A/N: Hello, and welcome back to what is turning out to be one of my more popular stories. I'm glad you all enjoy it. I certainly love writing it. Werewolves and Vampires are cool, man. So is RWBY. Why wouldn't they work together?

As always, I hope you enjoy it.

RWBY is owned by Viz Media, and was created by the late Monty Oum

By Blood and Teeth

Chapter 4

Weiss ducked under a swipe of twisted, chipped claws before performing a beautiful pirouette as she dodged around a lunging uppercut and finally weaved her way through a frenzied series of swipes and slashes before with a piercing cry like a hawk she thrust her rapier deep into the chest of the Black Fang before her, piercing its left lung while just missing its blackened heart. She gritted her teeth at that, cursing her lack of accuracy before drawing the blade back out as she danced back away from the wildly thrashing, howling thing as a gush of stinking blood splurted out.

Then it was back to dancing and diving around the other two as the wounded beasts thrashed and slashed and bit at her avoiding form. Above it all, the night sky was beginning to lighten to day.

She could sense it as the subtle hues of night lightened. She turned her head to look behind her after she ducked under a wild haymaker and felt her eyes widen as she saw the first pale rays of the Dawn's Light. "By the Night, not like this," She whispered then she turned back, facing the Black Fangs as they snarled and howled at her, their mangy fur coated wounds from her blade and hissed as her pale blue eyes turned red with wrath, "Not like this!"

And, charged back into the fray.

She slid under a pair of snapping jaws before jumping up to stag her blade through the eye of the fallen werewolf before jerking it back out again as she pirouetted to slash another across the chest right as it backhanded her across the overlook. Weiss cried out at that before suddenly grunting heavily as her briefly weightless body slammed back down on the uncaring stone.

Weiss grunted, groaned, as she slowly got up, a bit of blood leaking down from her eyes, her nose, as she stood up. She took a couple of wobbly steps as she tried to get her balance back, spitting a wad of her own dark blood as she glared at her remaining two opponents. The more injured one snarled wordlessly at her as filthy, stinking saliva dripped from a maw filled with far too many, misshapen and broken teeth. Black Teeth. black Fangs. their namesake, and the bane of her kind. Beasts which drank their blood, only their blood.

Well, the blood of the Kindred, at least. It seemed even to maligned creatures that her blood wasn't worth as much as her superior's. Too bad they killed him already. He would've made for a lovely distraction she thought, hearing her father's condescending voice in place of her own.

Then she shook off her father's voice and readied her blade as the pair charged at her.

/ /

Ruby stomped determinedly through the streets of the small town of Brussels, somewhat annoyed by al the odors, the noise, the crowding and, most importantly of all ,her cowardly packmates who refused to come in with her! She took a moment to breathe out through her nose, wrinkling it from the nearby stench of vomit and unwashed bodies, as she seethed quietly before looking for the man she sought. She had traced the route he had taken with the other Hunters all that time ago after finding the remains of their camp, still strewn about from her rampage, but had since lost the trail somewhere around here.

She found that annoying, too. Weren't humans supposed to stay in one place, or something? So, where was he?

This, was becoming a pain. But she refused to give up. The plan was sound. She just needed to show the others why it would work, and maybe then... Maybe then her pack would finally get over their prejudices, with her, with her mother, her family. she clenched her fist tightly at that, so lost in her thoughts that she failed to sense the approaching danger.

"Ah, what a lovely, little rose. Come, Cherie, let me take a look at you as we dance in the pale moon light, ahahah!" A raspy voice called out to her in a singsong manner as a large shadow swept into her personal space, the glint of a blade in hand. Ruby just barely became aware of her attacker and shifted to the side, just as the male tried to gut her, slamming an open palm strike into the side of his head with one hand as she slapped the blade, a "rusty" cleaver, away with the other knocking it out of his hand.

The man, a tall, hooded figure in a dark trench coat, one with a thick, thickly knotted belt, laughed out loud at that, shaking his head as a grin was revealed in the light of the nearby, stuttering lamp, and he said, "Oh, it seems the rose has thorns? Good! I love it when they scream!"

