Chapter thirteen: Stranger things have happened

"Aww… who left you out here?"

I thought as I walked over, frowning as I leaned down, scooping up the small ball of fluff in my arms. She had matted white and gray fur, her eyes bright silver as they seemed to shine towards me. She let out a low whimper, a light growling coming from her. Though, I had a sense that it wasn't because of anger. "Are you hungry little puppy?" "BARK! BARK!" the puppy said, weakly wagging it's tail. I smiled, reaching up and gently petting the starving dog. She seemed to like it, brushing against my hand. "Why has no one picked you up yet?" I muttered, more talking to myself than anyone else. Then I heard it, the lower growling. I looked up, my eyes widening slightly as I saw the large… dhole if I had to guess, coming towards me. "Oh… that's why…" I said, slowly stepping away from the larger dog. She just barked at me: deep, bellowing, powerful. She was angry.

"Eeeeeeasy girl. Look see? I'm not a threat." I said, slowly setting the puppy -what I guessed it was angry about- on the ground at my feet. I held up my hands in a gesture of peace, keeping that same smile on my face. "I'm not a threat… please don't eat me." I said quickly, trying to keep my emotions in check. If the dog was anything like the last dog I'd found in an alley, it could smell fear. One whiff of it, it'd be on me before I could even move. Though, luck seemed to be on my side, since the second I let go of the smaller puppy, she immediately walked over to it, lightly nudging it with her nose before biting down on the scruff of her neck, pulling her onto her back. "Is… that her mother? What am I missing here?" I thought, watching as the puppy sat up on the larger dogs back. I could almost feel the warm smile on the creatures face as it barked again, wagging it's tail as it disappeared around the corner.

I walked past the alley everyday, and everyday I was greeted by the same, excitable puppy. I'd take her, pet her, and always put her down as the guardian came around. Though, each time, she seemed to be warming up to me. Less and less were the times she'd growl, rather just start walking towards me. We had reached a… neutral hostility, if you would. I would let the puppy go whenever she got to close, and she wouldn't bite my throat out for touching it. She even started letting me pet her when I came around. This kept going for almost a month until, suddenly, they just… stopped. They stopped coming near me. The puppy didn't run out of the alley anymore. The larger dog didn't try and stop me from petting the smaller one. They just… vanished.

It was two days, probably the longest two days of my life, before I finally relented and decided to walk down the alley. I held my switchblade at the ready, just in case some punk with a lead pipe was planning an ambush or something. Though, the second I walked around the corner, all thoughts of an ambush fled from my mind. I set my switchblade back in my pocket, running towards the center of the alley as I saw none other than the large dog and it's puppy, both lying down in a dog-bed. This wouldn't normally be much concern for me, if not for the fact the larger one sported many still bleeding scars, the younger one was scared out of it's mind, and there were four stray dogs slowly closing in on them.

"YA! YA! GET OUT! GET OUT!" I yelled, jumping and running towards the other dogs, three of them falling for it and dashing away, running with their tails between their legs. The last one stood firm, it's eyes fixed on me. I grabbed my switchblade again, flicking it down as I slowly walked over there. "I SAID GO! GO! GET OUT!" I yelled, brandishing my blade like a torch. The dog didn't buy it, growling at me as it slowly padded forward. I gulped as I took a step back. That was all it needed. With an air of victory the beast dashed towards me, lunging right at me. I didn't hope to dodge, rather I ran towards it, slamming into it's stomach with my shoulder, knocking it to the ground. I stomped on the ground in front of it, lunging slightly ahead of me. "BOO!" I shouted, hoping to scare it off.

This time, it seemed to work. The dog dashed off to join it's companions, likely to go stalk some other pray. Meanwhile, I set down my switchblade, slowly leaning down towards the two dogs in the center. I looked down, raising an eyebrow when I saw that, contrary to what I'd thought -that being that the dog bed was simply a tossed out relic- it seemed to be almost new, with two names sewn onto it in bright red, hand stitching. Whoever had made it, they likely wouldn't just throw it away, would they? The text read:

For my little Ruby, and the Big 'Yang'... I can't believe you made me write that

I raised an eyebrow… "If Yang was the dog… and this person was sewing… how could she have made her do it? Was it… was there someone else making them write it or… FOCUS JAUNE! ANIMALS IN DANGER HERE!" I thought, ignoring the confusing message of the dog bed and picking up the smaller dog -which I assumed was Ruby- in my arms, lightly petting her to calm her down as I reached over, hoisting the larger dog -assumingly Yang- over my shoulder. As gently and quickly as I could, I started carrying them towards my store, only a few blocks away.

