"We have to leave." Ruby stood at the front of a very strange pack.
Yang and Vitali sitting on opposite sides of the couch from each other, with infrequent, awkward eye contact. Thistle leaned against the wall near her brother, listening intently, while Verna paced back and forth, restless despite her injuries. Krystal and Aries, meanwhile, we're cuddled up together, the faunus petting the wolf, giving them both much needed comfort.
"We took out their stash but we barely survived." She hated how numb her voice sounded. What had seemed normal for years had quickly become alien and unnatural within just a few days. "Ebony Grey is still out there and so is Iris. Even the best case scenario still leaves us with two extremely dangerous people hunting us. Worst case… they're just the beginning of what the cartel will send to defend their profits."
She saw the disheartened looks consume the expressions of those who had been in that fight. If you could even call that a fight. It was pure luck and surprise that saved us last night.
"Krystal confirmed it, Ebony is the one who hurt Alan. If they know Alan they probably know Vitali, and it won't take them long to find this place." Cold, unfeeling eyes watched her pack for their reactions, but mostly, they just listened. Seeing us come home in the state we did probably was enough to convince them.
"We have to get as far from here as we can, now." The plan was simple; a tactical retreat.
"Where are we supposed to go?" Vitali leaned forward, with a brief glance to his little sister, before returning his attention to Ruby. "We have no other home, barely any money, I have a job nearby I've been at for years. All of this was to keep this neighborhood safe."
"None of that will matter if they find this place." She took a firm step forward, holding her crystalline gaze on Vitali, her heartbeat steady and calm. "They're too dangerous, and they're intent on killing anyone in their way. Even if all of us fought together, we might not be able to stop them."
The wolf could still feel Ebony's hands gripping her neck, the strain, the struggle to breath, being just moments and millimeters from death. Her heart rate increased and a tightness gripped her chest, straining her breaths and pulling her to the edge of panic. That's the first time I've come close to death before
An imperceptibly soft exhale was all it took to bring her back from the edge, slowing her heart and encasing her fear and panic under ice.
"Yang, you need to take everyone to Patch. Pack only what you can't live without, and be ready to leave in less than an hour. Move quickly and don't stop for any reason until you reach the ferry." Ruby could feel her instincts gnawing at her stomach. She felt an impulse to use her tail, her ears, her scent, to communicate her feelings and intentions. Words are nice, but they're not enough for a wolf.
"Whoa! Wait, you want to hide everyone back home?!" Yang stood up, not fully believing this was really the plan.
"Yes." Ruby responded immediately, without emotion or hesitation. "It's isolated, and safe, for the moment."
"So how exactly am I supposed to get a pack of criminals, no offense, and a giant fugitive wolf, through port security?" Yang frustratedly rubbed her fingers roughly through her hair.
"Do any of you have active warrants for your arrest?" Ruby gave a sweeping look at her pack.
"Nope." Thistle sounded off.
"Never been caught." Vitali said proudly.
"I have no warrants, and neither does Alan." Krystal assured.
…
…
…
"Verna?" Ruby narrowed her eyes at the artist who had stopped pacing and had slunk back against the wall with a sheepish grin.
"Well…"
"Verna." Ruby repeated sternly.
"I maaaaay have one or two… or five, heh." Verna's cheeks heated up with a warm pink as she tried to laugh it off.
"Of course you do." Ruby couldn't help it, a fragile, cations smile tugged at her lips.
"Yang, you take Thistle, Vitali, Krystal and Alan. I'll take Verna and Aries and we'll meet back up at Patch." If she was being honest, she was glad she didn't have to be alone.
"And where are you going?" Yang folded her arms with a suspicious glare at her sister.
"Beacon." Ruby spoke softly, but her words carried a weight that immediately made Yang's arms drop to her sides.
"Oh…" Yang held her sister's gaze, those eyes that shined like hardened steel polished to a mirror finish as the silence stretched between them. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"I have things I need to take care of, and I don't think I have much time left to do it." The wolf was unflinching, her vice grip on her feelings suppressing everything. I've let myself get complacent. I've had so much fun with everyone, I don't want it to end. It has to.
"The perigee is tonight." The stark intensity of Yang's words drew looks of worry and confusion from her pack.
"I know…" The wolf faltered with a soft, resigned sigh. "But I need to do this."
"What's the perigee?" Thistle bravely raised the first question, breaking the duopoly the sisters had on the conversation.
"It's when the moon is closest to Remnant. It's a pretty rare event." Vitali answered his little sister, but his eyes were fixed solely on Yang.
"And this time is the first time in hundreds of years where the perigee lines up perfectly with the full moon. We've had this marked on our calendars for years." Yang's tense muscles relaxed and she fell back into her seat on the couch. "I'm worried."
"What's going to happen to Ruby?" Verna pushed herself from the wall, looking back and forth between the two sisters, her expression at once reassuring and worried.
"We don't know." Ruby admitted coldly. "But my professor, who knows about me, thinks that something big is going to happen."
The timing couldn't be worse. Everything is happening so fast. My expulsion, the Perigee, Ebony Grey and the Cartel, breaking Aries out… and whatever happened last night, when we were fighting Ebony and before with my aura. I'm stressed. As hard as I'm fighting it, I feel this heat in my chest I can't shake. Still, for however long we stay together, the people in this room are my pack. I'll keep them safe, no matter what.
"Ruby," A gentle touch, a soft warmth wrapped around the wolf girl's wrist, and a warm smile devoid of fear or pity, greeted her when she looked up from her chaotic thoughts. "Aries and I will be there, for whatever you need, no matter what happens."
"Verna…" The hurricane in her mind was just a gentle spring breeze as she stared at her friend. Still, a dull ache bit into her heart, knowing all she could do was give a nod of gratitude, denying her instincts. "Thank you."
"Mmmrrrfff." A gentle whine sang from Aries' throat as he pressed his side against Ruby's. His tail was still and his ears pointed subtly in opposite directions, flattening them outward all the while looking up at the wolf he accepted as his alpha.
Aries' condition had improved literally overnight. Not fully recovered, but the psychological affirmation of feeling like he was part of the pack had done a lot. His eyes held a luster of life that was extinguished in his small, lonely enclosure. Ruby could feel the mats in his fur, though a long grooming session with his alpha helped relieve most of them. And Yang's expertise with wolf diets is going to help his recovery along a lot faster.
