Progress on this story has been fun, but I do really enjoy writing it.

I'm anxious to hear what y'all think! Let me know by leaving a review!


Boots pound on the forest floor, snapping twigs and tearing up dirt as their owner sprints through the tropical underbrush and trees, throwing fearful glances over her shoulder.
"Fuck off you little bastard!" She yells over her shoulder at a small white snake chasing her, despite her quick pace it manages to keep up with her.

She'd been running from this deadly little beast for the past two hours, and as she'd been told by her teacher, it never gave up, never slowed.
Never let its prey go.

This deceptively lethal Grimm packed a nasty surprise in its fangs; venom that destroyed who you were mentally, and made you a slave to the Grimm for the rest of your life. That's what she was running from, not just a Grimm, but enslavement, and death by huntsmen.

"Why didn't I bring Reaper with me?!" She yells to no one in particular as she bursts out of the trees and runs towards the sheer white cliffs before her. Without a weapon she had absolutely no way of escaping her demise, unless she managed to get back to Haven academy, where the rest of her team is happily sleeping in their beds. She jumps up onto the chalky stone and begins her ascent, already out of its reach, but knowing the beast is already working towards finding a way up.

She scales the two hundred foot cliffs in record time, and quickly takes off again, the top of the academy in sight through the tops of the trees. When reaches the tree line a piercing feeling on her leg causes her to fall. She gets up and starts running again, determined to not become one of the Grimm. But she trips again when the piercing feeling turns into a burning, a burning that climbs its way up her leg and into her stomach. She looks down and her worst fears are confirmed; latched onto her calf, is the same small snake, its red highlights glowing as it works its fangs deeper.

With a pained howl she grabs the snake and painfully rips it away from her leg before throwing it back towards the cliff and desperately crawling towards the academy.
She gets within sight of the front doors, and the burning pain gets progressively more intense until it feels like she's being branded all over her body, by now it's worked its way up to her head, and she gives a shriek as she collapses on the ground, her body twitching as it tries to escape the pain.
"H-h-help...somebody..."
But there is no relief, it only gets worse until finally she passes out from shock. She lays only a hundred yards from the school inside some bushes, where her tall, slender, yet toned body twitches throughout the night.


The girl strains against her restraints, trying unsuccessfully to break the thick leather straps.
The commotion of her thrashing wakes up a brown-haired cheetah Faunus in the corner, who quickly walks over to the side of the bed.

"Hey, how do you feel?"

The brunette in the bed just stares at her with a pair of glowing blood red eyes. "Where am I?!"

"You're in the Haven infirmary. Do you remember anything from last night?"

"I...no, I can't say I do, should I?"

The Faunus pulls up a chair and sits in it. "No, it's alright. I didn't expect you to."

"Could you maybe take these restraints off?"

She shakes her head, her small cheetah ears lay down in her hair. "Nope, sorry, it's for our protection just as much as it is yours."

The brunette pouts a little, but looks up at her again. "I'm really sorry...do I know you?"

"My name is Tamriel, I was your partner and team leader. Your name is Dawn Frost."

Dawn looks up at the ceiling. "Oh...I'm really sorry...I just can't seem to remember much. It's sort of frustrating."

"Well, what do you remember?"

Dawn thinks for a little bit. "I remember I use a scythe...but...that's about it."

Tamriel hums in acknowledgment, tapping her foot on the floor. "Alright, well, that's sort of to be expected considering you got bitten by a Taijitu Slaver. Do you hear any voices in your head? Telling you to do stuff?"

Dawn knits her brow while she thinks. "Hmmmmmm...no, I honestly don't."

"Well that's good. I've got to go talk to our headmaster really quick, I'll be back in about half an hour."

"Oh...Okay."

Tamriel Quickly gets up and exits the room, leaving Dawn even more confused than when she woke up.


A knock at the door startles Dawn from her thoughts as the door is slid open and a lion Faunus walks in.
"Well hello miss Frost. You likely don't remember me, but I know you. I am headmaster Lionheart."

Dawn stares at him, desperately trying to figure out if she knows him.
"H-hello headmaster...my apologies, I don't remember any names or faces, or much else to be honest."

