Chapter 20

And Your Little Dog Two

(A/N: Wow I can't believe we're already on chapter 20. Seems like last week I was hesitant about posting chapter 1. Thank you everyone for sticking with the story and being so supportive. God bless)

Ruby stared out the window feeling sullen, the sky matching her mood as it shed tears.

'I shouldn't be this depressed.' She glanced away when she saw her bruised face in the reflection in the glass. 'I made it out alive, which is a lot more than most huntresses can say...'

Her feet were still in bandages as to not mess up the sheets. It would still be days until the wounds closed and weeks until she'd be able to walk again, which broke her heart.

Ruby was born to run. Yang even joked that her baby sister could run before she could walk. As a child, the caped-girl would run around the house in her socks picking up static electricity and shock her family. It was so bad their father removed all carpet in the house and she was forced to either go barefoot or wear shoes. A similar rule was in place in the dorm.

She tried telling herself that missing the Vytal Festival Tournament wasn't the end of the world. Four months ago she had believed it would have been another two years before she could even apply to Beacon. If Professor Ozpin hadn't accepted her, she would still be in Signal dreaming about the tournament every passing day. To be so close to her dream was maddening, but she also couldn't stand the thought of costing her team something they had worked so hard for. Yang and Weiss had each gone through years of schooling and tutoring while she had skipped the hardship. Blake had gone through so much with the White Fang and finally found a home, and Ruby had ruined the faunus' chance to prove herself.

It wasn't fair to them that she was their leader. Weiss and Blake had nearly lost their lives because of her...

A knock came from the door and she instinctively hid her feet under the covers.

"Come in," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Her sister opened the door carrying a box under arm and wearing a bright smile on her face, which contrasted with her eyes. Her teammates followed, each carrying a bag full of Ruby's belongings and they were all drenched head to toe.

"Hey, guys. Why are you soaking wet?"

"That's what happens when it rains, sis," Yang joked, trying to cheer her up. When the blonde noticed the grim look on her face she sighed. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better," she said simply. Yang doubted there was much if any a difference in her health. It had only been a few hours since she'd been injured, and her aura hadn't had nearly enough time to recharge.

"Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren stopped by for a quick visit." Ruby pointed at the wardrobe where a portrait hung. "Nora drew me a picture."

The girls turned and saw a crude drawing of the hammer girl riding an Ursa in the sky and what looked like a rose in a hospital bed.

"That's uh, interesting," Weiss concluded. Yang and Blake slowly nodded in agreement.

"Nora said she and the flying Ursa were guarding me from Grimm. If you look hard enough, you can see the rose has a cast on the stem."

"Where'd they go?" her sister asked.

"Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch wanted to talk to them about the mission assignments tomorrow. They're probably getting supplies for the mission right now..."

"Oh," was all Yang could muster. RWBY's sister team had already being briefed for their first missions.

"What's the package for?" Ruby asked, changing the subject.

Yang grinned. "Dunno. It's addressed to you though."

"Me?"

"Yep, and it's the reason why we're so late. Dad sent you a package via Signal Academy air service."

"He sent it express!" Ruby cried. "He can't just send packages like that!"

"Tell me about it," she agreed, her mane sparking. "The jerk scared me half to death. I thought something happened at Signal or to Uncle Qrow." She handed her sister the box along with an already opened envelope. Ruby eyed her sister suspiciously.

"Sorry, but I already read it." She shrugged her shoulders "I had to make sure everything was okay back home, especially before you read it, Rubes."

Her sister nodded as she understood. Everyone had nightmares about receiving news from the huntsmen. It normally meant a family member or friend was gone...

She opened the envelope and unfolded the letter, and what she saw turned her face and ears red from her embarrassment. She hung her head down and moaned.

"You already let Weiss and Blake read it didn't you?"

"Of course I did!" Yang cried. "You think I'm just gonna to let you get off the hook?" Ruby shook her head. "This is going right next to Nora's masterpiece!"

Ruby glanced up to her teammates. "Please don't think worse of me because of my dad."

"I think it's sweet." Weiss said, with Blake nodding earnestly.

"I really like how your dad worked 'Sweet, wonderful, rose of my life' into his poetry."

Ruby cringed at Blake's rendition. "It's okay, guys, you can laugh."

With her permission, Weiss, Blake, and Yang doubled over in laughter as tears ran down their faces. And one by one, they began quoting excerpts of the poem, eventually talking over each other.

"As team leader I am making the executive order that we never mention this ever again!"

"Denied!" they said in unison.

Ruby groaned before taking a look at the box still under her sister's arm.

"Can I open it now?" Yang handed the package over and Ruby naturally shook it.

"Don't bother, sis. I already tried and have no idea what it is."

