Well, would you looky here. I'm giving you an early awoo. That's partially because I'm ACTUALLY getting caught up on this freaking backlog and partially because I'm going out of town and want to make sure I get this thing posted in case I'm busy all day.
Enjoy!
Judging by the map and the speed of the Huntsmen, Jaune estimated that they would reach Obsidian in maybe a week. The werewolves, traveling at night, would probably be able to close that distance in half the time, but Pyrrha was adamant about not dividing their group any further.
They traveled mostly during the late afternoon and most of the night, similar to how they had traveled while tracking Adam. During the day, they discussed their plans. During the night, they would focus on covering as much distance as possible and hunting.
Pyrrha made sure to talk to Fennec every day, asking him about his years with Adam's pack, his relationship with his brother, his favorite hunting methods, and other subjects that would hopefully make him more comfortable. Over time, she noticed that he trembled less and less when she approached, and became more willing to give longer answers to her questions and even offer his opinion from time to time.
A strange camaraderie was also developing between the beta wolf and Fox, of all people. Ironically, Fox's more reserved and cautious attitude made more sense to Fennec than the open, welcoming attempts at conversation that the other Huntsmen had offered, making him more comfortable with this human than any of the others.
They weren't friends, exactly, but they seemed willing to be near each other, feeling similarly confused by the sheer oddity of their situation.
The group stopped frequently during the day to refill their water skins. The sun was hot, and the air was thick. It was amazing how quickly time had passed. Spring had ended almost without anyone noticing it. The weeks in Burgundy followed by the time tracking Adam and splitting up the pack all added up to it already being mid-summer.
It would be near the end of the month by the time they got to Obsidian, and a few days into the third month of summer by the time Ruby's group caught up to them. It was far too long a time to be divided, as far as anyone was concerned.
Flynt especially was feeling the absence of his mate. "I know she can take care of herself," he told Sun as the two went off to mark the trail, as they were supposed to do every few hours. "I just feel better being there to protect her, you know?"
"I get what you mean," Sun replied. "I'm worried about Blake being near Adam's old wolves. And this is the first time I haven't been around to keep Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage in line. I hope they're all doing okay."
"As omegas go, Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage have good heads on their shoulders," Flynt said. "As for Blake, I have no doubt that she can handle herself." He smiled a little at the monkey Faunus. "You really care for her, don't you?"
"I, well, yeah," Sun muttered, his face flushing. "She's just so brave, smart, pretty…" He trailed off with a laugh. "Great. I'm acting more like a lovesick pup than our leader."
"You noticed that too, huh?" Flynt asked. "She and Jaune have gotten pretty close."
"It'll be interesting to see what happens, since we're not allowed to turn any of the humans or Faunus," Sun pointed out. "I'm glad the person I'm interested in is already a werewolf."
"Do you think you'll ask her to be your mate next spring?" Flynt wondered.
"Uh… I don't know." Sun shrugged. "It depends on how comfortable she is with me by that point. I know she's still dealing with what Adam tried to do. I don't want to push anything."
"It's probably better to be cautious," Flynt agreed. "Whenever it happens, I think you two will be good together."
"Thanks." Sun grinned brightly. "Well, let's get back to work. These trees won't mark themselves."
Back at camp, the werewolves and Huntsmen were relaxing in preparation for the next few miles they'd have to walk. The two groups were mingling a lot more than they had in the beginning, with Perry striking up an easy friendship with Velvet, Fennec being somewhat willing to sit near Fox, and Pyrrha sharing stories with Jaune, Ren, and Nora.
"And then, she ran through the fence," Jaune was saying, his cheeks pink with laughter. "Literally through the fence!"
"I did not!" Nora protested, folding her arms.
"Nora, I was pulling splinters from you for hours," Ren said flatly. "You ran through the fence."
"And that was the last time we ever let Nora drink coffee," Jaune concluded.
"They're exaggerating," Nora muttered to Pyrrha.
"We're really not."
Pyrrha laughed softly. "Well, that's not nearly as bad as the time Mercury ate some purple berries when we were pups."
"Purple berries?" Jaune frowned. "Wait, aren't those the ones that make you hallucinate?"
"Yes, they are," Pyrrha chuckled. "He was running through the trees, convinced that he had seen a deer made of pure moonlight. He was determined to catch it, so that he'd gain the power to transform during the day. He ended up falling into a ditch."
"Did he see the deer after that?" Jaune asked.
"No, but he did see a few rainbow groundhogs."
Nora giggled. "I kinda want to try those berries now."
"No, Nora," Ren said firmly.
"Aw…" Nora pouted. "You're no fun."
"Too bad. You're stuck with me," Ren replied, his voice taking on a tender undertone as he leaned in to softly kiss Nora's cheek. Of course, this caused her to become silent and her cheeks to turn bright red.
Jaune grinned as he watched the pair. "I've said this already, but it's about time you two got together."
Nora hid her blushing face against Ren's shoulder. Ren smiled fondly. "I couldn't agree more, Jaune."
After talking for a little while longer, Ren and Nora walked off together, allowing Jaune and Pyrrha to look at the map.