Then he launched himself at her with a cackle as he somehow drew more blades from out of nowhere and began to slash and stab at her, closing rapidly. Far more rapidly that she expected, but he was still human. She ducked and danced to either side as he slashed at her, still trying to gut her, hoping to scare her into a mistake. But, the look on Ruby's face was one of apathy, disinterest. This was nothing to her, not even tussle like she might've had back at camp.

In fact, she was bored with this. She stopped dodging to slam both fisted into his upper torso as he made to stab down at her, causing him exhale explosively, almost vomiting as the force of her blows shoved him backwards while knocking the majority of his blades from his hands. "You bitch," He howled at that as he stumbled toward back toward her while clutching at his chest.

Ruby wasn't worried, though. Not after realizing that the blades he was carrying were simple steel and not silver. That's why she had reacted so viciously at first. He probably had a concussion, and a few broken ribs by now. Still, though, this was rather boring. He was boring.

And it seemed he just picked up on that, as he threw the last of the daggers he was carrying at her face as he made a grotesque snarl and roared at her, "Don't you mock me, you harlot! Once I get you don't on your knees you'll act like all the rest! Begging me to stop, to let you go!" Ruby ducked under the blade before grunting softly as he stabbed something into her side. Something that pulsed and burned as it was pumped into her again and again. She shuddered as she collapsed, suddenly too weak to stand as nausea took over her, drowning her equilibrium in toxins.

She looked up as the man came closer, her vision swimming to find that he wasn't the same as before. What she had taken to be a belt turned out to be a tail. A scorpion's tail she realized as he sent another pulse of venom through her side as he cackled and said in a high pitched tone, "Surprise!"

She tried to stand then, only to have her legs give out, before she was then violently kicked in the side, being slammed up against a pile of wood. She made to get up, head woozy, only for the man - the male Faunus - to pick her up by the neck and slammed her against the brick wall behind them, choking her as he drew some kind of serrated knife all the while smiling maliciously at her as he lipped his lips and said, "Brave girl. I think I'll eat your heart instead."

Then he drew the knife back as he giggled and said in an alternating high pitch, whiny tone before dropping into a deeper, rasp, "Now, show me that look, I want to see. Show me! I want to see it in your eyes as I fill you with my love!"

He thrust the sawtooth dagger down, making to stab her through the heart, only to let out an undignified squawk as she suddenly punched him in the face, twice, before shoving him away with her legs. He staggered backwards, more in confusion than anything else, as he saw her rise up from the crouch she had land in, her red cloak wrapping around her as her luminescent silver eyes stared at him from her hood.

"Wh-What?" He started to say, unable to comprehend anyone recovering from the amount of venom he so lovingly filled them with. Venom he would then eat alongside whatever organ he had fancied to take from his victims corpses. Organs, he often ate raw. "H-How? How dare you reject the love I give you, you ungrateful wench!" He shrieked as he became of the blood leaking down from his nose and made to charge at her again.

But ruby was done with him. Beyond done with him.

Had he been more perceptive, or, at least rational, he might've notice the way her fingers split open into claws and fangs descended from her jaw as a thin line of red-black, glossy fur began to sprout along her body randomly. Ruby was mad, but beyond that she was done with this, this loser. As he took a step forwards she launched herself at him, fist cocked and ready just like Yang had taught her. Then, as he took a second step towards where she had been, she appeared overhead to bring her fist down on his face. His gold eyes widen as he stared up at her just before she struck him with all the force she had, driving him face first into the cobblestone road with such force it shattered the stone beneath him as he legs and arms jerked violently in reaction to the blow.

Ruby stood over the comatose man, glaring down at him, and spat to the side as she said, "The moon's not even out tonight."

/ /

With a yell of exertion she ducked under the swipe of a clawed hand before launching herself at the Fang and wrapping her arms around its wounded forearm. Then, while it tried to throw her off she thrush her rapier into its chest, wrenched it back out again with a twist and a yell before thrusting the blade through the Fang's open mouth as it howled with rage and pain. She jerked the blade back out and rolled away as it fell first to its knees then face first onto the ground.

