1I do not own RWBY. Everything outside my OCs is owned by Rooster Teeth
Chapter 1
Static
That's all that could be seen or heard. It was all encompassing. Left, Right, Up, Down, Forward, and Back. Nothing but static all around. The sound of it was deafening. Drowning out everything else with its white noise.
The static continued for what felt like an eternity, then again, it could have just as well been a mere few seconds too. It's hard to keep an accurate sense of time within a world with no sight and sound after all.
Color
Suddenly splashes of color were thrown into the static void. Seemingly random blotches of brown, gray, red, and black were visible. Some standing still, other's flickering, and a few seeming to slowly shift through the static.
Sound
Finally, a sound other than static could be heard. If one focused hard enough, you could hear a myriad of sounds through the deafening white noise. Certain sounds grew louder when one focused on the colors that now dotted the static landscape. Red was accompanied by crackling, the sound of wood burning or the groans from heated metal. Fire! That's what the red had to be. Focusing on the gray piles of varying heights allowed one to hear a different type of groaning. The sound of heavy things on top of each other shifting. Their towering structures most likely threatening to collapse if the weight is shifted too much. The brown, instead of hearing sound one could feel something, a tremble; A vibration could be felt through the brown. It came in measured intervals, slow and heavy. In the background, what sounded like something hitting or falling could be heard with each pulse of vibration. Finally, the black. Groans, sniffing and growling followed the movements of each splash of black in the void. The static was finally starting to clear up, the sound getting quieter and the splashes of color starting to form shapes. Soon the myriad of colors could be identified as objects, all that was needed to properly see them was for the static to clear up just a little-
ROOOOAAAAAAR
Loud, louder than even the static, a roar of colossal volume and weight filled the static void. It felt like all the shapes and colors were shaking from it. Then again that could also be a result of the ringing in my head that came as a result of that roar. The all-encompassing static was replaced by a loud ringing, any sound that I could hear was once more drowned out, only this time by the ringing.
".…l."
Sound was slowly coming back to me, slowly but surely the ringing was starting to die down.
"..so."
But that didn't matter, because the static was starting to come back full force as well, almost as if that roar somehow strengthened it.
".ol"
Something was pushing through the static and ringing. Something that was different from all the other sounds that I heard before. A voice. It sounded like-
"Sol!"
With a jolt I sat up in my bed, panting lightly and sweat dripping down my head and back. A dream, and of course it was Mom's voice that I heard through my dream addled sleep. How she can even get that loud I have no idea.
"Wake up already! It's already 11:00 and I swear if you sleep in to 1:00 again I'm gonna..I'm gonna…well I don't know what I'm going to do but you can bet it's not going to be good!"
I can't help but roll my eyes at that, every time she says something like that nothing ever happens. She either gets distracted by something or just simply forgets. And besides, reaching over to my night stand and grabbing my scroll I can see it's only 10:47. With a groan I stretch out my back standing up as I do so, a couple of cracking sounds ringing out into the room. Looking into the mirror on my left wall I take a closer look at my current appearance.
Disheveled is certainly a word you could use to describe how I look right now. My mauve hair is sticking up all over the place, sweat causing strands to stick together into clumps. It looked more like the quills on a porcupine than actual human hair, not even the hair that goes down to the base of my neck was spared. Sweat ran down my beige colored cheeks to my chin, dull amber eyes dilated slightly due to the fact that I just woke up. Despite the fact that my white shirt wasn't visibly wet, it was still sticking to my body. My legs looked unaffected at the very least, although I should probably throw on a pair of shorts so I'm in more than just my boxers, hygiene can come after breakfast.
"Why must I look like I ran a mile after every one of those dreams." I say with a sigh of exasperation. Using my foot I grab a random pair of sweat shorts off my bedroom floor and throw them on, not even bothering to care that they're dirty, it's not like I don't need a shower already. Heading down stairs I see my mom doing some paperwork with a look of irritation on her face. Whether from my sleeping habits or the evil stacks of paper in front of her I don't know.