"Alright," Yang gave a resigned smile at her little sister from the couch. "I'll take care of my part but… what exactly do you want me to tell dad?"
"The truth, but spare him the details." Ruby trusted Yang to know what she meant, and she didn't have a drop of doubt in her heart.
"Sparing, got it." Yang nodded, imagining their dad's reaction if he knew everything that had been going on. Probably a good call.
"What if we run into trouble before we get to the ferry?" Thistle's muscles were tense, her eyes fixed forward and alert.
"Fight only as hard and as long as you need to get away. We're still injured and even with Yang and Vitali to cover for Verna and myself, if Iris and Ebony fought together, it wouldn't matter. Getting to Patch is the priority." Ruby spoke firmly, making direct eye contact with Thistle.
She's powerful, tenacious and always ready to fight. I can feel it, she doesn't have the ambition to lead, but a strong impulse to protect through fighting. A beta who would keep order and be fiercely loyal, different from the supportive nature of Yang, but still, she's someone I'd love to have in my pack any day. Her instincts trickled out, and she could almost feel her currently non-existent fur bristle excitedly at the prospect.
"Keep everyone safe, keep everyone moving. Got it." Thistle's expression didn't change, but Ruby could swear her eyes held a hint of gratitude aimed at the wolf, if only for a moment.
"Krys…" An exhausted, empty voice cracked from the stairwell following heavy, unsteady footsteps descending towards them. "Thanks for the lemon juice, it's the only thing that gets rid of the bad taste and…"
A young man, Vitali's age, stood at the middle of the staircase, blinking blearily over strained and reddened eyes. He had short, curly sand brown hair and eyes to match. His entire appearance was disheveled, blood stains covered his light brown hoodie and his face was bruised worse than Verna's.
"What happened to you?" He looked down at his little sister, his voice holding just the faintest trace of something other than exhaustion.
"Alan!" Without a thought for her sore, beaten body, Krystal rushed towards the stairs, barely fighting back tears as she rushed up and hugged her big brother so hard it almost toppled both of them.
After a long moment of surprise, Alan's brain caught up to reality, and he embraced his sister. "I'm sorry your big bro is such a mess…"
"It doesn't matter." Krystal pulled away, light brown eyes burning with fierce protective intensity. "We hit the cartel back for what they did to you! We destroyed their stash and warehouse!"
"Wait, you did what?!" Panic swept over him as he looked downstairs at the pack, his eyes lingering on Thistle and Verna, seeing their injuries, before finally looking at the striking silver eyes staring coldly up at him. "What were you thinking? Who are those two? What are they doing here? Is- is that a wolf in the living room?"
"Calm down, calm down." Krystal spoke so softly and gently. "They're friends, and yeah, that wolf's name is Aries, he's a friend too."
"But wha-"
"Explain while you pack and on the way. We need to get ready to leave." Ruby turned from the stairwell to her sister on the couch. "Yang, get a quick breakfast ready, you won't be stopping for anything until you get to Patch so after you are all done packing, eat quickly…"
With a few nods of agreement, her pack got to work, dispersing from the living room. Krystal led Alan upstairs, slowly laying out the events of the last twenty-four hours with Thistle following close behind. Verna simply picked up a backpack by the front door and was ready to go. Yang set to work in the kitchen while Vitali went for a nearby closet.
Ruby watched her pack, her senses bouncing from one to the next, hyper alert and focused. With a long, deep breath, she drew in the scents around her. Her pack, this house, somehow, in such a short time, they already started feeling familiar. Her eyes glanced down to Aries, and then over to Verna who was humming happily to herself.
I have a bad feeling about today…
The fact that they didn't come after us right away makes me nervous. Thistle's eyes rapidly scanned for danger as the group walked through the city.
The pack split; Ruby, Verna and Aries going to Beacon as planned, leaving the rest to make their way to the port.
Their walking order hadn't changed since Ruby left. Thistle had fallen to the back, on high alert she was ready to take on anyone to give the others a chance to run. Vitali and Yang took the middle, with the blonde keeping up a constant distance between her and him. At the front, Krystal took the lead, ensuring her brother was right by her side.
If we only had Ebony and Iris to worry about, they would have mobilized a lot faster. I doubt they'd have a lot of trouble finding us. That tells me they're getting strong reinforcements, not just cannon fodder. As Thistle had done many times since they left home, she looked behind her, and then back to the group in front of her. Her muscles hardly relaxed and she kept her hands intentionally close to the sheathed knives at her sides. Ruby probably figured the same.
In the center, Vitali kept his eyes on the woman in front of him. Yang's stunning golden locks hair waved from side to side with each step. He had his hands casually in his pockets as he walked at a slower pace, gratening the divide in the pack.
Might as well… Vitali shrugged, working up all his nerve to close that gap between them.
"Hey." Vitali spoke softly, struggling to keep up with her quickening pace.
"Hey…" Yang muttered back, not even sparing the man beside her a glance, her eyes fixed forward on nothing.
"So, about last night…" Without thinking, his hand pulled from his pocket, rubbing the back of his own neck in an anxious reflex.
"It was fun, right?" Yang finally looked up at him with a face so hot it could melt iron.
"I mean, yeah, of course it was but-"
"That's good. I liked it too." She gave a satisfied sigh before turning her head away from him. For just a second, Vitali saw her feelings leak out of her facade, a faint depression tainting her smile.
"Well, I wanted to talk about it. I mean, you haven't said a word to me since last night and I just… don't know what to think." He was far from used to making himself vulnerable. Vitali's eyes looking anywhere but the woman beside him.
"Can we just… not do this?" Yang let out a long, stressed breath, her hand moving to her forehead where she ran her fingers through her bangs. "It was fun, we can just leave it at that?"
"Yang, I-"
"Look, I get it, but there's just too much going on right now. So drop it." Those last words dripped with frustration and anger, leaving no room for rebuttal or argument.
Without so much as a glance to her side, her pace increased, leaving Vitali behind as she caught up to Krystal and Alan. Leaving Vitali alone in the gap.
This won't just go away, Yang. Helpless, all he could do was slow his stride, giving her the gap she wanted between them, while a powerful, dull ache bit into his heart.
Up ahead, Krystal kept her attention on her brother. Her Semblance would warn her of any incoming dangers, allowing her the freedom to put her focus elsewhere. She knew her brother couldn't walk as fast as the rest of them in his condition, and they were slowing the rest of the group down. Which is why we need to stay in the front. If anything happens, Alan is our weakest link, if he's with me, I can protect him and the whole group at the same time.
