"Come on, let's call it a day…" Ruby complained as she followed Weiss through the forest. "The sun set an hour ago!"
"We came for a Beowolf, and we're not leaving until we find one." Weiss stated, pushing aside a branch and holding it for Ruby to follow.
The two had gone straight to Ozpin's office after classes that day and were given permission to enter the forest. After that, nothing else went the way they'd planned. Ruby had found out that she was low on rounds for her weapon and Weiss had realized she'd forgotten to clean hers. Once they'd each done the maintenance, they set out to complete their hands on learning about how Beowolves fight.
The only problem was… there were none.
"I'm serious Weiss. We have other homework to do. We'll come back tomorrow and try again." Ruby argued, using her weapon to cut down another branch that was in her way. The dull thwack drawing a quick glance from Weiss.
"But we're so close! We have to find one soon." Weiss said. If they went back now they would have wasted several hours that could have been used for their studies, whereas if they found at least one creature they'd only have been unproductive. "Statistically speaking, we can't not find one soon!"
"Weiss, you know we shouldn't be out here at night." Ruby argued again. "Even Ozpin warned us that the Grimm come out in large numbers at night. Let's at least start to head back."
Weiss sighed. This seemed to be one of those times where Ruby just wouldn't give in. "Fine. We'll start back, but we're not leaving till we find at least one."
"Whatever, let's just go." Ruby turned around and led the way back.
As they neared the edge of the forest, Weiss felt like she was being watched. She looked out into the gloom to their left, squinting before she placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder to stop her. "There…"
Ruby took the flashlight off her belt and flashed it a few times in between the trees, giving them glimpses of nothing. Nevertheless, the shadows shifted as if alive or made of a light cloth blown by a weak breeze. Slowly, a growl became audible from the darkness and two bright red dots appeared floating in the space they'd looked at.
"Weiss, this might be bad." Ruby said, noting the lack of fighting room they had on the narrow path and the thick bush at their backs.
"Then let's do this quick." Weiss drew her rapier. The loud drag of the metal coming out of its sheath amplified in the silence of the forest.
Ruby drew her scythe and lit a flare at the same time to illuminate the immediate area. The monster in front of them was thrown into sharp contrast with the surrounding night as it drew itself up to its full height and let loose a terrifying howl. It stood almost twice the height of Ruby with its wild black fur tangled and torn from years of wandering. It's head was adorned by a large spiked skull that seemed to shift in the unsteady red light of the flare. The eyes emitting a light of their own as they unblinkingly tracked it's prey.
The creature's howl was answered by a chorus of howls in the nearby forest and Weiss glanced around, so far there was no sign of movement. But that wouldn't last long.
"Ruby, I've got support." Weiss said as she spun the dust cartridge on the hilt of her weapon. She fired the dust as she struck the ground in front of her, encasing their target in ice just as it lunged forward. The ice broke immediately, but tripped the massive creature, sending it into the bushes behind them.
Ruby quickly moved into a more favorable spot as Weiss ran away from the bush. Weiss tossed flares as she moved, widening their view range so the other enemies that were on the way wouldn't just suddenly appear.
The beowolf jumped out of the bush, bits of branch clinging in the thick mane as it roared and swung its sharp claws at Ruby. The young huntress swung her scythe up and deflected the swipe away from her body just as it followed up with a second attack. Ruby kept her scythe spinning, blocking the swing with the end of her weapon's shaft.
Weiss jumped forward, seeing the creature lunge for a bite with its equally dangerous fangs, her weapon sinking into the creature's neck before the creature lurched back with another roar.
This time, the sound echoed on all sides as the shadows surrounding the flares started shifting before more of the large black creatures jumped into the dim flickering light and charged at the two huntresses.
"You keep the big guy busy, I'll do crowd control!" Ruby ordered as she fired her weapon at the closest of the new arrivals.
These recently arrived Beowolves appeared much younger than the one they'd been battling. Their fur was much shorter and less tangled, and the white bone on their heads featured nothing but small bumps where there were spikes on their large brother. They were also at least thirty centimeters shorter than the large one attacking Weiss.
Ruby spun her weapon her hardest at the first enemy to come into her range, slicing it in half from shoulder to hip, the cut slightly slowing her spin before she fired a shot at another creature heading for Weiss. The creature howled angrily as its arm was nearly torn off by the large round ripping through muscle and shattering bone. It turned back to Ruby as she continued her spin while moving to the next target.
Weiss watched as her glyph shattered as the beast before her struck it with its sharp claws, literally appearing to rip five long tears through the middle before it shattered and disappeared into the night. Weiss felt the remaining momentum from the powerful strike hit her rapier and push her back a step. She ducked and rolled beneath the next swipe the creature took, landing her right between its legs.
