A Living Myth RWBY X Child!Dragon Faunus! Male! Reader

Side Story Chapter 5

Bonus Ch 5: New Friends
After picking up some muffins from the kitchen, Ruby and (Y/N) caught up with the rest of the group outside the castle gates, along with Angeal and Zack. The older dragon faunus crossed his arms in a playful display of disapproval.
"You two are late,"
Ruby and (Y/N) smiled sheepishly before the boy offered up the baked good.
"Muffin?"
Angeal grinned and happily took the offering.
"Good to know you still know the proper way to bribe a dragon faunus,"
"You taught him how to bribe people?" Yang asked through a laugh as Zack cheekily smiled.
"Oh, we taught him a lot of things when he was tiny,"
"What kind of things?" Sun asked interested.
"The kind that made my sister in law yank us out by the ears and threaten to throw us from the tree house,"
(Y/N) snickered at the image of his petite mother dragging four tall, muscular, dragon males through their home. He then glanced around and did see Sephiroth, Genesis, or any of his grandparents there to join them.
"Are grandmas, grandpas, Sephiroth, and Genesis not coming?"
Angeal shook his head.
"Nah, your grandparents have important meetings today, and Genesis and Sephiroth have to stay here to watch the castle,"
Zack smirked.
"That means we get to have fun today! I'm gonna introduce you guys to the best people in the city. Who's up for a trip to a bar?"
Qrow was immediately interested.
"Now you're talking my language!"
"Dude, it's the morning," Sun pointed out.
"Don't try it," Ruby said as they all began to follow Zack and Angeal. "You will lose,"
The city was buzzing with life. Everywhere they went were vendors selling fruit, meat, trinkets, and clothes. The humans were rushing about on the streets while the dragons glided overhead to get their destinations, some even flying to the floating islands. People greeted Zack and Angeal with respectful bows, polite greetings, and a few blushing and giggling people (Y/N) had to resist gagging at. However, it was also easy to feel every pair of eyes staring at him. He could almost hear them whispering, muttering under their breath about the lost son of the former heir. He felt uncomfortable and instinctively drew closer to the girl nearest to him, in this case Weiss. She looked down at him in surprised and hugged his shoulders.
"What's wrong sweetie?"
"They're staring at us, at me..."
The Schnee took a quick look around and pursed her lips when she noticed a few people glance away suspiciously quickly. She loudly exhaled from her nose and quickly move to reassure her brother.
"Don't give them a second thought (Y/N), they're just excited to see you,"
"But it's weird!" He insisted. "And I can tell some of them aren't really excited I'm here. I can hear them,"
"People are too quick to judge others, believe me, I know that," she smiled at him. "You're doing just fine. Just ignore them,"
He smiled weakly and forcefully back.
"Okay, I'll try,"
Angeal and Zack, noticing (Y/N) had lagged behind, glanced over his shoulder and saw his less than favorable expression.
"Hey, you okay little warrior?" Zack asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine Uncle Zack," Weiss looked at him in disapproval before looking at the older dragon.
"He's not comfortable with the rude staring,"
Zack's eyes widened he glanced around, finally taking notice of the citizens around them. Angeal crossed his arms and let out a low but authoritative growl, which finally got the remaining onlookers to disperse. He huffed.
"Honestly, people need better manners. Don't let it get to you (Y/N), they're just too curious and nosy for their own good. Give it a few weeks, they'll back off,"
"A few...weeks?" Ruby asked as she and the others caught up after being distracted by the street vendors.
Zack smiled.
"Yeah, Angeal's right. Once (Y/N) starts training, people will see him everyday, so eventually, it will feel like he's always been here!"
All of the girl's on Team RWBY tensed up their shoulders and frowned, while their brother glanced away sadly. There was that uncomfortable topic again: (Y/N) leaving the group and staying in Treecaster. None of them had discussed it, but it was there at the back of all their minds. No one wanted to face it, (Y/N) especially. Zack was oblivious once more as he took the lead again. The trip from then on was silent and not as exciting. The males of the group recognized the tension while the girls unconsciously walked closer to (Y/N). As for the boy, he felt even more uncomfortable with the city. It was feeling less and less like home with each passing second. Luckily, Angeal was much more perceptive than Zack and fell back to talk to the girls and (Y/N).
"Hey, a bit of advice: ignore a good 60% of what Zack says," the older male smirked. "The boy means well, but he's basically a giant puppy: he gets too excited to realize the damage he can do,"
They all snorted slightly, some louder than others, and Zack glanced back at them, frowning.
