Chapter Text
Chapter 2: A Certain Red-Hooded Huntress
I sat down at a bench, it was daytime, birds chirping, and the skies clear. A beautiful day to enjoy the scenery at a park...but...I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it at all, I tried, I really tried…
Anything to distract myself from the distress in my mind.
I sighed dejectedly and buried my face in my hands, my elbows standing on my thighs, and just sat. I felt numb, maybe it was exhaustion.
"...why is this happening?" A small part of me was shocked at how quiet my own voice was, but the rest was mulling over my situation.
'Unless the moon was shattered in the last twenty-four hours-which most assuredly would've killed most, if not all of humanity- then I'm on another fucking planet'
And I don't even want to think about the idea of being in an alternate reality, that's just...too much. Too...hopeless, another planet sounds more manageable, even if it's technically not any better in the grand scheme of things.
I had so many questions, the scientific part of me wondered how this was possible. The humans walking around, if this was another planet then how are there humans here? There were some differences from what I'd seen in the warehouse, but the resemblance is uncanny...it...it makes no sense.
'That is not how evolution works...it...there were environmental factors that were necessary for humans to evolve...very specific factors... the chances for another planet to have humans is fucking astronomical, so fucking low that it'd never even be considered possible'
I'm so fucking confused, my understanding of science is being thrown upside down. Forgetting evolutionary impossibility, I am on another habitable planet! As far as I fucking know there is no other fucking planet in our solar system that can support life other than mother fucking earth herself.
So that means I am possibly dozens if not hundreds-or fuck, even thousands of lightyears from home. 'Did I fall in a fucking wormhole?'
It would explain how I got from my backyard to a fucking warehouse on a planet possibly thousands of lightyears away from earth...but if so, how the fuck did I survive the radiation...and how in fuck's name did a wormhole get in my backyard!?
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I am terrified.
I'd have to be really stupid to deny it, I am terrified. I was almost killed last night by animal people with guns and chainsaws, I am on a world I know nothing about, and I have no idea how to get back home. I don't even know how I got here in the first place.
"This is so fucked up…" I buried my face further into my hands, my voice still a wisp. I slowly dragged my hands down my face and let them fall on my lap, staring ahead I could see some teenagers walking by further up in the park, but I didn't bother paying attention to them.
"Okay...gotta figure this out" I whisper to myself, my voice is still too quiet for my liking, but it was leagues better than before 'Alright, quietly freaking out will get you nowhere...I...I have money, from the wallet I swiped' I nodded to myself as I felt the wallet in my pocket, I figured I could give it to the police so they could identify one of them or something with an I.D... but that plan went out the window once I saw the shattered moon.
'So I'll be able to buy some living essentials, I need to figure out how currency works here and how much I have' That could wait for a bit, I'm not hungry at the moment and it's not nighttime, but I'll need to figure that out soon enough.
'I need to learn about this place, its history, maybe...maybe this has happened before?...no, don't go jumping to conclusions' I ordered myself sternly 'I need to focus on essentials right now, anything else can be dealt with later'
'Library' That thought popped into my head 'Yes, a library, I can get some information! Libraries are public property right? I need to look into that, look at newspapers, maps, make it so I don't stand out' It would definitely attract attention if I didn't know anything about this world's common knowledge 'Okay, one of my top priorities, find a library...or this world's equivalent of one'
I stopped for a moment 'Speaking of libraries...how can I understand them? They clearly spoke English...same language and species on another planet?' I shook my head, as mind-boggling as it is, I can figure that out later.
'Okay, find a library, and then what?...a job' That's a must, I need to get a job, the wallet will assuredly run out eventually 'And a place to sleep obviously, I'm just gonna assume I'll be here for a while'
I stand up off the bench, feeling more put together "Okay" My voice is still somewhat quiet, but it's steady "I have a game plan now" 'Find a library, learn about this world and it's currency, acquire a job, and a place to sleep'
I'll need to check my inventory, I have a backpack full of things I packed for camping, so I have some food, and I have extra clothing. My hand fell on my jacket's right side, feeling the weight of the throwing knives in its inner pocket, I have something to defend myself with if someone decides to attack me.
