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Chapter 10. Stale Scent

Weiss held onto Blake's hand all the while as they trekked through the unfamiliar territories.

She kept the quickest pace possible without exerting too much of her energy all at once, but she couldn't help thinking how much swifter she would've been if she'd been able to fly. The issue of her wings failing her had been bothering her for hours now, and she'd hardly spoken a word since they'd set out.

Blake had only known her for a short amount of time, but she knew Weiss' personality well enough by now to understand that a lack of speaking meant the fairy was deeply troubled.

Blake didn't know if there was anything she could do to help ease Weiss' mind. She didn't want to make an attempt, only to find it upset Weiss even further.

Therefore, Blake kept her lips pursed as they continued to walk through the midday forest, maintaining her firm, supportive grip on Weiss' palm.

Ruby and Yang led on, sparing the group utter silence by chatting casually with one another and reminiscing on old memories.

"Oh, oh!" Ruby squeaked from atop Yang's head. "And this was around the spot where we met that fox family a few springs ago! Those little pups were soooo cute!"

"Yeah, when they weren't trying to eat you," Yang reminded her.

"I wonder if they're still around here..." Ruby scrambled down from Yang's back and started walking along the grass for herself, putting her nose to the ground and sniffing a few times. "Hmm... I think I can smell them, but it seems kinda stale. Or like there's another scent overlapping it? I'm not sure..."

Yang nudged her sister's tail and encouraged her to keep moving.

"Well, maybe it's for the better that they've moved on. We wouldn't want them popping out at us again to trying and make a snack outta you."

"I guess you're right."

Blake had been waiting for an appropriate time to interject, and felt now was as good as any.

"Ruby? Yang?" she called softly. "I don't mean to sound like I'm rushing things, but do you have a time estimate of how far away we are from our- er... Weiss' part of the forest?" She changed her words at the last second, realizing that she and the fairy wouldn't exactly be returning to quite the same place.

Yang paused for a moment and looked around the forest, then gazed back at the beast girl.

"We're actually not too far away. In fact, I'd say you'll be back by tomorrow if we keep up this pace."

Blake's ears perked up hopefully.

"Really? By tomorrow? That's good to hear." She looked back to Weiss, giving a slight tug on her wrist to get her attention. "Did you hear that, Weiss? You should be back home by tomorrow."

The fairy had only stumbled forward in a daze until now, but at the sound of Blake's voice addressing her, Weiss glanced up.

"By tomorrow?" she repeated. "Then I can see Father and Winter again. And I can... get my wings looked at..." Her gaze fell to the ground once more, a wave of guilt washing through her. She couldn't help but think that her wings failing had somehow been her own fault.

Blake could sense the girl wasn't as thrilled about the news as she should've been.

As Yang and Ruby continued to lead them onward, Blake maintained a bit of distance from the two so she may speak to Weiss in privacy.

"What's wrong? Do they still hurt that badly? Even though you haven't used them for so long?"

It might've been presumptuous of her, but an ounce of concern had seeped its way into her voice. She kept pace beside Weiss, never letting go of her hand as they continued to walk, their bare feet padding through the stiff grass.

Weiss kept her eyes down, head bowed almost shamefully.

"They still ache. And it must be... something I've done. A fairy's wings are her pride and joy, and to find they wouldn't work properly is a poor reflection of the fairy's soul. This must be a punishment somehow..."

Blake stopped walking altogether then. She didn't care that halting right now would delay them a few precious moments in getting back home – there was something she needed to tell Weiss, and she needed the girl to focus on it entirely.

"Weiss..."

She let go of the fairy's hand for the first time all day, and that action alone startled the princess. Weiss looked up at Blake fearfully, wondering if her confession had made Blake angry with her.

But Blake merely reached out gently with both hands and rested them each atop Weiss' shoulders. Weiss flinched at the contact, but it was more of an instinctive response than a conscious one.

"Blake...? What is it?"

The beast girl swished her tail soothingly, her ears flicking to indicate she wasn't upset.

"I don't know too much about wings, or fairies, really. But from what I know about you, I think you're wrong, Weiss. You haven't done anything bad that would warrant a punishment of any kind. You've only been righteous in defending your territory and your people, from both Adam's group and from me.

