Chapter Six: Not So Cold.
A soft groan rung out as Ruby slammed her head on the table again, she had been at this stupid essay for two days now and it was due in just a matter of hours. Why was it so hard to write the last three pages? "If you keep that up you'll break the table." Weiss pointed out not looking up from her notes.
"Well it would deserve it." The wolf muttered looking at her partner.
Weiss sighed, "It is not the table's fault that you cannot finish your essay. I told you yesterday to not waste time but you seemed more interested every other book that was not the one you needed."
The Heiress was of course right. Ruby had never seen a library as big as the one Beacon had and had spent the first few hours of the pair being in there wondering about looking at the tall shelves that reached to the ceiling. Weiss had finally pulled her to a table and proceeded to make her write her essay.
The essay prompt was suppose to be easy; explain each of the terrain types, which tactic should be deployed and which team rolls would have an advantage or disadvantage then show an example of a battle that shows all four things. Ruby had actually flown through the first few terrains but the desert and tundra had practically no battle data. "But Weiss there's nothing on these two. How am I suppose to finish it if I can't find examples?"
Weiss sighed heavily pinching the bridge of her nose; this was the tenth time this hour alone that Ruby had said that. "You just have to keep looking Ruby, I'm sure that there is a book with exactly what you're looking for." Her own essay had been finished yesterday with in the first few hours of them being at the library. Being the Heiress of the worlds largest Dust Company did have an advantage when came to an essay about said substance. Now she was reading though a book on the Dragnarian language and the syntax of it.
"Ugh." Came Ruby's reply as she thudded her head on the table again. If only she could find that stupid book she would be done, turning her head to the side the wolf caught the title of the book her partner was reading. "You're taking Dragnarian?"
"Yes Ruby, very observant," Weiss continued her reading taking notes intermittently. "Now back to your essay."
Ruby ignored the Heiress comment as she sat up, "You know I could help with that." Weiss looked at the girl skeptically, "No really I speak Dragnarian."
"Really?" Weiss asked not believing the girl across the table.
"Vy by luchshe poverit' v eto printsessa (You had better believe it Princess)." Ruby chirped happily earning a stunned stare from Heiress. "Hey I told you I know my stuff."
Weiss shook her head free of her shock, "I see. Though I would have thought you would have spoken Valiction."
Ruby cocked her head slightly, the action reminding Weiss of a puppy for a curious reason, "Why do you say that?"
"Well Yang has mentioned the both of you are from Patch and with the island falling in Vale territory I just assumed that's what you spoke." The Heiress answered realizing just how little she really knew about her partner.
"Yeah I can see how you'd think that but I only speak a little Valiction since Basic is actually the most used on Patch." Ruby explained, "I was actually starting on Valiction at Signal but when I moved to Beacon I decided to take Menagerian instead."
Weiss paused at her words. Menagerian was mostly a Faunus language exclusively. She had known a few people who had spoken the language but it was because they oversaw Faunus workers and kept a close eye on them. It was a practice Weiss herself didn't agree with but the SDC had strict policies when it came to the Faunus. Just one more thing she had to add to her list of things to change. "Why Menagerian?" She asked trying to hide her thoughts from the girl.
Now Ruby hesitated. She was a Faunus herself and she had always wanted to learn her race's main language but she couldn't tell Weiss that. While she was starting to feel that the Heiress wasn't like her family it was still a possibility that she was hiding her nature well. Ruby had already had her anger directed at her once so far and that time she had almost failed to suppress her Alpha nature if that happened again she wasn't sure what would happen. "Ah you know, it's a really pretty language and if I ever get a job in Menagerie it could come in handy." Weiss nodded in understanding.
As their conversation lapsed into silence Ruby returned to her essay slowly starting to find the answers she had been missing. After about thirty minutes the wolf disappeared into the large bookcases once again in search of another book.
She really wanted to tell Weiss about herself. She hated hiding her ears and tail but she just couldn't shake the feeling that if she did tell her white haired partner it would go horribly wrong. Ruby had seen her fair share of hatred towards Faunus when she was younger. On one occasion she had been in Vale with her mom and Yang when she quietly slipped away at the beckoning smell of a bakery. The baker had thrown every slur at her the moment he spotted her even threatening to cut her tail off if she didn't leave. A few hours later her mom and Yang found her curled up behind a dumpster in an alley tears streaming down her face from fear.
