AN: I think I realize what's going on with the pacing. I want Adam to be familiar with the characters of RWBY, and develop a relationship, not the romantic kind. I mean an actual emotional relationship. I could do a time skip saying 'Oh they spent a lot of time together and bonded.' That's boring and not as emotionally developing for the readers. It's hard to explain. Also, I'm not going to introduce most of the characters of RWBY to Adam, not now because we'll be stuck before the show actually starts in the timeline for way too long than I'm comfortable with.

I hope you guys get the gist of what I'm trying to say.

Anyway, Enjoy the Chapter.

Blake

Snap

At every angle, trees were blocking my sight. It's so bad that I couldn't see that much further ahead of me. It's not because it was dark, the sun was at its peak, but because of how concentrated the trees were. All so tightly packed together. Some Rays of sunlight managed to slip through the leaves of trees covering the area, but the sky didn't. What's worse were the roots that stuck out from the ground, sometimes close to the parent tree or far out enough, that they would cause me to trip over them. It's not fun tripping over roots, trust me, happened to me plenty of times. And if you like splinters and dirt in your mouth, then you're in luck.

The further I venture into the forest the more I hear that snapping sound coming from the twigs I step on. I know I should be a little mindful of where I step—producing sound isn't the best of ideas in a forest. Yes, I know. I'm not too worried about it though, it isn't that hard to lose a bear or a pack of grimm. The trees in this forest are tall, which plays a major factor in my carelessness. All I had to do was climb up a tree and I'd be safe from almost anything. I've done it countless times before, I'll be safe from the average grimm... Okay, maybe occasionally a grimm or two are familiar with the secret arts of climbing trees, but I just hop from branch to branch if that happens.

I carry on my search in the forest for Adam. Another hour passes by and I can't seem to find him. Thoughts of him having made it back to Buddha's house invade my mind. It was a possibility, but there was also a possibility he didn't. There's a chance that, small as it may be, he could still be out here. I continued to sweep the forest looking for him—encountering bugs that made me jump in disgust and steer clear of them. If I were to keep up my pace further east then I'll eventually be in the desert within less than two hours, and taking into consideration that there are tons of species of grimm living there, unknown to mankind and faunus, I decide to turn back.

As I was traveling back to Buddha's place—halfway I met the person whom I spent so long searching for. I call out his name, "Adam." He turns his head in my direction. Seeing his face again blew away my uncertainties. A gust of wind—perfectly timing itself as we face each other, eyes locking. The connection between us made itself known with a pleasant warmth in my heart. It was like my dad was in front of me, but Adam wasn't my dad. I shake off the feeling. My dad is my dad…

My focus falls below his neck. It was the first time I'd seen him without the cloak he was wearing last night. I shut my mouth close, realizing that it had been open for the last few seconds. Adam's physique reminded me of my dad, but a lost less bulky and more on the toned side. I try to ignore him only having a leaf to cover his crotch—it's commonplace for faunus to not wear much clothing when alone, mostly in their homes where no one can peak. There were times faunus have done so outside in isolated parts of towns like this forest. My mom being one of them. I won't explain any further than that I was... appalled.

"Ah… Blake, It's dangerous out here, we are far from Buddha's place." Adam says, "I'm on my way back, will you come with me? Or do you have other plans?" Hearing his voice gave me a sense of serenity, warm and comforting "If you plan on staying then be careful… If I remember correctly, Saffron had told me those creatures made of the dark are called grimm. I've already cleared the forest of them, but grimm from outside the forest may already be replacing those I have already… vanquished."

Wow, the entire forest? I thought. Is he that strong… I wonder if he's as strong as Buddha. "Ah, no… I'm also on my way back." I say. I run up next to him with a question that I tend to ask people I thought of as close. "Hey, Adam-"

I fidget with my clothing. "Let's say… If there was someone who hates you for the way you look—different from how they view as normal, not caring for who you are as a person… What would you do?"

I wasn't bothered by bullies at school or anything like that. It's not like I can't beat them up, it's the opposite, I can easily beat them up with no problem. I mean- the bullies at my school don't bother me because I always kept to myself. The point is, the question isn't about bullies, It's more about how humans treat faunus. I don't want to be straightforward though. It just doesn't feel, I don't know, right? I'm not completely sure... I just don't feel comfortable indirectly saying that I'm upset about it. Upset about how faunus are treated.