"But you've also started to trust strangers like Ruby and Yang... and maybe even myself," she added hopefully. "Whatever happened to your wings, I don't think it's anything you can control. It's not your fault, Weiss. Don't blame yourself for it. That won't help you get home any faster."

Weiss couldn't look anywhere else but up into Blake's earnest eyes. The person she'd once viewed as hostile and even potentially-threatening was now the only person she could turn to.

Weiss sniffed once, bringing up her forearm to wipe over her eyes briefly.

"Blake..." she mumbled. "What you said about me trusting you... It's no longer a 'maybe'."

With that said, Weiss stepped away, her shoulders instantly missing the warmth of Blake's palms. But to prove her point, this needed to be done.

Weiss slowly started walking after Ruby and Yang, leaving Blake behind at the back of the group.

At first, the beast girl was hurt, taking Weiss' actions as a sign of rejection.

But as she started to follow along, her eyes traveled up to Weiss' back, where the white materials of her dress were flowing now, hair ponytail and folded wings bouncing slightly with every step she took.

And Blake understood then.

Just a day or so ago, Weiss had adamantly refused to walk in front of Blake, barking the claim that she would never entrust her back to a beast.

So for her to willingly turn away from Blake now, to show Blake her back with all her defenses down...

There was no higher honor a beast could receive from a Fairy Princess.

With her own spirits now lifted, Blake followed along behind Weiss.

And while she appreciated being trusted with watching the girl's back, she had to admit she missed the warmth of that hand in hers.

They walked on for the remainder of the day, stopping only occasionally to seek out the river for a drink, or to gather a few berries from the nearby bushes.

They walked as much as they could for as long as they could without any of them risking over-exertion.

But by the time the sun began to set, Blake felt she was beginning to recognize these parts of the forest, just a little bit. They were probably on the outskirts of her homeland territory.

In the distance, when she focused her ears and eyes, she could hear a rush of water and see a large cliff face. Recalling Weiss' story of how she'd escaped from Adam, that was probably the spot where she'd jumped.

Ruby and Yang were right about their guess that they'd make it home by tomorrow.

But dusk was falling now, and if Blake knew anything, it was that traveling unfamiliar woods at night wasn't a good idea, even for beasts with superior vision. She could tell by the way Weiss was starting to slow her pace in front of Blake that the Fairy Princess was exhausted, too.

Blake couldn't blame her – when she herself had an entire fish to eat before, Weiss had only been eating a few berries here or there.

But she knew Weiss well enough by now to be stubborn, especially when it came to getting back home. She'd insist she was fine and that they keep moving until it was completely dark.

Therefore, it was Blake who called up to Ruby and Yang and requested they stop for the night.

"My feet are getting sore," she announced. "And plus, with all the crickets chirping now, it'd be easier for me to listen for danger if we stayed in one spot."

The bear turned back to her and nodded.

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea to me."

"Same here..." Ruby was lying sprawled on her sister's back, already half asleep.

As expected, Weiss turned around to face Blake, clearly wanting to protest. But the beast girl stepped forward and silenced her by gently taking her hand.

"Let's rest. You'll be back home by tomorrow."

Weiss cast a longing glance toward the waterfall hissing in the distance. She heaved a sigh and dipped her head.

"Very well."

They began searching for suitable trees they'd be able to climb for the night. Yang deposited Ruby for the moment and started pacing around, looking for a sturdy trunk that could support the weight of all four of them. Ruby started sniffing at the ground as well, yawning several times as she did so.

"Mm, hey... I can smell that smell again," she mumbled.

Yang rolled her eyes and padded over to her sister.

"What smell, Ruby? Ya gotta be more specific than that. There are a lot of smells to smell."

"I mean like..." Ruby straightened up a bit, and her tail became fluffy in alarm. "That smell from before... back near the foxes..."

Blake had overheard, and she made her way over to the little red squirrel.

"Do you smell foxes?"

"No... it's not foxes... I'm not sure what it is..."

Blake took a whiff of air for herself, closing her eyes so she could focus on the scent.