Alan was shaky. Every step seemed arduous despite his abysmal pace. His eyes were so sensitive that he had to have his hood up despite the mild autumn day. His matted, dirty tail dragged against the concrete in contrast to his sister's pristine tail which twitched up and down, but always kept off the ground.
"How are you feeling?" Krystal looked up at her brother, her voice firm with authority while her eyes held a softness of compassion and worry.
"A little nauseous, but I'm alright." Even as Alan spoke, he could feel his intestines constrict and writhe inside him like they were going to burst from his abdomen. I'm making her worry. I should have told her where I hid that Venom when she cleaned the house, I let her throw every other one away… except the one I knew she wouldn't find. I'm pathetic.
"If you need us to slow down we can." Her hand gently touched her brother's arm, feeling the soft, familiar sensation of his hoodie against her fingertips.
"I'm fine!" Alan yelped, ripping his arm from her with his teeth bared, a look of panic overwhelming his face. His shaky hand gently wrapped around his arm, rubbing the place his sister had touched while taking a step away from her. "I- I'm fine… I'm sorry."
"It's already happening?" Her voice whispered as light as a feather.
"Yeah." He let out a quivering breath, slowly releasing his arm. "I'll be okay. I can handle this. I got clean before…"
"And it nearly killed you." All she wanted to do was reach out and touch him, to give him comfort and reassurance. But I can't… I can't do anything for him. I couldn't even keep him away from it. I was the first to get knocked out by Ebony Gray, I wanted to make him pay for what he had done to Alan. In the end, Ruby, Verna and Thistle were the only ones who could do anything. I'd be dead if it wasn't for them.
"Hey, you both need to drink." Yang's sunshiny voice chimed up behind them. "You can't get dehydrated, we've still got a bit of a walk before we get there."
Without waiting for a response, Yang reached into a small backpack behind her and pulled out a large bottle of water. In a blur, the bottle appeared in Alan's hand as he struggled to get the cap off, muttering profanities to himself while his trembling fingers failed to cooperate.
"Hold on, let me get that." Krystal reached over and unscrewed the cap before he could protest, water spilling on the ground as a tremor rattled his entire body.
Alan hesitated, with his lips millimeters from the bottle, his eyes briefly looking to his sister as she watched with an inscrutable expression. Then… he drank. Water disappeared from the bottle with each rapid gulp. Flimsy plastic collapsed under the force of his grip, forcing more liquid down his throat.
Only a small fraction of the water was left when he came to a sudden stop, his gaze fixed on the water left in the bottle. He could barely control his muscles as his body urged him to keep drinking, even as he pulled the bottle away from his mouth through gasping breaths.
"H-here… you need to drink." Alan's heart was pounding, each beat felt like an explosion in his ringing ears. Between the ass kicking I got and the cool down and now all this walking, I think this is the second shittiest I've ever felt.
"... You need to drink more. I had a lot of water before we left so I'm fine." As tenderly as she could, she pushed the bottle back towards him.
Alan looked at the bottle, and then once more to his little sister. His mouth and already felt parched despite how much he already drank. It was like a magnet was stuck to his hand and face, pulling the bottle towards it with a powerful compulsion.
"Half…" He muttered, shoving it back to Krystal.
"Fine." Begrudgingly, she took the bottle, knowing his stubbornness wasn't going to let up otherwise. Even so, Krystal barely took a single sip, before forcefully handing it back to him. "Drink."
Alan hovered over the bottle, his fingers barely touching the cool plastic, he couldn't look his sister in the eye for more than a moment. He gave in after only seconds, but to him, it felt like forever. Ripping the bottle from her hands, he quickly gulped down the rest without pause.
Krystal watched, without anger or disappointment. I'll get you better again, I promise.
"Yang." Krystal turned her head back, but kept walking in a straight line, never missing a step.
"What's up?"
"What's your home like? The one on Patch?" She spoke coolly, but an undercurrent of worry was undeniable.
"Um, it's… nice?" Yang folded her arms over her chest, eyes glancing up towards the sky. "It's a pretty big house, too much room for just three people, or even four. I didn't get it when I was younger, but I get the impression Dad wanted everyone living together his team and us kids, and built it with that in mind."
"I see." There was a subtle, complex shift in her expression; the way her lips ever so slightly parted and her eyes dulled in a barely perceptible way.
"Alan will be hitting withdrawals soon." Krystal snapped back to reality, every fiber of her being focused with intensity on one single thing. Keeping Alan safe.
"Wait, isn't he already going through withdrawals?" Yang took one look at Alan and that was all she needed to confirm her assumption.
"This is just the cool down. Normally, it's not so bad, well, it's bad but not like this." She took a deep breath, recalling many nights she had to tend to her older brother through his addiction. "The cool down gets worse if you've already gone through withdrawals. That, plus the beating he took, plus everything else happening now…"
"How bad will the withdrawals be?" Even imagining a worse state than Alan was already in broke Yang's heart. Verna said one time, that the higher ups let venom run rampant in poor neighborhoods because it keeps the people living there from being so miserable that they attract the Grimm. If that's true, it's unbelievably cruel.
"Bad." One single syllable alone, encapsulated more suffering and heartache than Yang could put into words. "It could last weeks, and he'll be in agony the entire time. Venom is a real carrot and stick drug that way. At times, he won't be able to move on his own, at others, he'll turn violent and do anything to get a quick fix."
Yang could only listen, already knowing the implications, but unable to give any answers or support. I only hope Ruby will have a better answer than I do.
"He's my brother, you should understand what that means to me." Krystal's voice shook with rage, not at Yang or her brother, but directed inwards. Giving a bitter huff of frustration, all she could do was turn around, and keep walking forward.
Beside Kyrstal, Alan had remained silent, his head low and his eyes fixed towards the ground. I'm sorry, Krys.
At Alan's slow pace, the fragmented pack walked. Yang now with a bigger gap ahead of Vitali, who despondently followed along. All the while, through everything, Thistle watched from the back, ever alert. Under her breath, she muttered;
"We're a mess." Thistle shook her head softly. "Hopefully things are going better on Ruby's end."
