Wolf breathed heavily as he ran in between large stacks of containers, he slid to a stop to momentarily catch his breath, he couldn't tell what was after him or where he was going, there was just an overwhelming sense of urgency, like something terrible would happen if he stopped, that alone caused him to keep running.
He lost count of how many identical corners he rounded before the walls of shipping containers finally opened out into a wide empty square, save for two figures he could barely make out in the centre, he squinted slightly as he moved towards the two figures, they flickered like a flame as he neared them before his vision cleared and he could make out the faces.
One, he knew well, a small bubbly girl, who had managed to take control of his heart in more ways than one, her scythe was extended in her hands as she circled the other person slowly, she seemed to shout something at her opponent before she charged forward, although he couldn't hear the sound at all.
Her scythe was battered into the air in a fluent movement and Ruby began to topple backwards, the other figure darted forward and Wolf attempted to dash forward, he heard the clinking sound if chains and he was yanked back to his starting point violently, his head snapped up in time to see a black sword embed itself in Ruby's torso.
His head shot up and he looked around himself wildly, he was in his bed, nothing out of the ordinary at all, he breathed out a long sigh of relief and rubbed his forehead slowly, for a reason he could not understand, he couldn't recall the features of the other person in his dream, he just had this sense of familiarity, he ran his hand over his face and peaked his head outside of the small closet he called his bed. He rolled onto the floor silently and padded his way over to his small team leaders bed.
The girl snored quietly sprawled out over her bed, Wolf sat down at the foot of her bed silently and smiled at the girls peaceful face, she shifted slightly and her hand landed a few inches from his own, he entwined his fingers with hers and gave her hand a light squeeze, a small smile broke out on the girls face at the action and she cracked an eye open at him.
"You're terrible at stealth." She whispered with a grin.
"You were dead asleep until I sat down, my stealth is great." Wolf countered quietly.
Ruby sat up and slid around, leaning her head against his shoulder she sighed "So, What's up?"
"Nothing, just couldn't sleep." Wolf smiled at the girl reassuringly.
"Hm," Ruby hummed, not entirely convinced but also a bit too sleepy to push the issue "So, you decided in your infinite wisdom to wake me up." She yawned out.
"Sorry." Wolf nuzzled the top of her head with his nose.
"Well, since I'm tired and you woke me up I'm going to use you as I see fit," The small girl ordered calmly, she pushed the Faunus onto her bed and shifted to the side, pulling the blankets over the pair of them she rested her head on his chest, Wolf's arm wrapped around her body and rested on her waist lightly, her hand clasped over his lightly and she moved her cheek around a little on his chest as she got comfortable "Goodnight."
"Night." Wolf hummed back, placing a light kiss atop the girls head, he had the best night's sleep he had ever had after that.
"Why would you just sit there and let me oversleep!" Wolf demanded, he was currently sprinting again, although this time it was to class because someone had neglected to wake him up on time.
"But, but," Ruby began to defend before trailing off, Wolf slid to a stop and gave her a look that told he to answer his question "You just looked so cute! Alright! Is it a crime to wanna look at your face for awhile?!"
Wolf spun on his heel abruptly, wiping at his face in an attempt to hide the color quickly invading his cheeks "I-It's not, but, not until we are late for class." He responded quietly before taking off again.
The small girl marked the win mentally as she darted along behind him, the pair reached the door that led into Glynda's class and calmed their breathing, they cracked the door open slowly and glanced around, not noticing the teacher they walked inside, Wolf glanced at the seats and noticed Yang gesturing at something behind him.
"Wolf and Ruby!" The voice demanded sharply, the Faunus and the leader stiffened quickly.
"We are sorry!" They shouted instantly in unison.
"I wouldn't make a habit of being late if I were you two, take your seats." Glynda commanded flatly
The pair nodded, afraid speaking would incur the teachers wrath, before moving to their seats quickly.
"Why were you two late anyway, I know Ruby was up well before class started." Yang inquired calmly
Ruby leaned towards her sister to start whispering, Wolf just stared at the silver eyed girl flatly, she glanced at him after a few moments and lifted her eyebrows "What?"
