Happy Werewolf Friday, my friends! You lucked out and got a super early update, since I work till 4 today and didn't want to make you wait that long. Aren't I nice? This one will have a bunch of interaction with the other characters. Enjoy!

Ren watched his three companions as they scarfed down pancake after pancake, shaking his head slowly. It's honestly impossible to tell that Nora isn't as much of a wolf as the others are right now, he mused.

It was Flynt and Neon's first time in town, the day after Pyrrha's successful venture, and Nora had been quick to find an inn that served breakfast. Pancakes, of course, were included on the menu. Nora, as well as the two werewolves, were eating flapjack after flapjack as if they had never seen food before.

Ren ate more slowly. When Nora finished her plate and started to call for another, he touched her hand. "Remember, we have to budget our money."

Nora pouted. "But one stack isn't enough!"

"Yes, it is," Ren said firmly. "Besides, didn't Roman give you that whole jar of honey to drink? You can have that when we get back."

Nora pouted, folding her arms. "Okaaaay."

Ren scooted closer to her. "Come on. Don't make that face."

Nora stuck out her tongue.

Flynt snickered between mouthfuls. "Sorry, friend." Munch, munch. "No talking a female out of a mood once she's in one." Munch, munch.

Neon swallowed loudly and turned toward her mate, raising a brow. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Flynt quickly started shoveling another pancake into his mouth.

Ren rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the two, then tapped Nora's nose. "Boop," he muttered.

The corner of Nora's mouth twitched and she started to blush. It took only another second of Ren looking at her before she snuggled into his side. "Can't you let me get mad at you once?" she whined.

Ren smirked as he wrapped an arm around her. "I'll think about it. You are pretty cute when you're angry."

"Ren!" Nora's face turned bright red, prompting her to quickly hide it against his shoulder.

Neon giggled as she watched the two. "Oh, you are so adorable! Reminds me of me and Flynt when we first got together?"

Ren ruffled Nora's hair, smiling gently at her before looking at Flynt and Neon. "So, how long have you two been together?"

Flynt finished his last bit of pancake, using it to mop up as much syrup as possible, before answering. "A little over a year ago. We were living in a different…home at that time." He glanced around, aware that there were several humans around. "Our home was attacked by…people who didn't like us."

Huntsmen. Ren nodded in understanding. "Is that how you came to find…the area near us?"

Neon nodded. "The attack happened at the end of spring, so we decided against having any pup- kids! We found Adam in the late fall. We were so grateful when he took us in."

"It took us a while to realize how he really was," Flynt said. "But, by the following spring, it was pretty easy to see. We planned on leaving, which meant that children were out of the question yet again. When Blake came along, we waited a little longer to leave." He looked at his empty plate. "If things keep going this way, we may have to refrain from having them next year."

"Says who?" Nora asked. "You got a bunch of Huntsmen protecting you now! Traders have kids all the time, and they don't stop traveling."

Neon smiled. "You guys really are nice." She shook her head and sighed. "But, no. If we're still traveling by next spring, I want to be able to fight if I have to. Besides, I'm not sure if Roman likes kids."

"What about you?" Flynt asked. "Do you want children when this is all over?"

Nora's face, which had started returning to its normal color, immediately reddened again. "Uh…" She stammered. "Uh, well…"

Ren's own cheeks turned pink, but he managed a coherent answer. "Well, Nora and I aren't married." He barely kept from saying "yet" at the end. "Generally, we're not supposed to have children until after a marriage." By "we," he of course meant humans and Faunus.

Flynt tilted his head. "I do remember hearing that your courtship rituals are more…complex." He glanced over his shoulder before asking: "So, what does a marriage entail?"

"Well, the ceremony is called a wedding, and takes place in a church," Ren explained. "A priest or priestess blesses the couple and declares them united in the eyes of God and the Maidens. The friends and family of the people attend, and there's a feast and dance afterward. After that, it's basically the same as being a mated pair."

"Feast?" Neon grinned. "I like the sound of that!"

"Dance…" Flynt frowned. "What is that?"

Nora immediately sat up. "Oh, it's amazing! Music plays and you basically move along to it. It's like running or exercising, but just for fun."

When Flynt and Neon still looked confused, Ren got an idea. "We could find out if there's a pub that has bards in the evening. We could show you then."

"Ooh, we should show everyone!" Nora urged.

Ren held up a hand. "Easy, Nora. We still need to get our trader friends used to the town first."

Nora sighed. "Oh, okay." She smiled at Neon and Flynt. "You guys will love it, though."

"It sounds interesting," Flynt allowed. "If we're going to come back tonight, should we go back and let some of the others walk through town?"

"Probably," Ren said, standing up. "So, did you enjoy the pancakes?"

Neon nodded eagerly. "I can see why you like them so much!" she said to Nora.

"Wait till Ren can make you some," Nora said. "His are the best in the world!"

The four paid for their meal and walked outside, Flynt and Neon trying not to be too obvious about sniffing the air. "So, since you two live together already, are you going to have a 'wedding' in the near future?" Flynt wondered.