I kicked the doors in, smiling as I saw the familiar head of green hair standing in front of the counter, his hand cupping his chin, no doubt wondering where the proprietor of the establishment was. "Oobleck! Thank Oum you're here! We've got an injured canine." "I'M ON IT!" Oobleck said, and like a snap of finger he changed into his vet-mode, grabbing the dog from my shoulder, gently setting her on the ground, grabbing out a kit from his coat pocket and gently probing and working the injuries. All the while, Yang stood still. Motionless. She didn't even flinch when Oobleck started stitching some of the places back together, places that no doubt wouldn't have healed on their own. Other than the stitches though, from what I could tell he just cleaned her wounds.

After a minute Oobleck stood, looking down at the puppy in my arms. "She doesn't need any wounds cleaned." "No, she just needs to be cleaned… give her a bath, her fur is matted and she stinks to high heaven." he said, turning back and looking down at Yang again, as if double checking to make sure he'd done the stitching right. Of course he had. It was Oobleck. I'd never seen the man need to do anything twice because of making a mistake the first time. Maybe that was the bonus of doing things fast all the time? Had to be really good at everything to do it at that speed I guess. I walked towards the back, pulling open the door and walking into the adoption center. I heard the soft padding of paws before I turned, seeing Yang walking behind me, keeping her eyes focused on Ruby. I turned away, walking towards the familiar section of the center.

That section, of course, was the place I bathed the animals. There was a large pool towards the center, a few inches of water still in it from this morning's baths as well as the selection of dog-friendly products I'd bought a few months back. I walked towards it, kicking my shoes off as I set little Ruby in the pool, the dog immediately sniffing the water. I rolled up my sleeves, walking over and turning on the hose nearby, sending a small stream of water inside. I stepped in, grabbing a bottle of shampoo and smiling at the smaller dog. "Alright Ruby," she barked at that, wagging her tail. I guess it was her name.

"You need a bath."

…

I didn't open my eyes.

I knew the second I did, I would see the ceiling of the familiar room, feel the familiar bed beneath me. I already knew I couldn't feel Ruby next to me, couldn't hear her anywhere else. I knew that feeling next to me was Winter… I knew that I missed my Ruby. I held up a hand, not opening my eyes as I felt the water falling off my cheeks… guess I'd been able to work up enough liquid in my body to cry some more. I felt something wrapping around me, and I didn't hesitate as I wrapped my arms around it, pulling it closer. I didn't know what it was, I didn't care what it was. It was a distraction, that was all I needed for now.

"Jaune? Are you okay?" "No…" I muttered, frowning as I opened my eyes, looking down towards Winter. We were in the same position as last night, neither of us having moved. She looked up, her eyes sparkling in the dim light as she frowned at me. I felt her arms wrap tighter against me, as if trying to squeeze every tear from my body, and with it every sadness. It wouldn't work, I knew it. No matter how many tears fell, the reason they were there wouldn't go away. I let my arms go limp when I felt Winter trying to move, pulling away from me. I watched as she sat up, her hair cascading down her back, illuminated by the rising sun… she didn't look quite right. The sun didn't do her justice like the moon had last night. I saw her step out over me, and I turned my head and watched as she grabbed her scroll, sitting down against the side of the bed. She scrolled through her contacts, picking out what looked to be a picture of a clock before she held it up to her ear.

"We're up, are you here yet?… a few minutes… no, I didn't… alright, bye." she said, her face blank as she ended the call, sighing as she slowly stood. I looked away when I saw her stretching, not wanting her to think I was staring at her rear. Which, considering the height she was at, was borderline impossible for me not to do in this case. I felt a tapping on my shoulder as I turned, seeing Winter looking down at me. I sat up, looking up towards her before I gave her a weak smile. "Sleep well?" "Better than ever… thank you, Jaune." she said, her smile far warmer than her namesake as, before she could say anything else, I stood, walking past her and over towards Weiss. The little girl had -quite surprisingly- not cried or done anything of the sort all night. It was, for once, quiet in my room.

I walked over, pulling back the blanket and smiling at her, then that smile turned into confusion. "Winter… did you wake up and change her diaper?" "No, why would you think so?" she asked quickly, looking over towards me as she pulled the cover over her scantily clad legs. I looked over at her, pulling the just now waking up Weiss out and cradling her in my arms. "I don't know, maybe because her diaper is on backwards?" I said, holding her up and revealing there to, indeed, be the design that was supposed to be on the back of the diaper over her front. Winter's face turned pink as she chuckled, "I uh… I didn't want to wake you up so I… well…" "You don't know how to change a diaper I'm guessing?" I said, my lips twinged up into a smirk. Winter looked away, her silence the only answer I needed.

