This is a commission for Tom! He's always supporting me in my times of need, and I wanted to give him something he'd enjoy for his birthday. I made it a continuation to the other story he commissioned me, which is A Loyal Companion, so think of this as a direct sequel to that!
As per his request, this story is about Zwei once more, and I took on the challenge of trying to tell it from Zwei's perspective. I hope it reads well!
Thank you so much for everything, Tom!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
A Little Hero's Big Adventure
The night was warm from Zwei's cozy spot where he burrowed beneath the blankets.
They covered him completely, save from a small opening that had deliberately been left up in order to allow in a bit of fresh air.
He'd woken in the middle of the night to find himself surrounded by a familiar, but newer scent.
Typically, he would sleep on another bed - one that smelled of sweetness and flowers - and sometimes he even slept on the one beneath that, which smelled more of snow and clean sheets.
But tonight, he remembered that he'd fallen asleep after curling up on another of the soft beds, one he hadn't been on too many times before. This one smelled more foreign.
It was a scent he usually picked up on mixed with many other scents, but now this was the only one encompassing him. It was of nighttime and earth, a unique scent produced by the girl who always slept on this particular mattress.
Zwei whimpered slightly, his head feeling dizzy, his body shaking slightly. He felt as though he was being hunted, but the predators he feared were only in his mind.
When he looked around, he could see that he was still underneath the dark cover of blankets, safe and sound. When he listened, his ears perked up, and he caught the sounds of gentle breathing, indicating to him that all of the girls in the room were asleep.
He could smell each of them from here, but above all else, he smelled the girl who had saved him earlier that week.
Blake had been the one he had chosen to follow into the battle against the black monsters, and she'd also been the one who had shared her aura in order to save his life.
Zwei could still remember the awful pain of that time, like giant jaws sinking into his belly and tearing through him piece by piece. But the aura she'd shared with him had made that pain go away eventually, and he wanted to thank her in the only way he knew how - by keeping her warm tonight.
He stretched out his front paws, looking briefly down at his "new" one. It looked just like the original paw had, but it just felt slightly different, a bit harder beneath the fur that had been grown over it. He wiggled it to prepare it for his weight, and then crawled up toward where the blanket had been lifted up.
Poking his nose out, he sniffed in a few breaths of air before burrowing back underneath.
But even then he was still shaking, still feeling as though he was being watched by threatening eyes.
He whined softly and wiggled his way to the warmest side, to where the girl who smelled of cats and forests was sleeping. With a whimper, he nudged her stomach with his nose, his ears drooping as he waited.
Blake shifted a bit and moved one of her arms, moaning slightly. The blankets above Zwei were soon pulled down, exposing the dog to the cool night air. He perked up at the sound of a familiar voice whispering to him.
"Zwei...?" she rasped. "It's only 3 in the morning... What's the matter?"
He looked up into her golden eyes that glinted slightly in the pale moonlight. Shifting his hips a bit, he let out a small whine. He felt a bit more at ease now that he wasn't the only one awake, but his fur was still standing on end.
The girl looked him over, then reached out a hand to pat his head reassuringly. Zwei licked her wrist as she whispered to him.
"Did you have a bad dream? I can understand that. These past few days were pretty stressful for the both of us, huh?"
Zwei moved an inch closer to her, listening intently to her words. She removed her hand from his head and yawned a bit, then lifted the blankets up a little.
"Why don't you come closer to me? We've got to stay warm."
At her offer, Zwei's ears shot up happily. Without wasting a second, he waddled forward, curling up right against her chest. She chuckled softly as she draped the blanket over them both, and Zwei felt two soft arms wrap around him. The warmth coated him once again, and all feelings of unease were quickly chased away.
The girl pet his head slightly, then his chest, and her fingers traced over the official Beacon symbol on his brand new collar.
"Goodnight, Zwei," she murmured.
Zwei closed his eyes and snuggled close. He could feel the fast thumping in his own chest, but the beat that came from the girl beside him was much slower.
He listened to it for a few minutes, until his mind took him back into a place where he didn't need to think.
When he next woke, it was to the sound of a familiar beeping.
Shortly after that noise sounded, all four of the girls in the room started whimpering, shifting about in their beds until one of them had silenced the sound.
Zwei crawled out from underneath the blankets, poking his nose out first, followed by the rest of his head. Peering around the room, he could see all four of the girls beginning to move from their beds, stretching and yawning.
"Goooood morning everyone!"
"I'll take it you slept well, Ruby. Your snoring kept me up for hours."
"What? Aww, sorry, Weiss."
"It's not a big deal. I'm just glad you slept after the long day we had."
Zwei watched his owner Ruby and her partner Weiss interact for a moment, and then directed his attention to the other two.
"Mornin' Blake! Did you sleep alright?"
"Fine. How about you?"
"Like a baby! Oh, what's this?"
The taller of his owners - Yang - spotted Zwei and approached him, reaching down to scoop him out of the blankets. Instantly, his stump of a tail started wagging and his tongue lolled out as he licked her cheek. She cradled him and scratched his belly, causing one of his back legs to kick automatically as she cooed.
