Unknown PoV
I always knew, instinctually, that I was different than my older siblings. But it wasn't until the dreams of the tree started, and my body changed for the first time that I truly understood just how unlike everyone I was.
I was never really close with my family, despite their best efforts and never bothered to try making friends, I thought they could never understand me for who and what I am.
My own parents thought I was crazy. When I found out I just ran into the woods, for what reason I couldn't even tell you at the time. I'd always felt at home in the forest.
However that day... I wish I had at least listened to them. Maybe things would have started out better for me.
~~The Journals of Jaune Arc.
Juniper Arc hummed to herself as she cooked breakfast for her still slumbering family. The sun had risen only an hour ago aftr all. It was still early, even by her standards, but today was a special day. It was twelve years to the day her baby boy had been born, and subsequently revived from the dead.
As she cooked their breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs and ham steak, she heard the distinctive footfalls of her husband, Alexander Ceasar Arc II.
"Good morning dear. Coffee has already been made." She said as she used her spatula to scramble the eggs in her pan to a nice sunny yellow.
Alexander grunted his thanks and immediately poored himself a cup of the bitter black Ichor.
"Schlrrrp-pah! Man that hits the spot. Thank y'Juni." He said with caffeine fueled grin.
Juniper rolled her eyes at his childish actions, but had an amused smile nonetheless.
"Are the kids awake?" she asked him.
"Yeah I woke Blanc, Rouge, and Noir." Alex said as he took a seat.
Juniper looked back at him from over her shoulder.
"Jaune's not in his room again?" She asked with an exasperated breath.
Alex shook his head.
"No he wasn't. He's likely out in that forest again, playing with that wolf of his." Alex said with a distinctive tone of annoyance.
Juniper knew that Alex had never liked Lupa, the wolf pup the mother wolf had given them, once Jaune was old enough to speak they had him give her a formal name.
Juniper had been ecstatic when Jaune used her maiden name for the wolf.
"Oh be quiet you." She chided playfully. "You just don't like the fact that there's an animal that doesn't like you."
Alex grumbled at her words, but didn't deny it.
He'd always been fond of animals, and they him. But for some reason Lupa only really liked Jaune. The two were inseparable, he had actually refused to go to the village school if Lupa wasn't allowed to come with him. It had been a pain to convince the school to allow it.
Speaking of School...
"We should probably go get him. He'll be late for school if he doesnt eat." Juniper sighed.
Her husband nodded but was hesitant for a moment, long enough for Juniper to see it.
"Alex? What is it?" Juniper asked with concern.
"I-... I got a call from Jaune teacher yesterday." Alexander began.
"Mhmm?" she hummed, urging him to continue.
"She said that Jaune's been talking to those "imaginary friends" of his again." Alexander told her with a heavy sigh.
"So? He's a kid dear. He's allowed to have imaginary friends. He'll grow out of it eventually." Juniper said in an understanding tone.
Alexander let out a frustrated sigh.
"Juni he's already twelve. The other children his age have long since outgrown the very idea of "Imaginary Friends". I'm starting to get worried that there's something serious wrong with him." Alexander stated while sharing his concerns for Jaune's mental health.
Juniper instantly got defensive.
"Like what dear? Our son is crazy? Is that what you think?! There is nothing wrong with him whatsoever! He is healthy, strong and... and alive! That's all that matters. Why do you think I forbid you from training him to be a Huntsman!?" She exclaimed at him, before calming down and sagging into her seat.
Alexander remained silent for a few seconds before he sighed.
She had never told him what had happened the day Jaune was born, when she had disappeared into the woods with the corpse of their son and reappeared with a living baby and wolf pup in her arms.
"Juni..." Alexander began in a soft tone.
She looked up at him with tear stained eyes.
"What aren't you telling me?" Alex tried to get her talk about it, but it was futile as she shook her head, not wanting to talk about it.
Alex sighed once more and stood to go find Jaune, only for to turn around and Jaune standing there with wide ice blue eyes.
"Jaune?! You surprised me! H-how much of that did you hear?" Alexander asked as he took a step towards his son.
Jaune took a step back as his mind processed the fact that his father thought he was crazy, and that his mother refused to allow him to pursue his dream, his heritage!
"Jaune I-" Alexander tried to speak up but Jaune turned and bolted out the front door.
"Jaune?!" Juniper leapt to her seat and chased after the boy through the open door, only to see him hop onto the large snow white body of Lupa and together they disappeared into the depths of the forest.
She tried to go after him but was stopped by Alexander.
"Let him work it out his system... he'll come back when he's ready. Beside Lupa is with him, he'll be alright." He softly whispered into her ear as he held her tight to his body.
She put up a weak attempt to free herself but eventually gave in and melted into the embrace.
"Oh Jaune... I'm so sorry..." Juniper whimpered, her words were mirrored by Alexander's thoughts.
However when he looked down at the grass below them he noticed a patch of red staining the frail green blades.
"Is that... blood?"
The night before: Unknown location.
Where was he? Jaune couldn't help but to wonder as he wandered through the strangest forest he'd ever seen.
"This isn't the forest from home..." he thought as he looked around the strange almost jungle-like woodlands.
He was confused and more than a little scared at having awoken in this unknown place.
"Hello?" He called out for anybody who could potentially hear his voice.
Except what came out wasn't words, at least not ones in any human language. The harsh growl that his throat released made him realize that something was different about his body. He'd been so preoccupied with the unfamiliar setting that he hadn't realized that his body was lower to the ground than before, and that he had at total of four limbs on the ground instead of just two.
He looked at his body and immediately saw that he was a black wolf with streaks of dark gold through his fur.