"Angeal, what are you telling them?"
"Oh nothing, puppy,"
(Y/N) snorted even louder as Zack looked horrified.
"Angeal! Don't use that nickname! I'm trying to be a cool uncle!"
"Position's filled, puppy," Qrow teased, lightening the mood as everyone laughed or chuckled.
Zack pouted.
"Thanks a lot,"
Angeal grinned and ruffled his spiky hair.
"You're welcome puppy,"
(Timeskip)
Zack and Angeal led the group to the edge of the city. It was a bit more worn down than the rest of Treecaster, and the people there were clearly not as wealthy as those in the upper parts of the city. Zack stopped dead in the middle of the street.
"Alright, we're here,"
"Um, where's the bar?" Qrow asked, to the chagrin of his nieces.
Angeal, smirking, pointed up. Everyone leaned back and saw a tiny island, barely big enough for one building, floating right above them. Qrow sighed.
"Of course,"
"How are we supposed to get up there?" Oscar asked, slightly afraid of the answer.
Both dragons grinned maniacally.
"Oh, you guys are gonna love this,"
"I'm scared to ask," Weiss admitted, shaking her head.
Zack quickly began to move towards an oddly placed lever nearby.
"Trust me, you guys are gonna love this. Who wants to be the example?"
"What the hell?" Sun said happily as Angeal led him towards a platform, instructing him to stand on the dot and spread his feet apart.
Realizing what was about to happen, Sun grinned and tensed up as Zack shouted "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" and pulled the lever. Sun was lobed high into the air and disappeared on top of the island. Yang whistled.
"Geeze, I thought it was gonna be something bad. This is freshman stuff!"
Zack chuckled.
"We like to have a little fun here. We have lifts, but mostly they're for the elderly. So, who's up next?"
One by one, the group was launched into the air and landed on a padded platform on the island above. (Y/N) was the last to be launched and he quickly flapped his wings at the last moment to soften his landing. Angeal and Zack then flew up to meet them.
"How was that?" Qrow rolled his eyes at Zack.
"You call that fun? We do worst stuff than that in our sleep,"
Angeal whistled.
"Gods, what do you people do in your free time,"
"What free time?" Oscar asked, quite sincerely.
Everyone laughed as Zack moved their attention to the inland of the island. There was one sole structure on the island, and judging by the "subtle" smell of alcohol, (Y/N) could tell it was a bar. It had stairs leading up to a terrace and a covered entrance with lights hung around the outside. On a green sign above the entrance, (Y/N) read the faded words:
Seventh Heaven
He felt a sense of familiarity wash over him, warm and pleasant, unlike the palace. Qrow was all too happy to follow Zack and Angeal in. Inside was just as humble as the exterior: there were four large tables, a darts board, and a bar counter which looked more suited for a a kitchen. Behind the counter was a very pretty young woman with dark hair. She was slender, but well built, and for some reason, (Y/N) could help but think she reminded him of Yang. She didn't even look up from cleaning the glass in her hands.
"It's too early for us to be open,"
"Aw, even for me Tif?" Zack teased.
She quickly looked up and smiled at him, putting down the glass and hopping the counter.
"Zack! Angeal! The whole sectors talking about it! It is really true? You found him?"
The eldest of the dragons nodded before pushing (Y/N) into her field of vision.
"See for yourself,"
She looked at him with wide brown eyes, eyes which were both happy, yet sad for whatever reason. Her soul was identical. She crouched down to his eye level, smiling widely.
"Oh wow, hi (Y/N),"
"Uh hi?"
"(Y/N), this is Tifa. She's a good friend of mine," His uncle explained. "You probably don't remember, but she used to look after you for your parents,"
"Really?" Tifa nodded.
"Yeah, your mom used to be my teacher. Taught me everything about being a scout, so I figured I'd pay her back,"
"My mom was a scout?"
"More than that," Angeal assured. "Your mom was one of the best of the best, it's how her your dad met. She'd relay information to him about the outside world,"
"Your mom was everything I wanted to be when I was your age," Tifa admitted. "So devoted myself to being her pupil. Along the way, I also figured I'd help her get some sleep by taking care of you,"
The boy blushed slightly, rubbing his head in embarrassment.
"Oh...um, thanks," she chuckled.
"Don't," she looked at him closely. "You've got her eyes, you know,"
"I guess, everyone just talks about how I look like my dad,"
Tifa's smile turned into a smirk.
"You've got your dad and uncle's pretty face, but those eyes are definitely (M/N). That's good, that means you've got her spirit,"
(Y/N) grinned happily at this. He liked Tifa. She stood up again and glanced at the group behind them.
