A/N: Here's just a little something I thought up while bored. As usual, RWBY is owned by Monty.
XxX
"And so! With quick thinking and daring courage on my part, I was able to overcome the Boarbatusk with my trusty blunderaxe Sergei. In the end, the Grimm would have made a fine ornament for my mantelpiece, had it not immediately dissipated into dust. Such a pity, it was a fine specimen." A loud bell interrupted the equally loud Professor Port from his reverie, "Ah… Very well, class, today, I will not be assigning the customary homework essay," The room audibly perked up at that, Port's lectures being famously dry and hard to write essays on. "Instead, I wish for each huntsman and huntress in the room to seek a Grimm in the Emerald Forest and dispatch it in your own way, alone. You are then to compose a short speech to celebrate your victory and then present it to the class as a hunter returning from battle,"
"Did you mean huntsman, Professor?" piped up Weiss, sitting in her usual second row seat with the rest of team RWBY.
"Hmm, what? Oh! Of course! Huntsman! I will be monitoring and grading your performance in combat, as well as your oratory skills, so put on a good show. You are to be the ambassadors of Beacon, so to ability to gain renown will be important in your futures. Now go, I dare say Professor Goodwitch is waiting to tardy you," the older man shooed the class, moustache bristling as the class emptied at something akin to the land speed record.
XxX
Teams RWBY and JNPR had just been dismissed from Professor Goodwitch's class, the older woman excusing them from homework so they may better focus on Professor Port's own assignment. The eight walking in the direction of the library common area so they could come up with plans.
"Ren! We should totally find another Ursa and break it's legs," babbled Nora, walking backwards to face the boy in question, fingers linked behind her back.
"I don't think so Nora, this is a solo assignment," said the quiet boy, walking calmly alongside Pyrrha
"Awww, how will he know?" asked Nora, pouting
"Yeah, I have to agree with Nora… I may be in trouble," said Jaune, face slowly paling.
"You'll be fine Jaune. Your progress in training has been incredible recently, I think you're only a few days away from realising your semblance," calmed Pyrrha, her hand on her leaders shoulder.
"But I still can't, and I doubt it's going to be as cool as Ruby's speed or Weiss' glyphs,"
"Just because something is 'cool' doesn't mean it's effective in a fight. Sometimes, the subtle, understated approach, is much better than outrageous," attempted Pyrrha, smiling.
"I suppose, I just… I'd like to be cool,"
"You are cool Jaune," noted Pyrrha, smiling as they made the last turn into the library. Team RWBY moved over to their usual table where they played board games while JNPR took the table next to them.
"So, any ideas which Grimm you're going to aim for?" asked Weiss, pulling out her notes on each Grimm type.
"Eh, I don't care Weiss, I'm cool anyway," joked Yang, pumping her fists as she kicked her feet up onto the table, ignoring the harsh look the librarian gave her. Weiss just rolled her head before looking at Ruby.
"Ursa, there's plenty of them in the forest so I'll find one quickly," said Ruby, flipping through her notes.
"Is speed that important to you?" queried Blake, sitting quietly in her chair
"I don't want to miss Super Celebrity Fun Time Hour!" answered Ruby, half rising from her seat and she placed both fists on the table. "It's one hour of people getting covered in gunge while doing crazy stunts,"
Blake shook her head but accepted the answer, she'd like to be done quickly too, she had books to read.
"What about you Weiss?" asked Ruby, pointing in the heiress' direction.
"Beowolf," was the curt response
"Any reason? They're kinda rare in the forest," asked Yang, now more interested in the conversation than in annoying the librarian.
"I want to show that pompous Professor that I can beat his favourite Grimm better than he can,"
"Weiss, he's an experienced Huntsman and you're still a student. He'll outdo you at every step," explained Blake calmly
"So? I may not be as experienced, but it's just a beowolf. If I can take on a giant knight, I can take on one of those,"
"Giant knight?" asked Ruby, eyes wide "Was it automated? Was it a human? What was it?"
