It was a cold winter's day. The forest, bare of leaves, still looked lovely in the newly fallen snow. The day was past noon. So far into the wilderness, there was little sound to be heard, save for the steady sound of four people walking.

"Okay, so, where to next?" Ruby Rose asked. She was a petite girl coming into her late teens. Her shoulder-length dark hair faded into red at the tips. Even her teammates were unsure if it was dyed or not. Her large eyes were a shade too light to be called grey. She wore her usual outfit: a black minidress with red trim and black tights.

"The next stop on our grand tour of Sanas is… Haewencroft." Jaune said. He was the largest of the group, tall and lean. His blond hair was short and messy. He wore a black hoodie and blue jeans, with plates of armor over his chest and arms.

Ruby came to an abrupt stop. Jaune, Nora, and Ren followed suit. The forest became unnervingly quiet

"What's up? Did you hear something?" Jaune asked, quickly stuffing the map back into his pocket.

"What the heck kind of name is that?"

"Huh?"

"What? You don't think that name is weird?"

"A very old name, actually. " Ren chimed in. "Haewencroft is known to have existed since the end of the Great War- and may be older than that." Ren stood taller than the girls on his team, but still notably shorter than Jaune. His waist-length black hair and delicate features gave him a somewhat effeminate look. He wore a long green tunic, loose off-white pants and elbow-length, fingerless gloves.

"W-w-well that's great, but could we p-please get moving again?" Nora asked, fidgeting in an effort to keep warm. The sound of four pairs of shoes crunching through the snow started once again.

"So, Ren, what else do you know about… Hewecraft?"

"Still Haewencroft."

"That's about it, really. Now, if you were to ask me the towns of Anima…"

Ren trailed off as the three of them rounded a corner and came within sight of the town. It was not a large town, consisting of only a few intersecting streets. The buildings were low stone structures, packed together side-by–side, with steep tile roofs. There was a single, square-shaped building in the middle of town that rose up more than three stories.

Ruby took off running for the village. It took Jaune a moment to process, before he started after her, at full speed. There was a part of his brain that tried to remind him that he should conserve his energy. The larger part of his brain reminded him that there was something far more important at stake; actually beating Ruby for once. Jaune had, by his own estimate, well over a foot of height on Ruby and consequently a much longer stride. He should, with some practice, be able to outrun her. Her natural running speed, anyway. It would be difficult to outrun her with her semblance.

This was not his day, however. Ruby had made it into the village far ahead of him. She turned and watched him run with a smile that tried very hard to look innocent. Jaune pulled up to her, breathing a bit more heavily than he would like to.

"I win." She said happily.

"Who said we were racing?"

"I still win."

Jaune shook his head. In spite of himself, he was smiling. He took a glance backwards to see when the rest of their team would be catching up. Ren and Nora were still outside of the town. Ren was tensed, his eyes closed in concentration. Nora had her hammer at the ready. Ren held his position for a moment before loosening up. His faced looked puzzled. He made his way into the town, slowly and carefully, with Nora following behind.

Ruby had already turned and started scanning the area. She knew as well as the rest of her team that Ren had a knack for knowing when trouble was near.

"What was that?" Jaune asked.

"I thought there was something here, but… it must have left. "

"So, there's Grimm around here?"

"That's the other thing. I don't think it was a Grimm. It seemed different."

"Maybe it was another person?" Ruby interjected.

"I'm not sure. I couldn't get a good feel for what it was."

Jaune gulped. The wilds of Remnant were dangerous enough when dealing with a known threat. Now there was some mystery thing lurking around as well?

"Uh, hey, guys? Do you notice something weird about the people in this town?" Nora asked.

"I don't think so. What do you mean?"

"Like how there aren't any of them."

Jaune stopped. There hadn't been anyone in the streets. Not a soul in the windows. No one coming out to meet the newcomers. And, now that he focused on it, the town was actually quieter than the forest had been.

"We're leaving, now." Ren said, his voice uncharacteristically sharp.

Ruby shook her head. "We can't go yet. We don't know what's happening here. Someone might need help."

"There's no one. We need to go." Ren fired back. Nora turned to Jaune, a pleading look on her face. Both Ruby and Ren followed, clearly expecting Jaune to cast the deciding vote.

SCENE

Jaune sighed as he closed the door. He still had the strength to stand up straight. Nonetheless, he stayed slumped against the wall, head down and eyes closed. A moment later, a strong gust of wind, carrying the smell of roses, burst through the hallway.