"And I'm guessing your the group of outsiders who took care of (Y/N) on the outside?"
Ruby nodded.
"That's us! I'm Ruby, that's my sister Yang, our uncle Qrow, and our friends Weiss, Blake, Sun, and Oscar,"
"Pleasure to meet you," Tifa greeted, shaking all their hands.
"This is uh-," Qrow glanced around, trying to find suitable words. "Some place you got here,"
"Uncle Qrow!" Yang growled as the woman brushed it off.
"Nah, it's fine. I know this place is a bit of a fixer upper, but it's mine,"
"To be fair, I judge a place on its alcohol above all else," Qrow joke as Tifa grinned again.
"Oh really? Challenged accepted. Pick your poison,"
"Bringing your uncle to a bar was a horrible idea," Weiss whispered to Ruby.
"I know,"
After Tifa had situated Qrow, the rest of the group all sat at the bar together. Zack glanced around the room.
"So are the others here? I wanted to introduce them to (Y/N). I figured Cloud would be here considering how much you have him wrapped around your finger,"
"Oh, like Aerith has you wrapped around her finger?" The spiky haired male went red.
"Does not!"
"Oh please, you'd follow her around all day if you could!"
"Who's Aerith?" (Y/N) asked. Tifa smirked at Zack.
"Oh you haven't told him about the love of your life?"
"Tifa!"
"Come on Zack, it's nothing to be ashamed of! Love's a beautiful thing!"
"I don't need my nine year old nephew hearing about my love life!" Qrow smirked and tapped an equally smirking Angeal on the shoulder.
"Wow, drinks and a show. Talk about quality,"
"Oh it gets better,"
Zack coughed loudly, still as red as a tomato.
"I'll introduce him to Aerith later. Right now, I want to introduce him to the rest of the gang,"
Tifa, who still had a teasing aura about her, nodded slightly.
"Well, it might be sooner than you think. Barret, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge are all out on scouting missions. They won't be back for a while,"
"All of them?" Zack whined.
"Yes, not all of us are relegated to the forest Zack. If it makes you feel better, Cloud should be back soon. I had him out on a few deliveries for me,"
Zack sighed and slumped into the set, disappointed that he could show off his nephew to a good chunk of his friends. Still, the atmosphere was light as everyone was chatting up with each other. Yang and Tifa got along splendidly, even having an arm wrestling contest, with the rest of the kids and Zack cheering. Qrow himself was entertained both by the alcohol and a good chat with Angeal (Sun had briefly joked about "comparing swords" but (Y/N) didn't get the joke and every female in the room immediately smacked him for it. Oscar had told him to just forget what the monkey had said). After Yang won their hard fought battle, Tifa eyes shot open.
"Oh I completely forgot! Marlene is here!"
"Wow Tif, I'm sure Barret would love to know you forgot you were babysitting his angel," She punched Zack hard on the shoulder, making him flinch.
"Oh shut up. She went out only a few minutes before your showed up. Besides, she's older than (Y/N), she can be on her own for a few minutes. (Y/N) would probably appreciate being around someone his own age,"
"I can go get her if you want," the boy volunteered. Tifa smiled at him.
"That'd be great (Y/N). I have a little soccer field for this district's kids to play on without having to go into the forest and risk the Grimm and to not be messing with traffic below. Just walk around the island, can't miss it,"
Springing from his chair, (Y/N) stepped out and began to walk around the bar as Tifa said. She was right by the way, (Y/N) was happy to finally meet someone closer to his own age. However, (Y/N) seemingly wasn't allowed to have normal interactions with people as about half there, he heard very mean sounding laughter and a girl yelling.
"Get out of here, you dumb lizards!"
"Aw what's the matter Marlene, daddy not here to help you?"
Picking up the pace, (Y/N) peeked past the corner of the building to see a human girl, who looked to be about a year older than him, surrounded by a three boys, who were at least a few years older. The boys were all dragons, and (Y/N) felt the same anger and annoyance he felt whenever he had to interact with Cardin after their first encounter, not helped by the fact the boys all had wicked looks on their faces.
"Come on Marleen, it's just a game," the biggest, probably the leader, sneered. The girl looked ready to smack him.
"I'm telling you right now, get lost,"
"Or what? Ya gonna go cry to Tifa or your mommy?" Another one taunted. "Oh wait, you don't have a mommy!"
(Y/N) curled his lips and growled softly. He hated bullies with a passion. Marlene swung at the boy who made the comment, making him stumble back. The other two surge forward, one of them grabbing something in Marlene's hair, a hair clip, before all three flew up and hovered for a bit. She glared at them.
