Chapter 3 – A Quiet Place: First Leavetakings

On a quiet island, in a clearing, in front of a warm campfire, two people, one a faunus Huntsman and the other something impossible, sat a respectful distance from each other, both trying to come to grips with their new situation.

"I don't understand how this is possible," Garek protested for what seemed like the fifth time.

"Well, my mother says-"

"You have a mother," he said as a statement, not a question.

Selene gave Garek a long look. "Of course I have a mother. Do not you?"

"I… sorry, yes. Is your mother human? Or Grimm?"

"She is… well she calls me her Grimmling, so I suppose that she is the same. She is like me. Or I am like her."

"Yes, but how? And your father? He's a… Grimmling too?"

"No he is like you… no… no he is a human. Not a… faunus. Though I have difficulty understanding the difference."

"Extra ears." She might have guessed the spots, but those were tattooed on, though he still wore them with pride.

"Yes, and my mother has dark red veins on her face, but she and I are not different species."

"Hmph. Well faunus aren't technical a separate species either. But you say your father's human?"

"Yes. He is… or was… at least Mother says he was a Huntsman as well. I do not completely understand how it happened. But mother says he is free to come and go, but it is a difficult journey and risks both he and us, so he has not come in several years, if he still lives."

"And your mother is a… Grimmling?"

"Yes. I suppose. Though I would never call her thus. And none of her servants do."

"What do they call her?"

"Hmmm well normally 'My Queen'.

"Queen… Queen of…"

"Queen of the Grimm, of course. Or the Grimmlands, if you prefer."

"And your dad is a Huntsman…" Garek repeated stupidly.

Selene sighed. "Yes. I didn't… I don't think I fully understood what that implied until you explained it. Mother did not say, and father avoided answering. I suspect it was a sensitive topic, knowing what I know now."

"I can imagine."

There was a long pause. Many things were becoming clearer for Selene. But... "You are staring at me again."

"Yes… well… you are…"

"A Grimmling. And apparently not something that exists."

"Yeah."

"Hmmph. Then am I allowed to stare as well? Mother says it is rude."

Garek blinked and gave a low laugh. "I suppose it's only fair."

"You have… four ears," she observed. "Is that normal? Father does not have four ears."

"No that's a faunus thing. At least some Faunus."

"Do all of the ears function?"

"Yes. But differently. These," he pointed to the lower set, "are good for normal conversation. These," pointing higher "are better for triangulating distant sounds. They've saved me more than once."

"And the spots?"

He gave a smug grin, "They just make me look good."

She smiled. "I see."

There was another long pause. "Do you know your grandparents?" Garek ventured.

"Grandparents?"

"Your parents' parents?"

"I have never met my father's parents, and he did not speak of them. I don't… I don't know if mother had parents. She says she is very old. Hundreds and hundreds of years old. "But she does not look old to me." Selene laughed. "She looks little older than I am, and I am only 26."

He laughed with her. "You saved me from asking how old you are."

"Is that not allowed?"

"It's considered bad manners." He paused. "I'm 25, so almost the same age as you." He considered. "And no brothers or sisters?"

"No… just me, mother, and her servants. Human servants mostly. Though I suppose one is a faunus now that you have explained this to me. And the Grimm of course."

"And the Grimm… and they don't attack the servants?"

"Why would they?"

"Because… gah I don't know." He grabbed a fistful of his own hair and yanked. "My whole world's been upended."

"I supposed. It is possible that Mother has told them not to? I mean, Blackfeather obeys me when I ask him to do things."

"Blackfeather?"

"My companion. Well he is also my transportation."

Garek sighed as realization struck. "He's a Nevermore, isn't he."

"Yes. Of course."

"Of course." He said, self-mockingly, and was quiet.

"But please, tell me about your family," Selene broke the silence.

"Well, mom is a retired Huntress. Huntsmen tend to retire early, if we're not killed, because the life can be hard and it wears us out. And dad is a game hunter. He shoots animals for food. They live in a small village in Mistral that is almost all retired huntsmen."

"And do you have brothers or sisters?"

"No, just me."

And the conversation went on, interspersed with silences while each contemplated and listened to the sounds of nature, followed by wide-ranging topics that each felt safe exploring. They talked for some hours, taking breaks for food, until it was well past midnight and Garek found himself suddenly yawning, realizing how late it was. "I'm... well frankly I'm exhausted." He looked at her. "Do you sleep?" She snorted, then yawned back at him. "Okay. That's a yes. I can set some of my blankets up into a pallet. The tent is big enough for both." He realized he was no longer thinking of her as a captive, and instead as a compatriot.

Am I stupid? Naïve again after so many years? Going to wake up being eaten by Grimm?

"I have my own equipment. Though I am happy to not have to put up a tent at this late hour. I left my pack down the trail before I approached your fire.

"Ah. Would you like me to get it, or do you want to?"

She held his gaze. "You would trust me?"

He sighed. "What would I do at this point? I can't tie you to a tree and go to sleep. I'd feel like a bastard."

"I will return."

"Well, it is your quiet place."

