The ancient language will be used now, but several words were never used in any of the books. I will be indicating its use through italics and quotation marks, just like pokeman1280 did. Here's an example: "You Racist Bastard! I hate Irish music. Do I look like a leprechaun?" Tell me if you know where that quote came from, as I'll be telling you at the end of the next chapter. I will write in the ancient language when a full phrase is available. I will not make up words. That would confuse everybody, me included. At least mostly for me.

Anyway, back to the story.

Friday, August 14

POV: Ruby

Ruby ran through the forest toward her dragon. Back at the restaurant, she felt Cerise' worry, turned fear, turned panic. Shortly after that, a lance of pure pain raced up Ruby's arm, but it wasn't her own. Cerise was injured and projected her pain to Ruby, though assumingly unintentionally. Panic overtook Ruby and she rushed to defend her dragon.

Even though Ruby ran faster than ever before, it still took her far too long to reach her dragon. She tracked her dragon through her mind and eventually came to a clearing by a cliff-side not too far from her cave. Cerise clawed her way up the cliff and stared down at a large pack of Beowolves. Even though the dragon had grown incredibly in the past two weeks, even the smallest Grimm out massed Cerise. Ruby finally saw the damage the creatures caused. Four long and deep slashes ran the length of her front right leg. Similar scars lay on her shoulders and wings, though those didn't seem as bad. Cerise finally noticed Ruby and looked in her direction. The dragon whimpered at the one she knew her whole life.

Something snapped in Ruby. A rage she didn't know existed boiled to the top. She whipped out Crescent Rose and lunged at the Beowolves. Her weapon sliced off the heads of two with one swing and eviscerated another three before the rest of the pack even noticed her. The mob slowly encircled Ruby and ignored the injured dragon perched a dozen feet up the cliff.

Ruby just snarled at the dark wolves that surrounded her. They hurt her dragon, and they were going to pay for it. The wolves figured strength in numbers would enable them to bring down the huntress in training. Eight if the creatures rushed Ruby at the same time. She pointed Crescent Rose at the ground and fired herself upward. While in the air, she shot the eight Grimm that rushed her, and continued firing at the pack below her. When she ran out of bullets in the weapon, she dropped on top of the pack's Alpha, impaling it at the same time.

The remaining Beowolves stared at Ruby, and she glared back with an intensity only matched by Yang when someone touches her hair. "Who's next?" Ruby growled. The remnants of the pack charged Ruby all at once. She fired Crescent Rose behind her and launched herself at the horde, cutting through the first ranks like butter. Ruby twirled her weapon around her and dismembered and decapitated several. At such close range, even a careless backswing would kill or at least injure a Grimm. One of the creatures managed to get a swipe at Ruby, but she quickly cut off its hand then removed its head.

Eventually the pack of Beowolves all lay dead or dying at Ruby's feet. Still, she searched the trees for any more. A soft growl came from her left. She looked at the source and saw a Beowolf trying to claw its way across the ground to attack Ruby. She walked up to the dying creature; Crescent Rose ready. Ruby stopped just out of the Grimm's reach and raised her weapon over her head. "Don't. Touch. My. Dragon." She drove the tip of her scythe into the creature's head.

With all the Grimm dead, Ruby started to calm herself down. She heard another whimper from the cliff. All the anger drained from Ruby and she looked up at her dragon. Cerise was making her way down the cliff with only three sets of claws, keeping her injured leg close to her body. About halfway down she lost grip and fell the remaining six feet landing flat on her back, driving her back spikes into the ground.

Ruby quickly folded up Crescent Rose and ran to her dragon's side. She helped Cerise flip back to her feet, leaving massive gouges in the ground. Luckily, the spikes didn't look damaged. Ruby ran to Cerise' injured leg and looked closer at the injury. The slashes dug all the way to the bone. Blood poured out in buckets, soaking the ground beneath them. Ruby knew it was bad, but she didn't know if it was enough to make Cerise bleed out. She tore off her cloak and wrapped it around the injury as tight as she could. Still, it wasn't enough. Red dragon's blood oozed out of the hood.