Yang had wanted to torch the place while her mom just wrapped her up in a gentle hug and suggested they returned home instead of staying for her meeting. Ruby clung to her warmth the entire way hiding her ears in her hair and tail tucked tightly between her legs. The young wolf had never experienced anything like that before. Nearly everyone on Patch knew the young wolf and loved her ears and tail always complimenting how pretty they looked or how cute they were, no one called her a beast or a filthy mutt.
"Why are people so mean?" She had choked out when they had reached the sanctuary of their home deep in the woods of the island.
Her mom continued to hold her close in a soft hug, "Because little wolf people fear things that are different from them. It is that fear that bring out their hate and hate will lead to their anger."
"But why momma?" The wolf had cried even harder.
"I don't know why." Her mom continued to comfort her stroking her ears a gentle rocking motion trying to calm the young girl, "After so many years of hate and anger people have forgotten how not to hate. They have forgotten how to accept everyone for who they are, not for what they look like."
"But it's not right." She continued to cry burying her face into her mother's chest.
"I know my little wolf, I know." Her mom agreed, "But maybe someday someone will come along to help bring an end to all this hate. Maybe someday you'll even get to know that person."
Ruby felt a few tears leak from her eyes at the memory that had been many years ago now. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand the wolf found the book she was looking for and made her way back to the table. Pausing as she spotted the Heiress.
Weiss had sat her book down and was staring into the air, her pencil eraser resting at her lips, ice blue eyes unfocused. Ruby stared her, feeling something throb in her chest. To say the Heiress was pretty was an understatement; you'd have to be blind to not notice it really. In her usual demeanor the frosty girl wore a near permanent scowl, her eyes hard as the ice they looked like. But now she had a serene look about her. Her features relaxed and softer, eyes still crystal blue but held a softness now.
Ruby couldn't help but take in the details of the Heiress. Taking a deep breath she could smell the mixture of mint and vanilla that clung to Weiss along with something else that pulled at something deep with in the wolf. At first she thought she had been imagining it, it was a very soft smell that was hidden under the lotions and perfume she wore. But now that she shared the same dorm with her the wolf knew she hadn't been imagining it. Ruby wondered if she should asked Blake if she knew what it was.
Sudden movement from the Heiress snapped the wolf from her train of thought. A grimace and a flicker of annoyance crossed the Heiress features as she went back to reading from her book and writing notes down. And just as quickly as it came the feeling was gone leaving the wolf confused. Shaking her head Ruby returned to her table.
"There you are." Weiss huffed, "I was starting to think I'd have to tie you to your chair for you to finish your essay."
"Geez Weiss no need to get all huffy. It just took me a bit longer to find the book I needed." Ruby rolled her eyes as she sat down.
"Honestly dolt if you don't buckle down you'll never challenge me in class." Weiss sighed in annoyance.
Ruby smiled at the Heiress, "Oh be prepared for a big surprise then Princess."
Weiss was very surprised at the turn around in her crimson partner during the week after she had screamed at her. Now instead of daydreaming or doodling the redhead actively paid attention to what the professors were going over, the doodling hadn't gone away fully but at least it was now on the edges of her paper instead of taking up the majority of the page. The Heiress was actually quite surprised that Ruby was a rather good artist.
While it should have annoyed her that the girl still didn't take as extensive as notes as the Heiress thought she should it was progress in the right direction so she decided to let it slide. When she found a lecture particularly boring Weiss would find her eyes drifting to her partners paper curious to see if any new doodles had appeared. During one such time she found a depiction of a wolf in the upper corner of Ruby's page. Weiss could make out the detail in the fur and eyes as the girl worked on the tail.
That was another thing she had noticed about her partner, the girl had peculiar fascination with wolves. Almost once every class a picture of a wolf head or a paw print would appear on the crimson girl's page. Sometimes her symbol would accompany the wolf or would appear shortly after one was drawn. When she had asked Ruby about it the girl just laughed and said she thought they were cool.
This week had also brought about a change in their combat class. "At the end of the month teams will begin to receive field assignments along with their current curriculum." Professor Goodwitch explained on the first day, "To assign the correct teams to missions that meet their skill level we will begin ranking battles. The higher the rank of your team the more challenging the missions."