Ruby was right. There was the scent of some other animal here.

"The fox scent is stale..." Blake mumbled. "But what kind of animal could chase out foxes? I could only think of bears, but this scent isn't bear..."

"Yeah," Ruby chittered. "It's not bears. I would've recognized that scent," she said, waving her tail at Yang. "It's something else, but I can't-"

Her words were abruptly cut off by a bone-chilling sound that answered their questions.

An eerie howl cut through the night, temporarily silencing even the crickets.

It shook the air, and it had even Yang freezing where she stood.

Blake swallowed thickly, faintly aware of Weiss' panicked gasp from beside her.

The only animal roaming the forests that was capable of chasing out predators like foxes, but immensely more aggressive than a bear-

"Wolves..."

Blake's deduction was quickly followed by a series of howls and snarls, indication that the animals weren't far at all. The fur on her ears and tail was standing on end, and Ruby and Yang were equally as uneasy.

"We're on their territory-" Yang whispered.

"We have to-" Ruby's warning was cut short by a chorus of growls from the surrounding woods.

Blake instinctively grasped Weiss' arm and pulled her close, shielding the fairy as best she could.

"We're surrounded..." Blake rasped.

How could she not have noticed them? She'd been too distracted by the prospect of getting back home that she'd neglected to recognize how much danger they were still in.

Her ears swiveled in every direction, trying to seek out a clear path. Weiss trembled beside her, clutching tightly to Blake's arm.

"W-Wolves..." she stammered. "I-I've only ever h-heard stories about them. They're some of the only animals that won't communicate with us - not when they're furious and hungry. I-I've never actually seen them before, because I've never been on the ground at this hour of the night..."

Her eyes were wide with fear as her gaze swept around the darkened forest. She silently cursed herself for having broken her bow and arrows during their journey. She would have used them as warnings to fend the wolves off, but now she was entirely defenseless.

The growls and snarls grew in volume by the second, and she could hear the cracking of leaves and twigs under large paws. Ruby and Yang were pressed to Blake's other side, and the beast girl herself was frozen stiff.

As the seconds ticked on, Weiss could feel the wolves drawing closer with every painful beat of her heart. There must have been a dozen of them, an entire pack circling them from the shadows. Weiss could even see the gleam of their eyes now.

She was too terrified to even try unfolding her wings, but the ache in her back told her they still wouldn't have been able to lift her anyway. She bit into her bottom lip in a fruitless effort to keep it from quivering.

"I don't... want to die here..." she whimpered. "I want to go home..."

Her words seemed to have snapped Blake out of a trance of her own. Weiss felt the beast girl's tail wrap around her hip, drawing her closer.

"We've got to run," Blake mumbled. "Straight ahead there's a small opening in their circle. If we can just run far enough to buy us some time, we can climb up a tree. They can't follow us there. We'd just have to climb faster than they can run."

Ruby curled her tail tighter around herself.

"Y-You make it sound like it'll be easy!"

"But we can't just run," Yang muttered. "The second we move a muscle, they'll charge. We'll never make it to a tree in time."

Weiss stopped trembling long enough to think clearly.

"We need a distraction..."

She moved with painstaking slowness. Bending her back, Weiss reached down an arm to the ground, fingertips groping for something – anything.

Her eyes stayed trained ahead of her, set on the path Blake had indicated was safe for the time being. She heard more snarls, heard more paw-steps coming closer.

But the soft, supporting pressure of Blake's tail on her back kept her grounded.

Weiss' fingers passed over a hard surface. She picked up a rock about the size of her palm and slowly straightened her back again.

"Get ready..." she warned the others.

They tensed, ready to bolt.

Then, in one swift motion, Weiss tossed the rock behind her as far as she could.

The swift motion and resulting noise alerted the wolves to that direction. They leapt toward the movement with snapping jaws, temporarily clearing the path ahead.

Blake was pulling the others forward in a split second.

"RUN!"

They dashed forward, Ruby quickly skittering ahead of the others. She easily scrambled up the nearest tree in a matter of seconds. Yang was right behind her, digging her claws into the bark and hauling herself up over the lowest branches.

