Here's chapter 44, everyone.

"Okay, Qrow, what was so damn important that you couldn't simply tell me over the-." Raven cut herself off as she entered the cabin that she and Willow had used during her training. "Y-You?" She was staring at the white haired woman that she had encountered in the snowy field. "Lazuria."

"So, you do know her." Qrow remarked, taking a drink from his canteen. "Told me she recognized my name from your contact's list. You really need to keep that thing better secured." He pointed to Raven's scroll.

Raven simply rolled her eyes and walked over to Lazuria, who was sitting on the bed of the cabin. "You told me Willow is safer without you, yet here you are again. Why?"

Lazuria sighed, looking crestfallen. "I remembered seeing his name in your scroll, and what that name means." She looked to Qrow. "You're Qrow Branwen, a huntsman whose made a name for himself from Vale." Then she looked to Raven. "And Raven Branwen, part of the same team, both part of a very well known hunter team from Beacon Academy."

"You did your homework." Raven commented, unsure of of how to feel seeing the woman again. "Now tell us, why does it matter knowing who we are?"

"To ask for your help…" Lazuria answered, the fatigue in her voice showing. "I told you to not stick to fairy tales that day. Did you listen?"

Raven leaned up against the wall, keeping an eye out through the window. "I still don't know anything about those Relentless, or the Marked, but I do know a bit more about you, and I've had my suspicions."

Lazuria was a bit curious on what she meant by knowing more about her. "And exactly what have you learned about me? You didn't speak to Willow, did you?"

"Willow Schnee?" Qrow was surprised by that. "The hell does she have to do with this?"

Raven shook her head. "No, I did go to Beacon and had a chat with Glynda Goodwitch." That name caused Lazuria to freeze up. "She was on a team with you, right? Yet, you were listed as K.I.A."

Lazuria looked down, nodding slowly. "Clearly that isn't the case." Qrow commented. "So what exactly was the reason you faked your death?"

"To make sure no one I knew would look for me." The white haired woman explained. "Since you're both here now, I'd like to tell you who the Relentless are, but… Only if you are ready to deal with such people."

Qrow shrugged. "I've dealt with enough monsters in my life, human or Grimm, so if these guys are just another group, then I don't have much trouble. Just as long as I'm getting paid for the job."

Raven didn't answer for a moment, keeping her arms crossed. "Explain who they are first, and what the Marked are as well." She paused for a moment. "Also tell me what your connection to Willow Schnee is. Then I'll decide."

Since Lazuria had reached out to them, she knew it wasn't going to be as simple as avoiding the questions. "I guess that's only fair." She took a breath. "The Relentless are a group of… What did you call me? Fairy tale hunters." The crestfallen woman laughed bitterly. "They simply think because of what I am, that I pose a threat to humanity."

"What you are?" Qrow sat down on the chair, finding the conversation odder than normal. "And what exactly are you?"

Lazuria chuckled to herself. "Why don't you ask your sister that?"

Raven recounted the day she met Lazuria. "This woman, isn't like us. We can change into our namesake, but she is quite literally the opposite." With his continued confused look, she sighed. "She's an animal that can become human."

Qrow was about to take another drink, but froze partway. "Literally the opposite… And how exactly can an animal, become a human?"

"Humans tend to ask that question when they learn about the fairy tale itself, but they never think it's real." Lazuria remarked. "It's not so hard to understand. Just like humans, us animals have aura."

"And with an aura, comes either a semblance, or some form of power." Raven finished her sentence.

"Some would call it a gift, others would call it a curse." Lazuria paused, sighing to herself. "For me, it's a curse, for my daughter, it's a gift." Raven started to have more questions in her head, but chose to wait till she had every bit of info from Lazuria. "Animals are not as gifted as humans are with aura. Only a small percentage is even granted this… Power."

"Are you saying there's more out there like you?" Qrow asked.

Lazuria nodded. "Yes, and our population continue to lessen with each Relentless marking us." Raven waited. "It's like I said, because of what I am, a wolf that can become human, the Relentless marked me."

"And this mark, can you not get rid of it?" Qrow questioned.

"No, it is tied to their semblances." Lazuria explained.

"What?" Raven spoke. "Are you telling me an entire group of people have the same semblance? I can understand maybe a few people having similar ones, but on this scale."

Lazuria nodded. "Yes, it was a very… Hard to believe bit of info I learned many years ago, but there's a reason why I can't escape."

Raven cut her off before she could continue. "You told me killing the one who marked you didn't work. Why?"

"One reason." Lazuria took a breath. "They're all connected."

Qrow and Raven were taken aback. "What? Okay, you're not making any sense here. They're all connected?"

"Being… Assigned a Marked is what they do, but once a Marked kills a Relentless, their mark is given to another." Lazuria explained.

"How? That shouldn't be possible, even with a semblance meant for tracking." Raven stated.

"I couldn't say." Lazuria laid back, looking up at the roof of the cabin. "It doesn't matter, because each time I kill one, they just have another come back with my mark still connected to them."

Qrow couldn't believe what he was hearing, even with the world he lived in, and the power he and his sister possessed. "So what do you expect us to do about it?"

"I… I never wanted to go to others for this." Lazuria admitted. "But… I'm tired. Years of this… I am so tired." She teared up. "The first time I killed one of them, I wondered how long I was safe for," As she sat up, they saw the tears, Raven sighing, while Qrow chose to remain silent. "But a month later, another one showed up."

"You've been brought to your limit, and this is your last ditch effort." Raven said, keeping her eyes closed.