The mauve hair that everyone from the Malva family has neatly wraps around her head as it always does, all of it meticulously kept to the extent that the ends of it all measure out to a neat and level line, not going a centimeter below her chin. The same goes for the hair on the front of her face, all of it in one neat line that ends right above her eyebrows. A grimace is on her porcelain face as she seemingly tries to glare a hole through the piece of paper in her hands. She's wearing a clean gray business suit with a white undershirt and matching pants, a loose tie around her collar. The tapping noise that's coming from one of her black dress shoes hitting the wooden floor is another indicator of her emotional state if it wasn't obvious enough already. Her ruby red eyes finally noticed me. I can already see one of her lectures on the tip of her tongue before she freezes, her eyes widening slightly when she takes in my appearance. Her eyes narrow after a moment and her face gets even more grim before she finally opens her mouth once more. "It happened again, didn't it."
I don't say anything for a moment as my mind flashes back to the world of static that was my dream.
"Yeah…It did. On the bright side, it was a bit clearer this time. Colors and sounds and all that. I was able to identify something as fire so that's a start at least." I say not moving off the steps as I take in my mother's reaction.
She lets out a sigh, laced with some emotion that is hard to identify. Exhaustion, fear, nervousness, and acceptance are the ones that come to mind. Considering the topic it's probably all of the above.
"Breakfast is in the kitchen. It's probably gone cold by now" I can sense some of her attitude come back at that "But I guess I can't fault you for sleeping in this time." All I do is nod as I head into the kitchen of our modest home.
"Get yourself cleaned up after. I'm sure you're already aware but I'm going to have to schedule an announcement because of this."
"Of course madam mayor." I say with a playful smile, hoping to alleviate some of the growing tension in the room as I sit down at the table, a small plate of pancakes sitting waiting to be eaten. It seemed to have worked, if only slightly based on the eye roll mom gave me. Calling her that never fails to get a reaction.
"What is this, the 3rd time you had the same dream?" and there she goes again, bringing the tension right back. With another sigh I just nod an affirmative. I always end up sighing a lot whenever my dreams come around.
"And they've gotten clearer each time?"
"Yes mom, you know this already. First time it was just static, next time it was colors, and this time it was a little bit of sound." I narrow my eyes mid bite of my breakfast as I recall something else from my dream.
"I know that look, what else happened." I only glance up at her before I slowly lower my fork back down to my plate. My eyes are looking at my food even though we both know my mind is elsewhere.
"…you're right." As usual went left unsaid. "There was something else. Although it's hard to describe."
Once again I flashback to that dreadful sound. The one that left my ears ringing and if I didn't get one after every single one of my dreams, the thing I'd blame my current migraine on.
"I think…no it had to be a grimm. There's no way any animal made that sound. And there's no way it was an ordinary one either. It's as if it's voice had weight to it. A feeling of dread pressing onto my shoulders just from its roar. I've never heard anything like it, on video or in person. It felt almost as if-" My words were cut short as I felt a pair of arms wrap around my head.
Lost in thought as I was, I didn't notice mom standing up from her seat and embracing me. It felt nice, it always did. I can't bring myself to truly care whether it felt nice because it's mom giving the hug or if all hugs felt this way, it's not like I really had the experience to answer that query in the first place.
"I was rambling again, wasn't I?" my voice was soft, if there was any other noise in the house I doubt mom could've heard it. "You were." Was the equally soft response.
It's funny, no matter how fierce she is in public, working, or when she's lecturing me, it always slips away whenever she's with me like this.
"I'm fine mom, really I'm fine. I'm used to these kinds of things by now." It was the wrong response. "I wish you weren't. I wish so badly that you weren't. I hoped you would never have to see or experience any of this crap. At least not until you were a grown man." I roll my eyes slightly at that. Her voice was steadily growing in volume and passion with each word.
"I'm seventeen mom. It's not like I'm a kid anymore." That got me a light hit on the head. I gave her a light glare, although it's not like she could even see it.
"Well you are to me…you sure you're okay?" I really can't help but sigh once more. "Yes mom, I am. Now can you please let go of me so I can finish my breakfast." That gets a light chuckle out of her. The heavy mood in the room lifting a bit. "Alright alright, no need to bite my head off." She says as she lifts her hands in mock surrender.
