It's warm…

Hazy thoughts echoed through the darkness in her mind. At first, all she could feel were sensations, the warmth that surrounded her, the soft earth beneath her feet and the gentle, cool breeze that flowed around her. She could feel leaves crunching beneath her and soon, her other senses came to her.

The air was crisp and smelled like so potently like autumn. Dirt and wind and trees carried such immensely distinct scents that normal people couldn't detect, it would have been overwhelming if it didn't fill her chest with excitement, an unbridled feeling of freedom that overcame her. She embraced it like always, that feeling, her amped up senses, the strength she felt in her powerful muscles and the blissful warmth that enveloped her.

Then, her vision pierced the darkness in her mind. She knew she could see before she realized it, but it always started out with her being on a sort of autopilot, like she knew what surrounded her, almost like being told what was around her second hand until her mind adjusted to her new eyes. She could see wispy clouds materialize in front of her eyes as her lungs expelled warm, moist air into the chilly atmosphere around her.

She was always enthralled by the difference in her vision. The night looked so vibrant and alive, details were rich and stunning, her brain combining the input from her vision, hearing and smell to give her a perfect picture of the forest that she walked in.

She took in a long, deep breath through her nose, imbibing the scents around her exchanging them with a satisfied and happy sigh, creating more clouds of breath in front of her snout. She felt like she was smiling even though she figured it looked very different from her normal grin, maybe unrecognizably so. She could feel a swaying behind her back, an excited back and forth lashing that swept through the air.

She lifted her head up to the sky taking in another long, deep breath as she did and suddenly her vision was bathed in a brilliant cool light. The full moon shined off of her stunning silver eyes like mirrors, the mist of tiny water droplets in her breath caught the moon's glow setting her breath ablaze like freezing white fire.

She felt an innate connection to the land, something primal and ancient calling to every fiber of her being from the trees, the sky and the soil. She could feel her mighty heart beating away in her chest and she never, never felt more alive than she did on the nights of a full moon.

Nights like this make me wonder… if I have to go back.

"Hey, you okay Ruby?" A warm but playful voice spoke up from beside her. Ruby's ears twitched atop her head as she was taken from her thoughts as she brought the human into view.

"You can go play, I'll wait here for you but don't wander off too far, I really don't want to have to come looking for you again." With a huff of laughter a tall blonde looked down at Ruby, smiling warmly at her but Ruby could smell her exhaustion and sleepiness as well as hearing it dropping from her tired voice. In Yang's arms the older sister held Ruby's clothes to her chest while her boots dangled from her fingers in one hand.

A low whine rumbled from Ruby's throat as she turned to her sister, pressing her cold, wet nose against Yang's firm, muscular arm. Ruby felt her heart brimming with warmth and love as she took in the scent of her sister, something so familiar and comforting, a scent that had been with her through her entire life and it was so much more potent and affirming during a full moon. Her snout nuzzled against Yang's bicep, rubbing off her scent onto her sister out of a compulsion born from instinct.

I always miss this when the night is over… I feel so distant from everything, from my sister. Sometimes I wish this would never end.

"Heh, I love you too Sis. Don't worry about me, just enjoy yourself, I brought my Scroll to keep me busy and it's not that cold." Yang shifted the burden of Ruby's clothes to one arm, nearly dropping her cape and skirt in the process, only barely catching them before they would have fallen into the dirt. With a sigh of relief Yang reached out her hand and in turn Ruby lifted her nose until she felt the tender warmth of her sister's skin. Her tail wagged harder and her mouth hung open, letting her long tongue flap out between rows of deadly teeth as Yang fingers stroked and scratched along Ruby's face and neck, her sister' nails barely reaching her skin through her thick coat of fur. She was so taken in by the blissful feeling that she didn't notice her hind leg begin to kick involuntarily.

"Wow! You're really enjoying that aren't ya!?" Yang was barely holding back a fit of laughter as she scratched harder just under her sister's jaw.

Mmmm… it's not my fault it feels so good, you always know my weak points!

Snap!

Ruby's ears twitched and her muscles tensed at a new sound the echoed through the forest. It was close, something small scurrying in the darkness, its heart pounding and its breathing rapid.

"Uh-oh…" Yang let her hand fall to her side, smiling while she shook her head as Ruby pulled away.

Her senses were beyond acute, they were sharper than her Crescent Rose and every nerve in her body tingled with thrill, anticipation and exhilaration. The wind shifted favorable as she encroached step by silent step. She could smell its fear, the small animal's scent carried towards her by the wind, her sensitive and wet nose homing in on its position in a matter of seconds. Her breaths were silent and subdued and even her pulse quieted as she lowered her head and tenses her legs. Her mouth was watering and the thrill was too much to bear.

The instant she saw the pair of small eyes shining in the dark look up at her…

She pounced!

"Hmmm…." An exhausted and hazy groan rumbled through the room as bleary silver eyes blinked open. She was in her room… in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. As usual her body felt light and weak and mind was a little foggy.

"Finally awake I see." Yang stood beside Ruby in her pajamas looking down at sister with a familiar grin.

"Ugh… what was it this time?" Her arms shook as she forced her blankets down, relieved to find herself wearing her pajamas instead of being naked.

"A raccoon I think, was kinda hard to tell by the time I got over there." Ruby always played with her food when she turned but she would always ask what she killed when she woke back up so Yang had gotten pretty good at identifying animals in the dark.