"Did Zwei sleep in your bed last night, Blake?"
"Yeah. I'm not sure why."
"Awwww! Ain't that cute?"
Her younger sister scampered over then and started to pet Zwei's head.
"Looks like Zwei slept well, too!"
"That's good," Weiss said with an approving nod. "We all needed it. Especially him."
Zwei felt soft fingers scratching through his belly fur as well as over his head and between his ears, and his tail couldn't stop wiggling.
Then, Ruby slid her fingers around his front right paw – the one that was a little harder than the other.
"Hey, boy," she murmured to him. "How's the paw feeling?"
Zwei smiled up at her and barked once, then licked her hand.
"Okay, good! I'm glad!" Ruby then slid two fingers beneath his collar to make sure it wasn't too tight on him. "Look at my stunning, handsome little boy with his cool new official Beacon collar! I've never seen one before, so they must've ordered it and gotten it made specially for you!"
Her tone became excited, and Zwei's tail started to wag even faster because of it.
After a few more minutes of being pet and pampered, Yang let him down onto the floor once more. Suspended in her arms, he'd been about chest-level to the girls. But down here, he weaved through ankles and crawled over feet as the four of them began to get ready for the day.
By now, he knew how things around here would work – the four of them would get changed and eat, say goodbye to him, and then walk out the door and close it. Zwei would stay there in that room all day, either sleeping or playing with his toys until one of them came back to feed him lunch.
After that, it would be a few more hours alone until at last they'd come back for the evening. Then, he'd play with them and eat his dinner, and finally be off to bed.
That was his usual schedule when he knew he didn't need to go somewhere to fight those bad-smelling black monsters in the forests alongside the girls.
Today, he followed his owners to his food bowl and waited eagerly for them to pour in his meal. He barked to thank them, then eagerly buried his snout in the pellets and started gobbling them up.
The girls ate breakfast as well, then took turns showering and changing into their uniforms.
As Zwei started lapping at his water bowl, Yang knelt down on the floor next to him and patted his head. She picked him up and carried him outside before letting him down into the grass. He waddled around, ears perked tall in excitement at the new day.
The grass was soft and cool with morning dew, and when he walked through it, the tips tickled his belly.
Things felt a little strange on his new paw – the softer paw sensed things normally, but the harder one was lacking the feeling a bit. It took him a minute to adjust to it, but once he had, he was back to his scampering, eager self.
Once he'd finished outside and Yang took him back in, Zwei jumped up onto the bed where he'd slept last night and curled himself up, watching the girls lazily as they now headed for the door together, dressed in their uniforms.
Ruby rushed to him and patted his head, then kissed him between the ears.
"Be a good boy! Oh, I don't need to tell you that. You always are. We'll be back soon, Zwei!"
She gathered her books and hurried after the others, the door closing behind them.
The room was filled with a sudden silence, the sounds of their laughter and happy voices now muffled, even to his perceptive ears.
With a sigh and a little whimper, Zwei laid his chin on his front paws and prepared himself for another majorly uneventful day.
He decided he'd start with a nap, then play with his toys whenever he woke up. He'd eat lunch when someone came back to feed him, then sleep again until all four of them returned.
It was going to be another quiet, unexciting day.
That's what he'd thought.
But as he closed his eyes to prepare for a nap, a sudden thudding sound caused him to perk up again, his ears and eyes trained on the door. A familiar voice sounded from behind it.
"Aw man! I forgot it!"
Seconds later, there was a ruckus at the door before it opened, and Ruby darted back in, her cape a blur of red behind her.
"Aahhh where is it, where is it?" she mumbled. "Ah-ha!" She hurried to the big desk where she'd often sit at night with Weiss and read. Ruby picked up a small notebook and cried out in triumph before zipping back toward the door. "Alright, gotta go, see ya, Zwei!"
And with that, she was gone again.
The dog listened to her footsteps fade away, then grunted again. The excitement of her return began to fade once more, and he once more accepted his fate of having another boring day.
But just as he was resting his head again, he noticed something.
In her hurry, his owner had neglected to close the door all the way behind her, leaving it slightly ajar.
Zwei sniffed once, then lifted his back legs, followed by his front. He stretched on the bed, then jumped down onto the floor. He trotted across the room toward the door, then paused in front of it, looking up at the strange way it was opened several paw-lengths.
He knew it should be closed and flat – that was how the girls always left it.
He bumped his nose against the wood, preparing to shut it...
But then he stopped.
He just wanted to go for a little walk.
He'd come right back.
So instead of pushing the door closed, he repositioned his snout in the space between the door and the frame. He moved his head sideways and gradually pushed the weight of the door aside, opening it enough to squeeze his body through.
Once he was out, he left the door ajar so he could slip back in when he returned.
Looking around, Zwei took in the familiar hallway surrounding him.
There was a door nearby where there were still voices coming from behind it, and Zwei waddled closer to listen better.
"Nora! C'mon this isn't funny! Where'd you put my pants?!"