After that instead of simply sparring with their partners, students were pitted against other teams in a tournament style matches were one on one, pairs or teams. Currently Team RWBY was leading in the rankings by two wins with JNPR close behind them. The battle between Yang, Blake, Pyrrha and Jaune had been declared a draw with the battle maiden being able to hold off the brawler and ninja, her partner fairing less well.
Being the final class of the week Professor Goodwitch had announced a change on how the fight would be chosen today. "As before it will be random," She started. "But instead of knowing whether it will be pairs, single or teams will not be determined. The randomization process will include all three types meaning any type of battle is possible." A murmur swept through the students; did she mean that it would be possible for a single student to go up against a full team? That was suicidal no way a single person could hold off against an entire team by themselves no matter how good they were.
"That is so cool!" Ruby squealed beside Weiss. "It would be like actual combat that way."
"Dolt it is actual combat. It's a combat class." Weiss hissed at her exuberant partner, while she was impressed at her partner's skills she wasn't sure if the red head would be able to handle a full team.
Ruby nodded her head happily showing no signs of caring. "Yeah but it adds an edge knowing you don't have a partner to back you up." Weiss sighed the excited girl had a point.
During their pairs fight on three days ago she and Ruby had been put up against Nora and Ren. Ruby had gone up against Nora holding her at bay while Weiss had dealt with Ren. Having sparred against Blake the Heiress was aware of the acrobatics the two could pull off but the combination of his agility paired with Stormflower had made her adjust her tactics several times.
Having to constantly switch between repulsion glyphs and projectile glyphs just to keep the pressure on the nimble boy had left her Aura draining quickly, not to mention having to dodge intermittent bursts of gun fire kept Weiss from getting to close. When she had glanced over to she how Ruby was fairing she saw the blur of motion that what Crescent Rose as the red head spun it about expertly using the momentum of the swings to preform flips and tucks making sure the small berserker couldn't help her partner. The occasional boom of her rifle marked when she slowed down and needed a boost or shot a grenade out of the air. They had won their fight but by a slim margin, Weiss' Aura reading fifty-two percent while Ruby's held at forty both Nora's and Ren's dipping into the high twenties.
A beep brought every eye up to the screen overhead scrolling pictures and names passed by to fast for the any detail to be made out. Weiss felt her heart begin to beat faster, palms became damp as she fiddled with the hilt of Myrtenaster lightly she bit down on the inside of her bottom lip. Adrenaline was a great thing when a person was in combat it made reaction time faster it sharpened the senses allowing the fast movements of a weapon to be seen. But when a person was not in combat adrenaline was a curse, it caused all sorts of uncomfortable feeling past through the body.
Slowly the first slot began to slow causing the Heiress' breathing to become shallow. If she was the one chosen then it would be her representing all of Team RWBY and she would not let them down, she just really hopped she didn't have to go up against an entire team. Finally the scrolling slot stopped with a ding, the grinning face Ruby was on the screen. Weiss wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved that she hadn't been chosen. Looking over at the crimson girl Weiss was confused at what she saw.
Ruby had a large grin on her face that was almost feral her silver eyes had a mad gleam in them. Weiss felt her breath hitch as the girl stood and began making her way to the stairs.
Yang and Blake had both seen the wolf's reaction as well and quickly exchanged a look of concern. Standing quickly the blonde intercepted her sister pulling her to the side. Weiss had seen the two girl's reaction and sent a questioning look towards the black haired girl who gave a simple shrug before looking back up at the scrolling screen. A ding let the Heiress know the second combat had chosen. A pit formed in her stomach, Team CRDL.
The first year team was known for being very brutal in their tactics even sending another student to the infirmary with a cheap trick. The entire team consisted of bullies and Weiss couldn't fathom how they had gotten in.
As Team CRDL made their way down to the arena Yang spoke to her sister hastily, "Ruby you need to calm down." She knew the wolf was worked up for some reason but she couldn't figure out why.
Ruby looked up at her sister, her silver eyes still held a manic gleam. Finally she could prove to everyone that she alone was the best. No one had seen her fight alone outside of Yang so now was her chance to so them the power of an Alp… Ruby shook her head quickly clearing the thought. Where had that come from? Her Alpha nature was flaring even more with each passing day and she had no idea what was causing it. It scared her, she knew what could happen if she succumbed to her instinct she knew the danger wolves could become, she had spent two years experiencing it.