"I…" Weiss started, "I don't know, it was training back home,"
"Weiss, you know we appreciate your need to prove yourself, but you're being stupid," said Yang, surprisingly mellow, "Taking on a beowolf is cool and all, but doing it to try and show up a professor is stupid,"
"Well maybe you're stupid," huffed Weiss, "I'm going to the forest now, don't come with me, this is a solo assignment," The girl pushed her chair back with a clatter and stormed off, leaving her books and bag where it was.
"Weiss!" called Ruby "Should we go after her?"
"Duh…" said Yang, getting up and picking up her bag, "Come on, let's go drop our stuff off and then we'll find her," Ruby and Blake got up, picking up Weiss' bag as they did.
XxX
Weiss's locker blasted off into the sky from the clearing she had found herself in. She adjusted the corset on her combat dress and swung Myrtenaster, testing its balance and dust rotations. Satisfied, she strode off into the forest proper.
The forest itself was teeming with life, the sounds of animals digging through the undergrowth kept Weiss on edge as she wandered, ears keen to the sound of growls. There was no path as she made her way into the forest, clambering over fallen trees and mossy boulders, often slipping as she did so thanks to her heels.
She found herself in a closed forest path, trees heavily lining either side, leaving barely a dozen feet of width to travel along. A loud growl drew her awareness, her stance shifting to a ready one smoothly. The heavily shadowed path gained another shadow as a large beowolf stepped out from the end of the path, blocking her way. It let out a roar as it saw her and charged.
"Ready yourself Weiss, right foot forwards, sword parallel to the ground, wait for it to enter your range," Weiss repeated to herself, taking the actions as she said them, eyes focussing as the beowolf entered her range.
She thrust forwards in a perfect lunge, Myrtenaster on target to spear the monster through the skull. The clang of metal on bone echoed as the wolf monster's claw deflected the blow to go past it's head, it's other claw already in motion to swipe at Weiss' head. She ducked, going into a forward roll and tumbling through the beowolf's legs, slashing as it's underneath as she went.
Turning quickly, she launched into a flurry of attacks, piercing the monster's hide multiple times at the base of its tail. The wolf monster spun around, claw lashing out in a backhand. The sudden twist caught Weiss off-guard, sending her flying into a tree. She let out a scream as splinters of wood embedded themselves in her back. The beowolf turned and lunged towards the tree, unwilling to give the girl time to relax. With a small hand motion, glancing through teary eyes, a glyph appeared under the monster. It roared confusedly as it was forced backwards, following a trail of glyphs until it was at the end of path that Weiss had just come from.
Weiss walked back into the centre of the path breathing heavily, the last blow having drained her aura by more than she'd care to admit. Twisting through the elements available in Myrtenaster, she selected ice and plunged it into the ground. A sheet of ice appeared around her, the lumbering beast now charging at her again, unable to stop in time, started to skid. Unable to control itself, it flailed, opening its defences enough for Weiss to launch a wreath of flame from the end of her blade at the beast.
The beowolf blocked the attack, its claws glowing red from the heat and it's roar reaching through the forest with its volume. The beast slid past Weiss, the girl relaxing as it passed by until she heard the hiss of steam. Turning around, she was just in time to block an extended claw with her blade, the other claws heated to the point that it had melted through the ice and been able to find a grip in the dirt underneath.
Thrown back, Weiss quickly got to her feet, the damage and dirt on her dress ignored in favour of the wolf beast now galloping towards her.
'I can't do this much longer… this beowolf is much tougher than others. It acted alone. They normally hunt in packs.'
Then Weiss realised something, a single word coming to her lips.
"Alpha,"
Facing the beowolf with her breathing staggered, her aura just protecting her from broken bones, Weiss stood in a stance she didn't like to use very often. Her dominant hand rested level with her forehead, the blade facing downwards, and her free hand ready to cast glyphs. The monster charged once again, uncaring of the stance, only seeing the weakened prey whose strength it had already gauged.
It lunged, claw outstretched, eager to taste Weiss' flesh as she moved into action. The sword rose, blocking the sharp claw and forcing the attached arm to change direction, missing the heiress' face by inches as she advanced forward. Releasing the re-direction now she was passed the claw, she manifested a glyph underneath herself and readied Myrtenaster to point in front of her, flame dust still active. The glyph pushed Weiss a moment later, launching like a needle towards the beowolf's roaring maw. The girl placed her feet on the monster's lip, letting the momentum flow as her sword carried on, entering the monster's mouth and penetrating the roof of it deeply. With a small movement, the dust activated.
