We have some fanart for the cover now. I'm not sure if anyone can see it as all the cover images for every story haven't been loading for me for a few days, but it's there! Trust! I'd link the twitter it was on, but since this site hates links (probably for good reasons of spam and viruses, etc) I can't.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 22

"I don't trust you."

"It's a good job I haven't asked for your trust then."

"But right now, I don't have a choice," Yang went on, trying to ignore both the interruption and that stupid, smug, face. "Junior will shit bricks if he finds out about you, especially if you're going to listen in on this meet. It's breaking the rules, and no one does that."

"Honour among thieves? I thought that was just a myth."

"It's not honour, bitch, it's business."

"My name is Blake. I'd appreciate you using it."

"And I'd appreciate it if you stopped looking down your nose at all of us." Her reward was a moment of shock from the Arcanist. Good. "You may have power the likes of which I can't comprehend, but you're nothing here. Get it? Far as the facts are concerned, you're more homeless than I am."

The Arcanist drew in a sharp breath. Her brows drew down. "My home was destroyed."

"Yeah, and you don't see me making light of it – so don't you dare make light of those fuckers flooding the slums." Yang poked her in the chest. "It may be a shithole to you, but it's our home. It's where Ruby and I grew up and the people here have fucking lives!"

"I apologise." Blake turned away, eyes closing. "I'll try better."

Better than nothing. More than she'd expected. She didn't hold out any hope for it, but she'd give her the benefit of the doubt for now. "Good. Now, there's no honour among thieves down here, but there is business. Something like this obviously affects everyone, so it's in our best interests to work together. The rules of hospitality will be in effect, which means one guest each. Break that and the whole thing will fall down, so you cannot be seen!"

"I won't be. Am I to not intervene even if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing should – but if someone else breaks the rules first, feel free to lend a hand. Long as it's not us crossing that line." Yang dragged on a tattered cloak that had been repaired one too many times. The weave was worn and torn, and the hood no longer pulled up. Just in case the Arcanists were watching, she'd chosen to get rid of the one she'd been seen in with Ruby. "You know where Mac's is, I take it. It's the place where you met Ruby."

"I know it." Blake tilted her head. "You seem remarkably calm considering. The Collegium intends to flood the slums. Doesn't that make you angry?"

"Floods happen every year. People die. You get used to it. It's not like they're the ones causing the flood; they're just cutting off some of our escape routes. Those aren't supposed to exist anyway, so there ya go." Sighing, she made her way to the door. "It's a part of life for us and you get used to it. You don't see farmers screaming at winter or cursing the seasons."

"Farmers save stock to last through winter."

"And we find out escape routes," Yang said. "Those that can't try and outlast or get swept away, depending on what high ground they can find. That's just business."

"How cruel…"

"We don't make the rules, Blake. We just live by 'em."

/-/

Mac's was quieter than it had been for a long while. The lights were dimmed, candles set around a single long table, with only a few in the windows. The torches had been doused, the door barricaded, and a plank drawn across to make sure everyone knew it was closed.

Yang followed Junior in, stopping when he did to nod to Mac, and then pulling out his chair at the table for him. He sat down and pulled himself under, nodding once to the various other worn and scarred figures around the table. Yang took her spot behind him, as was traditional and so she could block a knife to the back with her own.

The slums didn't have an official crime ring. It had important people. You knew who those were, and you didn't fuck with them. That was the long and short of it. They didn't own territory or business or have traditions, rules and empires. They were just people who, by grace of viciousness, cunning or ambition, had power.

There was Lady Margrove opposite Junior. Not a real lady obviously, though she liked to fashion herself on one with a rich maroon dress that hid its stains and tears well. She had a whole animal flung over her shoulders, its fur just a little tattered. Charcoal lined her eyes and red dust plumped up her cheeks. Unbearable and arrogant in some parody of a noble, the Lady ran the only proper whorehouse in the slums. At least, the only one you could go to and expect not to come away from robbed, diseased or shanked.

Malcolm the Lender sat to her left. He had a bumpy, pock-marked face that ran with sweat, like he'd been visiting the cheap whores again. Considering he was barred from Lady's brothel, that was probably true. No love lost there, though rumour had it there once had been a torrid affair. Malcolm dealt with loans – though rarely with coin. If he had that kind of lien, he'd have been in a higher district. He loaned property, resources, food and tools – the kind of shit desperate people needed to get a leg up and try and start a business. He'd then gouge them for anything they earned, drive them to ruin and take their property.