Cerise whimpered again and looked Ruby in the eyes. This was bad. Very bad. "We have to get you to a doctor," Ruby mumbled. She positioned herself just behind Cerise' injured leg. The pair walked like that for a few minutes, luckily with no more Grimm waiting in ambush. The dragon's bulk wore Ruby down quickly, but she pressed forward. She didn't care about what injuries she obtained from the work. Her dragon came first.

Cerise collapsed under her own weight, nearly taking Ruby with her. The young huntress tried to help her dragon back to her feet, but it was no use. Cerise just whimpered weakly. Her eyes started to glaze over. Apparently the injury was that bad. Ruby whipped out her scroll to contact the emergency services of Beacon, cursing herself for not thinking of it earlier. At that point, they were the only ones that could save Cerise. Unfortunately, it was split in half, most likely the one hit a Beowolf managed to land.

Ruby looked Cerise in the eyes. Her dragon was dying, and there was nothing she could do about it. She threw her arms around Cerise' neck and started crying. "It's all my fault," she whispered. "I should have kept you closer to the city. I should been here sooner. I should have kept you in the room until wherever Ozpin would put you was ready. I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" She kept up like this for several minutes. Her own energy drained off her rapidly.

"Ruby!" a voice filtered through the trees. "Ruby where are you?"

Ruby's spirits lifted slightly. "Yang! I'm over here!" she called at the top of her lungs. If the rest of the team was with Yang, maybe, just maybe, they could carry Cerise to Beacon where she could hopefully be treated. Sure enough, three sets of footsteps stomped through the trees. The rest of team RWBY froze when they saw the state of their teammate and her dragon.

"Ruby, what…" Weiss began to say.

"We have to get her to Beacon!" Ruby interrupted. "They're the only ones that can help her!"

"Have you called for help?" Weiss asked with slight hesitation in her voice.

"Can't. My scroll's busted."

Weiss immediately took out her own scroll and dialed a number. "Ozpin knows, right?" Ruby nodded frantically. After a few seconds Weiss got an answer. "Cerise is injured. We can't move her from here on our own. We need a Bullhead or something to get her out of here." She paused and put on a very confused face. "Okay, thanks." She ended the call and looked at Ruby. "He said he's already aware of the situation and a team is on the way."

"Really? How?" Ruby didn't stop to tell anyone about what happened. How'd Ozpin know?

"Ruby," Blake called while looking up at a tree. "There are cameras out here." Ruby looked up at the tree Blake was looking at and saw the camera almost hidden behind branches. It made sense to have them out in the forest with the initiations held out here. Also, if any Grimm came too close to Beacon they would be spotted. But...Beacon was way closer. Did Ozpin know about this before it happened?

Ruby shook her head. No time to blame. If help didn't come fast, Cerise would bleed out.

Cerise whimpered again and Ruby rubbed her scaly head. "Don't worry, help will be here soon."

"Sooner than you think, Ruby," Another voice said from the trees. Ruby snapped her head to the direction of the voice while the rest of her team formed a line in front of her and Cerise. The person the voice belonged to stepped out of the shadows and into the midday light. Ruby gasped. Aaron stood in front of the group and was staring at Cerise.

POV: Aaron

Aaron stood at the edge of the clearing the girls set up in. Yang, Blake, and Weiss rested in defensive stances, while Ruby had her arms wrapped around her dragon's neck. Cerise—or at least Aaron thought that was the dragon's name—looked up at him in terror. If the older Rider was right, he was the only the fifth human the dragon had ever seen, and Ruby would have preferred to keep it that way.

"Why did you follow us?" Weiss growled.

Aaron looked over at Weiss with the most neutral face he could manage. "Ruby was obviously terrified of something," he said. "I had my suspicions; I just wish I was wrong." He turned to look Ruby in the eyes. "I can help her."

Something changed in Ruby's eyes. She wanted to trust Aaron but wasn't sure if it was the best idea. She tightened her hold on Cerise' neck at the same time. Blake spoke what was on everyone's mind, "How do we know we can trust you?"

Aaron mentally switched to the ancient language while still keeping eye contact with Ruby. "I can help your dragon. I shall not harm her in any way."