"Judging by where we ran and for how long, I'd say we're around here." Jaune made a mark on the map. "So, we covered a lot of ground," he said, pointing at the previous mark. "Maybe we'll get there before Roman, depending on how long he stops in the smaller towns."
"Maybe we can surprise him," Pyrrha suggested. "Jump out of the bushes, perhaps? You humans like pranks, right?"
"Tempting, but I wouldn't want to spook his horse," Jaune said.
"True." Pyrrha looked at the map. "So, if we go at the same pace, should we end up around here?" She touched another part of the map, allowing her fingertips to brush Jaune's wrist as she did so. She noticed the slight shiver that went through him, and smiled. These shivers were nothing like the trembles of fear she sometimes still saw in Fennec. These were something else altogether.
"Just about," Jaune said, feeling his pulse increase at the small, obviously-intentional touch to his wrist. "We want to stay away from any human towns, but we still shouldn't go too far out of our way." Feeling bold, he took her hand and guided her pointing finger a few millimeters downward. "We should aim to reach this spot here."
Pyrrha's cheeks warmed. "Well, you are the map expert. I defer to your judgment." Smoothly, she scooted over so that she was sitting right next to Jaune, lightly clasping his hand.
Jaune smiled at her, allowing their fingers to entwine. "So, any more stories about Cinder's pack?"
"Mercury eating those berries is probably the funniest one I have," Pyrrha admitted. "What about you? You've told me a little about your family, but I'd like to know more. Especially about your sisters."
"Well," Jaune began. "My older sisters are all Huntresses. Katie, who's twelve, is just starting her training. Then, there are my two youngest sisters. They're all pretty great. My older sisters like to mess with me a lot, of course."
"I imagine that's part of being an older sibling."
"It definitely is." Jaune thought back with a nostalgic smile. "I remember one time when Sapphire convinced me that I needed to sleep hanging upside down from the head of my bed in order to be safe from vampires."
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "Why upside down?"
"Because vampires like bats, and bats hang upside down, and they'd think I was a bat if I slept like that," Jaune said, glancing to the side. "When I was little, it made perfect sense."
Pyrrha laughed. "How long did it take you to figure out the truth?"
"One night," Jaune replied. "I fell on my head after a few hours. Mom was not happy."
The two continued to talk until sunset, when Flynt and Sun got back. Pyrrha reluctantly got up to lead the night's hunt. Jaune also started gathering his stuff.
"I'd better see if we can catch something," he said. "If you werewolves keep spoiling us, we'll lose our edge."
"We can't have that, can we?" Pyrrha kissed his cheek before walking toward her pack. She glanced over her shoulder long enough to enjoy the adorably flustered expression on her human's face. This was never going to get old.
Jaune blushed at the quick touch to his cheek. Pyrrha had taken to kissing him on the cheek a few times a day. She always did it swiftly, before he could really react. That was probably a good thing, as the temptation to kiss her fully was an ever-growing thing in his mind. She also obviously enjoyed how stunned he became whenever she did it. She probably never gets flustered, he thought mournfully.
"Okay, lover-boy," Coco said calmly as she approached. "Time to get some food." She lightly patted his butt as she walked by, causing him to jump.
"Coco!" he hissed. "Do you have to do that to everyone?"
"Nah. Only to the people who jump a mile when I do," Coco replied with a smirk.
"Fox, control your wife!"
Fox snorted. "You clearly don't know her very well."
Nora snickered at Jaune's exasperated expression. "Pfft. Women. Am I right?"
…..
It was the middle of the night when the giant bell at the top of the half-destroyed church started ringing. Deep, long, metal cries echoed off of the mountain and through the broken streets of Obsidian.
Yang sat up from her cot, letting out a confused grunt before immediately reaching for her gauntlets. Nebula had told her that the ringing of the bell was the town's signal for an incoming vampire attack. If what the villagers had been saying about their speed was true, there was no time to lose.
People were already rushing through the streets. To an onlooker, it would seem like panicked chaos. Yang, however, could see that each person was heading pointedly toward a certain location. Everyone knew their job and everyone knew what to do, and weren't wasting precious time talking or trying to seem orderly.
Roman and Neo were holding their weapons and standing with Brawnz near the cart. Though many supplies had been given out, the wagon still held a good amount of valuable food and medicine. Even if that wasn't the case, Yang didn't think she'd be able to drag Roman away from Griffin, who was whinnying and pawing the ground in a way he had never done around the werewolves.
Scarlet and Sage had volunteered to help tend to the injured. They weren't exactly experienced with fighting while in their human forms, after all.
Putting on her gauntlets, Yang rushed down the street toward the edge of town closest to the mountain. Several Nevermores were circling overhead, their masks reflecting the light of the full moon.
Full moon... Shit! Yang belatedly realized that both Scarlet and Sage would be gone for the night, which would lead to people asking questions in the morning. No time to think about that now. I gotta get into position.
Pushing her worries aside, she moved to stand near the other ground fighters, including Nebula's hunting party. Nebula herself was stationed on one of the roofs, crossbow at the ready.
A cold breeze traveled down the mountain, carrying a chill that had nothing to do with the snowy peaks. Even the wingbeats of the circling Nevermores seemed muffled.