There was nothing except the tortured scream of the beowolf and Weiss' breathing for a few moments, and then a slow watery trickle grew in volume. The monster's eyes melting from the intense heat delivered to its skull. With a groan, Weiss pulled her blade free from it's flesh, staggering slightly as she jumped back down to the ground and falling on her behind, back against one of the many trees nearby. She carried on breathing, it hitching slightly as she felt a twinge of pain, the adrenaline in her system masking it previously. She looked at her stomach, exposed through a rip in her dress and saw nasty purple bruising already developing. Her left arm was nearly red as a gash on her bicep let blood flow down it, reaching her fingertips.
Myrtenaster slipped from her numb fingers and hit the ground beside her. It was only a moment later that Weiss froze. Howling. There was howling come from where the beowolf has originally attacked her. Casting her gaze down the pathway, she saw the shadow of more beowolves approaching at a casual pace, not the pace of a fighter but one of a predator closing in on prey.
Without breaking her gaze, she tried to grasp Myrtenaster once more but couldn't; her fingers just weren't listening to her anymore. She tried to get to her feet but the pain in her abdomen stopped that too. Closing her eyes briefly, she let out a deep breath, unhappy with how it whistled as she exhaled. Reaching across to her left pocket with her right arm, she awkwardly removed her scroll from her pocket. Opening her eyes and touching the screen a few times, she dialled her partner's scroll number, noting the extremely low aura level it said she had as she did.
"Weiss! Where are you?!" answered a worried Ruby "We tried looking for you but we got lost!"
"I'm… I'm fine Ruby. I just wanted to talk to you," said Weiss, eyes still on the beowolves as they got closer.
"Are you ok Weiss? You sound funny," asked Ruby, concerned. "Tell her I'm gonna kick her snooty ass from here to Signal when I find her!" "Yang's mad," "Don't underestimate how angry I am too," "So's Blake,"
"Not really. I messed up, sorry." said Weiss, watching the Grimm close in, not far away at all now.
"We know but it's ok, everything will be ok, we'll find you with your scroll's signal and make everything better! We can watch Super Celebrity Fun Time Hour when we get back to Beacon! All of us!"
"Yeah, that sounds great Ruby. I'll see you as soon as you get here," she wheezed
"See you soon Weiss," said Ruby, hanging up the phone as Yang started another spiel about how badly she was going to beat the white-themed girl.
Weiss smiled as she put her scroll against the tree she was leaning on. Sustained briefly, she grabbed Myrtenaster, piercing the ground with it and used it to lever herself onto her feet. Her legs trembled as she pulled the blade from the ground with her right hand and took a sloppy stance.
"It's time," said Weiss, watching the beowolves get to nearly within her range, their low growls buzzing in the air as they trooped closer.
"It most certainly is Miss Schnee!" boomed a loud voice from a few feet behind her.
Wobbling, Weiss looked over her shoulder with shocked eyes to see who had turned up behind her.
Red coat. Bristled moustache. Large blunderaxe in hand. Professor Port was striding to stand next to her, gun pointed squarely at the beowolves. The large creatures eyed the new arrival with distaste, slowly halting to watch him.
"I must say, I do admire your bravado. To challenge a Beowolf Alpha to single combat is certainly a worthy achievement. But when one challenges and defeats the head of a pack, there is a power vacuum left in their absence. Others will arrive to try to kill that which killed their previous leader in an effort to cement power. What you see here," he gestured to the dozen beowolves ahead of him, "are the pretenders to the throne."
"Professor, what are you doing?" asked Weiss, voice whistling again.
Professor Port let out a tut as he heard her speak.
"A slowly collapsing lung. You've certainly overextended yourself today Miss Schnee. But to answer your question, I am here to protect my students in all their endeavours. When I saw you challenge the Alpha on my monitor, I left my office and made for the forest immediately,"
The beowolves were growing restless, their growls increasing in volume and ferocity. Frowning invisibly behind his moustache, Professor Port aimed his blunderaxe and fired buckshot. Several beowolves lost their ears in that moment, and one lost their eye. The rest of the beowolves started to back away slightly from the display.
