I revamped Elea's story from a while ago, and I chose Ruby as the dragon of the two because I really liked Weiss being the human of the relationship. This situation allows Ruby to have her serious vs. silly moments become much more drastic because of the whole issue with… well, transforming into a dragon. Enjoy.

Chapter I:

An Ursa's paw slammed Weiss in the gut and hurled her backwards into a stout oak tree. Weiss hit the tree hard, her head splintering a branch, her right arm snapping like a twig against another. Dropping to the ground with a firm thud and a grunt, she took a deep, frantic gulp of air, desperate to refill her lungs from the winding. Before she could recover, however, a Beowolf lunged; even as she rolled away, she felt burning claws rake across her injured arm's shoulder.

Flicking Myrtenaster faster than the eye could follow, the terrifyingly sharp blade sheared through its throat and it fell with a dull thud. Weiss, however, barely had time to get to her feet before the next three Beowolves came. Myrtenaster flashed again and a sheet of flickering fire caught them in mid-air and burned them to ash. She stood hazily, dazed and confused, as the rest of the remaining Grimm encircled her. Weiss dropped into her fencer's stance, shaking uncontrollably; the point of her rapier wavered as her sword arm shook with exhaustion and pain.

Too many. There are way too many. At least three Ursa dens, and a particularly large pack of Beowolves. I'm going to die here… alone… and who have I even saved? A few hundred? If only I could live… I could save more. If only I could live…

But Weiss was a dead woman walking.

Weren't all hunters, in the end? Might as well go out strong.

Weiss exhaled slowly, attempting to soothe her shaky limbs as the horde of monsters surged forwards. She blocked two slashes by severing the offending limbs, froze a few Beowolves with Myrtenaster and knocked two Ursi off balance by tripping one into the other with a glyph.

The last Ursa on the offensive caught her with one massive paw, smashing through a feeble protective glyph and snapping multiple ribs as if they were twigs. Weiss skidded endlessly across the forest floor, the leaves doing little to cushion the fall, the rough ground bruising and battering and abrasing skin, muscle and bone. Pain did not discriminate.

Sliding slowly to a stop, Weiss tried to rise but found she couldn't move. She could only stare, strangely calm, as the remaining few Grimm loped forwards.

Heh. If they left me here, right now, like this… I'll bleed out. I'll die of starvation. I'll go mad from thirst! But instead, they insist on tearing me to pieces. At least it'll be faster…

A deafening roar interrupted her morbid thoughts. It outclassed the Beowolves' howling, the throaty bellows of Ursi, the squeaking screeching of Nevermores. This was like gale-force winds given a voice, a reverberating wave of sound that rolled over the forest, high and clear and so loud Weiss could feel it in her bones.

Something large and silver flashed briefly across her vision; Weiss could see bright, flashing scales moving like a ghost through the trees (if ghosts were twenty feet long, that is); terrifyingly, inhumanly, extraordinarily fast.

With another roar it slammed into the mass of Grimm, tearing everything in sight apart with huge, scythe-like claws; a massive whip of a tail smashing Grimm around and sending broken bodies flying every which way. Weiss couldn't get a good look at the thing; the mass of Grimm piling around her and the sheer speed of whatever was zooming around making it indistinct. In under a minute, the Grimm were very, very dead; except one. A huge Ursa Major that Weiss had assumed was the leader of its pack remained alive, poised to defend itself.

She couldn't see what happened after the silver thing slammed into the Ursa Major and they both disappeared from sight. She could, however, hear the roaring from what she presumed was the Ursa; it quickly turned to cries of pain; those soon faded into nothing at all. Huge plodding footsteps approached where Weiss laid and they stopped right in front of her.

The last thing Weiss saw was a huge, scaly, monstrous creature before her; four clawed feet, an alligator-esque mouth with wickedly sharp teeth, and large, bat-like wings extending from its back. Ruby-red eyes looked at Weiss with an unreadable expression.

In other words, it was a dragon.

Beautiful.

Weiss blacked out.

Weiss' eyes snapped open.

It came in a jolt; everything was disorientingly surprising and a massive migraine was splitting her skull open. Focusing whatever aura she could draw on to numb the headache, Weiss sat up and attempted to analyze her surroundings.

She lay on a rough, scratchy pelt of unidentifiable origin, her clothes were… gone… and every single sensation shot incredible pain throughout her entire body. Everything hurt as if she had been battered, bruised and mauled by a horde of marauding Grimm…

Oh, wait; that actually happened. Right.

But for whatever reason, the lack of clothes was what frustrated Weiss the most. She could feel her face heated up into a furious blush; it didn't matter that she was alone. Weiss glanced to a clothes rack nearby within arms reach and attempted to snag a hanging pelt from there, to no avail. Her arm didn't move at all and Weiss realized it was horribly broken; at least three places. She reached over carefully with her left, dragging it slowly to cover most of what she could.

Mildly better.

Weiss looked around, craning her head around to see the entire room. She was in a cave of some kind, with a high, rocky ceiling decorated with stalactites that looked like large icicles. Somewhere, she could hear a fire crackling. And someone moving.