Steeling my resolve, I picked up my backpack from the bench and strapped it over my shoulders. It's time to get started-
Silver eyes.
I completely froze, and my eyes wouldn't leave one of the teenage girls in the distance.
'...okay...move' I didn't 'Move, look away from the random girl you don't know' I twitched, but I still stared '...okay, what the fuck is going on!?'
Why the hell am I staring at her!? I-I can't look away, as if some invisible force is making me look at her. I'm so confused and unsure of what is going on, I keep trying to look away but…
The girl herself was relatively short, at least compared to me from what I can make out. Her attire was...odd to say the least, but not exactly unattractive on her I suppose. She sorrt of looked like a cosplayer, what with the red hoodie and cape...
She was animatedly talking about something to some girls...who looked like they could care less, to be honest. I couldn't make much out in this distance, but they seemed to be more focused on their holographic phones-gonna question that later- than paying attention to whatever she was talking about.
'That's…' My stomach twisted somewhat, and a few bad memories flashed through my mind, but I suppressed them 'It's in the past Drake, it used to hurt, but now others' opinions don't matter to you anymore' I was assuming anyway, I have no context here.
Steeling myself, I attempted to look away again 'C'mon…!' My face scrunched up a little, and through force of will I looked away and stared at my lap.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, some strange sensation seemed to back away, leaving me in control again.
'...'
"That...was weird" I muttered to myself quietly, very unnerved "What the hell was that?"
I shook my head in confusion, I have no idea why that happened. 'Why did I stare at her?' My eyes narrowed, and I stood up from my bench again, backpack firmly attached to me as I just let my legs walk wherever they took me.
Right now my mind was on overdrive trying to figure out what happened there, I had to force myself to look away 'Why?...I mean, its not because she's a girl, right?' I didn't feel any particular attraction at the time 'She's...pretty cute' That's based on her looks alone 'But...no, that wasn't it, it felt like...some invisible force was making me look at her'
It didn't feel like I was the one doing anything.
"-so I was thinking about adjusting the scope later, I think that during combat practice that it was knocked out of alignment…"
I glanced to the side when I heard that- and then forced myself to look away and only directly ahead of myself. It was the same girl from earlier 'What the hell legs!?' I pinched my left thigh discreetly as if to give it some pain to teach it a lesson 'Why the hell did I walk over here!?'
'...!'
This was getting really weird...first I couldn't stop looking at her and now…'Did...did I subconsciously move myself over to her?'
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'Hell no!'
I don't know what this feeling is but I'm gonna ignore the shit out of it. I have no idea who this girl is, but I feel scared to think that she has this strange...power over me, or whatever is leading me to her.
I was about to increase my pace-
"Yeah, whatever" One of the girls interrupted the red-hooded person without care "We're outside of school, so don't talk about schoolwork with us"
That statement seemed to rattle the red-hooded girl "B-But its not, it's my weapon…"
My pace instead slowed a bit as I walked by them…
"Yeah, it's not always about you Rubes" Another one of them replied, playing with her scroll.
"O-Oh...sorry" The hooded girl said meekly, lowering her head a little.
"Whatever, you mind getting ice cream for us? It'd be awesome if you could get some for your friends" The one to the right asked in a polite tone after the dismissal, but the words to me were anything but.
The red-hooded girl laughed somewhat stiffly at the request, and...my heart clenched, this is painfully familiar to me "Your such a leech sometimes Cecile, alright I'll get some ice cream, I remember what you like, I'll be back in a bit!" She said excitedly with a wide smile as she ran really fast towards an ice cream vendor nearby, my eyes almost couldn't keep up with her.
'Holy shit that girl could be an Olympic sprinter!...scratch that, she could win the Olympic race hands down! And are those rose petals?' I stared at the sight, I was shocked, but I was more fascinated than anything, no one else seemed to bat an eye.
I blinked and then shook my head 'What am I doing!? I shouldn't be sticking around, questions for later, you can figure it out at a library' I tugged on my backpack and started walking away, getting some distance between me and them.
"Ugh, finally a break, she's so annoying"
"I know right?"
My feet planted themselves firmly into the ground when I heard that, it was on the edge of my hearing, I almost didn't catch it…I backed up a little so I was somewhat closer to them, but discreetly turned to the left to sit at a nearby bench while opening up my backpack.
