Chapter three: A new guest

I smiled as I started walking down the street, waving a quick goodbye to Ren as he and Nora started on their walk back the opposite direction, heading for Ren's home. I was still petting Ruby, more out of instinct than anything else. When I held a small, fuzzy object in my arms, cradled like a baby, I was inclined to pet it. Yang and Pyrrha kept walking ahead of me, sniffing around in places like I'd expect them too. Then, oddly, Pyrrha shot upright, looking off to the right, down an alley. Yang did the same, and even the adorable ball of fluff in my arms that was Ruby looked up, as if hearing something I didn't. I raised an eyebrow, walking ahead to Yang and Pyrrha. "What is it girls?" I asked. Then, I heard it.

Crying.

It was faint and small, either rather far away or the cries of a young child. I looked down the alley, taking a breath as I, remembering the last time I walked into a dark alley, moved Ruby into my left arm, holding my switchblade in my shaky right hand. I started walking down, Pyrrha and Yang keeping to the sides of me, as if keeping their eyes out for threats. I kept walking, further and further, until I saw the source. It was the backside of a basket, one with a hood covering part of it, concealing what it held from plain view. I raised an eyebrow as I walked ahead, looking down at the sides. There were beautiful, no doubt handmade etchings in the sides, illustrations of some kind of ferocious battle between normal people and one's with animal features. The faunus wars. I walked around to the front, my eyes widening as I saw the source of the crying.

It was a baby.

I kneeled down, sitting Ruby next to me as I looked closer. It had stark white hair, unlike any I'd ever seen before. Their skin was about the same way, pale. I noticed that, beneath it's neck, I couldn't see anything, it being hidden beneath the blanket. I set my switchblade back in my pocket as I reached forward, grabbing the white blanket with my index finger and thumb. I slowly peeled it back, revealing the child's skin to be pale down their body, little arms and legs flailing about as they cried. I felt a spark of pity as I, almost instinctively, reached over, grabbing the child from its crib. I pulled them out, looking down at them as I cradled them in my arms the way I did Ruby. "Shh, it's okay. You're fine." I whispered, lightly rocking it back and forth.

This seemed to calm the child down a bit, enough that they just leaned against my chest, their breathing slowing as I realized that, despite the movements, it was asleep. I looked down, seeing a plain white diaper adorning it's rear. I pulled back on the front, making sure it wasn't wet. "Well, at least I know you're a girl now." I said, leaning down and gently setting the child in the crib. I pulled the blanket back up, smiling slightly at her. I looked down, noticing there was a name carved into the front of the basket. Not what I'd personally have picked for her, but I guessed it was her name.

Weiss.

I looked around, thinking that maybe the mother or father or, somebody, was nearby. Maybe they just stepped away for a moment? If so, I was about to give them a piece of my mind for leaving a child unattended in a dark alley. Though, when I looked, I found that me and Weiss were the only one's in the alley… well, the only human ones anyway, since Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang were still with us. I looked around, frowning down at the crib. "Well… I can't just leave you here." I muttered, grabbing at the handle on top of the basket. I tried to be gentle, even though I was just carrying it in one hand. I looked around, trying to make sure no one was about to pop out and accuse me of kidnapping their kid. Though, when no one appeared, I walked out, right back to where I was at the entrance to the alley.

"Might need some baby supplies for the day." I thought. With that in mind, I turned off the road that would lead me to the pet shop, instead taking a right, towards one of the few places in Vale I knew that sold baby supplies. It was a bit of a walk, maybe three minutes or so, but when I walked in the door, I knew exactly where I was going. I walked through the aisles, right to the place the diapers were. I looked down, trying to see the sleeping girl in the crib. "She's the smallest size." I heard a voice say. The voice was, while not harsh or condescending, strangely monotone, as if not really caring. When I looked up, I saw a woman with black hair that flowed down to her waist. She was wearing sunglasses, jeans, a t-shirt, and a black bow, oddly enough. She grabbed a pack of diapers, handing them to me, never changing her expression. Even when she grabbed a bottle of baby powder and then formula, handing it to me.

