AWOO! Happy Werewolf Friday, everyone. Things are getting more intense with this chapter, so buckle up. Enjoy!
Pyrrha's eyes were closed, and an ongoing rumbling noise sounded from her chest. Her claws dug into the ground and her muzzle was alight with an expression of pure bliss. Another long stroke went down her back and she sighed, her ears flicking.
Jaune sat at her side, an amused smile on his face as he ran a brush through the werewolf's thick, red fur. His smile widened when he noticed Perry slowly edging closer, a hopeful gleam in his brown eyes. "You'll be next, Perry. Just wait a few more minutes."
That night's hunt had involved the pack running through a large amount of burrs. The humans had plucked most of them out, not wanting the spines to scratch the wolves when they changed back. Afterward, Jaune had found a brush that he barely used in his bag and offered to brush out Pyrrha's fur.
Now, he had a line of wolves eagerly waiting their turns.
Jaune paused to work on a tangle of fur with his fingers before running the brush over it. With his other hand, he was lightly scratching behind Pyrrha's ears, causing her front paws to twitch happily.
It's official, he thought. Werewolves are literal puppies.
Pyrrha, meanwhile, was in heaven. Between the soothing strokes of the brush's bristles through her fur and the gentle scratches behind her ears, she couldn't remember a time when she had felt so good all over. The added knowledge that her human was the one tending to her in this way gave her no small amount of extra pleasure. If it weren't for the fact that the rest of the pack also wanted a thorough brushing, she would have happily stayed in that position all night.
Flynt was sitting a short distance away, barely suppressing several loud whuffs of amusement. It was times like these when he remembered that he was the only one in the pack who had an official mate. Otherwise, the others wouldn't be so quick to line up behind their leader for Jaune to brush them.
Mutual grooming was common between packmates, of course, but it usually only involved licks or the use of claws to comb out certain hard-to-reach spots. Mated pairs, on the other hand, would often groom for long periods of time, drawing their claws through fur long after all tangles were absent. Nibbling the ears and flirtatious petting was also common.
Jaune probably didn't realize that he had long passed the point of casual brushing. Between the long, slow strokes of the brush and the way he was scratching behind her ears, he was absolutely grooming Pyrrha the way a werewolf's mate would.
Besides Flynt, only Fennec seemed to understand what was happening, as he was sitting as far away from Jaune as possible, staring at Pyrrha with a look of blatant shock.
Coco chuckled, patting the werewolf's shoulder. "Get used to it, fox-ears. It looks like werewolves and humans are gonna be joined in more ways than one."
Fennec huffed loudly, tossing his head.
Pyrrha let out a grunt of protest when Jaune moved away from her and nudged her side.
"Come on," Jaune urged, grinning at the obvious pout on the werewolf leader's face. "It's Perry's turn."
Letting out a long, exaggerated sigh, Pyrrha walked away from Jaune and curled up, still watching him with one eye.
Literal puppy, Jaune thought with a chuckle as he picked red fur from his brush. I guess this is their brush now. He lightly ruffled Perry's ears as the omega stretched out in front of him. "Hey, Perry. How's the fur feeling?"
Just as Jaune started to apply the brush, however, Sun suddenly turned his head toward the trees, growling softly.
His beta powers had been activated, and he could detect something at the very edge of his radius. He stood up on his hind legs, fur bristling as he started to bark a warning.
Immediately, the other wolves stood and made a semicircle in front of the Huntsmen, who hurried to prepare their weapons. The betas were stiff as they tried to track the approaching enemies, which they could now tell were Grimm..
As the Grimm drew closer, the wolves became aware of a strange, distant scent that reminded them of rotting corpses. It came from one part of the woods, then another.
Pyrrha's ears were flat and her lips were drawn back in a snarl. She glanced around, relieved to see that there was a tight circle of werewolves and Huntsmen, all facing outward, all ready for what was going to happen next.
Or so they thought.
Flynt barely had time to react before a horrible, sickly stench suddenly flooded his nostrils and a pale form leaped from the trees. He stood up, swiping with his claws just as he felt sharp nails scratching his chest, drawing blood. He caught a glimpse of a brawny form and a pair of dead, yellow eyes before his attacker withdrew into the trees. Flynt started to follow, only to be stopped by a warning bark from Pyrrha.
Pyrrha's eyes were twin green fires as she urged the pack to hold its ground. These attackers were trying to draw them out so that they'd be able to take them down one by one.
Jaune shivered as a weirdly-cold breath of air hit his neck. The woods smelled of rotting corpses. He saw a flash of a humanoid figure, and his blood turned to ice. Vampires.
