Awoo, everyone! It's Werewolf Friday yet again. Just a heads up: The next time you'll be hearing from me, I'll be in Ireland. Now, I plan on updating this and Wings of Dust on schedule, but a lot will depend on my access to WiFi and whether I can take my laptop to certain places. I do have my backlog, so having time to type stuff won't be a problem. We'll see how things go.

Anyway, enjoy!

It took a day and a half overall to get to Obsidian with the group only stopping for a few hours of sleep. They took turns carrying Fox between them, watching with dismay as his skin took on a paler and paler tone, the bite on his neck started to turn black, and his lips became dry and chapped. None of the medicines or salves that the Huntsmen had did any good, nor did the herbs Flynt and Fennec sought out.

They tried getting him to eat, knowing that red meat was good for replenishing lost blood, but he couldn't swallow anything. At one point, Coco tried tipping some deer blood down his throat, but he spat that out almost immediately.

Fennec was a constant, silent companion, keeping Fox warm at night in his wolf form. The more he watched the human suffer, the more he wanted to help.

Fox's skin was as cold as ice, no matter how many blankets covered him, no matter how close to the fire he slept. Occasionally, he would call for Coco, Velvet, or Yatsuhashi. He called for Coco the most.

Coco didn't sleep at all, other than the occasional hour-long doze when she couldn't stand anymore. One of the werewolves would usually carry her when that happened, but she refused to be taken too far away from her husband.

The only comfort was that Fennec had been right about Sun's recovery. Though he was incredibly woozy, he was showing definite signs of improvement. Pyrrha made sure to let him eat first each night, and Flynt and Fennec took turns keeping watch over the camp.

It was nighttime when they drew near Obsidian. The werewolves transformed into their daytime forms and hurriedly put on their clothes as they approached the edge of the woods. Then, Flynt froze, his eyes narrowing.

Pyrrha frowned. "What is it?"

"I sense Sage and Scarlet. They're in the town and are in their wolf forms."

Everyone looked at each other before Coco let out an impatient groan. "If they're not dead, we can find out what's going on when we get into town! Let's just get Fox in there already!" Fox started coughing, as if to emphasize her point, and the group stepped resolutely onto the path toward the town.

Almost immediately, they saw people rushing from the town toward them. Recognizing Huntsmen weapons, the group tensed.

The approaching Huntsmen stopped halfway across the field and one of them called out. "Who is it?"

Jaune stepped forward. "My name is Jaune Arc, a Huntsman. These Huntsmen are with me, as are these trader apprentices. We were recently attacked, and one of our friends needs medical attention. Is Roman Torchwick here?"

The Huntsmen lowered their weapons. "We've been waiting for you. I'll have to ask that the werewolves with you transform so that they can be restrained."

There was a moment of stunned silence as the group looked at each other. Sun, surprisingly, was the first to recover. "Wait, restrained?!" His eyes narrowed. "What did you do to Sage and Scarlet?!"

"Don't be alarmed. We simply muzzled and collared them for the safety of the townsfolk. Though, they recently proved themselves trustworthy enough for us to remove the collars. We might be able to arrange-"

"You muzzled my friends?!" Sun's eyes flashed and his fangs started to emerge.

Pyrrha quickly grabbed his shoulders as he lunged forward. "Sun, calm down," she growled, though her own eyes were blazing with anger at the humans. "Attacking them will do no good. You're still injured!" When Sun struggled, she met his gaze and forced him into submission. "Perry, calm him down," she muttered before turning to the Huntsmen.

"My name is Pyrrha. I'm the leader of this pack. I will not be muzzled, and I demand that you remove the muzzles of my two packmates." She tried to keep her voice calm, though a tremor of rage still managed to slip through. "I will enter the town alone, if that will make you feel safer. One of our companions was bitten by a vampire. The sooner we get him help, the better."

"You're not going in without me," Jaune insisted.

The Obsidian Huntsmen talked to each other for a moment, then sent one of their people back into the town. "We will ask our current leader. Wait for her to come back."

"Our friend-"

"I'm sorry," the Huntsman interrupted. "There is nothing we can do for him. Whenever someone is bitten, we kill them before the sickness becomes unbearable. I suggest you do the same. He's likely suffering."

Coco let out a strangled sob, falling to her knees next to Fox's prone form. Her shoulders shook as she looked at her husband. "Oh, Fox…"

Velvet knelt next to Coco, hugging her friend tightly around the shoulders. Yatsuhashi's head was bowed.

Jaune's chest ached as he looked at them. This is our fault, he thought. If we hadn't dragged them along… If we had found some way to keep them in Vale instead of coming with us…

Pyrrha noticed Jaune's expression and gently took his hand. When he turned to look at her, she squeezed it and gave him an earnest look. Don't blame yourself, she thought, not wanting to say anything aloud while Coco was grieving. A slight softening around his eyes told her that he understood.