The only time her expression changed was when Ruby clawed at her legs, barking. Then she gave a small smile, reaching down and rubbing her hand along Ruby's head. Then she stood, and just walked away, as if nothing had happened. "Weird… didn't even catch her name." I thought. Normally when I talked to someone in Vale they'd at least introduce themselves to me. I pushed the thought aside, juggling the baby supplies in one hand, the baby in the other. I set the supplies on the counter, an old man with gray hair that stuck up almost all over the place. He was scanning them with the motions of someone that had done the same action a thousand times before. He put them in a bag, then pointed towards the counter. I reached behind me, grabbing my wallet and pulling it out, looking through my money. I felt my face pale, "Umm…" I said. I wasn't packing enough lien with me to pay for everything.

The man just smiled, handing me the bag. "First one?" he asked, gesturing to the little girl in the crib. I blinked twice, looking down at her, then back up at the man. I thought about telling him the truth for a moment but, considering it was technically true… and the only way I was getting the needed supplies, I just nodded. "Thank you." I said, handing the supplies to Pyrrha. She knew what to do, biting down on the bag and carrying it out of the store. I started walking, heading back towards my store. On the walk, I couldn't help but smile, "I owe that old man a visit or three down the road." I thought. He'd obviously have to be the person I come to when I needed baby supplies from now on.

The walk back was relatively uneventful, and when we got to the entrance, I reached behind me, pulling out my key and opening up the shop. Ruby immediately dashed in, sitting down at the door that lead to the bedroom. Yang nudged against my hand while Pyrrha moved forward, sitting still in the center of the store, awaiting orders I guessed. I shut and locked the doors to the store, turning back around and heading towards the bedroom. When I opened the bedroom door, Ruby rushed in immediately, heading for her own cage. Pyrrha walked in past me, laying the bag on my bed, that being the only thing she could reach, and Yang laid down near her sister. I walked over to the bed, setting the sleeping girl and her crib down before I sat next to her.

I spent the next couple minutes distant, even when Pyrrha nudged against my hand… just thinking. "What am I going to do with you?" I absently thought. Of course, the first chance I got I'd be handing her over to the police, a missing child and all that. Though, I couldn't help but wonder why she was abandoned in the first place. I mean, there must've been a reason right? It clearly wasn't money if the family could afford such a delicate handmade basket, as well as a pure silk blanket. I was finally drug out of my train of thought by the buzzing at my side. I raised an eyebrow, looking down at my pocket. I reached in, pulling out my scroll to see someone had texted me. 'Is Weiss safe?'. That was the message. I quickly responded, almost without thinking, with a yes.

'Thank Oum. I know who you are, Jaune Arc. You will meet me at a later date. The girl is mine. Do not bring her to the police. Do not let her be seen in public unless absolutely necessary. For your cooperation, you will find a large sum of lien has been deposited into your bank account, and will continue to be deposited so long as Weiss is in your care. If you are a good person, and I believe you are, then please, protect her.'. I raised an eyebrow at this. Don't bring her to the police? Asking if she's safe? Don't bring her in public? Who the heck was I dealing with? "Who are you?" I muttered aloud, then typing the same message. I got a response almost instantly, the person was clearly by their scroll, figuring that I'd speak to them and have questions. 'You may call me Winter, if it sooths your curiosity. You will not be able to get ahold of me via scroll. I will contact you again, but in person. Only when it is safe. One more thing, do not trust Adam.'.

I tried to text again, only to get an odd message. "Error: This number no longer exists… what?! I was just texting her… him, it, whatever." I thought, slowly setting my scroll down on the nightstand, next to the baby supplies. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried or freaked out, I definitely was. I looked down, petting behind Pyrrha's ear to try and calm myself down. I found that, for a few seconds, it actually worked. Then I jumped at the sound of a slight noise. I looked over, seeing that the noise came from the crib Weiss was in. I spun the crib around, smiling slightly as I saw it. Two big, icy-blue eyes gazing back at me. Filled with that innocence and wonder that only came with youth. I reached over, gently wrapping my hands around her back and pulling her out of the crib, laying her down on my lap. She just looked up at me, her mouth hanging slightly open as her eyes looked around, finally settling on me.

