Chapter 16

If there was one luxury Weiss was thankful Patch enjoyed, it was plumbing. She could go without the gourmet food, the high fashion and the constant presence of magitech. The town produced amazing baked goods, Velvet was worth ten Atlesian tailors in attitude alone, and anything Weiss really needed she could either fashion herself or with Port or Glynda's help. But plumbing was one thing Weiss could never live comfortably without, and it was a godsend the island put the effort in.

Weiss was also quite fortunate this property existed, formerly the home of a reclusive widow, a Huntsman's wife. The widow had built the home with her own two hands and lived out the rest of her days hunting game and gathering herbs for sale in town. One days she simply went into the forest and never returned. They never found her body, something which always irked Weiss, that such a long story could come to such a sad, inconclusive end. She wondered if she would end up like that, just gone with the wind without a word, all her friends and family passed, naught but confused villagers to stumble upon her dusty belongings...it was depressing to say the least. She would rather die that just fade away.

Still, for the time being she had company, and was expecting more, and thanks to the luxuries afforded by plumbing, Weiss enjoyed a hot morning bath before readying herself for the day. Unfortunately Yang refused to join her. Water, natural water, did not harm Yang, but she hated being wet all the same. So she instead left Weiss with a peck on the nose and a promise to brew fresh coffee. Their relationship...existed. And that Yang did not press the matter left Weiss relieved.

Throughout the day Weiss would receive periodic attention - a hug here, a conversation there, pecks on the cheeks, forehead and nose, once on the neck that left Weiss shivering, and not from any cold to be sure. Yang was her constant, her source of morale, distracting her from the harsh reality that now tugged at her being. With every slow beat of her heart she swore her humanity slipped yet another ounce, but at night, safely held in warm arms, Weiss felt just a little more whole. And that was worth the world to her.

"Weiss, the guests are here!" Yang sing-songed through the door.

Weiss must have been dozing...curse these dreaded guests, and their interrupting her peace with their...their dog smell and gangrenous mouths...ugh. For the greater good Weiss recited, hauling herself from the heavenly water, pulling the plug as she did so. Conveniently, the bathroom had a door both to the hallway and her bedroom, so she hardly needed to wrap a towel about herself but for the cold, and once she entered the next room that too ceased to be an issue, as she was met with the smiling form of Yang with a freshly warmed towel held in hand.

"Come here Snowball." Yang cooed as Weiss walked into her arms, allowing Yang to wrap the cloth around her.

"Hmm, do try not to melt me." Weiss mumbled as waves of heat buffeted her form, the water evaporating under the careful ministrations of her companion.

"You're too stubborn to melt under a little heat." Yang chuckled, running her fingers through Weiss' hair, gently undoing any knots that remained.

"So you say...and yet here we are." Weiss murmured into Yang's shoulder. How she adored the feeling of fingers in her hair, one of the few remaining memories of her mother was such a thing, dozing on her chest, listening to the sound of her voice...she could just barely remember it. She would have forgotten her face were it not for the portrait she had taken with her.

"You feeling okay?" Yang asked.

Weiss sighed, nodding. "I'll be out soon."

"Let me help." Yang offered.

Weiss looked up, quirking her brow. "I am capable of dressing myself Yang."

"Never said you weren't." Yang grinned.

Weiss gasped, panic gripping her heart as a sudden heat wrapped around her pelvis. "Yang, Yang stop!" Weiss hissed, digging her nails harshly into Yang's flesh as the heat died down to a dull warmth and she became aware of Yang's hands rubbing circles into her back.

"Sorry, sorry Snowball, it's okay, you're alright, I didn't do anything big, just…" Yang whispered apologies, faltering a she felt Weiss trembling in her arms, gulping deep breaths as she struggled to calm down.

"It's okay, I know, it's not your fault, it's mine, I just…" Weiss heaved a shuddering sigh. "I got...spooked. It's okay what...oh." Weiss finally looked down, only to find herself clad in shimmering lace undergarments, which warmed her like other items Yang had fashioned for her. "You made me...a muff warmer." Weiss snorted.

"Do you like them?" Yang asked, hesitantly raising a hand to brush a stray lock behind Weiss' ear. "I tried making them like your others."