Fennec cleared his throat. "Um, Leader?"

Pyrrha turned to the beta. "Yes, Fennec?"

Fennec glanced to the side, looked at Fox, and took a deep breath. "What if we changed him into a werewolf? He might be able to fight the vampire infection if he was one of us."

Everyone turned to look at him. Pyrrha's brows furrowed thoughtfully. "Would that work?"

Fennec shrugged. "I don't know, but we don't have much to lose." He eyed the bite. "I will do it myself, with your permission."

Pyrrha looked at Coco, who was staring at Fennec with wide eyes. "Coco, you're his wife. What do you think?"

Coco looked at Fox, then stood up. "Do it."

Fennec removed his clothes and transformed into his wolf form as quickly as he could. He moved toward Fox as the others stepped back to give him room. He gently licked the human's sweaty brow, then the bite on his neck, wincing at the bitter taste of the infected wound. Then, he closed his jaws around Fox's upper arm and bit down.

Fox was so out of it, he didn't even let out an exclamation of pain. He just continued to lie there, each breath rattling in his lungs.

Pyrrha watched, holding tightly to Jaune's hand. Moon, let this work. She hadn't talked much to Coco or Fox during their journey, but it was easy to see the love between them. She didn't think she could bear it if she had to watch something like that end so tragically.

Footsteps caused her and Jaune to turn around, releasing each other's hands. A violet-haired Huntress with a large crossbow was approaching. "My name is Nebula. Yang told us you were coming." She eyed the group with a frown. "I heard you have someone with a vampire bite. Want me to take care of it for you?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "We're going to see if a werewolf bite will counteract it. If not, we'll do what has to be done." She spoke quietly, not wanting Coco to hear. "Now, I would like to see my packmates. Have the muzzles been removed?"

Nebula looked at the group, then back at Pyrrha. "No. The muzzles are necessary for the peace of mind of the townsfolk. Your pack will all need to wear them."

Pyrrha glared. "I will not be muzzled, and I will not tolerate my friends being degraded in such a way. By this point, you should know that we aren't mere animals. If you wish, we will remain in the forest."

"I was under the impression that you were being brought here to help defend our town against vampires."

"I have no knowledge of this," Pyrrha replied, trying to keep her voice even. "We will need to negotiate certain terms. However, if you expect us to fight for you, I think we should be able to expect a level of decency."

The two eyed each other for a moment before Nebula relented. "Fine. Who's the leader of the Huntsmen?" When Jaune raised his hand, she nodded. "Okay. You two can come into town with me. We'll talk about what the terms will be. Afterward, we'll take the muzzles off your friends."

"Thank you." Pyrrha felt herself relaxing, if only slightly. She looked back at the others. "Stay together. Fennec, keep Fox warm until we get back."

Fennec nodded, curling up next to the shivering human.

Nebula was looking at Fox with a mixture of pity and curiosity. "If that does work…" She shook her head. "Let's go."

When they entered town, they were greeted almost immediately by a shout from Roman. "Look who's finally here! Just how long does it take to kill a crazy prick, anyway?"

Neo stuck her head out of the cart. "Language, Roman. We have a lady present."

Roman snorted. "What lady?" When Neo pointed at Pyrrha, he shook his head. "No ladies travel with me. Once you've read the books, you can't be considered a lady."

"I still haven't read them," Pyrrha reminded him, chuckling as she realized just how much she had missed the funny trader.

"We'll have to fix that," Roman said, falling into step with them. "So, did you hear about the muzzles?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Yes, and they won't remain on them for long. Go tell Scarlet and Sage we're here."

"I'll send Neo. I don't feel like running." Roman snapped his fingers at Neo, who rolled her eyes before running toward the edge of town near the mountain. He, meanwhile, insisted on joining the three.

Nebula led Jaune, Pyrrha, and Roman to the church, where they sat down in one of the few unbroken pews. "So," she started. "As far as we know, there are at least four vampires. Three attack the town regularly, while the fourth has only been seen from a distance. We're convinced that it's the Lord or Lady of the group. That one will be more dangerous than the other three combined. They only attack at night, they can control Grimm, and they herd back anyone who tries to escape the town. We think they're using us as a source of blood until we all die out. Then, they'll move somewhere else."

She folded her hands. "So, what do you want in exchange for helping us kill the bastards?"

Roman coughed. "Well, I've been keeping a record of the supplies I've been giving out. I don't expect full payment, since I did this out of the goodness of my heart, but some reparations once the silver mines are operational would be ideal. Otherwise, I'll be going for a good while with a mostly-empty cart."