"That is quite alright, you aren't expected to, however you will be re-introduced to people around Haven, and you may continue your work towards being a huntress if you so desire." He pauses and looks her over. "Tell me, do you have any significant urges right now? For instance...any voices telling you to hurt me?"

"Err...no sir...not that I can feel."

He sighs in relief. "Well that is good, however to ensure the safety of all in Haven there is one thing we must do before your restraints are removed."

Dawn gets a nervous look. "A-and w-what would t-that be sir?"

"There will be a minuscule amount of Dust injected into your bloodstream to kill any lingering venom, you will experience some minor discomfort, but when it is done you should be right as rain."

Something in the back of Dawn's mind tells her there's something he's not telling her, but she can't figure out what, so she goes along. "Okay. Well let's get it over with."

Lionheart nods and heads out into the hall briefly before returning with a doctor and a nurse, the nurse appears to be carrying a syringe containing a fine white powder.
"Alright, we will administer the...antidote...and you should be okay in a few hours!" The doctor says cheerfully, taking the syringe from the nurse.

"O-okay..." Dawn looks uneasy, but holds still while the doctor injects the powder into her arm via a vein in the fold of her elbow.

Dawn feels nothing at first, but after Lionheart, the nurse, and the doctor leave a burning sensation starts to build. It spreads up her arm, into her chest, and then spreads like wildfire throughout the rest of her body, a feeling like sticking your hand too close to the fire soon envelops her, and she strains against the restraints as she writhes in pain.

Five minutes later Tamriel comes in, and finds Dawn shaking, tears streaming down her face.
"Tamriel...it hurts...please...make it stop!" She pleads, her voice a mere whimper.

Tamriel sits down next to her and grabs one of her hands. "What's wrong? What hurts?" Her voice is filled with concern as she squeezes Dawn's hand.

"T-the injection...it hurts...I feel like I'm being burned!"

"Injection? What injection? You weren't supposed to..." Tamriel's gray eyes go wide as it dawns on her. "No...no it can't be..." she jumps up. "I'll be right back!" With that, Tamriel sprints out, leaving Dawn to endure the pain by herself.

'No, no this can't be happening.'

Tamriel sprints down the hall, looking for a doctor, and she quickly finds one, seated in a chair with his head in his hands.
"Aren't you Dawn's Doctor?"

He nods and looks up at her, his eyes filled with tears.

"What is the injection that she was given."

"I'm sorry...it was the headmaster's order...it was white Dust...she's not going to live."

The news hits Tamriel like a freight train, the headmaster ordered for her partner, no, her friend, to be euthanized?!

"Thank you for the information." Tamriel grumbles out as she wheels around and runs back to Dawn's hospital room.

Tamriel walks in to find Dawn having muscle spasms as the Dust kills her nerves, and she quickly sits down next to her before grabbing a hand and squeezing it.

"Thank you for coming back..." Dawn whispers as she squeezes the hand in return, her red eyes streaming tears as Tamriel puts her head in Dawn's lap.

"I'll always be here for you...until the end."

"Thank you..." Dawn has another series of spasms, but when it passes she looks at Tamriel with a smile on her face. "Did I ever tell you how pretty you are?"

"No you didn't...but thank you."

Dawn nods and slowly closes her eyes, the heart rate monitor starts beeping progressively slower until finally it flat-lines, leaving Tamriel to quietly sob while holding her best friends hand. A nurse comes in and disconnects the monitor before giving Tamriel time to mourn her partners' death.

She texts her team telling them to come quickly, and mere minutes later they sprint in, the smiles on their faces quickly fading when they see Tamriel's broken expression, and the tears on her face.

"Tell me they didn't." A red-haired girl asks as she walks over and feels for a pulse.

"Don't bother Olivia...she's gone..." Tamriel sobs, a fresh wave of tears streaming down her face.

The brunette guy walks over and drops to his knees at the bedside. "No...Dawn you didn't deserve this...you deserved to die on your feet like the warrior you were...not strapped to some fucking hospital bed." He sobs, his tears soaking the bedsheets.

"Ahmed, go tell everyone. She knew other people too, and they'll want to say goodbye." Olivia chokes back a sob and Ahmed leaves in a hurry.


Soon the entire hallway is lined with people, both teachers and students alike, all waiting to say goodbye to a school idol, the first girl in Haven to use a scythe since the first class after the academy was made.