Weiss took another deep breath, taking Yang's hand before it fell and nuzzling into its warmth. "I love them." She whispered, planting a kiss on Yang's palm. "Just warn me next time, please?"

"I will, promise." Yang beamed, allowing Weiss to push her toward the door.

"Go entertain our guests." Weiss instructed.

"Sure you don't want a bra too?" Yang smirked. She received a towel to the face for her trouble.

"Oh wow, you really smell just like her!" Weiss found herself blindsided by a ginger haired girl as she exited her room. Her smell was oddly sweet, but still, displeasing to her nose. She seemed innocent, almost like Ruby, but taller, thick with muscle, and barely clothed in a white smock and pink skirt...what?

"Nora." A quiet but firm voice tiredly roused from one of the nearby couches. Weiss' gaze was drawn to a far more reasonably dressed Mistrali man, seated next to Blake, who seemed amused by the situation. Yang lay on the couch opposite, offering a casual wave.

"Oh, right, Nora Valkyrie at your disposal!" The ginger offered her hand, and Weiss took it after a brief hesitation.

"Charmed." Weiss managed, shaking it twice.

Nora grinned toothily. "It's great to see you all not dying and stuff. Oh and Ren says I should say sorry for not being all dolled up, I ran here so I was in the buff until Ren got here with my clothes."

"Oh, that's quite alright, I've uh, I've never really thought about how werewolves handle clothing, so this is good to know, I need to fetch my notebook, one moment." Weiss shot a smile at the other werewolf before heading through the office door, hastily gathering a notebook, pen and inkwell.

Weiss shuddered, catching the scent wafting through along with Nora's voice chittering away. It was just...alien. She did not like it, she did not want it near her, she wanted it gone as soon as possible...but she had questions to ask, so for now she would bear it. A welcome scent became evident, Ruby's gloves, neatly placed upon Glynda's book. Snatching them up, Weiss held them to her nose, breathing their floral aroma deeply. It was like heaven, sending a pleasurable shudder through her being...this was weird, she was being weird. She dropped the gloves and hurried from the room.

"So, I apologize for not meeting you sooner." Weiss continued. "I have you to thank for saving my life after all." She shooed Yang's legs off the couch, only for them to lay over her lap. Yang was lucky they were warm. "Had you not arrived, I would not have been saved, and everyone I care for would have been devastated. Thank you for saving me, and avoiding that pain."

"I do wish we had arrived sooner." Ren expressed.

"She nearly lost us a few times, her scent kept cropping up and fizzling out." Nora explained, scowling. "And...we stopped to pay our respects to one of her victims." Her fists clenched, her expression tightening. "But we kept going, and now she has nowhere to go. We'll find her Weiss, I promise. I'll try and bring you back her head." Nora's face turned into a feral grin, and Weiss had to look away to avoid focusing on her teeth, enlarged canines and incisors gleaming in the firelight.

"That won't be necessary, but I thank you all the same." Weiss managed, shooting them both a look, plastering on her best polite smile and trying her damndest not to wrinkle her nose at the smell.

"You wanted to ask us some questions, correct?" Ren thankfully refocused.

"Ooh right, you wanna' hear about our adventures right?" Nora gushed. "We've been hunting all sorts of beasties for years!"

"At some point yes, I am writing a guide for the civilian populace on various supernatural creatures that inhabit the lands." Weiss explained, opening her notebook and laying it on Yang's leg. "I seek to inform the world of the unknown realities many are so ignorant of, what they should and should not fear, how they can remain safe when encountering potential threats, and most importantly, what is not a threat, and why."

"A noble cause, I approve." Ren praised.

"Yeah, we've had a lot of misunderstandings with people." Nora added.

"Though not always due to our nature." Ren noted.

"Yeah." Nora chuckled. "Sometimes I just rub people the wrong way by accident."

"But there have been times when just a few small facts would have alleviated many fears." Ren said.

"Yeah, like, we don't eat humans, unless it's by accident, we do attack with our teeth sometimes." Nora looked notably ill. "It's just wrong, we're humans, we just eat meat more than we used to."

"And nuts and berries." Ren added.

"Not chocolate though." Nora pouted. "It smells so good and I haven't had any since I was a kid…"

"You were not born werewolves?" Weiss asked, pausing in her scribbling to meet Ren's eye as he shook his head.