A tail slapped anxiously against cold metal, while wandering blue eyes took in the unfamiliar surroundings. In his ears, he felt the pressure in the air change rapidly, all he could do was bare it, his ears instinctively flattening. There were no other humans or faunus around, whatever they were inside of, it was next to empty.
He looked up, as he had done many times since splitting up from the rest of his pack, towards his Alpha. She didn't look the same, she didn't look right, or happy. The scent she gave off was one of an animal struggling, it didn't help his anxiety. Still, he sat as close to her as possible, his head held high, watching out for any danger and keeping his senses open.
Beside his Alpha, Aries watched his human pack-mate sitting on the bench, close to Ruby. She smelled unusual, a scent he had never encountered but always clinging to her, it wasn't bad, but it was strong. Even so, underneath that, she smelled earthy and soothing, a natural scent made by her body.
Ruby hadn't spoken much. He understood their language, though he physically couldn't speak it. Even so, Aries could tell that Ruby understood everything he told her through the wolf's language, though her sense of smell didn't work very well when she looked like a human.
The rest of his pack had gone somewhere to be safe from whatever happened to Ruby, though she never told him the specifics. When she had come home, he smelled a scent on her that left him uneasy, the smell of a human with violent intent, adrenaline and rage that clung to his alpha's fur. She smelled like fear when she came to their den, and collapsed. Still, she returned, with their rest of their pack, so she must have been victorious. Even so, the scent of fear hadn't left her completely.
His stomach lurched with a troubling tightness and his tail flicked more erratically. The smell of her fear clawing its way to the forefront of his memory, and his nose focusing even more on her scents. His jaw muscles bound tight and his back straightened, stiff and tense, preparing for something to happen, though he didn't know what.
Then… a touch. A firm, strong touch, but also gentle, and warm. He felt a hand exuding a familiar, affirming scent, stroking under his chin, and the sides of his face. Fingers softly pushed into his fur, massaging his neck. Another weight fell between his ears, her other hand, smoothing out his fur as though she were grooming him.
He looked up to his alpha, who looked back down at him, only the faintest display of happiness on her human face, and only a hint of it on her scent. She held back her feelings and actions, he couldn't understand why, but he had a guess. Even so, as he stared into her shining silver eyes, he felt his body relax, and his tail resume an easy, rhythmic sway. He felt safe, he knew he wasn't alone. She had saved him, and would follow her anywhere.
"Aries is already looking better." Verna leaned over Ruby, smiling brightly as she watched her pet him.
"He's still recovering. It'll take time, but he will recover." Ruby's voice, so monotone and emotionless, stole a bit of luster from Verna's shining grin.
"That's good," with a more subdued happiness on her face, she reached for Aries, letting the large wolf smell her hand. "He's been through a lot."
"Yeah…" Ruby felt her grip on herself slip, just a little, but feeling Aries' fur soothed her, alone with the gentle warmth radiating from Verna's body so close to hers.
"How did he end up being the last of his kind?" Taking one last, lingering touch on Aries, she begrudgingly made herself pull away, sitting back up, side by side with Ruby.
"Remember how I said wolves were hunted to extinction here in Vale?" Ruby looked not at Verna or Aries, but instead, out the window of the airship that was taking them to Beacon. From above, she could see both the sprawling city shining with lights, and the dark, distant forests beyond.
"You said it was to protect the farmers, right?" The artist tilted her head at the wolf-girl.
"Yeah, and it's the same story in Mistral. Farmland was raised up in wolf territory and it scared away their prey and destroyed their dens. That was their home, for countless generations, then it was gone. They continued to try and hunt, but the farmers who's livestock they were hunting fought back, and the kingdom put a bounty on the wolves, there was a big campaign to eliminate them… and it worked." Ruby's hand trembled atop Aries' head.
"I wonder… if they understood what was happening to them." Verna's eyes rested on Aries, his looking back into hers with what she could only describe as comforting.
"I think they did, to an extent." Ruby sighed softly, feeling her heart rate increasing little by little as the conversation went on. Still she forced her attention to her wolf companion, looking him the the eyes as she spoke. "But they had no way of knowing the magnitude of the forces working against them."
"That must have been terrifying, losing their homes like that and then being hunted to extinction." Every muscle in her body was compelling her to rush over and hug Aries, and hold him as tight as she could.
"It was different in Mistral though in some ways. The Vale campaign against wolves ended decades ago, before I was born. In Mistral, it was still ongoing when I was little. The wolves there, the Aries Wolves, they hunted in forests and grasslands, but tended to live in forests, while the wolves here in Vale almost exclusively hunted in the plains, and lived there as well. Ecological activists and scientists brought an end to the policy, but it was too late. The numbers of remaining wolves kept decreasing…"
"Until it was just Aries…" Every word left her lips weighed down with the heavy pain of empathy and compassion.
Aries shifted under his alpha's touch while listening intently to his pack-mate. He struggled reading emotions in the voices of humans or Faunus, though his sense of smell was far more reliable. The girl, Verna, she smelled hurt and angry. They were talking about him, about his past, his family. No one had ever told him why it happened until now, but it didn't matter, the past was gone. He had reason to live thanks to his alpha, resolving in his heart to not let his family get taken away again.
"I'm the first of my kind, you're the last of yours." Drawing in a slow, steadying breath, Ruby leaned over, placing her forehead on top of his, letting the warmth exchange between their bodies as her eyes closed softly. We don't have anywhere we truly belong… this world doesn't have a place for us.
Suddenly, the empty transport felt so, so much lonelier. Even with Verna only inches away, she still felt the cold, alienating touch of isolation. I need to get myself together. I can't let myself fall apart. Control, control…
"Ruby…" Verna's hand reached across the chasm of loneliness, without hesitation or respect for the impossible distance she could close, with just a touch.
"What is it?" Ruby pulled her face from Aries' fur, leaving the familiar security, and turning her eyes to the uncertainty beside her. Within the span of only a breath, the wolf clamped her heart in a vice of cold steel.
"I want to show you something." There it was, underneath her complex expression and subtle tone, that conviction, that passion that was the impetus behind her every move and every word. It was like watching a force of nature in its own right.
She didn't wait for Ruby to respond. Verna pulled her backpack from her back and placed it on her lap, quickly undoing the zipper and reaching inside. Ruby just watched with a cool, but curious look.
"Here." With that, she placed a coil bound book of paper into Ruby's hands. "My sketchbook.
