It is Werewolf Friday again, my friends! This is a shorter chapter, but hopefully it holds enough fluff to satisfy everyone. Enjoy!
Even though Jaune was used to the presence of the werewolves, and their tendency toward nudity, he still found himself averting his gaze when they transformed a few nights after their arrival at Burgundy. He heard Pyrrha's snort of amusement as her transformation ended, and thankfully wasn't teased any further.
When he allowed himself to look back, he felt an instinctive stir of fear in the deepest part of his stomach. Here he was, a single human surrounded by a pack of powerful werewolves. Only the knowledge that these were his friends, and the fact that he was familiar with their bestial forms, kept his instinctive wish to reach for his sword in check.
Old habits die hard, even now, he thought, noticing the way Perry's ears nervously flicked. The omega had probably just read his momentary fear. "Sorry, Perry," he muttered. "It's still a work in progress."
The brown werewolf nodded, his dark eyes relaxing as he felt the sincerity in his friend's words.
Ruby approached Pyrrha and yipped once, a questioning look on her face. Pyrrha glanced from her to Weiss, then smiled and nodded, prompting the two to run into the woods alone.
Pyrrha then turned to the rest of the pack, which fell into formation around her. The omegas remained closest to their leader while the betas fanned out around the outside ring. Blake looked a little unsure of her position, but a gentle bark from Sun caused her to relax.
Jaune shivered when Pyrrha turned her green lupine eyes in his direction. Even now, it was impossible to ignore the sheer wildness and power that resided behind that gaze. He wasn't necessarily scared of them anymore, but there was still a certain thrill that went through him whenever he saw them.
Pyrrha smiled when Jaune met her gaze without blinking, and beckoned to a spot next to her, on the side where Scarlet and Sage were.
Once Jaune was in his position, Pyrrha let out one firm bark, prompting the wolves to speed off into the woods. Jaune tried to keep from tripping on his feet as he broke into a run.
As he had previously predicted, the werewolves passed him almost immediately, leaving him alone in the trees, trying to follow the sound of their footsteps. Then, he heard another bark ahead of him. Within seconds, he was running next to Blake, who flashed him an encouraging grin.
Pyrrha glanced over her shoulder as she continued to check her pace, hoping that Jaune would rejoin her at the front. Her ears flicked happily when she saw him put on a burst of speed, rushing up to where she was once again. She smiled, her tongue lolling out of her muzzle in an easygoing expression.
Jaune returned the smile. "Told you," he huffed. "You'd have to," Huff, puff. "Go slower." Puff huff.
Pyrrha moved close to him, bumping him lightly with her shoulder. This, unfortunately, caused him to stumble into a patch of nearby bushes. She stopped the pack and ran over, ears flat with concern.
Jaune groaned as he sat up, letting out a laugh when he saw the whole pack staring at him. "What? Is this just an exercise in ruining my man pride? I don't have a lot of that to begin with, you know."
Pyrrha let out a bark, followed by a few whuffs of laughter, and held out a clawed hand. Her heart thumped at how he grabbed it immediately and let her pull him to his feet. She held onto his hand for a moment longer than was strictly necessary, then let go.
Jaune, sensing the pack's impatience, made a suggestion. "Why don't you guys go ahead and run? I can go back to the wagon."
Pyrrha frowned, thinking for a moment before crouching down. She beckoned toward her back.
Jaune blinked in surprise when he realized what Pyrrha was suggesting. "Uh, won't I be too heavy?" When Pyrrha shook her head, he shrugged. "Okay. Just throw me off if you change your mind."
I wouldn't do that, Pyrrha thought, tossing her head at the very idea. She waited patiently for Jaune to position himself on her back and get a good grip on the fur on her ruff. He was admittedly a bit heavier than Ruby, especially considering the fact that he wore armor, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. This will be good exercise for me. Since I'm the temporary leader of this pack, I should be as strong as possible.
This was definitely one of the weirdest things Jaune had ever done, hands-down. He had ridden a horse once before, but this was completely different. A werewolf was built closer to the ground and ran with a bouncier, loping gait. There was also the fact that he was essentially getting a piggyback ride through the woods from Pyrrha. His palms started to sweat.
This might be one time when I should just think of her as a giant wolf, he thought.
The pack tore across the ground, weaving effortlessly through trees, scattering in the thicker parts of the woods, then coming together again when the trees thinned out. Jaune felt the wind on his face, smelled the woods around him, and was aware of the moon's soft light casting shadows everywhere. He tightened his grip on Pyrrha's fur, trying to take everything in.
Pyrrha felt Jaune's grip tighten, and smiled to herself. His weight on her back was warm and comforting in a way. The fact that he trusted her enough to carry him spoke volumes of how far their relationship had come. They were no longer a scared little boy and an injured pup, staring at each other through the brambles. They were a gentle-hearted Huntsman and a mighty werewolf alpha, who had managed to build up a true friendship in spite of the overwhelming belief that such a thing was impossible.
For a moment, she found herself wondering what it would be like to truly have Jaune running beside her, not as an armored human, but as a fellow werewolf. She imagined a tall, slightly-scrawny wolf running beside her, yellow fur glowing in the moonlight, blue eyes holding that familiar, kindly glimmer.
A pulse of heat went through her, originating in her chest and traveling to the very tips of her toes, fingers, snout, and tail, almost causing her to trip. Her ears twitched and she shook her head, as if trying to dislodge her own thoughts. Focus, Pyrrha. You have a human to carry and a pack to lead.
