Crazy trouble with love part 9
Amazons, Ren, and Jaune
Series: RWBY
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"Ren….we're going to die, aren't we?" Jaune groaned, staring out at the sea. He looked down, their yellow inflatable raft was barely big enough to hold them both, and he was sure it was leaking air somewhere.
"Jaune, I keep telling you, thinking like that isn't going to make matters any better." Ren sighed, a hat covering his face as he sat back to back with Jaune. "I'm sure the cruise ship will send a search party to find us."
"Aw come on Ren, it's been weeks! We've been left behind."
"Jaune, it's only been a few days."
"A few days for us, weeks in rescue time! For all we know they could have just written us off as being eaten by a sea Grimm!" Groaned Jaune facepalming. "I knew I had a bad feeling when we went on that cruise, but I didn't listen to it."
"Jaune, you insisted on coming, you even won the free tickets, remember?"
"Yeah, but I didn't think we'd go overboard during a storm. I even checked ahead and everything, they didn't say anything this whole week."
"Well we did, we just got lucky you grabbed a raft before we fell overboard. Besides, we'll either be found by a rescue team or wash up on a shore in one of the kingdoms." Remarked Ren looking out at the sea. "It's only a matter of time and patience."
"It can't be that easy, what if something bad happens?! What if a sea monster eats us, or another storm hits?!"
"Jaune, you're panicking again." Ren sighed. "Take deep breaths, nothing bad is going to happen." he said as he sat up and smiled. "In fact, I think our problems are over."
"Oh come on Ren. There's a limit to how upbeat you can be while STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN!"
"I wouldn't call being next to land as being in the middle of the ocean."
"Well I w...wait what?" Jaune said as he turned his head to see Ren looking at a large shore in front of them, the raft being pushed in by the tides. "Land….land! It's land! We're saved!"
"Yep, I told you things would work out Jaune." Ren smiled.
"Swim for it!" Jaune cried, jumping into the water and heading to shore.
"Waiting to get closer would be easier." Muttered Ren who started to paddle himself to the shore with his hands.
After a bit both were on the shore, with Jaune soaking wet, and Ren pulling the raft onto the sand.
"Alright, land sweet land, we're saved, we're saved!" cheered Jaune kissing the sand while Ren got out of the raft.
"And soaking wet."
"Details Ren, details! All that matters is that we're safe and back in civilization!" Jaune got up with a smile and looked around, but all he saw was miles of jungle, making him lose his smile. "Uh….Ren? Where's the buildings?"
"I have a theory, but I don't think you're going to like it."
"Does it involve the plants just growing really really fast while we were gone?"
"No, it's the fact that we were close to the Grimm lands when we went overboard, so it's not a stretch to assume we floated over to them."
"...please tell me you're just trying to troll me."
"Nope, and given the fact there's no signs of human life only makes my theory stronger."
"Come on, for all we know we wound up at some island resort. We just gotta hike a little and we'll find civilization in no time." Jaune said, Ren shaking his head.
"Fine, maybe we can also find some food and shelter while we're at it."
"If I have to eat another fish I think I'm gonna puke. I need some real food, like a hotdog, or pizza, or even a burger."
"Fine, if we find one of those we can eat that." Ren sighed. 'Poor Jaune, he needs time to adjust, we're obviously stranded in the Grimm lands, no one is coming to save us here.'
"Onward." spoke Jaune heading into the jungle with Ren following.
(Later)
"Ren, be honest with me, are we completely lost?"
"That depends, are you getting that feeling again?" Ren sighed as he and Jaune hiked through the jungle, wary of any unfamiliar sounds they heard.
"Yes."
"Then yes, we're lost."
"Damn it!" Jaune groaned.
"On the upside I think I see a clearing coming up over that hill." Ren said as Jaune perked up.
"Really?"
"Let me check ahead just to be sure." Ren walked ahead, going up the hill and pushed apart some shrubs, but blinking and stopped. "Hey Jaune? I might have found something."
"What is it?"
Ren pointed ahead of the shrub, making Jaune move over as they looked through it, his eyes widening since they were looking at a village of grass huts that looked like a village with cattle grazing nearby and a bonfire burning in the center.
"Wow."
"Yeah, I never would have thought people could live out here in the Grimm lands."
"Wait, where is anyone?" Asked Jaune, taking a step closer.
"I don't know." Ren said as he looked around. "Something doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?"
"If people live here, you'd think there would be a few staying here to guard it, especially if others went out hunting, but it's empty." Ren said as he looked around.
"Huh, yeah, you're right... you don't think the Grimm got to them, do you?"
"No, otherwise there'd be signs of a fight." replied Ren as a pair of eyes looked at them from behind as said man noticed a shadow over him. "Jaune? Mind backing up? Your shadow's hitting me."
"Uh, Ren? I'm right beside you."
"Huh? Then whose shadow is covering us?"
"That'd be me~" Called a voice as they turned in confusion, only for their eyes to widen in shock. They had to tilt their heads up, looking at a girl who was several feet taller than them. She wore a pink colored top that looked like it was made from animal fur, with a skirt made out of leaves. All of which left her skin exposed to show muscles while having short orange hair and an amused grin.
"Uhhh...uh..." Jaune stammered, shocked.
"Hi!" she waved with Ren gulping.
"Um...hello." He said cautiously.
"So what are you two cuties doing here?" she had to crouch down to look them in the eyes and looked over them curiously. "And what's with the weird clothes?"
"Um, they're just our normal clothes?" Jaune said, confused.
"I've never seen them before." The figure said as she rubbed her chin. "They look so soft and strange, what animal are they made out of?"
"Uh...they're just made of wool, not animals exactly."
"Huh? What's wool?"
"It comes from sheep."
"Sheep?" The woman asked as Ren sighed.
"Nevermind, so do you live here?"
"Yup! Lived here my whole life with all the other girls." She smiled.
"Others? I don't see anyone else." Jaune looked around before the girl suddenly brought a sack over the two. "Huh?!" Jaune cried as he and Ren looked around in confusion. "Hey, let us out!"
"Nope~" She sang before they found themselves knocked off their feet as she pulled the sack up and lugged it over her shoulder. "Wait till the girls get a load of you two."
"Hey, let us go!" Ren called.
Nora hummed as she walked to the village, both guys finding it awkward to break free due to the lack of space.
"Well, this isn't exactly ideal." Ren grumbled.
"Ya think?!" Jaune shouted. "We've been kidnapped!"
"On the bright side, we don't have to go far."
"Far for what?! What are they going to do to us?!"
"I dunno, but I can't wait to find out!" Nora called with a smile. She reached the center and put the sack down. "Now to wait until they get back from hunting."
"Can you at least let us out of the sack?" Ren called.
"No can do. You might run off." She said with a grin as she lightly poked the sack, giggling as Jaune and Ren moved around inside.
"And run where?! We're in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by endless forests, wild animals, and Grimm!"
"I don't know, but I ain't taking a chance." She spoke before perking up when she heard leaves being pushed aside. "Sweet, they're back."
"Great, more giant people." Jaune groaned as the earth lightly shook.
"Just keep calm and let me do the talking." Ren advised as they felt the shaking come closer, followed by other voices.
"Fine, whatever you say Ren." Jaune said, growing worried. "You don't think they'll eat us… will they?"
"...let's try not to give them ideas." Ren said as Jaune gulped nervously.
'He didn't say no.'
"That boar was a real squirmer!"
"Maybe if you grabbed it quicker, my clothes wouldn't have gotten messy." huffed one of the voices.
"Please, like your clothes ever get that messy, you spend half your time washing them you weirdo!"
"It's not weird!"
"Hey girls! I found something you're gonna love~" sang Nora bouncing on her heels.
"Is it that tasty fruit we found a few months ago?"