"I'm fine." She whispered taking deep breaths trying to reclaim her senses.
"Are you sure Ruby?" Yang questioned Ruby making the wolf look her in the eye. The gleam was there but it was subdued. "Sis was is going on?"
Ruby shook her head noticing her opponents made their way into the arena. "Miss Rose if you would please." Professor Goodwitch called over to the pair, her eyes full of suspicion.
"Sorry Professor." Yang called out hastily, giving the wolf a once over again.
"I'll be fine Yang." Ruby nodded pulling her hood up. While she couldn't let her ears stand fully, with her hood up she could have them slightly up allowing her to hear much better and for a four on one fight she would need to be able to react as fast as she could.
Taking her place across from her opponents the wolf unfurled her weapon. The sounds of clicking gears and unfolding parts filled the air around her in a comforting fashion. The adrenaline that had been burning through the wolf calmed as the final pieces clicked into place. The boys across from looked over at her hesitantly, they all knew she was skilled with her weapon but even she couldn't take them all on at once.
"Combatant ready?" Professor Goodwitch called out. Ruby gave a nod sinking into a crouch, her weapon angled behind her. Each of the boys gave a nod holding their weapons at the ready as well. A timer began counting down, the blips the only sound as everyone watched.
At the chime Ruby rushed forward, scythe held behind her ready to strike. Following her lead the boys ran towards her as well fanning out slightly trying to box her in early, they knew that with her speed if they couldn't limit her movements she would be a challenge. Swinging Crescent Rose forward the wolf planted the blade into the ground and leapt lightly using the pivoting blade as a pole-vault. With Crescent Rose now completely vertical Ruby swung herself sideways making her boots connect with Dove's face.
"You bitch." He spat grabbing his nose as he swung wildly at the spinning girl. As she pasted behind the shaft of her scythe Ruby release her hold allowing the spring mechanism to pull the heavy metal back down horizontal. The metal spike crashed into his shoulder causing him to curse again.
Landing on her feet the wolf heard the swing of a weapon coming towards her head. Ducking under blue halberd she lunged forward to land on the horizontal shaft of her weapon. Just as her boots made contact with the back hooks she pulled the trigger sending the bullet into Sky's chest, his Aura shimmering from the near point blank shot. The concussive force dislodged the blade from the ground.
With a full twist of her body Ruby brought the blunted side of Crescent Rose crashing on to Dove's already wounded shoulder. The wolf heard a ding as his Aura dropped below thirty percent. One down.
Continuing her circle Ruby once again lined a shot with the blue hair member of Team CRDL and fired again, the round hitting the same spot knocking him back even more. The round bucked her backwards and over the fallen opponent. After a few feet the blade bit into the ground again coming to a stop. Twisting her hands Ruby spun horizontally on the shaft and flipped herself to the ground.
As she did Ruby pulled her scythe from the ground eyeing the three remaining boys. Sky's chest piece had a crack across from the two bullet impacts his face livid; Russel and Cardin eyed her warily. Smirking Ruby took her stance again if they weren't going to come to her she'd go to them. Racking another round Ruby sprinted towards them.
Sky took the bait rushing out to meet her. Firing her shot the wolf stuck the boy with the side of Crescent Rose causing him to slam into the wall, a ding. Two down.
The whisper of Russel's daggers cutting through the air caused the wolf to duck, just as Cardin's mace crashed into her shoulder. Even as her Aura flared to absorb the brunt of the blow pain lanced through Ruby as she rolled away as another blow from the heavy mace slammed down cracking the ground.
After getting some distance the red head popped to her feet only to be put immediately on the defensive by the twin daggers of the blonde aired boy. Using the shaft of Crescent Rose to block a few of the attacks while dodging others she back pedaled trying to disengage enough so she could actually swing the long scythe. She was extremely thankful that the boy showed no real competence with Dust like her partner only sending out intermittent burst of ice or fire.
A loud roar alerted the wolf to another swing from Cardin on her left. Jumping to the side Ruby felt the mace miss her by inches Russel however wasn't as fortunate. Cardin had either forgot to pay attention where is teammate was or just simply didn't care, Ruby was inclined to believe it was the latter, and smashed his mace into the dust cylinder of the right dagger. "Watch it." Russel barked as he shook his hand out no doubt tingling from the blow.