I glance over at Adam, watching as he ponders the question, "Hm… I'm not certain what I'd do. There's always a reason behind hate, be it envy, contempt, fear, insecurity, or how they were raised. In the end, It's their choice to view me how they want." Adam says. He stops in place, suddenly. I look around, trying to figure out why he stopped. Then realization came over me. His eyes seem to be focusing on something else, so I follow his gaze. And I was greeted with two beetles fighting each other on a decaying tree stump. "Whereas If they were to express their hate through violence, to those they see lesser than them, to those that are of different colors or to those that have a pair of cat ears like the pair you have on your head, I wouldn't have an inkling of an idea of what to do nor how to solve it."

My cat ears lower themselves, hiding themselves from plain sight as best as they could. Does he know the reason why I asked that question?… embarrassing. I thought. I brought my eyes back up from staring at the ground and noticed he wasn't looking at my cat ears, not like I was intentionally hiding them like some faunus—he was observing the Beetles, his hands hovering over them.

Adam crouched down near the decaying tree stump, "I hate the idea of hurting others—I hate the idea of having to hurt others. And I hate choosing sides, even when it's obvious who's in the right and who's in the wrong. I want them both to be happy." Adam reaches out for the two beetles, gently separating them and, instead of the beetles pacifying, they begin attacking his finger. "…If I were to be the one to end their conflict would I be the new target of their newfound hate? A selfish fantasy of wanting everyone to be united—a fantasy I believe possible." The two beetles settled down, not biting him with their pincers, but he still wore a sad look when we met eyes. "Living separately gives you the peace you desire. They won't bother you any longer as long as you don't bother them, but you are looking to be viewed as equal. To be seen as equal you need to be united, to be united you need peace—you only achieve peace when separated." Hearing that made my stomach twist. It felt like a knife gutted me, twisting—making sure to be locked in place. Adam releases the beetles back down on the same tree stump and the two beetles begin immediately fighting again. "Don't worry. You're not the only one who finds it displeasing." Adam says before placing his attention back on the woods.

Another hour and trees still continue to surround us, less concentrated than before, thankfully. There were still lots of birds chirping or singing. Sadly, I'm unable to see them, obviously. I would love to listen to their singing and place all my attention on their singing, but the dozens of small bugs that were flying by my face kept me busy. They sometimes swarm to my eyes, ears, and nose, making me reflexively swipe at them. After knocking ten down, with just one swipe, mind you. I hear Adam laughing. He's definitely making fun of my current situation. I look at him, pouting. "Not funny," I say.

"Ah! Hey Adam!" A feminine voice calls out, sounding familiar "Oh, Blake! There you are-" I glance over where the voice came from and find Saffron lightly jogging towards us. She waves her hand, greeting us, and Adam returns the gesture. I follow his example.

Saffron took a moment to catch her breath, "I've been looking for you two for hours."

Adam smiles. "And here we are."

Saffron scoffs, displaying fake annoyance. "I mean- yeah, I just found you two." Her expression drops to one that says 'Why do I even try.' "Adam, I told you to bring your cloak with you. You don't know when you might bump into people. And I doubt they want to talk with a man who's basically stark naked" Saffron shakes her head, crossing her arms.

Adam gives a wry smile, "I apologize. I wasn't expecting to meet anyone out here, and it is quite desolate for a forest. Not many people or animals seem to live here."

"Maybe it's because we're miles from civilization. Oh, and let's not forget about the abundance of grimm running around out here." Saffron says, sarcastically. Saffron sighs, "Never mind about that. We need to hurry to the market for a map before they close."

A map? I thought. "Can't you use your scroll? They have a built-in GPS." I say.

Saffron places a hand on her hip, "I would, but I kind of left mine at home, which is in the city of Mistral. Waaaay~ far from here." She points at Adam, "And Adam doesn't have a scroll either, so, all we have left is to use an actual map. And I'm not buying a new scroll. I don't got enough lien to buy a brand-new scroll. They're getting expensive nowadays." Saffron shakes her head at today's economy. She looked one hundred percent disappointed. And, in a flick of a switch, her mood brightens. "Ah, Blake, Buddha told me you know where to get us a map. Do you mind showing us where?" Saffron asks me.

I shook my head, "Yeah, I don't mind. What kind of map are you looking for? A map of Menagerie or Remnant?"

"Remnant, a map of Remnant." She says.