"Our village was attacked when we were young." Nora said. "I think I was seven, Ren was nine, right?" She looked to Ren, who nodded. "The important thing is, werewolves try to stay away from humans. We don't have any safe havens from the Templars like the vampires do. If we pose any threat we get hunted down. So a pack attacking just isn't common, there's almost no point." Nora's hand reach for Ren's, and he quickly clasped it in both his own. "But the huntsmen in our town killed their Alpha's mate, and they wanted justice, so they attacked, killed the adults, but kept the children. We were innocent in their eyes, so they turned us instead. Ren tried to hold them off, but he was just a kid, we both were, they took him, and they took me, and gave us these." Nora pushed off the shoulder of her smock, revealing several puncture scars. "We didn't know what to do after, we were so scared. Ren had just lost his parents, so we just did what they told us to do. And then the Templars found them."

"I took Nora and ran in the chaos." Ren picked up the story. "Between the Templars, werewolves and silvers smoke, no one noticed us. We didn't stop running until we couldn't go any further." He laughed. "I remember thinking, what now? I didn't know what I was doing. I was alive, Nora was alive, but I only had some lessons from my father to survive with. How long could we survive on our own?"

"And then a miracle happened." Nora beamed, wiping a tear from her eye. "The spriggans found us, and took us in."

Weiss, Yang and Blake all reacted to that. "The nature spirits saved you?" Blake asked.

"Oh, I love those girls!" Yang exclaimed.

"Fascinating, I'd heard tales of spriggans helping lost souls, but never had a first hand account." Weiss scribbled even more furiously, dipping her pen in the inkwell.

"We were very fortunate." Ren expressed.

"They were so awesome, they took us to their home, brought us food, healed our bumps and scrapes, a-and…" Nora snuffed, wiping her eyes. "When the full moon rose, and we turned for the first time, they calmed us down, taught us to hunt. We would have been scared out of our minds otherwise, but it was so fun. I felt so amazing, so strong and fast, running about the forest, chasing deer and rabbits…" Nora laughed, snuggling closer to Ren. "But yeah, we weren't born werewolves. But I consider myself more spriggan than anything. I don't remember my human family, the werewolves are dead, Renny's my only other family and that's cuz' he's my mate, so as far as I'm concerned the spriggans were my mamas and Ozpin's like our daddy."

"You're mates?" Weiss questioned. "Ozpin?"

"Unofficially." Ren explained. "We haven't found the right place to settle, and we have work to do first."

"He keeps saying no and having us drink all these yucky potions, but the spriggans taught me to propagate, so one day." Nora nuzzled Ren's neck, planting a loud kiss and giggling. Ren smiled warmly. "Do you like puppies Weiss?"

"I...I do." Weiss replied. Ever since she was a child she had wanted one, but no, no pets in the manor. Only the guard dogs that Weiss was not allowed to pet.

"Well, someday I'm gonna' have a whole litter, you could come visit!" Nora looked so excited, but all Weiss could think about were tiny little deadly mouths snapping at her precious, valuable fingers.

"A-anyway, thank you for being so open with me," Weiss managed. "Your story is fascinating. And if you don't mind, I will use you as examples in my writing, of friendly werewolves, the likes of which people might hope to meet. Is there anything you'd like to add? Advice for townspeople when they come across one or more of your kind?"

"Please refrain from throwing pitchforks at us?" Ren stated with a grimace, tapping his side.

"And fire, fire really hurts." Nora pouted, shifting around to move her smock, revealing her back had a severe burn down its left side. Yang flinched.

"Our kind will leave humans alone so long as we are not threatened." Ren noted. "If livestock are going missing, it is out of desperation. Reach out, our kind are reasonable. We once encountered a town that had formed a partnership with a pack, in exchange for protection, pelts and herbs, they could mingle with the people, and no longer fear the Templars' wrath."

"They were nice people, once they stopped snarling at us." Nora added. "They thought we were gonna' hurt people. But once it all got sorted, I got to play with their pups!"

"Perhaps in the future towns may do so freely." Weiss suggested. "Thank you for telling me. Even the knowledge that it's possible could help save a lot of lives."

"Oh, oh and werewolves love mead." Nora giggled.

Ren rolled his eyes. "Nora no."

"Daddy's home." Mercury jeered as he strode into the cave. "Catch." He threw his bag at Emerald, who grunted at its weight.