"Gee, I dunno~"
"Well Jaune, that's what you get for using the last of her syrup at breakfast. You should've known better."
"I thought we had more! We always have like ten back-up bottles in case we ever run out! Right, Ren?"
"True. But I didn't go shopping yet this week. So that was our last one."
"Aw, come ooonn..."
There was a bit more commotion from inside, until at last the door opened.
Zwei looked up, his nostrils flooded with the familiar scents of their neighbors.
The tallest girl who came out first noticed him right away, and her eyes widened in surprise before she knelt down in front of him.
"Oh! Well this is a pleasant surprise! Good morning, Zwei!"
She offered her hand and let him sniff her. Zwei recognized her scent easily and nudged her hand with his nose, indicating she could touch him. He felt her hand run down his back, her nails scratching lightly.
The other three gathered around and peered down at him.
"What's he doing out?" Jaune wondered.
"Potty break?" Nora guessed.
"It seems as though he's unattended," Ren added.
"Should I call Ruby?" Jaune wondered.
"No," Pyrrha said. "No need to bother them with this. I'm sure they're already in class. Their dorm room's door is open, so he can go back inside. They must've left him like this intentionally."
As they discussed things, Zwei was already on his back with his belly exposed as Pyrrha rubbed his fur. Nora squatted down on his other side and slowly reached out toward his mechanical paw.
"Whoa," she mumbled. "That's still, like, the coolest thing ever! He was made Beacon's first ever official animal companion!"
"What a handsome collar!" Pyrrha cooed.
"He's a good dog," Ren smiled.
For a minute, the four students took turns petting him, praising him for all the hard work he'd done and the bravery he'd demonstrated in his latest mission.
It had only been a day since Ozpin's speech and announcement officially recognizing Zwei as an animal companion, but there was already talk of dozens of other students who were planning to bring along animals to their dorms. There were also programs in the making now and plans to make classes specifically for trained animal owners, as well as to make some of the dorms animal-friendly.
Zwei rolled back over onto his belly and stood, tail wagging and tongue hanging out. Pyrrha chuckled and scratched beneath his chin.
"Such a small dog, but he made a big difference."
"Yeah," Jaune added. "Probably the biggest difference anyone's had on Beacon in years."
"Uhh, guys?" Ren tapped their shoulders, then revealed his watch.
"Oh!" Pyrrha instantly stood and fixed her skirt. "We need to go! Come on!" She grabbed Jaune's hand and pulled him up as well.
"Race ya!" Nora shouted.
"Nora, no!"
Pyrrha needed to hurry after her to try and stop her, but ended up joining in the race in the process. Jaune scrambled after them, leaving Ren the last one alone with Zwei.
"Make sure you don't cause any trouble," he said.
Zwei blinked up at him, then turned around and waddled back to team RWBY's open door.
With a nod, Ren hurried after the others.
Zwei watched them all go, until the hallway was empty once more. He turned back to the door behind him, knowing he should go back inside...
But maybe after a short walk.
He moved his legs and started down the hall, bound for the door where Yang often took him outside in the morning. There were no other people inside this hallway, but he could see a lot of them walking outside.
However, when he reached the doors, he encountered his first problem; no one was here to open this one.
He whimpered, waddling up to the glass doors and peering pitifully outside.
But then, something amazing happened. The doors automatically slid open after sensing his presence.
Zwei perked up and gave a happy yip. He puffed out his chest, feeling important and proud as he walked through the doors and out into the cool morning.
The pads of his paws were now met with warm concrete, and sunlight soaked into the black fur on his back. He gazed around in wonder, never having been outside at this time of day before with all these people around.
There were a million scents to take in. Some people smelled differently than others, and some had ears or a tail like his.
He walked slowly through the crowds, but it was only seconds before he was noticed.
"Oh, hey!"
"Who's dog is this?"
"Hey, isn't that the one Ozpin gave the speech about yesterday?"
"No way. Team RWBY's dog?"
"Yeah look! He's got the collar and everything!"
"So cute!"
Dozens of people crouched down to let him sniff them, then patted his head and said hello.
With all the sudden attention he was being given, Zwei was wagging his tail so hard and so fast it almost hurt. He barked and yipped excitedly as all the people passed him by and stopped to pet him and congratulate him, offering words of praise. They admired his special paw as well as his shiny new collar. Some even gave him bits of meat from their morning sandwiches.
For a while, Zwei was unable to move from his spot on the ground, simply because so many people were stopping to see him. But after several minutes, the students needed to get to their classes.
Zwei noticed the numbers start to die down until there was no one else around anymore. He sat there for a moment and licked his fur, tasting all the different scents of the hands that had touched him on his tongue. There were far too many for him to remember, but some of them were faintly familiar.
Once he was alone, he had a number of options to occupy himself with.
There were hundreds of scents trails to follow, some more appealing than others. There was grass to run and roll around in, and there were squirrels to chase.
But he knew he should go back inside to his room...
Maybe in a few more minutes.
For now, he ran to the courtyard and chased the squirrels, rolling around in the grass to cool off a bit. He chewed on some of the grass and sharpened his claws on a small tree trunk.
