Proof of Humanity (RWBY - Lies of P)

Fable of Pinocchio IV: King of Krat's Future

Romeo was born in the Monad Charity House, a quiet little place in the suburbs of Krat. It was an orphanage and daycare for any children that were either unwanted or abandoned. To the people outside it's walls, it was a prison for despicable infants. On the inside, it was the only semblance of home for the kids.

Romeo knew very little about his real family. The only notable genetic trait that he had was white hair that grew out fast. Aside that, he was just a boy growing up.

Just a boy growing up in an orphanage. The Monad Charity House was certainly the only home he'd ever known, but that wasn't the case for the people around him. Romeo's friends would be adopted before he could even learn their favorite food. A parade of new faces with no lasting friendships.

But that didn't matter all that much to Romeo. He was doing quite nicely. He would read his books that were far beyond his age level, eat his basic foods, and make small talk with anybody he could in the hopes that they'd actually stay for longer than a few days.

"Come on, let's play catch!" Romeo called out to them. They flocked to him like birds when they see bread. For that little bit of time, he'd feel a taste of friendship.

"Hey, where's Trefor?" He was gone. The boy that Romeo had spent an entire day laughing with was gone. Adopted within the week.

And then it'd repeat with another batch of kids. "Who wants to play tag?" Romeo was amazing at making friends, he just couldn't seem to get them to stay.

It never got to him, but humans are social creatures. He couldn't help but want a friend. A real friend. The kind that he could laugh and do amazingly stupid things with. What Romeo wanted, more than anything in the word, was a brother.

Unfortunately, fate was a cruel thing. His isolation would bubble up all the way until he was seven.

When he turned seven, the loneliness would become too much to bear. Romeo started to lash out at the people around him. He would avoid the other children in the orphanage like the plague. His fairytale books became the only idea of people he had. The radiance that made it so easy to find short friendship died away.

That was until one day that a single face would become familiar.

A girl was moved into the Monad Charity House. She had long brown hair and warm eyes. The kind that would brighten up your day by just looking at them. Romeo almost decided to take a chance on her. No, she'd end up leaving too, no matter how amazing she was. In fact, if he were to try, there would be no doubt that the girl would be as nice as his storybooks. That warmth would bring feeling back into Romeo's frostbitten heart, but make him feel twice as numb when the warmth left.

"Hello, my name's-" That sweet little girl asked the moment she saw Romeo, just like Romeo would when he saw somebody else.

Only back then, he was still himself. That wasn't there anymore. So Romeo, without so much as a glance, walked right past her, book in hand. It was rude, and Romeo felt terrible for it, but it was just the best thing to do. Why build up a relationship for it to collapse?

Only, this was different. Days passed by of Romeo ignoring her to read books. More kids came and went just like usual, but that kind girl stayed and gave Romeo a good morning every time the sun came up. It got to the point where the two would end up being close because they were both the rejects of the Monad Charity House. The kids that Krat either didn't know existed or didn't care for.

So, one morning, Romeo took a chance.

"Good morning." The girl said out of habit. It eventually became part of her regular schedule and she stopped expecting a response.