Fennec's ears flattened and he whimpered as several more Grimm appeared in his beta power's radius, stampeding closer in a wave. There were nearly as much as there had been when Adam ordered the attack on Burgundy, except all of these Grimm were specifically coming for the pack and the Huntsmen. He howled a warning.
Another vampire, seeing a moment of weakness, lunged forward with a breathless hiss. It was blocked with a swing of a sword as Fox pushed forward.
The vampire cackled, crouching in an insect-like pose. It was then that its scorpion tail became visible. It dodged a bite from Fennec, pulled Fox to it, and sank its fangs into the Huntsman's neck.
"NO!" Coco lunged at the vampire, reaching for a Dust vial.
The scorpion vampire tried to retreat with Fox, only for Fennec to bound forward and slash at the base of its tail. It screamed, dropping its prey and rushing back into the trees.
Then, the Grimm were upon them. Ursa claws flashed, Boarbatusks charged, and Nevermores swooped low over the trees, making their presence known through the thick branches. From between two Ursai, the large vampire emerged, its sights set on Pyrrha.
Pyrrha stood at her full height and let out a roar that echoed through the trees and even caused the Grimm to step back in fear. Her eyes blazed as she focused every ounce of power she had into her alpha stare. Kneel!
As her wolf eyes met the sickly Grimm-like eyes, she felt something strange. It was like an invisible wall had been erected between her and the vampire, a wall her alpha stare could not pierce.
She yelped when the vampire suddenly appeared in front of her, grabbing her throat and sinking its nails into her flesh through her fur. She wrapped her arms around it, digging her claws into the creature's back. The vampire tightened its grip, squeezing the air from her lungs.
Sun managed to bite down on an Ursa's neck, twisting it sharply before turning to aid his leader. He tried to bite down on the vampire's neck or head from behind when a sharp sting hit his shoulder. He spun around, just barely scratching the other vampire with his claws.
Coco, meanwhile, had pulled Fox into the middle of the circle. "Fennec, how far back do those Grimm go?" she asked.
Fennec waved toward the trees, indicating that they went back beyond the wave they could see. A Boarbatusk tried to gore him from the side. He was quick to grab it by the tusks and stomp down on its neck.
"Great. Cover me!" Coco signaled to Velvet and Yatsuhashi, who closed in the gap she left when she broke from the circle.
Fennec blinked curiously, but followed, headbutting any Grimm that came for Coco. He saw her taking several vials out of her jacket, and immediately jumped back so he wouldn't get hit in the crossfire.
Coco stabbed a Creep as she withdrew three vials of ice Dust. She uncapped them and threw them into the midst of the Grimm. "Werewolves take cover!" she shouted as an eruption of ice crystals killed or froze any Grimm it touched.
A hand grabbed her, throwing her to the ground. She gasped as a face appeared inches from hers. It was like her worst nightmares had come to life. A manic white face bearing yellow Grimm eyes and a spiderweb of sickly black lines grinned down at her. The mouth opened, and she saw two needle-sharp eyeteeth.
Then, the weight left and was replaced with Fennec standing over her, baring his fangs menacingly at the vampire, which giggled and jumped behind an Ursa.
Jaune noticed that, with the Grimm mostly incapacitated, the vampires were starting to retreat. "Gang up on the vampires!" he shouted.
The brawny vampire pushed a winded Pyrrha to the ground and raised a hand to deliver the finishing blow. Then, Flynt was on him, holding him by one arm while Perry sank his fangs into the creature's heel.
Immediately, the vampire grew stiff and shrieked. The sound was abruptly cut off when Jaune charged, driving his sword through the creature's neck.
Jaune glared at the vampire, his eyes blazing. He glanced nervously toward Pyrrha, relieved to see her gasping for breath. Then, he felt the vampire writhing at the end of his blade and shuddered in revulsion. "Someone bring me some fire Dust!" He pulled the vampire's twitching form away from Pyrrha. "Nora, help me hold him. Werewolves, get away from here!"
Pyrrha stumbled to her feet, gasping as sweet night air filled her body again. She barked at the other werewolves, who all ran toward the trees. All but one. Sun was on the ground, writhing in agony. Pyrrha grabbed the scruff of his neck in her jaws and dragged him after the others.
Before Ren could uncap the fire Dust, however, the vampire's feet came up, kicking Jaune and his sword away. The creature stood, its great head twitching on what remained of its neck, and bolted into the trees.
