before letting her go.
The two of them sat in a dark cosy corner of the cave. Adam ripped open the lids like he was opening a wrapped present, examining his small dinner with wide eyes.
"Eat the chocolate cake first," she instructed. Mama always said they needed to eat healthy foods first, but tonight was a special exception.
"This is chocolate?" He poked the cake curiously. "Are you sure we can eat this? It looks so…weird."
"Trust me, this is the yummiest thing in the whole wide world. I saved my dessert for you tonight, so you better eat it all."
"If you say so…" he cut a small corner of the cake off, giving it a tentative sniff before putting it in his mouth. Weiss beamed when his eyes lit up in awe.
"This is so good! I'm never doubting you ever again."
He finished the cake faster than Weiss ever could, cleaning off every smudge of frosting and crumb clinging to the container before moving on to the spaghetti. He was equally as excited about the main course, shovelling mouthfuls of noodles and meatballs like it was the first time he's ever eaten spaghetti before.
"This is all so delicious! Do you eat this every day?"
"Not every day. Our cooks make all sorts of yummy food for us."
"Lucky. All we get to eat is yucky cold porridge," he murmured between forkfuls of spaghetti.
"You should get better cooks. That sounds awful."
"We don't get to choose what they serve us…"
Weiss furrowed her brows. Why couldn't he decide what the cooks made? Mama and Father always told the cooks what to make and what to avoid.
"It must be nice to eat real food with your family all the time," Adam said after finishing the leftovers. "I'm lucky if I get to share a meal with mom and dad."
"Do your parents fight a lot? Sometimes Mama gets super mad at Father, and we have dinner without him."
"No. Mom and Dad hardly ever get mad at each other." He sniffed the apple before taking a bite of it. "It's just…not all Humans are nice as you, Weiss."
There it was again. Reminding her that she was Human and he wasn't. That Word wedged between them ever since Weiss learned what it meant. Even when she tried to ignore it, That Word made the horns on his head pop out so much she couldn't keep her eyes off them.
Humans weren't supposed to have horns.
"Adam, can I ask you a question?" she asked hesitantly.
"Sure."
"Are you a…" she shuddered as the strange word sat on the tip of her tongue. "Are you a Faunus?"
Snowflakes pelted against the cave outside. Adam kept staring at his apple as if he'd forgotten about Weiss.
Sometimes, when Winter was mad at her, she'd act like Weiss wasn't there. No matter how much Weiss talked to her or tried to catch her attention, she'd treat Weiss like she was invisible.
But why would Adam be mad at her? She was just asking a question. She even used her soft indoor voice too.
"I am," he finally said. "I-I'm a Faunus."
Weiss gasped. Everything the adults said about the Faunus rushed to the very front of her mind. Uncle and Father said they were heartless monsters, and even Mama agreed they were violent. If all the adults said they were bad, then it must be true.
"Do you…hate me?" Adam asked quietly.
Weiss played with the ends of her sleeves. Instinct told her to run back to the lodge and never look back, but leaving would mean saying goodbye to Adam forever. A thick lump formed at the back of her throat when she imagined what the rest of her trip would be like without ever seeing Adam again. It would be no different than being alone in their Manor.
Aside from the horns, she didn't see what made him so different from her. If the Faunus were as dangerous as the adults said they were, why did he look so normal? And why was he so nice?
The only explanation she could think of was that he was different. He wasn't dangerous or evil like the others because he was born different. It was how Mama described her when she asked why she never went to school like other kids. They were simply different.
Faunus or not, it didn't change the happy memories she shared with him and him alone. Weiss clung to all the times he made her laugh, ignoring everything else she heard about his kind from the adults.
"I don't hate you. You're still my bestest friend." Weiss took his hand and held it tightly.
That at least brought a smile back to his face.
"Weiss, do you think we'll be friends forever?"
"We will," she replied instantly. "Why would you even ask that?"
"Mom says we can't get ever along with Humans."
"Well…how about this?" Weiss held out her pinky finger. "I'll make a pinky promise that we'll be friends forever and ever. That way, we can never not be friends."
"Are you sure that'll work?"
"Of course. Winter says pinky promises can never be broken. No matter what happens, I promise I'll always be your friend."
"Okay," Adam finally linked his pinky with hers. "We'll be friends forever."