'I should...go over my things, better now than later...yeah' I didn't believe my own lie, it was an excuse that I was using to justify myself, but the simple matter is that my curiosity got the best of me 'Besides, I know next to nothing about this place, I could learn something from listening in on some locals'
"Why are we hanging out with her again?" My hands sifted through my backpack, but I didn't pay any attention to the items, leaning over to the side so my ear was closer to them, but looking like I was just trying to see into my backpack at a different angle.
"Her sister, remember? Don't you wanna get close to the most popular girl in school? The best fighter?" My hands stopped. 'So it's like that…' I thought to myself bitterly.
"How long do we have to put up with her?" My hands clenched into fists when I heard that response, but I moved them around somewhat to appear like I'm just annoyed at not finding something in my backpack…
"Just until we can be friends with her sister, then we only have to deal with her every now and then" The leader girl...what was her name? Ceila? No idea, I don't care. She said it with such confidence and haughty air that I almost gagged.
One of the others scoffed "Whatever, I'd rather not deal with her at all, she's so annoying, always 'Weapons' this! And 'Weapons' that! Just shut up already you annoying bitch…"
This shit makes my blood boil.
They were using the red-hooded girl to get closer to her sister, who is apparently the most popular girl in their school, by pretending to be friends with her.
'Disgusting…' It was revolting, and it brought up painful memories.
"Haha! Drizzy Drake!"
"Hey, we're friends aren't we, why not carry our stuff?"
"You think anyone gives a shit about you? Your such a weirdo!"
Breathe in...release...
These words don't hurt me anymore, I've grown past that. I don't need people like that to make me happy.
Splash!
I heard a sudden splatter against the pavement, and saw the girls stiffen while looking behind them-
'Oh' I thought with a wince.
I guess it didn't take long for her to get the ice cream.
Multiple flavors of ice cream and waffle cones scattered across the concrete floor beneath her feet, red hood's so-called 'friends' looked at her in shock and fear.
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After a long and perpetual stretch of silence, the red-hooded girl quivered her lips-
"Y-You...what?" She finally said after a long moment of collecting herself...her voice sounded so...broken.
"Y-You...what?" I asked in shock as my so-called 'friends' spoke to me, holding me down on a railing of a bridge over a highway.
"You think you can just act like you can do whatever you want, huh!? You should've just did what I said!" One of the taller kids shouted at me in the back as the others did the work.
"I just didn't want to give you my lunch or copy my homework! Why are yo-!?"
"Shut up! No one gives a shit about you, weirdo! Give me what I want or we'll...we'll...we'll throw you off the bridge!"
My eyes blinked away the flash of memory, while not nearly as extreme, this was so painfully familiar.
"You…" My attention went back to the scene not too far away from me, the red-hooded girl mumbled something that there was no way I could hear at this distance.
"R-Rubes it's not what you...we were joking!" Ca-something laughed as she nudged her minions to go along with her "Right guys?"
Stumbling for a moment, the two stood straight as if they are soldiers standing to attention "R-RIGHT!" They shouted.
'Don't fall for that' I found myself thinking 'Please...don't be stupid enough to fall for that'
"..." The red-hooded girl was silently shaking her head "...you just used me to get to Yang!?" She shouted, voice filled with frustration and a strangled sense of pain.
"Ru-"
"I-I thought we were friends! You said you liked hanging out with me! I-I...why!?" My heart clenched at the cry in her voice. This is too much.
I probably shouldn't even be listening to this, I should leave-
"Who the hell would want to hang out with you?"
The snide remark came out of one of the minion girls suddenly, it was said with such malice and distaste that it shocked the red hooded girl into silence. Ca-something jammed her elbow into her minion and whispered something harsh into her ear.
'...should I...do something? Because...I really want to punch them' I thought to myself viciously, I imagined the satisfaction I would get for punching them right in their annoying and smug faces. But truth be told, I'm not sure if that's a good idea, I just saw the red one sprint at a hundred miles per hour, not even a minute ago, who knows what else they could do.
'But damn it do I hate watching this…' I moved to get up, maybe to get away, maybe to walk over to give them a piece of my mind, I don't know-
WHOOSH!