He'd never been given so much freedom when he was alone before. He didn't know what to do with himself next.
But he soon discovered that the squirrels didn't want to play with him – they only got scared and ran. When he realized he was alone with no one to play with, his ears drooped and his tail stopped wagging.
Giving a low whine, he hurried back toward the building and headed for the doors. Again, they opened by themselves for him, and he strode through now with his head held high.
There were a lot of places to go, but he didn't want to go anywhere too loud.
He followed the hallways, padding through them slowly and taking his time, trying to remember what everything looked like. It was all the same for a while, just tall walls on either side and some doors scattered about here or there.
But then, he reached an open doorway that led to a large room with lots of space.
There was furniture set up all around here, tables and couches and chairs. There were a lot of people there, but it wasn't loud, and there was no scent of food on the air either.
People murmured quietly, and there was no fast motion, only the slow page-turning of books and people walking across the room to sit.
Zwei trotted in slowly, keeping beneath the tables so not everyone would see him and be too loud. He hadn't been planning to go anywhere in particular, but he soon let his nose lead him once again.
Of all the people here, he was attracted to one girl in particular who smelled of flowers and fruits and everything pleasant.
Not many people smelled this way – the closest he could ever remember smelling like this was Weiss – so Zwei assumed this person must be high up on the food chain.
He spotted the source of the scent sitting on a couch dressed in the same uniform as everyone else. She had short brown hair almost like Ruby's, except one side was a bright orange color. Her eyes were covered by dark glasses, ones Zwei only ever saw people wearing outside.
Sitting next to the girl was another female with long brown hair and two bunny ears on her head.
Zwei had often played with bunnies before, and he liked them.
On the couch next to the two girls were two boys.
One was bigger and very focused on his book, and it was the other one who noticed Zwei first. He didn't have color in his eyes, and Zwei could sense something was different about him, but he could tell the boy's hearing was exceptional.
The boy nudged his companion and mumbled something to him.
"Is that dog supposed to be here?" Fox muttered.
Yatsuhashi lifted his gaze only briefly, looked up in the direction his teammate was indicating, and then shrugged before returning to his book.
Zwei knew he'd been seen, so he decided to go over to them.
As soon as the girls noticed him, they looked curiously down at him.
"Oh, hey. What do you know?" Coco said, pulling down her shades with one finger. "It's Ozpin's little champion."
"Ruby's dog!" Velvet smiled. "Your name's Zwei, isn't it? Come here, boy."
At the sound of his name, Zwei perked up and scampered over, his stump of a tail wagging quickly. He circled around the girls' legs until he felt two hands on either side of his body.
The next thing he knew, his paws left solid ground as he was lifted, temporarily suspended in the air, until he felt soft cushion beneath his paws.
From here on the couch now, the girls seemed less intimidating with their size. Zwei crawled forward and nudged Velvet's hand. The Faunus girl jumped a bit, her ears perking tall.
"Oh! Your nose is wet," she chuckled.
"Get your handkerchief, Velvs," Coco recommended.
"Oh, good idea."
Zwei watched as the girl slipped a hand into her blazer's pocket, feeling around for something in particular. But her brow furrowed a moment later, and even after she switched pockets and tried her skirt pocket as well, Velvet came up empty-handed.
"Oh, no..."
She let out a little sigh, and Zwei could instantly sense her distress.
Evidently, Coco did as well, for she closed the book in her lap and leaned sideways toward her teammate, quirking an eyebrow.
"What's up?"
"I... can't seem to find it..."
Velvet stood up and looked around the couch and on the floor, but was unsuccessful. Zwei's tail gradually stopped wagging as he sensed her sadness. Her voice was heavy with it.
"My mother gave it to me when I departed for Beacon. It was like a good luck charm."
"Easy," Coco smiled gently. "I'm sure it's just back in the room."
"I don't think so. I always take it with me. I had it this morning..."
With a sigh, Velvet sat back down, her shoulders slumping. Zwei noticed the boys had paused in their studying to send sympathetic glances at their teammate. Coco pulled the dejected Velvet a little closer and patted her shoulder comfortingly.
Zwei wanted to help.
The corgi sniffled at Velvet's waist, picking up her scent easily. With a little hop, he jumped off the sofa and set to work, keeping a determined pace as he put his nose to work.
There was a faint trail of Velvet's scent leading out of the common room. Zwei followed it down one of the hallways, one he hadn't been down before, but he was more than confident he'd be able to find his way back through.
There was no one else out and about at the moment, so he trotted - confident and undeterred. He wasn't entirely sure what he was searching for, but he just knew it smelled like the upset Faunus girl he'd left behind.
He sniffed, letting his nose lead him onward, around corners and beneath little decorative tables and the like.
Until at last, he found it.
It was a small purple piece of cloth with a white embroidered border, crumpled halfway beneath a small section of rug that covered the wooden flooring in the hallway.
Zwei dipped his head, opening his jaws and gently biting down onto the soft fabric, making certain not to tear it. He gave a small tug to dislodge it from the carpet fibers, then dragged it free, undamaged.