"She shook it the whole way here," Weiss confirmed.

"Whatever it is," Blake said pinching her nose, "it reeks of wet dog."

Ruby and Yang chuckled before freezing and giving each other horrified looks.

"He wouldn't!" they both cried.

Weiss and Blake gave each other puzzled as the siblings tore at the package to free whatever was inside. When the box was finally opened, all they could see was packing peanuts. They all leaned forward for a closer look just as two ears popped out then a snout. A small black and white creature attacked Ruby's face and pinned her to the bed. Blake jumped behind Weiss as the heiress screamed.

"Kill it!" Weiss ordered.

"It's okay, guys." Yang reassured. "It's just Zwei."

"Zwei?" Both Weiss and Blake were confused.

"He's our pet corgi we've told you about."

The monochrome pair realized Ruby's shrill cries weren't from pain, they were from her being ticklish and Zwei's tongue licking her face.

"Get him off of me please," she pleaded between giggles. "It hurts."

Yang picked him up by the scruff of his neck and was immediately attacked. She fell backwards onto the floor and was sent into hysterics by the dog's tongue.

Blake's feet froze as she watched in horror.

When Zwei was done mauling her partner, he jumped back onto the bed, panting and wagging his tail.

Weiss stepped forward and there was a sizable gulp from the sisters as she picked up their pet.

"Dog huh," she said unimpressed. Her arms were fully outstretched as if she were afraid of germs. The corgi starred with loving eyes into the cold, heartless eyes of the Ice Queen. Both parties were silent until Zwei turned his head to sneeze.

"I LOVE DOGS!" the heiress squealed as she brought Zwei into her bosom to the furry animal's delight, the sisters letting out a sigh of relief.

As Weiss fell over giggling from joy Zwei jumped out of her arms and greeted the faunus girl who immediately ran into the bathroom and closed the door. All three girls shrugged before Weiss was attacked again. Before the heiress could blackout due to lack of oxygen, the blonde scooped Zwei into her arms and handed him to Ruby.

"Sorry, Weiss, but he's Ruby's present."

Weiss sat up and nodded. "Does your dad normally send cute, furry animals through the mail?"

Yang had to think about it for a moment. "Animals I don't think so, but I can't really say I'm surprised. He's always doing crazy stuff like this. He considers it science."

"I call it animal cruelty," Weiss muttered, appalled as she stared misty eyed at the poor creature. "How did the little guy not suffocate?"

"Zwei's been through worse than that. Haven't you boy?"

Woof! was all he contributed.

"Not just anyone can survive the Xiao Long household," Yang said proudly.

"You can say that again…" Ruby grumbled.

"Oh you poor thing. Why don't you come to Weiss-y? I'll scratch your ears." The small corgi's ears perked up at the prospect of being scratched, and flew off the bed and into Weiss' arms.

"Weiss-y?" Ruby and Yang looked at each other in surprise.

"Isn't baby talk a bit unbecoming of an heiress?" Yang asked.

"You sound like Father," Weiss muttered. Her voice softened however when she looked into Zwei's eyes. "I always wanted a dog when I was little, but my parents forbade it."

Ruby thought back to what her partner had said about always wanting bunk beds as a kid and and never getting them.

"Well it looks like you've got one now," she announced. "Zwei's gonna be needing a bed to sleep in until I get better. He can't exactly stay here."

Weiss' blue eyes lit up as she tightened her hold on the corgi. "Ohh!" she cried, happier than her teammates had ever heard her. "You hear that, puppy tart? You're going to stay with us from now on."

Woof!

'Puppy tart?' The sister's mouthed at each other, smiling as much as the heiress who looked as though she might actually cry.

"Did I just hear a dog bark?" came a voice from outside the door.

"Ozpin!" Yang nearly screamed.

"Quick throw Zwei in the bathroom!" Ruby cried, to which her partner quickly complied.

"Sorry," she apologized as a terrified Blake jumped on the counter whimpering. "Keep him quiet."

"Please don't leave-" She shut the door and the girls nodded.

"Come in," Yang hollered.

The door opened and the headmaster walked in favoring his cane. He had an amused smile on his face, but also looked around the hospital room confused.

"Why does it smell like wet dog?" he asked. Ruby and Weiss could only look at each other in horror. If the headmaster found out they had smuggled in a dog, Zwei would be sent back to Signal immediately.

"That's just Weiss," the blonde covered, throwing up her hands. "It's the new perfume she got from Atlas." She gave her teammate a wry smile as Weiss stared back with menacing eyes.

Ozpin raised a brow and looked over at the heiress, who slowly nodded, making Yang giggle.

'Don't ever be alone...' Weiss threatened.