"Nope~"
"Is it some cool new rock we can use to decorate?"
"Noooope~"
"Is it a new Grimm?"
"Not even close~"
"Come on Nora, just tell us! It's probably in that filthy sack, isn't it?"
"You got it." she grabbed it and pulled it off the two boys. "Tada!"
"Uh….hi." Jaune let out, him and Ren having to look up when they noticed a crowd of girls, same size as Nora, looking down at them with confusion.
"Nora, what the hell? You found midgets?" A blonde woman asked, wearing what looked like tan hides in a bikini.
"They seem a bit….off." Remarked one, with long black hair and what looked like cat ears on her head, wearing a black furred leotard hide over her body.
"Yeah, what's wrong with them, they look even flatter than Weiss." Remarked one with medium length brown hair with a hat on her head made from a wolf's hide, with a matching dress on that exposed her shoulders, but was above her knees and showed off her legs.
"HEY!" yelled one, with long white hair in a side ponytail, wearing a matching leotard. "I'm right here!"
"Psst, Ren, what do they mean by flat?" Jaune whispered in confusion.
"I have an idea but I'm not sure…" Admitted Ren as he cleared his throat. "Uh, excuse me ladies, but we feel there is some confusion here."
"Hey, what's wrong with her voice, does she have a sore throat or something?" Asked one who was slightly shorter than the rest with dark black hair with red tips, pale skin, and wearing a full black hide that wrapped around her body like a fur coat.
"Ren, did she say she? Do they think you're a woman?" Jaune whispered to his friend in confusion.
"No, I think they think WE are women."
"Huh? Why?" Jaune asked in confusion.
"I don't know." Ren said blankly. "Why would I know?"
"Maybe they're lost, from a far away land." Suggested one with red hair in a ponytail with numerous bones strapped around her body to cover the private areas, albeit leaving a lot of skin exposed.
"Well, you're not wrong, we washed up on the beach." Ren spoke up. "I'm Ren Lie and this is my friend Jaune Arc, can you tell us where we are?"
"What do you mean?" Asked one woman who had white hair and what looked like sheep ears on her head, she was wearing what looked like smaller hides sewn together into a loose dress that seemed to cover up most of her body. "You're in the Red hide tribe's lands, where else would you be?"
"The what?" Responded Jaune confused.
"That's the name of our tribe, and you're in our village." Replied a woman with short black hair like the other girl, except this one was obviously older with her own cat ears, wearing a long black pelt draping down her arms, but her legs were exposed with a brown loincloth.
"Ok...well can you just point us to the nearest town or ship or CCT?" Jaune asked quickly.
"Town?"
"Ship?"
"CCT?"
"That doesn't sound good…" Jaune groaned. "Ren, are we stuck here?"
"I think so." Ren said as he spotted a new woman approaching, this one looking similar to the girl with the red highlighted hair, except she was older and her hide cape seemed to be a pale red on the inside and white on the outside. "The question is what do we do now...and what do they have planned for us?"
The woman stopped in front of the group and crouched down to look at them closer.
"Hmmm…. You two are small, but you look right, you know what they are too, don't you Kali?"
"Yes." nodded the short haired black woman.
"What are they mom?" asked the longer black haired girl.
"Why they are men, my little kitten." She said with a smile as the girl blushed.
"Mom, I told you not to call me that!"
"Men? Men?! Oh no!" Cried out the girl with red tips before looking lost. "Uh, what are men mom?"
"They're the opposite of women, they help make babies.? She said as she ruffled the younger women's hair. "But all ours died out when most of you were babies, so I understand why you're confused."
"Wait, you don't have any guys?" Spoke Jaune in surprise.
"Yes, one day they went hunting after a vicious Grimm, and while they managed to kill it, it also took them with it." Kali sighed mournfully. "Our husbands were part of them."
"Whoa…" Jaune said in shock. "Sorry to hear that…."
"Yes, as am I, but I was hoping you could tell us what you plan to do with us? She threw us in a sack and brought us here." Ren said as he pointed at Nora.
"Hey, I never saw you before, I figured either you'd be useful, or we eat you." She defended herself making the white haired girl stick her tongue out.
"Gross! Why in the world would we eat them?! Do they look like animals you dunce!?"
"I dunno, they were too small to be normal, so maybe they were a strange type of animal?!" She protested. "I didn't want to eat them, especially the cute one!"
"Well now you all know. They're people, just like us." Spoke Kali.
"Well, not exactly like us." The Blonde snickered as she held her hand down near her waist, where Jaune's head reached. "They're puny! I bet they can't even throw boulders!"
"We don't have those where we live." spoke up Jaune in a nervous tone.
"Well they're not as tall due to a different living environment." informed Summer. "It's like with animals, depending on where they live, it can affect how they grow."
"Ok...not sure how that makes you so tall, larger than any other person, but ok…" Ren said, trying not to pry deeper. "So what now?"
"Simple, we learn why you're here and what your intentions are." Summer said as she narrowed her eyes.
"I assure you, we ended up here by accident. We were on a cruise vacation, but fell off the boat and drifted along for a few days before ending up here." Ren held up his hands. "We came here completely by accident."
"Yeah, we just want to get home, we don't mean any harm, really!" Jaune added. "We'd be happy to leave you alone, no strings attached."
"I see, unfortunately I can't allow that to happen." She said with a sigh, making Jaune and Ren's eyes widen.
"S-Sure you can. It's no problem." Spoke up Jaune getting a sinking feeling.
"The ocean is infested with sea Grimm that can easily kill the strongest people in our village, the chances that you two could survive is minimal, and the forest is no better." Summer said as she sighed. "If I let you leave you two would surely die before the day is through."
"She does raise a point." Ren whispered.
"So?! I just want to go home Ren, I have family waiting for me, and so do you!" Jaune whispered back.
"I know, but what do you suggest we do? She says we'll die out there." Ren said as Jaune blinked slowly.
"You got me there I guess…"
"Hmmmm." Spoke Summer tapping her chin.
"What is it mom?" The younger version of her asked.
"Perhaps we should let them stay here for the time being."
"I agree!" Nora spoke up quickly.
"Really? Why?"
"Like I said, they won't survive on their own outside the village."
"I don't see why we should bother. They don't have anything to do with us." Remarked the white haired girl.
"Aw come on Weiss, don't be so cold." The blonde chuckled. "No need to be a Weiss-queen!"
"Ugh!" the girl shook her head.
"Dang Yang, that's pretty cold of you." Smirked the brown haired girl.
"What, I think that was a good one!" Yang protested with a pout.
"Are you two going to really make puns? Now?" Deadpanned the long black haired girl.
"What? Either we keep the two here or we throw them into the woods, or Nora hides them in her house after we kick them out." Yang said with a shrug.
"...good point."
"So...we have to stay here now?" Jaune spoke up.
"For the time being yes, I wouldn't recommend leaving, but I suppose it's an option if you want to die." Summer said plainly.
Jaune and Ren looked at each other before Ren spoke up.
"I think we'll stick around."
"Agreed." Jaune said, nodding.
"Good, welcome to the Red Hide Tribe." Summer said with a smile.
"Yay! We're tribe mates now Ren!" Nora called with a grin.
"And Jaune." Reminded the red haired girl. "I look forward to getting along together."
"Now then, back to work everyone, that boar won't butcher itself!"
"Why don't you two come with? You can learn how it's done to get all the best parts off." Smiled the short black haired woman.
"Well, if we're sticking around, it'd be stupid not to." Admitted Ren.
"Yeah, but for some reason I doubt we'll be able to help much." Jaune said as he lightly poked Ren and pointed at the boar behind the girls, the animal was larger than an semi-truck.
"Don't worry, after a while, you'll probably start bulking up, but just a bit." Smiled Yang.
