A Rather Grimm Teammate
===Chapter 1 | I Did Not Ask to be Tiny ===
Cole woke up in the middle of the woods, but could immediately tell something was off. First off, even when he stood up, the trees towered over him, and the ground was far too close. Also… he was in the body of a wolf. A Beowolf. A beowolf cub. 'Uh… what? How… did I end up in… a beowolf? I mean, I'm a RWBY fan, but… seriously? What is this, a badly written fanfic?' He tried to talk, to say something, anything, but it seemed that beowolf vocal cords were not built for human speech. 'As annoying a fact as it is, it makes sense,' Cole thought to himself. Seeing a convenient nearby puddle of water, Cole got up and ran over to it… or rather tried. Turns out, beowolves didn't walk exactly the same as humans. Probably something to do with the extra-long arms. But running on all fours seemed quite easy now… still, better practice two-legged walking again. He made his way over to the puddle and stared at his reflection. He was, indeed, a beowolf, complete with a bone mask. However, there were two major differences. The usual red markings on the standard grimm's mask were blue on his, and, instead of red eyes that instilled fear in the hearts of men, he had two normal-looking, black ones.
His observations were interrupted when he heard a squeak somewhere off in the woods. After a second, it came again. He decided to investigate. As he headed toward the sound, he noticed something else through the trees. It was a… was that a decrepit house? Hold up… it looked familiar! Cole approached the house, and the squeaking sound got louder. Retreating back into the bushes surrounding the dirt path, he watched as a young girl in pigtails, pulling a wagon behind her, stumbled up the beaten path. Ok then…
Even from the bushes on the side of the path, Cole could sense her anxiety and trepidation. 'Well, I am in the body of a Grimm,' Cole reasoned. Although he was able to control the grim(m) instincts with surprising ease, young Yang would be a shining beacon [ ;) ] for less… lenient… creatures.
As if on cue, he heard growls coming from inside the rundown structure. Yang looked up wearily but looked too exhausted to do anything. Cole knew if he did nothing, Qrow would intervene before it was too late. 'But I might as well make a good first impression.'
He ran out of the bushes. Yang tried to raise her fists, but was too tired to really get in a stance. Cole skidded to a stop in front of Yang and turned to the house, growling at the red eyes glowing from the darkness. The beowolves slowly crept out of the dilapidated structure, but hesitated when they saw Cole, his back to the young girls. The lead wolf shook its head, then lunged at the group of three… only to get cut in half mid-leap. Qrow had arrived. The rest of the creatures of Grimm faltered only slightly before renewing their assault. Not that it did them any good. Qrow tore through the wolves like a hot knife through butter [*]. After all, he had two small, defenseless nieces to protect. As the last wolf wailed and collapsed, Cold suddenly found himself with a sword pointed at his face. 'Uh…'
"Huh," Qrow said, leaning closer, "You're not like the rest. And I don't just mean size, though that's part of it. No… I sense something different. If I didn't know better, I'd say you had aura!"
Cole tentatively reached out one claw and wrote in the dirt. "Yeah… please don't kill me."
Qrow raised an eyebrow and put his sword behind his back.
"Huh. I'm not drunk yet so… you're coming with me." With that, he pushed past Cole and looked to an exhausted-but relieved-Yang. "Don't think I haven't forgotten about you young lady. Care to explain what the **** you were thinking?" [**]
Cole could feel the guilt and regret pouring off Yang. Then Qrow noticed the photograph lying in the wagon next to a still-sleeping Ruby. He picked it up, and stared at it for a while. "I see. Come on, we're going back home. You too, Grimm."
Cole grabbed the wagon handle (at least he still had opposable thumbs) and dragged it behind him as he followed Qrow, who had Yang on his shoulder. They walked for hours, only encountering the occasional grimm, which was quickly dispatched by Qrow.
Eventually, Cole could see a familiar house peeking through the trees. "Ok, grimm? Stay behind me. I don't want you killed before we can figure up what's up with you." With that, Qrow opened the door and called inside, "Hello?" Silence. "Huh. Tai's running late. Probably for the best."
They entered the tidy little cabin, and Qrow grabbed Ruby from the wagon, and took both the girls upstairs. After a couple moments, he came back down. "Just leave the wagon in the corner there," He gestured behind the table. Once Cole dragged the wagon over, Qrow waved Cole over into the next room and held up a scroll. "You know what this is?"
Nod
"You know how to use it?"
Cole made a 'more-or-less' motion with his hand… or paw.
Qrow tapped it a few times, then handed it to Cole.
The scroll had some kind of 'notepad' app open.
"So. You came out and defended my nieces from the creatures of Grimm, even though you are one. Care to explain?"
"First off, I have a name, it's 'Cole,' and second I saved them because I actually have a soul… and they were about to get torn to shreds by wolves. I couldn't exactly stand by."
"Mhm… well, this is different. I can definitely tell you've got aura, and you seem willing to protect the girls so… how about you can stay with us?"
Just then, the door opened before slamming shut again. "Hey, Tai!" Qrow called out.
"Hey, Qrow."
"You know how I keep saying we should get the girls a dog?"
Cole glared at Qrow but he either didn't notice or didn't care.
"Yeah?" Came the response. After a slight pause, Taiyang continued, "You got them one, didn't you." Qrow picked up the dog-sized beowolf and carried him to the other room. Cole didn't struggle because he could now see what Qrow was planning. "Then come see the new member of the family!"