Wind crashed into my face, and a flurry of rose petals was in the place where the red hooded girl was before, I briefly saw her move to her right towards the other side of the park, she was so fast I almost didn't see her at all…
'What the hell is that…!?' She's done it twice now! How is she doing that?
"...crap, now Yang will never hang out with us, just great! You had to ruin it!" Ca-something yelled as she stomped off in the other direction, her minions following "Screw her anyway! Finally don't have to listen to her annoying ramblings! Can't believe she's her sister…"
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They walked out of sight soon enough, leaving me the only one in the vicinity of the park, alone with my thoughts.
I looked in the direction I saw the red hooded girl run towards…
'...I...I really shouldn't, she'll be fine, right?' I thought to myself, not even close to being sure, and guilt twisting in my gut for some reason 'I...I need to get myself together first, I shouldn't waste my time…'
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I shouldn't go after her, I've already established that she could be dangerous with what happened to me earlier. But…
'I knew what that was like, it's not painful now, but I remember when it was' My face twisted into a grimace, before letting out a tired sigh.
I stood up from the bench and glanced at the ice cream stand and then back to the direction the girl ran off toward. It would be a good opportunity to see how currency works, ice cream shouldn't cost that much if she just bought it on a whim…
'...I...screw it!' I made up my mind and jogged over to the ice cream stand.
Once I got close, I took in the man's image "Oh! Another customer! What would you like?" He was in his thirties at least, with brown hair and eyes...and small deer antlers attached to his temples; he wore a simple black and blue outfit with an apron.
He was like one of those people that attacked me, but...he seemed nice enough, and just an ice cream vendor at that. I shake my head a little to push away the uneasy feeling I got.
"Uh...yeah I would like two…" I hesitated, I had no idea what that girl would like, I probably should've at least looked at the ice cream she dropped, at least that would've given me an idea-
Something washes over my mind, an invasive feeling pervading it. Shifting and turning, almost…almost like it was settling in place-
'She likes chocolate chip cookies and strawberries'
Body stilling in shock, I tried to shake off the sudden influx of info, a headache hitting me and scrambling my thoughts 'W-What!?' Something in me felt invaded, and just as suddenly as it came the feeling was cut off.
My head snapped to look behind me, but no one was there 'Who said that...?' It sounded…like me? Yet distant? 'What the hell is-!?'
"Sir?...uh, are you okay?" The vendor asked cautiously, rubbing his antlers a little "If you have a problem with faunus, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave" His eyes narrowed, almost a glare.
I broke out of the surprise and minor panic and looked to see him nervously rubbing his antlers 'Uh...faunus? Is that their species-oh shit he thinks I'm a racist'
"N-no, sorry, I just wasn't sure what to pick...uh" I quickly glanced in the direction the hooded girl went and picked the chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. I always liked those and if that...random burst of information was right, then she liked cookies "Two of these please, and sorry if I gave you the wrong idea" I apologized sincerely.
His facial features softened, and quickly got to work, in less than ten seconds the cookie sandwiches were made and wrapped up in napkins "Here you go sir, that will be twenty Lien"
'Lien?...okay' So that's what the currency was called, I pulled out the wallet and looked at the strange money, taking out twenty of them, there was pretty good amount in here quantity-wise, but I can't be sure if it's a lot in money terms.
I took out twenty of the cards and handed them to the man, he accepted it, looked it over, and then handed me back my change, handing me back six pieces that I have no idea the meaning of "Hehe, bit much there sir"
"T-Thank you" I turned around in the direction the girl went and started to jog-
"Going to go cheer her up?"
I froze at the vendor's words, refusing to turn back around to face him.
"I saw what happened back there" He explained, and I swear he is smirking suggestively right now, I don't even need to look to cringe at it "You're a good kid, now go get her, I saw her stop by near the tree at the right side of the park, over by the hill"
"..." I didn't answer him, and just decided to follow the directions he gave me. Ignore the panic and mysterious sensation, and instead focused on something that I understood.
I walked close to the tree the vendor pointed me to...and heard sobbing 'Oh crap she's crying…' My heart clenched and my face cringed in uncertainty.