If property was worth anything in the slums, he might have been out already.

Alchemist Theodore was sipping on something questionable. He called himself an alchemist and demanded everyone else did too but in reality, he was little more than a peddler. He worked in medicines, poisons and narcotics – and there was a fair chance you'd get either if you went to him, and by accident on his part. His tinctures could heal, as Yang could personally attest when she caught the lung blight, but they also sent you to places you didn't want to go. It had taken months to break her off the cravings for more, which was no doubt the fucker's plan from the start.

Anja, six foot tall behemoth of a woman with an ugly scar down the centre of her face, made her trade as the strongest bitch in the slums – and willing to do whatever she was asked to for coin – sat in the corner of the tavern away from the table, not necessarily a guest but invited because no one dared not. She spared Yang a nod and a smirk, and Yang looked away, rubbing her left arm where the scars still ached.

There were others at the meet. None as big as them and Junior sitting firmly in the middle of it all in terms of importance. He – they – had their power and their little patch of the slums they called their own, but their gang was one of many, their control as tenuous as the life of any Dredger. That was why Junior couldn't call such a meet, but when Lady Margrove did, everyone answered.

"A fine day to see you all in attendance," the Lady said, voice rich and booming. Her twangy accent cut through, something no noble would be caught dead with, but she did her best to force it down. "Such a fine array of gents and gentlemen on this most august eve. Alas that what brings us together is so dire a circumstance, otherwise I might enjoy a drink with you all."

"You can always enjoy a drink with me, my dear." The Alchemist held up his brightly coloured and no doubt noxious beverage. "I trust my tincture for your girl helped with her burning little problem?" He clutched his crotch suggestively.

"Oh, Theodore. It worked a charm. Poor girl has been screaming at spirits and windows for the last few days – was beside herself this morn because she saw her own reflection." The Lady sighed heavily. "But her treasure is all well and good again, if a little sore, and that's all that matters." She tittered. "There are those who will pay for the pleasure of laying with a girl not quite all there." She tapped her head. "If you know what I mean."

Yang grimaced, thankful not for the first time that she'd resisted the Lady's generous offer. Serve, spread her legs, and she might have been providing for both Ruby and her. It was only luck and stubbornness that had her tussling with the Malachites and earning Junior's attention instead.

"We're not here to talk about us, Theo." Lady Margrove blew him a kiss. "Let's move onto business, shall we? I trust that by now the messengers we hired have passed the news onto all of you?" When no one suggested otherwise, she nodded. "That's good. Your messengers are as reliable as ever, Junior."

"Thank you, my lady."

Junior knew his place and it wasn't at the top. There wouldn't be any grand reprisal for him speaking out of turn, no knife in the back or loss of reputation. What he would lose was access to the whorehouse, discounts on tinctures and he might find others less willing to deal with him. Little things, but in the cutthroat world of the slums, those little things could add up quickly.

It was better to toe the line.

"All this Arcanist stuff is bad for business," Malcolm grumbled. "And business is bad enough around the floods. Last thing we need is them sticking their noses where it don't belong."

"As crass as you sound, I do agree," Lady said. "It's rather rude for them to come and do all this without so much as introducing themselves." She tittered into one hand, laughter phlegmy. "Also, a problem to see the tunnels closed like that. I dare say they're trying to keep all of us here when the floods come. Waterlogged girls don't make for good stock - nor do bloated corpses make good patrons."

Everyone around the table muttered and complained, some looking afraid and others annoyed, usually dependant on age. The older ones were used to the coming and going of the floods. They weathered it with a stoic acceptance of what life was. The floods weren't the issue here. It was the Arcanists.

"They're looking for something," Theodore said. "I've heard rumours…"

"As have we all, quack," Malcolm snapped. "Rumours don't help us here."

"Malcom. Do be calm. You know that my girls are told all sorts of things beneath the covers. One of my pets heard from a guard recently that those seeking to leave or enter the city must first be inspected by an Arcanist. Telling, no? Perhaps the rumours are not so wild as first imagined."

"A Wildmage then, or a rogue of their own."

Yang watched but no one had any overt reaction. Much like her, the term meant so little – just something known to be vaguely dangerous, but without detail as to how. The thought of a criminal Arcanist was much worse.