Weiss staggered backwards, dragging the remains of her rapier as she tried to raise it up only to collapse onto her on rear as exhaustion took her. She was beaten and bruised, wheezing through a cracked rib or two, probably more. She could do nothing as her last opponent towered over her then, a macabre parody of a smile on his(?), it's, face as it bent down and picked her up in one blood-soaked hand from the head before opening its mouth wide.

Weiss fought with everything she had left in her. She punched and clawed at the arm holding her aloft, digging her nails in deeply, but the black Fang didn't seem to notice. She pleaded and begged as bloody tear dripped down her face, but the Black Fang only opened its maw wider, exhaling a belch of greenish vapor her way. Weiss struggled and kicked, but Black Fang was unfazed by it all, only pausing to lick its blue and black tongue over its fangs, cutting the muscle as it did so, as it sought to savor the moment, the brief bit of lucidity her blood wound bring.

Just as it began to bring her closer there was a sudden burst of light over the horizon as the Sun rose over the hills below. Immediately, The beast howled in shock and pain as the light burned its eyes, tossing Weiss to the side as it brought it gnarled hands up to its face in balled up fists as it tried to block out the light. Weiss looked on in horror as the Fang began to smoke and steams as it thrashed about before suddenly bursting into flames. Its howls reached a high pitched, beyond falsetto, crescendo before finally petering off as it succumbed finally, falling away in into burning dust and embers as a lonesome breeze blew by.

Then it was Weiss's turn to scramble as she realized that the very thing which had saved her was now creeping closer. She scurried and crawled, dragging a suddenly useless leg as she made her way in a panicked mess towards the distant tree line. Once more, tears started falling down her face as she whined at her own uselessness, and the fallen, eviscerated corpse of Berend, her commander for this suicide mission burst into flames as the sunlight hit it. Flames that rapidly spread across the dried out timber around her, turning her refuge from the Sun into a Hellscape. Weiss stopped and stared at that, unable to comprehend just how much the Lord of Light could hate one measly Bloodkin.

"Really?" She whined. She swallowed her tear and roared in outrage, "Really?!"

When no one answered back she spat out another wad of bloody saliva and gritted her teeth as she redoubled her efforts in crawling into the dark beyond, no longer going towards the now burning woods but towards the scrubby, boulder-strewn terrain of the mountain, hoping that there was some kind of shallow cave or other shelter so she might hide out for the day and cursing that fact that she wasn't in the specially treated and designed Daybreak Armor of the Kine. Soon the edge of the dawn's light was hitting the face of the mountainside beyond, rapidly creeping down to her doom. She kept going, even as her nails split and her vision dimmed from bloodloss.

Eventually, Weiss found herself whispering a prayer to the Night. "Lord of the Shadows, The Night Bringer, Who blesses and protects His children from the garish Light of Day, if you hold any love for this piteous creature, I ask that you grant me Your protect just a bit longer, Please?" She said as she continued to stubbornly crawl forwards, even as the bodies of her fallen comrades and foes burst into flames themselves as the Sun finally crested the edge of the cliffside, the only reason why she wasn't burning yet was because of the Black Fang's corpses was in line with her crawling form, leaving behind a narrow, rapidly fading shadow as it burned down.

She soon felt it as the first rays hit her back and began burning her, seemingly burning through her leather armor and the clothing beneath. She screamed in pain at that, so close to the edge of the little grassy knoll she found herself in. "Lord of Night, please!" She cried as she pulled herself along. "I can't die here! Please! I, I have to get home! I have to save my Mother from my Father! He'll kill her if I'm there! Please! Please!"

Her fingers dug into the dirt as she pulled herself along. The flames on her back reached the skin beneath and began to burn her for real. She pulled herself forwards, screaming wordlessly at the pain. The Sun's rays guttered as the orb of death went behind a distant, low peak, briefly sheltering her. Her fingers dug into sharp, jagged little stones and sand as she pulled herself along, her eyes unseeing and dim. The Sun returned with a great burst of light, sending rays of death her way, setting her alight. Her fingers gripped the edge of the ground she was on and she pulled her burning body along.