"You see Miss Schnee, you are simply inexperienced in matters such as this. With beowolves in particular, one must make oneself the true Alpha and take on all comers until none wish to stand against you," Professor Port started stare intently at the beowolves. "I am a Huntsman by profession, but let me make this clear. I am a hunter."
The stout man paused as the legs of the girl next to him gave out and she fell to her knees. Calmly, he knelt down, placed his gun on the ground, and took her into his arms before laying her down at the tree next to her scroll.
"You thought today would be the day you died, Miss Schnee," explained Professor Port, slowly undoing his still immaculate military-style jacket "Consider it the day you are reborn with the knowledge that a huntsman, and a hunter with a grudge, are two completely different things,"
Professor Port slid his jacket off and covered Weiss in it, letting the girl relish it's warmth in the slowly dying day. Underneath, he neglected to wear an undershirt, revealing the body of a man who looked ready to wrestle a beowolf with his bare hands. A layer of fat did little to hide the immense muscle of the man, moving and bulging with every motion he made. As he turned around to pick up his gun, Weiss looked at his back. In addition to the lines of muscle, there were four thick scars from shoulder to hip. Old scars, stretched with time.
"The hunt is on," said Professor Port, raising his gun at the beowolves. With a pull of the trigger, a large cannonball flew from the end of the wide gun, instantly crushing the head of the front-most Grimm. As the other beowolves took notice of their dead brother, they too received a cannonball to the head, crushing their skull and ending their existence. Professor Port simply walked towards them, every shot he made hitting it's intended target.
"Five… Six…Seven… Eight…"
Nine charged towards him, causing the man to stop shooting and place his gun on the ground once again. Taking a wide stance, the man watched as Nine tried to gore him with a claw. Stepping quickly towards the beast and to the side, Professor Port grabbed it's front leg and swung the beast over himself, the Grimm's final moments spent watching the ground coming to meet its face.
Ten and Eleven tried to flank him, running to either side of him. Grabbing his gun, he transformed it from its usual hybrid form to that of a double-sided short axe. Crossing the axe across his chest, as the two monsters reached him, he leapt the distance into the air and extended the handle length of the axe, the now full-sized battle-axe cleaving through the monster's necks like butter.
He paused to observe the final opponent, Twelve. This beowolf, one that lost the eye earlier, was already trying to retreat, almost at the end of the path.
"Hmm… you must be one of the oldest. Learning to retreat is a wise skill," commented Professor Port to himself, transforming his axe back to a gun and raising it at the fleeing beast, closing an eye to better judge his accuracy. "Too bad you opposed me, instead of Bartholomew,"
One final shot rang out as a cannonball was fired from the blunderaxe. It flew far and true, hitting the beowolf at the very base of the neck. The monster fell to the ground, roaring as it did so, and continuing to do so as some smaller beowolves arrived and gathered around it. Professor Port watched for a moment as the larger beowolf, unable to move, began to roar and howl at the smaller ones, before being pounced on and mauled by its own kind.
Nodding to himself, he turned back towards Weiss, the white haired girl staring wordlessly at her teacher as he took his jacket back from her.
"I'd best be dressed before your teammates appear. I apologise for my indecency in that matter, I didn't want to ruin my teaching clothes."
Weiss just nodded as Professor Port did his jacket up. After neatening himself up, he offered the girl a hand with which to stand. She took it roughly, grabbing the older man's thick wrist as he helped her to her feet and caught her as she toppled straight over again. Kneeling down, he grabbed his student's scroll and placed it in her pocket, before grabbing her weapon and handing it to her. With a quick heave, he lifted her into his arms and found a place where he could carry her without injuring her more..
"You'll be fine Miss Schnee, I'll be taking you to the medical office now," explained Professor Port as the girl shifted in his arms, "Your teammates are tracking your scr- Miss Schnee. Miss Schnee, I need you to stay awake for me… goshdar-"
Weiss lost consciousness as the man spoke to her, the world blacking out around her as he did.
