Sorry it's taken a while to update this. I've had a lot going on, and a lot to write, but now I should be more consistent with posting new content for this fic~

A special thanks to jefardi! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.


Chapter 4. A Happy Dog

After ensuring that Ruby and Weiss were both fine, Blake crouched onto her belly and had them hop on her shoulders.

Yang watched with her floppy ears perking as much as they could, tilting her head at the strange scene.

"A cat helping a mouse and a bird," she said. "Now there's something you don't see every day."

Once the two were secure on her back, Blake flashed a glance at the dog over her shoulder.

"And it's not every day you see a dog helping a cat either."

Yang's tail started to wag again, sweeping over the grass, and her tongue lolled out between a smile. But before Blake could carry her companions back to the house, there was a question she needed to address first.

"So... Yang," she mumbled. "Where are your owners?"

The retriever's tail suddenly stopped wagging and her smile faded. Blake instantly knew she'd asked the wrong question, but it was too late to take back now. Yang heaved a sigh, her round eyes looking to the ground.

"I was owned by an old couple," she explained. "But the man died when I was a puppy. And the woman just passed last week."

Blake's ears folded, and she heard both Ruby and Weiss gasp sadly behind her.

"Oh..." Blake mewed. "I'm so sorry."

The dog whimpered and shook herself a bit.

"None of their family members wanted to keep me, and I couldn't stand the thought of going to the pound. So I just... ran. Been living in peoples' back yards for the past few days, but... the life of a stray's just not for me. I don't like being alone. It's sad..." Her shoulders slumped and a small, thin whine worked its way up her throat.

Blake moved forward to comfort her despite the fact that Yang was a dog - Blake's supposed worst enemy. She let out a soft purr as she brushed her body up against Yang's for support.

"It's okay," she said.

"Yeah!" Ruby piped up. "Our humans are very kind! They'll take you in!"

The dog perked up instantly, her purple eyes hopeful.

"Really?"

It was Weiss' turn to speak up.

"They took me in when I'd gotten injured," she chirped. "I think the house has got more than enough room for one more. Even if you are... rather big."

Yang's tail started thumping again.

"Oh boy! I'd really love to live with humans again! Are they nice?"

"The nicest!" Ruby declared. "They always take time to feed us and play with us and even brush us!"

"That sounds nice," Yang whined. "I've got so many burs in my fur."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Blake purred, her whiskers twitching eagerly. "Let's get you inside."


Their humans were very excited the minute they saw Yang.

The dog had been a bit nervous at first, but after seeing and hearing their smiles and laughs, her fluffy tail started to wag a mile a minute.

While one of the humans tended to Weiss' wing and a few of Blake's scratches, the other took Yang into the bathroom and filled the tub. Ruby went with her for a warm bath, crawling through the dog's thick, wet fur and using her tiny claws to pull out any burs or thorns.

Once the bath was over, their human used a towel to dry Yang off, though the dog had her own methods, which involved a lot of shaking, a lot of flying water, and a lot of laughter.

After patching up Weiss and Blake and giving Yang her bath, their humans needed to leave the house quickly to go into town to buy dog food for her.

"Oh yeah!" Ruby said just as the doors closed behind their humans. "Yang, you gotta be starving!"

"Kinda," she shrugged. "But I can wait. Till then, I think we should all go for a walk together!"

Blake paused from where she'd been in the middle of grooming her face, and Weiss too stopped preening her feathers to give an appalled look at the dog.

"A walk?" the bird snapped. "Did you learn nothing from what just happened? Clearly, going outside means trouble. I won't go."

"Aw, but Weiiissss!" Ruby scurried over to her friend and bumped her nose against her beak. "Don't you wanna see what the neighborhood looks like?"

Weiss looked away and shook herself a bit.

"Not particularly. I've seen it from above enough times."

"But there's more to it than that!" Ruby insisted. "There's a lot more than just houses and roofs and yards! You've gotta see it from the ground!"

Weiss considered the mouse's words for a moment, then flashed an uncertain look to Blake.

"I just... don't want to run into that cat again," she said softly. "He's gotten me twice now. I fear the next time, he'll-"

"Weiss," Blake stopped her gently. "We won't let that happen again. You're safe with us."

"And besides!" Yang added. "Now you've got a sixty-pound dog with you! No one's gonna mess with us!"

"Right!" Ruby added. "And if they do, I'll give 'em the ol' one two!" she said, swinging her paws like fists.

Weiss whistled a small laugh.

"Right. Just like how you fought off that tomcat, hm?"

Ruby's whiskers twitched in embarrassment.

"Well... I'll get him next time!"

The others all nodded their heads amusedly.

Ruby decided to ride on Yang's head between her ears. The dog had at least a foot of height on Blake, and now the mouse's world seemed even bigger than before.

As for Weiss, she hopped up to perch on Blake's shoulders. The cat swished her tail curiously.

"You don't want to ride with Ruby?"

The bird huffed.

"Not right now. That dog is enormous. I fear the breeze from up there would blow me right off."

Blake saw her point, and Weiss couldn't afford any more damage to her wing.

Once they were all situated, the strange quartet set off toward the hole in the door. Blake passed through easily with Weiss, though Yang had to squeeze herself a bit more. The flap closed on her tail and she yelped until Ruby ran back to free her.

"Thanks, lil' pal," Yang said.

"Dooon't mention it, big pal!"

They crossed their lawn, and Yang took the lead, being the one who knew the neighborhood best.

Blake hadn't been outside to explore this much territory since she'd been a stray with Adam and their clan of wild cats. It had been several years since then, but as Yang led them around, Blake realized everything was familiar.

Blake recognized several porches she'd once used for shelter from the rain. They even passed by the homes of a few other cats. She had admittedly stolen food from a few of those bowls some nights.