"Yeah, you won't stay small forever, right?" The short hair girl asked as she picked up the boar with ease.
"Uh….maybe?"
(Timeskip)
Jaune was panting, sweating like a pig as he was still hacking away at several pieces of wood while Ren was more cool and had a bigger pile of chopped wood. "This….is…..torture…."
"It is hard manual labor, but it is valuable work." Ren said, whipping his brow.
"Ren….at this point we're just making kindling, just look at Yang!" Jaune panted, pointing to the Blonde who was splitting entire trees in half with a single swing of her primitive axe.
"Well be thankful we're making some progress. Even little bits of wood can help lead to a great fire." He said, trying not to get dissuaded. 'And thinking about how insignificant our part is won't help either.'
Jaune groaned and fell back on his butt as Fiona walked by them carrying two large stumps under her arms with ease and noticed them.
"Are you two alright?"
"Just….peachy…" Jaune groaned.
"We're almost done chopping wood."Sspoke Ren. "But I wouldn't be planning any huge parties with them. We're not exactly….you know."
"Ah, right, I see, um…. Maybe we can find a different job for you two." Fiona said, glancing at their piles, which were puny compared to Yang's. "I could use some help stitching up some of the clothes."
"Sure, that works." Jaune said quickly. "I'd be glad to help."
"Thanks, Coco usually helps, but she's fishing with Pyrrha." She said as she dropped the stumps. "Hey Yang, I'm going to borrow these two, ok?"
"Sure thing, I've got the rest covered anyway." She called as Fiona smiled.
"Great, now come along, we still have work to do." Fiona said as she began to walk away, Jaune and Ren following her.
"Phew, stitching sounds way better." Sighed Jaune wiping the sweat from his head. "And less harsh."
"Perhaps, I just hope you didn't jinx it." Ren said with a nod.
"Oh come on, how could I have jinxed it?!"
They soon found themselves in a hut where Fiona and the two were stitching up holes in several outfits, with Jaune wincing every time his finger got pricked.
"Ow. Ow. Ow. OW!"
"Jaune, how do you keep pricking yourself, the needle is the size of a sword." Ren said as attempted to thread together two pieces of leather.
"I don't know." he replied before managing to get another stitch in without pricking himself, only to cut part of his hand on the edge. "OW! Damn it!"
"Jaune! Are you ok?" Fiona said, looking up in alarm.
"Other than some blood, peachy." He replied, dropping the needle and looking at the blood. "This is why my sister is the stitching expert."
"Well is there some other job you'd prefer? If you want you could look around and see if you find one you're better suited for?" Suggested the woman as she grabbed a towel and a bowl of water before working on cleaning the blood away.
"Maybe, I don't just want to freeload." He said sheepishly.
"You could try and talk to Blake, learn the proper way on cooking fish."
"That could work, are you ok staying here Ren?" Jaune asked, turning to his friend.
"I should be."
After his hand was cleaned and wrapped up, he headed out over to Blake's hut where he saw said woman in the middle of removing the scales from a huge salmon.
"Hey Blake, need a hand?"
"Weren't you helping Fiona with the clothes?"
"Yeah, it didn't exactly work out so she sent me here."
"Well in that case, grab a fish and start removing the scales. We don't cook with them on."
"You got it!" he said as he made his way over to the fish, slightly surprised that they were all as large as he was. 'At least they're dead.'
Blake watched as Jaune grabbed one and lugged it over with difficulty before getting it on the table. "Have you ever done this before?"
"Not really, but I'm willing to try."
"Just try not to scrape too hard or you'll cut the fish into pieces."
"Got it." he said as he picked up a smaller knife that was mostly his size. "So do I do it like this?" he asked as we cut back over to Ren.
"How does this look?" Ren asked as he finished sewing the leather together.
Fiona glanced over and nodded. "That's good, I try to sew up the holes until they're good as new or else they'll rip way too fast. It doesn't help when Yang and Nora like to rough house a lot, which doesn't make my job any easier."
"Do you just do this all by yourself?"
"Well, kinda, Coco helps, but she more or less comes up with new designs, and those can get kinda…. Strange." Remarked Fiona looking away with a blush. "She can get real creative, but some of her ideas are pretty embarrassing for me."
"Come now, I'm not that bad, am I~?"
"AH!" Fiona jumped and turned to see said girl entering the hut with her hands on her hips. "C-Coco! I thought you were hunting today, l-looking for new material?"
"I was, I came back because we finished early." She said with a grin. "But now I hear you don't like being my model? I'm hurt, truly I am, how will I ever recover?"
"I-I was just talking to Ren is all!" she blushed.
"Ah, Ren, I see, in fact this is good, I was looking for a new model, and with you and Jaune here I get to design a whole new range of clothes with half the material!" grinned Coco with a glint in her eyes that unnerved Ren.
"Uh….that sounds….nice, but I better go help Jaune out. I'm finished sewing." He stood up and tried to walk past, but found himself picked up by the back of his shirt by Coco.
"I'm sure he's doing just fine on his own." She said with a predatory grin. "Besides, I need you for a new task~"
'I don't like the sound of that.' He thought with a gulp. 'I just hope things are going well with Jaune.'
In Blake's hut, Jaune was screaming as the fish he was trying to cook was now on fire.
"Jaune, take it off the fire!" Blake snapped.
"I can't, the pan is heavier than I am!"
She groaned and walked over, grabbed the pan, and moved it over to a sand pile to set it down while Jaune sighed in relief.
"Thanks, that could have gone worse." He sighed in relief.
"The only way it could have gone worse was if you jumped in the pan with the fish." she gave a deadpanned look. "You're lucky the hut didn't catch on fire."
"R-Right, sorry." he chuckled nervously. "I'll do better next time."
"Maybe try and focus on building up some muscle first." She deadpanned.
"R-Right…" He said nervously. 'As if, even if I was ripped I couldn't lift that pan!'
Blake went back to her own fish with it suddenly going quiet and awkward.
"So…..uh….sorry if this is rude, but….why do you have ears like that?" He asked, pointing to her cat ears. "I've never seen anyone like that before so…"
"It's because I'm originally from the Faunus clan, we were a large group many years ago, we had a wide variety of features, but one day there was infighting, the clan broke up and we scattered across the continent, joining various other tribes." She explained without looking up. "Right now, me and my mom, and Fiona are the only ones here in the tribe."
"Huh, cool… do they work as regular ears or can you hear better?"
"Of course, we Faunus can also see in the dark."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Jaune said in awe, making Blake pause slightly.
"Yes...I suppose it is." She admitted, momentarily caught off guard. "But, not everyone use to think so. Most of the humans thought we were all seedy and untrustworthy."
"Why? You look awesome, you're patient, and you and Fiona have been nothing but kind to me and Ren since we got here." He said, making her turn away as her face heated up. "I don't really picture either of you as the shady kind."
"I'm glad to hear you think that Jaune." She said, a small smile creeping onto her face. "I know the other girls think the same, but….it makes me feel a bit better to know someone from far away isn't so quick to judge."
"I'm glad to hear that." Jaune said with a smile.
"REN! Where are you~?" Called Nora walking by the hut with a grin.
"Man, I'm glad I'm not Ren right now, Nora seems to be on the warpath." Jaune chuckled. 'Good thing no one here is like that with me.'
"Ren! I know you're around here." Nora called out again before hearing a yell.
"W-Wait! I can put it on myself!"
"Relax, I just need to make sure it fits, especially right here."
Nora's eyes narrowed as she rushed towards the voices. "HANDS OFF MY REN!" and entered Fiona's hut, finding Coco in the middle of trying to put a fur pelt on Ren, whose clothes were off on the side.
"Hey Nora, I didn't know you were back yet." Coco said as she turned to the red head.
"HEY! What do you think you're doing?!" She growled.
