Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Curse of the Wendigo. Enjoy the 3900-word chapter. I don't own RWBY; Monty and a few others do.
Reo slowly pushed upon the boulder which stood in the way of his task. He wrenched the car-sized stone to the side with his free hand which made him screech as one of the wounds from before tore itself and he fell to his knees as he did so.
Velvet, who lay in the palm of the hulking werebeast watched as Reo slammed into the rocky wall at the back of the cave, blood still coming from his open wounds. He looked less like the monstrous werewolf that had torn a pair of Beowolves to pieces and more… vulnerable, like an injured bird with a clipped wing.
"Ugh, I'm glad that damn thing didn't poison me." Velvet heard as she looked at the Werewolf.
"Are you ok?" Velvet asked as Reo released her, dropping her a few feet away.
"No…" He said as he slumped down, his limbs looking like noodles.
She approached the wounded beast who had long since given up trying to force her to leave him. His crimson eyes were offset by her piercing blue ones. He sighed to himself as he started to speak.
"I'm a Faunus if you didn't get it," Reo stated before he gestured to himself. "The curse takes you and it… Enhances? Mutates? Something until we get more and more bestial." Reo said before Velvet looked down at her hands.
There were small patches of brown fur which had crossed her hands, her fingernails had lengthened slightly as he sighed.
"I told you, you should kill me," Reo said as he shook his head. "The curse might give you power… But the more you fight? The more that bloodlust overtakes you. I saw you wanted to gulp down meat. You are going to want to hunt animals sooner or later." Reo said to which Velvet frowned.
"The curse only kicks in at…" Velvet started to say to which Reo nodded.
"Night, I think the moonlight or the damaged moon triggers the curse like a magnifying glass," Reo stated before he sighed.
"If you wanted to kill me, why didn't you? You could have killed me within seconds of me getting hurt." Velvet said before Reo shrugged.
"Maybe it was just the last of whatever good I have in me." Reo joked before he frowned and simply looked down at the ground as he did so. "The curse doesn't attack everything and whatever voice wants me to kill doesn't order me to kill it all," Reo said before he shrugged as he did so. "I guess when I saw you? I was curious why someone was around." Reo said before he frowned.
"But I cut you by accident when I picked you up. Even the smallest damn cut and your blood become tainted." Reo said as he sighed to himself. "My blood is inside yours. It's all off when it comes down to it. I don't know what's going to have happened next, but I know something will happen to you…. You're going to become me." Reo stated before he shook his head for the time being.
He hadn't been over it in a long time, in a time that he hadn't yet seemed to have to question when this was all was said and done, he hadn't yet gotten it all off his mind. Not when he had more on his mind.
"You're not going to kill me, are you?" Velvet stated to which he sighed and looked up at the ceiling
"No, because both of us agree on it, and the damn… Monster, the one up in my head? He agrees you're going to be needed… And no, jackass, I'm not telling her that, she's a Faunus, not a training dummy." Reo stated as he shook his head and looked there as if he had been more and more disgusted with himself than he had been before.
Velvet slowly walked over to which he tried to shoo her off. He knew she wanted to help, he couldn't let her, not when she could get hurt.
She swatted away his hand with an angered look that told him that he had touched a nerve he didn't think he could touch. Her hands which were soft yet fuzzy gripped his face, forcing her to glance towards her as he blinked, thrown off entirely by what she was trying to do.
"I AM GOING TO HELP!" Velvet yelled before she growled. "YOU AND ME ARE GOING TO TALK, UNDERSTAND!? I'VE NEEDED ANSWERS EVER SINCE I CAME TO THIS DUST PIT!" Velvet yelled to which the voice inside Reo spoke up.
"Heh, the damn curse is working fine, Reo… She'll be like us soon enough… Then I'll have a queen and take that damn deer down. I'll make him pay for what he did to me. He'll beg to die and I'll make sure I scrape his brains out through a damn straw." The voice added to which he was silent.
He said nothing as the Bunny Faunus which he dwarfed gripped his face, her fingers cutting into his skin as he gripped her gently and sighed.