Nebula nodded. "We already intend to do that. Before the vampire attack, we hit a new vein of silver in the mines. Once they're dead, we'll be able to pay you back for the supplies, plus interest. It's the least we can do."

Roman shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I certainly won't say no to that."

Jaune looked at Nebula. "For my group, I'll settle for the standard rate for outside Huntsmen services, depending on what that is in Obsidian."

"Sounds good. Where are you from?"

"Vale."

"It should be about the same." Nebula then turned to Pyrrha. "Now, your group will be the difficult one. What do you suggest we do?"

"Well, the town has had Scarlet and Sage for several days," Pyrrha started. "So, taking their muzzles off should be no trouble. As for the rest of my pack, I am willing to keep them in the woods to avoid them being muzzled. One beta will be left at the border of town, unmuzzled, closest to where the vampires are." At Nebula's uncertain look, she explained. "Betas can sense people and prey far beyond what sight or scent can tell. They will know of an attack well before it happens. It's how we prepared for the attack in the woods."

"So, the vampires came after you before you even got here?" Nebula looked at her thoughtfully. "They must think you're a threat. This could be good for us. But, what do you want in return for helping us?"

Pyrrha sat up straighter. "I want Obsidian to be a place where friendly werewolves can visit without fear. When the church is rebuilt, do not preach sermons that paint werewolves as being evil. Instead, make it known that werewolves have just as much humanity as anyone else."

Nebula nodded slowly. "It might be difficult convincing the more religious people in town, but I think most of them are desperate enough to be okay with it. Anything else?"

"Yes. We plan on returning to Vale because it's the hometown of these Huntsmen, and the forest near it is the homeland of my pack. We want to create peace between the werewolves and the humans and Faunus." She explained their plan to bring back as many sympathetic humans and werewolves as possible.

Nebula smiled. "I think that can be arranged, once we've rebuilt and have a good defense set back up. Hell, kill the vampires and you'll probably have a whole line of humans wanting to help with that. Most of them are dying to be allowed out of this town already."

"Thank you." Pyrrha bowed her head. "I'm glad that the humans in this town are so reasonable."

"Well," Nebula grinned sheepishly. "Being desperate kinda swayed things in your favor. Let's hope we can actually get through this." She held out her hand, which Pyrrha eagerly shook. "Now, let's see about taking the muzzles off your friends. To be honest, I really hated having to put them on."

They found Scarlet and Sage at the edge of town, their tails wagging as they bounded to their leader. Pyrrha was quick to find the straps of Sage's collar and undo them while Jaune did the same for Scarlet. A few nearby people moved back, but none ran away, not even when Scarlet parted his jaws in a wide yawn.

Jaune noticed this and smiled at Pyrrha. "This might just be our last stop before going back home."

Pyrrha nodded. "It looks like it's going to be an incredibly long stop."

At that moment, Yang ran over, pulling Jaune into a crushing hug. "Hey! Neo told me you got here. Did you take out that son of a bitch?"

"Hrk!" Jaune grunted as Yang squeezed him. "Yeah. He's very dead."

"Great!" Yang turned to Pyrrha, hugging her too. "Glad you guys are here. There's been so much bullshit happening."

Pyrrha gritted her teeth as her ribcage was compressed. "I am glad to be here." She let out a gasp as she was put down.

When they approached the woods again, Yang's face became troubled. "This looks smaller than the group we left." Her eyes widened. "Wait, where's Ruby?!"

"She's fine," Pyrrha assured her. "When I beat Adam, it turns out that I won his entire pack. Ruby went back with Weiss, Blake, Neon, and Neptune to retrieve them, along with one of the two betas Adam had with him. They are both on our side now."

"The betas?" Yang asked. "Do you mean the same…?" She trailed off as she saw a large, hulking, tan form. "Wait, you're the one who scratched up my arm!"

Fennec gulped audibly and took a few steps back. Thankfully for him, Coco rushed forward, her face alight with happiness. "Guys, come look at Fox!"

The others gathered around, and let out an audible sigh of relief. Fox's breathing, though ragged, sounded a lot better. His brow wasn't sweaty. Best of all, the bite on his neck had faded from a sickly black to a healthier purple-red color.

Nebula was gaping. "Well, I'll be damned," she muttered. "Extra help and the cure to vampirism all in one group." She looked at Pyrrha, her expression serious. "I honestly think the Maidens themselves might have sent you."

Pyrrha didn't know about that. All she knew was that Coco was holding her healing husband, crying tears of joy and relief. For the moment, that was more than enough.

The group's starting to come together again. Then, we'll get to see some good fights. I'm really getting my battle scene practice in with this fic.

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

Peace out!