"What? I'm just making sure he has something to wear, we both know that weird clothes he was wearing aren't going to last much longer."
"Really, I can dress myself." spoke up Ren with a blush.
"Hey, I have to make sure it fits right!"
"He can dress himself! And if he needs help then I can give it!" Nora marched over and bumped Coco away before smiling. "Don't worry Ren, I'll make sure you're bundled up."
"Really, I can dress myself, I am not a child!" He insisted as he found himself picked up by Nora who tried to wrap the clothes around his body. "Nora, please, I can do this myself! Just because I'm shorter doesn't mean I'm helpless."
"Ooooh, I see how it is." Smirked Coco. "You're just wanting a look see at the goods."
"Yep!" Nora said, not a hint of denial in her voice.
"Uh….Nora? I heard that, you know that right?"
"Yep!" She said, a large grin on her face.
"And you're going to keep trying to cover me up no matter what I say, aren't you?"
"Yep, but if I'm lucky my hand will slip and I'll get a look at the goods!"
'At least she's honest.' Thought Ren before Fiona moved over.
"Uh, Nora? Maybe you couldn't? I mean, Ren doesn't seem like he's comfortable."
"Aw, but I wanna see it, I heard it's different from us!"
"Yes, but uh… maybe it'll be special if he does it willingly later?"
"She's right." Ren spoke up quickly to try and get Nora to comply. "It's….uh….a big deal for males. If we show it off all the time, it gets boring."
"So I should wait?"
"Yes, it'll be uh… a very special secret just for you and me?"
"Hey, what about some of us who wanna see too?" Coco piped up. "I know I'd like a look at the goods."
'Coco, not helping!' Ren thought as he racked his brain.
"Hmmmmm." Nora said as she tapped her chin. "Fine, I'll wait, but I wanna be the first to see it!"
'Thank god.' Ren thought as Nora set him down.
"So, how's the outfit lover boy?"
"Well, it's definitely...red." he remarked looking down at the brightly red colored fur pelt draped around his shoulder and reached down to his knees.
"Yep, I wanted to make sure that it was clear you guys belonged to the red hide tribe!"
"...you mean part of, right, not belong?"
"Sure, let's go with that, whatever makes you feel better." Coco said as she rolled her eyes.
'I don't like the sound of that.' Ren thought with a frown. "So I assume you also made one for Jaune?"
"You know it. Where is he, I'll help him into it personally." She grinned. "I know for a fact Nora doesn't have dibs on him~"
"Uh, I think he's with Pyrrha?" Ren lied quickly.
"Hold up, you serious?" Coco said as she narrowed her eyes.
"Yup, totally."
"...Fiona, where is Jaune?"
"With Blake, helping her with the fish." Fiona said, crumbling under Coco's gaze.
"Good girl~" she grinned before making her way out of the hut.
'Good luck Jaune.'
(Later)
"Hey Ren." Jaune groaned, clad in a red pelt, almost a mirror image of Ren's.
"I take it Coco helped you into that?"
"She tried, luckily Blake was there, and then Pyrrha walked in and Coco was forced to concede to let me dress myself." He sighed before sitting down on a rock. "She looked like she was starving, and I don't mean about the fish."
"You think that was bad, you should try having Nora after you." Ren sighed. "She's not subtle in the least, I'm not even sure if she knows what it means."
"Well, it could be worse."
"Jaune, remember what we agreed on? We can't try anything with them."
"I know, I know, I've seen them accidentally crush boulders like an egg, while they're nice I'd rather not push my luck." Jaune sighed. "But really, things could be worse, they're all nice, and while a few of them have some interesting quirks, we could be in a much worse situation if we didn't stumble on the village, right?"
"I'm not saying we'd be better off, but keep this in mind. If we did try anything, it might lead to infighting, and given how nice they've been, the last thing we need is to tear them apart because we showed favoritism." Sighed Ren. "The best thing we can do is keep it platonic, otherwise Summer and Kali won't like the idea of their daughters getting hurt."
"Of course, the last thing I want to do is hurt anyone." Jaune said with a nod. "But even you have to admit not being honest is just as bad."
"Of course, but at this point it's the lesser of two evils." Ren sighed. "If we tell one we like them the others will get jealous or act out, or more likely turn all their attention to their only other option."
"I just hope none of them get too...frisky." Jaune sighed. "While I wouldn't exactly be opposed, it could get out of hand."
"I don't think that'll hap-" he started, only to remember Nora. "...cross your fingers and hope for the best?"
"With Nora? You might need to cross your toes too." Jaune chuckled. "Night Ren."
"Night Jaune."
(Timeskip)
"Jaune, can you come help me in the food hut, I need help preparing the meat." Pyrrha called, looking around. "Jaune?"
"Ahhhhh!" He screamed, running by as a large boar was chasing him, only for Weiss to come out next.
"I told you to lure it out calmly! Not make it chase you!"
"It was going to eat me!"
"No it wasn't, you just panicked!" She yelled while carrying a spear while trying to catch up. "Stop running so it'll stop so I can kill it!"
"If I stop it'll kill me!" He cried out as he kept running.
"Weiss, are you using him as bait?!" Cried out Pyrrha as she watched the chase unfold. "He's not living bait!"
"Well he certainly has a skill at luring out wild beasts to chase him, I just used that skill for the good of the tribe!" She protested. "This is the third boar that's gone after him!"
"Bad pig! Bad pig! I don't taste good!" Jaune cried, the pig getting closer and closer. "Help!"
"I'm coming Jaune!" Pyrrha called, racing after the boar. She managed to catch up in record time and tackled it to the ground, pulling out a stone knife and started stabbing it.
Jaune paused as he heard the noise, turning around to see his pursuer being cut to ribbons by the red headed amazon. "Thanks Pyrrha, you're a lifesaver."
"No problem Jaune, happy to help." She smiled, even with the pig's blood on her face.
"I had it under control." Huffed Weiss.
"No you didn't! Why do you keep choosing me for these crazy jobs, why not Ren?!"
"Because for some reason, none of the animals come near him when we're out hunting. It's like they don't even notice him, even when he's right in front of them."
"Still!" Jaune groaned. "I bet he's relaxng right now, doing something nice and easy."
"Come on Ren, lift it, lift it with your legs!"
"I'm trying." Ren groaned. "Maybe you could take your own advice."
"Nah, you got this, this will help you bulk up a bit." Yang said with a grin as she and Nora held the frame of a hut still as Ren tried to push one side up.
"Too….heavy." he let out as he was using all his strength just to keep the part from falling.
"C'mon, you got this Ren!" Nora cheered on. "I believe in you!"
"Help…" He groaned, feeling his grip starting to slip. "Can't….hold…..on!"
"Fine. Nora, can you give him a hand?" Yang sighed.
"Relax, he's got this." She smiled, getting a good look at Ren's exposed skin while working up a sweat. "He looks good~"
"I-I can't keep it up anymore!" He groaned, losing his grip and rolling away as the frame came crashing down where he once was. He panted and tried to catch his breath as Yang groaned.
"Alright Nora, go over and get his part up." She sighed as she turned to Ren. "You can go over to the supply hut and get some water, I think you're done for today."
"Thanks…" He let out, forcing himself to his feet and walking off. On his way there he saw Jaune making his way to the hut as well, full of scrapes and dust. "Hey Jaune."
"Hey Ren."
"Busy day?"
"Yep, Weiss made me boar bait, you?"
"Yang thought I could hold up a hut wall on my own."
"Damn."
"At least you got the easier job."
"I almost died, you were building a hut." Jaune argued as they reached the hut.
"Correction, I almost got crushed while trying to build it." Ren said as the two kept bickering, until they heard a strange, high pitch yell come from outside the hut.
"What was that?"