"Ruby." He said without looking up. "I'm guessing there wasn't anything in the basement?"

"Nothing we hadn't seen in every other house."

Jaune shook his head. Everywhere, it was the same story. Food in cupboards, still fresh to eat. Clothing still in dressers. They'd even found embers in a fireplace that were still warm. But there wasn't a soul to be found anywhere.

"Nothing up here, then?"

"Couldn't find a thing"

"Drat." She thought for a moment. "So, what happened? It looks like everyone just got up and left, but they didn't take anything with them that they'd need."

"That's how it looks"

Silence fell. This was the twelfth house the two of them had searched. What had started as a faint feeling of unease when they'd arrived had grown into a sense of crushing dread. He could now say that he understood Ren's unease.

"I did find one thing, though."

Jaune perked up, looking at Ruby for the first time in their conversation. She was holding out an open jar, full of something dark and red. Jaune took it and gave it a light whiff. The smell was sweet and heavy. He smelled it again, deeper, savoring the inviting aroma.

"Strawberry preserves?"

Ruby nodded and offered him a spoon. From the spots on it, it looked like Ruby had been using it herself.

"I haven't had any of these in a while. I didn't want to just leave it and let it…" she trailed off.

"These aren't ours…" Jaune said weakly.

"I left some Lien for them, in case they ever come back." Ruby replied, her voice devoid of actual hope in that regard.

Jaune took the spoon. "Come on, let's go find the others."

SCENE

As soon as they stepped outside, they could tell that the weather was changing. The temperature, already cold, felt as though it had dropped at least ten degrees. The sky along the west was a dark grey, with a wall of darkness falling to the ground. Their teammates emerged from a house on the other side of the road a moment later.

"Nothing?" Jaune asked.

Ren simply shook his head. "We should go."

"We can't." Jaune said. "We've got a blizzard coming in, and it's almost dark. One of these building would probably be better than a tent."

"There's something wrong here, and we don't even know what! Do you really think it's going to be safe here?"

"Isn't it?" Ruby asked. "We know this place is empty. There aren't any people or Grimm here to attack."

Nora gently put her hand on Ren's shoulder. "Ren, let's just enjoy having a bed tonight." Jaune couldn't help but be surprised by how calm and gentle her voice was.

Ren deflated. "Alright then."

SCENE

Jaune awoke with a start. There had been a noise from… somewhere. Something that sounded like a loud bang. He threw his blankets off and went to the window. The building they were staying in- the Watchtower Inn, the sign had said- was the tallest building in town. Jaune's room faced the street, giving him a view of the whole town.

It was still dark, with no sign of dawn on the horizon. The blizzard was gone. It had left behind perhaps a foot of additional snow. The sky was clear. Jaune could see not only countless stars, but could make out the shape of the galaxy. The moon was big and bright, its damaged portion currently turned away from Remnant entirely.

Jaune smiled a little. It was a lovely scene. It was also one that didn't seem to have any enemies. The snow was undisturbed. Jaune lingered for a minute. He couldn't hear Ren, Nora, or Ruby stirring from their rooms.

It was likely nothing. The sound had been nothing, just another bit of nonsense inhabiting the liminal zone between sleeping and waking.

He grabbed his sword and put his armor on. He was never one to get back to sleep easily. He could take a quick walk outside, take in the sights, do some training, and hopefully get back in bed.

He stepped out of the inn a moment later. His first steps onto the snow were hesitating. It didn't feel quite right to mar the beautiful white fluff. He could try staying under the eaves of the houses, where there was a snowless path just wide enough to walk on, but something about the snow called to him. His pace picked up as he started to enjoy the satisfying crunch.

He was walking through the intersection at the center of town when he saw it. It was a small shifting around, at the corner of his eye. He drew his sword and shield as he turned slowly.

The thing he saw was down by one of the houses at the end of the street. It was very dark, and it took Jaune a moment to realize that it wasn't a Grimm. It didn't have the white plates or red marks, and Jaune could see from its outline that it had fur. It raised its head and looked towards Jaune. He could make out its triangular ears and pale eyes. Its lips curled back, revealing its sharp fangs as it began issuing a deep growl.

It was a wolf. One that was about as tall at the shoulders as Jaune was.

Author's Note: So, here's me doing something new. A longer story, planned out completely from the start. And a new genre, while I'm at it. What do you think?