"I can hear you ya know, don't gossip with your sister about us, it's a little weird." Wolf complained a sour look on his face.
Ruby giggled behind her hand and patted the Faunus atop the head for a moment "Sorry."
"Ruby and Wolf! Since you two seem to be paying such attention you will go first." Glynda shouted at the pair angrily.
The two snapped to attention quickly and made their way down to the arena, upon arrival they realized they had two opponents facing them, although neither of them recognized the two fighters opposite them. They met in the centre of the arena calmly.
"Hi, we were introduced this morning, you guys must of missed it, we are transfers from Vacuo," The girl introduced calmly, she had medium brown skin, dark red eyes, and light mint colored green hair, her weapons appeared to be two revolvers holstered on her lower back "I'm Emerald, this is Mercury."
"Charmed." Mercury tilted his head back and grinned
Wolf's nose twitched and he rubbed at it with the back of his hand, he shot the pair a suspicious look and snorted quietly 'There lying about something.' He thought to himself 'I've never smelt anything this…black before.' His thoughts snapped back to reality as he realized Ruby was introducing them.
"Ruby, this is Wolf, sorry he doesn't talk much." She chuckled slightly.
"Oh that's fine," Mercury placed a hand on the Faunus's shoulder with a smirk "But when we win no hard feelings, okay?"
Wolf flashed a grin, his extended canines flashing threateningly as he met the boys gaze flatly and closed his fist, his knuckles popped audibly as he tilted his head "Careful now pretty boy, wouldn't want to break too much of your face."
Ruby back slightly away from the pair, the auras the two gave off was like a pair of really dangerous animals were about to face off, although she had to admit, the look of surprise on Mercury's face was kind of priceless, kind of.
The two pairs rotated and walked to either side of the arena and assumed their starting positions, Wolf rotated his sword so the handle sat over his left shoulder as she pulled his gloves on tighter and clenched his fists.
"What was that?" Ruby half demanded, half inquired in shock.
"They lied about something," Wolf replied simply "And they smell…not unlike death."
"What does that even mean?" Ruby asked "How does someone smell like death?"
"They smell exactly like Grimm to me," Wolf snapped seriously "Granted, I've never been to Vacuo, they may teach a different class of hunter there."
Ruby shrugged "Well, too bad for them, we are the most unstoppable combination."
On the other side of the arena a very different conversation played out, Mercury stretched out slowly as Emerald walked over to him "So?"
"Nothing," Mercury replied worriedly "The guys hides all of his skills to easily, I couldn't figure out anything other than he's about as dangerous as the animal he's named after, he gives off the exact same aura as him."
Emerald smirked "Oh? This ought to be interesting."
"If he's even half as good as that guy we aren't going to have the luxury of holding back." Mercury warned
"What's wrong you scared?" Emerald challenged.
"No, wary, would be the right word." Mercury retorted as he hopped on his feet for a moment.
"Now, how do we win without looking too strong?" Emerald mused with a small smirk.
"I feel like my information was completely ignored." Mercury audibly thought.
"It was." Emerald nodded her head simply.
"Two on Two fights like this have simple sets of rules," Glynda explained "The two teams fight until one can no longer participate or until one team is sent flying over either side of the arena, the key is deciding what strategy to employ in order to fulfill one of these victory conditions. Begin!"
Emerald and Mercury shared a single look before they darted forward, they would just go through the motions, divide and conquer never failed them before.
Wolf dropped low before he launched forward, Ruby kept a few steps behind him, she was about to question why he hadn't drawn his sword, when he straightened and rotated into a punch that met Mercury's boot with a resounding thud 'Oh, even playing field huh?' She thought for a moment, before she heard the click of a firing mechanism, her eyes widened and she dropped to the floor and snapped her leg across Wolf's, flipping the Faunus over, the bullet flew passed Wolf's nose and he smirked at Ruby as she continued with the momentum and spun her Scythe upwards, driving Mercury back as Wolf dropped in between Emerald and her partner.