Ruby froze with the cover of the sketchbook held between her thumb and the knuckle of her index finger. A strange feeling, hot and enticing, but also frightening, like standing at threshold to something big, hesitating at the perimeter. She looked from the book, to Verna, her expression so hard to read, but eagerness, anxiety and intensity all dominating over something else hidden in the background of her visage.
The wolf gently rubbed the cover with her thumb. It had been well used, well loved, it was something that she clearly treasured. She felt she could do nothing but give it the respect it demanded of her. Ruby let her heart and mind soften, leaving her vulnerable and open to whatever she would experience in the content of Verna's book, her art… This somehow feels…. close.
She opened the book, to the first page, and her gleaming, silvery eyes widened her awe.
It was a wolf… a beautiful wolf sketched in pencil, but so vivid in expression and form that it looked like it could escape from the page any moment. Each stroke that detailed its fur, each carefully planned smudge, every line held a certainty and beauty that gave no room for argument. The powerful animal, teeth bared and eyes gleaming despite the lack of color sent a chill down Ruby's spine. Is that…
"The first time we met, in the alley." Verna's voice sent a rolling wave of warmth coursing through Ruby's chest to counter the chill that gripped her body. The pure fondness and nostalgia in her words were potent enough to draw Ruby's eyes from her art, and back to the artist.
"Go on to the next one… when you're ready, they're all at the front of the book." She leaned in closer, her shoulder gently pressed up against Ruby's and her oily hair brushing against the wolf's cheek.
"Okay." Was all Ruby could bring herself to mumble.
The next page was dark as the night, the paper covered in charcoal. However the image wasn't in the dark, it was in the light. The absence of charcoal in fine, delicate details, weaving thorny vines and fallen petals from roses at the ends, at the bottom of the page, a girl, small and bound in the tangles that grew up the page, ascending until they coalesced around a giant, powerful wolf. The girl, light and cast in the darkness, the wolf, dark and cast in the light.
"Wow…" Ruby could barely contain herself anymore, emotions welled up, tightening her throat and commanding her heart to beat just a little bit harder.
"I spent most of my time at the hospital working on that one. I left once it was finished." She said each word like it held boundless meaning that she wanted Ruby to know but couldn't say out loud.
"Is this… how you see me?" She could barely pry her eyes away from the page, her fingers delicately and tenderly touching her likeness, the wolf cast in light.
"I see you in a lot of different ways, and that only gets more true the longer I know you." Verna blinked at her friend, staring intently into the wolf's eyes.
"I-" Ruby felt an impulse strike her mind and body in a pulse, her instincts telling her to do something though she didn't know what. She felt the pressure of countless emotions struggling to break free, the wolf gnawing its way out of her grasp as she stared back into Verna's eyes.
"I can't look at anymore." The wolf's voice trembled, the unstable hold she had on her emotions slipping as she grappled for control. I hate this
An exhale, small and weak left her lungs carrying a fraction of her stress, was the only release she allowed herself. Ruby's eyes closed softly and she focused on her heart, controlling her every breath. She numbed her brain, snuffing out every spark of feeling that could compel her to change.
"Here." Ruby was barely recognizable, everything about her was all uncomfortably wrong. "Thank you… for letting me see it."
Verna reached and took hold of her sketchbook, her gaze never leaving Ruby's even for a moment. She lingered, not letting go or pulling her book away. A hot intensity bubbled up inside of her, just from looking at the wolf-in-human-skin across from her. Though they were separated by mere inches, the space between their hands on the sketchbook, they felt further apart than she was comfortable with. This hurts. I want to grab her and shake her until she comes out. I want her to give me her real feelings on what she saw in my sketchbook. I know this is bad timing, and it's not her fault. It's my fault for doing this now, but-
"Thanks for looking at it!" Verna beamed with a playful grin, her cheeks tinting slightly pink as she took her sketchbook back.
"Verna…" The closeness Ruby had felt was gone, replaced by what felt like an impossible distance once more. Still, as impossible as it felt, her hand moved, reaching out towards the artist as she struggled to put her sketchbook in her bag. I-
Beeep
A loud ringing cut Ruby off, her hand snapping back into her lap before the artist even noticed it closing the gap between them. Suddenly, they felt a slight jarring as the airship came to a stop.
"We're here." Ruby got to her feet and began walking to the door, not allowing herself to glance back at her pack.
Still, her ears focused unconsciously, bypassing her will. She could hear Verna's footsteps, light and soft against the cold floor. Aries was closer, his claws scratching the hard surface beneath him as he hurried along right behind his alpha.
The doors slid open, letting in a rush of cool autumn air. The smell of dying leaves, the scent of nature slowing down as it prepared for winter was so potent that even with her human nose, it made her want to turn, right then, and bound into the forest. Hunting would be great right now, I'm hungry, my teeth feel tense.
"I need to deal with a few things, we'll need to leave before sunset." Ruby looked to the sky where the sun counted her waning human hours down amidst scattered grey clouds. I don't have long.
"What do you want us to do?" Verna stood beside Aries, who looked much less uncomfortable now that his paws were on grass.
"Stay around here, but don't attract attention to yourselves. They won't let you in without an ID or pass, so you'll have to stay in the courtyard."
"Got it," Verna gave an affirmative nod, reaching beside her and patting Aries' head. "We'll be ready when you are."
Without turning, Ruby gave a nod back to them… and walked towards the massive campus.
As late as it was, the courtyard was quiet, only a few students wandered around. It was a school night, she imagined those students that were still out and about were going towards the library or common areas for studying.
I remember when I first came here. I almost turned as soon as I Beacon Campus up close. Yang was right there beside me, so even though I was anxious, I could handle it. I met Blake and Weiss here, in the courtyard before the entrance ceremony. Blake had hid her ears under a bow, no one knew she was a faunus. Weiss was pretentious, coming from her background it's what everyone expected, but she turned out to be a lot more than that. It's funny… we all came to Beacon hiding who we really were. Blake is a faunus, Weiss is more childish than she lets on, I'm a wolf, and Yang was keeping my secret, and so, it was hers too.
Ruby's cloak fluttered in the cool winds that swept in from the forest, carrying with it a familiar, nostalgic scent. She stood at the threshold, the entrance to what had once been her life's only dream, her only purpose. She stood there, steadying her heart once more, before walking inside.