"Alright… so, what type of map of Remnant do you want? If you're traveling then you'll want to use a road map. I'd also take a physical map of Remnant too, it's more informative of the terrain you'll be entering." I say.

Saffron stood there, confusion etched on her face with her eyes swirling like some cartoon character. I took a deep breath, "Aren't you older than me, how don't you know this much about maps?"

Saffron snaps out of it, her eyes wandering anywhere but near mine. She chuckles nervously, "Well—what they teach in Mistral is way different than what they teach in Menagerie. So, it's not entirely my fault for not knowing," She regains her confident demeanor, "And it's not my fault, it's the teachers' fault, they decide what they teach you, not the students." It was almost like she was regressing in age in real-time. "Forget about all that. Let's just go get the maps, please?" She pleas.

She should know more about maps than I do, especially when she's older than me. I was itching to pester her further, but out of nowhere, Adam ruffled my hair. A pleasant tingle ran down from the top of my head down to my tailbone causing me to lower my cat ears—sensitive to the touch.

Adam chuckles lightly. "Come on, Blake, no need to poke fun at her." He continues to ruffle my hair. I refuse to lose myself to this sense of comfort, so I get a hold of his hand and push it away. A sense of longing invades my heart, but I refuse to accept his comfort. I refuse to be treated like a kid.

"I wasn't." I lie. I push myself ahead of both of them, "Let's get going already—unless you don't want that map?" I say. This causes Adam to laugh and Saffron to scramble to follow beside me.

When we purchased both maps, the sun had already fallen beneath the sky. A beautiful sunset gives the buildings a warm orange hue to them. Our trip to the Market wasn't that eventful. Adam made a detour to Buddha's house for the cloak that he left behind, and we gave our goodbyes to Buddha. Although Buddha looked like he couldn't care less, that's how he was. There's no ill intentions behind it.

Thankfully, a merchant sold both maps we were looking for right before he closed his stand. Saffron was bawling her eyes out, blabbing about losing most of her money. We took the main road and a few detours to make it to the entrance of the forest—a dirt path that leads to Buddha's house. We both said our goodbyes. They both went towards Buddha's house and I went towards my house, opposite where they were heading. I wanted to stay with them a little longer, but I knew if I did my parents would ground me for more than a week, and that's the last thing I want.

Houses, stones, dirt, all of them fall behind. I'm halfway home, but it was still a ten-minute walk from where I am now. It gave me time to think—time to think what Adam had told me. We do have peace… I thought to myself. Hardly. My memories remind me back to when humans had attacked me and other faunus, doing nothing but peaceful protests. Signs raised—'faunus equality' written on all of them. We didn't hurt anybody, not a single human. Not a single hair follicle. It didn't matter to them. Anything they could get a hold of like rocks, cups, bricks, food, and backpacks they threw at us. They caused some severe injuries to us, some permanent. A faunus even lost an eye from something that got thrown directly in his eye. Yet, we still never laid a single finger on them, no matter how angry we were at them. No matter how much we wanted to fight back.

They can throw whatever they want, I would take it all. At least those didn't hurt as much as their insults. Despite all we've endured, their words continue to hurt more than anything—belittling us, and reminding us of how worthless we are. I wanted to cry so many times. Why couldn't they see we're the same, we have emotions, and we can be happy and sad too. Humans fought back, blinded, not seeing us for who we are… but I held strong. I, who believed to be an unstoppable force, at the time, stood in the crowd, shouting for equality.

My vision soon starts to blur and I—No! I bit my cheek. I won't let them get the best of me. I'm not going to cry. After I bit my cheek, that's when I felt something crawling down my lips. It didn't feel like a bug with their legs crawling about. It was more of a liquid feeling. Rain? It didn't feel cold and it wasn't cloudy with a chance of meatballs- I mean rain. I touch my lips. A familiar metallic taste presents itself in my mouth. A warm crimson-red liquid sits on my fingertips—blood.

I wipe the blood away on my clothing, hoping that my mom won't find the stain when it's laundry day.

AN: You probably figured it out, but I'm kind of running out of ways to describe actions. Like saying 'turns to said person' or 'looks to said person,' 'glances to said person.' Are you bothered by the repetitive described actions? I know I am. If you haven't noticed it by now then I'll probably keep writing like that, not forever or permanently. I'm still going to try and find alternatives of how to describe said action.