I walked back into the bathroom, fixing Weiss's diaper so that it was the right way around. "You know if you ever have kids you'll have to make sure to get it right, right?" I said jokingly, looking back out the door towards her. Her face burned brighter as she looked away, her hands gripping at the blanket. I heard a meek noise of approval as I turned away, taking my attention from one white haired girl to another. I heard Weiss's adorable yawn the second I finished diapering her, her blue eyes sparkling up towards me as she held up her hands. "Pa-pa!" "I'm right here sweetie, come on! Let's go see ma-ma!" I said, unable to help the smile on my face as I hoisted her up into my arms, walking into the other room. I sat down next to Winter, the girl still looking off towards the door, away from me.

"Ma-ma!" At least, until Weiss was grabbing at what little spare material her shirt had. She turned around, looking down to see Weiss in her lap, reaching up towards her. She smiled as she hoisted Weiss up, cradling her in her arms. "Sounds like you're having fun." I looked up, my eyes widening before I relaxed, seeing the figure walking towards us. That monotone voice was recognizable anywhere. "Hey Blake. Didn't expect you… wait, how did you get in?" I asked, slowly standing up. I didn't remember giving her a key… wait, did I lock the door last night? Or was I too upset to bother doing so? Did Winter? "The door was unlocked." she said. Well… guess that answers that. I walked over, grabbing out my clothes from the drawers and the closet. I looked over, seeing Blake's eyes trailing down, a small smirk finding it's way to her face. "Don't get dressed on my account, I don't mind." she said. I felt my face tinge pink slightly as I suddenly because very aware of the fact I was just dressed in a pair of boxers. Blake's eyes almost seemed like a predators, glancing over at a tempting prey…

"Well, I need to uh… get dressed anyway. I'll be right back, watch Weiss for me." I said, turning around and locking the bathroom door behind me. I felt my heart beating fast against my rib cage, the sudden realization that I'd been almost naked in a room with both Winter and Blake, with Winter wearing barely any more clothes than I was. "I… think I'll take a cold shower today." I thought as I stripped off my boxers, laying my clothes off to the side and stepping in the shower. I nearly yelped as I felt the cold water hit me, and from the way my face was burning, I was surprised the water wasn't turning to steam. I sat there for a few minutes, just trying to get the sudden images of Winter from the other day out of my head, how she looked trapped under my wrists, how she looked in the moonlight, all of them. Safe to say it… wasn't really working.

I got out a few minutes later, fully dressed this time, and I saw Yang laying at Blake's feet, leaned against her leg. Pyrrha padded over to me, looking up at me with a gaze that spoke to me, "These two should never be in the same room together." a sentiment that I could get behind. The two of them were both on my bed: Winter cuddling Weiss and Blake petting Yang. I was about to announce my presence whenever I heard them talking, seemingly ignoring me. "Any good reason you're dressed like a stripper?" "That stupid mutt you're petting is the reason." she said, glaring down at Yang as I heard the hound growling up at her. Winter didn't flinch, seeming to meet Yang's eyes in a staring contest. Blake leaned down, rubbing behind Yang's ear. "Good girl." she said, a small smirk on her face as she cast a sidelong glance at Winter.

Winter's face burned in anger as she looked away, clutching Weiss a bit tighter. "I hope you end up naked before today's over." "Sorry, you're not my type." Blake said, keeping that smirk on her face as Winter stood, glaring down at her. I heard a small yelp of pain from Weiss, one that spurred me into motion, gently taking her from Winter's arms smiling down at her. "Hey shh shh shhh, daddy's here." I said, cradling the smaller girl, frozen lakes meeting my oceans. I planted a small kiss on her forehead before I glared at Blake. Blake seemed taken aback by this, slightly shrinking away from me. "I don't want you arguing in front of Weiss, it's a bad habit for her to pick up." I turned towards Winter now, that same glare on my face. "Am I clear?" I asked, looking between them.

They both nodded, Blake losing her smirk as Winter's blush slowly died down. I gave a small smile again as I moved my hands to better cradle Weiss's head. "Looks like someone slept well last night." I said, smiling down at Weiss as she reached around, frowning. I raised an eyebrow… then I saw the way she moved her arms, as if clutching something. Without a word I walked past the two girls and my dogs, walking into the front room of the store and pulling open the drawer. Oddly, it wasn't there. "Huh… Winter?! Did you move Weiss's bear?!" "No! She might have dropped it somewhere!" she yelled back through the door. I nodded, frowning as I gently set Weiss in the cabinet, searching beneath some of the desks and stools, searching for the small stuffed bear.