"Short of finding this person and handing them over, I don't see what good this knowledge does us," Malcolm said. "And if the Arcanists can't find them, we're shit out of luck."

"Malcolm does have a point," Theodore said. "Better we look to re-open the tunnels than do the Collegium's work for them."

Junior coughed and waited for Theodore to nod his way before speaking. "I've had some of mine look at the tunnels, quick scouting. They're guarded. Not just by guards, but shadowy figures who follow those that get too close."

Huntsmen. Shit.

"I've seen some of those," a younger man said. Everyone glared at him until he ducked his head. "I-If I may speak, madam?"

"Quite rude, but I shall forgive it this once. Speak."

"One of my boys was workin' with another. Just some lifts on those in the quieter parts. They made the mistake of assumin' one of those would be easy." He was cut off by laughter, his face burning red as he clenched his hands on the table. "They're dangerous. Didn't even hesitate before cutting one of my boys from ear to ear. Dead before he knew it, and the fucker just walked on without a care."

"Well what do you expect, you silly boy? You don't tangle with the Collegium." Lady Margrove tittered again. "That certainly does put a damper on things though, doesn't it? Reclaiming the tunnels may be out of the question."

"Seems to me they expect their missing person to find and use 'em to escape," Malcolm said. "Us drowning is just an unintended consequence of that. One they don't care enough to try and prevent." He slammed a hand on the table. "I say we make new tunnels."

"That will take time."

"Then best we start straight. And we don't advertise or sell access to this one. Just for us – just for those that matter. The less that know if them, the better."

"It hurts little to try," Theodore said. "In the meantime, we try other approaches as well. I shall reach out – I have a Merchant who owes me after his daughter became… an endearing fan of one of my latest concoctions. There's quite a lot he'll do to keep her safe, sated and out of the public eye. I may well be able to convince him to fund our little expedition."

"You will be compensated if you do, Theo. My girls would just love to show you their gratitude."

A lesser ganger coughed like Junior had and waited for his permission. "A single tunnel might still be discovered. It may be worth evacuating the slums before the floods hit. If none of us are this Wildmage, we shouldn't run into problems."

"Leaving to survive means little if our businesses crumble," Malcolm spat. "Think beyond your own neck a little, cretin. I have property. Margrove has her stables of whores. Theodore has his chemicals and you all have your shitty little patches. How do you think business is going to be if the whole slums is wiped away by this? Because that's what we're facing."

"We all charge people to use those tunnels," Junior said calmly, "But they are effective. Those who can, save for them through the year and escape the floods. With those closed, the death toll will be much higher this year. As Malcolm the Lender says, that's bad for business." He punctuated the point by slapping his hand on the table. "Bad for all of us."

"Well what do we do? We can't take them back and if we dig a new one, it runs the risk of being found. Do we hope they find this fucker before the floods come?"

"No." Lady Margrove said. "We prepare. We make plans. We adapt. And if needs be, we turn our attentions on the Arcanists themselves."

"Are you fucking serious? We'll be slaughtered!"

"Attention does not necessarily mean violence, my dears. Men and women can be swayed with words just as easily as they can a blade. A little bribe here, a favour there, a loving caress to those who might need it. They cannot all be indomitable in the face of such."

Yang had a feeling they might be. Though they apparently had just as little idea the true threat of a Wildmage as she and Blake did, the zeal with which they went about their work told her those sent down here would be resolute.

And if they were willing to let so many die for it… well, did that suggest Wildmages were so dangerous the deaths were worth it? Or was it just that Dredgers counted as less? It could have been either. Yang resisted the urge to look around for Blake, knowing the Arcanist would be in the room somewhere but not wanting to give it away. No one had noticed a thing, not even Anja in the corner, sharpening the hooked sword that had almost taken her arm off at the elbow.

If Ruby finds out about this, she'll feel responsible. I can't let her know.

The floods came every year, Sure, these ones would be worse thanks to the Collegium, but the tunnels weren't supposed to exist in the first place and hadn't twenty years ago, so it was more like going back to how things were before they were born. Junior will get us out either way. He's not going to accept waiting here to drown.

And at the end of the day, she wasn't a Wildmage. The Arcanists at the gates could look her over all they wanted – she could walk out. Lots of people could. The problem was that the farmlands also flooded, even if the water drained back into the slums, and the Outskirts were infested with bandits, Grimm and wild animals.