When we became a team, I didn't expect to be made leader, far from it. I wanted it, I wanted to lead, I wanted to be someone my team could trust and depend on. I don't know what Ozpin was thinking. He knew about what I was, and yet, he still made me leader. Weiss didn't take it well, she still doesn't. Blake doesn't seem to care one way or the other, though she was frustrated with our progress and how I led, but over the last year, she's become more accepting of it, even though she doesn't know about me.
The sound of her footsteps echoed through the halls. Her eyes strained slightly against the harsh, unnatural lights above her head. Still, as much as Beacon had become a reminder of what she'd lost, it was still her home of three long years. Ruby effortless wandered the corridors, turning on muscle memory towards her destination.
When Blake told our team she was a faunus, it was our second year. An incident with the police in Atlas and White Fang made international news, and tensions were high and many faunus were anxious about the repercussions. Blade undid her bow, and told us her story. She was once in the White Fang, she had an abusive boyfriend who quickly climbed ranks with violence. She was scared, and angry. I wanted- I wanted to tell her that she wasn't alone. I wanted to hug her and make her feel safe. She was part of my pack… but I couldn't do it. Not without risking turning, and I didn't want to take anything away from her, that was her moment, not mine.
Her pace grew slower, knowing she would have to stop soon. The movement felt calming, she could think better when she was walking than standing still, she wasn't sure if that was a wolf trait, or just her.
Still, I passed up every opportunity I had to tell them. Ozpin said it had to stay a secret, and I wasn't allowed to be a wolf here. Even so, I wanted to tell them… no, that's a lie. I was scared, I could have told them, I could have shown them, but I was afraid. I felt at ease, I had a pack, I was an alpha even if I couldn't act like one. If I showed them, and I lost them, or if they had told Ozpin, or if I let down my guard, it all would have been gone. So, here I am, with nowhere to belong.
knock knock
"Please come back later, extra credit at make-up work opportunities end at five pm and I am in the middle of conducting incredibly delicate research!" Familiar voice blurted out in a frantic tone.
"Really?" Ruby muttered, letting the slightest amused grin spark to life on her face as she opened the door. "I didn't realize playing Muse Bash counted as delicate research."
"Wa! I- I was only checking my-" He trailed off, looking up at Ruby with bewilderment as the music from his game sang from his headphones.
"Ruby!" He bolted up from his chair behind his desk.
"Hey, Dr. Oobleck." Ruby's grin softened to a gentle smile, feeling safe and comfortable in the empty classroom with her mentor and friend.
"Ms. Rose, it's good to see you're still in one piece, your sister missed classes last night and you disappeared." He cleared his throat and straightened his glasses, regaining composure. "Where have you been?"
"Would you believe," Ruby closed the door behind her and took a few steps closer. "That I made a bunch of friends, committed a felony, and pissed off the Venom Cartel?"
"... I can't tell if you're joking." His smile faded, squinting his eyes at the wolf while he mulled over what he had just heard.
"I'm not." She wanted to laugh, but she held it down.
"This felony… it wouldn't happen to involve the local zoo, an endangered wolf and a traumatized security guard they found tied up in a broom closet, would it?" He slumped back in his seat and took a long gulp from his thermos.
"I admit nothing." She tried to do her best impression of Verna's innocent smile, but knew it wouldn't be quite as good. She grabbed a chair and walked to his desk, placing it down and taking a seat across from him.
"I supposed that's probably for the best. Now, what's this about new friends and a drug cartel?" Oobleck gave a huff of laughter, getting ready for what he was sure to be quite a story.
"Well…"
Ruby delved into the story, sparing some details, especially incriminating ones, or ones that she knew would worry him. Almost being killed was a no go topic, she didn't even want to recall it.
Oobleck sat and listened to her story, hearing her gush about her new friends, but always keeping an emotionless, distant voice with eyes like liquid helium staring at him. Verna especially, the young lady he had escorted to Ruby only days prior, had been a recurring topping as she told her story.
"So, you destroyed a huge supply of Venom and burned down their warehouse. Now the cartel is after you and your friends?" Oobleck was reeling from the information Ruby had just dropped on him.
"Yeah…" Her hands gently played with each other on her lap, trying to keep her stress down.
"That begs the question, Ms. Rose; what will you do now?" He leaned towards her, listening patiently but anxiously for her answer.
"That's why I came back. I need to talk to Professor Ozpin." Her frosted steely eyes betrayed a hint of something, but he couldn't be sure what. "And I wanted to ask you for a favor."
"What is it?" Oobleck prompted. He wanted to ask more questions, he had a feeling he already knew. Even so, he wouldn't pry.
"Yang… can you forgive her absence last night and tonight? She was helping me and just being a protective big sister. I don't want her to fall behind because of me." A bittersweet note stood out against her otherwise monotone voice. She couldn't keep eye contact with him, not without risking turning from the storm she suppressed in her heart.
"Is she not going with you… wherever you're going."
"I- I can't derail her life anymore than I already have. She's been good to be, but humans and faunus don't belong in a wolf's pack, she'll be better off-"
"Did Ms. Xiao Long tell you this in her own words?" He already know she hadn't.
"N-no but-"
"It's noble of you to want to sacrifice yourself for others, but try to think how your sacrifice will make those you care about feel." Oobleck held a steady gaze as her eyes rose to meet his.
"There's something else." A panic was rising in her chest, Ruby felt a tightness grow as his words echoed in her heart.
"Oh?"
"My aura… it's disappearing." Ruby's jaw clenched. I need to get out of here, away from Beacon, I'm not sure how much more I can handle.
"What do you mean?" Oobleck slowly sat up, a worried expression sweeping over his face.
"I turned back into a human last night, before fighting the cartel, I could barely turn my aura on to make myself warm. It was even weaker this morning. Now, I can hardly feel it at all." Splitting her focus from holding down her feelings, she tried once more, as she had been doing all day, to pull her aura forward, to no avail.
"Fascinating…" Oobleck hummed to himself, placing his chin in his hand while he rocked back and forth on his chair. "Have you noticed any other changes?"
"Well, when I was fighting one of the cartel as a wolf, we were, um… losing, badly. He was about to hurt Thistle, and he'd already hurt Verna and Krystal. I don't know, my brain just told me to howl, so I did. It felt strange, like for a second, I was connected to something. I think- I think my howl disrupted his Semblance somehow." She hadn't told any of this to her pack.