Hesitantly, I walked around the tree, and spotted a familiar red hood covering a shaking figure. Her shoulders were jumping up and down as she buried her face into her knees, hugging them close to her torso.
'...shit...this is...damn it' I held the cookie sandwiches a little tighter, steeling myself to walk over.
'C'mon Drake...just...talk to her, at least try...think of it as like first contact! Yeah! This is going to be the first person you'll technically meet on another planet' With that thought in mind, I took a breath to harden my resolve, and stepped toward her…
Snap!
...and stepped on a twig.
'Real fucking smooth' I told myself sarcastically.
Her head snapped up in surprise to look at me, I tensed at the stare. Her glossy silver eyes practically bore into my soul, and I found myself having a hard time speaking. Part of me wondered if that strange sensation would return from looking at them…
There was nothing, only awkwardness.
"Um…" I started.
Her face was flushed and she just stared at me, some tears still streaming down her cheeks, her gaze wary and unsure.
'First contact Drake...make a good impression'
"..." I held out one of the cookie sandwiches in my hand to her "Here, I have an extra"
'...fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck! What the fuck was that!? "I have an extra", what the hell man!? That's the best I could come up with!?' I internally berated myself as I held it out to her.
The girl paused and stared at it in surprise...and then carefully reached out for it and took hold of it in her smaller hand "Oh...um...thank you" She thanked quietly as she pulled it towards herself, looking down at it with her face scrunched up.
"...um" She looked at me in mild curiosity as I tried to speak "Mind if I sit down with you?"
The girl shuffled where she sat "Oh...uh...sorry, g-go ahead" She hesitantly gestured to a spot on her right.
I graciously took the offer, and slowly sat down in the spot she gestured to.
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And I was at a loss as to what to do next '...shit, what do I do now!? Why am I so bad at this!?' Being a loner for most of my life might have something to do with it 'Gotta be something I can say-'
"S-Sorry…"
My head snapped out of my thoughts from her voice, and I turned it towards her, confused "'Sorry'…?" I asked.
"Y-You heard me crying right?" She asked quietly, she just held onto the cookie sandwich I gave her, she didn't even open it "I'm sorry if it bothered you…" She looked down, ashamed at this moment of weakness, and some more tears streamed down her face.
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'...screw it' I thought to myself sternly after another stretch of silence, and carefully turned myself to face her 'Stop acting like a fucking awkward teenager, she doesn't need that right now'
"Actually, I saw what happened earlier" I started off, to which she flinched "I...came to make sure you would be okay, I know what its like to deal with something like that"
She paused, and then looked up from the cookie sandwich she stared at to me "...y-you do?" She asked, sounding a little hopeful.
My face scrunched up a bit at the memories surfacing "Yeah, I know what it's like to have people you think as friends...not really be your friends" I said vaguely, I didn't want to go into details of my past with a stranger.
She hugged her legs closer to her, her expression falling "...why?...why did...is something wrong with me-?"
"No"
Her eyes widened in surprise at my interruption, she looked over at me again.
I shook my head and stared at her firmly, I refused to let her think that way "No, there is nothing wrong with you, don't go down that line of thought, I have, and it's wrong"
"...but, why then?" She asked, almost desperately "There must be something wrong with me-"
"If you keep saying that I'm going to hit you in the head"
She tensed up in shock.
'That line of thought is wrong, it is self-destructive and wrong' There were so many times I questioned myself on what was wrong with me, so many times I felt hurt because of it, it was, it is, agony.
I scooted closer, to which she stiffened in response, I leaned over to her so our faces were only a few inches apart, and I stared into her glossy eyes with a stern look, making sure she couldn't look away or ignore what I had to say next…
"You're not the problem, they are"
Her eyes widened and she shuffled nervously under the stern gaze "But-"
"Did you ever once hurt them?"
She blinked, shocked by the question "W-What!? No! Of course not!" She yelled at me, refuting the very idea of it.
"Did you ever try to use them for your own gain?"
"N-No!" She answered again, her voice picking up to defend herself.
"Did you ever treat them like they weren't worth your time?" I questioned one final time.
"NO!" She yelled indignantly, slamming her free hand into the grassy earth.