She fell forwards, striking her head against a still cool, flat stone, before rolling down in the opposite way on a slanted, gravel-filled slope to fall into a low ditch filled with muddy water that finished putting out the flames that were on her person that hadn't been guttered by the roll over rock and stone. And there she laid, unconscious as the world went by, saved by a low overhang and rich, cooling darkness, her mind filled with the rich scent of some half-remembered dream.

/ /

Ruby shoved her way into the home of the Humans' idea of enforcers, pulling along the by now semi-conscious form of the Faunus who had tried to kill her. The men there, two in filthy blue uniforms and a third in a dusty brown leather jacket, looked up at her in shock as she hauled her way in, slamming the body of her attacker up against the desk before her as she marched up and said, "I'd like to report a crime. This man tried to kill me. Said he was going to eat my heart, or something." She looked between the humans before her, her apparent confidence starting to dwindle as they stood there in silence, and asked, "How do I go about doing that?"

"Now, now, Little Missy," The one in the brown jacket said to her in a dismissive tone as he stood up from the game of cards he was playing at, grinning at her in a patronizing way as he waved his hands in a calming manner. "What's all this about now?"

Ruby glared at him from under her hood, allowing a small pout to show, before she inhaled deeply for calm, and reiterated slowly, "This man attacked me. With a knife. A lot of knives. He was going to kill me. I want him locked up."

"Alright, okay," The man smiled down at her before looking over at his compatriots in amusement, he towered over her five foot five stature at six four. "We'll lock up the man if you want, but we can only keep him there for a day or so, unless an actual crime is reported." At Ruby's glare and stiffening posture he raised his ands again as he grinned down at her in such a way that she really, really assessed the outcome of slugging him in the face as he said in question, "Now, you said he attacked you? Well, I don't really see how, seeing as you have no injuries. Surely, you would have some kind of bruising, right? Now, if you and your partner are having some perse-"

The man stopped with his diatribe as Ruby opened her cloak and lifted up the dark brown outer shirt she was wear as well as the longer, white under shift to reveal the still healing puncture wound left behind by the crazed Faunus's stinger. the man leaned down to stare at it with his mouth agape slightly as did one of the other officers. The puncture wound was almost two fingers wide in diameter and was surrounded by a nasty blue-green and dark purple bruising as well as black and red, infected-looking vein. As the men stared at the injury a thick drop of foul-smelling pus oozed out.

"Well, is that enough for you to detain this filth!" The girl asked with was much scorn and vitriol as she could safely contain before saying as they looked up at her in shock, "Or, do I have to lead you clods to where he attacked me?"

The big man swallowed once, twice, his mouth gaping like a fish before he said as he licked his lips nervously, "W-well, n-now, now, h-how did he do this, anyway?"

"With his tail," Ruby deadpanned while pointing at the limp appendage in question. The men turned to stare at that, then at at each other, before the big man swallowed again and move to grasp the still semi-conscious Faunus by the arm as he said, "Ah, O-oo-oh, uh, We'll take care of this right away, Little Mi-" At her baleful glare, he coughed, clearing his throat to say, "*Ahem* I', I mean, uh, we'll take care of this, Ma'am."

Ruby stared at him some more before letting a bit of her Dominant nature out as she asked/demanded, "I trust that you'll investigate this matter with care, and see it through to the end. The crazed bastard implied that he had done this before."

"Ach, no way, Ma'am," One of the other two piped up then as he said dully, with a stupid smile on his nodding face, "The Redoubts already killed the werewolf wot did in all thoses other womons."

Ruby felt her eye twitch at that as she slowly turned her head to glare at the man. He and his dull smile quickly wilted under her gaze before she even asked, "And did anyone investigate to see if this werewolf in question was to blame?" Her tongue almost tripping over the unknown word, having never called any of her kind such a thing. What even was a werewolf?

"Ah, uh, th-the Inspector thought it might be some thin' like tha'," the other one said slowly as he looked between them all. "The killings didn't really stop even aft'r the 'wolf was slain."

"Well then, I trust you to look into this matter, good sirs," Ruby said curtly before turning and leaving the building as swiftly as she could before she went feral and slashed them all to pieces in her rage. The long walk back outside the village was enough to stymie her rage for a bit as she took in a cool breeze from the mountains and smelled the rather delicious scent of baking bread, wishing she had to coin to buy some.