It's not until hours later towards the end of the line that Tamriel notices Dawn's finger twitch, then another, and much to her surprise the girl's eyes open, still a pure blood red.

"Oum damn, why does my head hurt so much? And what's with the crowd?"

Her voice startles everyone, and they just stare at her in awe

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Olivia faints and slumps to the floor, causing Dawn to scowl at everyone in the room. "Well? Come on Tam, help her into a damn chair."

Tamriel flinches at the nickname, Dawn called her that a ton before she got bitten, so does this mean...?
"Dawn, you remember who all of us are?"

"Of course, Tamriel, Ahmed, I see Neopolitan over there in the doorway, Olivia just fainted, behind her is Professor Smith. Now would someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?

Tamriel jumps over Olivia's unconscious form and hugs Dawn, tears streaming down her face. "I saw you die in front of me. You'd gotten bitten by a taijitu slaver and Lionheart had you euthanized."

"Huh, I remember running from it, getting bitten, and...damn the pain...and then I guess I passed out."

"You had amnesia for a couple hours until Lionheart had you killed."

"So...shall we go pay our dear headmaster a visit?"

Tamriel pulls out of the hug and stares at her in surprise as she swings her legs out of bed and walks over to the doorway. "False alarm everyone! It's going to take more than some Dust to kill me!"

The crowd bursts into cheering and swarms her, ignoring her eyes until Neopolitan points them out, and then everyone jumps back and draws their weapons.
"What? I didn't do anything!"

"Uhh, your eyes..."

"What about them?"

Neopolitan produces a small mirror and hands it to her.
"...Oh. That's actually kind of cool. Chill guys, I'm not going to attack anyone unless they attack first."
Most of the crowd relax, with the exception of a few people who have always been sort of paranoid.

Tamriel emerges from the room, behind her is Ahmed carrying Olivia. "Alright, let's go talk to Lionheart."

"I want to go get my scythe first, he already tried killing me once, who says he won't try to finish the job?"

There's a collective agreement that ripples through the crowd, and they open a corridor for her to walk through, leading towards the dorms.


When Dawn pushes open the door to her dorm she finds Reaper, her scythe, right where she left it, with her bandolier hanging on the wall next to it. She grabs the black and silver scythe and loops her bandolier over her shoulder as Ahmed lays Olivia on her bed.

"Ahmed, prep me a backpack in case Lionheart tries to kill me again. If he does then I'm not going to stay."

"You got it, heavy or light?"

"Light, I'm going to need to be fast if I want to survive."

"I'm on it, one change of clothes, food, plenty of Dust, and plenty of ammo."

Dawn slaps him on the back as she walks towards the door. "You know how I pack." She heads out and is escorted down the halls by a contingent of her best friends, including some of the teachers.

When they reach the elevator to the headmaster's office she chooses Tamriel, Neopolitan, and two other Faunus friends to accompany her, while the rest of the crowd waits at the bottom.

The elevator doors finally open, and Tamriel leads the way out, followed by Sun and Neopolitan, with Dawn and her ram Faunus friend in the rear.
"Headmaster Lionheart I demand to know why my partner and friend was euthanized when she was clearly in her own mind!" Tamriel yells as she stalks up to the desk and plants her hands on it in anger.

Lionheart doesn't even turn around to answer. "Because, those who are bitten are no longer fully human or Faunus, and therefore they cannot be trusted. I don't like what I ordered, but Remnant is better off with her dead."

When Dawn hears this she laughs, and her friends make way for her to walk forward. "Then I guess Remnant will have to stay shitty! Because I'm not going anywhere!"

Lionheart spins around in his chair and stares at her with wide eyes. "How is this possible?! I saw them give you the injection! You should be dead!"

"Oh come off it headmaster, we both know it's going to take a little more than some Dust to kill me. Should've cut my throat when you had the chance."

Leaving the conversation at that she turns around and walks towards the elevator, her friends back out behind her, keeping their eyes on Lionheart to ensure he doesn't try anything.

"You are expelled from Haven you beast! Don't let me catch you on school grounds or I'll kill you!" He yells after her, once everyone is in the elevator she chuckles as the doors close. "I'd like to see you try."