I saw her reach her hands up, making little grabbing motions with them. I smiled, "You want me Weiss? I'm right here." I said, reaching down and standing her up. She reached towards me, lightly tapping her fists on my head as she let out little high pitched giggles. I looked down, seeing Pyrrha walking up, licking at Weiss's foot. She looked down, making those same, little grabbing motions towards her. I raised an eyebrow as I gently set her down on my lap. Pyrrha was gentle, moving forward and laying her head next to her. Weiss moved her hands forward, grabbing tufts of Pyrrha's fur in her hands and running through them, letting out those same babyish giggles. I couldn't help but smile for a few seconds before Pyrrha leaned back, shaking her fur out slightly. Though, a few seconds later, I heard the familiar high pitched barking. Sure enough, when I looked down, I noticed Ruby scrambling to get up on the bed.

I reached down, scooping her up in one hand and laying her on my lap. I was a bit concerned of course, but Ruby almost seemed frightened of Weiss, staying back away from her. Weiss didn't make those motions with her, only watched with seemingly curious eyes. A few minutes later though, and I felt Weiss shudder, her eyes welling up. When she started crying, Ruby bolted. "What's wrong Weiss?!" I asked, forgetting for a moment that a baby couldn't answer me. I was about to start panicking, when I smelled it. It was a bad smell, obviously, and when I moved her around, I sighed, realizing that I was changing diapers again. I grabbed the bag from the table and walked towards the bathroom, "Don't worry, we'll get you changed." I said absently, smiling down at her before I shut the door.

A few minutes later I walked out, Weiss in a clean diaper, but still crying. I frowned, "Let's see, you've been changed… uh, what else…" I muttered. Then, I felt a nudging on my hand. I looked down, seeing Yang licking my hand before she moved over, nudging the bottles of baby formula on the table. "Food! Thanks Yang." I said, rubbing behind her ear for a second before I grabbed a bottle, walking towards the kitchen… which was really just a corner of the room with a sink and a microwave. I set Weiss on the side of the counter, laying her on her back so that she, hopefully, wouldn't fall off. I read the instructions on the side, making the bottle as quickly as I could. I scooped up Weiss, holding the bottle near her face. She took it, biting down on it and, surprisingly, grabbing at it with her hands, sucking away at what was inside. I smiled, turning around and sitting down on the bed as I helped feed the little girl.

Surprisingly, it took three bottles of the formula before Weiss seemed to be satisfied. I turned her around, remembering things my mother had taught me, and pat her on the back. After a few pats, she let out a little burp, and when I pulled back, I noticed her eyes drooping. I laid her back in the crib, pulling up her blanket to her chin, tucking her in. It was quiet… until I heard the knocking at the door, oddly enough. I stood, looking towards the three dogs. "Stay. Don't touch." I said, pointing towards Weiss. With that settled, I walked back to the front of the store, raising an eyebrow as I grabbed my keys, shutting the door behind me. At the door was a man dressed in police officer's garb, a gun at his waist and everything. I walked over to the door, smiling at him as I felt my switchblade weighing heavily in my pocket.

I opened the door, nodding towards him. "Officer. What can I do for you?" I asked, keeping the smile as I examined him, a bit paranoid. I noticed that he had bright red hair, almost unnaturally so, and his eyes were hidden by a pair of sunglasses. I looked down at his badge, seeing that it showed only a number, no help there. He nodded towards me, keeping a frown on his face. "Sir, I'm here investigating a missing person case. A child, two years of age. White hair, blue eyes. Have you seen anything like that?" he asked. I didn't nod or shake my head, but I kept my smile, "Well officer…" I left it hanging, hoping he would finish it for me, as most people would do. Fortunately, he was 'most people'. "Adam." he said simply. I felt a flashback to my text conversation, very specifically telling me not to trust Adam.

"I'm afraid I don't know anything of the sort. The only young things you'll find in my store are the puppies. I only just came back from the park myself." I said. The officer looked behind me, his eyes seemingly boring into the door where Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha were stashed away. I unconsciously took a step to the right, trying to block his gaze. "What've you got in the back room?" he asked. I didn't have to see his eyes to know he was suspicious. I shook my head, keeping up my smile and trying to act like absolutely nothing was wrong. "It's just my bedroom. The other door off to the left is where all the strays are, waiting for someone to adopt them." I said. Adam nodded, turning around and walking away without another word. No goodbye, no asking to come inside, nothing. He just left.