"Then what answers do you want? How did this damn thing start? What it will do to you? Why I should die before it turns you into this?" Reo stated to which she shook his head gently, making him remember she was on the same level as him.
It made him laugh slightly as his crimson eyes burned with a hellish light that scared the majority of people. It would have made him tilt his damn head if she wasn't clutching it to the point, he couldn't even damn well move it at all which suited him just fine.
"Talk…" Velvet stated as she looked into his eyes, her own burning a bright blue at this.
"About what?" Reo questioned as he softly gripped her hands.
"The curse. This hurts you, no? You're scared of hurting someone, of getting hurt, or worse, no? it's why you ran away, isn't it? You are scared?" Velvet questioned to which Reo sighed and looked downwards at the moment.
"I don't know what to tell you at the moment, there's a lot of stuff to have to handle for now." Velvet heard as she sighed.
"Yes, but I'm more scared of what will happen to you. I've had months to get it all done and dusted and well?" Reo questioned before he tilted his head before he sighed to hum to himself.
"The curse will mutate you, there is a lot more to have to question for now…. And I'm not going to be able to tell what you will become." Reo stated that she seemed to have to question before she slowly started to climb to her feet.
There was a lot more to this as she glanced into his eyes and seemed to understand that he hadn't lied at all. He didn't have all the damn answers to this. Reo wanted to help, but he didn't know anything. It wasn't surprising to her, but she was mad all the same down to the end of the line.
If she didn't know what it should have been for now. This hadn't yet seemed to have been something he could have prepared for. He didn't know Velvet and that bothered him.
It was clear he had wanted for the time being to what she tilted his head to the side and continued to have to ponder what would all simply fall apart when it came down to it. This was such an odd time to have to be alive when it came down to it. They all had a part to play in it and all this just didn't make it as far as they were supposed to.
"Whatever happens next will be on you, Velvet," Reo said before the voice took over again and his eyes began to burn a much darker shade of red.
"You will be the queen of the empire I create… All of Remnant will bow before me as it had eons ago… And you will be glorious like it was then." The voice stated before Reo asserted his control again.
"She is not your damn puppet, Anubis, you can have me all you want… She stays the hell out of this." Reo added which gained a snort from the warrior inside.
"Whatever happens will be her idea. Reo. The curse will spread one way or another… YOU gave it to her; you were in control that night when you were in control." The voice said before he shook his head.
"There won't be a damn thing about it anytime soon when it comes down to it and you know it. The last thing I'll let you do is to turn her into one of your damn slaves." Reo said before the voice faded and he sighed.
"Your hurt." Velvet stated as she turned his head towards his wounds. "You regularly run around the desert like this?" Velvet asked as he nodded despite her grip on him.
"Yes. I told you. The curse turns you into a monster, you want to run around… You want to be…" Reo started to say before he shook his head.
There was a smack, a loud one that echoed across the entire cavern and possibly beyond it as he felt his head leak some more blood onto the ground.
"YOU. ARE. NOT. A. MONSTER." Velvet stated before she glared at him, her claws leaking blood onto the ground. "I am SICK AND TIRED of Faunus being treated like dirt by crappy people who only the people with money and power who think we're garbage. There's so damn much hatred in them and yet we do NOTHING!" Velvet hissed before she punched the same hand into the wall.
Her fist went through stone as if it were cardboard, Reo winced and realized she damn well was strong enough to cut through him as if he was a slim piece of steak. She barely even seemed to notice which told him that she had been primmed to be far worse than him than he and she damn well knew it.
"You are going to turn into something you can't control at all, Velvet. The curse is going to gobble you up." Reo said before he shook his head. "Look at your hand, it's bleeding. You punched so hard I don't think you even used any Aura to do it." Reo stated which made her clear her head to look to the side.
"It's you whom I'm worried about when it comes down to it, I'm going to make sure they don't kill you. Ok? You're not going to die while I'm still alive, I want you to know that." Velvet stated to which Reo sighed and looked at her.
"Then you're going to die with the curse sooner or later. The only other way to do anything about it? Is to kill the Wendigo and there isn't a single way to stop him. It's impossible, I've tried and failed before." Reo stated before he sighed and rubbed off his temples.