"Yes." Lazuria responded, her tears hitting the bed sheets. "The only thing I want… Is to see my daughter again. To hold her and tell her how sorry I am." More tears fell, and Qrow put his cantine down.

"Okay." The huntsman spoke. "We'll take the mission, or at least I will." He looked to his sister. "I may have gotten her here, but in the end, I don't speak for her."

Raven opened her eyes, looking over at Lazuria. "I told you I would give you an answer once you told me what's your connection with Willow Schnee."

Lazuria gave her a bitter laugh. "Right… Well… What do you know about Willow?"

"That she's in a marriage that she shouldn't be in anymore. She's a mother of three… And one of her daughters can become a wolf…" Raven waited for Lazuria's reaction, while Qrow took in that info, shocked by what Raven was insinuating.

"You figured that all out…" Lazuria shook her head, a sad smile appearing on her face. "Looks like you did your homework too."

Raven looked angry, stomping over to the woman as she lifted her up by the arm. "It wasn't just the suspicions. When you said daughter… That was the moment." She let go of the woman when she was on her feet. "Weiss Schnee isn't Willow's daughter."

Qrow couldn't say a thing, and Lazuria looked just as angry. "Yes she is! Willow raised her from the day she was born! Don't ever say she isn't hers!"

Hearing that only brought on Raven's own insecurities, so she took a step back. "I'm… Sorry. I just meant Willow didn't give birth to Weiss. She's yours… Right?"

Lazuria took a moment to calm down, tears still falling. "Yes. She is… Was my daughter, but the day she was born, I chose to give her to Willow, because she needed to be protected. To be safe."

Qrow had enough staying silent. "Okay, hold the hell on. Let me get this straight. You were marked, so you chose to give your daughter away because you didn't want her to end up like you?"

"Yes. Back then, I had only known of the Relentless from those I've known of for years. The same as me." Lazuria wiped her eyes a bit. "I don't even know how they can spare so many people to hunt me down."

Raven contemplated the news she recieved. "Have you ever managed to track down where they send these people from?" When she shook her head, the raven haired huntress sighed. "That's going to make this harder."

"Are you saying you'll help me?" Lazuria questioned.

"There's a possibility, but only until I know of what you'll do if we can manage to free you of this mark." Raven explained.

Lazuria looked out the cabin window. "If I know for a fact that my mark is gone, and I'll never be hunted again… I'll go to my daughter, and tell her everything… Then leave."

"What? You'll drop all of that information on her, just to disappear? How can you just do that to your own kid?" Qrow asked, while Raven felt even more of a similarity with Lazuria.

"You believe she'll be better off without you in her life, don't you?" Raven answered for her.

Lazuria bit her lip, nodding as she gripped her right arm. "Seventeen years… She's lived her own life with her own family for so long. She doesn't need me, but I at least want her to know the truth."

"Then why not have Willow tell her? Why wait till you're free of your mark?" Raven continued to ask.

"Because I won't place that burden on Willow.. I may have birthed her, but Willow Schnee is her true mother, and I refuse to have her be the one to tell her the truth." Lazuria explained in a defiant tone.

Qrow stepped in. "Okay, okay, this is getting us nowhere." He looked to his sister. "Raven, it's your call on you want to help me on this job or not."

"It'll be a long mission…" Raven stated.

"Just means we get paid more by the day." Qrow joked, while Raven rolled her eyes.

The black haired huntress helped Lazuria back on the bed. "Did you recently kill one?" A nod was given. "And that gives you a good month before another shows up?"

"The shortest time they've taken to send someone, had been three weeks and two days." Lazuria answered honestly.

Raven sighed. "We don't have a lot of time then."

"I may be tired… But I'll continue to do what I can to evade them." Lazuria said, not wanting to lose her life until she got to hug her daughter at least once. "However much time you need."

"That's a lot to ask of you." Qrow remarked.

"I know, but I reached out to you two." Lazuria reminded. "This is the only chance I have at being able to hug my daughter, so please… Help me."

Raven held her hand out to the woman, who took it after a moment of hesitating. "Don't tell your daughter the truth." Lazuria's eyes widened. "If you really want her to be happy, then let her believe that Willow Schnee is her birth mother."

A tear fell. Lazuria took in Raven's words as she remembered the times where she would sneak around and watch Willow from a distance. The loving nature the woman showed when she took care of Weiss, and how happy Weiss was because of her. To tell her that her whole life was a lie, would crush her in Lazuria's eyes.

"Okay… I won't tell her." Lazuria shed more tears, slowly pulling her hand away as she placed both palms over her knees, lowering her head in response.

Qrow rubbed the back of his head and found the room to be way too awkward for his taste. "I can't say we'll free you of that mark, but we'll do what we can to track these guys down. So… Just stay safe till then." All he got was a nod from Lazuria.

Raven walked out of the cabin, leaving Qrow with the crestfallen woman. She leaned her back against the cabin, looking up at the clouds that passed by.

"I did say that I might as well keep going…"

She thought about Willow, how much the woman had changed over the years, and how her youngest daughter she loved to no end, wasn't even hers. "Weiss Schnee… Is really Weiss Okami."

And now the Branwen twins are officially involved in Lazuria's situation.

To JJ- Weiss' cute size is gonna be used here and there because, well it's cute, and at one point it'll actually be used for something useful, so hopefully I can make that seem right. And yeah, Yang is close to being bitten when Weiss isn't a pup. :P As for her shifting through her smaller form and normal form, that comes with practice.

I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 44. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 45.