Either you stayed in the slums and risked drowning, but at least had shelter and warmth, provided the water didn't eat away at the supports and make your building crush you. Or you went out into the farmlands to freeze in the cold and be found floating in the water. Or, if you were really asking for death, you tried to survive in the Outskirts.

Plenty did each year. Some even came back alive.

Some…

There's not much useful being decided, she thought with a little sigh. I guess everyone is too afraid of the Collegium to do anything. Yang wondered how long that'd last when the river started bursting its banks.

And how many would choose to die charging the Arcanists instead of facing the cold water.

/-/

The Azure Archives was far less impressive than the tall and spired building she'd accompanied Weiss to earlier. Where that had smacked of some grand palace, the Archives was a perfectly rectangular building with a single entrance at the front. That wasn't to say it was uninspiring. Grand pillars rose up on either side of the entrance, reaching right to the roof and standing out in gold scrolling from the dark brick.

Plants and vines crept down the outside, surrounding tall, thin windows. Flower beds dotted the outskirts, and while there was no wall and gate to keep people out, the flower beds created a soft barrier for those unwilling to trad across them. A few benches lay outside, with a couple of Arcanists wearing the dark blue robes busy reading or chatting.

Or debating, it sounded like. They were passionate and loud, throwing around terms she'd never heard of and couldn't hope to understand, gesticulating wildly. Occasionally, one would pause to scribble something down on a slate or parchment. Books were opened, closed and even thrown down in frustration.

No one was there to greet her, unlike the White, which had ornately dressed guards outside and someone who had taken Weiss in hand and promised to escort and show her around the White School.

Ruby found herself walking gingerly up to the front entrance on her own, ready to back away if anyone told her off for it. Since no one did, she peeked through the doors, which were pinned open, and then stepped in after that.

The interior was stone floored and warmly lit with a fire burning in a hearth nearby, thick rugs across the floor and a few seats that looked so comfy she wanted to collapse into them and fall asleep. She could imagine the Arcanists outside retiring once the air got colder, sitting around the fire while continuing their discussions.

A boy not too much older than her, dressed in full blue, walked through a nearby doorway and headed toward another. He hadn't seen her.

"Excuse me?"

The boy paused, hummed and turned in her direction. He wasn't that much bigger than her and was quite lithe. He had black hair longer than Jaune's and reaching down his back. Angular eyes took her in, a bright a vibrant shade of pink.

"Yes," he said, voice even and calm. "Can I help you?"

"I'm planning to join the Azure Archives. It was mentioned that I could visit for a tour?"

"Initiate…" His eyes fell to her robes and the mantle around her neck. "Do you recall who offered that to you? I could try and find them."

"It was Arcanist Merlot."

"The Doctor?" The boy sighed. "He's in another one of his experiments and everyone knows not to disturb him."

She winced. "I could come back later?"

"No, that wouldn't work. I can't even say when to come back; he's always in and out of his chambers with something or another." He looked back down the way he'd come and let out a long breath. "I guess there's no helping it. I'll show you around and answer what questions I have. My name is Ren. Lie Ren."

"Ruby Rose. And thank you, Arcanist Ren."

"Just Ren," he said with a chuckle. "I'm not an Arcanist yet." He flashed his Arcanum, which she noted didn't contain any gems despite his blue robes. "I was an Initiate like yourself last year. I've not been at the Archives all that long, but I should be able to show you around and answer questions."

"Thank you!"

He was older than her, but not by much she'd have said. His angular face suggested someone foreign, maybe from another Collegium. Travel was allowed so long as you made your presence aware to the local Collegium, so that might have been the case. And since she'd been let in at the age of fifteen and put with Weiss who was seventeen, it didn't seem like age requirements mattered. She was sure she'd seen an Initiate over twenty.

"The Azure Archives is primarily a research-oriented Arcana," Ren explained, leading her through the door he'd been heading to. Her eyes widened at the sight of the gigantic library within. Long rows of shelves dotted each wall, reaching up through five floors of balconies. The building looked solid from the outside but had a hollow core in the centre which was the library. The roof was glass, letting in bright light that lit the chamber.

This is way bigger than the library in the school. I wonder what secrets they have…

He kept moving, drawing her through a wide path left bare in the middle. Various Arcanists were busy at tables and desks, some large for multiple to talk quietly at, while others sequestered away in corners, a single figure hunched over them scribbling or reading away. Yet more travelled among the aisles of bookcases, while others walked along the balconies above.

