RWBY: Red Tears

Chapter 2: Language Barrier

His eye remained closed, twitching constantly in a seemingly endless nightmare, fear etched onto his face. The only alleviation was the softness of the bed he now lay on. It was a feeling he thought he would never experience, at least not until he had gone up in the world. Subconsciously, he appreciated it. However, he knew that this would not last. Despite being in a world of dreams, he could hear and smell everything around him, even more so than when he was awake. The sounds of unknown creatures and the unfamiliar and somewhat pungent smells finally stirred the boy awake.

His eye shot wide open with a mix of confusion and terror as he frantically looked about the room. He jumped out of bed, standing on shaky legs that felt the cold stone floor. No beasts walk amidst the white-walled chamber, but strange objects litter about. The assault on his senses lessened a bit now that his body was up and running, but the unfamiliar environment kept his panic levels high. He tried to move but unintentionally pulled some of the objects with his momentum, which he soon realized was the source of the sounds. They connected to him through long tubes, some transparent and seemingly pumping a mysterious liquid. Worried they may be doing more harm than good, he gritted his teeth and pulled the cords from his arms, frantically throwing them to the side before looking over himself to check for more of them.

While observing himself, he realized that whoever found him had shaved off a good chunk of feathers from his upper body and covered his shoulder to lower torso in bandages. He held a hand to his face and felt the same bandages had replaced the makeshift eyepatch. He suddenly felt a pang of pain shoot through his head as his fingers contacted his missing left eye. It is still tender to the touch. Most of the wounds on his body, except for a few scratches on his back, are now to the touch, but only his eye gave him any intense pain, if only for a split second. The boy released an irritated growl from his seemingly absent mouth as he stretched slightly to get the remaining fatigue out of his system. He must muster all his energy to survive in such a divineless place.

And that is when he heard a door open.

Flavio returned his steadfast gaze to his monitor. He has scanned the boy multiple times to ensure his findings hold weight and has replaced his bandages several times. Luckily, it appears that his wounds have closed enough that blood no longer leaks out, for the most part. Since admission, his condition has taken a turn for the better. He moved a little now and then but remained unconscious. Flavio grinned brightly as his recent scans and small amounts of prodding continuously proved his ideas likely. This boy is truly unique.

A knock at the door removed his smile. Stretching slightly, having been in the chair observing data all night, he strode towards the door, a slight jump in his step as excitement permeated. He opened the door to Qrow, who had called earlier about the boy and came to see him again. However, his brother-in-law, Taiyang, accompanied him this time. The blond huntsman, who heard his daughter and brother-in-law explain what happened, soon became intrigued enough to visit. With the weekend underway, he seized the chance to visit the boy in the hospital.

"Hey, doc. What's the status on the kid?" Qrow questioned the doctor. As the two entered, the dark-haired huntsman eyed the boy through the window. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw his eye twitching and his body shaking occasionally, signs of an apparent nightmare. He looked back at Flavio. "He still hasn't woken up, huh?"

"Unfortunately, no. Poor boy's been in some sort of coma for a week now. However, his condition has improved since we administered him here," the bright yellow-haired doctor explained. He returned to looking at the screen as Taiyang peeked through the window. His eyes widened in disbelief upon seeing just how bizarre the boy looked. Qrow spoke the truth: this boy looked neither human nor Faunus.

"Wow, he's…something else," the blond huntsman said, folding his arms over his chest. Sympathy was all Taiyang could feel after seeing how much bandaging the boy needed. The doctor ignored the blond huntsman as he returned to his computer. Upon sitting down, he pulls up another screen, showing multiple globules.

"Something else indeed. These…spheres are not like anything I've studied before," Flavio said, multiple DNA models appearing beside the objects. "I'm stumped as to what they are."

Qrow raised an eyebrow at the doctor, glancing at the screen with a hint of curiosity. "What are those things?" he asked, pointing at the pictures of the strange spheres. Flavio cracked his knuckles and pulled up a phylogeny tree, positioning the globules in a small clade off to themselves with animals, plants, and other organisms he decoded the genomes of.

"Upon examining the boy, I found he was carrying a small pouch, and inside said pouch were a few good-to-have objects like a small knife and coins of an unknown culture. Among the objects, however, were multiple spheres with different smells, shapes, and sizes. They are soft and squishy, but it was obvious to me that they are biological in nature. I quickly decoded their DNA and discovered that they were not even remotely related to plants or fungi, as I originally believed, nor to animals. In fact, their closest living relatives are microscopic protists, yet even then, they are still distantly related!" Flavio explained.

The black-haired huntsman furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of his scientific jargon. "And that means?" he pondered.

"It means that wherever this boy lived is so detached from the rest of Remnant that life has evolved differently. One where excavata protists and possibly cyanobacteria became the primary producers of their ecosystem on both the microscopic and macroscopic scale and led to a whole new lane of evolution. Hell, the boy's gut flora is full of a sort of protist, not bacteria like our own. If we can find his homeland, it would be the biological discovery of a lifetime!" the good doctor responded, obviously excited. Qrow, while not knowledgeable in most realms of science, understood a little bit why it would be jaw-dropping to science-savvy fellows like Flavio, even if he could care less about that side of life. His ears then picked up soft footsteps heading down the hallway. His niece, Yang Xiao Long, popped into view at the doorway, breathing heavily. The doctor swiveled in his chair to face her. "Oh, Ms. Xiao Long, pleasant surprise seeing you."

"Where is he? Is he okay?" Yang blurted out, scanning the room anxiously as she caught her breath. The yellow-haired doctor gave her a reassuring smile and gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. Yang dashed to the window and saw the boy lying on the bed, his body jerking a bit, but his eyes closed. She let out a sigh of relief and turned to Flavio. "He's sleeping, right? He's going to be fine, right?"

"He is now. His wounds may be a bit raw, but he has healed remarkably well since we administered him," he explained to the young blond.

"Wherever he came from, it's not on any map I've seen. And the only time he opened his mouth, he spat out some nonsense I couldn't make heads or tails of. Definitely either a case of blood loss or foreign blood," Qrow interjected, looking back at the doctor with a bored expression.

"Wait a minute, doc. Qrow mentioned something about how he had five strands of DNA instead of just one, one potentially being alien in origin, alongside his bones being made of metal? And now all of this...spherical stuff..." Taiyang interjected Qrow, breaking his eerie silence after gawking at the unusual form of the boy during the entire conversation. Noticing the conversation had veered off course once more, Qrow frowned but relinquished his efforts to curb Taiyang's inquisitiveness. "And now you're telling me he may not be from here? Because all of this is starting to sound like this kid's from another world...is he?"

Yang let out a flabbergasted gasp at the prospect that her savior just so happened to be an alien.

"I have hope that he lives somewhere on Remnant, but with all the stuff I found, I won't deny the possibility," the good doctor told him.

"An alien? No way! That's so cool! I can't believe an alien saved me!" Yang exclaimed. The three adults were amused by the teenager's infectious enthusiasm, yet for Flavio, this moment was soon crushed. A loud beeping caught his attention, and he turned to his monitor. The doctor felt a sense of dread as he reviewed the data on his screen, noting the boy's heartbeat and vital signs had abruptly surged.

"Oh dear…this is not good," he muttered. The other three looked at him in confusion.

"What's the matter, doctor? Did I say something wrong?" Yang asked the doctor worriedly. Flavio spun around in his chair and stared out the window, his goggles sliding down his nose at the speed.

"It appears the boy is waking up," Flavio uttered with an unusually grave expression. The others followed his gaze and saw the boy stir on the bed. The bright red iris of his eye immediately darted around the room in panic. He practically jumped out of bed, ripping the cords and tubes that were attached to him. The four watched as the boy tried to make sense of himself and his surroundings, fear and confusion etched on his face. Nobody would have guessed the boy would wake up so soon, nor with such terror in his step.