"What the-?" he cut himself off from finishing that line of thought, he wasn't allowed to curse, even if it was in his own head.
He took a few steps forward with his newfound Lupine body and found it to be easy as breathing, like he'd been a wolf his whole life.
Bounding forward with powerful push of his hind legs, he felt his heart rate accelerate with excitement as he evaded tree after tree that stood in his way.
He'd never felt this free in his life, yet the feeling seemed all too familiar to him, like an old memory that couldn't possibly be there and wasnt, yet felt like it.
The closest thing it could be described as was Deja Vu.
As he explored the forest, a sudden smell reached his nose, it was faint but had a pleasurably meaty flavor to it. Like a steak that was seared to a nice medium rare.
His stomach gave a rumble. He was absolutely famished. Who knows how long he'd been in this place before he'd woken up, and he had only eaten a small amount of his dinner the previous night.
Hey it wasn't his fault that vegetables are gross! But his sisters were vegans! He didn't have a choice but either eat only a little and have something in his belly or eat everything and puke it all up later in the evening.
His stomach was weird like that, too many vegetables and his body would violently eject them. The doctors said he was allergic to having excessive amount of vegetation based foods, yet his sister didn't care, they never did. They only care about "animal rights" and how "meat is murder." Bur what about him! Animals like him got to eat meat too!
Jaune slowed to a stop as he processed what he had just thought about himself. He considered himself an animal? When had that started? Was it before or after he had changed into his current form? Was his new form beginning to affect his state of mind? No... that couldn't be it. He'd always felt more at home amongst the wolves that lived in the forest, they were family to him, just like Lupa.
He stiffened as he remembered his best friend.
Where was she? She had been with him, he should know, he'd been using her as a pillow.
He hoped she was alright.
Again that succulent meaty smell wafted into his nostrils, sending another rumble throughout his abdomen, he could feel himself begin to drool at the smell.
Without thinking twice he began to walk towards the direction his nose told him the smell was originating.
Soon enough he found himself standing at a campfire, the smell was coming from a thick slab of meat that had been speared over the fire like a makeshit cooking spit.
A tall man with heavily muscled and equally scarred arms sat on a downed log, tending to the fire with a relatively thick stick.
Jaune cautiously inspected the man, like previously mention he was tall, muscled and hard arms covered in scars, but other details included a thick blonde beard that was black at the roots. The man's unkempt hair was pulled back into a warrior's wolf tail style, the color was the same as his beard, blonde with black roots.
Jaune noticed that the man's neck had an odd mark on it, like a tattoo but made of his own skin instead of ink. What was the word? He'd learned it in school... what was the- a Brand, it was a brand for slavery.
This man was once a slave... something that had been illegal for nearly a century!
Jaune stared at the man from the bushes he was in for several seconds before a voice cut through the faint crackling of the fire.
"You know it's impolite to stare Pup." The voice was gruff and unused, and it belonged to the man before him, who was now staring at him with piercing blue pools of ice for eyes.
Jaune let not an involuntary whimper at having been caught, he was getting scared.
"There is no need to be afraid, I have no intentions of harming you, that would be... counterintuitive to me." The man said with a wry grin.
Jaune relaxed a bit at that but didn't dare leave the safety of the bushes.
"Come. Sit. You must be hungry. The meat is almost finished searing." The man said as he grabbed the speared meat before pulling a wickedly curved knife with a bone handle that had the pommel carved into the shape of a wolf's head. Using the knife, the man cut the large slab of meat in half and set one piece to the side.
Jaune was hesitant, but when his stomach protested to his aversion to the offer of free food he gave in and cautiously crept out from the bushes. His haunches low to the ground in case this was a trap and he needed to run.
Creeping closer to the man, who hadn't taken his eyes off him, Jaune tentatively opened his jaws and used them to grab the half slab of finely cooked meat.
The second his tongue touched the meat his taste buds practically melted at the taste, and he began to chow down with renewed vigor.
The man let out an amused chuckle at his actions.
"That good huh? Thank you kindly, it's nice to see that such a young man enjoys my cooking. Even if I am currently... limited in my options at the moment." The man said with a kind smile.
"Arf! (Thank you!)" Jaune barked his thanks to the man.
"You're very welcome." The man said, which gave Jaune pause.
"Arrrrroof? (Can you understand me?)" Jaune barked inquisitively.
"I can." The man stated matter-of-factly.
"Arf-arf! Aaroof? Arruf? Rrff! (Oh thank god! Can you tell me where I am? What is this place? I just woke up here!)" Jaune quickly explained in worry, however a raised palm from the man made him be quiet.
"No need to be alarmed. You will be returned to your home shortly. You are merely dreaming of this place. I will explain what I can but for the time being you must be silent." The man said sternly.
Jaune immediately sat down and waited for the man to start speaking.
"Alright then let's start with what this place is." The man murmured before looked to the boy turned wolf.
"To put it simply... this place both is and isn't a part of Remnant." He said with a conflicted look on his face.
Jaune tilted his head in confusion.
"Allow me to explain." The man said as he held up his own piec of meat, which was still on the stick it had been spear to.
"Think of Remnant as the meat and the stick is this place. The this place aka the stick, runs through Remnant aka the meat. You with me so far?" the man asked as he paused his explanation to see if Jaun understood.
"Arf..(kind of)" Jaune responded with a light pawing at the dirt.
"Good enough for me. Okay now this place is capable of connecting to places that are both different and Identical to this one." the man said as he put the meat covered stick back onto a pair of stick that it had been cooking on beforehand.
Jaune understood that and "spoke" up.
"Arf! (So it's like a tree but with different places on it's branches instead of leaves!)"
The man blinked at the explanation given before snapping his fingers while pointing at Jaune.