"Very fascinating." He muttered even more softly, but the rocking in his chair became more frantic and excited.
"Do you have any ideas?" Ruby tilted her head.
"Perhaps." His chair fell still, his mind completely occupied by a notion that was rapidly coming together. "Come back before you leave, I might have something for you."
"Okay." The wolf's curiosity bled out of her control, but she knew better than to rush him.
"You should go see Professor Ozpin, it will be dark soon." Oobleck let out a long sigh, before leaning back in his chair.
"I will. Thank you." Ruby pushed her body to get up, fighting against her desire to stay, to talk with him more. But that's the trouble with being a wolf.
She couldn't bear to look back at him as she walked away. Just like with Verna, she knew it would be too much for her.
"Be careful, Ruby." Oobleck barely whispered, words so soft and quiet they were nearly imperceptible even to his own ears.
"I will." Ruby responded simply, standing far from Oobleck, her hand on the doorknob. Not noticing the impossible acuity of her own hearing. Without another word, she left, closing the door softly behind her.
Just one more thing, one more thing and then I can leave. With crushing willpower, Ruby picked up her pace, silencing her mind and heart.
The elevator ride up to Ozpin's office was a dangerous opportunity for reflection and introspection. She kept her mind busy, counting the buttons on the control over and over again, not letting her attention divert to anything else.
She could feel the sun setting, even in the windowless box that brought her up to the headmaster's office. Time burning away, counting down in her internal clock, to the inevitable dusk, and the full moon perigee that she'd been afraid of and excited for, for years.
ding!
The elevator came to a smooth stop, and the door opened. She saw Professor Ozpin, his calm eyes already looking into hers, but not at all surprised by her presence.
His office was strangely dark, but the large windows gave her a wide view of the vast land that sprawled out and away from the kingdom in all directions. Wild and free.
"Come in, Ms. Rose, I've been expecting you." He beckoned the wolf with a friendly, calm tone, and she obliged.
"You have?" The wolf felt an unusual apprehension from her instincts as she approached him.
"Yes, after being informed of our conclusion and then your and Ms. Xiao Long's disappearance, I had a feeling you would want to talk to me when you returned." He gestured to the seat across from his desk.
"You were right." Ruby sat down, staring at the wilds in the distance. He has no lights on in here, even though the sun is getting low. Did he really know I was coming and do that for me?
"Tell me, what's on your mind, Ms. Rose?" He leaned back, smiling pleasantly at her.
"I'm leaving Beacon. Immediately." Even as her own words reached her ears, they still didn't seem real. Despite having made this decision the night she rescued Aries. I- I really said it. I'm really doing it.
"Oh?" He still somehow, didn't seem surprised, though his smile faded slightly. "Your expulsion isn't set to take place until spring, at which time you would have still six months left at Beacon that would remain unfinished. However, you could still become a Huntress if you exceed your credits and had an endorsement from one of our faculty before your expulsion. There are still options available to you."
"I know." Her gaze fell, looking at her hands resting in her lap. This isn't really me…
"A wolf can't be a huntress. Wolves can't coexist with humans and faunus." Her hands squeezed each other tight, a desperate attempt to quell the trembling.
"And why is that?" Ozpin folded his hands together, interlocking his fingers while his chin rested atop them.
"Wolves were hunted down to extinction on two continents, and are critically endangered on a third. As for me, I had to wear the form of a human my whole life, to fit in, to pursue my dream, to have a life or even a family. There's no place in this world for wolves…" Ruby fought with all her will to keep her emotions in check, without her watch to monitor her heart rate, she could only rely on herself.
"So then, what will you do?" His calm smile was gone, replaced with a more neutral, cool expression, but one that somehow still exuded both authority and compassion.
"I'm going to make a place for myself in this world. Far away from humans and faunus. A place where I can be free, and run, and hunt and never, ever have to take this human body up again. A place I'll never be afraid to feel myself." Her instincts gnawed at her, the uncomfortable feeling of trying to wag her tail, only to find nothing is there.
"Will you be doing this alone?" Nothing she said had even seemed to phase him.
"I-" Her voice trailed off, though her soft lips still parted. Her mind immediately brought her to her pack. An image of Yang, Thistle, Krystal and Alan sitting at the familiar dining room table she grew up eating around. Then… she thought of Aries and Verna, waiting in the grass outside, the artist explaining color theory to a wolf while he curled up around her to keep them both warm. Alone… I can't take them with me, it wouldn't be fair. Aries, he's a wolf, but the rest of them…
"I don't know." Her muscles gave out, her body slumped weakly in her seat while her eyes stared dully at nothing.
"I hope that, whatever your next step is, Ms. Rose, you're not alone." His hands gently landed on his desk, still clasped together. A knowing smile pulled at his lips. "After all, a wolf needs a pack, right?"
A wolf needs a pack, but… I can't ask them to be my pack.
"I need to leave." Ruby stood up, her heart starting to beat out of her control.
"Very well, it is getting late." He spoke softly, drawing Ruby's attention to the nearly setting sun on the horizon.
"Just, one more thing." She stopped herself, freezing her panic and flooding her hot veins with cold. "The neighborhoods, on the outskirts of the city… they need help. If you could send more huntsmen and huntresses there, the Venom cartel are out of control and there's nothing the people living there can do to stop them."
"There's an unspoken, unwritten policy to leave those areas to themselves, the Council sees the Venom problem as self regulating. Those areas often don't have the economic power to hire huntsmen or huntresses to keep their neighborhoods safe, so few jobs come through for us to take." Ozpin watched Ruby very carefully, unblinking, unflinching.
"We're not mercenaries. We don't help people for the money. We're supposed to help because it's the right thing to do." She spoke so coldly, but her eyes once dull, had hardened like the finest steel blade as she glared back at him.
"We?" His smile widened, a very pleased grin, but also with a look of satisfied pride.
"... can you help?" She repeated herself, glancing between Ozpin and the sky outside.
"I'll see what I can do, Ms. Rose." Ozpin sat up straight in his chair.
"Thank you." With a shaky breath, Ruby turned for the elevator, her heart pounding. Anger, fear, anxiety, stress, passion, depression and pain all clawed furiously and desperately, filling every fiber of her being with tension.
"Have a good evening." Ozpin said just as Ruby disappeared behind the sliding metal doors of the elevator.