"I don't know, but it can't be good." Ren said as they heard several more cries come out.
"Do you think it was the Grimm?" Jaune asked, starting to feel nervous.
"No, they don't make cries like that."
"What do we do?" Jaune asked, looking at him and Ren. "Did one of the girls go nuts?"
"I don't know, but just in case, we better hide."
"Right." Jaune said as they looked around before spotting a massive jug that could potentially hold them both. "In there, we'll hide until we know it's safe."
"Then let's split up, you hide in the pot and I'll hide somewhere else."
With that in mind Jaune jumped into the jug while Ren ducked into a bag of rice. They held their breath as they heard what sounded like a scuffle before hearing some figures entering the hut.
"Alright, grab what you can and head back home!"
"Yes ma'am!"
"We hit the jackpot!"
'Wait, that doesn't sound like the girls.' Ren thought before his world suddenly shifted as someone grabbed the bag he was in.
"Oof, this stuff's pretty heavy, we got a good haul Raven."
"Less talking and more getting out." Another voice snapped. "We need to leave before those red idiots get wise of what this raid is about."
'Raid?' thought Jaune in horror before feeling the jug get lifted. 'Is this another tribe?'
"Fuck! How the hell is a jug this heavy?"
"Just grab it and go, no back sass!"
"Yeah yeah." came the voice as Jaune felt the jug get carried.
'Crap crap crap, what do we do?! Do we reveal ourselves now or just go along with this and hope we can escape later?!'
(Later)
'Maybe we should have exposed ourselves.' Jaune thought, growing used to the sway of the pot as he and Ren were unknowingly carried farther and farther from the village by their mysterious kidnappers. 'At least then we'd be able to move around.'
"Ugh, how much farther, this shit is heavy!"
"Shut up, we're almost there." Snapped a voice, making Jaune paled.
'We are? Crap, how far are we from our village, and what are they going to do when they find us?'
"Ok, now you can put it down."
"Alright, now can we open this up stuff up and see what we stole?"
"Yes."
'Crap, I need to hide!' Jaune thought, looking around the jug to only see loose corn. "...fuck."
He gulped as the lid of the jug was taken off and he looked up to see a tan woman's face with bright green hair looking down at him in surprise. "Uh….occupied?"
"Hey Raven? I think we stole a baby."
"HEY! I AM NOT A BABY!" He let out poking his head up, only to find a red tipped spear right in his face, making him pale. "Uh...I surrender?"
"It would seem we have a little 'extra'." Chuckled the tanned women, who seemed to be wearing what seemed like a white hide top and tight pants of the same color.
"An intruder more like it." Glared a woman with long black hair and wearing a red slinged top made of leather with a black loincloth, holding the spear.
"What are your orders Raven?" Asked a woman who had long blonde hair and what looked like a primitive attempt at glasses who was wearing what looked like a purple hide as a small cape and a large white pelt wrapped around her chest and waist.
"We take them to Salem." A woman with short black hair and bright yellow eyes who was wearing a red leather outfit that hugged her body and covered one of her arms, who was holding what looked like a black bow. "She'll know EXACTLY how to deal with this spy."
"Spy?! I'm not a spy! I swear!"
"Silence." The tanned woman said as she slammed the lid back on the pot he was in. "Bring her to Salem...and check the rest of the goods for spies!"
"Wait don't!" He cried out, making them pause.
"There is definitely another spy here somewhere."
"Find them!"
'Well, I might as well give myself up at this point, they'll find me eventually.' Thought Ren before poking his head out of the bag. "Hello."
"There's the second spy!"
"Get her!"
And cue Ren getting tackled to the ground.
(Later)
"Oh great Salem, we have caught two spies which stowed away in the supplies we liberated, what shall we do with them?" Bowed the short haired black woman, as sitting on a throne of numerous animal bones was a pale faced woman with white hair wearing a pitch black long dress stitched together from numerous pelts, and red eyes that made her seem otherworldly.
"Bring them forward. Let me see them." She called in a cold voice, making Jaune and Ren gulp.
Emerald pushed the two forward, making them stumble and nearly fall before looking up as the woman narrowed her eyes.
"So, these are the two spies...they're small, shrimpy, pathetic women, they're clearly from the weak red hide tribe." She said, narrowing her eyes in disgust.
"Shall we execute them?" Emerald suggested, making Jaune and Ren pale.
"No!"
"Quiet." Spoke the long black haired woman before knocking Jaune down to the ground.
"Ah!" he groaned. "Ren, what do we do?" He whispered to his friend.
"Shall we kill them mistress?" Emerald said as Salem rubbed her chin.
"No, not yet, we could possibly use them."
"Use them?" A woman with white hair that was done up in a bun asked, her clothes consisting of a white fur pelt that reminded Jaune and Ren of Weiss.
"Yes, it is possible we could force the red hide tribe to give us more goods in return for their spies." Smirked the woman making the two men shiver. "For the time being, they will be kept alive, for now. Cinder, put them in the cell."
"Yes ma'am, it would be my honor." The short haired woman said as she grabbed Jaune and Ren. She carried them away with ease with Jaune shaking in fear.
"We're gonna die, we're gonna die." he muttered.
"We're not gonna die Jaune." Ren whispered. "We just need to stay calm and do what they say, for now."
"And I say shut up you two deformed creatures." Cinder muttered. She reached a large cave with several iron bars in front, with her easily tossing them in before moving several rocks in between the bars to make it hard to slip by through. "I wouldn't get any ideas on escaping, or I can' guarantee you'll be brought back in one piece." She smirked with a dark grin before walking away.
"What do we do Ren, what do we do?" Jaune muttered as he got up and began to pace back and forth.
"The first thing we do is keep what we are a secret." Ren sat cross legged. "No telling what they'd do if they knew. Second, we don't tell them anything about the others. Third, we try to be patient and wait until an opportunity comes, or until the Red Hide Tribe comes and gets us back."
"R-Right...wait, secret?" Jaune said, pausing.
"Yes, the fact that you and I aren't women, I think they're under the same impression the Red Hide Tribe was under when they first saw us."
"Good point." Jaune said with a nod before pausing. "Uh, Ren? Is it just me or is that wall behind you moving?"
Ren blinked and slowly turned his head. They froze as they saw the wall shatter almost like glass as a woman appeared, grinning at them like a cat who just caught the canary. She looked shorter than most, with one part of her hair brown and the other pink, wearing a leotard shaped dress colored the same, with a white streak added, and holding some sort of umbrella made out of hide and bones.
"Uh….hi?" Jaune said nervously. "Have you uh...been here the whole time?"
She slowly nodded with Ren gritting his teeth.
'How did she do that? She blended in without either of us noticing.' He thought as he and Jaune watched her cautiously as she looked at them with a smirk, her gaze switching from one to another.
"What...what do you want?" Jaune spoke up.
The girl opened her mouth, then closed it, then dug in the dirt the question mark before pointing at them.
"You...want to play charades?" Jaune asked as she shook her head.
"Can you not talk?" Ren asked, making her nod her head. "Are you unable to, or do you not want to?"
She just nodded, seeming to revel in the vagueness of her answer.
"Ok….so what now?" Asked Jaune, keeping his eyes on the girl and back at the entrance. "Do you...want to help free us?"
She grinned and shook her head no.
"Are...you trapped here like us? Or are you here to keep watch over us?"
She shook her head no twice, making Jaune and Ren look at each other in confusion.
"Are you here… because you were curious?"
She nodded her head before making another question mark in the dirt along with 'Not women' right in front of it before pointing at them.
"Um…" Jaune said, turning to Ren before leaning towards him. "Should we tell her the truth?"
"Do we have a choice?"
"Good point." he looked at Neo. "Um, if we tell you, are you gonna go and tell the others? Because it's KIND OF something we don't wanna let out."