She sits back down and stares into space. Paperwork completely forgotten it seems as she rests her elbows on the sheet that she was glaring at earlier.
"So…fire and a truly terrifying grimm." I just gave her another nod. My mouth's full and it's not like she's doing anything other than confirming what I already told her. It's her letting out a sigh for once as I let out a small cheer in my head for not being the only one.
"What mess are we going to find ourselves in now." All I can do is shrug at that. Seeing my response she lets out another sigh and I let out another mental cheer. "Alright well tonight we're going to have an announcement where either I'll tell them or you will." Before she can continue I point my fork at her. Causing her to give it a light glare. "Where I'll tell them-" I give her a nod as she continues. "It'll probably be around seven soooo."
She looks down at her scroll which is placed neatly next to a stack of paperwork which based on the look on mom's face means she remembered it just now. I receive a glare this time as a result of the poorly stifled chuckle it gives me.
"Sooo, you got eight hours, which gives you enough time to get cleaned up along with whatever else you want or need to do and gives me enough time for, this." With the amount of pure disdain she said that with, you'd think the paperwork would be responsible for the grimm or something, luckily I did successfully withhold my chuckle this time.
"Right, well let me leave you to your paperwork," The dreaded word made her groan in agony and caused the great and mighty madam mayor to lower her head. "While I get myself cleaned up." I say as I put my dish in the sink. My feet pause on my way back up the stairs. My lack of movement drew my mom's eyes back to me, a small hint of confusion in them.
"I love you, mom. And we'll be fine. I'm sure of it, we were fine all the other times." I can hear her exhale, a tinge of amusement in the let out breath. "I'm sure we will Sol. I love you too, now leave me be to these evil papers." I don't even try to hide my laugh this time as I walk up stairs.
...
After a bit of "freshening up" as mom would call it I threw on my usual clothes. A white breathable shirt with baggy sleeves that is kept on my wrists with elastic, dark brown coloring made with a slightly different material from the rest of the shirt that wraps around my shoulders prevents it from getting too loose around my neck and falling off. A thick brown leather belt around my waist hides where my black loose fitting dress pants meets my shirt. All I really did with my hair was pat it down slightly so it's not as spiky otherwise it's just as messy as before. Throwing on some clean brown boots I can only hope mom considers this clean enough to go out in public, she always did care about looking "proper" in public, and considering she didn't stop me on the way out the door must mean that I met her standards. Then again it's also possible that she was too busy wishing the stacks of paper would spontaneously combust to notice.
There's not many people out on the street, most people are either working in the many buildings that dot our medium-sized settlement or are on the walls and out hunting. The only ones on the street are the children too young for combat school playing outside and their parent's watching them, considering the time it's not too surprising, I don't technically work anywhere in the settlement but often times I've been given a decent amount of Lien when I help keep watch on the wall so I might as well head there.
As I make my way there the world freezes and everything takes on a dull yellow tint, another me leaves my body as the world seemingly moves forward. I see myself continue to walk forward a couple of steps before someone falls backwards out of a storage shed, it seemed like they lost their balance from the large stack of boxes that they were carrying. They fell right into the other me, causing us both to fall to the ground and for the boxes to spill their contents, clothes it looks like. Suddenly the yellow filter over the world disappeared and time resumed once more, however there were no boxes or person on the ground. I continue to walk forward a couple of steps before I quickly turn to my left. The same person that fell when the world was yellow proceeded to fall once more. I stick my left hand out to my side and I raise my right up above it, keeping it suspended up over my head. The person proceeded to fall right into my outstretched arm and my other hand prevented the stack of boxes from toppling over. To everyone around me it would seem as if I reacted in a mere blink of an eye and stopped someone from taking a fall and prevented the merchandise from getting dirty on the stone path. To me however I simply acted according to what I already saw.
"As clumsy as always aren't you Blanche." I said. The only response the man still in my left arm could give was an awkward and embarrassed chuckle.