She also wish she didn't inherit her father's short temper as she took in what waited for her back at the their camp. Or, rather who. Only one wolf was there, lying down in wait for her. As he heard her come in he stood and bowed to her wolf-like as he said mentally, glad to see your back. We were worried you had been harmed. Ruby stopped and stared at the otherwise empty camp and asked rather drolly, "And, who's we? I only see you, Bert."

The wolf visibly winced at that, and the undercurrent of rage in her otherwise amused tone, before saying The others refused to go along with this madness anymore. they have returned to camp, to gather more of the pack to kill that, that thing.

"And, you, Bert? Why did you stay? Surely, you don't think this is how I'll accept you for my Mate. I already said I wasn't interested, you know. Don't make me repeat myself," Ruby returned, a whining growl filling her voice at the end as her eyes went luminescent with the Change.

Bert scoffed at that before saying seriously No. I accepted that I wasn't the one for you, and listened to your choice on the manner. Besides he stepped towards her as he spoke and looked up into her eyes, not out of a display of dominance in a submissive manner. I can see that there is already someone on your mind. They are always there, occupying your thoughts. I cannot say who, but I hope they make you happy.

Ruby stiffened at that before exhaling shallowly as she tried not to cry in relief. Finally, someone got it, even if she hadn't quite known how to explain it herself! She sniffed at that and looked away for a moment, blinking her eyes, trying to master herself, before she felt the brush of warm fur under her hand as Bert walked over to rub his head on her hand in comfort. She responded by scratching him behind the ears in relief, and asked, "So, why did you stay?"

He looked up at her with his yellow eyes and said Because I believe in you, and I think you're right. We can't beat that thing. Not by the Traditional way. And, I want to be there with you as a witness when Your way works, so no one can argue otherwise. Not the Elders, not Shaman Ruze and not the Alpha himself.

Ruby gave him a watery smile as she placed both hands on either side of his muzzle and said, "Thank you."

After that the two of them gathered up what supplies they could from the camp and set out for the next village, searching for Ruby elusive quarry. she hoped that they would find him soon, before what fragile hope in what she was doing shattered.

/ /

Weiss came awake slowly, painfully, blinking her eyes in the midday sun, and wondering where she was, how she was alive. More importantly, where the heck could she get something to drink? She closed her eyes again as she laid there, trying to get a handle on things.

First, a self assessment.

Her throat was beyond parched and her belly was gnawing at her from how empty it was. That alone told her it had been days since she... fell here? She ran her hands down her body then, slowly, feeling for any lasting injuries. There were the numerous scars from her time in the Marrow to a few new slowly healing wounds from her most recent fight, including one big one at the back of her head. She winced as she felt it before cursing herself for a fool.

Without blood, or food, it would take far too long for her wounds to heal like this. Perhaps long enough for her fail her mission. Well, beyond the fact that her prize was now so much ash on the wind she thought as she finally recalled what had occurred. After a moment more of prideful, justified sulking, she sighed before deciding it was time to get up. It did her no good to wallow in misery down here, especially not in this rather cold puddle.

She slowly, slowly sat up, her head heavy and aching, before turning to look around. As she had thought, it was indeed at the height of the day with the Sun shining down directly on her position. Only the position of her resting site had saved her from a most ignoble death by immolation.

She was feeling pretty good about that as she made to stand up, only to have her armored tunic and the shirt beneath to fall off of her chest, leaving her small breasts exposed to the cold mountain air. She blinked as she stared down at her assets before sighing as she took a more detailed look at her person. Her clothing was beyond ruined both from the Sun's deadly rays and from her desperate fight against the Fangs. Not even her thigh high boots had survived unscathed.

She groaned at that before doffing the lot without another grunt of protest and turned to begin what seemed like a long crawl through brown, muddy water and a steep climb down to the valley below. She hoped whoever or whatever she found there could also direct her toward a replacement blade, wishing she had one of her family's blades instead of the shite the Lords had provided for this accursed Trial.

Hours later had Weiss crouching down beside what looked like a well used, heavily forested road, hiding from the evening sun under the dense foliage of a shrub with sharp, biting thorny leaves and pondering on how long she would have to wait for someone to come by, ignoring the few biting insects that tried to feed off of her. Most found her kind to be unappealing.

Luckily, she didn't have to wait long as she saw a lone horse-drawn cart headed her way. She stared at the lone driver, reevaluating her strategy as she assessed whether or not he was actually alone. She hoped so, otherwise this might get bloody.

/ /

Harold Windsor was considered by many to be an amiable, gentle and kindly man, but most people failed to realize that behind the gracious, warm smile of the big, bearlike man lurked a conniving, brutally cruel thief and rogue. He ran a successful black market on furs and drugged up prostitutes and was married to three different women, all from different towns, who he laundered his money through.

He told his wives that the reason why all their accounts were in their names was should anything happen to him they could more easily survive. What he didn't say was should he ever be caught he would use any of them as a scapegoat, saying they were in charge of his operations, not he. There were time he grinned as he thought about that, should it ever happen, and how funny that would be. The reason for that was simple. He hated his wives, finding each and every one of them more and more boring by the day, especially as he couldn't behave like he wanted to around, except maybe while having sex.

Currently, he was considering killing them, or finding a new, younger wife in another town. Perhaps somewhere he could build up a new marketplace for his goods? It was as he was thinking this that a vision walked out to stand beside the road.

He stopped and stared as a small, nude woman of silver hair and pale blue eyes stared at him and felt his mind fall into those eyes, following them as she slowly walked towards him from the shadowy patch of greenery she had appeared from. He didn't notice the smears of mud and grime on her form, the blood from open wounds or the various scars on her body. He only noticed the faint bounce of her perfect breasts, the sway of her perfect hips and knew that he wanted her, needed her, more than he ever had for any of the broken whores he had used up over the years.

And, as she stepped up to sit down next to him, he opened his mouth to speak only to find to his confusion that he couldn't say anything. He could only watch as she stared at him some more, making him feel like should stay there till she was ready for him before she went to check the rest of the cart for anyone else, though he could have told her so. He didn't trust anyone else on these long runs except himself. though, he was concerned the the goddess before him might find him distasteful after she saw all the furs in the back of his cart, freshly skinned from a wide variety of animals including a rumor werewolf or two

So, he was pleased when she returned to the front soon after and immediately straddled his lap, clenching her hips around his own as she suddenly started lapping at his neck with a feather soft tongue. He groaned and sighed at as he found that he could once again move and instantly began running his hands down her sides and stroking her naked ass possessively as his cock hardened to near painful levels, thinking of the pleasure he would soon taste as he broke her - "Arrghh!"

Only, feel a sudden intense bit of pain as something stabbed him in the neck, and his vision went dark.

/ /

Though, her Thirst demanded that she drink the stinking bastard dry, Weiss wisely contained herself to only a deep feeding. The man smelled repugnant, and his blood had an unappealing, vile flavor no doubt similar to his actual disposition, or at least it seemed that way to her refined self of taste, but he would have to do. Still, she would endeavor to cause him just the utmost amount of pain when she had time for it after his unbecoming manners.

She could practically feel the bulge of his cock twitching between her legs as she fed from him even now, and all she felt was revulsion at that. She had half a mind to break it off, actually. But, no. Not now. Later though, oh, the pleasure she would take in showing him her utter displeasure at all of this from the Trial to meeting him to, to that smell...

She paused at that, mid feed, and thought about it. Why could she still smell that alluring scent, even from here in Sanus, when she had first became aware of it in Solitas. And, she sniffed the air as she wiped the blood from around her mouth at her rather messy and unrefined feeding as she sat back, almost riding the man by accident. Was it stronger now?

Curious, she decided to follow her instincts and got off of the brute to sit next to him in a dignified manner, legs crossed before her. Then she turned to him and took his face in her hand as she stared into his eyes and commanded her new slave, "Head down this road until I tell you otherwise. the man nodded and snapped the rains of his horses setting them to a trot as he muttered a slurred, "Yes, My Lady."

Weiss smirked at that as she pulled out a thick fur coat out from behind him and wrapped herself in it, feeling content for the first time in a while, as she said, as he eyes glowed red, "And don't speak unless I tell you to. I find you voice irritating."

/ /

It took a few more days before Ruby finally discovered where her quarry was located at after eventually having to break down and ask for directions. It wasn't all that surprising in hindsight, she only had a description and a name, Jaune. though, she could quite recall if that was his name, having only heard it through the muffled sounds of an argument outside of the tent she had been tied up in. Still, it was, surprising, at just how many Humans were actually willing to help her out over something so difficult; though, she did have to, uh, inform a few of the men, and one woman, that she wasn't going to pay for the information in that way. A few listened, and the rest were told in a much, more physical manner.

Now, she was searching the streets of a town called, oddly enough, New Sauvignon, for her quarry. She had asked a few people why it was called that and they had clammed up, not saying anything else to her as they turned and left, not even the unruly ones had stayed after that.

It was as she was pondering this that she caught a whiff of a scent, his scent. And turned her head into the sudden breeze with her eyes closed as she inhaled it in deeply, a hidden part of her finally unraveling after all this time. She chose to ignore that as she opened her eye and began to make her way determinedly down a narrow, half-hidden corridor. Soon, she arrived at a busier part of the town and began to search in earnest as the scent vanished with the breezing dying down, ignoring how crowded it suddenly was. She normally didn't like the crowds, the noise, just like she didn't really like being around her packmates, but for some reason this time she just couldn't be bothered, and, as she heard a harsh, ringing, repetitive clanging she caught the scent again.

She turned and stared as she saw far past the crowded section a lone male banging away at a something in his hands as he stood before a fire. She started to make her way there slowly, almost nervously. She became aware that what she was seeing was a Forge and the male, the Human man, was a Blacksmith, the Human Tribe members who specialized in shaping metals for a wide variety of purposes.

Just what she was looking for.

She stepped into the Forge, momentarily taken aback by the heat before relaxing into it, as the man turned from the anvil he was working at to hang up what appeared to be a sword of all things, glowing red hot as it cooled in the night air. She looked around the room as the man then turned and began to sharpen some kind of curved weapon set in a metal contraption, the sound of metal on stone reaching her ears. The room, the Forge, it was lovingly stuffed with various tongs, hammers, hooks and other contraptions she had no name for but so wanted to touch, to learn.

Then she turned to stare at the man as he set down what he was doing and said a deep, gravelly voice, "Why are you here?"

She blinked at that before uttering in question, "Uh, because I wish to purchase something?"

"No," He said heavily before standing up straight from where he had been leaning and turned to glare down at her as he said, "I asked, why are you here?"

She found herself looking up at him, at the hate in those deep blue eyes, eyes she couldn't help but see every time she closed her eyes, and stuttered, "I... I-I, I'm here for arrows. With steel heads, if possible."

"Those, are expensive to produce," He said while crossing his arms, and she noticed that the biceps were as big as her head, before he looked her up and down and sneered, "And, I doubt you have the funds necessary to pay for them in the first place."

"I, uh, um," she started to say before looking down sheepishly, unable to respond. Why was his malice so painful to her she wondered?

He stared at her for a moment more before stepping back to rub at his eyes as he exhaled softly and said without looking at her, "Why do you need 'em, anyway? Thought you beasts hunted another way?"

She winced at the word "beasts" before sighing and said, "There is a... creature I must kill. ...One that has been terrorizing the countryside for the past few weeks, as you may have heard. It's, come dangerously close to a pack's, my pack's, traditional rearing grounds for our young. And, I have been tasked with killing it, to prove that I am a loyal and trustworthy member of my pack, regardless of my queer ways."

As she spoke her words became more and more bitter until at the end she felt almost nauseous, wondering why she had to prove herself after all her pack had done to her and her mother. Jaune smirked cruelly as he asked, "What? There some kind of rule that you can't be a gay werewolf, or something?"

"Actually, yes." Ruby returned as she glanced up at him and then away, explaining, "My kind, the Children of the Moon, are naturally aggressive and largely dominant by nature, with members of a pack constantly jockeying for position at times, especially under poor or inexperienced leaders. Add in sexual orientation to that, and things can get quite bloody."