"Not my fault you can't keep her distracted." Carding snapped back at his teammate as he flicked his mace the tip igniting in a ball of flames. "Just keep her pinned and I can end this." Russel grumbled at the leaders words but took a ready stance again.
Getting her much need ground Ruby watched the boys carefully; she had heard their exchange and was forming a plan of her own. They were surely going to try the same tactic as before so she had to act before Russel got to close to her. As the boy began to charge Ruby ran to meet him with a swing of her scythe causing him to pause his run and block the massive blade.
The impact of Crescent Rose on the daggers caused him to slide to the side. Twisting Crescent Rose Ruby broke the boy's defense sending his daggers up toward the ceiling. The wolf rushed in slamming the shaft across Russel's chest, a grunt sounded out as air left his lungs. Suddenly his head whipped up catching Ruby on her chin with the back of his head. Having not counted on him to be able to recover as quick has he did Ruby took the blow feeling her teeth clack together hard.
Hearing Cardin's mace move through the air the wolf had just enough time to block the attack but once again the leader had forgotten to watch where his teammate once again the flame of his mace licking at the mohawked boy's face. "God damnit Cardin!" Russel yelled as he lashed out at his team leader.
"Then get the fuck out of my way." Cardin sneered back as he swung again this time both Ruby and Russel blocking the attack Russel's daggers taking the brunt of the blow again. Ruby watched as a small crack formed on his right dagger's dust cylinder. With his attack blocked Cardin swung his fist at Ruby catching the wolf on her cheek.
Normally his blow would have not bothered her as she trained with Yang for years but with her Aura beginning to wane Ruby felt her skin split as his knuckles connected. With a growl Ruby slammed the blade of Crescent Rose downward, the weapon hooking around the back of her attacker.
Depressing the trigger again the blade smashed into Cardin's back. If he hadn't had an Aura shielding him the move would have cut him cleanly in two but instead it just jolting him forward straight into the bottom of the wolf's boot as she kicked upward pushing him back into the blade. His Aura pulsed rapidly trying to compensate for the sudden attacks.
Russel seeing his opportunity to attack swung his right dagger again, just as Cardin swung his mace in a backhand motion. The two weapons collided in midair, the Dust cylinder finally cracked apart across the red camber. Russel didn't use powdered Dust in his weapons like Weiss but instead opted to use full crystals which would fully explain why he used small attacks instead of the intricate ones the Heiress had been known to use. With the cylinder cracking a chunk of red crystal flew in between the three combatants.
He must have channeled some of his Aura through the crystal before it cracked because Ruby could see the signs of the tiny chunck activating. The world slowed as the wolf activated her full semblance, rarely did she bring her full speed to the surface because it left her drained after just a few seconds. Pushing each boy backwards she hoped she had hit them hard enough to push them back from the explosion but those few seconds had cost her she was still right next to the chunk of crystal. She watched crystal detonated just as she jumped back, her semblance slipping.
Weiss had watched the fight in fascination. She knew the younger girl was good, there was a reason she had been accepted to Beacon two years early. But being able to hold off four opponents at the same time was extremely impressive. She had handled her weapon with a fluid grace that made the crimson girl look like she was dancing. The scythe moved in wide graceful arcs constantly twisting around red head as she twisted and flipped with her weapon.
When Ruby had taken out the first two members of Team CRDL Weiss was sure the match would be over very quickly but then Cardin had landed a solid blow taking a large chunk of her partner's Aura with it. Obviously the two that had held back had watched and formed a plan of attack.
Weiss had to scoff at the blond hair boy's and his pitiful use of Dust. That was the problem when it came to crystals versus powdered Dust, crystals held more power but they could only perform their basic element while powder were weaker they could be used to create the different forms of the elements making them more versatile.
The Heiress smirked as the boy's began to argue while they may have formed a plan it seemed Cardin had no qualms about using his teammate as bait to bring Ruby down. Apparently Russel did not agree with that tactic.
When the crimson girl engaged her opponents again Weiss knew she had a plan, the sudden break in the boy's defense followed by a quick strike left little doubt that Ruby would win. Then the crack of Russel's skull against Ruby's chin sounded above the ringing of metal, a small dip in her Aura showed the force behind the attack.