The girl spun her revolver on her finger as she drew it, Wolf rotated his shoulders slightly and dodged the first bullet, Ruby flipped around and the bullet flew over her head, she blocked Mercury's follow up kick with the side of her blade, firing the rifle into a spin Mercury was forced back another step.
Wolf spun forward as the blade on his left hand snapped upwards, he sliced upwards, striking the bullet in the centre, the two pieces speared into the ground either side of him "Hidden knives aren't fair." Emerald complained
"I could say the same about your friends boots." Wolf countered in the momentary paused.
"Touché." Emerald acknowledged as her revolvers shifted into their sickle form and she charged the Faunus, Wolf's eyes narrowed dangerously as he moved, evading the blows by a hairs breath each time, he smirked as he leaned backwards and kicked upwards, his foot clipped the girls chin and she lifted her head to avoid taking significant damage as she flipped backwards, Ruby planted her foot and sliced across strongly, Mercury jumped away from the strike, each side took a moment to collect themselves.
"I think they are targeting you." Wolf voiced through gritted teeth.
"That's so mean." Ruby glanced at the pair off opponents carefully.
"We should switch marks, She's fast but nowhere near your speed." Wolf chuckled
"I'll leave pretty boy to you then." Ruby nodded calmly.
Wolf altered his stance slightly and pressed his back to Ruby's as the two readied themselves calmly, Mercury and Emerald straightened momentarily before launching forward, Wolf and Ruby took a quick step before snapping around each other, Ruby sliced upwards and Emerald slid to a stop and crossed her weapons in front of her face as the point of Crescent Rose slammed into her weapons, Mercury spun to the left as Wolf fired his punch dagger towards him and continued undeterred, Wolf took another quick step forward and spun into a roundhouse kick, slamming against the silver haired boys with a resounding slam.
"Why not use that sword on your back?" Mercury questioned as the two gritted their teeth in the leg lock.
"Why don't you make me want to use it?" Wolf retorted with a flat gold-eyed glare.
Mercury spun out of the kick and kicked straight, Wolf sidestepped and Mercury pushed off his back foot and spun into a roundhouse, Wolf brought his arm up and the blow slammed into the Faunus boys forearm.
"That the best you can do?" Wolf questioned flatly
Mercury flicked a stray piece of his fringe with a quick chin movement and smirked, Wolf felt the slight shift in weight and his head snapped around in time to see Ruby get staggered back, the gunshot rang in his ears as he launched off his front foot, spinning around to catch Ruby in one hand he drew his sword no more than an inch, the bullet reflected off the weapon into the air with a loud chink.
"Ruby," Wolf struggled to keep his voice level, his hair hooded his eyes and he hunched forward slightly "Stay here."
Ruby watched the boy carefully before nodding "She got me a little, my Aura's out anyway, go get em."
Wolf rose to his feet and turned his head to either side 'If her Aura is really out that round might have killed her', his neck popped loudly as he moved towards the two opponents 'If her Aura is really out that round might have killed her', Wolf thought to himself, Ruby struggled with Aura exhaustion and sat up, Emerald's weapons shifted again and the blades shot out with the clink of a chain both blades flying towards Ruby, Wolf grabbed the pair of chains and his grip tightened, the pair glared at the Faunus, Wolf tossed both blades into the air, the retracted quickly. Wolf moved his sword off his shoulder, gripping the sheath in his hand he kept his face slightly downcast, his hair still hooded his eyes.
Emerald and Mercury shivered slightly at the aura the boy gave off, her weapons shifted back into revolvers and Mercury hopped on his heels for a moment, both of them moved at the same time, firing projectiles at Wolf as they moved towards either side of him, Wolf took a long breath and lifted his sword in front of him before spinning the still sheathed weapon his hand, the bullets bounced to the ground uselessly, his hand closed on the hilt and he glowed midnight blue momentarily before slashing down and slamming the blade back into its sheath, the ground shook for a moment before the concrete split upwards and groaned loudly as the shockwave sped outwards, forcing both of his opponents to jump into the air.