Taiyang walked into the room, his sight obscured by a sweater he was pulling , which was currently over his head. "Well, lets see the little gu-"
Tai stared at the beowolf cub, who waved back. He glanced up at Qrow's perfectly straight face, then back to Cole. He fished a small bottle out of his jacket pocket and tried the cap. When it came off, he inspected the label. "Um… I think I somehow got drunk on the weakest liquor we have," he told Qrow. "I swear, it looks like you're trying to pass off a beowolf as a puppy." He squinted.
Finally, Qrow was unable to hold his poker face any longer. He broke down into laughter, dropping Cole, who, despite hitting the ground, made a sort of huffing noise[***], before stopping and promptly making the best frown he could, having a bone mask. 'Right, note to self, try not to laugh.'
"You aren't drunk-I think. But yes, this is a beowolf. And there is a reason it hasn't gone feral on us or the kids."
"You let him near the kids?"
"Actually, he defended them. A beowolf got to close and Cole here delayed it until I could arrive."
Cole noticed Qrow didn't tell Taiyang everything about what transpired.
"Plus, this little guy has a soul!"
Taiyang just looked at Qrow and raised an eyebrow. In response, Qrow took out his sword, and struck at Cole. He instinctively put an arm up to block the blow. Sure enough, on contact, a telltale flash of aura flared up. Tai raised an eyebrow. "That's a new one," he muttered. "So… what are we going to do with him?"
"I was serious about the pet thing… although he's a lot more intelligent than your average dog."
I grabbed Qrow's scroll from the ground and typed out, "Hello Tiayang!"
.
.
.
Thud.
As it turned out, despite having a soul, the features that came with being a grimm were included in the package. That encompassed the Grimm's lack for need of food, water, or sleep, as well as night vision to rival a faunus. While the adults went to bed, and the kids continued sleeping, Cole was wide awake. He had the feeling that if he tried, he could go to bed, but he figured now was as good a time as ever to work on something he should do as soon as possible. After (quietly) shuffling through the house a while, he found a notepad and a pen. Tearing off the first few pages, which had some miscellaneous writings on them, he wrote down every single thing he could remember from cannon, from the details of the train to the name of Weiss's Butler. While he prided himself on good memory, he'd rather not forget any important details. After all, it would be years before Ruby even began Signal, if her size was anything to go buy.
As dawn approached, Cole finished up with everything he could remember. He figured it would be best if nobody saw the contents of his work, so he tore out the pages he wrote on and, after opening the door carefully and quietly, sneaked out to the shed, dug a small hole near one of the posts, and placed the carefully folded papers inside, sealed in a Lockzip [ ;) ] bag. He promptly refilled the hole.
He was back inside when morning came and before Qrow came out from the guest room. Qrow instinctively reached behind his back for his sword, upon seeing Cole, before remembering the past day's events. "You're an early riser too?"
Using the borrowed pen/pad, Cole responded, "Nah. I'm a Grimm, and that comes with lack of hunger and need for sleep. Apparently."
Qrow raised an eyebrow. "You know, the grimmologists would have a field day with you."
He went to get breakfast.
'I'd rather not…' Cole thought to himself.
Taiyang, Ruby, and Yang came down as a group, two of the three looking slightly bleary-eyed. Ruby, who had been sleeping most of the afternoon yesterday, was practically bursting with energy. Upon seeing Cole standing near the table (even on two legs, only reaching the table height), she quickly brandished a slightly dull red crayon from a pocket and yelled out, "Stay back wolfy! I'm a powerful huntress, and I'm gonna make sure you don't hurt my friends and family!"
'Well, she began early,' Cole thought to himself. 'A crayon's a start, I guess.'
"Remember what I told you about getting a pet?" Qrow asked Ruby from the table.
"Yeeeeesss?"
"Well here you go."
Cole had no time to react before Ruby lunged off the stairs and tackled him to the floor in a hug. "We're gonna be best of friends! I'm gonna feed you, and teach you, and…"
Cole could do nothing but yelp and flail under the young huntress-to-be's assault. Qrow and Taiyang quickly rushed over and pried the young girl off the tiny beowolf.
"We have a Creature of Grimm as a pet?" Yang asked Qrow.
"Well, you see, this guy here is special. He actually has a soul."
"But… Grimm don't have souls…"
Cole held up his pen and pad and wrote out, "And that's why I'm special!"
"Uh…."
[Cut cause I don't know what else to write for that section]
[*] Overused Simile? Check!
[**] I'll let you decide the severity of that word.
[***] Not quite sure how to describe it… To HTTYD fans, imagine Toothless laughing
Hello peoples of the world! So, as you can see, I have made a RWBY story! And for once… Eh, the character knows what's happening?... Well, in my stories at least…
Anyway, I'm going to avoid the OC cliches that I can (OP OC, Lady's guy OC)... ye
Also, First OC ever (here)! Suggestions and critiques appreciated!
Ok, so the next section will be called "A 'Growing Up WIth Ruby and Family' montage is the fastest way to skip to Volume 1"
I have Ideas, but I'm open to suggestions! Fire away!
Also, updates will be random... depending on when I have the chap ready
Final note: I'm uploading this cause... well... that season finale tho. I won't spoil anything but... that Nuckelavee... i was not expecting the arm thingy. And the Sword thingy. I'm done now :P
-dragoncraftertex
(Also I obviously don't own anything)