The sounds of excited barks, howls, and yips mingled with rapidly-running paws on the forest floor. The moon was high, and the pack was running. Life was good.
…..
Ruby bounded ahead of Weiss, glancing over her shoulder at intervals to make sure she wasn't drawing too far ahead. Whenever her friend's white muzzle came into view, she would yip and rush forward again.
Weiss tried to keep up with Ruby, confused at her behavior. Whenever she caught a glimpse of those silver eyes, she noticed a definite glimmer of mischief. What is she planning? she wondered.
Getting used to her second form was a slow process. Even though her new instincts helped to an extent, she couldn't stop her human mind from surfacing at inopportune moments and causing her to trip or stumble or miss what would probably be an easy kill for any of her fellow wolves. She often caught herself trying to run on two legs, only to fall on her face, remembering that running generally had to be done on four legs due to the larger build of her wolf torso.
Thankfully, the others were very patient with her, and Blake was also dealing with the same problems, making her feel a little better about her own clumsiness.
Speaking of clumsiness, she nearly ran right into Ruby when the small alpha suddenly stopped in front of her. Weiss skidded to a halt, letting out a very undignified yelp and barely keeping from falling head-over-paws.
Ruby smiled at her, beckoning toward their destination: a small field with a stream running through it. She had found it a few nights ago, and had been dying to bring Weiss there ever since. Since the pack wasn't hunting that night, she had decided that this was the perfect opportunity.
Weiss walked up beside Ruby, sniffing the air. Her ears flicked in response to the pleasant sound of running water. The moonlight cascaded in waves from the star-coated sky, turning the grass to silver-green and the tiny stream to white. It was beautiful.
Ruby barked once, nudging Weiss's shoulder, then bounded ahead. She turned around, tail wagging, and crouched down in a playful position, yipping excitedly.
Weiss's heart warmed and she found herself letting out a few wolfish whuffs of laughter. She honestly is such a child sometimes. Letting out a mock-growl, she lunged forward, prompting Ruby to dart off.
The two ran around the field, barking and yipping at each other, Ruby occasionally letting Weiss come close to catching up, then shooting forward with a teasing howl. At one point, she ran over to the stream, spinning around suddenly so that she could splash an approaching Weiss.
Weiss yelped, slipping on the wet grass and falling forward into the water. Her fur was immediately soaked and she jumped at how cold it was. She shot Ruby a glare.
Ruby's ears flattened, and she started to let out an apologetic whine.
That whine quickly turned to a surprised squeak when Weiss started shaking, sending water droplets everywhere. Then, while Ruby was covering her face, she grabbed her and pulled her into the water.
Ruby struggled against Weiss, whuffing and yipping with excitement. The two wrestled in the water for a few minutes. Then, Weiss's superior size finally won out, allowing her to pin her squirming friend to the bank.
Weiss looked down at Ruby, grinning triumphantly, her misty-blue eyes shining in the moonlight.
Ruby's muzzle warmed as she looked up at Weiss's gorgeous lupine face. Her eyes sparkled like tiny stars, and her fur easily outshone the moon overhead. Shyly, Ruby leaned in and licked Weiss's cheek.
Weiss blinked, her ears flattening with embarrassment, though she didn't move away. Instead, she leaned forward and softly nuzzled the thick, brown fur on Ruby's chest.
The two eventually moved away from the bank and to a drier patch of grass. Ruby curled up on the ground while Weiss snuggled up against her, resting her head over the smaller wolf's shoulders. She closed her eyes, letting out a long, contented sigh.
It was still hard to believe that, after so many years of wasted time and a few weeks of facing impossible odds, she and Ruby were finally together. And it only took us both becoming werewolves! Weiss thought, almost wanting to laugh at the irony.
She wished that they could stay this way forever. Now that she knew the truth about werewolves, and now that she irreversibly was one, the idea of living in the woods with Ruby until the end of their days sounded very appealing.
Of course, nothing could be that simple. Even if Weiss was willing to leave her father behind, she couldn't abandon Winter. And Ruby had her father and uncle to think about. It wasn't fair to let them live the rest of their lives thinking that their loved ones were dead or damned. The only option was to go through with Pyrrha's plan, and somehow make the people of Vale and the werewolves of Cinder's pack realize that their feud was pointless.
If they could also kill that creepy Adam, that would make things even better.
Weiss couldn't help but wonder how long this would take. A month? A season? A year? Longer? And what would happen in the meantime? Would they be able to find humans and werewolves willing to listen to them? What would the state of Vale be when they returned?"
So many questions went through her mind, causing her head to ache. Then, Ruby shifted against her, jaws parting in a yawn. Weiss nuzzled her behind the ears and firmly told herself to stop worrying.
Whatever happens, we will all face it together, she vowed. Just enjoy yourself, and let Ruby enjoy herself. We both deserve it, after all.
Resolutely, she closed her eyes, the pungent odor of wet fur filling her senses and making her feel happier than she could ever remember feeling before.
It's funny. The more I write for this fic, the longer I realize it's going to be. I originally planned for it to be around 20 chapters long at most, but it just keeps going. I've always believed that a plot that evolves and grows as you write it is the sign of a good story. I hope you all agree. ^_^
If you like what you see and want to help fund my future travels, please consider pledging to my P/atreon, which is Solora Goldsun. Patrons get early updates, requests, and commission discounts.
Peace out!