"Well you know me Sol, no matter how many vases I break I never learn." The only response I deem to give that is a roll of my eyes and a slight smile. "Well are you going to stand back up or are you going to stay like this for the rest of the day. I'll have you know I don't have that much confidence in the strength of my arms."
After that sarcastic comment he quickly scrambles out of my arm, muttering apologies the whole time he's righting himself. And that's when he looks me in the eye, white hair and gray eyes have gotten him mistaken for a Schnee quite a few times. However, I doubt Schnees would ever look as hesitant as he is now, at least if even half of what I read about them is true that is.
"Well uhhh, I better get these back to the shop. You know how my grandmother can be."
I can see it in his eyes, his desire to quickly leave this interaction behind and forget it ever happened. A small part of me wants to deny him that, to walk him to his family's clothes store talking with him every step of the way, the rest of me however just accepts his desire as usual. It's not like I haven't experienced this before.
"Yeah you don't want to keep her waiting, maybe I'll see you around." I say just in an effort to stay polite, fully aware that that's one of the last things he wants.
"Y-yeah maybe." He says with an awkward stutter. I just stand and watch him leave, a few others around us watching the interaction out of the corners of their eyes. I start to continue my journey before I pause in my steps, letting out a sigh as I do. Might as well tell them now, let everyone get ready mentally, before the event. News travels fast here, especially concerning me so mom wouldn't have to really worry about getting the word out.
"Hey." Blanche stops walking away and glances at me over his shoulder, the eyes that were starting to drift away snap back to us as they hear me call out.
"There's going to be an announcement tonight."
I can see his eye widen at those words, from fear most likely. Out of the corner of my eye I can see the eyes of everyone else that's listening in also widen in the same fear, it's to be expected really. Blanche turns around to face me, it seems his desire to know outweighed his desire to forget about our interaction.
"A dream?" The words were quiet, I could still hear him however because the street was quiet too. "Yeah. The same one three times, it was hard to make out any details but I was finally able to take a little away from it."
I'm starting to feel uncomfortable, who knows how many eyes are looking at me right now, each person that they belong to is clinging to every word that comes out of my mouth. I swallow a small lump in my throat as I awkwardly scratch the back of my head.
"My mom will tell you more at the announcement but I figured I'd tell you so you could get ready." He's no longer looking at me anymore, his eyes are pointed to the ground, most likely not actually looking at anything as he's thinking too deeply. He swallows a similar lump in his throat before he speaks up once more.
"Right, thank you. For letting me know." I watch his back move further away from me as he heads to his family's shop. His gratitude was hollow.
...
By the time I get to the wall at least half the settlement knows about the announcement. As I walk up the stone steps to get to the top I can see three other guys look at me, all of them armed with some mass produced atlas gun and a sword on their backs. Not even close to top of the line, but not at the bottom either. I sign my name on the time table that's right next to the steps and start to walk the circumference of the wall, just trying to find a place to keep watch without needlessly making people uncomfortable by hovering too close to the stairs. Every person I come across just glances at me before trying to ignore me. There's no fear or hatred in their actions so I can't really blame them for it. The only thing that's fueling their actions are nervousness and hesitance, and it's hard to hate someone that's just nervous. I stop my trek of the wall with what has to be the hundredth sigh of the day. The place I chose is just facing the forest and away from most people but not too far that I can't get in contact with someone. I'm not a fighter, I'm not specially trained or anything like that, but what I am good at is warning people. I can keep a look out and I'll always know when something happens. That's the only reason I'm allowed up here, so despite the fact that I desperately want to stay away from everyone else I can't really do that. I'd be practically defenseless otherwise.
"At least I can trust one thing to always be unaffected by my dreams." The sun, while not nearing its setting just yet, still is at a good angle to make the sea of green leaves glitter like emeralds, they stand there, completely unaffected by the lives of those around it. Unaffected by me.
ding!
I can't help but raise my brow at the sound, wondering who could be texting me when in reality there's probably only one person who really would. Taking my scroll out of my pocket I find my assumption to be correct.
'You didn't have to do that you know.' I wonder if it's normal to roll one's eyes at their parent as much as I find myself doing. Well it appears that the news spread enough to reach mom.