"That. That is exactly what this place is. Remnant is just one of many worlds connecting to this place. I'm also from Remnant and fell into this place and have been here for a very long time." The man finished with a heavy sigh that made Jaune feel bad for the man.
The man seemed to pick up on his feelings and simply smiled at him.
"Rfffmph? (Then how did I get here?)" Jaune asked the man.
"Ah you see you and I are different... as a boy I could freely enter this place whenever I wanted, usually by dream, or by overlapping my vision of this place with Remnants plane of existence this allows me to see the Spirits." The man explained.
Jaune blinked at that.
"Rmph? (Spirits?)" Jaune asked curious.
"Have you ever had an imaginary friend that felt too real? Or perhaps seen a misty figure that you didn't previously?" The man asked, but it sounded almost rhetorical to Jaune's ears.
Jaune thought back to all the so-called "imaginary friends" he'd met over his twelve years of life.
There was Oakyr the Oaktree he had met when exploring the woods with Lupa.
Then there was Todraec the River Snake. He wasn't an actual snake but the being looked similar with its slender blue body that flowed like a river.
There was also the little beings that floated from his school paper and tried to annoy him into throwing them away, whenever he tried to study. He'd gotten in trouble because of thoe things way too many times. He didn't like them at all.
Jaune looked back at the man and nodded his furred head.
"Those are spirits. They are in all things that exist, and can change if something changes in their environment or their physical vessel. Such as if a tree is cut down to make paper, then the tree spirits will split into many pieces and take on a new spiritual identity for the paper... although paper spirits tend to be suicidal and will do whatever they can to be tossed away or burned. All so they can return to this place and be made anew." The man explained.
Jaune blinked at the man's explanation over the paper spirits, it was almost coincidental that Jaune had been thinking of those very spirits just before the man had spoken.
The man continued on.
"This place is known by many names, depending on the worlds that connect to it. In my time spent here, I've heard some spirits call this place The Umbra, others call it The Great Beyond, some even call it The World Tree, but those with ties to Remnant call it the Ever After." The man finished his explanation.
"The Ever After...?" Jaune thought about where he'd heard that before.
His eyes went wide as he remembered something his mother read to him.
"Arf! (like from the fairytale!)" he exclaimed in wonder.
The man flinched at that.
"Yes... just like the fairytale. The girl who fell through the world." The man said with pained sigh, as if recalling a harsh memory.
Jaune titled his head in worry for the man, which did not go unnoticed.
"I'm alright. Just a bad memory associated with that story." the man said with a wave.
Jaune gave an apologetic whimper.
"It's fine you didn't know...or rather you don't yet" the man said, thinking that last part to himself.
"Back to the topic at hand- wait... this feeling." The man tense as he felt something approaching.
Jaune tensed in response to the man's tension, sniffed the air and nearly gagged as an acrid oder reached his nostril.
"You smell it..." The man glanced at the woods around them.
"You need to leave. Now." The man was stern as he reached for his bone handled knife, holding it out to Jaune.
"Take this and run as fast as you can to the giant tree in the distance. Don't stop for anything... except if there is a town with a blacksmith. If you find that place show this to her, she'll help you get home." The man ordered him.
Jaune whimpered a little before he took the blade into his jaws by the bone handle. It didn't taste very good but he did as he was told.
The man smiled a little ruffled his ears lightly.
"Good. Now go. I'll keep this thing busy for a while." The man said as he stood and turned toward the forest.
Jaune turned and ran towards the forest, but before he was deep enough a deep voice reached his ears and he stopped to look back at the man. Only to see a purple skinned horned humanoid that smelled like death. The man walked towards the Creature, his body growing and changing as he did so.
Soon in the man's place was a massive black and yellow furred bipedal humanoid wolf that looked extremely like a beowolf and stood over 7 feet tall.
Jaune gazed at the wolfman with wide blue eyes for only a second before he took off running again, not wanted to stick around to see which of the monstrous beings won.
He did hope it was the wolfman however. He quickly turned and ran deep into the forest, blade held tight in his mouth.
After what felt like an hour of running Jaune found himself running through a small town. It was filled with strange creatures, both small and large.
As he walked the creatures took notice of him and went silent.
No... that wasn't true. Jaune could hear them whispering amongst themselves.
"A Garou.."
"Werewolf.."
Jaune might have risen a brow, had he a human face.
"What are they calling me? A Garou? What the hell's a werewolf?" He wondered to himself as he continued to search for any sign of a blacksmith in the area.
However the longer he walked around, and the more the creatures took notice of him... the more the words of passing locals got more and more nervous.
"That fur coat..."
"One of the Big Bad Wolf's kin."
"Why is something like that here in town?"
"Does the King know?"
"Where's the Cat?"
"Forget the cat where's the Jabberwalker?!"
"Hush! Do you want the Wolf to take you?!"
"Pah the Wolf has long taken to living in some human world under the name Bigby Wolf, still chasing after that princess with skin as fair as snow."
"Really? Then does that mean... we can deal with this Wolf ourselves?"
Jaune tensed as he heard those words and frightfully looked as the ones who had said them.
"No that's still a bad idea. Besides he hasn't done anything to harm us yet."
Jaune was a little relieved that there was some sense of reason in the conversation.
"So we just wait until he tries to eat one of us?!" Another voice spat in anger.
"You forget that he is Garou, a protector. He will not harm us if we do not engage. "
"And what makes you think that, huh?!"
"Because that wolf is only a child."
"... a child?"
"Indeed, this must be his first change, you know the first change is preceeded by a dreamwalking of this realm."
Jaune took note of the words.
"The first change? What does that mean? Is it related to why they call me? A Garou?" He wondered.
"I-... tch! Fine he can go free... but if I see it try to hurt anyone I'm getting the blacksmith.
Jaune's head perked up at that. He was looking for the blacksmith!
"Arf!" Jaune barked at the owner of the voice who had mentioned the blacksmith.
The being was a relatively small being, and had the appearance of a goblin from fantasy games.
Jaune trotted upto the goblin and barked once more withba wag of his tail.
"Eh? Whudda y'want?" The goblin spat at him.
"Arf!" Jaune barked again while holding up the blade in his mouth for the goblin to see.
"Eh? A blade? What about it wolf?" The goblin was annoyed at his incessant barking.
Jaune whimpered a big.
"He can't understand me..." Jaune thought with a mournful look in his eyes, one that the other being had noticed.
The being was a black and white bipedal Corgi with a silver rose shaped collar that held up the dog's small red hooded cloak.
"Hello young wolf. Perhaps I can help you." the dog greeted Jaune who looked at him, or rather... down at him, as he was quite short.
"Arf? (Hello?)" Jaune tested the dog to see if he actually understood him.
"Hello young pup. I understood you perfectly. You wish to find the blacksmith correct?" The dog said.
"Arf-Aruff! (Yes! Can you please tell me where I can find her?!)" Jaune asked the corgi with desperation.
"But of course. I was ony way to visit her myself. I do not mind guiding a young Garou such as your to the Tree's avatar." The corgi replied.
Jaune let out a happy bark and profusely thanked the dog being.
"It is no trouble at all! Please allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Zwei the faithful dog companion to Red Riding Hood."
Jaune tilted his head. Not really knowing who Red Riding Hood was.
Zwei, sensing Jaune's ignorance decided to spare himself any embarrassment and quickly moved on.
"Moving on, I have met a few Garou in my time, and not all of them were good, but I sense you are not one of those types. Tell me why are you wandering the Umbra without one of your packmates?"
"Arf... (I don't understand what you're talking about honestly, I kind-of just woke up here. And... what's a Garou? I keep being called that.)" Jaune stated.
The corgi paused for a second before speaking.
"Young Garou... do you not know what you are? Are you not affiliated with one of the clans of Garou?" Zwei asked him in surprise.
"Aroo? (Clans? I'm from the Arc Family of Remnant.)" The young wolf told them which made the dog gasp.
"Impossible! Remnant has no Garou! My boy you may be the first Garou to be born in that world." Zwei said.
"Arr? (Uh... ok but that still doesn't answer my question.)" Jaune tried to press for more answers.
"Young pup... the Garou, more commonly known as the werewolf, are being born of man and spirit, created by nature to act at its protector." Zwei explained.
"Ark? (Man and spirit?)" Jaune mused to himself.
Zwei nodded.
"Yes indeed. For you to have been born in Remnant then... that means the God of Nature in that world must have created you." Zwei stated.
"Rrrf? (Created? But I wasn't created. I was born from my mom and dad. My mom is a wolf faunus and my dad is human.)" Jaune explained.
"Something must have happened for you to have been made into a Garou then, can you remember anything that might explain it?" Zwei asked.
Jaune looked down. He wasn't stupid, he did know something... his parents had never told him the truth but... one could only be called a miracle child so many times before one gets suspicious.
"Ar...(I was stillborn at birth. There's a story that tells of my mother venturing into the woods mere hours after my birth and when she returned I was alive and well, and accompanied by a wolf puppy... Lupa my best friend.)" Jaune explained to Zwei.
The corgi spirit took in the story with surprise.
"Your mother must have gone into those wood and met with the god of nature to revive you... he must have made you into a Garou as a result." Zwei surmised.
Jaune looked down at that.
"Indeed that is what happened Companion of the Red Hood." A feminine voice interrupted.
Jaune looked to see a robotic being with hollow eye sockets, and rather prominent female features, donned in a blacksmith apron, one not unlike one Jaune had seen his father wear when he made his sister's weapon.
"L-lady Blacksmith! Good evening!" The goblin being stuttered as he backed away.
"Good evening Rumple, I hope you are behaving around my guest." The blacksmith greeted with a smile.
The goblin bowed with rather flushed cheeks.
"Y-yes of course M'lady." Rumple stuttered with an embarrassed tone.
"Good. Now onto business..." The blacksmith looked to Jaune and smiled.
"He told me you would be coming but I had not expected to see you so soon. Welcome to the Ever After Jaune." The blacksmith greeted.
The crowd began to whisper his name.
"That's Jaune?"
"Really?"
"You're kidding?"
"This Pup is really Jaune?"
"Silence everyone." The blacksmith said kindly, but with an undertone of authority.
Jaune was confused as to why the spirits knew his name he was about to look to Zwei for answers, only to see him wagging his tail as he gazed at Jaune with wide sparkling puppy dog eyes.
"Guh! Such a powerful attack!" Jaune recoiled a little like he'd just been punched in the gut.
The blacksmith giggled a little, before kneeling to his height.
"It seems you are stuck in your current form, allow me to help you." She said as she placed a hand on his furry cheek.
"Imagine yourself human, remember what your human body felt like, and I will guide you through your transformation."
Jaune closed his eyes and remembered what his body was like while human, he pictured the times he ran next to Lupa on his two legs instead of four.
A twisting feeling in his gut made itself known to him and he soon found himself sitting on his knees, the blacksmiths impossibly soft hand resting on his very human cheek.
Jaune fought the urge to blush as he realized that the blacksmith, despite her physical appearance being robotic, what actually still quite pretty.
"Th-thank you." Jaune said as he got to his feet.
"Of course Jaune.
"Wow it really is Jaune!"
"Hey there Jaune how've you been?"
"Hey hey! Jaune over here!"
"Jaune!"
Jaune felt his eyes sinning comically as he was bumrushed by every spirit seeming to know his name.
"Everyone please! I know you are excited but you are overwhelming the poor boy!" The blacksmith raised her voice slightly so as to be heard.
They all fell silent as they looked down like children that got caught sneaking a cookie.
Jaune could hardly believe that they all seemed to know him.
"U-um... it's nice to meet you all?" Jaune said with an unsure tone.
They all blinked at him before they all began to laugh. Having all realized the same thing.
"It's nice to meet you too Jaune, please you should go with lady blacksmith, she can help you." one being said with a grin.
"Indeed, it is best we depart for the tree now Jaune." The blacksmith said kindly.
"Oh that's right... the man in the woods said you would help me get home. I uh... never got his name." he said, with a sheepish tone at the end.
The crowd of spirits snickered a bit at an inside joke, which strangely annoyed Jaune.
"Yes I will help you get home. The way to do so will be the great tree." The blacksmith said while pointing at said tree.
Jaune marveled at the sight of the massive tree.
"Ok! I'm ready to go home now. Lupa must be worried sick!" Jaune said tonthw blacksmith, who smiled at him.
"Then take my hand Jaune and we'll be off." The blacksmith instructed.
Jaune flushed a bit but took her hand nonetheless.
"W-wait!" the voice of Zwei drew their attention.
"Let me come with you! He said... he said that I could go to Remnant when he appeared! Jaune must be him! Right? Please let me come with you! I wish to meet my dearest companion, little red!" Zwei begged with tears in his puppy eyes.
Jaune looked up at the blacksmith.
"Can he come? Is that allowed?" Jaune asked.
The blacksmith looked at the boy, then to the corgi, and nodded with a smile.
"Of course you may. This was always intended to begin with. Come Zwei... I wish you a safe journey in your search of your dear friend." The blacksmith said as she held out her hand to the dog, who wiped his tears and put on a determined face, which was absolutely adorable to Jaune, before taking the extended hand.
As soon as he did so, they vanished and immediately reappeared before a large golden door, the blacksmith no where to be seen.
"Where did she go?" Jaune asked with worry.
"She's already inside. We should go too." Zwei told him as he lead Jaune by the hand towards the door.
Together they placed a hand, or paw in Zwei's case and pushed the door open.
Jaune, having felt something watching him, looked back to see a familiar man, leaned up against a tree, looking back at him. The man gave a two fingered salute that turned into a slight wave, before he turned around and walked deep into the woods, with Jaune quickly losing sight of him.
"What's wrong?" Zwei asked with concern.
Jaune just shook his head, his hand tightened around the knife he had been given.
"Nothing. Let's go." Jaune said as they entered the golden light of the door and disappeared from the ever after.
The pair however found themselves in a dark space, a large wooden bench covered in wooden sculptures and carving tools was directly before them.
"Ah you made it." the blacksmith said from behind the workbench, where she was dutifully carving a statue that reminded Jaune of the man's wolfman transformation, however the figurine was holding a pair of somethings that had yet to be carved. Another long and wide uncarved object was standing upright next to the wolfman.
Whatever they were, Jaune could tell they would be long and very heavy.
He also noticed that the blacksmith was using a knife that was identical to the one in his hand to carve the wooden figurine.
He had to check to see if he still held his, which he did.
"We're here Lady Blacksmith!" Zwei cheerily said as he marched up to the workbench and peered up at the robotic woman.
The woman smiled at the dog.
"So it would seem Zwei. Glad you made it." She said.
Jaune just stood confused by the interaction, as she had just been with them not too long ago.
"So how do I get to Remnant?" The hooded corgi asked her with the wagging of an excited tail.
The blacksmith gestured to a large orange portal beside her.
"Go through there. It will take you to where you belong." She said gently.
The dog beamed and was about to bound towards the portal before he froze and sheepishly turned to look at Jaune.
"U-um... this is where I get off Jaune. Thank you for agreeing to take me with you but I... I need to find her." The corgi said with a bit of sadness of having to leave after having only just joining.
Jaune gave a smile and shook his head.
"Of course. It was nice to meet you Zwei. Thank you for everything, and who knows maybe we'll meet again?" Jaune said with a casual shrug and a grin.
Zwei blinked at the boy's words and beamed at him.
"Definitely! We'll definitely meet again!" Zwei said before he turned and marched onwards, filled with renewed dedication to his goals.
Jaune smiled and waved as he watched the dog disappear into the orange portal. However, soon as the corgi vanished so did Jaune's smile, his hand fell to his side, his mood replaced with melancholy as he watched his new friend vanishing without a trace.
"Will I? See him again I mean.." Jaune asked the blacksmith without looking at her.
The blacksmith smiled at the boy.
"Oh I'm sure you two will meet again someday." She said in her motherly tone.
He gave a nod in response before he looked at her.
"Alright then... how do I get home?" He asked her, his ice blue orbs looking deep into her nonexistent ones.
"Come." She gestured him to come closer to her workbench.
Jaune did as asked, looking at the various other figurines rhat littered the bench.
"You're really good at carving... They're so lifelike. " He complimented as his eyes drifted over a pair of black and gold dragons, they seemed familiar but he couldn't place where he'd seen them.
She smiled at his words.
"Thank you very much. I have spent ages honing my craft. However I am a mere novice compared to the Great Tree. My true passion lies in the forge." The blacksmith gestured to a place behind Jaune.
He turned and gasped at the sight of various weapons of all shapes and sizes. Swords, axes, bows, she had everything you could ever need of right there.
He saw several mechashift weapons, much to his personal distaste. Being from a family of confirmed knighthood dating before even the age of the warrior king of Vale, it was understandable that he preferred the classics to mechanical weaponry, including guns to a lesser degree.
He did understand the need for high powered ranged weaponry, but that didn't mean he would use a gun when he started training to be a Huntsman... whenever his dad decided that he would. Hopefully soon.
Jaune's eyes roamed around the weapons, unconsciously he began to roam them, the weapon's display cases were open, almost like they wanted Jaune to touch them.
He stopped in front of possibly the largest sword he'd ever seen. It was clearly a greatsword, but it was more... Colossal.
It possessed an overwhelmingly long blade that was nearly a foot in width. The blade and guard was decorated with golden intricacies and blue gemstones, a bloodgroove with runic etchings extended from the golden pieces on the blade. An icy chill seemed to take over Jaune's body as his hand reached out and touched the blade.
The loyal half-wolf tried to defy his fate, he fought with all his strength to not harm his dear sister and princess, but he wouldn't hold out for long, his Giant companion had tried to seal him away but his other friend had mistakenly freed him. Now he raged against the assassins that had come for his princess, soon enough however he lost himself to his bloodlust and rage. He was relieved when the friend who released him came and put an end to his rampage.
His final thoughts were prayers that his friend, the Tarnished whom his dear Princess Ranni had gifted the sword of the dark moon to as a sign of their betrothal.
"Protect her in my stead. My dear comrade.."
Jaune lurched back from the blade, clutching his hand to his chest.
"W-wha-what was that?!" Jaune asked with a breathless shout.
"Ah yes that blade." The blacksmith let out a sad sigh. "One of my finest. However it's owner was cursed, he too was Garou, unknowingly however. The world he belonged to mistook him for another wolven race that existed and as such he served as a Shadow, a protector and potential assassin for his own sister."
Jaune looked at the blade almost yearning to touch the blade again.
"What was his name?" Jaune asked her distantly.
She looked at him with a curious look, before she instinctually glanced down at the partially carved figurine in her hands, and another smile of knowing krept onto her lips.
"Blaidd." She said simply.
"Blaidd..." Jaune repeated the name before looking at her.
"Everyone keeps calling me a Garou. But I don't exactly know more than the fact that they're supposedly born of spirit and man, and are apparently capable of transforming. But what exactly am I?" Jaune asked her.
She looked at him and gave a short nod, deciding it best to explain his situation.
"As you know, the night you were born, you were not of the living. Your mother begged the God that created the Faunus to save you, but he was unable to due to you never having a soul bound to your body." She began making him freeze.
"Then why...?" the rest of his question was left unsaid.
"That night an old wolf who was eternally loyal and had protected the God of Animals for longer than there were ever Faunus, constantly being revived and healed by his God. He stepped up and told his lord that he wished to rest, and offered to grant you his soul so you may live your life and so that he may finally rest in piece." The blacksmith said with a wave of her hand.
Before Jaune's eyes, a spectral wolf of shadow and gold materialized and sauntered around him like the apex predator it was.
Jaune was entranced by the sight, his hand clutching his heart tightly as he stared at the wolf that had granted him life.
"Thank you..." He whispered to it.
The wolf nodded its head before fading away.
"However the fusion of man and the Bestial spirit of the God's most trusted child resulted in your existence becoming that of a Garou. The first to exist in Remnant." She finished.
"The first..." Jaune muttered to himself as he looked at his hand.
"The Garou are fierce but noble warriors and wise shamans amongst those of spiritkind. They protect the balance of nature and mankind, this duty almost never changes in any world they exist within." The blacksmith informed him with a wry smile.
Jaune nodded at her words, before he remembered something.
"One of those guys outside called me "One of the big bad wolf's kin". What did they mean by that?" Jaune asked.
The blackmsith blinked... somehow, before chuckling.
"That is a misconception of the spirits, you see a certain type of spirit tend to be featured or even born, within various fairytales. Those spirits are called Fables. The Big Bad Wolf, or Bigby Wolf as he goes by nowadays, is one such Fable, however he bears a close resemblance to the Garou, especially with his ability to transform like one, as such some Fables believe that he and the Garou have some relation to each other." The blacksmith told him.
"So it's just a misunderstanding then?" He asked her, to which she nodded.
"Oh okay... then what exactly can a... Garou do?" Jaune asked her.
She said nothing but instead showed another figure of shadow and gold, this one human in appearance.
"The Homid, or the human form." The blacksmith said with another gesture.
The figure then gained a slightly more aggressive stance with claws and slightly wilder hair. Slightly larger but lean muscles were clearly visible despite the lack of identification features.
"The Glabro. Boasting a degree of enhanced physical abilities.The man-wolf form. This form could pass you as a faunus in your world." She said.
Another hand gesture made the figure change into a very familiar shape. The beast, for that was what it was, looked identical to the man's wolfman transformation.
"The Crinos. The Wolfman. This form is the true battle form of the Garou. A complete hybrid of human and wolf. Strong, Agile, and Versitile."
Jaune looked at the beast, his mind raced a mile-a-minute.
Another wave.
The figure shrank and became a familiar wolf.
"The Lupus. The true wolf form. You have already experienced this form before. It's greatest strength lies in its ability to go undetected."
One last wave and the wolf grew to the size of a horse.
Jaune's eyes widened at the sheer size of the animal.
"The Hispo. The wolf of nightmarish sizes, a remnant from a time when Wolves surpassed direwolves in sheer size. This form is that of a true Apex predator. Designed to hunt, and to kill."
The way she phrased thise words sent a chill up his spine.
"And uh... how do I... change?" He asked her unsure.