"We both know he can be killed." Velvet said as he raised an eyebrow at her. "I can sense what he's going to do and I'm not going to just back down." Velvet stated to which Reo nodded.
"Then you're going to transform. That is how this always starts. You won't fully transform yet, but you will eventually and that is when it is going to try and take you over." Leo stated before he shook his head at the time before he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
He knew she was too nice to back down. It was part of her and it wouldn't just die as easily as he assumed it should have been. She was in danger yet she was too brave to have to talk about such measures for now at the time being.
"How the hell are we linked?" Reo asked before one of his eyes glowed red.
"Because of the magic of the curse and the fact some of my blood is inside her." The creature seemed to have stated.
She was silent as she gently started to look over the dozen or so marks on his skin. She traced her fingers over the scars which seemed to have been a regular thing.
"Are you ok?" Velvet asked as Reo shook his head and then sighed.
"Yes, I get hurt worse than this before now." Velvet heard as she shook her head. "Velvet, are you sure you going to be ok with the curse? It's not going to be something you can easily deal with. The curse will eat you alive. It will turn you into something else. I don't know how it will work when it comes down to it." Reo stated to which she nodded.
"Yes." Velvet said to which Reo sighed.
"Then we're going back to Shade. Tomorrow is probably when it's going to get worse and you're going to transform… And I want you to notice that before you tell me how ready you are for this." Reo said as he picked the girl up in one meaty paw and then placed her on her back.
"Also? I'm not some giant wolf man… I'm some kind of Faunus beast in this form. It's hard to explain." Reo said before he shook his head. "You will be going to be like this tomorrow, that was how I was like when this all started, you can ask the damn voice in your head," Reo said to which Velvet shrugged.
"You're still letting me make sure you are ok when we get back." Velvet said before he looked at her. "We're partners against the Wendigo… We should get our teams involved." Velvet said to which he shook his head.
"Huntsmen and us don't get along in the end. Trust me, the blood inside you makes you angry, it changes you. I saw you eating meat. That's what it does to you and everyone else around you if you don't believe me." Reo stated to her.
"Your team tried to hunt you?" Velvet questioned as he glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I tried to hunt THEM. There are going to be times you lose control and you want to kill something. that is what is going to do, I told you that is what's going to happen because it happened to me." Reo said before he frowned. "Either that or this voice in my head that it seems to have been," Reo said before he rolled his eyes.
He knew it seemed to have been an odd little probably for him to have focused upon. She was just as off for wanting to be anything like him. Then again? For all, he damn well knew? She wanted to be like this. She wanted to be a monster like he.
He slowly started to trudge forwards, his massive paws leaving groves on the sand as he slowly started to march forwards, all to which he could sigh before he clicked his tongue and was rewarded with copper. One of the damned bugs must have cut him in the damn mouth during the fight.
He felt her soft hands wrap around his back, her claw-like fingers digging into his skin as she did so which reminded him that such a thing was a problem.
"Ow." He said as she wrapped her legs around his chest so he didn't fall off.
"I'm sorry." Velvet said before her eyes glowed blue. "But I told you that I am helping you and I will not take no for an answer, Reo. I'm fighting the Wendigo and helping you even if I have to cut down every Beowolf between me and him." Velvet stated to which Reo frowned.
"There's the curse of doing things to your personality." He whispered before he felt some pain in his back. "Simply stating a point… How are you feeling now? You feel any changes besides the nails?" Reo stated which made her frown.
"No… You are telling me the curse is going to make me a giant bunny?" Velvet questioned to which he hummed and nodded at her.
"Yes, that is exactly what I'm telling you," Reo stated before he shook his head. "The curse might affect you differently than it did me. I'm not sure, I've never tried to cut and infect someone." Reo added before he shook his head.
"There's a lot of stuff we need to talk about, then." Velvet stated to which Reo hummed. "Can we talk tomorrow night before this… Kicks in? Will it let me tell my friends?" Velvet said to which he hummed.
"You do what you do. I just want to warn you about when I first transformed. Things got violent. I tried my hardest not to hurt anyone. I don't know what's going to happen to you, only that the next step is going to be very painful." Reo said while he shook his head before he hummed to himself.