"Then there's nothing wrong with you" I stated as fact, because it was "They're the ones who tried to take advantage of you, they're the ones who didn't think you were worth their time, they're the ones who hurt you"
I retreated away and out of her personal space, letting her have room to breathe "Don't try to blame yourself for what they did, they are the problem, not you" I stated again, making sure it stuck.
"..." She sat there, speechless, and just stared at me, her silver eyes a little glossy still, but now calmer.
I rubbed the back of my neck '...looks like its starting to dig into her' I sighed and glanced at her sandwich "Your ice cream is melting"
She snapped out of her trance and looked at the melting ice cream, and the tense mood in the atmosphere was lightened when her expression turned to surprise as if she forgot it was there.
"O-Oh, right!" She took a bite of the cookie sandwich...and smiled slightly at the taste "mmmm, thish iz gwood" She said through her full mouth.
My lips quirk up in a small smile at her delight of the treat "Don't talk with your mouth full" I said simply as I ate my melting ice cream as well 'These can get messy when they melt, annoying…'
She finished her cookie way before I did, gobbling it up at ridiculous speeds 'Jeez, and that was pretty big too…' I blinked at the speed at which she finished it, and the satisfied smile on her face, meanwhile I was only halfway done with mine…
"...you want the rest?" I offered it to her, I wasn't that hungry, and I really wanted to see it again.
"O-Oh um...if you don't mind…" She said shyly, but took it nonetheless and ate it with vigor, just like the first one she ate it up quickly in no time flat.
"Damn…" I muttered quietly after witnessing it again, I was impressed.
She blushed, and then pointed at me accusingly "S-Swear!" She yelled at me.
I stare at the girl incredulously "...what are you? Five?"
"H-Hey!" She yelled in offence "I'm fifteen!"
Staring at her still, I raised an eyebrow "And yet you called me out on a swear word?" I asked, still incredulous.
She crossed her arms in a huff "You shouldn't say them! They're called cuss words for a reason!"
Who does she think she is? Commander of the swear jar? "I'll say whatever the hell I want" I told her bluntly, crossing my arms as well.
"Swear!"
"Wha…? Hell is a place, not a swear" I corrected. People always used it as a swear word, but its a place, probably an imaginary place, but still a place!
She stared at me...she put a hand over her mouth and started giggling...and I started chuckling along with her, I couldn't help it with the sudden release of tension in the air.
It died down after a few moments "Hehe…um…" Red hood nervously glanced at me "...thank you" She said quietly.
"..." I stayed silent for a moment, processing the gratitude laced in her voice '...well, looks like I did it, good job me, you cheered her up' I felt a bit of a swell of pride in my chest at that.
'Well, I should get going…'
I started to stand up, and I noticed she was surprised at the action "Well...uh…" I hesitated for a moment before picking my words "You gonna be okay?" I asked, showing my concern.
"Um…" She stared at the ground for a moment, and then she wiped her eyes with her forearm and gave a small smile at me "Y-yeah...not right now, but I think I will be…"
"Good" I said, and then started to turn around "I should be going...don't let those girls get to you, if you're genuinely trying to make friends, then its them who has something wrong with them" There wasn't really anything else to say, and so I started walking.
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After a few seconds of silent walking, I heard a shout "...w-wait!" A few rose petals flew by my head, and I heard a slip and a crash into the pavement.
I whipped my head around and saw the red hooded girl face first laying on the stone path "H-Hey!" I called out to her in worry as I ran and crouched to her side "Are you okay!?" She just face-planted into cement, which had to hurt. I attempted to grab her by her bicep and helped lift her up-
So it surprised me when she just brought her head up and shook it off like it was nothing, looking fairly unharmed as she stared at me pleadingly "W-Wait! Don't go yet! I-I didn't even get your name…"
I blinked at her apparent state 'Is she just good at taking a fall? Wait, she asked me a question…'
"Oh, uh…" I muttered to myself as she got up and stood back on her feet.
Her eyes widened and she waved her hands "Wait! Sorry! I-I didn't even introduce myself first…" She nervously held out her hand to me, an offering of a handshake.
"My name's Ruby Rose" She gave a sheepish smile, shuffling her feet.