I didn't think twice, shutting and locking the door before I, as calmly as I could, walked back into the bedroom. The second I got there, my eyes were immediately directed to Weiss, a small smile forming on my lips when I found that she hadn't moved or even stirred. I walked back over to the bed, sitting down where I was before. I looked at Weiss, seeing her sleeping soundly, the blankets moving up in time with her breathing. "Just who are you…" I muttered. I felt a weight on my lap as I looked down, seeing Ruby sitting on my lap. I reached down, petting her like I always did, but my eyes kept trailing to Weiss, making sure she was still asleep. Maybe half an hour later I set Ruby on the ground, "Alright girls, time for bed." I said, clapping as Yang and Pyrrha both walking towards the door. I opened it, walking forward with them as I reached into my pocket, shoving my switchblade back with the revolver. I saw Yang walk in her cage, and I quickly walked over there, shutting the door behind her.

I pet behind Pyrrha's ear, giving her a little smile as she laid down in her bed, shutting her eyes. I stood, walking back in the bedroom as I saw, oddly, Ruby sniffing around Weiss's basket. "Ruby! No!" I said. She jumped back immediately, her tail wagging as she looked towards me. I sighed as I picked her up, laying her back in her cage as I always did. She laid down, curling into a ball like she almost always did when she went to sleep. I locked her cage, even though she'd unlock it in the morning anyway, before I walked back to the bed. I took Weiss's basket and laid it back down on the floor, on the opposite side of the room, just in case I woke up in the middle of the night. I stripped off my shirt and jeans, laying back down on the bed with a sigh. "What am I gonna do?" I muttered allowed. Then I grabbed the blanket, pulling it over me as I fell into a restless sleep.

(a/n- you guessed it, Pyrrha's point of view.)

I heard the high pitched barking as I stood, morphing back into my human state. I reached over, opening Yang's cage as she stepped out, morphing into her human state as well. Rather than her normally happy expression, this time she shared my expression of concern. We didn't speak this time, walking into the bedroom as quietly as we could. I opened Ruby's cage and she, as usual, entered her human state. Even the most cheerful of us sported a concerned expression. "What are we gonna do?" Yang asked, breaking the silence. I took a breath, looking between Jaune and the toddler Weiss.

"We'll keep things going like we have been. Jaune suddenly having a kid to take care of isn't going to affect us all that much, is it?" I asked, smiling at the two shorter girls. I was trying to do damage control, keep them calm. Though, based on the looks on their faces, I wasn't doing a very good job. Yang opened her mouth, but we all froze when we heard it, the slight crying. We looked over, seeing the culprit in the corner of the room, the little crib rocking slightly. The three of us slowly and cautiously approached, as if worried the baby would suddenly bounce up and kill the three of us. We tiptoed around as I slowly spun the basket, making it face us and, by extension, Jaune. Weiss's face was twisting with discomfort as she let out little cries, waving her tiny fists up. I frowned as I, despite the objections of my fellow faunus friends, moved the blankets back and picked the girl up.

I cradled her in my arms as I felt her slowly her cries, seemingly calming down. I held her against my bare chest as I smiled, "There there. Everything's gonna be al-HA!" I felt a hand over my mouth before I could scream, all of us freezing as I moved Weiss back, my face bright red. When Jaune didn't seem to stir, Yang moved her hand back, raising an eyebrow. "I think she's hungry…" I said, holding her out to Yang as I moved my hands over my breasts. Yang looked at me for a second before she blushed, "Ooooh… wait why'd you give her to me?!" she said, her face paling slightly. I couldn't help but chuckle as I spoke.

"Well you are the biggest one of us." I said, looking down towards her chest. Her face turned as red as my hair when I heard Weiss start crying again. I felt the fur on my tail bristle as I heard the one sound I didn't want to hear. "Huh? Weiss?!" I heard Jaune say as he started to get up. I looked at the other's with panicked eyes as I took the child from Yang's hands, laying her back in the crib, still crying, before I dashed towards Jaune. I didn't even think as I dove beneath the bed, Yang soon following and diving right next to me. Ruby, on the other hand, went another direction. Rather than dive beneath the bed, she jumped up, moving to the corner of the room and nearly slamming her hands on the wall. Jaune miraculously didn't seem to notice as he stood, nearly dashing over to Weiss as he moved the blankets. "Shh shh shh, it's okay… it's okay…" Jaune said, pulling Weiss out from the blankets and cradling her, slowly rocking her back and forth as he whispered words I couldn't hear to her.