She loaded a round of green dust into her chamber and struck the beast in the chest as hard as she could, the impact exponentially amplified by the dust, sending the creature flying into and through a nearby tree.
Ruby saw Weiss knock the large animal back as she dispatched yet another beowolf as it lunged at her. She fired three more rounds at the creatures surrounding her before launching herself into the air to avoid three of the Grimm that had broken through her defenses.
In the air she transformed her weapon into the smaller gun form and fired the rest of her clip at the enemies below her, ripping holes in their white bone covered heads and bodies, tearing them to bits as the black smoke of the quickly decomposing bodies floated over the nearest flare to plunge the area into darkness.
Ruby landed, her weapon back in scythe form as she used her instinct to swipe through the darkness. Howls of the creatures she disemboweled confirmed her strikes as she spun through the black smoke that was now engulfing the last of the flares, making the area darker than it would have been without the smoke and flares.
Suddenly, all was silent save the heavy breathing of Ruby and Weiss as they found themselves back to back on the path they'd started on. The darkness surrounding them was almost impenetrable with the exception of dim points of red light where the flares still burned, now on their last embers.
"Is it… over?" Ruby asked between breaths as she inspected the darkness surrounding them for any abnormal movement.
"I… I think so…" Weiss kept her rapier raised, looking into the darkness where she'd knocked the large beowolf. There were no signs of movement, but the silence unsettled her.
Suddenly, two red dots a meter to the side of where she'd been looking flashed through the smoke and darkness as the shadows shifted rapidly, curling around the massive body sprinting at them at the speed of a cannon shot.
"Ruby!" Weiss pulled the trigger on her weapon and hit the ground between her and Ruby, sending a geyser of dirt into the air as the explosive force sent them flying in opposite directions just as two sharp clawed paws landed where they'd been standing.
Ruby tumbled over the ground, her leg kicking a tree as she flew past. She didn't hear the crack but felt her shin break at the impact. She stopped rolling and sat up to see Weiss leaning against a tree, her weapon raised again at the mass of shifting shadow that menacingly moved towards her. Her white hair blotched dark with blood.
"Weiss!" Ruby tried to stand but fell as the pain of her leg blinded her with tears. It would be a few minutes before she had used her aura to heal it enough for her to walk, but that was far too late. She pulled the trigger on her weapon to hear a quiet click. She felt her waist for another clip, but found that the compartment on her belt had been ripped open.
Damn it! She thought as she willed her semblance to help her aura fix her leg. Ruby felt her leg burn painfully as the intensified energy fused bone back together at the impossibly fast speed. Even as the process started, she knew it would need to be fixed later since it wasn't aligned correctly. But that thought was secondary to the fact that there might not be a later if she didn't get back to the fight.
Weiss saw the creature in front of her leap forward with its claws tearing through the air. She summoned a glyph at an angle, barely deflecting the swipe as it once again tore through the semi-solid platform. She knew it would attack almost immediately, and turned to find it's other claw already swooping through the air at her crouched form.
She summoned a glyph and braced herself with her weapon. The creature's attack sliced through the glowing blue surface and hit her weapon, the recoil sending her back into the tree where her head smacked against a knot protruding from the massive trunk.
Stars swam before Weiss's eyes as she acted out of instinct, using the green dust that was still loaded in her weapon to knock the beast back. This time, the creature seemed ready for the attack and was simply knocked back a single step. It roared as it stepped forward with its back foot, stabbing the same arm forward like a javelin.
Weiss screamed as she pulled the trigger on her weapon for the second time and lunged forward to meet the beast half way.
Ruby watched as Weiss disappeared behind the large dark enemy, her scream the only thing remaining. Then, everything went still and silent.
The creature simply stood there, a small red dot appearing on it's back, glowing brighter and brighter as cracks raced away from the dot. They formed a small circle about the width of the creature's chest before the center emitted a small jet of flame and the creature fell to its side.
Ruby felt her bone was healed enough to get back to her feet and jumped up, limping while she ran over to her teammate.
Weiss was slumped against a tree, two large gashes in her side. One revealed a rib at the bottom of her ribcage and the other a mess of muscle that rapidly pumped blood onto the ground beside her.
"Weiss!" Ruby screamed, quickly pulling her cloak off and stuffing it into her teammate's wounds. She took their weapons and placed them on her back before picking up Weiss so she could use her own chest to keep the fabric plugging the wound. Not a second later, Weiss fell unconscious. Ruby ran faster than she'd ever ran before as she carried Weiss back to the Beacon medical wing. All the while hoping that it wouldn't be too late when she finally arrived.