Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you're ready for more werewolfy goodness. Enjoy!

Half of the group was yawning when they met up on the morning of their next meeting with Ruby, Blake, and Pyrrha. Ren was dragging his feet, leaning on Nora for support.

"Ugh," Yang groaned. "We've barely slept in days. Why'd we have to get up early for this? They won't even be there till noon."

"Because it's not fair that we keep using prey that Pyrrha's hunted down," Jaune explained. "If we leave early, we can catch some stuff of our own."

"Very considerate," Weiss said as she walked over. "Though, I hope people don't get too suspicious with how long we're staying out. The amount of food we bring back doesn't exactly measure up with how long we're gone."

"As long as they chalk it up to bad hunting on our part," Ren murmured. "I doubt anyone will guess at the truth."

Nora sniffed the air, turning toward Weiss. "Something smells good! Did you make us snacks?"

"No, these are for Ruby," Weiss said, putting a protective hand over her bag, which crinkled a little with the paper wrappings she had surrounding the cookies she had baked the previous night.

"I made pancakes last night, Nora. Haven't you had enough sweets?" Ren asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Nope!" Nora chirped, popping the p at the end. "Never."

The group left quickly, Ren noting the rabbit and deer trails so that they could find where game likely went. For the next few hours, the only focus was on hunting.

As a result, they were quite tired and sweaty by the time they got to the dead tree in the wastelands, which had become their new meeting place due to Adam's three refugees taking up residence there. When they arrived, they saw that the werewolves had already created makeshift shelters by digging small dens under the tree and creating tents with sticks and moss that Pyrrha likely had brought them.

"Hey, guys." Jaune hesitated before reaching into his game bag, unsure if offering food to these werewolves would be seen as an insult. After a moment's deliberation, he decided to take the risk. "We have some extra rabbits from hunting this morning. Want any?"

Flynt and Neon perked up and Perry practically started drooling. Jaune immediately tossed two of the freshly-killed rabbits to them. He kept his eyes politely averted, so that he wouldn't be looking directly at their naked forms.

Perry stared hungrily at the rabbits as Flynt and Neon ate. When Jaune started to take out another, he shook his head. "It's fine. They're betas, so they get to eat first. I'll get my share when they're done."

"We'll leave enough, don't worry," Neon added before taking another bite. Blood dripped form her sharp teeth and down her front.

Weiss was very pointedly looking away, trying not to grimace too obviously. That is disgusting! Is this how Ruby eats now? I hope she at least has the sense to cook hers first…

Since she was looking toward the woods, she was the first to spot Pyrrha, Blake, and Ruby. The latter broke into a run, eagerly jumping into Weiss's arms.

"Hi, Weiss! I'm so sorry I wasn't here last time. Cinder wanted to show me a bunch of stuff because I'm an alpha and it's so annoying." She sniffed the air. "Why do you smell like cookies?"

"What, no hello for me?" Yang asked. "I'm hurt. My feelings are wounded."

"Oh, stop it." Ruby zipped over to her sister, hugging her tightly. "Hi, Yang!"

Blake gave Weiss a calmer hug, leaning into her and letting out a yawn. "Hey. Sorry if I'm a bit tired. A bunch of the omegas were howling last night."

"They were just having fun," Pyrrha said, smiling gently. "Next time there's a full pack howl, you should consider joining."

Blake's ears drooped. "I…think I'll pass." She hugged Yang once Ruby moved on to greet Jaune and the others. "Hi, Yang."

"Hey, Blake." Yang ruffled her ears gently. "How's pack life treating you?"

"Okay so far. The omegas aren't too different from the loud drunks who would sometimes stumble under our windows, so it's easy to get used to."

Jaune waved to Pyrrha. "Hey, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha smiled brightly. "Hello, Jaune. It's nice to see you again."

Once the greetings were over, everyone got settled. Flynt, Neon, and Perry quickly consulted Pyrrha before going into the woods to clean themselves in the stream.

"We checked to make sure that none of Cinder's wolves will be patrolling that area," Pyrrha explained, her eyes troubled. "I hate keeping so many secrets from her."

Weiss unfolded her map. "Well, hopefully this will make it easier for them to leave, so you have one less thing to worry about." She spread it out on the ground. "I talked to Roman, and he marked up the map with the areas that are safest for humans, as well as those that have large werewolf populations." She reached into her bag and pulled out the paper-wrapped cookies. "Oh, and these are for you, Ruby."

Ruby's eyes lit up as she opened the package. "Oh my- Weiss, you- Eeeep! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, hugging Weiss tightly and nuzzling her shoulder before eagerly tucking in to the cookies.

Weiss cleared her throat, trying to dissipate the blush on her cheeks. When Flynt, Neon, and Perry returned, she explained the different areas to them. "If you circle around Vale and go to the south-east, there's a larger stretch of forest. I'm not sure if the werewolves there would take you in, but it's worth a try. There are a few other wooded areas that could also suffice."

Flynt nodded as he eyed the map. "Joining a larger pack is our best chance. It would probably be good to leave whenever Vale is mostly empty of Huntsmen, so we can sneak around the edge."

"That would be the full moon hunt," Jaune interjected. "All of the Huntsmen go out on the night of a full moon."