The fear in Cerise' eyes vanished immediately. Ruby cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes, like she had heard those words before, but couldn't remember them exactly. The other girls only got angrier. Yang's bracelets extended into full gauntlets. "Speak Vytalian!" she demanded.

Cerise looked up at Ruby with pleading eyes. What happened next made Aaron wish he wasn't paying as close of attention to the dragon's condition. Ruby, Cerise thought to her Rider.

Ruby visibly recoiled in hearing her dragon's voice for most likely the first time. Aaron kept his reaction to himself. I should not have heard that. He thought to himself.

Nalia sent her disappointment over their mental link. Under normal conditions I would throw you off a cliff for listening in on another's first words, but these aren't normal conditions.

Ruby flinched again, like Cerise just said something else, but Aaron already retreated from the small dragon's mind. The young huntress looked over the older Rider like she was making sure he wasn't a threat. She eventually locked eyes with Aaron. "Do what you can," she whispered.

Her teammates looked at their leader in surprise. "Ruby, are you sure?" Yang asked.

"I think Cerise trusts him...somehow. That's enough for me." Ruby focused her eyes on Aaron. "Please, help her."

Aaron simply nodded and approached the dragon. Weiss grabbed his arm as he passed. "Leave your sword with me." The Rider barely glanced at the white girl as he unhooked his scabbard from his belt and handed it to the Weiss, sword still inside.

Aaron crossed the rest of the distance unhindered and Ruby stepped back to give him room. He knelt by the injured leg and turned to look the young dragon in the eye. "This will itch a lot, but don't attempt to scratch it," he soothed. Though he couldn't see Ruby, he felt her gaze boring into his back. There was no doubt in the Rider's mind that she would attack him if he so much as touched a scale the wrong way.

Nalia, lend me your strength, Aaron called out.

What's mine is yours, Nalia immediately sent her energy to her Rider.

Aaron raised a hand and went to work. First he purposely made his hand glow so the girls would know he was actually doing something. They all gasped as they realized Aaron was no ordinary doctor. The Rider turned healer used a spell to identify the damage behind the hood. It was extensive, but he reattached severed limbs before. Compared to that, this was a cakewalk. Then again, Oromis coached him all the way through he while standing over his shoulder

Simple or not, it still took time to heal, and that was time Cerise might not have. Aaron worked quickly, rebuilding bone and stitching up muscles. Somehow the slashes missed all major blood vessels in the dragon's leg, which was probably the only reason she was still alive. For her part, Cerise lay nearly completely still, keeping her leg immobile while only twitching with her neck and head.

As the last cut in her leg formed back together, Cerise relaxed. Aaron immediately changed his focus from the leg to the wings. While not life threatening, if not tended to, the injuries could have a permanent impact on her flight skills. Those wounds closed up easily as they were less than an inch deep. Last he healed the superficial scratches on the rest of the dragon's body.

Aaron sighed as he finished his work. It was faster than expected, but the speed took a toll on his and Nalia's energy. They could still fight if needed, but only if it lasted only a few minutes. Prolonged engagements could be a problem.

As he was about to remove the Ruby's cloak from the previously injured leg, he hesitated. Most people in Vale had their signature look, and that hood seemed to be Ruby's. Aaron used some of his remaining energy to remove all of Cerise' blood from it. Then he unwrapped the make-shift tourniquet and inspected his work with his own eyes. The only indications of a wound were a few missing scales.

"All done," Aaron announced as he stood up. Ruby pushed him aside violently, then knelt by the former worst injury. She ran a finger down the line of missing scales and pulled it back only to find no blood on her hands. She looked up at Aaron in wonder. He just smiled and extended an arm that held Ruby's hood. "I believe this is yours?"

Ruby snatched her cloak from Aaron and felt all over. Again, there was not a drop of blood. She hesitantly put it on then turned to look her dragon in the eye. "How are you feeling, Cerise?" she asked. Cerise just hummed happily, though weakly.

"She'll need plenty of rest, food, and water," Aaron chipped in. "She'll be fully recovered in a few days."

Ruby looked up at Aaron with an odd expression. She knelt like that for a few seconds, then launched herself at the older Rider. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed tightly. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she repeated over and over.

