Three months and one day later, Garek sat before a warm campfire. His tent was fully set up with sleeping arrangements for two and some minimal privacy with a hanging blanket between the two. Two sets of bowls and mugs on two upturned logs. A pot of stew bubbling over the fire. He was nervous. His rapier close at hand.
Though when a dark streak eclipsed the sky over the clearing, he smiled.
It seemed a moment later when two slender hands covered his eyes from behind.
"Oh my, who can it be." He drawled in a monotone.
"You must guess," came a familiar and lilting female voice.
"I don't know. This is a very difficult game," he said through a smile.
"You must guess or… or I will eat your liver!"
His smile grew wider. "You told me you don't even like liver."
"Who told you, faunus? You do not even know who I am."
Garek started laughing, which set her off as well.
"You are very bad at games, Garek," Selene managed through her laughter. She had a nice laugh.
"It comes from spending too much time alone. I always know the answers to my own riddles."
"Ah. Yes. I can commiserate."
Garek blinked. "That's a mighty big word."
"Mother makes me read the thesaurus. She says education is important."
He snorted. Queen Grimmling, Headmaster of the Grimmlands. Wielder of the Thrown Eraser of Doom. The image set him off again, and made her laugh at him, though she didn't know why and he wouldn't say.
Selene smiled as they finally regained some composure. "It is good to see you again, Garek."
"Likewise. I… I missed you the rest of that week. It was boring after."
The smile faded as she blinked and she was quiet for a few moments. "Truly?"
"Truly."
Selene averted her gaze. "I… I missed you also, back in Mother's castle. It seems empty, even though there are more people there."
"Well, there's your mother."
Her eyes returned to his. "Yes, but… there are many things I cannot discuss with her. Often, she would find them uninteresting, or she is too busy. And now I have… secrets that I cannot share at all."
"Hmmm. Yeah, that's difficult. Too difficult to discuss on an empty stomach. Hungry?"
"Yes. I am, thank you."
They went about serving and eating the food he had prepared, then he leaned back with a sigh of contentment. "So how long can you stay?"
"I am afraid that I have been taken hostage by an insane faunus, and cannot be released for five days."
"Oh dear, that sounds serious," he laid a hand on her shoulder in sympathy.
"Yes, it is most dire," she replied solemnly but with a slight smile at the end.
They sat in silence, enjoying the quiet sounds of nature for almost an hour before he cleared his throat.
"So… are you comfortable telling me more about your home? And your mother's servants?"
Selene thought for a bit. "I am not sure that is safe. Now that I understand what a Huntsman does fully, I fear you might be found at odds, or among her enemies. People would demand you tell what you know, and I would feel betrayed."
He grunted in agreement. "True. Probably better that I don't know some things. I would not tell of… well frankly I'm not a particularly important Huntsman, and I'm not sure I know anything that would be worth hiding. Perhaps if I were a confidant of Headmaster Lionhart, things would be different, but I only met him a few times. Either when I was being punished, or at graduation."
"Punished?" Her face drawn worriedly.
"It turns out gluing the underwear of another Team's member into a solid brick with tree sap is not considered a 'reasonable reaction to them refusing to stop flicking your ear in class.'" Garek shrugged. "Got detention for that one. Totally worth it."
Selene frowned, apparently not sure she understood all the nuances. "Were you tortured during this detention?"
"What?! No! Mostly you just had to sit in a room and die of boredom, or do some mind-numbing task for a Professor."
"Ah, then I agree, that may have been a reasonable transaction. What else shall we discuss about you?"
"Anything but work," he grumbled.
"You mislike your work?"
"No. No, it's not that. It's just that… being a Huntsman isn't just work. It… it becomes your identity. All you do is Huntsman things. All you talk about is Huntsman things. All people want to ask you about is Huntsman things. I love my work. I don't want to talk about my work. I am not just my job."
"This is why you come here."
"That is why I come here."
She hummed, and tapped her chin with a pale finger. "I do not care about your work, and would rather not discuss it."
He smiled broadly. "You. You can stay."
She bumped her shoulder against his. "You are too kind. But it is my place. Not yours. You may stay."
He chuckled. "Fair." and lifted his mug in a toast.
...
They passed the rest of the week similarly, finding they had very similar appetites for conversation and solitude that meshed well together.
They parted companionably, and agreed to return three more months hence.
...
A season blinked, and they returned. The weather had gone full winter-cold, and they spent the week bundled and complaining about the cold and laughing at each other.
...
And another.
...
And another. It had been a full year since their first meeting, summer was well on its way, and the two sat in companionable silence yet again.
We do that, he mused. No one is in a hurry to talk. We both came here for the quiet, the solitude. But now it's a shared solitude.
"Thank the gods neither of us feel the need to talk continuously," he muttered.
"Sorry?"
"Oh, nothing."
...
The next day, they were preparing dinner when she splashed hot water on her hand, and pulled back with a yelp. He fetched the medkit, but she assured him it was minor.
But it did remind him of something.
"So, Selene, about your aura," he hazarded as he handed her some numbing cream.
"Hmmm?"