With it secured in his mouth, he hurried back off the way he'd come, so excited by his find that he ended up tripping on the cloth a few times.
At long last, he returned to the common room, happy to see the team of four was still there. He tried to give a yip in order to announce his presence, but the sound was muffled by the handkerchief in his mouth.
So he merely quickened his pace until he was at the sofa once again, at the girls' shoes. He bumped his head against Velvet's shin, then looked up at her, tail wagging.
There was a surprised gasp from her, then a touched smile.
"Zwei! You found it for me?"
She reached down and opened her palm, and Zwei happily released the cloth. Velvet brought it up into her lap, and the dog could sense the change in her mood. It was almost as though there was a bright, beaming aura around her now, a dire contrast to the gloomy one that had surrounded her previously.
Coco's mood also lifted now that her teammate had her precious handkerchief back, albeit a little wet.
"What a smart little guy," she said approvingly.
"Let me say thank you!"
Velvet bent forward from where she sat on the couch and scooped Zwei into her arms. Zwei yipped softly, his tail going a mile a minute once more as his paws met soft fabrics. A hand was on his head, scratching lightly between his ears, and another set of fingers tended to his back and spine.
Zwei whimpered joyfully, one of his back legs kicking quickly until he'd flopped onto his side, revealing his belly. He listened to Velvet's giggles as she continued to scratch and rub through his fur, and even Coco offered the occasional pat or two.
After a few minutes, the girls let Zwei back down onto the floor.
"Thank you," Velvet said again. "You're my little hero."
Humbly accepting the praise, Zwei continued on his merry way around the school.
As he walked, he passed by only a few other students roaming the halls, some of whom paused to pet or say hello to him, recognizing him from Ozpin's speech a few days prior.
Zwei licked hands and nuzzled palms whenever they allowed him to, and occasionally got another belly rub.
He felt he hadn't been away from the room for long, so instead of heading back already, he opted to explore the campus a little more.
He caught whiffs of Ruby's scent as well as the other three girls' on her team, here or there near one classroom door or another. Most of the doors were closed, and he could hear people on the other side speaking or moving about.
He didn't like being lonely out here. He wanted to be around people.
So when he came across an open door, he slipped inside.
It was a large room, and very quiet despite its size. There were a lot of shelves and books, just like the ones in team RWBY's room, only here, there were a lot more of them, and they were all much larger. Tables and chairs and computers and desks were set up all around, most of which were occupied by students.
Most people were looking at books or screens or were napping in the soft chairs, so Zwei went in unnoticed.
He strolled through the aisles of tall bookshelves, taking in the many scents of old parchment and new ink. He managed to pick up on Blake's scent in a few of the aisles, but it was stale, likely a few days old.
When he reached the tables, there were no familiar scents of people he knew around here.
Not any he liked, anyway.
But there was definitely one he did recognize.
His tail stopped wagging as he followed the scent toward the computers and chairs. He took cover beneath the table, where he could only see shoes and shins, covered either by long pants or tall socks.
His nose led him to two peoples' chairs - one boy and one girl. He didn't know why they smelled familiar, but when he curled himself up a few inches shy of their feet, he felt that their voices weren't very foreign ones.
"Come on, Merc!" the girl hissed. "If we don't get this shit done, Cinder's gonna have our freakin' heads."
"I know, Em," he groaned. "Just gimme a second, alright? I'm almost done. You sure as hell aren't doing anything to help..."
"Oh, shut it. I'm the one who did all the research. You're just copying my work!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."
Zwei kept quiet as he pressed himself back against the wall, making sure their shoes didn't bump or detect him there.
He didn't fully understand why, but he didn't like these two, nor what they were doing. All of his instincts told him they weren't good people and that they weren't doing good things.
They must have been hiding it well, though, because no one else in the room seemed to be bothered by them.
But Zwei was.
His little hackles were raised, and the fur along his spine lifted up, his body becoming stiff. He held still, listening to them bicker in soft hisses and whispers for a moment longer.
"So, this is everything on all the students we need?" the boy wondered.
"Yeah. Every last one of 'em," the girl replied. "From the champion Pyrrha Nikos to that newbie kid Ruby Rose."
The sound of his owner's name almost had Zwei growling, but he just barely managed to hold it back and swallow it down.
He didn't like this. He didn't know what, but he knew he needed to do something.
Zwei looked up, casting his gaze around beneath the table. He knew the computers were connected to the wires that ran to the wall.
Without wasting another second, Zwei followed the wires from this computer to where it was plugged into the wall. He bit into the wire and gave a tug, but it didn't dislodge.
Putting in a bit more force, he dug his claws into the carpet and yanked at the wire harder, grunting quietly under his breath. He thrashed his head and wiggled his haunches, feeling the pressure of the plug start to give.
With one final pull, Zwei stumbled backward when the wire came unplugged. He bumped into the boy's legs, scrambled to his paws, then darted away down the length of the table, keeping out of sight.
Behind him, he could hear the outraged shouts of the two students.
"What the hell just happened?" the boy yelled.
