First story here, please excuse any errors in grammatic, I'm working on it :)

Chapter 1

'This was a mistake'

Jaune knew from the start this was a horrible idea, sure the house was probably empty, and almost certainly there wouldn't be any ghosts or serial killer's hidden in it, but why take that chance? He knew he should not have let the other kids taunt him into doing this, but he already had a hard time in school as it is, if it got out he was a chicken too, them he really wouldn't been able to take it.

And that was how Jaune Arc, age 10, found himself on old Mellow's house, an old and decrepit house in Ansel that had been empty before Jaune was even born. According to his parents the people that lived here moved to Mistral a long time ago and never found somebody do buy the place, not uncommon in small villages like Ansel even if they were well protected by retired Huntsmen who decided to make the village their home. Without anybody to take care of it the house started to fall apart and soon became rumored to be haunted, even though as far as he knew nobody ever died in it, it was just and old empty house that stood on the village's border that people avoided because of how creepy it looked.

CREAK

Jaune could have swore his heart was about to explode, ever since he entered the house he had heard sound after sound, some times the floor boards would creak, sometimes he would hear something moving through the walls and sometimes he could swear there was someone moving in the another room, though scary as the sounds could be the boy almost preferred them to silence.

Jaune had grow in a house with seven sisters after all, there was always somebody making some type of noise, in school a classroom filled with kids it wasn't any different, even when walking around the village there was was always some people making some sound. For him the silence he found here felt like something wrong, almost unnatural, and it was a constant reminder that for possible the first time in his life, he was all alone.

"It's fine" He tried to convince himself. "You're gonna be fine, just be brave"

THUD

"I'm going to die"

The dare was simple, just go to the second floor of the house and wave from the veranda for the other kids who should been waiting outside. Jaune didn't know how long had been since he started his journey inside, it felt like hours, but he knew that even moving slowly as he was it couldn't been more them a few minutes. The house wasn't big, after crossing the living room in the first floor he found stairs that took him to the middle of a hallway in the second. The right of the hallway led to a wall with no windows with a door to each side, the left looked the same except that at the end of the hallway there was a door, inside it should be the room with the veranda he needed to reach.

'Just get it over with' He tough to himself, the sooner he did the dare the sooner he could leave. And with that in mind the young boy forced himself to open the door. Inside there was a big room, nothing inside but an empty bookshelf still standing in the middle of a wall to the right. On the roof of the room there was an open attic door, except the door and the stair that connected it where nowhere to be seen, Jaune couldn't see anything inside it the opening, it was too dark even it the still strong afternoon light.

'Maybe this was somebody's office?' It didn't matter because on the other end of the room he could see his objective, an opening leading to a veranda! He rushed through, expecting to see the shocked faces of the other kids. He was certain they never though he would have the courage to go all the way. But when he looked down he found nobody waiting for him.

"They left me?!" Jaune couldn't believe it. Did they get bored of waiting and left? Had him forced himself to make it all the way up here for nothing?. The disappointment was so great, he could fell the tension leaving his body.

Disappointed he though 'At least, the house really was empty, I was scared for nothing'

Thinking about it now he felt silly for being so scared, with a sigh he decide that was about time he left, he wasn't sure if the other kids would believe him when he told them he made it, but at least he didn't run away, if nothing else that should make the teasing more bearable. But before he could turn he felt a hand forcefully doing it for him.

"AAAAAAH!" Jaune screamed, before another hand was put over his mouth.

"Quiet kid!" Said an old man in an angry whisper, with white hair and a big white beard, he had dark eyes, and was wearing what appeared to be some strange type of combat vest. For a second he was afraid he was really going to be killed before he recognized the scar in the old man forehead. He felt himself relaxing.

"You're calm now?" He whispered while still keeping a hand over Jaune mouth. The child nodded.

"Good, I'm going to take my hand off now. Don't. Make. A sound" He said and removed his hand.

The boy stared at him, Sparrow was one of the oldest hunter's in the village, definitely the oldest that still guarded the village though now that Jaune thought about it he didn't even remembered the last time he saw the old Huntsman in his hunter clothes. The fact that he was wearing them now was one of the reasons that led to Jaune not recognizing him immediately, the other one was the serious look in his face, usually Sparrow was incredibly friendly, glad to give the children candy and tell them stories of his past as a huntsman. Looking at him now, Jaune could fell all the fear he had just let go, coming back.

Sparrow knelled down, bringing his eyes to the child height.

"A while back one of the guards noticed some tracks coming from the forest and going inside the village, big tracks. They called me to take a look and I think there is an Beowolf inside the village"

'A Grimm!?' Jaune held back the urge to scream those words. That did not make any sense, if a Grimm came close to the village it would immediately attack it's walls! Not sneakily climb inside! The disbelief must have show on his face because Sparrow answered his internal question.

"The longer a Grimm lives, the smarter it gets. Usually after they reach a the age to become an alpha like I suspect this one is, they start to keep to themselves, making a pack and settling in somewhere away from people, waiting for a big enough wave of negativity that they take as an opportunity to attack, or for someone to pass through their territory. Sometimes though they stay alone and keep coming after villages like this one, they just go about it in a smarter way than the rest of their kind. They sneak in an attack people who are alone in more isolated parts of the village, usually hiding somewhere in those isolated parts. I told the guards to tell everyone to stay locked inside their house and call the other hunters to look for it before rushing here since it is an ideal place for it to hide, I don't know if it is here but I told your friends to run back home and they told me you were still inside."