"The library is the core of our Arcana, and this library technically is the archive itself. You'll find knowledge here that is unknown to many."

"Merlot said normal people couldn't read it?"

"That's right." Ren picked a random book off a shelf and handed it to her. "Try. There's no harm."

Opening the book to a random page revealed clear parchment. Black pages. "It's empty."

"To you, perhaps, and to anyone not of the Azure." He took it back and put it on the shelf. "A trick you're taught here. It helps to keep our work secret at times, especially since many of our order live and sleep outside the Archives."

"Where do we sleep once we're out the Initiate Halls?"

"In another hall." He saw her face fall and chuckled. "I know. It's not the best answer but that's what it is. To be fair, the upper year halls are better furnished and have larger rooms. You also get a chance to have rooms to yourself if you don't want to share. Once you graduate with a gemstone, more options become available, including living out in the city if you want to. Few of the Azure do," he admitted.

"Because of the secrets?"

"No." He smiled ruefully. "Because it's too much effort to walk all the way back for the Archive."

"Oh…"

"You have to understand, everyone who is here is here because they have some question they want an answer to. Something important to them. Even if they eventually find it, chances are it'll be replaced with something else. Doctor Merlot says it's our nature to be curious and that we draw the curious to us. With the Archives being such a valuable source of knowledge, many of the Azure spend their day here. There's not much desire to move far away from that."

Ren showed her the staircases on either side that led up to the various balcony floors, then drew her out the room and into a corridor lined with doors, each with a sign outside.

"There are four paths leading from the Archives; the whole building is designed like a compass. South takes you to the front entrance, while the North takes you to the storage rooms."

"What's stored here?"

"Books, objects, food, supplies. Some of those can be used in experimentation and you're free to store your own things here, within reason." Ren paused and gestured to the doors around them. "The East and West lead to rooms you can claim for research and experimentation." He touched one of the signs, that read – if she was right – Lie Ren. "This is mine. Come in. I'll show you around."

"Is that okay?" Ruby asked, caught between nerves and excitement. "Isn't this the Arcana of Secrets?"

"That's its dramatic title and there are plenty here who do like to keep their work secret." He pushed the door open. "I'm not among them."

The room was small, but also well-equipped. It wasn't something for sleeping in and though it had a single desk and two chairs, that was all for comfort. The walls were heavily reinforced, the floor was solid stone as was the ceiling. A stack of books was propped up by the desk, one open on top. Notes upon notes dotted the rest of it and were also contained on a shelving unit by the side of that. It was, at best, twenty feet by twenty feet with no windows.

"A testing chamber like this can be claimed for free. If you need bigger, or have more specific demands, you may need to wait for a larger one to free up or rent one. It'll depend on what you want to research."

How big did she need? There was no telling and she might not need one at all if the answers she sought were contained in the Archive itself. If she did, she could decide what kind of room she wanted later.

"What are you researching? If it's okay to ask…?"

"It can be, but it can also not be." At her confusion, he said, "Your question on whether you should ask. There's nothing against curiosity here – it's encouraged – but there are some who will defend their research." He offered her the faintest hint of a smile. "I'm not among those. It can also depend on how… ah… troubling your work is."

"Troubling?"

"Not forbidden research; that's barred. But certain aspects can be problematic to some, so a little discretion is advised. Luckily, mine is fairly ordinary."

He walked to his desk and Ruby followed. His notes were written beautifully, though the curvy writing was a little hard to make out in places. There were a few diagrams, some of the human body and others of what appeared to be a human skeleton. Annotations dotted around them.

"Are you doing medical research?"

"A good guess, but no. I'm trying to find alternative ways to use magic, specifically in strengthening the human body."

Ruby blinked owlishly. "Uh…"

"Consider the flow of your magic," Ren said patiently. "We contain it within our bodies, but we do little more than direct it outward for spells." He demonstrated by summoning a ball of water into his hand. It was a little thing, but she couldn't help but notice how quick he'd been, and how perfectly formed it was. No one in her class could have done the same. It didn't even ripple. It was perfectly smooth. "Whether I use that to make water, fire, ropes of light or even to levitate an object, I'm taking an internal force within my body and exercising it externally. I'm pushing it out of me. Are you with me?"

"Yeah…"

"Now, what I want to know is whether there are ways for us to use it internally as well."