"Give it back!" She threatened. "My dad gave that to me!"
"Aw, can't come up here and get yourself?"
"Man, you humans are so lame!"
"Yeah, we dragons should just let the Grimm eat you all!"
(Y/N) had finally had enough and ran towards them, stopping by Marleen's side, much to her surprise.
"Hey, give that back, right now!" He warned.
Now, had these boys been a bit older and up to date with the rumors, they might have recognized the younger dragon as the missing prince and would've listened to his commands out of fear. However, they were boys and stupidly prideful ones at that.
"Aw, how cute, Marlene's got a little baby dwagon to protect her!" The biggest jeered as his friends laughed.
"What's the matter, wittle dwagon, why don't you come up here and get it yourself?" The one holding the clip.
(Y/N) smirked and cracked his knuckles.
"Alright, but you asked for it,"
"What's that suppo-,"
The kid didn't finish on account of (Y/N) launching himself into the air and slamming a fist down on his head. Despite using his weaker arm and pulling his punches since he knew these guys didn't have an Aura to protect them and his normal strength would break bones, the kid was grounded by the force of the attack, knocking the air from his lungs. (Y/N), to add insult to injury, landed on his back, careful of the wings of course, and plucked the clip from his hands nonchalantly.
"I'll take that, thank you,"
He then hopped off and held out his hand for the girl to take back her clip. She didn't and just looked at him stunned. He titled his head in confusion, but quickly became occupied as the other two boys snapped from their stupor and tried to attack him from behind. (Y/N) simply fluttered back into the air, whistling without a care.
"Wow, you guys suck at flying. I could hear you coming at me!"
The bullies growled, getting their friend to his feet, before the leader pointed at him.
"Give that back, you freak!"
The younger lad smirked while twirling the clip in his hand.
"Why don't you come up here and get it yourselves? Unless, you're too scared to fight a baby dwagon," He used a baby voice at the end of that statement to goad them further.
It worked as all three boys flew at him in a blind rage. They attempted to overwhelm the smaller boy with their superior numbers, but the difference in flight skill was more than enough to give (Y/N) the edge. Their flaps and movements were sloppy and wasteful of energy, not to mention sluggish. (Y/N), thanks to superior training, was fast, graceful, and nimble, making it impossible for them to land a hit. He didn't even need to throw a punch, his dodging just made it so the trio would end up hitting each other. Eventually, the boys began to tire out, drifting to the group gasping for breath. (Y/N) landed next to Marlene.
"Had enough?"
"You stupid runt!"
"Guess not,"
The biggest one ran it him, but (Y/N) feinted before grabbing the color of his shirt and throwing a punch, stopping a centimeter from his face. He then dropped his hand before pulling the bully closer and growling in his face.
"Get. Lost,"
The bully was dropped and he immediately scrambled away, now terrified of the boy. Thinking they got the message this time, (Y/N) turned back to Marlene to give her back her clip, when he heard the group launch at him. Before he could pivot to tail whip all three of them, a large form landed right behind them and grabbed them all, yanking them off their feet. The bullies struggled, but froze the looked the dragon faunus who now held them captive. To (Y/N), the man looked a lot like his uncle, save for a less few inches of height and bright blonde hair, which was still just as spiky as Zack. He also had a much less playful atmosphere to him. He dropped all three boys and crossed his arms.
"Beat it," he warned.
"Shoot! It's Cloud!"
The boy scrambled of the island, flying away with their tails between their legs, much to (Y/N)'s amusement. The older dragon then looked at the girl behind him.
"Marlene, you okay?"
She nodded.
"Just fine Cloud! Thanks to him,"
Cloud turned to the younger boy, kneeling down to his eye level.
"You're Zack's nephew, aren't you?"
(Y/N) smiled brightly.
"That obvious huh?"
Cloud smiled.
"Yeah, you got a lot of him in you, your dad too,"
"Is everyone gonna say that I'm like my dad? It's getting old,"
"Well, you don't get a say when you're a carbon copy of him,"
"And you look like a shorter, blonde version of my uncle,"
"Touché," he stood up. "That was some fine flying, but you're a little young to be pulling off a maneuvers like that,"
(Y/N) rolled his eyes with a smile.
"I've had a lot of flying training. Not my fault those guys were weak fliers,"
Cloud raised an eyebrow.
"No, they were beginners,"
"Is that why they're being jerks? Upset they started out so late?"
"No, you just started way too early,"
"Huh?"