"You already have Jaune. You arrived here as a Lupus, you have achieved your first change. The others will follow soon enough." She informed patiently.
"Ok but... how do I change my form at will?" He asked her.
"Oh Jaune... I already taught you that." She said motherly.
He recalled what she had told him to do when he wanted to chamge from the Lupus to the Homid, the tugging in his gut returned and he seized ahold of it with his mind and suddenly he was once again a Lupus.
He inspected his body for a second before repeating the process and returning to the Homid form.
"You're getting better at changing. Perhaps you should attempt the Glabro?" She suggested.
Jaune looked hesitant but decided to give it a shot.
He imagined the image of the wild looking man-wolf, with his long claws and messy hair, and lean but bulging muscles.
The tugging returned and he had some trouble seizing it with his willpower but managed to initiate the transformation into the manwolf.
Jaune immediately noticed that his arms were slightly more hairy than before, his fingers were now tipped with curved claws and his body felt so much stronger than it had been before.
"Impressive you managed to transform on your first try. You have a talent for being a Garou."
Jaune felt his cheeks redden at the praise before allowing himself to return to his Homid form.
"Thank you..." Jaune muttered, "Should I try the Crinos?" he asked her, but she simply shook her head negatively.
"No Jaune there's no need. Besides it's almost morning back on Remnant. We need to get you home." She said as she opened another orange portal for the boy.
Jaune looked at it with a wide smile. He couldn't wait to get home, he wanted to ask his father if he could train him to be a Huntsman.
As he moved towards the portal a question came to him.
"Hey uh... miss blacksmith?" He began as he looked to the robotic being.
"Yes Jaune?"
"How did I get here?" He should have asked that question from the very beginning.
She smiled at him.
"You haven't figured it out yet Jaune? Why... you're dreaming."
Those were the last words he heard before he was swallowed in orange light.
Jaune awoke on the soft morning dew covered grass, his head cradled in the soft white fur of his best friend Lupa. He rolled onto his side and attempted to snuggle back into the warmth of the wolf for more, but a wet tongue sliding from his chin to his hair prevented that from happening.
"Mmm... Lupaa... five more minutes!" Jaune whined as he tried in vain to fall back asleep.
"Grrr (No. Wake up you idiot. You're going to be late for your own Birth day.)" Lupa growled at him.
Jaune groaned and sat up.
"Alright Alright... sheesh Lupa you don't have to call me an idiot..." Jaune said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Wait a second..." Jaune said, realization slowly creeping up on him.
He turned to Lupa.
She blinked.
He blinked back.
"HOLY CRAP! I UNDERSTOOD YOU PERFECTLY!!"
The birds of the forest flew away from how loud his shout was.
Lupa whines as she covered her ears.
Jaune winced at her sound of pain.
"Sorry... I was just surprised to be able to tranlate your barks and body language into words I can understand." Jaune apologized as he stood to his feet, something falling ti the ground as he did such.
"Huh?" Jaune made a sound of confusion as he looked at what had fallen. What he saw made him freeze.
It was the knife from his dream.
"No way... that's impossible. It was real? Then I..." He trailed off as he slowly picked up the knife by the blade.
He hissed as the sharpness of the metal cut a deep gash on the palm of his hand causing him to bleed a great deal.
"Rrrr! (Why the hell would you grab a knife by the blade! We need to get you to the house before you bleed out.) Lupa growled at him, not even questioning where the knife had come from, instead she grabed him by his shirt with her mouth and dragged him across the lawn of his house and towards the front door, blood dripping from his hand the entire time.
They had just arrived at his front door when Jaune realized that the pain in his hand was gone.
"Hey wait up a second Lupa." Jaune said as he looked at his hand, covered in blood, but no longer having the gash marring his skin.
Lupa sniffed his palm and concluded it was healed.
"Hrrrmph. (You're all healed? Jaune... what is going on?)" Lupa looked at him with worry.
"I'll explain everything later. Let's go inside before Mom and Dad come to find us." Jaune said as he wiped the left over blood onto a nearby patch of grass, leaving his hand spotless.
Lupa huffed her agreement before walking to stand next to the door.
Jaune rolled his eyes at her attitude and made to open the door. It opened directly to the living room, which was decorated with a sofa positioned in front of a fireplace, his family's ancestrial sword and shield mounted above.
Jaune's gaze drifted along the blade with a bit of longing, then he remembered the sword he had seen in his "dream" and his longing fir the sword and shield combo was replaced with a desire for a sword like the one the Wolf knight Blaidd possessed.
His mind flooded with the memories of the blade's owner, and of the weapon itself's capabilities.
Lupa nudged his hand with her snout, effectively drawing him out of his thoughts.
"Sorry... just some thing's on my mind." he muttered as he reluctantly tore himself away from the view of the sword.
He hoped he could convince his Dad to train him. However as he reached the Kitchen, where they undoubtedly were, he froze as he heard his mother start screaming at his father.
"Like what dear? Our son is crazy? Is that what you think?! There is nothing wrong with him whatsoever! He is healthy, strong and... and alive! That's all that matters. Why do you think I forbid you from training him to be a Huntsman!?"
Jaune felt like his world crumbling around him. He didn't even hear his father's question.
His father thought he was crazy?
His mom was forcing his dad not to train him? After all the times he had confided in her how he wished dad would train him? I was all because of her?!
He felt betrayed and as his parents realized he was there and had heard them he did the only thing he could think of.
He ran.
He ran through the livingroom, taking the time to grab the sword and shield from the fireplace and bolted put the front door.
He made it across the lawn beside Lupa in record time, and just before entering the forest he hopped onto Lupa's back.
For a second he thought he heard his mother's voice call out for him, but he ignored it and together with Lupa, he entered the forest.
They ran for what seemed like hours but in reality had only been thirty or so minutes. They had made great time considering they were nowhere near the town of Ansel.
Jaune didn't even recognize the forest around them, which said a lot about the forest since he had explored nearly every corner of the forest within fifty square miles of Ansel.
Looking around he saw no signs of familiarity in his surroundings.
"Where are we?" He wondered aloud as they passed a large boulder.
Lupa chose not to respond and instead sat down to allow Jaune to slide off her back.
Jaune found his footing on a patch of dry soil and turned to inspect his surroundings more thoroughly.
The sword on his hip weighed heavily on his mind. He didn't even know why he had taken the damned thing. Unsheathing the weapon he stared at the dull steel, his eyes were the only piece of his reflection that he could clearly see.
The same eyes as the wolf that had given him life.
His mother always told him that the eyes were windows to the soul. It was no wonder the other kids at his school were uneasy around him. His soul wasn't one of a man but a wolf.
Jaune dropped the blade into the dirt and intended to leave it there, but Lupa nudged him again.
He looked at her, watching as she picked it up with her jaws and held it back up to him.
Jaune shook his head.
"That sword isn't mine... and... I don't want it." He said just before transforming into his Lupus state before his friend's eyes.
Lupa's eyes widen before she dropped the sword to the dirt out of pure shock.
"You are... wolf?" Lupa asked as she sniffed Jaune's black and yellow fur coat.
Jaune idly noticed that his mind now filtered out the growls of wolven speech.
"I had... a dream, if you could call it that..." Jaune began, telling her the contents of said dream.
"Garou... Werewolf. Yes that suits you nicely." Lupa said as she circled around him, close enough for their respective fur coats to be felt against each other.
Before Jaune could respond, a coppery scent entered his nose. He recognized it immediately.
"Blood... I smell Blood." Jaune told his fellow wolf, who paused and sniffed the air.
"I smell it as well. Shall we investigate?" She asked with a tilt of her head.
Jaune thought about it for a second before he nodded.
"Good... last one there's a rotten ham?" Lupa asked with a small swish of her tail.
Jaune gave a wolfish grin at her and took off towards the source of the smell, leaving the Arc family sword abandoned in the dirt.
It would be found two days later by a search party of Huntsman, led by Alexander Arc.
A/N: Alrighty explanation time.
First off, I changed the pairing to be Lancaster instead of white knight because well, I see a better relationship forming between a werewolf jaune and the literal red riding hood than a him and Weiss.
Second, we already know that Zwei was based off of the dog companion of the Red Riding Hood who warned and pretected her from the Wolf in the original story, so I wanted to give him more of a backstory. A faithful companion searching for his dear friend.
Third... yes I referenced characters from The Wolf Among Us game. Bigby's ability to shapeshift was so similar to the Garou that I made it so that the Garou are often confused with being related to him, but with that not actually being the case. It was actually after I played the game that I decided I should change the FL from Weiss to Ruby, seeing as a Big Bad WolfxSnow White concept was being used for TWAU.
Fourth, I made a heavy reference to Blaidd from Elden Ring, and made him be considered a Garou. Yes I am more than aware that he isn't, but that man is honestly the closest thing to a werewolf in that world, along with Maliketh. Those two are the only werewolfish beings in the game. The other Shadows were just regular wolves!
Fifth, yes Jaune will be using Blaidd's sword, or rather replica made using ice dust. That thing is fucking sweet okay! That thing carried my ass through the Radagahn and elden beast boss fights despite my main style of fighting being dual straightswords and the darkmoon greatsword! I had tried every weapon I could think of to help my get a slight damage advancement in the fights! But only The Royal Greatsword really worked for me! Plus... come on... like you wouldn't want to see a Crinos wield that beast of a greatsword like it weighed nothing.
Last one for this time. Last chapter I made mention of Faunus coveting "Bestial Magics" in the beginning. I kinda forgot to mention this in my last explanation... whoops? Ok so let me start by saying that my Remnant is a bit AU. Starting off, we all know that in canon humanity once had magic but it was taken back by the dark brother who created grimm. As a result the newer generation of humanity gained aura and dust due to them no longer having the magics given to them by the dark brother.
This is still the same for my world, however in my world, purebred Faunus (those who do possess animal features) are born with only Magic due to the God of Animal being around. Halfbreed faunus, born of human and faunus, are capable of using both, but it is exceedingly rare that any of them actually use both types of powers.
Now the types of magic afforded to the faunus is a lot like a semblance, a specific element or power, however they tend to be related to their animal counterpart and their personality in some way. For example: an Artic Fox faunus would have some form of cryomancy, aka Ice magic. Their magic can be used without dust, and are less constrained in what they can do.
Magic will be more known in my world as a result, just the fact that humans once had it will be hidden. However due to the faunus' magics and animal characteristics humanity will be jealous of the fact that they can control the elements without the need for dust primarily the SDC as it eliminates a veritable source of profit). That jealousy will have sparked racism amongst many humans, directed towards the faunus, which then will cause wars and eventually the White Fang.
So basically the entire series is following canon events, but adding magic to the Faunus' side.
Will Jaune use magic? mmmm maybe? Haven't really decided, considering that Garou have their own energy called Gnosis, which they use to activate their Rites. I might just have the two fuse together? But I'm undecided on that honestly.
Oh one last thing before I cut this out. To the iser who reviewed in Spanish, I'm sorry that I couldn't read what you wrote to me. The FF app doesn't translate the reviews section. I want you to know that while I couldn't read it, I appreciate the fact that you reviewed at all.
Alrighty that's a wrap. Imma post this and call it for a bit. Laterz.