"Yang, Taiyang, stay put. I'll handle this," Qrow said firmly. He gestured for the doctor to come along, trusting that his wide-ranging expertise would prove beneficial in placating the poor soul. Yang felt a surge of concern and curiosity, but Taiyang restrained her, shaking his head. They watched as Qrow and Dr. Flavio entered the room, and all Yang could do was wonder what he was capable of. Despite his severe injuries, the boy effortlessly vanquished several Grimm, and in this recovered state, there is no telling just what he could do.

The boy snapped his head towards the door as it opened, letting out a low and menacing growl. He saw two men enter the room, one vaguely familiar, the other a stranger. He narrowed his eye, feeling a surge of hostility and suspicion towards the pair. He reached for one of the odd devices behind him, ready to use it as a weapon if they came any closer. He felt a shiver run through his body, and the crest of feathers atop his head rose in a sign of defiance. The men raised their hands as if to show they meant no harm.

"Easy there, kid. Take it easy," the black-haired man said softly. The boy hissed, unable to comprehend his language.

"He's still not in his right mind, I'm afraid. He's acting on pure instinct, like a feral beast, likely because his senses are overwhelmed, so he doesn't trust anyone," the yellow-haired man explained.

"Is that your professional advice? To treat him like a mutt?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"No doctor treats his patients like a dog! I was just making an analogy…just forget I said anything. There must be some way to get him to speak. If one of us can get him to say a phrase, I can use my semblance to decode it. Understanding the basics of his language could soothe him," the yellow-haired man suggested. The boy cast a glance at the two men, attempting to decipher their words to no avail. Their language is alien to him. He clenched his hand around the object, muttering in frustration at his inability to speak to them. But then he stopped. What if they had some ulterior motive for keeping him here? Not being able to grasp what they were saying may prove that. He could not trust them, even if one of them was familiar and their body language did not appear threatening. Rage poured through his being, strange lines with bulbous ends flowing out of his head and back like a fountain. He refused to be a weapon to warriors who he does not belong. His gaze drifted to the window, where a gentle and tranquil light filtered through. He faced it, still glaring at the two men, as he readied himself for a quick escape. The black-haired man immediately noticed the sudden change in appearance and direction and realized what was happening.

"We might not get that chance, he's making a run for it," the raven-haired man said, gesturing towards the boy. The yellow-haired man looked back at him and saw his legs tense and glimmering sparks flying out from his body. His eyes widened at the spectacle behind his goggles. He was about to call out to the boy when the door opened again.

"Yang! Don't you dare!" a voice from the room they had left yelled. The boy stopped his escape attempt just long enough to notice who the person was yelling at. Upon seeing the girl he had saved, his eyes immediately softened. The glow of his upper half subsided as he turned to face her, familiarity etched into his face. While the boy was still tense, the adults saw he no longer held any hostility.

"Didn't you say he saved her when you found him?" the yellow-haired man asked his compatriot.

"Yeah...but how would that calm him down?" he replied, raising an eyebrow. The boy moved cautiously towards the trio, glancing warily at the adults. He stopped in front of the girl, who smiled warmly at him. The black-haired man put his arm in front of her, ready to protect her if the boy tried anything funny. The yellow-haired man sighed and adjusted his goggles.

"He might have gotten attached to her. Probably seeing her being nearly killed has led him to develop protective instincts over her. That's just a theory, though. It may be a different reason, but we won't know unless we can get him to speak," the yellow-haired man explained.

"And how do you suppose we get him to talk, huh?" the black-haired man said with an annoyed sigh.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" she interjected, rummaging through her backpack. The feathered boy watched her curiously, cocking his head to the side. She pulled out a wrapped package and tore it open, revealing a round sandwich with meat and unknown plant material. "Ta-da! Want it?" the girl offered it to the boy. The two adults looked at her with amusement and mild disbelief. The boy seemed puzzled by the plant material in the sandwich.

"Seriously, kid?" the black-haired man scolded, shaking his head bemusedly.

"What?" she replied with a cheeky smile. "Maybe he's hungry, okay? He's been in a coma for a week, like you said. He needs some food and just a little bit of gratitude. It's only fair since he saved me."