The woman grinned and just shrugged, and wrote 'maybe~' on the ground in front of them.
"Well in that case, we won't say." spoke Jaune crossing his arms with a smirk. "Now what are you gonna do?"
The woman just grinned as she flicked her umbrella with practiced ease, making a long sharp blade come out of it.
"That, she is gonna do that." Spoke Ren with Jaune paling and losing his smirk.
"W-Well when you put it like that, w-we're men, we came from across the ocean."
She tilted her head and put down in the dirt 'Men?'
"Yeah, not women, we're...kind of the opposite, we have different parts, and...yeah?"
Neo narrowed her eyes before jotting down 'What kind of different parts?'
"Uh…." Jaune started, kicking himself mentally for mentioning that part. "Ren can explain to you, right Ren?"
"Mushrooms." spoke Ren bluntly and quickly, making Jaune gawk and Neo look more lost. "That is what he means."
'Mushrooms? Show me.' Neo wrote down, tilting her head in confusion.
"We can't. They only show themselves on certain days, today is not one of those days." Ren said, trying his best not to show any trace of a lie.
The woman narrowed her eyes, looking him over before turning her head to Jaune. 'Is he telling the truth?'
"Y-Yes! Absolutely." Nodded Jaune, who found this talk turn awkward, but it wasn't TECHNICALLY a lie, just tweaked. "L-Let's change the subject, my name's Jaune, and this is Ren, what's your name?"
'Neo.' she wrote.
"O-Ok, Neo, well it's been great to meet you uh… any chance you could let us out of here?"
'Nope, but I will be taking one of you~'.
"Neo! Where the hell are you?!" came a voice from outside the bars. "I swear if you're trying to get out of chores, I'm gonna wring your neck!"
"Help, she's in here!" Jaune called out quickly, right as Neo grabbed him. "Help! I don't wanna get taken again!"
"Neo! No, drop the prisoners you sadistic nut!" Called the voice as Emerald appeared at the bars.
Neo waved at Emerald as the girl got the rocks out of the way and pried the bars open with her bare hands, only to grab at the girl, and saw the image shatter to pieces. "No! Damn it!"
"Where are they, where's Jaune?!"
"She ran off with her!" Emerald groaned. "She probably took her to her hut or one of her hideaways."
"Why?!"
"Shits and giggles! Ugh, she should be fi-"
"Jaune's not a woman and neither am I." Ren said quickly. 'Sorry Jaune, but I need their help, and maybe they might actually do something now.'
"...what the hell are you saying?"
"It's a long story, but me and Jaune are men, not women.' He said as Emerald's eyes widened.
"Men….wait, as in men men?"
"Yes, men me- wait, you know about men?!"
"Of course we do, we're not idiots! We lost our last one a few years ago, Roman I think? Anyway we haven't seen one in ages!"
"Wait, then why did Ne-"
"She was probably fucking with you, if she was in the cell she probably already knew who and what you two were, the bitch." grumbled Emerald. "Oh that little brat is gonna get it now."
"Wait, then Jau-"
"She's either teasing him as we speak or fucking him." Emerald said as she got up. "Stay there, I'll deal with this."
(Later)
"NEO! If you don't show your face I'm gonna have Reese tear you a new ass!" Emerald shouted as she stalked through the village, a strange assortment of caves rather than huts like the Red Hide Tribe.
"Ah! Wait no! Not that!" came Jaune's voice followed by a yelp.
"Neo!" Emerald shouted, racing towards the voices. "Let him go damn it!" she rounded the corner of a cave and went wide eyed since she saw Neo holding Jaune upside down by his leg, and poking at his exposed stomach making him laugh.
"S-Stop! I'm t-ahahahaha!" he let out when she wiggled her finger under his arm making him laugh harder.
"Neo." Emerald said, letting out a sigh of annoyance. "Let him go, and put him back in his cell, Salem's going to want to keep him in one piece now that we know what he is."
The girl frowned at Emerald before shaking her head.
"Neo, you and I both know that wasn't a request." Emerald said, bringing out some green stone like blades. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way, your choice."
"How about the way that involves me on the ground?" Jaune piped up after catching his breath.
Neo shook her head no as she kept her grip on Jaune.
"Neo, come on, just for once in your life stop being difficult!"
"Uh, maybe listening to her might do some good." Spoke Jaune feeling nervous seeing the blades. "Or at least put me somewhere safe?"
"Neo, let him go… if you do I'll give you my ration of food tonight."
Neo rubbed her head and looked up in thought at the proposition.
"Besides, knowing you, you'll probably just steal him again later, am I right?"
She smiled and nodded.
"Then you'll have no problem letting him go so I can put him back into the cell, right?" Emerald asked, with Neo shrugging with a big grin. "So are you gonna give him, or what?"
"I could just go free and not bug you two?" Jaune offered nervously.
Neo grinned before tossing Jaune up in the air, making Emerald drop her weapons and catch him before looking and saw the girl was gone.
"Finally, for a second I was worried she was going to make things difficult." Emerald sighed in relief. She looked down at Jaune and gripped him before walking back. "Back in the cell for you."
"Ok… you do know I can walk on my own, right?"
"And you know you're a prisoner, spy." she frowned. "Do you want me to break a leg to keep you from running?"
"No, no, not at all...where would I even run though?" He muttered as he looked around.
(Later)
"Are you going to tell the truth, or what?" Frowned the white haired woman with her hair in a bun as she looked at Ren and Jaune with a darker skinned girl beside her, with a black pelt draped around her body and brown hair in a ponytail beside her.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We don't know anything." Repeated Ren.
"Yeah, we got here on accident, all we heard was the sounds of something attacking, so we hid, we just got unlucky." Jaune added.
"You know something about the Red Hide Tribe, don't think you can fool me." She narrowed her eyes. "You can save us the trouble and tell us, or else." she patted the sword hanging from her waist for emphasis.
"What do you want us to tell you?! We don't know what you want us to tell you!" Jaune shouted. "What do you want to know?!"
"What the tribe is planning, are they planning to expand their territory, and is my sister alright or not?"
"I don't kn- wait, sister?" Ren started, stopping in confusion. "Wait...white hair...are you Weiss' sister?"
"Of course I am, who else would I mean?"
"Wait. If you two are sisters, then...why are you in another tribe?" asked Jaune.
"She ran away when she was a child and they found her, and now she refuses to come home." Winter said, frowning. "Now answer me, is she doing ok?"
"Besides using me as bait? Fine and dandy." grumbled Jaune.
"Good, good, she knows how to properly use someone so weak and inefficient." Winter said with a nod.
"That's a bad thing!"
"Look, we're just looking out for our own tribe. That's why we ask, so we can be prepared." Spoke the brown haired girl with a more relaxing tone to her voice. "We don't wanna hurt you, we just want some answers, that's it."
"Ilia is telling the truth, just tell us what we want to know and you'll be fine."
"But we really don't know any of the stuff you want answers to, we got to the tribe less than two months ago."
Winter huffed and shook her head before walking back to the exit. "Fine, but we will be back later on."
"Wait, what about us, are you just going to leave us here?!" Jaune called, looking down at the rope around him and Ren. "At least untie us!"
"No." Winter said as she and Ilia began to leave.
"Aw come on, have a heart!"
"I already have one, why would I need a second?" She called before leaving.
"Ugh, what do we do now?" Jaune muttered.
"It could be worse Jaune."
"Like how?"
"They could have killed us, or perhaps eaten us?" Ren offered. "But right now we just have to wait for them to come back and untie us, it's not like anything can happen to us while we're in here."
"Well now you jinxed it Ren, good job."
"...I think you're rubbing off on me." Ren sighed, spotting a shadow heading towards them. "Look, they're coming back now and then they can untie us." he said as he looked over only to let out a deep sigh.