Both Ren and Nora blushed. Ren glanced to the side and muttered "Maybe." in the quietest of voices. He smiled when he felt Nora grab his hand and squeeze tightly.

…..

"Wow!" Sun's gray eyes were shining with excitement as he tried to take everything in at once. "Why's there smoke coming from there? Oh Moon, what's that smell? Is that-? Hrk!" He yelped when Blake grabbed him by the tunic, keeping him from wandering off.

"Careful," Blake muttered, ears flat as she glanced around. She was clad in a long-sleeved shirt and a purple scarf, which served to hide her bite. For the third time, she wondered if introducing Sun, Sage, Scarlet, and Neptune to the village all at once had been a good idea.

"Just doing it one at a time will be suspicious," Roman had insisted. "Now that it's getting around that I have apprentices, people are going to want to know who they are. We need to make this seem as normal as possible."

So, along with Yang and Neo, Blake had been put in charge of escorting the four rowdy, excitable werewolves. Perry had decided to come back alone with Weiss and Ruby later on. Scarlet was gravitating toward a clothing display near a seamstress's shop. Sage was looking curiously at the gardens. Neptune was staying close to Sun, looking more skittish than the others.

"You guys are all born, right?" she muttered to Sun. "No bites?"

"No bites," Sun promised. "Are you okay? You seem nervous."

Blake looked at the buildings. "First time in a village since…that night," she muttered. "I was never too good with crowds."

Sun grinned easily. "Shouldn't I be the one worried about this stuff? At least you know how to act." He rubbed his hands together as he looked at the various buildings. "So, what first?"

After herding Scarlet and Sage back over, Yang suggested going to the marketplace. "It's got a lot of stuff to look at. Just come to me, Neo, or Blake before you buy anything, okay?"

The werewolves all nodded in agreement, and the group set off toward the market in the center of town. Scarlet noticed a jewelry stand, and his eyes lit up. "I've never seen rocks so sparkly before," he gasped.

Sage sniffed the air. "There are lots of good herbs here," he noted.

Sun glanced at the meat and fur stands. "Huh. Pyrrha wasn't kidding. We really could make some money by hunting." He took a bite out of an apple.

Blake blinked at him. "Where did you get that?"

"Over there." He waved his hand vaguely toward the stands they had just passed.

Blake's ears bristled. "You need to give them money for things!"

Sun shrugged. "They didn't see me."

"That's not the point! Someone might, and we can't risk ourselves stupidly," Blake hissed. "Remember, you're apprentices to Roman. One wrong move could also destroy his reputation. Do you want that?"

Sun's tail drooped as he swallowed his bite. "No."

"Then, don't do it again! And get rid of that!"

Sun reluctantly let the apple drop as they passed a large crowd of people. "Sorry," he muttered.

Blake looked at his guilty expression and sighed. He doesn't understand money the way you do. Go easy on him. He's been more than kind to you, she reminded herself. "It's okay. I just don't want us getting in trouble. I'll buy you some fruit before we leave."

Sun visibly brightened at this. His tail perked up. "Okay! I can wait." He glanced over his shoulder. "So, what did you call that thing I was eating? Fruit?"

"That was an apple. You've never had one?" Blake asked.

"No. Only berries grow in the woods," Sun replied. "I've never seen one that big or crunchy before."

"Apples actually aren't berries," Blake explained. "But they're all considered fruit."

Sun nodded slowly. "Like how deer, rabbits, and birds are all meat?"

"That's right." Blake smiled. They passed a stand selling apple fritters, and Sun started sniffing the air immediately. Fingering some coppers in her pocket, Blake walked over. "Four, please."

A few minutes later, the werewolves were eagerly scarfing down their apple fritters, ignoring Blake's suggestions that they slow down. She couldn't help but chuckle fondly at how happy they looked in that moment.

"Buying a treat for your boyfriend?" Yang muttered in Blake's ear, waggling her eyebrows.

"Oh, shut up!" Blake elbowed her friend in the stomach.

Neo giggled. "Yang, don't be mean."

"I'm always mean!" Yang protested, her eyes glittering mischievously.

"Oh, I'm sure you can be sweet if you try." Neo winked before walking briskly off to talk to one of the merchants.

Yang stared after her, blinking dumbly.

Sun, who had finished his fritter, leaned over. "OOOOOH!" A swift punch to the side sent him sprawling on the ground. "I regret nothing."

Blake covered her mouth to hide a snicker.

…..

"Okay, your outfits look fine. Ruby, your hair is sticking up!" Weiss hurriedly smoothed down Ruby's hair. "And Perry, stop trembling. You're fine. I promise."

Perry swallowed loudly and nodded. "I kn-know. Th-This is just a b-bit…"

"Hey, don't worry," Ruby said, hugging him with one arm. "Everyone else did just fine, remember? Just stay close to us. We'll do any talking. We don't even have to go to a bunch of places. We can just walk around. Would you like that?"

Perry smiled shakily. "That might be okay."

Weiss nodded. "That should be fine. We'll walk around town once, then go home. I know that Ren and Nora wanted to bring Flynt and Neon back in a few hours."