'Ruby Rose: Huntress-in-training. Silver-eyed warrior.'
I stared at the girl, blinking slowly 'What?...huntress? Like, for hunting animals? And what the hell is a silver-eyed warrior? And what the hell is with these sudden bursts of information I know I didn't have before!?'
But I don't have time to dwell on that, she's patiently waiting for me to shake her hand, and I took it. I noticed my hand was pretty big compared to hers.
"Drake Joseph" I greeted politely, shaking her hand gently but firmly 'I'm shaking hands with an alien on another planet' I think to myself, I would say it was a dream come true if it weren't for the circumstances.
She blinked, confused for a second "Drake... Joseph?" The girl said, testing it on her tongue "...that's a weird name" She giggled a little.
'Weird!?' I stare at her in annoyance, my appreciation for the momentous moment gone in an instant "Who's name are you calling weird?"
"S-Sorry!" She apologized suddenly "It's just, really different from normal!"
I raised an eyebrow, scoffing a little 'And yours isn't weird?' "Yeah? Well, what's with your name? 'Ruby Rose'? How poetic" I shot back with a faux mocking tone.
"H-Hey!" She shouted indignantly, her silver eyes glaring at me a little as she's balling up her hands "My name's not weird!"
"If your name's not weird, then mine sure as hell isn't" I refute, leaving it there.
She bit her lip in frustration and crossed her arms while giving me a mock glare 'Cute' I thought dryly.
"Anyway…" I trailed off, looking off to the side "I should be going, I'm new around here and I need to find the library" A reasonable enough explanation, also true.
She perked up after I said, an excited look in her eye and a smile on her face "I know where that is!"
Ruby then realized how loud she was being and her face flushed in embarrassment, she looked away from me "I-I mean...I know where it is, if your new here I can...show you around" She said meekly.
'Well...that could certainly solve some of my problems...but...what about that strange urge that came from earlier?' I still have no idea what the hell that was, I can't feel it anymore, but still.
'Then there's that random burst of information...none of this started to happen until I saw her. What the hell even is that?' I know I didn't have that information before. It seemed...not unnatural, more surprising, as if I was just remembering something on the tip of my tongue, it just pops up like it was always there, but I know for certain that wasn't the case.
It was the strangest feeling, I know this knowledge isn't mine, yet it's there. I know I never learned this myself, yet it comes to the front of my mind as if it's common sense.
One thing is for certain, I'm not sure it's a good idea to stay around this girl.
"I wouldn't want to bother you, I can go on my own…" I started, and as soon as those words left my mouth her shoulders dropped and she looked to the ground.
Her eyes wavered "O-Oh...o-okay, sorry…"
'...holy shit my chest feels like there's a hole in it' Why do I feel guilty?
I look at her with uncertainty, it feels like I just kicked a puppy 'Does she really want to help me that bad?...maybe she just doesn't want to be alone right now'
She just realized that her friends were just using her, a single talk from some random stranger isn't gonna fix it all. Should I let her though? Is it that strange force that's making me consider it in the first place?
...no, the feeling is different. So far it's only ever made me physically look at her, I kept my mental faculties during the whole thing. It didn't affect my judgment. When I chose to help her, that force had nothing to do with it, I chose that under my own power.
"Sorry for bothering...it was nice to meet you" She said quietly, and hesitantly turning around to go on with her day.
The look of disappointment on her face didn't sit right with me.
No one was there for me when I went through those shitty moments with cruel people, and while I'm fine being alone now, its not necessarily the same for her.
.
.
.
"...well, if you're sure you want to, I could probably use the help" I said offhandedly to her, making Ruby stop in her tracks.
I might regret this later, but it doesn't sit right with me to just leave her like this. Ruby seems like a decent person so far, she's given me no reason to be mistrustful of her, and she was just hurt by people betraying her trust.
And who better to help her than someone who understands it firsthand?
"R-Really!?" She twirled around to face me, and her mood instantly brightened. She then paused, and flushed again in embarrassment "I-I mean, its no trouble! The library, right? It's this way!" She pointed to her right and started walking, beckoning me to follow with a small skip in her step.
I hesitated at first...but then followed her quietly 'Well, at the very least I'll find a library'