Or something.

Abruptly she lay very still, trying to listen in on the noise. It didn't sound very big; more of a light padding, like someone barefoot. It didn't seem too heavy at all; her first thought had been that the Grimm had found her here.

How did I get here, anyway?

The dragon.

Weiss had all but forgotten about the dragon, but as soon as she thought of the word, the images came rushing back. They were extremely rare creatures; not Grimm, but certainly not normal animals either. Supposedly, they had an extremely powerful version of Aura, but nobody really knew because they almost never appeared outside of stories. Everything Weiss knew about dragons was myth and legend.

Suddenly a girl's head popped into Weiss' field of view, bending down to look down at her. The girl had black hair with red streaks, a perky smile and silver eyes. Her chest was wrapped in a set of bandages that ran across her breasts and she donned the scraps of what used to be a pair of shorts around her waist. Weiss focused in on the eyes.

That can't be a normal color.

"Hiya! Man, it took forever for you to wake up!" The girl chirped in a cheerful voice.

Weiss tried to respond but the answer came out in a rasp. She coughed twice and tried again.

"Could you tell me where I am?" Weiss asked; her voice still scratchy and rough.

"Oh, right. Um, this is my cave… it's in the mountains… somewhere. Oh, I have maps!" With that declaration, the girl disappeared; Weiss could hear bare feet scampering around, rustling paper, muttering.

"Where is it, where is it… oh!"

Weiss heard the peculiar girl's padding towards her; a head poked through the door opening again, this time accompanied by map-filled hands. The girl kneeled and brought the jaundiced, old piece of paper down to the pallet, poking a finger towards a spot in the Ravensroost mountains.

"We're riiiight here." Weiss looked and noticed they were about twenty miles out from the village she had previously been in.

"By any chance, do you have my Scroll with you?" She needed to contact Ozpin badly; tell him to send someone to get her out of this predicament. Priorities needed to be established.

"This doodad?" The girl grabbed the rectangular piece of technology off the counter lined up with the clothes rack, except on Weiss' left. The room was wide enough for them to fit together along with Weiss and the girl side by side, the latter kneeling next to her new compatriot.

Turning around, the girl passed it over to Weiss' good arm. "Can you use it one-handed?"

"I'll manage." Weiss replied curtly. Softening her tone after seeing the look on her helper's face, Weiss tried again.

"Thank you for saving me, miss…"

"Ruby Rose!" Ruby declared excitedly. "Nice to meet you; what's your name?"

"Weiss," the white-haired girl responded, tapping away at the Scroll with her hand as she propped it in place with her knee. "Weiss Schnee."

There's no signal! How can there be no signal?! These stupid things are supposed to have reception everywhere!

"Cool! So, umm… how are you feeling?"

"Not very well." Weiss replied dryly.

Really, what kind of question was that, given the state I'm in?

"How long was I unconscious? A couple hours?"

"Oh, uh… two…"

"Two hours? Great; now I just need to get back to th-"

"No, Weiss… Two days."

Weiss stared for a few seconds before erupting in disgust. "Two days?!" She threw her Scroll towards the dresser in frustration.

I need to get a message to Ozpin! Not write notes or play games, dammit.

She also realized that medical attention was extremely necessary. A couple of idle days could create infection, incorrectly heal her bones, dehydrate her… A dozen medical complications lurked at the edge of Weiss' mind.

"Yeah, I kept all your cuts clean and stuff… but I can't do too much about the bones…" Ruby trailed off, sounding fairly pitiful.

"It's fine." Weiss reassured her. "You saved my life." Then Weiss' brow drew into a puzzled frown.

Odd… where had the dragon disappeared to?

"Ruby…?"

"Huh?"

"How did you find me?" Weiss asked. Maybe Ruby saw it then.

"Um, in a forest, with a bunch of Grimm?" Ruby replied innocently.

"But they were dead… Did you see anything else?"

"Uh, no they weren't. At least, not when I got there…" Ruby said.

"What..? Yes they were… The dra-" Weiss trailed off, looking at Ruby with a mixture of horror and wonder. Weiss wasn't sure which feeling was stronger. "-gon killed them…"

"Oooh!" Ruby exclaimed. "Now you're getting it. Here, will this help?" Ruby backed up into where she had come from; after a woosh of air, what looked like a large door-frame was soon filled with a scale-covered snout.

Weiss cleared her suddenly-scratchy throat. "Yes. Yes, that helps."

Man, I really need a drink of water.

Ruby moved back into sight with a rush of air; all traces of previous dragon-transformation eliminated.

"Cool, so, when are you getting out of here?" The dragon girl casually continued the conversation as if nothing had occurred.

"I can't." Weiss replied, a little miffed that she was forced to depend on anyone else… for anything.

"I don't have any way to get a message out, and I'm probably assumed dead at this point." Her voice came out calm and confident, but on the inside Weiss was having a meltdown. She was trapped, injured, naked and helpless; she was stuck in a cave with a magical, shape shifting, lethal (at least to crowds of Grimm), oversized lizard that was also an eccentric teenage girl.