"Don't get your hopes up, kid," he warned her. "I doubt a burger will make him speak." She shrugged off his pessimism and handed the boy the sandwich. The boy, cautiously but curiously, took the sandwich, inspecting it with a wary eye. He took a subtle sniff, discerning the scents of cooked meat, freshly baked bread, and an array of plants unknown to him. The boy eyed the green stuff suspiciously, but seeing her bright smile reassured him that this was not a trap. The skin covering his mouth split open, unveiling rows of razor-sharp, metallic teeth reminiscent of a crocodile's. He gently bit into the sandwich, tearing off a piece with ease before the skin returned and closed over his mouth. The way his jaws morphed and disappeared when he opened and shut his mouth sent a chill down the girl's spine, but she maintained a calm expression as she chewed. He swallowed, and his eye widened in an instant. He looked at the girl with a childish wonder before attacking the sandwich again and finishing it off. A leaf flew out of his mouth and slapped the face of the black-haired man, eliciting an irritable groan from him. In a matter of seconds, the food was gone. The boy let out a small huff, though it was hard to tell if it was a huff since his mouth was gone again.

"…" the boy wiped his mouth of any grease as he stepped back. He shook his head before his gaze fell back on the girl. He had to thank her, but he worried she would not understand him. If her language was foreign to him, then his would be to hers as well, but he knew better than to say nothing to such an offering. The boy cleared his throat as his deep and somewhat menacing voice came into hearing range. "…dr…dr-dras ouib."

"Ahah!" the yellow-haired man suddenly cheered. Little green lights resembling lightning appeared beside his head, jittering ever so slightly until they vanished, and he let out a relieved sigh. The boy felt off-put by the lights, unsure of what they meant. "That was his thank you."

The black-haired man raised an eyebrow as he heard the doctor translate the strange words. "Dras ouib?" he repeated, looking at the yellow-haired man as he tossed the leaf that had landed on his face behind him. Hearing the man's words, the boy's excitement surged. So, they CAN speak his language! Maybe those weird lights helped the yellow-haired man communicate. The yellow-haired man nodded to the black-haired man, smiling.

"Yes, it is. He's speaking in his native language. I have never heard anything like it. Good thing my semblance can translate it…though now that I think about it, you all must be lucky that the only person on Remnant that could figure out his speech is living right in your hometown," he said.

"Well, he sure does have a healthy appetite…and a weird taste in words," the black-haired man joked.

"Taius, Trousk Nini," the boy said. They noticed his gladness as the lights returned to decipher him. The boy waited for the lights to vanish, his feet tapping against the smooth, rocky floor. Although the process may be slow, he is prepared to endure it if it enables him to communicate with the locals. He knows that understanding the language will guarantee his ticket home.

"That's his peoples' introductory greeting, though I think it may be the masculine version," the yellow-haired man told the three. "His name is…Trousk of Nini. Odd name but fitting for such an odd fellow. Nini is likely the name of his hometown."

"Uh…Taius, Qrow," the black-haired man introduced himself, trying to sound friendly. He pointed to the girl, "Yang," then to the yellow-haired man, "Flavio."

Flavio chuckled. "Didn't expect you to try and communicate so calmly. I'm impressed." He was interrupted by a loud crash as Taiyang burst through the door, tripping and falling on his face. Yang and Trousk cringed at the sight. Qrow sighed and pointed at the blond mess on the floor.

"…Taiyang," he introduced him. Trousk processed their names rather slowly. They sounded incredibly foreign, even more so than the ones he remembers. He scratched his head to get a read on what their names meant but decided to forget it for now.

"Hait…Y-Yag…" he stuttered Yang's name. Flavio figured it would take some time for him to learn how to consistently pronounce English words. Trousk then looked at the other three adults. "Q-Qow…Favo…Tayag…"

"Close, close. He's learning the pronunciations quickly. I will have to help him cope with the language barriers," Flavio told the adults before Trousk suddenly got in his face.

"Ouib…usdidi?" he questioned him. The green lights returned, and Flavio nodded.

"Hait. Taius usdidi ~ Yes. I am a doctor," the doctor translated. The feathered boy snorted before looking around the room. He walked about, rummaging through cabinets and drawers. Flavio had to stop him a few times from holding needles or rummaging through the toxic waste bin, but he left him to his search.