She watched as Carding bull rushed two swinging this ignited mace making her inhale sharply as it passed within inches of her partner, if that attack had landed Ruby's Aura would have been severely depleted. A quick glance at the screen showed Ruby's Aura sitting at eighty three while Russel's was getting down into the sixty's, probably from taking a few friendly attack, and Cardin's still in the nineties. Ruby's Aura dipped again as Cardin punched her in the face. A wave of heat crashed over seat as Yang flared her Aura causing a few people around them to jump in surprise.
"Yang." Blake snapped smacking the blonde on the back of her head making her look into her amber eyes. Weiss glanced at the pair quickly, she had noticed the two started to act differently around each other but now was not the time to pay attention to them.
A loud boom drew the Heiress' attention back to the arena in time to see the blade of Crescent Rose smash into Cardin's back making her blink, outside of Grimm Weiss had never seen Ruby turn the actual blade of her scythe on an opponent, the side or blunted back yes but never the blade. Her foot shot out quickly catching him in his chest knocking him back into the blade, his Aura dipping sharply with each hit.
What happened next was too quick for Weiss to catch, both boys' swung their weapon, the two colliding followed by an explosion encircling the three of them. The shockwave of the blast threw all of them backwards Carding and Russel landing hard against the ground sliding a few feet. Ruby on the other hand was tossed hard against the arena wall the crack of her head hitting sounded out as her body slumped to the ground.
"RUBY!" Yang yelled as she sprinted down the stands jumping over the side landing beside her sister, Weiss and Blake close behind her. Weiss felt her stomach clench as she saw the small girl.
A streak of blood from where she had impacted ran down the wall to where her head rested now another trail of blood dripped down between her eyes runing off to the side dripping onto her chest. The cut on her cheek formed a small trail to her mouth, the crimson covering the light pink. The Heiress' chest felt heavy as she watched the brawler kneel down over her sister.
"Come on Rubes." Yang whispered holding her hand to her sister's mouth. Weiss approached closer watching for any visible signs of life from her leader. Just as she spotted the small rise and fall of her chest Yang backed away with a sigh. "She's good."
Weiss looked at the blonde questioningly, "I'd hardly call her current condition okay." She came closer squatting down on her heels getting a better look at her partner.
Ruby's face scrunched slightly as small groan escaped her lips. Slowly her silver eyes opened, dullness clouded them as she continued to blink and let her eyes move very slowly around. Weiss watched as they regained their clarity and fix upon her own ice blue eyes. "W-Weiss?" Ruby groaned something deep with in the Heiress throbbed again just as it had that night when she had found her asleep on her books.
Before she could respond Yang moved her face in front of the younger girl blocking their eye contact. "Hey you get your bell rung getting me all worried about you and the first thing you say when you come to is 'Weiss'?" The brawler pouted, "I see how it is you little brat, don't care that you scared your older sister to death?"
"I-I-It's not like that." Ruby sputtered out blush gracing her cheeks. "It's j-just I saw her first." The blonde gave the wolf a cheeky grin let her know she was teasing her, "Yaaaannng." She pouted.
"Miss Rose." Professor Goodwitch's voice cut over the girls, she had checked over the last two member of Team CRDL and seeing that they were in no major danger had sent for medics to retrieve the unconscious boys. "I think you should go to the infirmary a looked over for a concussion." Team RWBY watched as the combat instructor marched away from them her riding crop flicking about repairing the arena. "That will be all for today." She called out, "Class dismissed."
Ruby shifted and started to push herself off the ground only to have Yang pick her up lightly. "Yaaaaang." She pouted, "I can walk just fine."
"Shut up Ruby you're hurt." Yang teased as she started out of the arena. "Come on Blakey let's get this brat to the infirmary." She called with a smirk over her shoulder. Blake rolled her eyes and started to follow the sisters.
"Oh hey!" Ruby called out, "Who won?"
Weiss gave a heavy sigh as she followed too, however she did give a quick glance at the screen. All of Team CRDL's Aura levels were below thirty percent, Ruby's, stood at thirty two. With a small smile Weiss shook her head, "You dolt."
A/N: And we're forging ahead. So a question that alway's bugged me was how did Pyrrha wind up fighting all of CRDL, well there's my answer but with Ruby instead. But I digress, next time we'll look a bit more of how the Faunus world works, pointedly wolves and Alphas with a small appearance of a caffeinated drink.
With that: No words can express my thanks, thoughts and comments are welcome, and smile on.