When she seemed to calm down, Jaune yawned, but still he looked at her with concern. "Nightmares this young? What have you been through?" he said, muttering to himself as he walked over to the bed, laying down. After a few minutes me and Yang slowly got out from beneath the bed, standing up a moment later. I looked over, seeing Ruby's face red as her arms were shaking. Yang walked over immediately, holding out her arms as Ruby let go, Yang stumbling back as she caught her panting younger sister. I looked over at Jaune, and despite almost being discovered, I couldn't help but smile. He'd laid Weiss where he normally slept in bed, him moving over to the other side and gently laying an arm around Weiss. She seemed to like it as she moved her hands up, seemingly snuggling into his arm.

"Okay, that was close." Yang said as she set Ruby down, pointing out the obvious as always. I nodded, holding out a hand to Ruby as Yang let her go. She just stumbled for a second before she fell flat on her back, making quite a loud thud. I grabbed Yang's hand and dived to the floor as I saw Jaune rearing his head up. "Hmm? Someone there?" I held my breath as I felt Yang shudder on top of me, likely becoming incredibly nervous all of the sudden. We waited for awhile before I heard what sounded like a grunt, and the noise of covers being set back on the bed. I let out a sigh of relief, then I heard the mumbling. I looked down, blushing bright red as I noticed the strands of hair beneath me. This wouldn't be so bad normally… but then I realized what it meant the wet sense on my breasts was. I leaned back, Yang moving back off of me as I saw Ruby, her face bright red, panting.

"I thought I was gonna suffocate!" she whisper yelled between pants. I felt my own face burn as bright as my hair as I stood, Ruby just twisting around onto her back. "I think I'm just going to bed." she said, standing up and walking towards Jaune. Me and Yang both shared a look before we each grabbed one of Ruby's arms, pulling her back away from the bed. "Sis, I know you like sleeping with Jaune at night. But it needs to stop. It's too risky." Yang said, frowning towards her sister. I was doing the same. Neither of us liked to deprive Ruby of something she enjoyed, especially when it came to cuddling next to Jaune, but we didn't have much choice. "Ruby, if you want to cuddle with Jaune, you need to be in your dog form, okay?" I asked, giving her a little smile. Ruby just slowly nodded, her eyes longingly gazing at Jaune's side, the place where she spent most of her nights. Then she got down on all fours, slowly shifting back into a puppy.

I looked over at Yang as I picked up Ruby and laid her in the bed, the little puppy crawling around and lying just beneath Weiss, a fair bit away from Jaune. Ruby even had those sad puppy dog eyes she was so good at, dog form or not, when she fell asleep. "I hate doing this to her…" I said, frowning towards my friend's puppy form and the new baby. Yang laid a hand on my shoulder, patting it a few times before I looked over at her. "I don't like it either. You know Ruby loves to cuddle, taking that away was the last thing I wanted to do… but we can't risk it. Let's get some rest." she said, walking back around towards the door. I took one last look at Ruby before I turned around, shutting the door and heading back into the main room. I shut that door behind me, knowing that thanks to the way the handle was Ruby could open it in human form or not. Then I turned, seeing Yang standing next to the bed.

"Hey… can I be in back tonight?" she asked, her ears perking up a bit. I raised an eyebrow, Yang had always just let me be the one hugging her from behind, mostly since I was taller. I just shrugged, giving her a nod as I laid down. I felt two arms wrap around my stomach, my tail trapped between Yang's legs as I just curled up, trying to get used to my place. I felt my face flush as Yang's hands slowly reached up during the course of maybe ten minutes, until eventually she had them wrapped around my breasts. I looked around, "Yang? Your… Your hands…" I said, only to see Yang sound asleep. I sighed as I turned around, just trying to sleep. All the while, I was blissfully unaware of the smirk on Yang's face, even when I felt the pressure on my breasts get significantly stronger. I didn't even hear her mutter,

"Now you know how getting groped every night feels."

(a/n- so yeah… Weiss as a baby and Winter claiming to be her mother… as well as a little perverted Yang during the end. I've got a few ideas to work with this one.)

(a/n- and I shouldn't have to say this, but no White Knight in this fic. Jaune's a father figure to Weiss as of now. NOTHING. ELSE. She is NOT a romantic option in this fic. Again, this is probably obvious, but I'm making this note about it just in case.)