"What's he doing?" Taiyang asked as Flavio returned to his spot.

"He's looking for something. I suspect…ah, hold on a second," the doctor spoke before rushing into the waiting room. He soon came back out, holding a small brown bag. Trousk looked at him and grew a look of recognition. He walked over to him, gently snatching the bag. The boy reached into the pouch, rummaged through its contents, and then withdrew his closed fist. His fist then approached the doctor and opened, revealing several coins. The small medallions appeared to be crafted from an unfamiliar material that emitted a pleasant fragrance, a detail that did not appear during his initial observation.

"Netbun? Hait? Telt?" Trousk asked the doctor.

"Wait, is he trying to pay you?" Qrow spoke. Flavio looked at him as the green lights translated the word for him.

"Netbun means enough, hait means yes, and telt means no…it appears so," the doctor decoded.

"Surprised he knew he had to pay you. He's only fourteen, like you guys said, so he's only gotten started in the world. His parents must've raised him well," Taiyang thought loudly. Yang looked up at her father as the boy tilted his head, waiting for Flavio to answer his question.

"I know I should be flattered, but I don't want him paying. It's on the house this time…which probably isn't something a doctor should do, but this boy has proven to be so out of the ordinary and given me so much information worthy to put in a scientific journal, it would be unfair for me to make him pay. I don't know how to respond, however, though I may have an idea," Flavio declared. The good doctor picked up a coin from Trousk's hand, examining it intently. Intricate details could be seen on the coin, etched out on only one side, compared to the double-sided coins he commonly saw in ruins. While it would be fun to speculate what the money is truly worth and what he did to earn it, he took the coin he took and gave it an observing look, which was enough for the boy to wrap his fingers around the rest of the coins. Flavio will translate it later. "Hait."

Trousk shook his head, pleased that his transaction was a success. He rubbed his eyes, feeling the adrenaline from his attempted escape earlier dissipate. The boy had not expected to still feel tired after having spent so much time in the void. He sauntered back to the bed, sitting down roughly. The groaning of metal failed to capture his attention as the structure of his makeshift sanctuary strained once more under his weight, offering a brief respite from life's turmoil. The three adults noticed his sudden drowsiness and decided to let him be, returning to the waiting area to discuss what to do next. Yang stayed put, staring at him with happy eyes. Now that they had crossed the language barrier, she could finally say what Trousk deserved to hear after risking his life to save her. She walked over to where he was seated, his hand resting on his lap, and gently tapped his shoulder to capture his attention. His mouthless face raised upwards, his slit pupil and blood-red sclera meeting her purple irises as she smiled.

"Alright, alright, what was it again…uh…dras ouib? Yeah, I think that was it. Dras ouib, Trousk," Yang thanked him. Trousk's expression softened, a sound akin to a tiger's chuff emitting from where his mouth would be. The trepidation that once gripped him as he set foot on the solid ground of an unfamiliar territory had faded, and he found himself instinctively placing his hand upon her head, the blondie finding solace in the gesture despite his sharp claws.

"Amir, Yang," he said, giving her his attempt at a head pat. She pouted as he ruffled her hair before pulling it back and resting it on his side. Although she was slightly irritated with him for messing up her locks, her annoyance faded quickly as she felt a surge of cheer when Trousk pronounced her name correctly. It was remarkable how swiftly he picked up the pronunciation of English words without any guidance or assistance. It may have been just her name, but his ability to grasp it in just a minute or two told her that mastering English would be effortless for him.

Well, she hopes so, but only time will tell.

That was fast. Why was it fast? Because, like the previous chapter, this story was already published once, but I deleted it because I thought of using Trousk in my stories, but when I decided to instead have my books be based on dreams I managed to record, Trousk was free to be used however the heck I wanted. This chapter wasn't published by the time of the original story's deletion, but it was pretty much done and was in the proofreading stage.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, nonetheless. Sorry if this chapter isn't that good T-T

This is Sporedude135, signing off...