"Oh no, I don't like the sound of that."
"It's not Winter and Ilia Jaune."
"What are they doing?" Jaune asked, afraid to look over.
"They're looking at us with large grins, and they're moving the rocks from the door."
"...please tell me it's not Neo." Jaune asked, getting a bad feeling.
"We're not that little hellion if that's what you want to know~"
"Oh thank god." Sighed Jaune.
"We are going to take you two though...if that's ok?" A second voice spoke up, sounding more timid than the first.
"You mean that in a good way, right?" asked Ren.
"Possibly, depends on what your definition means." The first woman chuckled as Ren looked to see her a tall tan woman with strange black stripes on her arms and a pair of cat ears atop her head, with her barely clad in black furs that didn't do much to hide her figure.
Jaune turned and saw the other one was a shorter girl with long brown hair, matching rabbit ears poking up from her head, wearing a brown furred bikini top and loincloth, with her looking nervous.
"Now then Velvet, do you mind if I have first pick?"
"Well, I mean it was your idea." She said nervously. "Y-you can go first I guess?"
"Excellent~" She purred, licking her lips as she walked over to the two and crouched down. "So many options, so little time, hmmmm…." She said before grinning. "I'll take you~"
"Uh, for what reason?" Asked Ren as she picked him up by his shirt while trying to keep calm.
"Oh, we'll see when we get home~"
"I-I'll take you then...if that's ok?" asked Velvet picking Jaune up with both hands.
"I-I don't know? Um…" Jaune said, unsure what to do.
"What are you two doing?" Called a voice, making Sienna and Velvet freeze.
"Uh… checking on the prisoners Glynda?" Spoke Sienna turned to the blond haired woman who had her arms crossed with a frown on her face. "You know, just making sure everything's all good and locked up."
"Good, I assume everything is fine then?" She asked, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Y-Yes!" Velvet squeaked quickly.
"Good, then you can put them down and leave, right?"
"I….yes, of course, let's go Velvet." Sienna muttered, glaring at the blonde.
The rabbit-eared girl put Jaune down and followed Sienna out of the cell.
"Good, and do try to avoid any more surprise inspections." Glyda called, making them stiffen. "We wouldn't want Salem to feel something was wrong, now would we?"
"Yes, of course, we understand...question, what are you doing here Glynda?"
"I...was making sure you two weren't going to forget that we have to hunt tonight for fresh meat." Shesaid quickly, making Sienna grin.
"Oh? Then why come here? This was a surprise inspection, why didn't you check our cave?"
"I did, I simply came here to see if the prisoners had attempted a possible escape." She said quickly. "Now go, you have to hunt meat, remember?"
"Of course, after you join us, you came here to make sure the prisoner's didn't escape, and now you know they're securely in their cell, so you have no reason to be here now, right?"
Glynda frowned at the woman and crossed her arms. "Of course I don't, after you."
"No, after you, age before beauty."
"Youngest first, oh sorry, Velvet should go first in that case." Glynda said as Jaune and Ren looked at each other.
"They're not going to leave, are they?" Jaune whispered to Ren.
"They have to eventually."
"Yeah, but when?"
(Later)
"Lighter color first."
"No no, it only makes sense for yours to leave first. It's quite bright out and I'm trying not to expose mine to too much."
"Hey Ren, how long do you think it's been?" Jaune yawned.
"At least an hour."
"You know the longer you act childish the more Salem will be upset." Glynda remarked with annoyance.
"Oh you're one to talk, we both know why you came here." Sienna hissed.
"Uh, shouldn't we be going?" asked Velvet who had been quiet as this went on.
"Yes, eventually, AFTER Glynda."
"You're being irrational!"
"No, we're making sure that you don't do what we came here to do while our backs are turned!"
"I have nothing to do! You're jumping to conclusions!"
"Bullshit, you're going to snatch one of these guys and take him back to your cave, probably with your damn magic!"
"Nothing but lies!" Glynda shouted angrily, neither of them noticing the figures approaching the cell. "I will not stand for this slander!"
"It's not slander if it's true!"
"What are you all doing in the prisoner's cell?"
All of them jumped and slowly turned to the entrance. There, looking impatient and holding a tray of food was Winter.
"Well? What's the reason?"
"...I didn't want to do it, they dragged me here!" Velvet spoke up quickly.
"Don't listen to her!" Glynda gasped. "I came here to stop them!"
"She came here to kidnap them!" Sienna pointed to the woman. "I was trying to stop her!"
"You three are all idiots and will be punished accordingly." Winter said, frowning. "For now just leave and go back to your caves."
The three women looked down and made their way past Winter and back home.
"Thanks." Jaune called. "Now can someone please untie us?!"
(Later)
"So tell me Cinder, have you managed to….persuade our guests into telling us useful information?" Salem asked, looking down as the black haired woman who was bowing on one knee before her.
"Yes mistress, but the info they did give us we already knew...if I may, I think that is the extent of their knowledge, and that they don't know anything else."
"Hmmm, I'm beginning to think the same." She said, tapping her chin. "Tell me Cinder, what do you think should happen to them now?"
"If they have no more info to give, then perhaps they have outlived their usefulness." She said, rubbing her chin. "I don't know what else we could use them for."
"I'm afraid that is where you are wrong." Salem said with a small smirk. "While they are small they could still have some use to us, perhaps with manual labor, at the very least it would give us an advantage number wise against the Red Hide tribe."
"That is quite true, and it would be better than leaving them alone to plot something against us." Cinder said with a nod, right as the doors burst open and Winter came running in.
"Mistress Salem!"
"What is i-"
"The Red Hide is attacking!"
Salem's eyes narrowed as she stood up. "Then show them no mercy."
"Yes ma'am, but it seems they aren't attacking our food supplies or storage area."
"Then what are they attacking?"
"I think they're going after the prisoner's, ma'am."
"What?! Then stop them!" Salem ordered. "They belong to the Bad Wolf tribe now!"
Winter and Salem rushed out while we cut back to Jaune and Ren.
"REN REN REN REN REN REN REN!"
"Hey Ren, I think Nora's here."
"REEEEEN!"
SMASH!
REN!" Nora called from the rubble that was once the cell door.
"Over here Nor-"
"MY REN!" she cheered before yanking him into a tight grip against her. "YOU'RE SAFE!"
"Ack! It's good to see you too." Ren groaned. 'I think I felt part of my spine pop.'
"Are they in there Nora?"
"Yep! Ren and Jaune are in here!"
"Thank goodness!" cheered Ruby running inside. "I thought we were never gonna find you!"
"Yeah! Now c'mon, let's get out of here!" Yang called, wrestling Emerald to the ground outside.
"Get off me you gorilla!"
"Hell no, eat dirt jackass, no one steals away Jaune and Ren except us!"
"I'm gonna scalp you for this!"
"Touch the air and die!"
"Let's get out of here." Jaune said as he followed Nora and Ren out of the cave. "We need to go before Neo realizes me and Ren are leaving."
"Or before-" Weiss was cut off when she saw Winter, Cinder, and Salem arrive. "My sister reaches us."
"Could be worse, at least mom isn't here." Yang muttered, slamming Emerald's head once more into the ground. "Let's go!"
"Don't you dare try anything Weiss!" Spoke Winter pulling her sword out.
"Don't talk to me kidnapper!" Weiss shouted. "We're just taking back what's ours!"
"Wrong, those are OURS." Spoke Cinder while notching an arrow.
"Everyone retreat, we got what we wanted!" Summer ordered.
The group started running while Cinder started shooting as they gave chase.
"Don't let them escape, retrieve our new tribe members!" Ordered Salem.
(Later)
"Ok….I think….we lost them." Panted Yang, their group resting near a stream.
"I can't….feel….my legs." Blake got out.