"Well alright then, moving on," Ozpin said awkwardly while he kept his distance from her. "I just wanted to see for myself how miss Rose is doing, and possibly hear some new details about your attacker. In the condition you were in last night, it was neither the time nor the place." He took a seat on the far side of the room.

"Would you like us to go?" Weiss asked.

"That will not be necessary as I cannot stay long, and you are her sister and partner after all. Speaking of which, where is miss Belladonna?" He looked around as if the girl had disappeared into the shadows.

"She's around," Weiss said vaguely.

"No matter. Could you please tell me about the mystery woman, miss Rose?"

"Of course Professor," Ruby complied. "But I don't know what else to say. Her face was behind a mask the whole time."

"I understand. Can you tell me anything about her aura?"

"It's powerful, even stronger than my sister's. She was able to shatter all the glass in the room just by waving her hand, and created two obsidian swords just with sand. I'm not sure if that's her semblance, but it could've been her aura. Every time she used it, her clothes lit up like she was on fire. I-I think she might've woven dust into her clothes, sir."

Ozpin nodded. "High risk, high reward. It means she's far more powerful and doesn't necessarily need to create a traditional glyph to have the same effect, but it could just as easily kill her. Did she say anything to you?"

"Only that she hoped I enjoyed my glass slippers..." Ruby wiggled her toes sounding miserable. Not only had the glass been sharp, but it also had been laced with red dust which constantly burned at her already irritated skin. Yang meanwhile looked out the window wishing she had someone to punch.

The headmaster was lost in thought, and Ruby mentally kicked herself for being useless. Weiss must have sensed this, because she asked the professor the question that had been plaguing her partner's mind.

"Professor," she asked politely. "What are we going to do about the mission? Will we be able to make up for it?"

Ozpin shook his head. "I'm afraid this will be counted as a failed mission. I'm sorry, but I don't make the rules for the Vytal Festival. Each team must have at least three successful missions before entering, and without miss Rose, you cannot accept any other missions until she's well again. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to hope she's fully healed by the next one."

Ruby's head sunk lower than she thought possible. Weiss felt miserable for her while Yang felt disgusted. Her sister was going to miss their first mission and possibly even the Vytal Festival all because she was a good person. It wasn't fair...

"It's okay," Ruby said, her voice sounding as empty as she felt. "I'll just have to get better before the next missions are handed out." She smiled but it was just for show.

"I'm sorry," he said again, "but it's out of my hands."

"We understand, Professor," Weiss murmured.

"I know it will be hard, but it's important that miss Belladonna, miss Schnee, and miss Xiao Long come to the ceremony tomorrow."

"I don't want to go if Ruby can't go," Yang said bluntly.

"I understand, miss Xiao Long, but you are obligated to go. Not only is it celebrating your first missions, but in turn the Vytal Festival."

"Which we can't participate in," she pointed out.

"Please, Yang," her sister pleaded. "I know how much you've been waiting for it. Go, and tell me everything about it when it's over."

Yang tried to argue, but her Ruby gave her the puppy eyes she had learned from Zwei.

"Alright, Rubes," she caved. "We'll go..."

The blonde gave Ozpin a hard look that said it might've been only under protest, and he cleared his throat, standing up onto his long legs with the help of his cane.

"I'm afraid I must be going, children." He knew how frustrated the team had to be and that his presence wasn't helping. It was clear the girl didn't know any more beyond what was captured on film.

"I'll be seeing the two of you and miss Belladonna tomorrow for the ceremony." He regarded Ruby who was being left out. "I'm sorry..."

While passing the bathroom, he paused and knocked on the door. "The word you're looking for, miss Belladonna, is cynophobia." He smiled then looked back at the team. "We'll find whoever did this to you, I promise." He opened the door and was gone.

Moments later, Blake knocked down the door and ran out as Zwei chased her.

"You think we fooled him, boy?" Yang asked as she scooped the corgi up and handed him to Ruby.

Even with Zwei licking her face, Ruby still felt miserable. For the first time since joining Beacon, she wished she was somewhere else. Somewhere far, far away in the mountains of Patchwork, in a tiny village where a red roofed cottage sat. If she closed her eyes, she could almost smell the strawberries from the garden and hear a familiar voice...

"Hey Rubes," her sister said. "Guess who's got strawberry cookies?"

(A/N: I hope you enjoyed my introduction of Zwei and I hope he brought some levity to the situation. I thought it would be fun to write him as kind of a "Get well soon" present from the dad. Don't expect any Final Fantasy VIII stuff with the Corgi Cannon though. Also I went back and fixed some of the spelling errors and sentence structure of the earlier chapters. Nothing major and I'd doubt you'd notice but I wanted to make a note of it. Once again thank you so much for the follows, favorites, reviews, and support. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who has made all of this possible. God bless)