"Shit! What the hell did you do, you moron?"
"Me? I didn't do anything."
"We just lost all our data, you idiot! Do you know how angry Cinder's gonna be with us now?"
"Wasn't my fault!" he defended. "There was something under there."
"What, something under the table?" she scoffed. "You probably unplugged it yourself with your big, stupid shoes!"
"Hey, don't pin this on me! You're probably the one who kicked the wire out."
"Me?!"
"Yeah, you!"
They continued shouting at one another, disturbing the silence of the big room. Zwei only halted in his run when he'd reached the end of the long table, and he huddled himself in the corner for a moment. He peeked out from beneath the table to look across the room.
Several of the other students had been disturbed by the two's bickering and were hissing at them for silence.
But it was only when one woman in particular appeared that the boy and girl Zwei had thwarted fell deathly silent.
She had dark gray hair over one eye, and her presence was unnerving, even for Zwei. She stalked over to the pair like an alpha wolf about to punish some troublesome cubs.
"What seems to be the issue here?" she uttered.
"Cinder!" the girl piped. "We were doing... the research just as you'd asked. But this idiot unplugged the computer and-"
"I did not," he protested. "Like I said, it was probably you."
"It was not!"
"Either way," Cinder cut them off. "You mean to tell me... that all of our precious research has been lost?"
Zwei watched the other two nod, and he could smell their fear even from here. The woman's red lip curled up into a snarl, but she only sighed.
"We have no choice but to start over, then. You two have hindered this plan significantly. I expect you to make up for lost time and resources with flying colors."
"...Yes, Cinder."
"Good. You'll both begin tomorrow. But for now we've got to go..."
Zwei stayed hidden as he watched the trio leave the room, the boy and girl apologizing for the ruckus they'd caused. The dog felt proud in the fact that he'd successfully prevented them from doing something bad, at least for a little while longer.
After waiting a moment to ensure no one was looking in his direction, Zwei soon wiggled out of his hiding spot, scampering to the nearest desk to take shelter. When he was certain he could make it, he bolted for the open doors.
Looking around, he found that the hall was empty again, the only sounds being the heating ventilation through the air up above.
He padded along, small sounds being produced from his claws and paw pads hitting the sections of hard flooring.
When he reached carpet once more, he walked toward the rows of doors where he could hear people inside. He was beginning to get a little tired, and he wanted to start heading back to his team's room.
But he couldn't ignore the faint scent that hit his nose just then.
It was a scent that made the roof of his mouth crawl, and even when he stuck his tongue out, the prickling didn't go away.
He followed the smell to a door that was slightly ajar, and nosed his way inside.
The room was massive, lined with rows upon rows of seats, most of which were filled with students. No one noticed him waddle inside, as their attention was mostly trained on the activity taking place at the front of the room.
The audience section of the room was quiet, save from a few mutters or short cries of surprise here or there.
But the center of the room was where the stench was coming from, along with the loud, alarming sounds.
The sounds of battle.
Startled, Zwei made a mad dash for the front of the room, weaving between chairs and tables and ankles as he darted for the disconcerting sounds of struggle. He could smell that rancid stench, one he knew all too well by now.
It'd been the same scent that had filled his nostrils when he'd lost his front paw.
It told him that one of those black monsters was nearby.
He didn't stop to wonder why none of the people were moving, but Zwei merely hurried forward, skidding to a halt at the front of the room, still out of sight beneath one of the table-desks.
On the flat, open area of the room, on a hardened floor without carpets, there stood two figures.
One was a human – a boy whose scent and appearance was unfamiliar to Zwei. And the other was a black monster, almost like a large hog.
Off to one side, a big portly man stood, observing the battle. Beside him was a woman with light yellow hair and glasses who watched with keen eyes.
Neither of the adults were moving, despite the loose monster in the room.
Zwei was puzzled, his paws itching to move and ears flicking as little whimpers escaped his mouth. He didn't understand what was going on right away, nor why anyone wasn't helping the boy facing the monster.
But after a moment of watching them fight, the dog could assume it was a one-on-one battle. When the hog charged, the boy would dodge and make an effort to counter, but more often than not, the monster had an advantage in speed and brute force.
Zwei's ears perked up as he listened to other students shouting and making comments to their companion, as the two adults communicated in hushed voices to one another. They kept their eyes on the battle, ready to jump in if need be.
So since they weren't moving, Zwei decided to stay put as well.
He watched intently, all of his senses on high alert as he kept his eyes on the black monster, trying to predict its moves.
The adults and other students kept shouting things out to help the boy fight, but Zwei could smell that his fear was beginning to take over.
Evidently, the monster sensed it as well.
With a loud roar that made Zwei's ears ring, the beast charged, rolling itself into a massive ball of tusks before attacking. The boy stood frozen in place, tired and petrified.
Zwei could tell that the adults were surprised by what was happening, but hadn't been prepared to counterattack it quickly enough.
With a loud bark, the corgi raced forward, streaking across the floor like a tiny black lightning bolt. He aimed himself at the monster, then shot forward in a burst of speed he'd learned in his puppy years from his owner.