"Blood doesn't taste so good when I'm human… oh well, at least I can skip breakfast." The acrid, metallic taste clung to her tongue and teeth but she remembered it feeling and tasting unbelievably good after she got through its fur.

"That's the spirit. Gotta look on the bright side, at least you're not hungry." Yang had her optimism turned up to eleven as she bent down, carefully working one arm under her sister's shoulders before pulling her up to a sitting position knowing that it took a few minutes for her to readjust to her human body after waking up.

"Speaking of breakfast, where's Weiss and Blake?" She was barely able to turn her head on her own to look out the window but the late morning light streaming in told her she had been out for a while.

"As usual you turned back to human at sunrise and by then the rest of our team was already having breakfast. If you want you can leave now and probably make it before first period ends or you can sleep the rest of the day and come to night classes with me." Yang looked beyond exhausted, she always took day classes before a full moon so she could spend the night with Ruby making she she doesn't wander too far off or come back to school naked.

"I'm the leader, I shouldn't let my sleep schedule get so different from my team's. I'll struggle through it with caffeine like I always do." With a sigh Ruby began extending and contracting her fingers, trying to get herself reaccustomed to her human body. As much as I'd love to go to night classes because it would be convenient my team comes first.

"You sure you ate enough last night though? It was pretty early in the night, Oobleck probably wouldn't mind if you did have breakfast first, at least it'll get the taste of raccoon out of your mouth." With a chuckle Yang reached out her hand for her leader.

"That might not be the worst idea but I'll just rinse my mouth out and get to class. I don't want Weiss to scold me again…" She knew it was pointless though. Weiss always gets mad at me for missing class after a full moon. Still, it's easier than explaining that I turn into a wolf every full moon for whatever reason. At least Yang, Ozpin, Uncle Qrow and the other teachers are helping me keep it a secret.

"Well in that case there's a cup of coffee with your name on it waiting on the dresser, three creams and five sugars. I'm gonna hit the sack, I'm beat, you gave me a pretty good workout last night." With a long and tired yawn Yang stretched her arms up to the ceiling, twisting her body before letting them fall limply back to her side as she turned towards her bed.

"Thanks Sis…" Her legs felt like all of her muscle had been replaced with helium, it was a weird sensation and she was never fond of it. Even so she struggled to swing her feet over the edge of her bed while Yang collapsed into her bed, passing out instantly as usual, breaking into a soft snore within minutes.

Thanks for always looking out for me. Ruby stare at her sleeping sister's back, her silver eyes dulled with guilt and gratitude. That's the trouble with being a wolf… it effects the people around you whether they know one is among them or not.

With a weak shake of her head Ruby forced herself up, supporting herself against the bed as she struggled with walking on two legs again. Somehow four legs just seemed more natural to her. She tried to keep the noise to a minimum as she made her way past Yang's bed to the bathroom, nearly falling against the sink as she dipped her head under the faucet, turning on the water with her mouth wide open beneath it, resisting the urge the entire time to lap at the rushing stream like a dog.

On the other hand, at least wolves don't usually have to get up early for class… Swishing the water around in her mouth she couldn't help but find it funny that she had cheeks as a human but as a wolf she would have to use her tongue. She could feel the water taking away the blood of the animal she had killed and eaten the night before, spitting it out and letting it wash down the drain, giving her a reprieve from the strong and unpleasant flavor.

Slowly she was acclimatizing to her human body, able to stagger out of the bathroom with minimal support from the walls as she made her way to her coffee. Ruby never understood why being human felt so foreign to her after being a wolf for just a night when it was her normal appearance to the point of no one but her family and teachers knowing there was anything abnormal about her at all. Still, she was used to it… After all, I've been this way for as long as I can remember, as long as Yang remembers too. Dad said after I was born I would turn into a puppy on a full moon, it must have scared him and mom a lot at first. Still, growing up in Patch in the middle of nowhere made things a lot easier. I debated even coming to Beacon knowing that it's not really a good place for a wolf. So far so good though for the most part. Two years in and the only one on my team who knows is Yang. It hasn't been easy but I'm really thankful to Ozpin for making accommodations for us. Thanks to him, I can be a wolf and a Huntress.

Ruby slipped on her uniform that Yang had left out for her, pulling up her skirt and fixing her hair before gulping down the warm coffee as quickly as she could. She hated being late but it was just another thing she had to deal with as a wolf. All she could do was try to make the best of it.

She reached one hand out to the doorknob before freezing inches away from it. Her eyes darted to her bare wrist before she pulled back from the door and opened the top drawer on the dresser, pulling out a small digital watch. Extreme stress, physical or emotional, excitement and the full moon… all of them turn me back into wolf.

Ruby fastened the watch that doubled as a heart monitor to her wrist. It wasn't easy always keeping herself perpetually under control and in check, it was part of the reason why being a wolf felt so freeing. With a few deep breaths she looked down at the pulse display on the watch, seeing it slow with her breathing and concentration. All good. Guess it's time to go.

Sparing one last lingering glance at her sleeping sister Ruby again reached for the doorknob, a small smile pulling at her lips. See you later.

Feeling back to her normal human strength Ruby summoned up her optimism and determination, opening the door, ready to take on the day with the confidence she had as a wolf… before closing the door behind her.