He wasn't sure of what would happen to the girl. He could feel his own body starting to change slowly. It would be dawn in a few hours. His aura would heal these wounds and his form would change. He knew he didn't get tired as he changed because all that energy was simply transferred into another form.
Odd? Yes, but this was not natural. It went against the order of nature itself. That was life and he knew it well at the end of the day. He sighed inwardly, knowing damn well what would come next and how well he'd have to manage it.
He looked at Velvet who had no damn clue what was going to happen. He couldn't blame her for that as she didn't know what was coming and how well this was going to have been in the thick of it for so long yet he hadn't at all backed down from it.
He damn well stayed silent, only being willing to talk if that was what she had wished. It had been something odd for the Werewolf when it came down to it. He questioned what to have been doing when it seemed to have been when it was all over.
"Are you going to be, ok?" Velvet heard from Reo as he shook his head. "The Wendigo is a lot more dangerous than most Grimm, it's smart, he wants something, and he's skilled enough to get what he wanted. I don't even know what the plan is for now." Reo stated as shook his head and sighed to himself before he questioned what to before it shook his head.
He sighed to himself before he frowned to which he sighed before he shook his head before he sighed to have to do next. If he was purely blunt as to why he understood for now? Well, he'd shook his head at her bravery which he knew would not wain when it came down to it, he didn't entirely know for now.
"Yes, are you ok?" Velvet questioned before he nodded and he sighed to himself.
"This Grimm is something that a monster isn't. it has brains and it will cut down anything in its way. I don't know what the hell can stop it for now." Reo stated before he shook his head. "We both know there's a lot of things," Reo stated before he shook his head.
He didn't know what to have to focus on when it came down to it. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he slowly climbed the hill. Velvet and he looked around the entire area as he rubbed at his temples, he rested his massive knuckles in the sand.
"We both know we might just die here. That Wendigo is coming after us soon. I don't damn well know what this was going to be like. There's no plan to kill him for now, I don't even know what's going to happen if we do." Reo said before she rested a hand on his head.
He felt calmer in a way only she seemed to have brought out of him. He looked at her as she smiled which meant that he knew for a fact that it might have been something with the curse.
'Is she going to be nice to for me the time being? I don't know what the hell to do. Nobody has been this nice to me before and it… Feels odd around her now and yet I don't want to go anywhere away from her. My mind feels like it's shattering like a block of wood.' Velvet Reo before he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
"Then we're taking him down together, ok? He can't stop both of us at the same time." Velvet stated as he shook his head and smirked before he sighed.
"Are you sure?" Reo asked with a raised eyebrow to which she nodded. "Then I won't stop you. I don't think I can if I tried… I just want to warn you that when we get to the end of that road? It's probably going to be a lot worse than anything I told you, trust me on that." Reo stated to which his muzzle contorted.
He let the calming night air of Vacuo whip across his face to which he could only find in these deserts. He was utterly at peace with himself, they hadn't taken that from him.
Velvet watched as the almost car-sized werewolf rested his massive knuckles in the sand like a Beringel as he panted in exhaustion, making him sniff the air.
She was about to comment on it when she heard a growl which made her look to see another pack of Beowolves which growled and snarled at him.
"Get back to Shade," Reo said as he unfurled his claws. "I'll get back when I can," Reo said before he felt her slip off his back.
"No. We take them on together." Velvet added to which he hummed at her.
"If you're sure… Just try to avoid copying my style. The more aggression you pour on? The worse your curse is going to be." Reo said before he growled and charged forwards.
He knew she had tried to keep her weapon a secret. He needed to see if there was a way to get his hands on more Hard Light Dust when all of this was said and done.
He snorted at this sort of thing before he roared and gripped a Beowolf forcing its face into the ground before wiping the floor towards the bottom of the dune. Reo didn't at all envy the fact that he had this sort of power while the Grimm didn't.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be delayed. The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show the Wendigo, Velvet's transformation into her beast form. It will also be 900-6500 words or such. Until then, Lighting Wolf is out!
P.S: Next chapter is much longer.