I was looking around the front of the counter when I heard what sounded like a loud thump, like something hitting against metal. I shot up, looking over the front where I saw… the bear. I saw the bear with it's arm looped around the handle that would open the filing cabinet Weiss was in. I looked up, finding that the door was still closed and -based on the sounds from within- Blake and Winter were still arguing. "Odd… where'd you come from?" I muttered as I pulled the bear off the edge, opening Weiss's cabinet and laying the bear on her belly. She started giggling as she wrapped her arms around the bear, turning it so that it almost looked like the bear was hugging her back. I smiled, lifting her back out of the cabinet and cradling her in my arms, frowning as I looked at the bear. "Did I miss the bear the first time or… was it there a minute ago? How did it get there?" I thought, trying to understand why and how the bear had seemingly walked on it's own.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

"YADA-HA!" I shouted, jumping away from the noise as I held Weiss closer, her still giggling about her bear. I looked around, feeling my muscles relax slightly as I saw what looked to be a chew toy and two collars a few feet away. I walked over, holding Weiss in one hand as I bent over, about to pick up the toy when I paused. I looked at the collars. Or more specifically, the names on the collars. "Ruby… Rose… huh, odd." I muttered as I set them back on the shelf, grabbing the two next. It was, oddly enough, that same kind of toy that Ruby liked… the same kind Ozpin always bought… "His granddaughter's name is Ruby Rose… am I seriously considering that? What am I, REN?" I thought with a little chuckle before I set the toy back where it went, cradling Weiss in both arms again.

I walked back towards the front, only to stop when I heard the familiar chime of the bell. "Umm, sorry we're-" "I'm not a customer." I heard a cold, no-nonsense voice ask. I looked over, watching as a short, dark skinned woman walked towards me. She was clad in a plain gray, button-down shirt and a blue skirt. She glanced at her watch, her expression unreadable, before she looked back at me, eyes sharper than a blade. "Where's Maria?" "Maria… oh! Right, Winter! Your friend's here!" I yelled back towards the door. I saw the woman's eyes widen for a split second before she slowly shook her head, grabbing out her scroll. I saw her typing out a message as Winter and Pyrrha walked out, slowly followed by Blake and Yang.

The woman looked up, freezing in her tracks as she saw Blake. Blake's eyes met hers, her eyes widening as she too froze. They stared each other down for a second before Blake -not taking her eyes off the newcomer- slowly walked around the counter, until she was standing next to me. She held out her hand, "I don't believe we've met. Blake Belladonna." "Ciel Soleil." she said, grabbing Blake's knuckles as the two shook hands, their eyes locked on one another's, a clearly fake smile on Blake's face while Ciel's bore no look at all. Winter looked between them, her expression as confused as mine. Weiss has even stopped giggling, looking towards Ciel. "Pa-pa! Sca-wy!" she said, pointing towards Ciel. I nodded, unable to take my eyes off the woman as Ciel broke away, walking down and looking at Weiss. She gave a small smile, "Boo."

"WAAAAAHAHAHAHA!"

"HEY! Oh sh sh sh shhh it's okay Weiss, everything's okay." I said, glaring towards Ciel as I tried to comfort Weiss. Winter glared at her, walking over and jerking her away from Blake, pulling her out the door. Blake stared after them as I walked behind the counter, gently cradling Weiss against my chest as I whispered towards her, rocking her in my arms as I hoped to get her to stop crying. Strangely enough, she stopped a second later, big blue eyes looking over towards Blake. Blake walked behind me and, sure enough, Weiss's eyes followed, watching the girl the whole time. Blake seemed to sense this, smiling down at Weiss. "Well hi there little baby, do you know my name?" "Ki-ki!" she said, pointing towards her.

Blake's face paled for a second before she raised an eyebrow, looking towards me. I just shrugged, holding up Weiss as she kept saying ki-ty over and over again. "I… think she's trying to say 'kitty'." "Oh… weird, I was just playing with my mom's cat earlier." she said, smiling over at me. I smiled back, shrugging. Weird things happened around here I guess… I mean, I did just see Ruby Rose collars next to the dog-toy Ozpin always bought. I stood, holding her towards Blake, who held out her arms. This time, there was no complaining from Weiss to be held by Blake, perhaps due to her new role as 'kitty'. "You know… considering you're being ordered to keep her a secret, you sure are letting a lot of people see her." "I… well… yeah I'm not good at keeping secrets." I said, sheepishly rubbing the back of my head. Blake giggled, trailing her finger gently down Weiss's side as I turned around, about to head about feeding the animals. As I walked in, I felt my mind wander, back to the encounter Blake and Ciel had had.