A cackle sounded through the forest. "Not quite, puppy dogs. You can't kill us that easily. We're already dead! Just like you'll be. Hee hee hee!" There was a rustling before the voice called from a different spot. "Stay away from Obsidian if you want to live. Stay away, and we'll spare your beloved packmates and human pets."
Pyrrha lunged toward the voice, roaring a challenge. Thankfully, that seemed to be enough to send the vampire away. A whispering hiss went through the trees before the air became warm again.
It wasn't until after the straggler Grimm were killed that the group realized just how badly they had been hit. Sun was lying on the ground, clawing at a wound on his shoulder that had turned a deep purple color. Fox was writhing in the grass, gripping his neck and moaning.
Velvet, Coco, and Yatsuhashi knelt near Fox. Fennec stood over them, his ears back as he watched the human continue to make agonized sounds. He was defending me when that creature bit him…
"Don't we have any antidotes?!" Coco pleaded, her voice high and hysterical.
"We only have antidotes to forest poisons. We don't get venomous snakes in Vale, much less vampires!" Velvet shook her head helplessly. "All we can do is use our disinfecting cream and hope it helps." She spread that on, along with a liberal amount of numbing cream. "Come on, Fox. Stay with us."
"You can fight this, Fox," Coco growled. "Fight it! Don't you dare die on me!"
Jaune, meanwhile, was examining Sun's wound. "That one vampire was a scorpion Faunus. It had some kind of venom." He shook his head. "I don't have anything that can cure this."
"Roman might," Nora suggested. "He has a bunch of tonics from all over the world. Maybe he has something for a scorpion sting."
Fennec padded over to Sun and sniffed the wound. His ear flicked and he yipped calmly.
Jaune blinked at Fennec. "What? Are you saying he'll be okay?"
Fennec nodded, and Pyrrha's shoulders relaxed. She'd have to ask him for clarification in the morning, but she was willing to trust his judgment. He had been to several other places before the Vale area, if his earlier stories about Adam were any indication.
Still, there was Fox to worry about. Even with the numbing cream, he was clearly in a great deal of pain. Would he turn into a vampire? If he did, what would happen? The werewolves and Huntsmen gathered around, trying to keep him warm and comfortable. No one slept that night.
The following morning, the werewolves changed back. Sun was lying on his stomach, groaning as Perry tried to clean the sting on his back.
"Are you sure he'll be okay?" Pyrrha asked.
"Positive," Fennec assured her. "When my brother and I were pups, we lived in the desert regions to the far east. My pack tried to migrate here when food grew scarce. Most of them were killed by Huntsmen on the journey… Anyway, there were several instances where someone would get bitten or stung by something venomous. One of the weaker omegas was bitten by a king cobra once. He was sick for several days, but recovered without any medicine other than a few strengthening herbs." He looked at Sun. "Sun is a strong beta. He will be fine."
"Will it be different because it was a vampire, or a Faunus?" Jaune asked.
"It shouldn't be different for a Faunus," Fennec replied. "The animal traits of a Faunus aren't magnified by anything beyond size. Even if that vampire was a very strong scorpion, it shouldn't make a difference." His fox ears flicked. "However, I'm not sure how vampirism will change that." He looked toward where Fox was fitfully sleeping. "I'm more worried about him."
"Yes." Pyrrha looked toward Fox, then at Jaune. "I'm also worried about our friends in Obsidian. That vampire clearly has seen them. Could there be more vampires in that town now?"
"There's only one way to find out," Jaune said. "We have to get to Obsidian as quickly as we can. When we get there, we can see if anyone knows a way to heal Sun and Fox." He glanced at Sun. "Werewolf immunity or not, I'll feel better if we can get him some better medical care."
"But, the vampire said that they would release our comrades if we don't go there," Fennec pointed out.
"Do you actually think it'll keep its word?" Nora asked. "Did you hear that thing giggle? It was a few Grimm short of a horde, if you know what I mean."
"Besides," Jaune said. "We were able to run those vampires off. Also, we'll have all of Adam's pack on our side once we're all together. We can handle a few undead freaks." He managed a grin in spite of his worries. "We're just two days away from Obsidian. Let's get going. We'll heal everyone up, get rid of those vampires, and have enough humans and werewolves to get back to Vale by winter."
His words were optimistic, but hollow. Despite his confidence in everyone, he knew that nothing could be that easy. Pyrrha's hand found his as Fox let out another agonized groan, and he squeezed it tightly.
Will Fox succumb to vampirism? Will Sun heal from the poison? Will there be another Arkos brushing session in the near future? Stay tuned to find out!
If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.
Peace out!