"Worth...it…" Panted Nora, laying on her back with Ren still in her grasp.
"Are you ok Jaune?" asked Pyrrha.
"Yeah, better now, thanks." He panted, feeling exhausted.
"Good, I don't know what I would have done if I lost you." She let out with a smile, making him blush.
"T-Thanks." He said, noticing how she moved closer next to him.
"Did they do anything to you?"
"Not really, they did try to take me and Jaune every now and then but it worked out in the end."
"The important thing is you two are safe and sound." smiled Kali.
"Yeah, I just hope the worst is behind us now." Yang said with a grin.
"This calls for a celebration." spoke up Coco.
"Yeah, dibs on Ren!" Nora called with a grin.
"Well when you put it like t-oh my god they're they are!" Coco cried out pointing in a random direction.
"Where?!" Nora turned before Ren got yanked away by Coco who ran off. "Hey!"
"You snooze you lose~" She laughed. "Besides, we agreed not to hog them!"
"What is going on?" Ren asked, getting a bad feeling.
"Oh nothing to worry about." Pyrrha said with a smile as she put an arm around Jaune. "Hey Jaune, care to bunk with me in my hut? For protection reasons."
"Uh, well uh….if I did that then Ren would be all alone…" Jaune said as he and Ren locked eyes nervously. 'Why do I feel like we got out of the pan only to jump into the fire?'
"I'm sure Fiona could help him feel less lonely." Pyrrha suggested. "We want to make sure the Bad Wolf tribe doesn't snatch you two away again, right?"
"Um, actually I was kinda wondering if...he could stay in my hut?" Ruby offered up.
"My huts got space." Blake chimed in.
"Same here, another for both of the guys~" Yang chuckled.
"Not going to happen young ladies." Chimed in Summer.
"Why not?" Nora groaned, trying to tackle Coco down as she held Ren away from her.
"They need time to rest, NOT be on guard like before."
"Awwwww." Ruby groaned, the others joining her.
"Girls, they've been through a lot, they need time to relax and destress." Frowned Kali. "Especially when some of you might have some not so pleasant ideas in mind."
"Whaaaaat? No...what gave you that idea?" Nora asked, shaking her head.
"Nora, put your top back on."
"Ugh, fine." Nora pouted.
"Good, now then, let's head out, we need to get home before nightfall."
With that all of them resumed trekking back to the village.
(Timeskip)
"Hey Ren?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it just me or are things starting to get out of hand?"
"It's not just you, it's painfully clear as day that's putting it mildly." Ren said, pulling more leaves atop him and Jaune as they hid in a bush.
"Oh Ren, where are you~?"
"Jaune? Oh Jaune, I know you're around here."
"Yeah, I don't think we can stay here anymore Ren."
"I figured. There's only so much we can take. I swear I heard Nora talking in her sleep about me and her, with a bunch of babies." Ren said with a sigh.
"Yeah, and while the girls are nice we're not gonna survive at this rate, and to make matters worse the kidnappings keep increas-" Jaunse started before freezing. "Quiet, Neo's close."
Both of them quickly shut their mouths as they heard feet moving by. They waited as the noise got quieter until they didn't hear it anymore.
"Any plans?" Ren whispered.
"Kinda, I think our raft is still on the beach, right?"
"Maybe, but it's been so long it might have gotten washed out to sea." Ren said with a sigh.
"Do you have any other idea? We clearly can't stay here, now can we?"
"It's worth a try." Ren said with a sigh. "Let's go."
"Ren! Jaune! Come on, where are you two?"
"You gotta come out eventually."
"...hey Jaune?" Ren said, looking at the blonde. "I think you forgot one crucial part of this plan."
"What's that?"
"The part where we get to the beach without being found or caught."
"...I didn't get to that part yet." He said, right before the bush they were under was ripped out of the ground.
"Found you~" purred Sienna licking her lips making the boys jump and quickly start running. "Mmm, I love it when they run~" She got on all fours and took off after them with her eyes looking like slits. "Run my prey, it'll make catching you all the better~"
(Later)
"Summer, we need to talk."
"What is it?" She asked as she looked up to see Kali entering the hut.
"I think we need to discuss the situation with Ren and Jaune."
"What about them?" She asked curiously.
"Given the constant game of tag we've had with the Bad Wolf Tribe, constantly going back and forth with the two, it's got me thinking. Perhaps we could put our foot down and try to expand the tribe."
"You mean merge with the Bad Wolf Tribe?!" Summer cried out in shock.
"What? No! That's absurd!" Kali crossed her arms. "I mean the idea of asking Jaune and Ren to help our...numbers." Kali said, a grin growing on her lips. "We both know the girls have been barely holding back anyway, they just need your permission."
"Oh….I knew that, I was just testing you." Summer said quickly, blushing in embarrassment. "So…. you think we should ask them if they're willing to, you know…"
"Exactly."
"Well….it would help the girls stay focused, and since we're so few in numbers, maybe it's time we take this chance to outnumber Salem and her tribe, before they get the drop on us."
"Agreed, now let's go find those two and tell them the good news."
"Although I'm unsure on letting Ruby participate."
"Then tell her not to, you are the leader of the tribe."
"Well are you going to let Blake participate?"
"Of course, she's a grown woman, in fact I might even give it a try myself~"
Summer blushed hearing that.
"I wouldn't doubt they might be ok if you threw your hat in there too Summer."
"S-Stop that, they wouldn't want to do...that, with someone like me."
"What? Because you're older? Summer, we both know that's not true, not in the slightest." Kali said as she shook her head. "Besides, you and I both know you still look amazing."
"...you really think so?" Summer asked, her face heating up.
"I know so, now come on, let's go find them, and maybe we can get first try at them~"
Summer gulped before following Kali out of the hut.
(Later)
"Run run run run run run Ren!"
"I'm running as fast as I can!"
"Come on, we're out of time! We need to leave, now!"
"I said I'm running!"
"Get back here!"
"Yeah, stop running!"
Chasing them was both tribes, who had been at this for a good part of five minutes.
"Come on, the beach can't be much farther!" Jaune panted, pushing brush out of his way.
"I can feel my legs burning up." Ren panted as he followed Jaune. "I don't think we're going to make it."
"We have to! We can't stop or they'll get us!" Jaune cried out before he began to perk up. "Ren, I think I see it, the beach!"
They were nearing the edge of the beach where the sand was visible.
"I think you're right, we're almost there!"
"Jaune, Ren, just stop running!"
"If you keep running I'll chop off your legs!" Threatened Raven.
"You are not giving us a good reason to stop!" Jaune shouted back as he and Ren burst out of the forest and onto the beach. "Quick, find the raft!"
Ren looked around, and spotted it buried in the sand. "There!"
"Do we have time to dig it out?" Jaune muttered as they raced towards it. "Will it even float, it was inflatable and it's been months."
"We have to-" Ren was cut off when a spear flew by them, hitting the raft with air leaving it, whatever was left in it as the two males stopped in front of it. "Try?"
"You're not going anywhere now~"
Both turned and gulped seeing the tribes looking pleased.
"Now then, you will help my tribe, now." Spoke Salem with a cold smirk.
"You mean they'll help OUR tribe." Summer said, a small smile on her face.
"They belong to the Bad Wolf Tribe, Silver Eyes." glared Cinder.
"They are part of our tribe, not your tribe of thieves." Yang said with a frown.
"Watch your tongue Yang." warned Raven with a glare.
"You're not my mom anymore you deadbeat!"
"You're not getting your hands on their seed Sienna." Hissed Kali.
"Oh that is exactly what's gonna happen, and you can't do anything to stop me Kali~"
"Wanna bet?" hissed Blake.
"Ren, we're screwed, aren't we?" Jaune whispered nervously.
"That's putting it mildly."