With that decided, the three started down the path. Ruby talked to Perry quietly, explaining everything they passed.

"That's a bakery. Places like that make bread and other nice things. Remember the bread Pyrrha brought back the other day? That's where it's made. That's a seamstress. She makes clothes. That's a pub. They sell alcohol and some food. They sometimes have people there to play music. That's kinda like howling."

Weiss listened to Ruby's whispered commentary with a smile. She could see the tension in Perry's shoulders relaxing as he listened and was given something to focus on other than his fear. As they turned a corner, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Just a little distance away was the church. Weiss's heart ached with a desire to go inside for just a little while.

Ruby noticed Weiss's troubled look and nudged her gently. "Go ahead. I'll show Perry the gardens over here."

Weiss smiled. "Thank you." She pecked Ruby's cheek before approaching the church.

Even though Pyrrha had talked about going inside, Weiss still felt herself growing tense as she pushed the doors open. She took a tentative step, breathing a small sigh when no bolt of lightning came down. With that out of the way, she walked down the aisle, looking around.

This was the first chapel she had been in outside of Vale, and it was so like and so unlike home. There were more paintings, actual stained glass windows, and larger portraits of God and the Maidens. The candles were the same, as were the pews (though there were more of them). A pang of homesickness went through her as she looked toward the front, seeing unfamiliar priests walking around.

For a moment, she allowed herself to think of Winter. Her sister had not been nearby when she had transformed. If she had been, the others had decided not to say anything about it. What was she doing now? Was she lighting a candle every day, mourning Weiss's lost soul?

A tear trickled down Weiss's cheek, and she wiped it away irritably. She approached the shrine of the Winter Maiden and looked up at it. Please watch over my sister. And my father, she added. She placed a silver coin in the offering tray, stood with her head bowed for a moment, then left to rejoin Ruby and Perry.

Her expression melted to a smile when she saw Perry sniffing eagerly at a pink rose bush, his brown eyes wide and curious. She approached, hugging Ruby tightly from behind.

Ruby smiled at her over her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yes," Weiss murmured. "I just wish…" She rested her head on top of Ruby's. "I hope this plan works," she admitted.

Ruby snuggled back against her. "It will, Weiss. It will."

….

Nora skipped ahead of Ren, Flynt, and Neon as they went down the path to Burgundy. The setting sun cast gray-pink shadows over everything.

Flynt and Neon were glancing around, wondering what would be so special about these "pubs" after dark.

"This is the one!" Nora stopped outside a larger pub with a wooden sign with the words, "The Drunken Mule" painted on it. A drawing of a mule with its head stuck in a barrel of ale was on the side of the building.

Flynt paused, his ears twitching as a strange sound hit them. It was like howling, but sounded closer to a bird's call than anything. "What…?" Another pleasant, twanging sound was melding with the bird-howl noise.

Ren smiled. "That's music. Sounds like pipes and a lute." He opened the door to the pub. "After you."

Nora led the way in. Flynt and Neon followed more slowly, eyes fixed on an open area, where two Faunus stood on a raised platform. One was blowing into a set of reeds, while the other was running his fingers over a bunch of strings that rested on a wooden thing with a strange shape. All around, humans and Faunus were prancing around and jumping like they had gone crazy.

"And that's dancing," Ren murmured to them. "What do you think?"

Neon's tail was curling. "I think it's loud. I like it!"

Flynt was staring at the reed-playing Faunus. "I really like whatever that thing is," he muttered. "Are there others like it? Bigger ones, maybe?"

"There are all kinds of instruments," Ren said. "We'd probably have to go to a bigger town to see some." He led them to a table, where they ordered wine.

Flynt wrinkled his nose at his goblet. "This smells strange."

"The fruit is fermented," Ren explained. "Alcohol is meant to dull the senses and make you feel less stressed." When Flynt started to push his goblet away, Ren held up a hand. "One cup won't do much, though."

Neon took a sip, smacking her lips as the purple liquid hit her tongue. "It's weird. Not bad, but really weird."

Flynt turned to watch the performers, feeling a stirring in his heart that was both like and unlike the thrill of a run in the woods. "I'd like to learn how to make this…what is it called again?"

"Music," Nora said. "And you should learn!" She took a deep draught of her wine. "If this thing works out, maybe you could become the first bard who's a wol- Uh!" She stopped when Ren shot her a look. "The first, uh, bard from where you came from," she finished lamely, taking another sip.

Flynt listened to the high trill of the pipes and smiled. "I think I'd like that very much," he murmured.

Later chapters will show more development with Team CFVY, but I felt that the people more used to the werewolves were better choices for showing the others around town. Notice that I'm increasing the overall shippy goodness. Was it worth the wait? I hope it was. ^_^

Happy early New Year! May 2017 not take a shit ton of awesome celebrities and authors from us. (Seriously. This is getting ridiculous.) And may we survive whatever these next four years may throw at us…

If you like what you see and want to show some extra support in exchange for cool rewards and earlier updates, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!