Aaron expected the response, but not to this magnitude. Hesitantly he returned the hug as he figured out what to say. "I was just doing my duty. I'm sure you'd do the same thing if you could."

Ruby let go and beamed up at Aaron. "How did you learn to do that?" she asked. "How were you able to do that?"

Aaron smiled; he was waiting for that question. He removed the glove he wore on his right hand and held it palm up so his gedwëy ignasia lay in full view. "I'm a Dragon Rider, like you." Ruby stared at the silver mark on his hand in shock. She removed the bloody glove on her left hand and looked at the similarity between their marks. They were practically identical.

"I hate to break this up, but we're about to have company," Yang announced, breaking the moment between the two Riders. Aaron snapped back to reality and stared out into the forest. A roar rolled over the trees, and not one from Nalia.

"Deathstalker," Weiss said as she readied her rapier. Almost as an afterthought, she threw Aaron his sword and scabbard. He caught the combo and reattached the sheath to his belt.

Nalia, care to make an entrance? Aaron asked his dragon.

Her glee flowed over their connection like water. I'm chasing this 'Deathstalker' right now. At least I have something to call these. Soon the footfalls of the giant scorpion were felt through the ground. The girls of team RWBY formed up around Cerise as she couldn't fight. Aaron drew his sword, but only for show. Nalia killed several Deathstalkers in their short time in the Emerald Forest, though unfortunately they weren't edible.

Another roar assaulted the group's ears, and not one from a Grimm. Aaron smiled as the girls tensed up at the unfamiliar sound. "That wasn't a Grimm," Blake mumbled.

"Oh really? I thought it was a Beowolf cub," Yang joked.

Aaron chuckled, which drew strange looks from the rest of the group. "Blake was right," he said. "That wasn't a Grimm." The clearing darkened and everyone looked up in varying levels of amazement. "That's my dragon."

Nalia carried a Deathstalker without its tail in her claws. She back flipped and dove straight for the ground. The dragon picked up a considerable amount of speed before throwing the scorpion to the ground. It hit the dirt with the force of a stalactite from Farthen Dûr crashing to the ground. Nalia landed with much less force, but still enough to crush the remains of the black creature. For good measure, she tore off its head with her powerful claws.

Team RWBY froze in place, weapons aimed at Nalia. None of them moved except to look at each other. Nalia cocked her head and looked at the four huntresses in training. Come on, I don't bite. Well, I won't anyway.

Yang, Blake, and Weiss looked at Nalia in surprise and lowered their weapons. Ruby, on the other hand, perked up. "You can talk too?"

Her teammates looked at their leader with even more surprise. "'Too?'" Weiss asked.

Ruby scratched her head. "Cerise said my name twice right before Aaron healed her. That's how I knew I could trust him."

Yang threw her arms up in defeat. "Okay, would someone please tell me what's going on?" she yelled.

Nalia chuckled. That is a long story, yellow one-

"-but now isn't the time or place for that," Aaron finished. "I don't want to be cut off by the healers that you called here."

The large green dragon hummed her agreement then looked at the small red dragon. Nalia walked over to Cerise and lowered her head to look the smaller dragon in the eyes. It's nice to meet you Cerise Longtail, she said.

"'Longtail?'" Ruby asked incredulously. "Shouldn't I get a say in her last name?"

Aaron chuckled. "A dragon's 'last name,' as you called it, is given by physical attributes or abilities. To add a few others, there are Brightscales, Razorclaws,' he nodded at his dragon, "and Nalia is a Quickwing."

"Quickwing?" Ruby turned to look at Nalia.

I'm fast, and I had my first flight at only a few hours old. Nalia sifted her attention to Ruby. You're older than most new Riders, much stronger too.

Ruby blushed and turned away slightly. "Well, a few years at combat school will do that."

Nalia nodded and looked over at the three other girls in the clearing. So you are Ruby's team?

None of them spoke for a moment, still in shock from seeing a ferocious dragon turned into a gentle giant. Eventually Yang spoke up. "Yep, at least for the next three and a half years. Then we can get away from her."