"Asshole." Emerald growled.

"Master!" Dew yelled with joy, scrambling to her feet but staying in place, hands clasped, trembling like an excited puppy.

"Go lie down girl, I'll be over in a moment." Mercury ordered, none too harshly. He was in the mood for some fun.

"Pathetic." Emerald scowled.

"Oh, we're doing this again." Mercury chuckled, much to Emerald's displeasure.

"She's barely more than a child at this point, it's sickening." Emerald spat. "Push her mind any further and she'll be a vegetable."

"It's her own fault for fighting it." Mercury shrugged. "The good ones snap like a twig, nice and docile."

"They should be so lucky." Emerald mumbled, emptying the bag of its contents, grey plastic packages with black printing. "Ugh, this garbage again." She wrinkled her nose.

"Well excuse me for not wanting your fine dining staining my clothes." Mercury scoffed. "Knowing Cinder she'll probably bring back a deer for you, and you can cook the for the girl."

"Her name is Dew, and this stuff isn't designed for long term sustenance, but why would you care, she's just your pet." Emerald ranted. "Feed her whatever garbage you want because you're just going to throw her away, if you let her live at all."

"Pfft, spoiled bitch." Mercury shot back. "You're so far up yourself because you're Cinder's favorite. You really think she treats all of your kind so special. She's hunting fo-"

"Shut up!" Emerald stood, stalking up to Mercury. "You don't know her like I do! You're just a hanger on. I grew up with Cinder. I served her. She chose me because I earned her respect, and I won't be talked down to by some-"

Emerald was cut off by an ice cold hand grasping her throat like a vice. "By some what?" Mercury growled. "Huh? Hard to talk when you're being put in your place, isn't it?"

"Sc-rew you." Emerald choked, not even attempting to struggle. "You don't have the guts."

"Wanna' bet?" Mercury challenged. "I could snap you like a twig. You think Cinder would really shed tears over you? She wouldn't waste the blood."

"You're...w-wrong..." Emerald barely managed. "She...loves...ee…"

"That is enough." Cinder's voice hissed through the cave. Emerald found herself on the ground, clutching her throat as she choked, gasping for breath. "Mercury, you are here to protect Emerald, not assault her."

"She keeps pushing me, I'm putting her in her place-" Mercury started.

"Her place!" Mercury flinched at Cinder's raised voice. "Is safety. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah, whatever." Mercury grumbled.

Kneeling down, Cinder cupped Emerald's face, drawing her gaze upward. "M-mistress-" Emerald managed.

"Shh don't speak." Cinder ordered, brushing Emerald's hand away to inspect her throat, already bruising. She scowled, moving to tangle her fingers in Emerald's hair. Emerald whimpered. "You will stop provoking him." Cinder glared at her servant.

Emerald nodded shakily, wincing at the agitation of her neck. "I'm sorry mistress." She whispered frantically.

Cinder's expression softened. "Go tend to Dew, Mercury." Cinder calmly instructed, the sound of heavy footfalls signalling his obedience. When he was out of sight, Cinder sighed. "Emerald."

"I'm sorry." Emerald apologized.

"Don't be sorry, be safe." Cinder snapped, shifting Emerald gently into her lap.

"He...she's right there, in front of me, and he treats her like a toy, and it scares me." Emerald gulped, tears welling in her eyes. "I keep seeing myself in her shoes."

"I will never let that happen to you Emerald." Cinder declared.

"I know, I know but...I'm just...I'm scared Cinder." Emerald continued. "I know you need to do this but...I miss home, I miss your bed, I miss being alone with you." She sniffed, reaching up to stroke Cinder's cheek. "I'll follow you to the ends of the world, but I don't know if I'm strong enough. What if I break, what if something comes that Mercury can't protect me from, what if you need help and he can't do it alone?"

"It won't come to that." Cinder assured her.

"But-" Emerald started.

Cinder cut her off with a finger to the lips, shushing her gently. "Have faith Emerald. Just...one more hunt, one more, and even if they are not the right one, I promise you." Cinder leaned down, brushing Emerald's ear with a kiss. "We will go home, I will give you what you seek, and we can be together, forever."

Emerald half laughed, half sobbed, reaching to wrap her arms around Cinder's neck. "Forever?"

"Forever."