Through We Endure. (RWBY x OC)

A Burden of Silver

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The first rays of a reluctant dawn bled through the thin curtains, painting the dormitory room in hesitant strokes of light and shadow. Ruby stirred restlessly, a fragmented dream of silver scythe blades and crimson trails fading with the rising sun. She yawned and stretched, a question gnawing at the edges of her sleep-fogged mind.

Where was Hadryn?

His chair was empty, the heavy cloak he always wore missing from its usual spot the night before sent a shiver danced down her spine – a feeling both familiar and unsettling. Hadryn wasn't one typically one for morning walks or quiet contemplation. Though he did have a knack for the occasionality. He was usually there, a stoic presence in the pre-dawn hush, sharpening his ever-battered greatsword with rhythmic rasps. Or watching over Ruby and Yang.

Unease festered in Ruby's stomach, climbing out with stealth. Slipping on her simple white shirt and the ever-present red cloak, she tiptoed out of the dorm, the silence broken only by the soft click of her boots on the polished floor. The faint rhythmic clang of metal against metal drew her towards the training room.

Pushing through the heavy door, Ruby found the room bathed in the same hesitant light as her room. In the center stood Hadryn, the black-plated giant, his greatsword – Inquisitor – a blur of deadly grace. Sweat beaded on the visible portion of his exposed hands, reflecting the harsh dawn light. His movements were a whirlwind of controlled chaos, each swing a brutal dance that spoke of countless battles fought and lessons learned the hard way.

But beneath the practiced efficiency, there was a deeper current, a raw, desperate energy that tinged his movements with a desperate fury. It was a dance fueled by a storm of emotions – frustration, self-loathing, and a flicker of something darker, something that lurked beneath the surface like a hungry beast.

That was how he had always fought. and it was brutally effective too, but Ruby could sense the turmoil within Hadryn. His stoicism, a carefully cultivated mask, was fractured for a moment, revealing a storm of emotions she couldn't quite decipher.

Years of shared experience had woven a bond between them, but there were depths to Hadryn that remained shrouded in mystery. He knew the Grimm fueled his rage, but there was more to it, a darkness that clung to him like a second skin. She remembers how... strange his patterns were. At times he was blunt and straight to the damn point. Other times he genuinely did consider the finer print.

And then there are these times, where it was a limbo between, a series of controlled chaos. The pain radiating from him was a palpable weight in the air, a heavy burden that he shouldered alone. Perhaps it stemmed from a past he couldn't escape, a darkness that clung to him like a second skin. Whatever the cause, it fueled his determination, a twisted sense of purpose that both protected and threatened to consume him.

A pang of sympathy lanced through Ruby's heart for her childhood friend as she stood, leaning against the doorway of the training arena. She recognized the weight of his self-imposed burden, That silence he wore with a grim resignation everytime he was met with monsters.

Ruby thought to herself, she knows Hadryn craved to be the lightning rod, the target that drew the Grimm's fury, if it meant shielding her from harm. His path was a tragic dance with oblivion, a desperate act of a intense warning and heralding prophecy fueled by a silent plea for her to keep moving forward, to become something more. He wouldn't – couldn't – show weakness, not in front of her. He was the unwavering guardian, the silent scream urging her to become the blazing inferno that would consume the Grimm. Whatever pain that marred him, was responded with silence. It was a constant reminder of the stakes, a dark symphony that played only for her ears.

Hadryn's final swings brought Inquisitor down in a vicious arc, splitting the air with a deafening crack. The training dummy, representing a large holographic Major Ursa, already scarred and battered from countless sessions, shuddered under the force of the blow. But just as the heavy blade was about to cleave through the dummy's incorporeal head, it stopped. A gust of wind followed afterwards. pushing back the other objects in the room into a scattered haze.

When everything settled. The Training Grimm's body was highlighted with numerous red circles and outlines of bone armor cracked and deformed. Where a large portion of the Ursai was cleaved off. Leaving the jagged remnants of armor and tar like flesh. with the blade resting just Inches. Mere inches separated the blunted edge of Inquisitor from its target. It was a showcase of the shear unrefined technique he displayed. A flicker of surprise crossed Ruby's face, momentarily breaking through the tense silence of the room. Hadryn, however, didn't flinch. His stance remained rigid, his grip on the hilt unwavering.