Without You (Adam Taurus x Faunus!OC)

Chapter 16: Maybe . . .

<62 POV>

"Ow. Get the herbs, she says. Ow. It's no big deal, she says. Ow. OW! Now I don't think my arm is ever going to heal . . . Ow . . ."

62 was walking through the woods, making her way back to the manor, using the pink and orange glow from the sunset to help her find her way back.  She was quietly whispering to herself, whilst poking her injured arm to see if it still hurt. And it did. Each and every single time. But she kept poking herself anyway.

Did that Millicent really have to mess up her arm so bad? And why is that overseer so obsessed with fire? A whip is already terrible, but a fire whip . . . 

62 decided she didn't want to think about Millicent anymore, then switched her attention to something more positive, just like her mother would tell her to do years ago. 

That talk with Har- Parvy, 62 forced herself to remember, was pretty nice. She got to know more about the young faunus. But she definitely wants to know much more, though. 

It seems odd for a six-year-old to be so calm about this whole situation. 

Yes, 62 herself is only a child, yet she is forced to work manual labor. But she has been born and raised at the SDC. It was the only life she's ever known. The kid must have been living his own, happy life before coming here. 

Doesn't he miss it?

Shouldn't he be more upset about being stuck here?

62 has only seen the kid cry once. And that was because that sillyhead (62 forgot his name again) was giving him a difficult time.

62 didn't know exactly what was going on, but she knew the kid needed help.

After all, Par- or no, wait. Wasn't it Harvy? No, there was a "P" somewhere in there. Harpy? Parpy? Wait, wasn't there an "H" in his name too? 62 remembered saying his name with an "H". But where did that "H" go? 

Pappy? No, that doesn't sound right.

Was it Happy? Was his name actually Happy? No, doesn't ring a bell.

Maybe it was Harry?

'No, no, no!' 62 panicked, stopping in her tracks. She felt her knees go weak and she fell to the ground. 'Did I actually forget his name?! It seems like I . . . like I did . . .' 62 thought frantically as she grabbed some of her hair in a tight fist.

62 let out a small scream in exasperation. "Ah!" she went. "I hate this! Why can't I remember?! Why can't I just be normal?! Is that too much to ask for?!"

She let go of her hair, letting her hand fall to the ground. Most people wouldn't mind too much if they forget someone's name, but 62 hated it. It's more than being an annoying thing to deal with. She hated not being able to remember things normally. No, she despised it. 

She just wanted to be normal.

But what can she do about it? As long as the world sees her kind as different, inferior, lowly, then she'll never get the help she needed. Why, even the faunus at the SDC hate her. Even that red-haired boy. He doesn't even know her and he hates her. These days, it seems like everyone hates her. She calls the lizard faunus, 85, her best friend, but lately 62 noticed that 85 has been keeping her distance.

Maybe 62 had it all wrong. Maybe there wasn't actually something wrong with that red-haired sillyhead. Maybe . . .

'. . . there's just something wrong with me.'

After deciding she spent enough time sitting in the dirt, 62 got up, quickly wiping as much soil out of her uniform as she could. She then continued walking towards the manor, but she couldn't help but let out some tears as she took each step towards her prison.