"That… sounds like a really bad idea…"

With her magic especially.

"Oh, not in the same manner." He chuckled and dismissed the water. "I wouldn't want to create a fireball inside my own body, but I'm seeing what happens when magic is imbued directly into the body, into muscles and bones and organic tissue."

"And what does happen?"

"It deteriorates. I don't have any on hand, but the bodies I did use it on fell apart."

Ruby blanched.

Ren noticed. "Animal carcasses," he said, "Remnants from abattoirs in the city."

He could have led with that! Maybe that way she wouldn't have her heart in her throat. Nodding, she slapped her chest to calm down, scowling at his amused smile. It was probably something he got a lot, especially if he was bringing back bloody bodies.

"Right, so, if it doesn't work, why keep trying?"

"Because I want to make it work. Because even if it destroys the body, I want to know why it does and whether that can be prevented." Ren tapped the diagram of the human body. "It may be that the magic destroys because it is not the body's magic. It can't be destroying us right now or we'd surely know. It may be that if we imbue magic into our own muscles, nothing happens. However, I'm not quite prepared to try that without more research."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Ruby cocked her head, staring at the diagram. "What's the point, though? Other than the sake of knowing, I mean. Is there something you want to use it for? Creating spells like this sounds like an Amber Arcana thing."

"It probably is, to be fair. My interest is more in the why and what will happen than creating new spells, however. Who knows, there could even be medical applications the Emerald Arcana would enjoy. Ways to treat those born with muscular or skeletal disorders. As for me…" Ren trailed off. "I suppose I just want to know. We've always used spells outside our body, always pushed the magic out. What if we're missing something big, something obvious, because we never tried it the other way?"

Ruby thought on that. "I… I guess that would be silly."

"Yes." He smiled ruefully. "I know it's not the best reason in the world, but it's my reason, and sometimes that's all that matters. You'll meet people here with the biggest, most pressing and most dangerous research, and then you'll find those who just want to know why the sky is blue. For many of us, it's the chase that matters. The hunt for those answers, the trials we face along the way and the things we learn and experience." He cocked his head. "You have your own question, don't you? Something you need to have an answer to."

"Yeah. I guess I do…"

"And would it matter if someone told you it was a pointless thing to spend your time on?"

"No. It's not pointless to me." Realising his point, she yelped. "I didn't mean to imply yours was!"

"It's fine, Ruby. I'm not easily offended. Now, let me go show you a few of the larger testing chambers." He pushed her out the room and closed the door. "We'll have to find one that isn't occupied. The last thing we want is to interrupt someone working on-"

A loud crash echoed down the corridor and around a corner. The smashing of wood, shattering of glass and a scream of warning. It was followed by a roar. A bestial, guttural and spine shaking roar. Ruby stumbled back, Ren herding her away with one arm.

"What's happening?"

"Accidents," he said sharply. "Research isn't always safe. Stay behind me."

Another crash and a yell echoed from the corridor, this time voices barely audible, one calling for someone to `stop it` and another just yelling to watch out. A fireball raced across, missing whatever it was and impacting the ceiling of their corridor. It caused smoke to bloom out, blocking sight as Ren backed her away.

A red pin prick opened in the smoke. It was followed by a second.

The smoke didn't clear but the thing within prowled out, a black, lupine shape with a mask of purest white bone split with red lines pulsing with power. The animal – no animal, her mind whispered – paced on gargantuan paws, as tall as the corridor itself and so wide its shoulders scraped along the walls.

"Grimm," Ren hissed. "Here? Merlot, what are you doing?" He pushed her away, Ruby shaking slightly and staring at the monster straight out of Yang's scary stories. It was so much bigger than she'd imagined. "We should leave. Grimm are dangerous but now always immediately aggressive. So long as we don't draw its attention-"

The monster paused suddenly. It sniffed the air, agitated. Its shoulders hunched, its head moving left and right as it snuffled. Stopping suddenly, it levelled its head down on them, eyes piercing straight into Ruby's.

With a victorious roar, it lunged.

Oh hey, Grimm. Been a while. And look, Ren! I've not forgotten about the rest of the cast; I'm just trying to introduce them slowly and not force myself to have to write a whole bunch of people at once. It's always a little annoying when I have to try and balance them all.

This is my last story before my week off. Merry Christmas to all of you!

Next Chapter: 5th January (TWO WEEKS)

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur