It's Werewolf Friday, everyone! Are you on the edges of your seats? I bet you are! Fanfiction is all we got until October, after all. Don't worry. I'm here for you.

Enjoy!

Over the next few days, it became clear that tracking Adam wasn't the hard part of their mission. As Pyrrha had predicted, the crazed alpha never strayed too far from their vicinity. However, he clearly had his betas on patrol, because whenever the pack would try to chase them down, the trio would run while the pack was left to deal with an Ursa or Nevermore that Adam had used his alpha stare on.

Honestly, it was becoming more annoying than anything. It was mid-summer at this point, over a month since their departure from Vale, and Pyrrha just wanted to finish off Adam so that they could continue with their primary goal of getting her pack and the Huntsmen back to Vale.

According to Jaune, it would take several weeks just to get to Obsidian, only the second human town they'd be visiting. Roman probably planned on trading in some of the smaller settlements on the way there, which would add to the overall time taken. He also wanted to stay in Obsidian for a month. By the time they left, it would be mid to late fall. They couldn't afford to be wasting time on an obsessed lunatic.

Blake was sitting at the edge of camp, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of cooked rabbit, when Sun came over to sit next to her.

"Hey," he muttered. "How're you holding up?"

Blake swallowed the rabbit she was eating, and let out a sigh. "I just want this to be over. I'm tired of being scared of him. You know, before that Grimm attack, the nightmares actually stopped for a while!"

Sun nodded, giving her a sympathetic look. "It's gotta be hard. We'll get him, though. We've got him outnumbered."

"What if he hurts someone else, like Yang or Scarlet?"

"Then, we'll heal them and keep going."

"You know what I-"

"Yeah, I know." Sun wrapped his tail around her waist, lightly so that she could pull away if she wanted to. "Look, we're in danger no matter what. We're already going out on a limb by trying to bring the werewolves and humans together. This is just another problem to deal with. Once it's dealt with, it's back to the big problem."

Blake chuckled dryly. "So our life's a string of problems. That's comforting." She scooted closer to Sun and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks again for…everything."

This time, Sun didn't hesitate to pull her into a one-armed hug, gently nuzzling one of her cat ears. "Don't worry about it."

Pyrrha, meanwhile, was curled up near the dwindling fire, still tired from the previous night's attempt, when Jaune approached. Despite her mood, she felt herself smiling up at him. "Hello."

"Hey." Jaune sat down next to her. "Don't be discouraged. We'll get him. He can't keep doing this forever."

"It feels like he can, though," Pyrrha sighed. "His mental state is degrading due to the alpha stare, but he can still run. His betas can still use their powers." She shook his head. "I can't fathom what he wishes to accomplish at this point."

"It's like you said: He's crazy," Jaune said, shrugging his shoulders. "I was actually thinking of a plan, if you wanted to hear it."

Pyrrha immediately sat up. "Of course. You're our best tactician. If anyone can figure something out, it's you."

"Well," Jaune began. "We've mostly been trying to hunt them down at night, right? Because you guys are able to transform and are stronger."

"Yes."

"What if we went after him during the day? Blake talked about how he thinks a werewolf's second shape is superior, so he might not expect us to come at him then. At the very least, his betas will be less likely to be as alert."

Pyrrha thought about it. "It could work, but he'd still be able to use the alpha stare and outrun us."

"Not necessarily," Jaune said. "Even werewolves get tired, right? Here's what I'm thinking: The Huntsmen attack him in the early evening and keep pressing him until night. In the morning of that day, you get the pack to fan out in the woods, outside of his betas' range. Then, when it's nighttime and he transforms…"

"He'll be exhausted from fighting, while the pack will be full of energy!" Pyrrha finished, her eyes shining with excitement. "Jaune, that's absolutely brilliant!"

Jaune blushed at the praise. "I'm a little mad that I didn't think of it sooner," he muttered.

"Nonsense. This is perfect," Pyrrha insisted. "Gather everyone around. We need to see what they think."

Of course, no one had any objections to Jaune's idea. It was decided that they would take a day and a night to rest, then start getting the werewolves into position the following morning.

There was a quick hunt before the werewolves fell asleep near each other and the Huntsmen did the same. Flynt was the first beta to keep watch that night. Ruby and Weiss were nestled against each other. Nearby, Blake was sleeping next to Sun, whose tail occasionally touched hers as he dreamed. Neptune slept on Sun's other side, resting his head on his best friend's paws. Neon dozed near where Flynt was keeping watch. Perry slept nearby. They were more or less in a giant pile

The Huntsmen slept in pairs. Ren and Nora, of course, were together, as were Fox and Coco and Yatsuhashi and Velvet. Jaune sat a little to the side, watching them, feeling a strange sense of loneliness as he gazed at the three peaceful duos. Back when his team would spend multiple days in the forest, he would normally sleep with Ren and Nora, or Ruby. Now, he felt that it would be intrusive to try sleeping near Ren and Nora. Ruby was sleeping with her pack and with Weiss, so that was out of the question.

He looked up when he saw a familiar red form pacing around the werewolves, checking on each member of the pack to make sure they were sleeping well. His thoughts, for some reason, went back to the morning after his run with the pack, when he had awoken to that same wolf curled up on top of him like a lapdog.

At that moment, the green pinpricks of her eyes turned in his direction and blinked. He looked back, feeling a sense of calmness that he never would have thought possible when looking into the eyes of a werewolf. It was incredible how their bestial forms didn't even phase him anymore.

Pyrrha, meanwhile, was looking at Jaune, two impulses warring in her mind. On one hand, it would be perfectly natural to curl up near one of her packmates, feeling fur against fur. On the other, she found herself wanting to, once again, fall asleep listening to her human's heartbeat.

She quickly shook herself, looking away from Jaune and choosing a spot near Neon and Perry. You remember how uncomfortable he was last time, she scolded herself. Besides, you're acting leader. You need to sleep by your pack. Parting her jaws in a wide yawn, she closed her eyes and fell into a restless sleep, her mind already on implementing Jaune's plan and hopefully ending Adam's threat once and for all.

Jaune looked at the sleeping werewolves for another moment, then breathed a sigh and lay down by himself near the fire.

…..

Yang's eyes were red as she dodged a whooshing dagger, spinning around and delivering a hard punch to the bandit's chest with her good hand. She smirked at the satisfying "Oof!" that the man let out as he fell back. Nearby, Neo was unsheathing the hidden sword in her umbrella.

The bandit stumbled to his feet and ran into the woods. Yang tried to run after him, only to be stopped by Neo.

"I think he got the message," she murmured.

"But-"

"Just because I numbed it doesn't mean you should jostle it," the small trader cut in, eyes flashing as she looked at Yang's wrapped arm.

Scarlet peeked his head out. "Want me to transform and chase him down?"

"That would be a terrible idea," Roman said flatly. "Besides, he won't get far. That was a two-bit thief if I ever saw one. He'll try to rob someone else and get beaten up even worse."

Yang frowned, troubled at the thought of letting a criminal get away. For the thousandth time, she cursed the slow healing of her arm. She felt Neo's hand on her good arm, saw the concerned frown on her face, and let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, I'll let him go."

"Good girl." Roman let out a yawn. "Now, we should probably keep going if we want to make it to the next town by morning. Neo, would you mind driving?"

"Will do." Neo looked up at Yang, who didn't look the least bit tired. "Um, would you like to sit with me?"

Yang felt herself smiling at the offer, despite her lingering agitation. "Sure."

Once they were sitting at the head of the wagon, and checked to make sure everyone was ready to move, Neo clicked her tongue and flicked the reins, prompting the chestnut horse to start down the road once more. The two sat in silence as the stars shined down and the shadowy trees passed by.

"So, what's the horse's name?" Yang asked after a few minutes. "I just realized I never heard what he's called."

"Griffin," Neo replied. "It was his name when we bought him, and Roman saw no point in changing it."

"Hm. Good name." Yang looked at the seemingly tireless horse. "Not much fazes him, does it?"

"Nope," Neo said, smiling a little. "Not even werewolves, apparently. It's funny: I always heard that animals are instinctively afraid of werewolves, but I guess that's a myth."

"Well, Pyrrha told us that the first werewolf was blessed by the Moon after almost being killed by Beowolves. So, in a way, werewolves are the opposite of Grimm."

Neo tilted her head. "But, don't people turn into werewolves when Beowolves scratch or bite them?"

"Yep," Yang chirped. "So the Grimm are making more enemies for themselves."

"That's very clever," Neo realized. "It definitely puts a new spin on most of the stories."

They started up a hill, and Griffin moved a little quicker to get the bulk of the wagon to the top. He eased into a light trot as the ground became even again. Neo slowed him down, not wanting to jostle the men.

"This would be really nice," Yang mused aloud, enjoying the night air on her face and pushing back her hair. "I mean, if I wasn't worried about the guys killing that asshole."

