Running With the Wolves

"The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives." - Sansa Stark: Game of Thrones

Chapter 1

Oscar Pine noticed them when it was just three weeks into the start of the new school year. Even just as a freshman, he would have to be blind to have not noticed them in the hallways before then. So, he concluded they must be new.

The first was a tall man with shaggy blonde hair and a tattoo on his right deltoid muscle. He looked odd with the cargo shorts and chocolate colored, short sleeve button down but still managed to look ten times cooler then Oscar could ever dream. His tanned skin looked healthy and his head looked back and forth, scanning the hallway for something.

The next was a taller woman who looked like she shouldn't even be in high school anymore with her leather jacket, long blonde hair, and piercing violet eyes. The sunglasses perched on the top of her head held her bangs back as she picked at her fingernails with a look of boredom on her face.

However, the youngest was who really took his breath away. Deep chestnut hair with faded red lowlights on the tips, she was significantly paler than her companions, but still maintained a healthy glow. Her eyes shined silver and scanned the halls with a nervous shifting every few seconds. She was significantly shorter than the other two but still likely an inch or two taller than Oscar himself.

Subconsciously, Oscar looked down at himself. A stained white t-shirt from too many mishaps on his aunt's farm and baggy jeans that had to be held up with bright orange suspenders. Something he had been reminded of again as the obvious high school bully snapped them as he passed. "Loser," the brunette smirked at Oscar as he passed.

Oscar didn't say anything. How could he? The guy had a foot on him and would probably eat Oscar if he dared to challenge him. So instead, he stayed silent and watched as the three stunning strangers began to walk to the office.

...

"This place is total bullshit!" Ruby didn't say anything as Yang threw open the door to their new house in anger.

"Yang," their father, Taiyang, lectured as he closed the door behind Ruby who had followed Yang inside a few seconds earlier. "Watch the language."

"What are you going to do?" Yang taunted, a sneer twisting her face into an unpleasant expression. "Ground me? Make us move again?"

"If you learned how to control that temper of yours then maybe we wouldn't have had to move." It was a new voice that spoke and Yang and Ruby whipped their heads around to watch as their uncle and alpha Qrow descended from the staircase.

"It wasn't even like I turned on the assholes!" Yang tried to defend herself from the lanky male, though judging by his face he wasn't impressed with the effort.

"And yet you still managed to completely shatter their kneecaps and snap their arms like twigs," Qrow commented while shaking his head in disappointment. "That is something an eighteen-year-old woman should not be capable of in a matter of seconds with her bare hands and no recorded combat experience."

Yang could only snarl in response.

"Yang," Ruby spoke softly to her sister for the first time since getting home. "Maybe this will be a good thing?"

Ruby's attempt to comfort her sister fell on deaf ears though as Yang instead marched past Qrow, making sure to shoulder check him on the way, and fled upstairs. The stomping of her feet followed by what Ruby could only assume was Yang's bedroom door slamming. Then silence. Qrow sighed and shook his head again before turning his attention to Tai and Ruby. "So, how was the visit to get registered?"

"Well," Tai started, answering for Ruby. "I'm registered to teach history there luckily. Turns out one of their regular teachers quit instead of coming back after maternity leave so I have the job since their desperate for a fill in. Ruby and Yang will be starting their first day tomorrow."

Qrow nodded in approval and Tai walked past him and headed upstairs to likely talk to Yang and hopefully calm her down. Or get into a screaming match with her again like they had in the car. Ruby stayed though, her head still tucked down low.

"What's wrong kid?" Qrow asked gently as he placed a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder.

"I'm just... nervous about going to a new school again." The confession was no surprise to Qrow after what Ruby went through at her last school. The one they had been at just at the start before Yang snapped and they quickly had to pack up and move.

"I know," Qrow comforted while ruffling Ruby's hair. "I know it's hard for you to make friends since you're scared of letting something slip. And having your sister as your best friend isn't always easy. But it will get easier I promise. We just can't let non-pack members in. It's too dangerous. For us and them."

Ruby could only nod in response, but she still seemed a little down. Qrow rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his sulking niece. "How about we go for a run, check out the area," Qrow suggested and Ruby looked at him with wide eyes.

"Really?" She asked a smile spreading across her body as she began to bounce on her toes. "But I thought you said we couldn't until you figured out the hunting patterns around the area."

There was the sound of gibberish screaming upstairs which caused the two downstairs to wince. "I don't know about you," Qrow stated as he looked down at Ruby. "But I don't want to be in the house while the two of them are going at it."

Ruby nodded quickly in agreement before they bolted out the door. Their clothes, in an unexplainable mist, vanished as they suddenly became a giant black and petite rusty red wolf. They ran and the forest melted into a blur of emerald and olive. The rich scent of dirt filled their noses as they sprinted as far as they dared go into their private woods.

Ruby lived for these runs. They could only run every so often. Otherwise, they risked getting caught by hunters. However, she lacked the stamina her uncle did and had to slow down for a drink. She whined for Qrow to go ahead before trotting down to the fresh scent of water. The small creek trickled, not thirty feet from where they had been running and she began to lap up the water.

Unfortunately, in the thrill of the run, she had completely forgotten to check her surroundings before letting herself be so exposed. There was a nervous snap of a twig, signaling someone moving. Ruby's large eyes quickly shot up, ears perked up and alert. Standing there was a scrawny boy with vivid hazel eyes and deeply tanned skin. His chestnut hair was a mess with a few stray leaves caught in it.

"Easy," the male said as he crouched down and extended his palm for her to sniff. "I won't hurt you."

Her head cocked to the side out of confusion. Wasn't he scared of her? Though, she did suppose they were in an area where wolves weren't exactly commonplace. Maybe he hadn't seen one before and just thought she was a dog? Cautiously, she sniffed at his hand. He smelled like the earth and evergreen pines.

After she finished sniffing him, he carefully pets the top of her head. She let him. He smiled at her before picking up a stick. "Any chance you want to play fetch?"

She let out a low growl in response. She hated the taste of bark in her mouth. Yang had told her she had to play fetch with her once, after putting the stick in her mouth Ruby had spit it out and turned back to human to chase down her sister.

"Worth a shot," the boy laughed before letting the stick drop down. "Got a family near here?"

She let out a whine in response and he smiled. "It's getting dark you better get home."

She barked in agreement before taking off to catch up with her uncle. She was relieved that she was able to get away without making them move yet again. However, she still couldn't shake the sad smile the boy had on his face.

BRK: First chapter of a new story because I am rosegarden trash and have the itch to write supernatural AU's apparently. So let me know if you like it and think I should continue or if it should be scrapped. Later gators!