But before Weiss or Blake could even begin climbing, the wolves had already turned on them and charged.

"Go, go!" Blake shouted. She gave a shove to Weiss' back and took off, streaking through the darkness as fast as her feet could carry her.

She tore through a bramble thicket, ignoring the scratches and stings that resulted from it. She could almost feel the wolves' hot breath on her heels.

With a mighty jump, Blake reached up for the nearest tree and dug her nails in. Kicking fiercely, she scrambled until she was high up enough to top three times her own height. Panting, she whipped around to look for Weiss.

But there was no one behind her.

Panic coursed through her as her wild eyes scoured the forest below, searching for any sign of the fairy.

"Weiss?!" she shouted. "Weiss!"

Past the vicious snarls and the blood rushing in her ears, Weiss could make out Blake's terrified voice. Judging by the distance and direction, Weiss could discern the beast girl had successfully managed to get herself up a tree.

Weiss wasn't so lucky.

In her haste to keep close to Blake, she'd gotten herself caught in the bramble thicket. Her dress was snagged in several different places, and the wolves were only seconds away from crashing through to reach her.

Being a fairy, her bodyweight was only half of what it should appear to be, and she didn't have enough force with which to tear herself free. Weiss could hardly catch her breath, frightened whimpers clogging her lungs as she struggled to free herself.

"B-Blake!" she called back. "I-I'm-"

She cut off with a scream as a wolf lunged at her. Weiss could feel its muscular body bump against her side, and she was thrown forward. Her dress was torn free by the impact, but it knocked her to the ground.

As she desperately tried to find her footing again, all she could hear were the angry growls. The wolves had her trapped in the thicket now.

When she tried to stand, Weiss felt a sharp yank on her hair, and it reminded her of Adam's relentless grip. Thorns had caught in her hair, trapping her in place.

Another wolf lunged at her, salivating jaws agape. Weiss shrieked and only just managed to put up a magical barrier around herself. She didn't have much magic left in her body, her jewelry, or her clothes, and being far from home where neither the trees nor air were laden with fairy magic, she had no place or time to replenish herself.

The barrier worked to repel the single wolf, but she knew she couldn't muster up any more.

The next wolf to jump would surely reach her.

"N-No!" she cried. "Stay back!"

But where other animal species would have comprehended her words, the wolves were too enraged and territorial to listen.

However, her display of magic just now had seemed to startle the wolves, and they all came to a halt, cautious to engage her.

But the fear pulsing off of her in waves was too strong not to notice. It encouraged them to start circling again, ready to pounce.

Weiss cried out in pain as the thorns ripped at her hair again. She could feel one was snagged in her beloved hair band, the one her mother had given her. Tears swelled up in her eyes and overflowed down her cheeks.

"I don't... want to die..." she pleaded.

She called upon the very last shreds of her magics, pulling them up from the confines of her soul. A weak blue barrier surrounded her, but it flickered by the second, threatening to disappear altogether before very much longer.

The wolves prowled just a few feet away, waiting for her shield to falter.

Weiss fumbled her hands in an effort to free her hair band, but her hands were shaking too much. It was tangled within the brambles. If she tried to run, she could probably free herself, but her mother's hair band would be destroyed.

"I-I can't... I can't-"

"Weiss!"

Blake's voice rang out louder than the growls. The Fairy Princess tilted her head upward a little, but not far enough that would risk tearing her mother's hair band. She could just barely see Blake from here, standing safely atop a thick tree branch just above her.

Weiss blinked away more tears, feeling her magic dwindling.

"Blake..."

"Weiss, what are you doing?" Blake yelled down to her. "You've got a barrier up! Just tear free!"

"I-I can't-"

"Yes you can, Weiss!"

"Blake, I can't!" she screamed.

Her voice echoed out around the forest, the vehemence and desperation in her tone telling Blake there was more to this than she could comprehend right away.

But they were out of time.

Weiss' magics faded, and the barrier went along with it.

The wolves seized their opportunity and leapt.

Past the vicious snarls, a single scream rose up, and was cut short.

A/N: What kind of consequences will this have for their journey?

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