"They'll get him," Neo said immediately. "I'm sure of it. I've never seen more capable fighters." She paused before adding: "It'll be a shame when you all go back to Vale."

Yang grinned. "The two lonely wanderers got attached to our crazy group?"

Neo giggled. "I'm afraid so. Roman cares a lot about everyone, though he doesn't like to admit it."

"You'd better be keeping your eyes on the road, Neo!" Roman called from inside the cart, a slight edge of embarrassment in his voice.

"Go to sleep, Roman!" Neo called back.

"Aw, he's just a big softie!" Yang laughed.

"Watch it, blondie!"

The two women exchanged a glance and similar smirks, but didn't say anything else for a while. Yang glanced at Neo out of the corner of her eye, wanting to wrap her good arm around the trader's shoulders, but not wanting to disrupt her driving. In the end, she settled for scooting closer, so that their shoulders and hips were touching. Her heart thudded when Neo responded by snuggling into her side.

As Roman had predicted, they reached the next town just as the sun was coming up. As they drew closer, however, it was clear that something was wrong.

People crowded the streets. Some were begging while others wore heavy packs and were clearly traveling. All of them looked weary and hollow-eyed, and barely glanced up as the wagon came through.

Roman came out of the cart, watching with a frown. It was like this in the last town between here and Burgundy, but not quite as bad. What's going on?

They continued down the road until they found the main marketplace, which was also crowded. "This is a disaster," Roman grumbled. "Setting up on the edge of town won't work with this chaos. I'll have to go through and set up a half mile down the path. Might have to skip this town altogether." He got out of the cart and approached one of the less busy stands.

"Excuse me, my good sir," he said. "We just arrived."

"Won't be finding any room at the inns," the trader said as he showed some pelts to a couple. "Town's full of refugees from Obsidian. They keep coming through, trying to get to Burgundy, though I heard there was a Grimm attack down that way." He shook his head. "Nasty business."

Roman waited for the transaction to finish before asking: "What's in Obsidian? That town is huge, practically a city, and it has that mountain on one side. Was it Grimm?"

"From what I hear," the man murmured, glancing over his shoulder before continuing. "The folks coming through are convinced that they saw vampires."

A shiver went down Yang's spine. She had heard tales of the mythical vampires. They were said to be people with red eyes who have been corrupted by the Grimm and were even capable of controlling the creatures. But, they weren't supposed to even exist, at least not this far south.

Roman's face paled, but he just nodded before getting back into the cart. "Neo, take us through."

They stopped a mile outside of town and got out. Sage and Scarlet were looking nervously at each other while Roman had started pacing back and forth. Neo patted Griffin's shoulder while Yang waited for someone to talk.

Finally, she broke the silence. "So, what now? Do we keep going?"

Roman sighed. "I should've had a backup place," he muttered. "They're gonna make a beeline for Obsidian once they kill Adam. They're gonna be too eager to catch up to us to take any regular paths." He shook his head helplessly. "We're gonna have to at least get close. Then maybe we can catch them before they get there."

"You don't really think there are actual vampires, though," Neo spoke up. "I mean, they're just stories."

"You didn't believe in good werewolves until recently," Yang reminded her.

"That's different! I always knew werewolves existed."

"I mean…" Scarlet muttered. "Once the pack catches up, we could probably beat up any vampires, right?"

Sage nodded. "Doing so could win the favor of the people of Obsidian. Imagine having a whole town in our pack's debt."

Yang smiled. "That would take care of the human side of our plan in one go!"

Roman looked at each of them before letting out a groan. "My profit margin is going to plummet traveling with you kids!"

"But, Roman," Yang said. "You'll probably be the only source of outside food and resources coming into that town. Imagine how happy they'll be."

"True…" Roman tipped his hat thoughtfully. "Ah, fine. Let's go to Obsidian. I'm not setting foot in that town, however, until the werewolves and my bodyguards are all back! I'm not an idiot, after all."

With this decided, the group set up camp for the night, anticipating their upcoming journey. Vampires, werewolves, Grimm… Yang thought to herself. Even now, they're easier to deal with than people. She felt Neo shift in her sleep next to her, and smiled. Most people, anyway.

The name Griffin was chosen by my patron Jojrre. Another perk of funding me on P/atreon is that I sometimes poll them on things that should happen in my stories when I'm having trouble deciding.

Things are starting to get interesting, aren't they? The end is in sight. (Still in the far-off distance, mind you, but actually in sight for me.) After that, I'll need to figure out what my next Friday fic will be. Ah well. It'll be a while before we hit that point.

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!