Adam and the others preferred to kill live prey like birds and squirrels, and they weren't above killing pets. But Blake had only tried that kind of meat once, and she'd thrown up shortly afterward. After that, she'd needed to steal pet food from other cats, something she still regretted.

I bet I got a lot of them in trouble... she thought. I'd eat their meals, and then they'd probably beg their owners for more. I bet their humans got exasperated.

She was glad those days were behind her.

She kept close to Yang as the dog led them along the sidewalk. They passed several dozen houses, one of which had a trash can knocked over.

"That was actually me," the retriever confessed. "I did that this morning looking for a meal. I found some steak, but that was all."

"Ugh!" Weiss cried. "You ate from a trash can?"

Yang shrugged.

"When you're a stray, there's not much else you can do."

"I think I'm going to be sick..."

"Not on me, please," Blake requested.

While Weiss managed to keep her breakfast down, Ruby scurried off of Yang's head and dropped to the ground.

"Yang, you really ate from here?" she asked, scuttling toward the trash can. Blake's ears went flat, and she was about to open her mouth to call the mouse back. But a little birdy beat her to it.

"Ruby!" Weiss shrieked. "Get back here this instant or I'll pluck your tail! That can is full of disease and worms! You'll catch your death, you pea-brain!"

The mouse froze in place, shuddering as she pulled her tail close to her.

"But I just wanna look! I won't touch anything."

"That doesn't mean it won't touch you," Weiss chided. "You can't see germs."

With a sigh, Ruby scurried back to Yang and climbed back up to her spot.

"Yeah," Yang said. "I agree with the canary. It's not a good idea to go pawing through there unless you have to."

Weiss muttered under her breath that she wasn't a canary, but was glad to see Ruby retreat from the garbage.

They continued on their way. Yang informed them the names of every pet that lived in which house.

"Pyrrha lives there! She's this gorgeous red Great Dane, probably as tall as me. And next door is Jaune. He's a chihuahua. Nora and Ren live together – she's a pomeranian and he's a poodle. And then there's this corgi named Zwei-"

As she babbled on and on, Blake felt Weiss cringing against her back.

"Why are there so many dogs...?"

"I'm not too thrilled about it either," the cat admitted. "So long as they're inside or on a leash though, that's fine."

They'd just passed a little purple house with two cages on the porch. Yang told them about the rabbit and ferret who lived there.

"That's Coco and Velvet's place! I still remember the first time I tried to say hi. That ferret got all up in my face. Wouldn't let me even sniff her bunny friend."

Blake could see that Ruby was enthralled by every tale Yang shared with them, her silver eyes wide as she absorbed the new world around her. But she could also feel Weiss shifting around uncomfortably on her back.

Before Yang could march off again, Blake reached out a paw to tap her leg.

"Um, Yang? I think this is good for today. My legs are getting tired." She met the dog's gaze, then looked back to Weiss. "It's been a long day."

Yang's ears drooped a little, but she nodded quickly.

"Oh yeah! I'm sorry, I didn't really think about it like that. Let's head back then. Sorry, Ruby."

"That's okay!" the mouse squeaked. "We can do more some other time! For now, I think our humans will be home soon with dinner!"

"Dinner sounds awesome," Yang agreed.

The four of them made their way back home, just as the sun had began to set. By Weiss' order, they paused to check both ways before crossing the street.

Blake kept one eye on her surroundings at all times, just in case some feral animals might've been lurking. But Yang's presence really was a substantial benefit to their side, and nothing pestered them.

They soon walked back across their yard and squeezed in through the flap on the door just as their humans' car pulled into the driveway.

Once inside, Blake took the lead again, and Yang followed her into the kitchen. Their humans entered and greeted them all happily. One prepared Ruby's bowl of crackers and cookies as well as Weiss' bowl of seeds and fruit pieces. The other filled Blake's dish with the pellet cat food she enjoyed so much, and then placed a brand new bowl down for Yang. They filled it with a different kind of pellets, one that smelled a bit strange to Blake.

But Yang sure didn't seem to mind. She gobbled everything down hungrily, and Blake had to wonder if she'd even chewed at all.

Ruby and Weiss sat beside Blake at their smaller bowls, nibbling and pecking away a bit more daintily. When Weiss saw how Yang consumed her food, her beak opened in shock.

"Goodness, she just inhales it like that cleaning machine!"

Blake's whiskers twitched in amusement as she continued to work on her own meal. When Yang had finished her food, she plunged her tongue into a bowl of cold water, lapping eagerly. Blake had her own bowl for that, and Ruby and Weiss shared one.

After they were all finished, the cat, mouse, and bird proceeded back to the living room. Yang followed them cautiously, not knowing the routine around here.

She watched from afar as Blake sat on her belly, tucking her legs beneath her, swishing her tail invitingly. Ruby and Weiss both skirted around to Blake's front and settled beneath her chin. Yang heard the unmistakable sounds of a purr fill the air, as Blake's pink tongue began to rasp across their fur and feathers. Ruby sighed in bliss as she went limp, and even the stiff little Weiss closed her eyes happily. Yang sat down on the carpet and merely watched for a moment.

Before long, both bird and mouse had fallen asleep. Blake took care to tuck them into her side and wrap her tail around them warmly. She groomed her own black fur in the fading sunlight for a moment before flashing her golden eyes to Yang. There was an invitation to join them there.

But Yang didn't want to startle the other two with her presence when they woke. So for now, the dog laid down several feet away.

Blake closed her eyes and let out one final purr, ready for bed, eager to know what adventures they'd share tomorrow.


A/N: I just had to add in mention of JNPR. I can totally imagine them all as being those respective breeds of dogs. And Coco and Velvet, too :3

If you like my work, you can support me on P-atreon as Kiria Alice!

Please review!