"Wonder what that was about?"

…

"Did you have sex with Jaune, Pale Lady?"

"WHAT!? NO! OF COURSE NOT!" I nearly shouted, glaring down at Ciel as she started the drive towards my apartment, a spare set of clothes in the back. I would've put them on but, I'd seen that look in her eyes. That look that told me we had to go. Now. Speaking of, the shorter girl looked over at me for a second, her eyes trailing down my body. "You look like a slut." "I know that, don't remind me." I said, still glaring at her as I felt my face burning. I crossed my arms, trying to cover my chest as best I could as Ciel turned away from my house. I looked over at her, but found her eyes dead center, focused on something. I turned ahead, realization playing out on my face as I recognized the path we were taking. "Why're we-" she sped up, driving off towards the industrial park before I could say anything.

Every attempt at conversation I made just pinged off her impenetrable wall of isolation. Eventually I just kept quiet, absently gazing out the window every few seconds, seeing a few police officers walking around, a young woman on a skateboard shouting something, a bunch of unremarkable sights. Eventually she pulled in behind a nearby warehouse, stopping her car and shutting it down before she turned to me, her eyes boring into mine. "Listen closely, we don't have much time. The girl you call Blake Belladonna is a white fang agent. She got away from me once, and now she either knows or at least suspects that you're a huntress. You have to get Weiss out of there, or we risk losing her to the fang. She should be nearing the age her semblance starts activating, which means the white fang either know who she is or very soon will know. Understand?" "Wait… hold on, what about Jaune? I can't just take Weiss from him, he'll come looking! Not to mention she's already attached to him." I said, muttering the last bit.

"Then kill him."

"W-What?" "You heard me. He's becoming attached, he's an obstacle to Weiss. Kill him." Ciel said, her eyes keeping that same look in them as if we were just discussing if it was going to rain tomorrow, or what we were going to wear. Of course… it wasn't the first time I'd have had to kill someone but… "Is it-" "You've grown attached too. According to article IV section V clause 32 of our training guides, getting attached is strictly prohibited, and a violation of protocol. You're a good huntress Winter, so I'll make you a deal. Kill Jaune, bring Weiss back to the general, and we'll forget this ever happened. I'll personally make sure you get re-assigned elsewhere. Am I clear?" she said. I felt my head start spinning, heart pounding. She was right. Just like usual, she was right. I had grown attached to Jaune and Weiss, even to that stupid mutt Yang. Normally I wouldn't have a problem killing someone but… what did Jaune do to deserve this? Caring about Weiss? Raising her like his daughter?

"Listen Timepiece… Ciel. Ciel I need time, okay? I don't think Blake works for the white fang, she's had plenty of opportunities to take her if she does. Just… I need time, can you do that for me?" "Winter… you're lucky I haven't reported in to Ironwood since before the attack, but you know I don't do this for free." she said, giving me a slight glare, something more hidden behind her eyes. Something I, of course, was all too familiar with. I sighed, unbuckling and turning to face her. "How much?" "Not money Winter. I deal in time." she said, her face cracking into a rare smile. I gulped, knowing that would've been her answer. I knew what Ciel wanted… I was just reluctant to appease her. "A month for an hour?" "Make it a week, and deal." she said, smirking slightly. She knew she had me.

"A month Ciel, please." "Hmm… okay, a month. Only if I get to punish you right now this once for free." she said, unable to hide the blush tinting her face. I felt it burning mine as I nodded, knowing it was the best deal I'd ever get out of her. She smiled, leaning back slightly and getting out of the car. When she opened my door, I didn't hesitate to step out, watching as she looked over me. Without hesitation she reached forward, expertly untying my shirt before she grabbed Jaune's boxers, yanking them down around my ankles. I didn't try and cover myself, knowing what she'd do if I did. She almost effortlessly lifted up my feet, making me step out of them before she slipped the shirt off me, tossing it behind her. Without a word she opened the trunk, grabbing out a long coil of rope. As she started tying my hands behind my back in a painful reverse prayer, I could only think of one thing to try and dull the pain

"I'm doing this for Weiss and Jaune… Jaune and… WOW this is more painful than I remember."