"When we first met."
"When you threatened to kill me?" She smirked.
"I'm never living that down, am I?"
"Not until I am able to return the favor."
"Mean. Just mean." He wiped his hands on his trousers. "Seriously though, how are you wandering the wilderness alone without your aura unlocked?" He took back the tube, and packed away the kit.
She shrugged. "I suppose Mother assumed I would not wander outside her lands, and with Grimm always available, what need would I have for it? If I were attacked there, hundreds would respond to my call. And an injury like this is not likely to be life threatening."
"Yeah, but aura can make the difference between making that call, and gurgling bloodily."
"That is an unpleasant visual."
"It's a worse experience."
She huffed, which was oddly endearing even with her alien features. "I believe you are suggesting something."
"Would she notice if your aura was unlocked?"
"I… no I do not believe so."
"Are you willing?"
"You would do so?"
"I believe it would be safer for you."
She was quiet for a minute. "You care for my safety."
"I… Yes. Yes I do."
"Even though I am as I am, a Grimmling, and you are a Huntsman?"
"Because you are Selene, and I am your friend, Garek."
"My… friend."
"Salutations!" he blurted out.
Selene frowned, "Excuse me?"
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me."
"I feel you ruined a moment."
Garek shook his head. "Sorry, no I…" Then he smiled and reached out, grasping her shoulder gently. "Seriously, I would feel much more at ease if I knew you at least could control your aura a little bit to protect yourself. If I had been a little more paranoid, or you a little less nonthreatening, our first meeting could have ended in tragedy."
"Very well. I will consider it." Eyes rolled to the left and up. "Friends."
"Yes?"
"I've not had one before. I love my mother, of course. And I feel affection for my father in an abstract manner. I even like some of Mother's servants. Others I find frankly unsettling or annoying. But friends. I have not had a friend."
"Well. Now you do."
She closed her eyes and smiled gently. "Friend. Friends. Best friends. Boy Friend."
Garek snorted, "I heard two words on that last one, right?"
"Hmm? Oh. Oh yes. Though I don't see the issue."
He almost spit his drink. "Well. Um… we can go into that some other time."
"So, what do we, as friends, do?"
"What we've been doing. That's why we're friends. Labeling us doesn't make us friends. We were already friends." He thought for a minute. "Ideally, we'd probably get drunk and sing stupid songs and wake up hung over together at least once." He looked over. "Do you drink alcohol?"
"I have had wine. It made me dizzy."
"Okay so that's a thing. Maybe next time."
"Perhaps." Scarlet eyes danced.
As the summer week drew to a close, he lay awake that final night, musing on how each visit, he found himself enjoying her company more and more, and dreading her departure. She was… alive, vivid, fascinating.
She was intelligent. Beautiful in an uncanny way. Clever.
And in many ways, she was surprisingly ignorant. She had clearly been socialized in some fashion. While she had knowledge of many aspects of social etiquette that was about two rungs above his, there were gaps in the more informal things large enough to drive an Atlas Dreadnought through.
The next evening, he saw her off. He even dared to give Blackfeather a tentative scratch along the neck, for which he received a careful eyeballing from the Nevermore. He wasn't sure whether that was good or not, but he wasn't left battered or bleeding afterward, and Selene had giggled at him.
He had only two more nights alone afterward.
His pure solitude returned.
He loathed it.
When he met Tarlech at the shore the next day for the return, the old man asked him how he had fared.
"Fine."
"And what of the spirit or haunt? You have now visited the island how many times? Six? Seven? Have you seen it?"
"What? Oh. Yes, actually."
The man twitched in surprise. "Lad, it's not good to pull the anchor of the one who holds the tiller."
"Oh, I'm not. I actually have." He said it matter of factly. Really, he felt that reinforcing the legend might help protect their secret.
"Hmph. And lived to tell I see, if you are not just spinning tales."
"Let's say that I have reached an understanding with it. One unlikely to be shared with anyone else who might linger."
Tarlech muttered, "Huntsmen. Always thinking they be special."
Ah but I am. I am. Garek thought.
Three months of hard work flew by and it was moving into fall again.
There were subtle changes.
For one, he started noticing things about Grimm. Little things. Mindless? Perhaps most. Not all. Vicious? Definitely. But some, the more intelligent, seemed to sense something about him. Not that they wouldn't attack him, but there were moments when he thought there was… hesitation. And he found himself giving those moments a little space, just to see what would happen.
Thus far, none of those moments had lasted, nor turned into anything short of a battle. But they were there.
Three months, and then a small fishing boat, and a small campsite was reborn yet again.
A sharp pain in his lower back and a pale hand's fingernails dug into the spot where his neck met his right shoulder. "Do not move. Do not speak. What is the password."
He rolled his eyes, but grinned at the same time at their ritual of greeting.
"Well?" A familiar voice hissed.
"You told me-"
"Silence varlet! I did not give you permission to speak!" He waited, silently counting to twenty. He heard a huff behind him. "I may have given conflicting instructions."
"You think?"
"Hmph. Well, what is the password, then?"