He intercepted the black boar on its way to the boy, opening his jaws to sink his teeth into one of the tusks. His weight wasn't much compared to the beast's, but it was just enough to throw the boar off track and allow the boy to jump to safety.
Zwei released the monster's tusk and barked at it, hackles raised and ears back as his lip curled into a snarl. The boar jumped back to its hooves, roaring in rage. Zwei took the challenge, darting back in to confuse it and grab its attention.
This gave the boy just enough time to aim a blow with his spear and kill the beast once and for all.
Shocked phrases rose up around the room, followed by cheers and shouts. Zwei waddled away from the beast's decaying carcass to stand next to the exhausted human boy, and looked up as the two professors approached.
"Good show!" the big man said. "Very good! But I've got to wonder what on Remnant that was. Have you any idea, Miss Goodwitch?"
The blonde woman stepped forward, holding a scroll not unlike the ones Zwei had seen in the hands of other students. The woman peered down at him past her glasses, and he recalled her scent instantly, one associated with the headmaster who had given Zwei his collar.
"Oh, my," Glynda said. "It seems Miss Rose's animal companion has found his way into our classroom. Did Professor Ozpin approve of this?"
"Not to my knowledge," the man said. "But I'd say this would be a perfect opportunity to tell the class about my own animal companion back in the day! Well, you see kids, I once had a platypus..."
Zwei continued looking up at the big man as he spread his arms and addressed the students in a booming voice. Glynda commended the boy who had fought the boar, and then scolded him and gave him advice for how to improve next time.
Zwei was about to slink away again, but was stopped by the woman.
"Hold on now. Zwei, was it?"
When he heard his name, the corgi turned back to her, tongue lolling out again. Glynda waved her hand, motioning the dog back a few paces.
"We'll let Professor Port tell his stories for the moment," she said, kneeling down in front of the dog. "As for you, you've just saved us a lot of trouble with your quick reactions. Someone could've gotten hurt. It was my fault for not being more attentive."
Keeping one hand around her scroll, she reached out her palm, allowing Zwei to sniff. He bumped his head against her fingers and barked happily. Quickly, Glynda looked up, ensuring the sound hadn't attracted the attention of any of the students nor Port. When she was certain no one had looked her way, the woman looked back to Zwei and patted his head.
"Now then, I don't suppose you're supposed to be running around unattended, now are you? If anything, you should be with your team."
She withdrew her hand, and Zwei whimpered pitifully and sat on his haunches, his tail still waggling a little. Glynda swiped her scroll for a moment, her eyes trained on the screen, a greenish glare reflecting off her glasses until she'd found what she sought.
"Ah, here we are. Miss Rose's schedule... Perfect. It looks like she's about to head to lunch right now in the cafeteria. You should run along and find her."
Zwei instinctively perked up at the sound of Ruby's last name, knowing instantly who the woman was talking about. He gave a few wags of his stubby tail and then was off, scampering up the aisle of the lecture hall and rushing toward the door.
He wasn't too certain where or what the cafeteria was, but he remembered the way the woman had said the word. As he walked the halls, he listened for that same word being spoken on the students' lips, and eventually got an idea of which direction to go in.
His nose was soon flooded by many scents of various foods – some more appealing to a canine pallet than others.
He followed the invisible trail toward a large hallway, weaving in between the shoes of the students filing inside.
Of all the rooms of the school he'd visited today, this was undoubtedly the largest and noisiest one. It was also the most confusing with all the scents filling the air and all the movement buzzing about.
There were lots of people inside, some of which he recognized vaguely, and others not at all.
Skirting the walls, he put his nose to work and began seeking out the familiar scents of his team.
It was hard not to be a little distracted, though.
People were dropping scraps of food here and there, and occasionally, Zwei would dart underneath a nearby table to gobble up a dropped piece of salami or chicken. But he had to be careful, because he realized it wasn't all meat - the bread crusts and lettuce tasted awful.
He did his best to stay on track though, and after gulping down one last cube of meat, he set out in search of his team once more.
Looking up, it was an intimidating world of people, most of which were carrying trays. Their attention was on one another and their food, not the floor, so Zwei had a few close calls where a shoe almost landed on his back.
But luckily he took after his owners, and was very fast – enough to avoid a squished paw.
Skillfully, he darted beneath table after table, jumping over or under shoes as they came his way. He'd caught a familiar scent – an odd mixture of cookies, perfume, tuna, and citrus – and knew only four particular girls on this entire planet harbored such scents.
He soon spotted the familiar red cloak behind its owner, who just so happened to be Zwei's owner as well.
He was about to bark happily and bound over to them when a harsh sound caused his ears to flatten.
At the table above him, four boys sat laughing loudly, their low voices muttering at just the perfect volume for Zwei to be able to hear past the din of the room.
"So?" one boy said. "You gonna toss it?"
"Hell yeah. And it'll nail 'em. Don't ya think Jauney boy'll look good with some pink goo in that beach-blonde hair of his? And the Ren dude's already got some pink in his hair. That Valkyrie girl likes pink anyway, and Nikos could do with a makeover, don't you think?"