"Ruining what should be a fun night for our kind," Neon muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry. We didn't make the tradition," Weiss said briskly. "Our group will not be making any kills, of course, unless we're directly attacked."

Blake cleared her throat. "Not that I'm complaining about this new bond of understanding, but won't the townsfolk start to get suspicious of you? You're gone for most of the day and don't bring much food back. You haven't killed any werewolves, and don't plan to. Someone's going to start asking questions."

"We'll just have to work extra hard during the next Grimm hunt," Yang reasoned. "There should be one in a few days. We'll make sure other Huntsmen see us killing them."

Over the course of the meeting, the group split off. Weiss remained with Flynt, Neon, and Perry, teaching them exactly how to read the map. Yang and Blake sat a short distance away, getting caught up. Ruby routinely went back and forth between the two groups, munching on cookies the entire time.

"Don't eat so fast," Weiss scolded gently. "You'll get sick."

"Well, I can't take them back with me! Cinder will want to know where they came from," Ruby reasoned. "And I can't hide them. They'd get stale, and that would be a waste!"

When she sat with Yang and Blake, she asked about how Taiyang and Qrow were doing. Yang's smile faded immediately.

"He's… I think he's still in shock, Ruby," she said honestly. "He keeps doing his regular hunting duties, but he doesn't seem to be all there. Qrow's been drinking a lot more than usual." She glanced to the side. "I kinda was doing the same thing for a little bit."

Ruby sighed, bringing her knees up and hugging them. "I wish we could tell them I'm okay."

Meanwhile, Pyrrha had joined Jaune, Ren, and Nora, and was telling the latter two about her recurring fantasy concerning the humans and werewolves.

"It was only a fantasy for so long," Pyrrha mused. "But, look at this gathering. If this can happen, doesn't it make sense that it can occur on a larger scale?"

"Yeah!" Nora said eagerly. "It would be perfect! We wouldn't have to sneak around anymore. You could come to our house for breakfast. Ren would make you pancakes, right Ren?"

Ren chuckled. "Of course I would. Would you be able to resist eating them all, though?"

"Sure!" Nora pouted when she saw Ren's doubtful look. "What? I would!"

Ren ruffled her hair. "Okay, Nora."

Pyrrha watched the two, her head tilted. "I hope I'm not prying too much by asking, but what is the relationship between you two? You seem so close, but I can't tell if it's the closeness of siblings or mates."

Nora's face turned red. "Well, we got together recently, but we were like brother and sister growing up. Our parents were killed by Grimm when we were little, so we didn't really have a permanent home for a while. We just had each other."

"Taiyang, the Arc family, and a few others worked together to raise us," Ren explained. "That's how we became so close to Jaune, Yang, and Ruby. Still, Nora was the only constant thing in my life at any given time." He smiled fondly at her. "I suppose falling in love was inevitable."

"Yeah, it took you long enough," Jaune muttered, rolling his eyes. "The rest of us had bets on when they'd finally tell each other, who would tell first, and why."

"Wait, what?!" Nora's blush deepened. "Seriously?!"

"Uh huh." Jaune grinned. "I won two of them. I guessed that it would be within the year, and would be because of something hunting-related. It kind of was. I lost the one on who would confess first, though. I'd hoped it would be Ren."

"Ugh…" Nora groaned, letting herself fall onto her back in the dry grass. "I hate you."

"No, you don't." Jaune nudged her with his foot.

Pyrrha watched the exchange with a smile. "You humans have funny quirks. Among werewolves, when two individuals are in love with each other, they become mates during spring and stay together. There's no fuss or gossip involved."

"That sounds nice. Think you could inject some of that simplicity into Weiss and Ruby?" Jaune asked, glancing over his shoulder toward the two.

"So, there are romantic feelings between them," Pyrrha murmured, nodding slowly. "I had wondered. Ruby speaks so highly of Weiss, and Weiss seems to care deeply about Ruby." She sighed. "I feel that Ruby's status as a werewolf is the main reason why they aren't more open about it. Weiss seems to be having the hardest time getting used to things."

"Well, her father is a village Elder, and her sister is with the Church," Ren said, shrugging a shoulder. "It makes sense."

"If only there was a way to get Weiss used to werewolves faster," Jaune muttered thoughtfully.

After a moment's deliberation, Pyrrha's eyes lit up. "I think there might be. Would one of you be willing to escort Weiss into the woods tomorrow night?"

"I can," Jaune said. "But, why?"

"There's no hunt on that night," Pyrrha explained. "So, I should be able to get Ruby away. We'll leave them alone, so they can talk, and Ruby will transform for Weiss and remain with her in her wolf form for a few hours." She smiled in satisfaction. "Our second forms are the most jarring aspect for humans, after all. If Weiss gets used to that, the rest will come easily. I'll talk to Ruby about it, and you talk to Weiss. We can meet up at the other meeting place."

"That sounds like a good idea." Jaune smiled. "If we're lucky, they'll confess their feelings by the end of spring."

"Do you have a betting pool for that too?" Nora asked, sitting up again. "Because, if you do, I want in!"

How will this plan go over? Will White Rose finally happen? Can werewolves truly eat chocolate? Stay tuned for next week's update. Dun dun DUN! (For those asking, my werewolves can eat chocolate. I wouldn't punish them by making them incapable of stomaching it. I'm not that cruel! All the time…) Peace out!