Mercury landed first, Wolf leaned forward until his upper body was almost parallel to the ground, hold his sword by the centre of the sheath as he launched forward with enough force to leave a crater at his launch point, Mercury's eyes widened as the boy closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, Wolf's hair floated upwards and revealed his eyes for only a second, each of the gold orbs burned brightly with unbridled fury, the pupils had narrowed to almost cat like slits, for the first time in his life Mercury felt real fear grip at his heart, Wolf's free hand closed over the boys face, he was hoisted into the air and slammed into the ground before Wolf spun and launched the silver haired boy straight out of hi side of the arena and embedded him into the wall, Mercury slacked and fell out, landing on the ground with a heavy thud.
Wolf trained his glare on Emerald, the girl glanced at Ruby for a fraction of a second and Wolf's face split into a menacing grin "Try it." He growled darkly
The green haired girl swallowed hard and widened her stance before launching towards Wolf still tired ally, Ruby managed to prop herself to her feet using Crescent Rose, but the use of her Aura left her still pretty much useless in a fight, Emerald rotated in an attempt to kick Ruby outside the arena, before a single black blade shot passed her and wrapped around her neck, she managed to get a hand underneath it to stop it from choking her, Wolf stepped forward and grabbed the chain with his other hand "Get back here." He ripped towards him, the girl lost her foot and flew towards him, Wolf rotated and lifted his leg, as Emerald flew passed the chain untangled and she crossed her arms in front of her face as his boot slammed into them, slamming her into the wall, leaving an identical crater to the one Mercury had left a few moments before.
"Wolf and Ruby are the winners," Glynda announced calmly "Let me give you all a simple pointer, Divide and Conquer works against human opponents, an Imprinted Faunus is another story entirely, I hope you all pay attention in Oobleck's classes from now on."
Wolf moved over to Ruby and pulled one of her arms over his shoulder, he noticed the wince when he stretched out her arm, he placed his hand on her side and felt warmth, glancing down at his hand he saw blood "Professor, I'm taking Ruby to the infirmary."
Glynda glanced at the pair calmly "Understood, that was well fought, Wolf."
He inclined his head slightly as the pair got into the hallway, Wolf bent down and picked Ruby up bridal style, the girl shifted through seven shades of the color pallet at the action "W-W-What are you doing?!" She gasped in surprise.
"This way puts lets strain on your side." Wolf responded icily.
'He's mad.' Ruby's head dropped slightly and the two moved to the infirmary silently, Wolf laid her down on one of the beds and looked around for the nurse, when he couldn't find her he moved to the cabinet of wraps and medicines and removed a few things before making his way back over to her side.
"You could talk," Ruby offered as the boy lifted her shirt enough that he could see the wound properly "It's pretty much just a scratch."
Wolf examined the wound calmly, she wasn't entirely wrong, she must have been caught by a stray bullet while he Aura was down 'Wouldn't surprise me if they were aiming for her.' Wolf thought angrily.
"I'm sorry," Ruby continued agitation starting to show through her voice at her companions silence "I made a few stupid mistakes and she got me, you happy now?!"
Wolf shifted forward and pulled the girls head into his chest, he sagged forward and heaved a long sigh of relief "Don't hide wounds like that," He breathed out "You can't just-Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
Ruby nuzzled into the boys chest slowly, both relieved and ashamed "I'm sorry, I won't do it again."
"You right you won't, cause you won't lose again," Ruby leaned back and looked at the boys relieved grin, she stared at his face for a few seconds in silence before placing a hand lightly on his cheek, Wolf's hand moved up and enveloped hers gently as he leaned into the touch and closed his eyes, taking comfort in the feel of her warmth. Ruby leaned forward and her eyes drifted closed as he lips met his, the kiss didn't last for more than a half second, it was over so quickly the pair questioned whether or not it had actually happened, Wolf's eyes snapped open in surprise as the girl pulled back and smiled widely, still blushing deeply she gave him a quick nod and hummed her response to his last statement confidentially.
The pair sat in silence while Wolf cleaned and bandaged the small wound, as Ruby said it was pretty much a scratch, the bullet had grazed her side and as soon as her Aura replenished she would heal it, Wolf leaned his forehead against her as he finished and sighed in relief for what felt like the fifteenth time that day.