I- I'm losing.The wolf's breaths grew more and frantic as she hurried down the halls of Beacon, running on autopilot, letting her muscle memory guide her while she focused on maintaining her human form. This is bad, the full moon is coming, my heart feels like it's about to rip itself apart.
Her quickened her pace while her skin rippled with waves of sensation, like a heartbeat too powerful and large for her body to contain. Her teeth burned like glowing metal, but somehow, it left her wanting more, to fall into the pain and fury that was consuming her every thought and feeling.
I'm scared, I'm scared. The perigee is coming. What will happen? Will I permanently stay a wolf? Why does that scare me? I shouldn't be scared, right? I can start a pack, just me and Aries… why does that hurt so much. I can't have everyone in my pack, they won't want it and it wouldn't be far to ask! They're not meant to be in a pack, my instincts are screaming at me, why is everything so intense?!
Every window she passed, the light from the sun grew fainter and fainter. She could feel her body aching, every muscle and nerve straining against her incredible will. Her bones groaned with discomfort, every step sent a torrent of sensation. She needed to be free, she needed to let herself feel the only thing that made her feel real. I want to be me…
I need to get to Verna and Aries, I can turn as soon as I find them, but not here! I'm losing it, just a little long just a little-
"Ruby." A voice like a blizzard slammed into the wolf, bringing her chaotic mind to cease and her body to freeze in place.
The wolf turned slowly, feeling as though any sudden move could set off her transformation. There, before her, standing at a familiar door…
"Weiss…"
Time crawled to a halt and the whole world disintegrated from the wolf's mind. All that existed in that moment, was her, and her former partner.
"We need to talk!" The pure malice in Weiss' voice made Ruby blood run cold. The wolf couldn't run, her fragile form holding on by the most delicate of threads. Even as she felt Weiss' hand grab her wrist and pull her into their dorm-room, Ruby could only keep her attention on not turning.
Ruby stumbled into their room, hearing the door close in front of her, with Weiss standing between herself and the only exit. The heiress' arms were folded over her chest while she scowled at her dazed and panicked lead.
"Ruby, where have you and Yang been?" Blake jumped down from the top bunk, leaving a book open face down to save the page.
"Yes, where have you been?" Weiss took a firm step forward. "You disappeared, skipping classes entirely without a word to anyone and even worse, you dragged your sister, Blake's partner, into your poor behavior and the whole team, as usual is suffering for it."
"... get out of the way, Weiss. I'm leaving." Ruby tried to sound firm, tried to glare, but all of it was snuffed out under her barely restrained panic.
"No! You don't get to run off again!" Weiss got even closer. "Ever since I came to this school, you've been ruining my chance to finally get away from my father, to be a huntress! This matters to me, but you haven't shown that you care for anything!"
Ruby held her tongue, numbing herself out as best she could, turning off her emotions, though the panic still bit and scratched right alongside herself, the wolf.
"I've spent three years being held back by you! You never even tried, you never once gave me any reason to think differently about you." Another step closer.
"You don't know me Weiss." Ruby muttered under her bitter breath. "I wish you understood."
"How could I!? You never let anyone in, you're even cold to your own sister, I don't know how she puts up with you." Weiss was almost within arm's reach of her leader.
"It doesn't matter." Ruby held Weiss' gaze, her instincts overriding her judgement.
"Nothing matters to you! You've never tried, you've never cared about any of us. We were never a team to you!"
The wolf and the heiress were now face to face, so close they could feel each other's hot breaths as they stared each other down.
"It doesn't matter… because I'm leaving Beacon." Ruby didn't falter, but the words felt like acid as they left her tongue, burning and scouring her throat and nearly shattering her control, right then and there.
"You're… leaving?" Weiss took a single, small step backwards, her rage snuffed out in an instant and her voice the softest Ruby had ever heard. A pang of worry and guilt bit into the wolf's heart, almost compelling her to close the gap and embrace her former pack-mate.
"Are you sure about this? Leaving?" Blake spoke, keeping her distance, her cat ears pressed back ever so slightly and her body taking a defensive posture despite the empathy in her amber eyes.
"Yes. I told Ozpin I was quitting and-"
Slap!
… Ruby didn't even feel the impact.
Her blood felt like lightning was surged through every vein. Her cheek started to burn with a slowly growing pain. In an instant that felt like an eternity, she brought her eyes up to Weiss.
"How dare you!" Weiss spat with passionate rage, baring her teeth. Her body quivered with adrenaline and her chest heaved with every panting breath "You're just giving up!? Three years I've been held back by you for nothing!?"
"Weiss, wait!" Blake took a tentative step forward, pleading but unheard over the heiress' fury.
"You were supposed to be our leader! You're just abandoning us!?" Tears pooled in her glacier blue eyes, shimmering with pain as she kept her teeth bared and jaw clenched.
"Step… aside…" Was the only thing Ruby could say.
Her words were so completely devoid of feeling and that, for a moment, she saw pity flash across Weiss' expression… until it was swallowed up by anger.
Weiss' hand reared back, her palm open as it rushed forward towards Ruby's face…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A piercing scream shook the room.
Ruby's felt a pressure wash over her tongue and flow over her teeth, a hot gushing that drenched her sense of taste and smell with a primal high. Her heart pounded like thunder and her jaws gripped tighter and tighter, only stopping when she felt she had hit muscle without destroying it.
Without any effort, her powerful neck lifted the small body in her jaws and tossed Weiss. The heiress slamming hard against a wall, knocking over a nearby bookshelf.
Ruby walked forward, her fur bristling while a low growl rumbled from her throat, shaking the air. Her tail was held high and her eyes stood on end, pointing up as the imposing Alpha closed the gap between her and her former Omega as she struggled to pull herself off the ground.
"Rrrrwoooorrf!" Ruby let out a furious bark, her powerful front leg slamming down on Weiss' chest, knocking the air from her lungs.
Weiss stared back, wide eyes filled with terror and pain while Ruby's fangs bared down at her, the massive and powerful animal completely overwhelming the huntress in training.
"Ruby stop!"
The wolf's ear twitched at the familiar voice. Silver eyes, still burning with primal fury, looked over towards the beds, where Blake had kept a safe distance. The faunus' hand was cautiously outstretched, her scent flooding the room with both panic that mingled with Weiss' fear and the overpowering smell of blood.
Ruby body slowly relaxed, and her head turned to her former partner… whose arm was still gushing blood.
I- I bit Weiss…