Jaune felt he could cry, all the terror he felt before had come back a hundred times stronger but before he could fall apart Sparrow shook him.

"Jaune! I know this is scary but you have to listen to me, I'm going to pick you up now and jump to the ground, after I put you down you have to run home! Don't stop until you're are inside with your parents okay?"

The boy didn't answer, he just looked terrified at the black and white creature standing behind Sparrow.

It pounced, but somehow Sparrow knew and turned faster them the boy tough people were able too, hitting the monster in the face and sending it sliding back at the entrance of the office. But in less them a second the it was back up.

With four legs it looked like a mix of wolf and man made of darkness itself, with bones coming all over its body. The creature's face was covered by a bone mask or maybe it was the bone mask itself, but by far the thing that most caught Jaune's eyes were the creatures eyes. Two pits of red, orange and hatred.

It turned out there was somebody moving in the other rooms after all.

Sparrow pulled out what looked like a cleaver and took a stance, bracing for the next attack. Jaune couldn't say how long the fight went, the Grimm would keep attacking and retreating, only to attack again in a different manner. Before long, the room was torn, the old bookshelf having been reduced to a pile of wood, and slashes and cracks all over the place. The Grimm also had slashes and cracks all over both his dark body and bone amour while Sparrow had not been hurt yet, but looking how harsh the old man breathing was Jaune knew he couldn't keep this for much longer, though the boy couldn't say why it seemed like the fight was in favor of the Grimm, if anything it should been in favor of Sparrow. After all Grimm would move in and out as he all the time while the old hunter would stay in one place always matching the creature but never tacking a step back or pursing it when the creature retreated. Surely since he was moving less he should be the one less tired.

But no, if anything it seemed like not moving was leaving Sparrow at a disadvantage, making so that each clash cost him more than the Grimm so, why did he stand still? Jaune realized at that moment that the fault was his, Sparrow was guarding the doorway that led to the veranda he was standing in. He was the reason the hunter couldn't move.

He turned to fence that blocked the edges of the veranda. The second floor of the house was pretty high, but maybe he could take the fall and run back home…

"Don't!" Said Sparrow without breaking his stance or taking his eyes of the Grimm, having somehow noticed Jaune's plan. "Is too high, even if you jump you're not gonna be in any state to run away, the Grimm will follow, it's smart enough to know by now that attacking you is the best way to restrain me and I'm not going to be able to protect you in an open space. Take the stairs I will try to keep him pinned down."

Jaune wanted to argue, he wanted to say that they should stay together but before he could say anything, for the first time in the fight, Sparrow charged his enemy, the Grimm tried to go around him, but at the last second the old Hunter turned, and pushed the Grimm at the corner of the room.

Jaune heisted, the path was open but the idea of separating from Sparrow filled him with dread. Maybe there was another way?

"GO!"

Despite how he felt the boy forced himself to run, he hated it but there was nothing he could do.

He had almost reached the stairs when he heard a loud noise coming from the office he had just been inside of a second ago. He didn't dare look or stop but just as he was about to take the first step down, something hard impact his body sending him flying all the way to the other side of the hallway, his body impacted the wall and for a second the boy black out. When Jaune opened his eyes again he was forced to watched in terror as the Grimm now covered in blood slowly approached him.

One of it's front legs was broken, another was just gone as well as one of it's eyes, Jaune could also seen Sparrow cleaver stuck on the creature's neck, but he saw no trace of the hunter, though looking at the amount of blood he already knew what happened to him.

He tried to scream but all he managed was a whimper that tasted like blood. His body hurt all over but the panic was strong enough that Jaune managed force himself to stand up. The moment he did though he felt dizzy and had to lean on the wall before he fell over again, all the while the Grimm kept crawling ever close to him.

He looked around, desperately trying to find a way out even as moving his neck sent another wave of pain all over his body, but there was none. The wall he was leaning on had no windows and by now the Grimm was closer to the doors at each side than the he was, even if he could still move his body Jaune did not think he could have made it inside before the monster got to him.

He looked at those eyes filled with hate and knew that the moment he got close enough to them would was the moment his life would end.

Every breath was painful, and despite not seeing any way out the boy kept looking everywhere desperately trying to find any way to survive all the while he Grimm kept inching closer and closer.

Jaune couldn't believe it. Why did he had go inside the house? He should never have come here. He should never have let himself go inside just to prove how brave he is. He should have just gone straight home where he would be safe with his family.

Instead, now he was going to die alone.

Eventually the monster finally got close enough. Jaune closed his eyes, waiting for the bite as his terror reached a new height. But instead of dying the boy felt something inside of him break.

Suddenly he fell over, somehow the wall that he had been supporting on dispersing, Jaune felt himself fall down, only to be caught in somebody arms. Opening his eyes he found himself looking at his father shocked face, the broken moon shining behind him. He had no idea what happened but he didn't care, being held in his father arms he finally couldn't hold on anymore and passed out, his father screaming his name was last thing he heard before the darkness took over.