Nalia reared back in surprise. She was about to mentally/verbally assault Yang when Ruby launched herself at her sister. "Get rid of me? Pfft! Good luck with that." That also surprised Nalia. She looked at Aaron for confirmation that their behavior was normal. He just shrugged. From the little time he knew these girls, he knew Ruby was energetic, just not how it manifests itself.

Something in the air caught Nalia's attention. She sniffed the air a few times and settled her gaze on Blake. She stood her ground despite the intense stare, but her face said that she was uncomfortable. Nalia cocked her head. You aren't human.

Blake froze in place, as did the rest of her team. Eventually she sighed and untied the bow on her head, revealing two cat ears. "How did you know?" she asked.

You smell similar to a werecat. Nalia continued looking at the ears with interest. Are they natural?

"I'm a Faunus, what do you expect?" Blake asked suddenly on the defensive.

Nalia hummed in understanding. I can think of a few elves who would be jealous of you.

"Elves?" Weiss scoffed.

"Jealous?" Blake's face brightened up.

"What's a werecat?" Yang asked, oblivious to the other two girls' questions.

Aaron laughed at the situation before him. "Elves and werecats are both races where we come from. From what I can tell, werecats are like your werewolves, but can change anytime and are mainly the size of house cats. The elves are graceful, good fighters, and frankly better looking than humans as a general rule. They aren't like ones who make toys and live in the North Pole."

The older Rider fixed his eyes on Blake. "The elves are so good looking because they can make themselves look however they want, typically what they think is the most beautiful. Many of them take the appearance of animals. Still, not many of them can make the extra body parts work because, well, there is a lot of stuff to reroute and reconnect for ears, tails and such to be functional. So, yeah, there would probably be some elves who would be jealous of all Faunus because they are born with appearances and abilities the elves can't replicate."

Blake blinked several times. "Oh. I...uh..."

Off to the side Yang snickered. "Sorry Ruby, looks like Aaron has a thing for the cat lady."

Aaron didn't think it was possible for Ruby to blanch with her pale skin, but she proved otherwise. "Yang!" she yelled while backhanding her sister. Blake just rolled her eyes while Weiss brought her hand up to her face.

Aaron was about to ask, 'Am I missing something here?', but the sudden appearance of a giant pillar of bright orange flames about a mile further into the forest cut him off.

What was that? Nalia asked…

…only to be answered by a female voice coming from the same direction that the flames had come from saying, "ZACH! I WAS GOING TO KILL THAT ONE!"

A sound unfamiliar to Aaron rolled over the trees, coming from direction of the city. He turned to Nalia to see if she could see what made it. She craned her neck above the trees. It's the healers, she said. It took them long enough.

Aaron searched the ground for Cerise and found her watching the struggle between the sisters while lying next to Nalia. She appeared to be doing well, at least her eyes were open and alert. Still, the young dragon was recovering from massive blood loss, and no one can just walk it off. Ruby trusted the healers enough for them to come work on Cerise, but Aaron still wasn't sure.

The flying metal machine flew over the clearing and landed. Those inside didn't immediately jump out, which tipped Aaron off that something was wrong. If they were there for Cerise, why didn't they run to the small dragon's side?

Only one man left the transport and walked to meet Ruby. She met the man halfway. "Thanks for coming out and everything, but the situation's handled."

"We are aware of the situation, Miss Rose," the man said. "Our new orders are to escort you and him to Beacon. Professor Ozpin wishes to speak with both of you." He gestured over at Aaron.

The older Rider frowned. "What about our dragons?"

"He requests that they stay here for now until your meeting is over."

Ruby seemed taken aback. Aaron couldn't blame her. Her dragon was recovering from a mortal injury, and she was being asked to leave her. She looked back at Cerise with sad eyes. "But, she needs me," Ruby stuttered.

"We'll stay here until you get back Ruby," Weiss spoke up. "Nothing will get through us." Ruby stared at her teammate for a few seconds, like she was thinking it over. Eventually she nodded.

Aaron looked up at Nalia. "Find her some food." The dragon nodded then took off toward the mountain she called home for the last two weeks and the abundant wildlife that lived there. Aaron turned to Ruby and gestured to the transport. "Ladies first."

Please, for the love of God, tell me something!