"That, is disgusting." jaune stated after a moment of silence. "Someone should be left alone to live how they like, love who they like... within reason, of course."

Ruby let a small smile appear at that before asking as she turned to him and asked, "Oh, and what reason would that be, sir?"

He shrugged and said, "Easy. Nothin' weird, like wanting to sleep with an animal or a child." He shook his head before saying. "That ain't right no matter how you cut it."

"Oh," she returned with a much bigger smile as she said, "And do us 'werewolves' fall under under that category, too. Or, are we good?"

He stared at her for a moment before saying as he turned to look away, "Maybe if they looked like you." Ruby flushed at that, not expecting it, and made to say something only to shut her mouth as she realize what she had been doing. Before she could recover the tall man before her exhaled in a deep sigh as he rubbed at his head, muttering faintly, "What am I doing?" Before saying loudly, "If that was all, I need to get back to work."

Then he turned and picked up his hammer and a pair of tong to pull out a large piece of metal and began banging on it without looking at her again. That killed something inside of her as Ruby realized she had been dismissed outright. She tried to come up with something to say to get him to help her, but couldn't think of anything that might work. Finally, she turned and left, walking slowly away, trying not to cry. After all that, she had failed.

"Hey, wolf," Jaune called out to her suddenly, making her stop to look back at him as he stood over his anvil. He grimaced as though he were embarrassed about something, and said, "It's good to see you're alright." Then he went back to forging again.

Ruby blinked at that, feeling her heart ease somewhat, and smiled slightly. She turned to walk away again, then stopped, staring at the ground as she thought of something. She inhaled deeply before breathing back out again, then did it again, before abruptly turning around to shout, "You saved my mother! Thank you!"

Jaune paused at what he was doing to turn and look at her in confusion, only to be even more surprised at her bowing from the waist up in his direction as she said, "That day. When you saved me. the advice you gave me save my mother. I, I can't express my gratitude enough. Please... Please, help me save my people from the beast I hunt, even thought they aren't worth it!" She dropped to her hands and knees and placed her head on the cobblestone ground as she begged, "Please! Help me!"

/ /

Jaune stared at her for a long, long moment, surprised to find no one around looking their way. Then he sighed as he put down his tools as he muttered to himself, "Da's probably rolling in his grave after this." and slowly made his way over to her.

He stood there before her for a moment in silence, contemplating what he was doing again, before sighing again then he nudged her with his boot as he said, "Come on, get up. It's too cold to be lying down on the ground like that."

She stood at his direction and he flinched as he saw the tears in her eyes, and damned himself for what he was about to do as he inhaled deeply before sighing once more, so wanting to just spit in her face. But his mother had raised him better. His father had taught him better. He knew what he should do, what he should've done as soon as he had heard of a girl with Silver eyes in a red cloak asking after him, but he couldn't.

Try though he might to let his hatred for the Weres and Blood to affect him, lead him, he was still an Arc. And, an Arc was above such things. So, he placed a hand on her shoulder, ignoring how she flinched at his touch, and asked, "Are you alright?" She nodded silently, so he said, "Alright, listen. I'll do this one favor for you. Twenty arrows. No more, and then our business is done. Agreed?"

She paused at that, thinking, then nodded as she said, "Just the arrowheads, please. I know how to fletch my own arrows."

"Very well, wolf. It's a deal." Jaune returned with a nod and turned to walk away.

"Ruby," she called from behind him. He turned to look back at her as she said, "My name, is Ruby." then she turned and dashed away as fast as she could. He stared after her as he muttered, "Ruby." before going back into the forge

A/N: And, I'm ending it there! I won't lie. I finally got to Jaune in this, and other that that opening sentence from him, I didn't know what to write. He's still standoffish for now, so there's bound to be some pushback, but otherwise his heart is in the right place. Also, could you say no to a crying Ruby? I think not.

And, yes, before you ask, Weiss will rapidly appear next chapter. Probably at the beginning, and mess whatever this is up. At least, for a little while.

Alright, bye for now. Essiter out!