"(Y/N)! What's keeping you?" He heard Ruby call to him as her, Yang, and Tifa rounded the corner. Tifa picked up the pace, smiling, seeing Cloud.
"Cloud! There you are! Having a chat with Marlene and (Y/N)?"
Marlene ran up to Tifa, hopping around.
"Cloud chased off those boys again!"
Bartender immediately frowned and cracked her knuckles.
"Those punks again!? Marlene, did they pick on you and (Y/N)? I swear I'll smack some sense into them!"
"No need," Cloud assured. "Junior here would've sent them packing even if I didn't show up,"
"Really?" Tifa looked at the boy, who was grinning proudly. Yang was happy to nuggie him.
"Oh yeah, that's my boy! Had them running with their tails between their legs?" (Y/N) closed one of his eyes, still smiling.
"Well, I didn't get that far, but they'll know not to mess with me!"
"Taught him everything he knows!" Yang boasted before Ruby punched her. "I mean we taught him everything he knows,"
"Yeah, but that's not the interesting part," Cloud interrupted. "Zack's gonna want to hear this,"
(Timeskip)
"HE WAS FLYING!?" Zack yelled as everyone filed in at the bar. Qrow downed a drink before speaking.
"So the kid roughed up a few bullies, I don't see the problem,"
"Yeah, that sounded awesome little man," Sun congratulated, fist bumping him. Angeal shook his head.
"That's not the issue. (Y/N) way too young to even get off the ground let alone pull off the maneuvers Cloud described!"
"How early exactly?" Blake asked as Cloud answered.
"Dragon's don't start real flying until their 13, and a year before that, they practice lift offs at best,"
(Y/N) eyes widened in disbelief, shocked at the news.
"Wait! But I've been able to fly for a year now! And I never had to do that lift off stuff!"
"6 years early!" Weiss mumbled. "Is there any reason why he start so soon?"
"Nothing that we would know about," Tifa assured before joking in (Y/N)'s direction. "Talk about being a prodigy! Next you're gonna tell me you breathe fire and summon scales already!"
She laughed, only for their group to take a collectively awkward breath, looking at each other.
"What?"
(Y/N) spat out a small flame as to not burn anything and cover his hand in the scales. All 4 Treecaster adults stumbled back in shock.
"Okay, this is beyond normal," Cloud said, examining (Y/N)' s hand. Angeal put his fingers on his chin and began to think.
"I've never seen anyone develop these skills so quickly, it's unheard of! What could be causing it?"
"Hmm," the boy hummed.
"What are you thinking (N/N)?" Yang asked him. He looked at her wearily.
"Well, I was thinking, maybe....could what the wh-...those people did to me cause this? The experiments?"
"Experiments?" Zack was immediately defensive and stoic while the others looked worried. "(Y/N), what are you talking about? What experiments?"
(Y/N) bit his cheek for that little slip of the tongue. It was only then he realized he hadn't actually explained where he had been in the interval between his disappearance and team RWBY finding him. Taking a deep breath, he raised his arm, pointing out the numerous scars. Tifa looked horrified, Cloud and Angeal looked equally as sick, but Zack's face was unreadable.
"White...scientists did this to me. They would cut me a lot and inject me with stuff. They did this to me and a lot of other kids,"
As always, he felt bile build at the back of his throat from the awful memories. Zack gentle grabbed his wrist and (Y/N) saw a new emotion on all of their faces: fury.
"(Y/N)," his uncle's voice was barely able to hold back the roar (Y/N) could hear in his voice. "Where are these people now?"
The boy took his arm back.
"They're dead," the fury immediately faded as (Y/N) felt a familiar gloom take over him. "The lab was attacked. I was the only one who survived,"
Zack blinked owlishly, unsure of what to do or what to say. He didn't know how to make his nephew's pain go away. He wanted to tear the people who hurt his family to ribbons, but they were gone, justice already being dealt. As he tossed with what to say, Team RWBY stood up and walked over to their brother. Without a word, they hugged him, and (Y/N) felt the gloom disappear, and he smiled as he returned their affection. Angeal cleared his throat calmly.
"Why don't we go meet Aerith?" He suggested. (Y/N) nodded.
"I'd like that,"
Zack was a little stunned by (Y/N)'s recovery time, but he returned an uncertain smile.
"Yeah, you're gonna love her,"

So, I'm obligated to ask since I did it last year: Ya'll want another Christmas special? Cause I'm always down for spreading holiday cheer! If you do, you can leave your ideas in the comments like last year. Happy Holidays everyone!