XxX
Weiss's eyes opened with a shock and a loud breath. She heard a shriek of excitement to her right as Ruby latched onto her and hugged her.
"Oh my god Weiss! I'm so glad you're ok! Why didn't you tell us you got hurt!?" said the team leader, her face rubbing against Weiss' shoulder.
"I didn't want to put you guys in danger," said Weiss, wincing as she moved. She looked down and found herself in a hospital gown. Peering around the edge, she saw her stomach was neatly bandaged, as was her arm.
"You're an idiot Princess," said a voice from behind Ruby. Looking further, she saw Yang and Blake sat on a pair of armchairs against a wall. Weiss looked further around her, she was laid in a curtained off section in the medical ward, the white walls, floors and ceiling a dead giveaway. The smell of disinfectant and prescription medicine was also a hint.
Weiss had no response to Yang, just nodding, unable to meet the brawler's eyes.
"The doctor said you'll be fine. He repaired your lung as soon as he could, but he felt it was 'better for your long-term prognosis' if he let the other injuries heal naturally, so you're going to be sore as a motherfucker for a week or two," explained Yang, getting up and offering Weiss a plastic bag she'd been carrying. Weiss nodded briefly and glanced inside, finding a pair of baggy pants and a white hoodie. Her white hoodie. One she'd kept hidden at the bottom of her wardrobe so none of her teammates could find out she owned something so improper. "You have no idea how hard I looked through your stuff for something you could wear… though I did find some other things. Weiss… you surprise me," Yang smiled as the girl blushed.
"You shouldn't have been looking through Weiss' stuff Yang," chided Ruby
"I wasn't trying to, but the doctor said loose fitting and my clothes would drown her, not be loose. Blake doesn't really do 'loose' and neither do you. I was going to go buy her some clothes if I hadn't found those," huffed Yang
"Thanks Yang," said Weiss quietly, "Could I have some privacy to change?"
"Yes, you can," said Ruby, shooing the brawler and Faunus out of the curtained off area, giving Weiss a happy smile as she went, the white-haired girl returning the smile as Yang protested the shoving.
Heaving herself upright gently, Weiss swung her legs off the edge of the bed. Struggling, she managed to pull the hospital gown off over her head with a bit of wriggling. As she sat there in her underwear, fighting with the baggy pants to go over her legs without stretching her abdomen too much, she was interrupted.
"Also Weiss, sorry, but you missed Super Celebrity Fun Time Ho-" Ruby poked her head back around the curtain, facing the occupied girl
"Ruby! Get out!" shouted the indignant fencer, dropping her pants as she did so. "Damn it,"
"Want a hand?" asked Ruby, ignoring the shout.
Weiss paused for a moment.
"Yes please,"
XxX
Ten minutes later, Team RWBY was slowly making their way towards their dorm room. Weiss now fully dressed in pants, hoodie and her clashing heels, walking with the assistance of a walking stick provided by the doctor's office. Myrtenaster was, according to Yang, safely back in her storage locker.
"So what happened Weiss?" asked Blake
"What do you mean?" asked the girl in question
"Well, we were tracking your scroll and you said you'd wait for us, next thing we know, you're on route to Beacon," explained Ruby
"Yeah, did you get a flea up your butt or something?" joked Yang
"Actually… I was saved,"
"Saved?" queried Blake
"I messed up. I got into a fight with the Beowolf Alpha. I only just made it out alive,"
"Who saved you?" Yang piped up again.
"I… uh…I…"
"You do remember who saved you, right?" asked Ruby.
"Maybe we should stop peppering her with questions, hey guys? Give her chance to recover a bit?" suggested Yang
"Yeah, don't worry about it Weiss, we'll hear all about it when you give your speech next week," said Ruby
Weiss just nodded, following the group as they entered the dorm building and made their way to their room.
"You know, Port is stronger than he looks," commented Weiss
The other girls stopped to look at her in shock. It was Yang that broke the sudden silence.
"Port!? I thought you got saved by a hunk!"
"I did..."
XxX
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this. A little different to my previous stuff, I just wanted to flesh Port out a little. If you enjoyed, review and favorite.