'I know, but I stopped Blanche from taking a fall, again, and figured I might as well tell him. Save you the trouble and give them time to prepare.' Really she worries about the weirdest things sometimes. It doesn't take long for a response to come through. 'While your reasoning is sound you still didn't have to do that, well thank you either way.' Weirdest things indeed.
'It was no problem mom. I'm on the wall right now so we'll talk later tonight.' I pocket my scroll already aware of what the reply would most likely be. Putting it on silent I just stand there on the wall, watching the sun move through the sky and slowly change the glimmering emeralds into a field of burning orange. It's so very easy for me to lose track of time while looking at the scenery.
Pulling out my scroll once more I can see it nearing seven. Just another thirty minutes till the announcement. I take it off silent as I start heading my way down, doing my best to ignore the looks of fear on the people's faces as I walk past. They're afraid of the news I bring, and considering the vague information that I got from my dream I know they're going to be nervous tomorrow too, and the day after, and the one after that as well.
The settlement square is closer to the wall than my house is so it only takes me ten minutes to get there unlike the twenty it took me to get to the wall from the house. It doesn't take long for me to find mom. She's standing stoically as she looks on the masses, some people asking her questions, others just watching her. She stands there ignoring it all. She seems to have noticed me as she heads behind the elevated stage that holds a microphone and a set of speakers. A chair seated to the rear right of the microphone that I know is for me.
I see mom looking at me, the statement she always says when this happens coming out of her mouth. "You don't have to come up there with me before."
She knows my answer already. I know she does, yet she never fails to ask. I don't truly know why I always follow her up there myself, maybe it's because I don't want her to handle the fear addled stares when I'm the cause of this every time, or perhaps it's because I feel guilty. For taking away their ignorance of the future, and replacing it with the mind numbing sensation of just waiting for something you know is going to happen no matter what you do. I shake my head to clear myself of those thoughts. They'd do me no good anyway.
"I know, but I'm still coming up there with you." Just like I thought my mother wasn't at all shocked by my answer. All she does is check her wrist watch to see if it's time yet, which it is.
"Come on." Is the only words she says before she walks on stage. I can't help myself as I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, following after her only seconds later.
I sit down in the seat behind mom at the same time she reaches the microphone. She opens her mouth to speak but I immediately tune it out. There was a time where I used to listen to mom's words during these things. But every time it was just the same things I told her that very day, just told in a fanciful fashion. Instead I look forward, into the crowd and the pairs of eyes that number in the hundreds. Some looked at my mother listening to her words, others would just outright stare at me. Something they all have in common though is the fear and anxiety that rest in all of them.
Any normal person would wonder what the fuss is about, why everyone panics at the mere dreams of a seventeen-year-old. However, we aren't a normal settlement, and my dreams aren't normal dreams. Every single one of my dreams comes true without fail. Well, not every single one, I still have regular dreams. Ones where nonsense gets tangled up with the strange and when you wake up they either don't make sense or just slip out of your memory without consequence. But my other dreams, the clear ones, those come true every time. I always see the exact same image from those dreams appear into the real world, exactly the same. For example, if I see a collapsed house on fire in my dream, within a year I would find myself in the real world staring at the exact same house in the exact same condition of my dream. Every wall, every stone, and every piece of rubble, is exactly the same as it appeared in my dream, down to every last detail. That's why they look at me with those eyes. To them I'm an Omen of disaster.
If you'd ask me how or why I have this power, I wouldn't be able to answer you. I'd say it's one of those semblances, I believe they're called, that most huntsmen have, but considering you need to have your aura unlocked for those immediately rules out that answer since mine is still locked. And yet that's the only possible answer for it, and the only thing you have left when the only possible answer is ruled out, is simply an unanswered question. All I know is that when I was 5 I had a dream that became real, then while I was walking around a day after that dream I saw something happen seconds before it did, and I just continued to get said dreams to this very day. 23, 23 is the number of realistic dreams I've had, and all 23 times they have come true, the image in the dream always appearing in reality. Eventually everyone else realized this fact too. Now every time one of these announcements happens the amount of guards on the walls have to be doubled as a result of the negativity the settlement gives off.