He considered likely possibilities. "Grimmling?" He hazarded.
She laughed. It was like music. "Yes. Yes, I suppose that will do." He stood and turned, and was embraced as she dropped the stick she had poked him with. "Hello my friend. I have missed you."
He was… surprised. Should he have been? He returned the embrace. Her pale skin felt warm, and her hair smelled of subtle spices. "It's good to see you too, Selene." They separated and he gave her a once over. "How have you been? You look well."
"Yes. I am well. I have been researching about friends and how they should behave. And it appears you are correct that it often involves drinking alcohol and acting stupidly without regret."
"Told you."
She smirked. "Therefore, I have brought wine," she held up a small leather bag and removed a bottle from it.
"Oh Selene, you shouldn't have." He took the bottle and glanced at the label.
Stared at the label.
"Selene, this wine. I don't even recognize the country it's from. And the year format doesn't even make sense."
"Mother's servant said it was excellent." She bit her lip, then put on a serious face and dropped her voice an octave. "'It is a rich red, with an excellent smoked oak flavor and undertones of berry and spice' if I remember his words correctly." Her brows drew down.
"I… Okay. Well then we should save this for a going away party. How long can you stay?" He realized he sounded almost needy this time, but she didn't seem to judge.
"I convinced Mother I was taking a longer trip with a full retinue of Grimm. I bid them wait at the shore for my return. She does not expect me back for six days."
"Oh, thank the Gods."
"Truly?"
"Solitude isn't what it was cracked up to be. It sucks here without you. Boring."
She considered. "Yes. I don't know if I would enjoy this alone as my quiet place now. It is too much associated with enjoyment of camaraderie."
"Good. Then let's camarade. Are you hungry?"
"Famished. It is never good to eat before riding a Nevermore any great distance."
"Oh? Oh…. Yuck."
"Yes. My first time was extremely unpleasant. Tyr- I mean, my mother's faunus servant found it very amusing. I did not."
"Sounds like a Jerk."
"Mother punished him for that." She frowned. "Too forcefully in my opinion. She… tends to over-react to slights against me. Knowing what I have learned now, perhaps a… detention would have been more appropriate."
"Parents do tend to overreact to slights against their kids, or any threat."
"Oh? Then she is not atypical?"
"Well… I think that depends on what you mean by 'overreacts'."
"A rack and thumbscrews were involved."
"Oh. That's… yes that's extreme."
"He lived. Frankly he is the more unsettling of her servants. I am told he wept the entire time and thanked her for the pain." She shuddered. "I think he is quite mad. He's more an acolyte than servant, really." She shook her head. "Ah, but that veers too much into forbidden topics. Let us eat."
They did so in companionable silence, then she spoke again. "I have given thought to your prior suggestion."
"Which one?"
"About my aura. I read further, and asked some guarded questions, and I am satisfied Mother would not know that my aura was unlocked, unless I used it. And even then, she would likely assume it happened due to the stress of the moment. In light of its usefulness, I am willing."
"Good. That's good. Do you want to do it now?"
"Does it take long?"
"Not really, just a few minutes really. It can be tiring, though."
"Now is fine, then. I am ready."
"Okay. Let's go to the tent. You're likely to feel tired almost immediately, so it's better to be able to just go to sleep. You'll be recovered by morning."
He led her into the tent, and bid her sit cross legged on top of her sleeping bag on her side of the blanket divider, and arranged her pillow behind her. He placed himself in front of her, hands on her shoulders.
"Are you ready?"
"I am."
He leaned forward, pressed his forehead gently against hers, and began a recitation:
...
"For it is in the bonds between us that we achieve strength." Selene felt a presence inside her. It was something that had always been there, but never before had she been aware of it.
"Through this, we become greater than we are alone…" As the feeling grew, becoming almost a strain, she became aware of a separate presence, familiar and close to her.
"Infinite in capacity and unbound by death, I release your soul," The strain snapped, and she felt herself flooded with… warmth. Joy. Strength.
"and by these bonds, I protect thee." Protectiveness. Safety. Comfort.
She felt incredible.
She felt wobbly.
She felt extremely sleepy.
A very comfortable darkness enveloped her, tucked her in, and kissed her forehead goodnight.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As you can see, not a ton of action or adventure so far, and zero combat. Mostly thus far, it's been an exploration of what is clearly an evolving relationship. While they are only spending less than a week together at a time, you might consider it a "boot camp" level of companionship each visit, followed by extensive time for them to contemplate any revelations before the next one. Clearly I'm time skipping a lot here, focusing on the evolving relationship itself rather than the time apart.
And as Garek is learning, our favorite Grimmling appears to be a study in contradictions. Are these by accident or design?
They are also playing what one might consider a dangerous, and somewhat naive, game. Both seem to realize there is an underlying conflict present between their worlds, and are trying to convince themselves that they can somehow avoid it by not 'becoming involved'. To be fair, it's clear that Selene is not privy to her mother's plans, possibly by design, and Garek clearly is nowhere near our favorite immortal Headmaster's inner circle either and doesn't even know the name Salem, much less her plans.