She paused and turned slightly. "I… yes it is. It was mine first." She smiled. "I may be inclined to share, if the company is polite and does not stick swords into me."

He laughed. "I'll be on my best behavior."

Several minutes later and hundreds of meters down the trail, Selene paused, pack in hand. She gazed up the trail to the east, where lay the campsite clearing. Then back to the west, where only a half hour hike led to a larger clearing. A clearing where Blackfeather waited patiently for her return. She couldn't communicate with him at this distance without yelling, but he would come if she did.

And then what?

Or she could simply leave. And this faunus…. Garek, could be left to his own devices. No one would be hurt, though he might fear to return.

Her quiet place would be hers again.

Unless he returned with others, having assumed she would do the same.

She sighed. If her mother knew her explorations extended beyond the Grimmlands, she would be wroth with her. But her instructions had been clear. Do not go to the other continents. And so she did not. But the little islands… mother had said nothing about those.

Perhaps she had intended that be included.

But she had not said.

She looked left, then right, and then shouldering her pack she turned back to the camp. She would convince him to let her go before Mother missed her, in a way that did not make him wary. Then she could keep her quiet place and not be in trouble.

He awoke twice during the night.

Once because of a nightmare. One where a faunus with black and red eyes ambushed his partner, cutting his throat. That one was familiar other than the eyes, which was a new painful twist. It had him sitting up, hyperventilating and trying to drag himself back to reality. He'd managed not to scream, and found Selene fast asleep in her own sleeping bag near his.

The second time it was to find they had both moved in their sleep against the chill night air, shifting sleeping bags so that they were using each others backs as a support and source of warmth. He shook his head slightly at the unreality of it, and let sleep reclaim him.

He awoke with an arm draped over his own. It was warm and soft despite being Grimm bone-white, and he lay still for several minutes exploring the concept in his mind like a person would worry the space a lost tooth left.

He extracted himself eventually, and began to make breakfast. It was nearly done when Selene exited the tent, yawning.

The daylight made her features even more uncanny. She wasn't just pale. She lacked any pigment at all. And the contrast between that and such a mundane action as a yawn and stretch made his brain itch.

He shook his head and returned to serving the meal.

They ate in relative quiet, enjoying the sounds of nature. It was near the end when she broke the silence "Garek, I must make a request."

"Oh?"

"My mother does not expect me to be away for seven days. If you keep me here, she may send others to look for me. And even if not, there would be questions when I returned."

"Yeah, I was worried about that when you started telling me about her. So today?"

"No. Tomorrow is acceptable."

He considered, and realized that he really didn't have any choice. Well. No good choices. He couldn't keep her here, based on that. And he couldn't leave early because the fisherman wouldn't return earlier than agreed.

He sighed. "That's fine."

"Truly?"

"It'll have to be. If you bring others back here, I'll defend myself. But-"

"I would not. I would have to explain why I was here, and I would never be allowed to return. This place is important to me."

He regarded her carefully.

This is not then. She is not that person.

"Agreed."

That conversation seemed to change their relationship. Initially it had been a power dynamic based on mutual fear, with him holding the power. Then it became one of cautious curiosity and confusion. Slowly, it shifted to companions sharing time. They both felt calmer, contemplative.

It made the time pass more quickly.

The remainder of the day and the next passed pleasantly, but eventually her time to depart came, and Selene was packed and ready to leave.

Garek peered down the trail. "How far can I accompany you?"

"Toward Blackfeather?"

"Yes."

"As close as you wish? Once we are within range of my voice, he will obey me. Right now, his orders are to stay until I return."

Garek shook his head. To walk up on a Nevermore large enough to ride, without his rapier drawn. This is madness, he thought as they approached the clearing.

He felt his legs shake as they approached the large Nevermore, whereas her gait seemed to gain confidence.

This is it. This is the moment of truth.

He didn't fancy his chances against a Nevermore large enough to carry a person. If Selene were to show any true intentions, this would be a possible moment. He held back a few dozen paces from the large Grimm.

Selene turned back to him. "Is something amiss?"

"Eh?"

"You are distressed."

"Oh it's… I think I'll miss your company." He lied. Or didn't. But that wasn't why he was nervous.

"Oh." She smiled. "And I yours." She paused, one hand gripping feathers. "Do you know when you will return?"

Are you stupid, Garek? A small voice asked. Bad enough that she knows you are here for four more days. But to allow time for a full response? Or to set a trap? An ambush?

"How about…. three months from the day we…."

"From the day you captured me?" There was laughter in her eyes, rather than fear.

He sighed. "Yeah. Sure. I'll set up the camp, and you can join me when you're able. I'll do another week."

She nodded and mounted, and he watched her fly away. She circled back to the east, over the campsite, then bore west.

The rest of the week finished in blissful solitude.

It was boring.

Dammit. She broke my refuge.

[A/N] And the first meeting of Selene and Garek is concluded, and his life is upended. We now learn that Selene is a child of Salem and an unnamed Huntsman. The story of THAT will have to wait until a much later chapter (though I have it drafted) and we find that Selene has led a somewhat sheltered life, and Garek's trauma gets hinted at a bit more.