I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice my mom stopped talking until the people gathered in front of the stage started leaving to go back to their homes. Wordlessly and without prompting I follow after my mom off the stage and back home, we walk wordlessly the entire way back until we crossover into the inside of the house. The second we do mom walks over to the couch and flops down into it letting out a loud groan.
"I hate those things." I can't help but wince at that, in a way it could be considered my fault. "Sorry." The apology slips out without warning, the word coming out before I can stop it.
If it was anyone else other than me they would've missed the almost unperceivable flinch she makes, but I'm not anyone else.
"You don't have to apologize. You shouldn't have to apologize." Another sorry almost leaves my mouth once more but I stop it this time, the response I give instead is just a slight nod. A couple of moments of silence passes before I finally decide to break it.
"I can make dinner if you want, let you relax a bit." She looks at me not speaking, almost seeming to think for a moment before she gives me a response. "That'd be nice. Thanks Sol."
After she gives me the affirmative I walk past her muttering a small "no problem" as I pass her and head right into the kitchen.
Dinner is simple, just a pan cooked steak with rice as a side, I'm not really much of a cook. We ate quietly, not talking much and the things we did talk about were rather mundane, both of us skirting around what happened today. The silence was pleasant though, and talking with mom helped get my mind off things. It was during the cleanup that things went back on topic though.
"I should get ready for bed after this, who knows maybe I'll get a clearer dream tonight." I say not looking up from the dish I'm cleaning. "Would that be considered good luck or bad?" The response gets a small chuckle from me, my mother's snark finally coming out again.
"I think it would be considered just luck." This time it's her that chuckles and a smile comes onto my face as a result. "I suppose it would."
Another moment of silence passes before she speaks up once more. "Do you have your dream journal?"
My face cringes as I let out a very audible groan. "I know it's necessary but do you know how embarrassing it is for someone my age to have a dream journal? And why must it be called a dream journal and not something else." I can hear my mom's laughter echo in the house as I sit down on the couch she was sitting on before.
"And what would you call it then." I let out a scoff at her teasing tone. "I don't know, just anything other than dream journal." I may not be looking at her but I can practically hear her eyes rolling at me.
"Well if you don't have an alternate name for it Dream Journal will have to be it." She comes over to me and kisses my forehead before saying the words I dread despite knowing it's inevitable.
"Go get some sleep. Who knows, maybe this one will be a false alarm." It's me who rolls my eyes this time as I stand up from the couch and start to head up stairs.
"You say that every time and every time it's been true. So I highly doubt that number 24 would be the false alarm." I reach the top of the stairs and open the door to my room when I hear her yelling up to me from where she's still in the living room.
"A woman can dream can't she." Another groan equal to the first one escapes my mouth from her poor excuse of a joke. "A pun, really?!" The only thing I hear after that is her laughter, which I promptly cut off by closing my door.
I remain facing the door, my room is quiet save for the muffled sound of my mom's dying down laughter. I know what's behind me yet I find myself hesitating to turn around. I clench my fist as I take deep breaths. Inhale, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Exhale, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Repeat. I do this 3 times before I finally calm myself down enough to turn around. What's behind me is my unchanged room, my bed in the left corner right by a window, a small nightstand right next to it, my closet right next to me on the far side of the wall, a tall person sized mirror on the right side, only 2 inches smaller than me at 5 foot 8. The room's a little on the barren side as a result of me spending most of my time out of it. The bed always makes me hesitant to stay in the room. I let out a small sigh as I make my way over to the bed, I don't sit in it yet as I open my nightstand and take out the little notebook in the drawer. I open it and write down the new observations from the last dream, trying to draw out going to sleep as long as possible, however I can't procrastinate for long. I snap the book closed, the sound of the front and back of it hitting each other makes an audible click resound out into the room. I place it on top of the nightstand, not even bothering to put it away as I get undressed for bed. Finally, the time has come as I sit down on the dreaded mattress. I slowly lie down on it, my movements making it seem like the bed would eat me if I moved any faster. Another deep breath, Inhale. Exhale. I finally close my eyes and let myself enter the realm of sleep once more.