"Why aren't they shooting any of the Nevermores?" Yang whispered, suddenly feeling nervous about speaking too loudly.
"It would waste ammo," one of the Huntresses, a spear-wielder named Dew, replied in an equally-quiet voice. "The Nevermores are just the sentries, and there are always more of them, no matter how many we kill. We need to focus our ammo on the bigger Grimm, and the vampires if we can get a clear shot."
A soft hiss sounded in the air, like a final breath being let out of a withered set of lungs, and Yang shivered, clenching her fists.
The vampire didn't exactly walk out of the darkness. It materialized, almost as if the shadow it stood in had always held it, but only now chose to reveal its horrible secret. And the vampire was truly horrible to behold.
It looked like a tall, skinny man with short hair and a prominent mustache that would have been comical if not for the potent sense of fear that surrounded it. Its skin was as white as bone and covered with a spiderweb of black marks, evoking images of some disgusting disease. Worst of all were the eyes: wide, sickly eyes that were tainted a glowing yellow color, just like the eyes of the Grimm that flanked the creature.
There was no pause, no stare-down. The vampire simply lifted its hand in an almost-casual gesture, and the Grimm surged forward.
Yang's eyes blazed red as she punched as hard as she could at the face of an Ursa, causing it to stumble back. She jumped out of the way of a Boarbatusk, which was quickly speared by Dew. The twang of a crossbow caused her to turn her head toward the following thunk. A bolt was sticking out of the ground. The vampire was gone.
"The rooftops!" someone shouted, and Yang looked up to see a pale form darting from roof to roof. She started to pursue, only to be stopped by Dew.
"No, you help stem the flow of the Grimm. We'll chase the vampire," she insisted.
"Okay." Yang saw the sense in this. These people were used to fighting the vampires, and Yang wasn't a range-fighter or a quick runner. So, pushing the terrible image of the vampire from her mind, she turned and focused on what she was best at: killing Grimm.
Ursai and Boarbatusks stampeded toward them in a seemingly-endless tide. Yang stood firm, punching each one that came near, occasionally drawing her short sword to deliver a swift finishing blow.
Then, just as there seemed to be an end in sight and Yang was starting to relax, she heard something that made her heart drop.
"Werewolves! Werewolves coming out of the forest!"
Yang bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, barely keeping from letting out a flurry of curses. Instead, she punched another Ursa, then rushed in the direction of the woods.
She raced down the streets, dodging people and jumping over rubble. She stopped long enough to take down a Boarbatusk that had managed to worm its way past the outer defenses, then kept going.
Rounding a corner, she caught a brief glimpse of Roman. His eyes were wide and fixed on the road leading out of town and toward the woods. Neo was nowhere to be seen, nor was Brawnz.
Roman ran up to Yang. "Neo went to help- Brawnz went after- Just hurry!" He shoved a jar of anti-Dust salve into her hand.
Yang nodded gratefully. She knew that the townsfolk used Dust against the vampires, and probably wouldn't hesitate to use it on a werewolf. Shoving the jar into her pocket, she ran toward the woods.
When she got to the field between the woods and the town, she found that a crowd of Huntsmen had gathered, weapons poised but not firing. Just a few feet away from them, the vampire had Scarlet pinned to the ground, easily fending off Sage's blows with its free hand.
With a cry of rage, Yang darted forward. As she got close, however, Dew stopped her.
"Wait! Don't go in," she insisted. "Let them wear each other out, and we can kill whatever's left. Why aren't you taking care of the Grimm?"
"They're mostly gone," Yang gasped. "Let me go!" She saw Neo a few feet away, being restrained by Brawnz. She shoved Dew to the side and ran over, startling Brawnz enough to allow Neo to pull free. "Hurry!"
Neo drew her long, thin blade while Yang ran ahead, brandishing her gauntlets. The vampire looked up just as the first blow landed on its face. It let out an ear-shattering shriek, swiping at Yang and baring its pointed teeth.
Sage, seeing an opportunity, swiped as hard as he could, throwing the vampire off of Scarlet.
The vampire crouched down, yellow eyes darting around, before standing up and chuckling softly.
Nebula cursed, raising her crossbow, only to freeze as the vampire fixed its gaze on her. The other Huntsmen also froze, pained expressions coming to their faces.
"Funny," the vampire hissed, its whispering, icy voice making the grass tremble. "Your supposed saviors are only bringing more monsters into your walls. My mistress almost doesn't need to attack you anymore." It chuckled darkly, then fled, its feet hardly making an imprint in the ground.
Only then did the Huntsmen regain their senses, shaking their heads and groaning. By this time, Yang and Neo had positioned themselves in front of Sage and Scarlet.
Nebula was the first to recover, raising her crossbow and pointing it right between Yang's eyes. Her eyes were hard and her finger was fully on the trigger. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
I realized it's been a while since I did a nice cliffhanger in this story. I bet you all were feeling really sad about that, huh? Well, don't worry. Solora's here for you. ^_^ I hope that the reviewers who were worried about me making Twilight-esque vampires are at peace by this point. (Honestly, you guys should know me better than that.)
If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.
Peace out!