They all laughed again, and Zwei found himself growling, his lip curling back to reveal his teeth. He recognized the names that had been spoken, and knew they were friends of his.
Which meant these boys weren't going to be doing nice things.
Zwei swiftly discerned which of the boys had whatever object he intended to "toss" at the others. Hurrying over, he parted his jaws and then clamped down hard onto the boy's shoe just as he was standing up.
With a holler of surprise, the boy fell over the bench and table, clambering loudly as he dropped whatever had been in his hand. Whatever it was exploded promptly, covering the table and all four boys in sticky, pink goo.
Much of the noise in the cafeteria came to a pause as everyone stared, then started chuckling. Zwei slipped away before the teachers arrived, and ran off unnoticed.
Triumphant, he waddled back toward the table where he knew Ruby and the others to be sitting.
All four girls were giggling or smirking smugly behind their hands at the sight of the foolish boys. Zwei could hear their comments from his hiding spot under the nearby table.
"Nice," Yang chuckled.
"That'll teach them," Blake added.
"I think pink looks very becoming on them," Weiss put in.
"Now I just want bubblegum!" Ruby laughed.
Zwei smiled, tongue lolling out once more. He was happy he'd made them laugh, even if they didn't know it had been him behind the scenes.
He was preparing to go up to them when Ruby stood from her seat.
"Welp, I bet Zwei's getting hungry. I'm gonna go back and feed him lunch."
It was just then Zwei remembered he wasn't exactly supposed to be here right now. He was supposed to be back in the room like always - at least until he was officially allowed to follow Ruby to classes as an animal companion.
But as of right now, he was not supposed to be out of the dorm room.
With a nervous little yip, he turned tail and took off once more, scampering toward the cafeteria doors and darting out amongst a crowd.
He picked up his own scent and followed it back past all the rooms he'd visited this morning, scuttling along the floors as they changed from wooden to carpeted.
He hurried along, panting all the while until at long last, he reached a familiar hallway.
Seeking the correct door, he was relieved to find it still slightly ajar. Quickly, he nosed through the door, then bumped his haunches against the wood to close it. The knob clicked when it locked, and Zwei grunted in satisfaction.
He could already hear footsteps approaching from outside.
With one last sprint, he crossed the room and leapt up onto the nearest bed, curled himself up, and put on the guise of sleep.
Only a minute later, the door opened, and in walked not only Ruby, but all four girls.
"Zwei!" Ruby called him. "Time for lunch!"
Yang was still laughing to herself about what had happened in the cafeteria.
"Man, Cardin got his ass handed to him. By himself! What an idiot."
"Yang," Weiss chided. "Just because something's true doesn't mean you need to say it out loud."
"Well," Blake mumbled. "Maybe it's okay since we're back in our room."
"...Perhaps," Weiss conceded with a small smile.
As they spoke, Ruby walked over to one of the cabinets in the room, the one where they stored Zwei's canned food. As she worked the can opener, she patted her thigh with one hand.
"Zwei! C'mere, boy! Time for lunchies!"
But although Zwei lifted his head with interest, he gave a little sigh; he'd already done a lot of moving around today, and even had a few snacks in the cafeteria not long ago.
Puzzled, Ruby looked back over her shoulder and called him again.
"Zweeiii~ Come on, don't be lazy."
"Um, Ruby?" Blake said gently. "I don't think he's going to move."
"What?" Yang chuckled, making her way over to the bed to pat the dog. "Long day, buddy? Lying here and napping for hours on end. Life is ruff, huh?"
"Well," Weiss said. "He should enjoy these last few days of tranquility while he still can. I believe he'll be accompanying us to a few of our battle training lessons from now on." She reached down and tapped one finger against his silver collar, over the medal of Beacon's crest.
"That's right," Ruby said. "But I guess for today we can spoil him."
She picked up his bowl full of food and carried it over to where Zwei lie on the bed. The corgi instantly sat up and yipped happily.
"Ruby," Weiss sighed. "Don't feed him on my bed."
"We're gonna do laundry tonight anyway!"
As Yang reassured the grumbling heiress, Ruby patted Zwei's back as he wolfed down his food. Blake watched more fondly than she'd ever thought she could look at a dog.
Then, her eye caught sight of something in his fur. It was a small pink glob on the tip of his stubby tail.
Puzzled, she gently brushed it off, then shrugged before going into the bathroom to wash her hands.
Zwei liked to believe the girls were none the wiser.
After they said goodbye to him and headed off for their second half of the day, they really did close the door all the way this time.
Zwei let out a long sigh and plopped down on the bed again, curled up, and promptly fell asleep to the memories of the adventures he'd had that morning.
And he awaited many more adventures to come.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun writing something carefree and lighthearted from Zwei's point of view. I hope the change in perspective from the usual was bearable.
I did my best to keep to Tom's request, where Zwei would encounter all the different people and teams in Beacon. I hope it was acceptable!
If you like my writing, you can support me on as Kiria Alice.
Please review!