...
Static
Once more thrown into a world of static and white noise. And yet it is quieter this time around, not as deafening and not nearly as blinding. The colors are already there from the start and there's no need to focus this time to hear sound over the static. The crackling of the red flames sounds clear, along with the groaning of rubble and the timed pattern of vibrations all make themselves known from the start. The shapes that started to appear last time are showing themselves once more. The red takes the shape of a roaring fire. The gray forms images of collapsed and crumbling buildings. Looking down the brown is shown to be dust. Not the kind that powers our cities and is fired from our weapons, but dust made from crushed brick. As I try to contemplate what it all means it happens again.
ROOOOAAAAAAR
The roar that feels like it physically crushes me is uttered once more. My ears ring again and I close my eyes to the world in an attempt to drive the fear and dread away. I squeeze my eyes shut with the same amount of force the metaphysical weight is using to squeeze me. It works if only slightly, the ringing fades away and the only thing left is the dull throbbing in my head that heralds a coming migraine. However, the ringing isn't the only thing that faded away. The white noise that was a constant companion in this world of static is finally gone, meaning it's possible that the static that was blinding my sight is gone too. My eyes remain closed. I don't want to open them, I'm afraid of the scene that is most likely awaiting me on the other side of my eyelids. But, I know that I must open them, if the knowledge of what's going to happen manages to lessen the damage it might cause even slightly, then I have to open them. It's my obligation, my responsibility, the responsibility of someone who takes away the bliss of ignorance. With great effort I open my eyes, and instantly dread fills my very soul.
Destruction, destruction and grimm as far as the eye can see. Large pillars of smoke dot the landscape as a result of what I can only assume is monstrous fires. Rubble and crumbling buildings surround me, destroyed by the malicious instincts that all grimm have. Black dots soar high in the sky, each one a grimm looking for a human life to snuff out. The skies above aren't the only places filled with grimm as beowolves and Ursas prowl the streets, some climbing on the rubble and some hiding, no hunting in the gray and brown buildings that remain standing. And in the distance, there's something that I've never seen before, and something I wish I could unsee. What can only be a castle can be seen in the distance, what once must've been a true majesty to behold is now nothing more than a shell of itself. Crumbling towers could be seen next to ones that somehow remain intact, and these towers surrounded another one with a half circle. In the center is a tower so large that it seems to be piercing the very sky. And on top of it is a beast of wings and death, a grimm that seems to be a harbinger of doom is using that tower as its throne as it looks down on the vast destruction with soulless eyes. The dragon rears back its massive head, opening its mouth far wider than it has any right to and lets loose a malicious roar.
ROOAAAAAAAAR
"AHHHHH!" I wake up with a scream. The dragon's roar jolted me awake from fear. I pant with gulping breaths, so desperate for oxygen that you'd think I was suffocating. Sweat coats my entire body, causing my clothes to stick to me and hair to clump together. Surprisingly I don't hear mom wake up, then again she always was a bit of a deep sleeper. It takes me several moments of gasping for air for me to finally ask the question in my mind, not even bothering to take the effort to keep it in my head.
"W-what was that?"
And that's the end of chapter 1, this is my first fanfic so any constructive criticism would be appreciated. I also want to say that I am not an expert in RWBY lore so if I make any mistakes do forgive me and either DM me or leave a review and I'll try my best to change it to make it correct. I probably can't change something if it's important to the story that it remains that way but I don't expect that to happen really. I'm also making certain assumptions when it comes to public knowledge. In this the public does know about Aura and semblances but the more closed off communities, like isolated villages would know a lot less about it. Like I said this is the first fic I've ever written and I'd love to know your thoughts on the first chapter. I can't guarantee fast updates for a number of reasons but I will make sure to try my best to get them out at a reasonable pace. Once again I'm not an expert on the lore of RWBY but luckily I'm getting some help on that end in some discord servers that I'm in for other fics but if I do get something wrong please tell. Thank you for reading this first chapter and once again please tell me what you think!