Fantastic. They don't pay me enough for this. I'm naked, too. Damn it! It's like my worst nightmare found a way to get worse.

"Well… why don't I take you?!" Ruby suggested brightly, seemingly unaware of how incredibly uncomfortable the situation was and could become for many reasons.

"That seems like…" Weiss trailed off at seeing the expectant look on her savior's face.

Riding into the heart of Vale… into a hunter's academy… on a dragon? Seems incredibly stupid to me.

"I dunno." Weiss finished, not wanting to utterly destroy the cheerful girl's disposition. "I certainly can't go anywhere yet."

"Huh, I guess not." Ruby said, mimicking thoughtfulness before diving into another topic. "Um, so you know if I ca-"

"Wherearemyclothes?" Weiss asked suddenly; it all came out in one breath, inducing a blush, tinging her alabaster skin a light pink. Weiss then looked off to the right, suddenly intensely interested in a pelt hanging from the wall.

"Oh, yea; I have them all right over there," Ruby replied, motioning towards a trunk in the corner of the room. White bits of cloth were slightly visible, but they seemed red for the most part and didn't resemble anything close to the shirt or skirt that Weiss had been wearing earlier. Weiss internally groaned. The dragon-girl blushed suddenly and looked at her feet.

"And I'm really really sorry for taking them off but I needed to clean your wounds and you had blood everywhere and stuff and yeah, really really sorry and I-"

"It's fine," Weiss interrupted, fighting her own blush from spreading like wildfire. "Really, it is."

Ruby is not at all what I expected out of someone like her. It? Dragons are supposed to be legendary creatures of great wisdom and awesome power… and yet here stands in front of me an extremely awkward teenage girl, not far from my own age. In appearance. Is she a young dragon? What's even young for a dragon?

Questions flashed through Weiss' mind and vanished when she realized the silliness of most of them.

Wouldn't be very polite to interrogate the girl who… saved my life. Is she even a girl, though?

"Can I have something to eat?" Weiss started, trying to break the silence that had suffocated the room.

Anything, anything else. This demi-dragon thinking has me extremely confused. My head hurts.

Weiss laid down as Ruby scampered off down the hallway from whence she came. The pale, silver- haired girl let her thoughts run wild yet again.

I really wish I could move more. My arm freaking hurts. So does everything else… but my arm really hurts. This ceiling is really high. The room is rather large; bigger than my room back at Beacon, anyways. They sure don't accommodate hunters well enough these days.

Soon, the smell of food slipped into Weiss' nostrils and a call wafted over to her ears.

"White or dark meat? It's duck." Ruby's voice was a little far but was steadily getting louder. Weiss' mouth began to water involuntarily.

"Dark, please." she called in return, right as Ruby came into view holding two plates make of what Weiss could tell to be bone; one with dark meat and one with white. She set down the white meat on a table across the room and walked towards the prone girl with a handful of steaming dark meat, dripping with juices.

"Open wide!" Ruby sang, and began to motion the handful towards her charge's mouth. Weiss simply glared at her until she shrank back and plopped it back on the plate.

"I can feed myself."

Dragon or not, I have limits. I'm a Schnee, for god's sake. I will not be treated like some invalid… even if I am one.

"But it would be easier to-"

"No." Weiss replied, snatching a piece from the plate with her good hand.

"Man, someone's cranky." Ruby muttered, sitting cross-legged by the pallet and holding the plate out for Weiss to take the scraps of meat. It was gone quickly, disappearing handful by handful. Weiss felt rather uncultured and uncivilized but she couldn't help it; whether or not she wanted to be polite, she was starving.

Ruby giggled when the plate was completely empty. "Wow, you were really hungry!"

"It seems like it…" Weiss responded, chewing on her lip. Weiss then took a cup of water that had been placed by her head sometime previously and drank deeply.

Staying here until I'm better is out of the question; that'll be way too long and I need to report back to Ozpin. I probably need some serious medical care for my arm, among other things… And Father will probably freak out if Ozpin reports to him that I'm dead. Hopefully they won't send him confirmation without my body. If only I could move! My aura will probably heal me within a couple of weeks… but a couple of weeks!? Damn it all to hell.

"Hey, uh, not to bother you 'cuz you're obviously thinking about something, but, um, shouldn't you tell someone that you aren't actually dead?" Ruby tentatively asked. "Because everyone who thinks you are, is, uh, probably freakin' out right now."

"Well, in case you didn't notice, I obviously can't; the only thing I can fucking move is my one of my arms!" Weiss snapped, catching the brunette off guard. "What do you expect me to do, drag myself down the mountain?"

"I was just gonna say I could do something!" Ruby yelled back, slightly flinching at her own tone. Lowering it, she continued. "I mean, I walk into town all the time. Not looking like a dragon, of course. People just think I'm a crazy girl living in the mountains… sooo…"

Weiss winced and her conscience mentally slapped her in the face.

I hadn't even considered asking Ruby for help. Then again… I don't really want to. I've already received so much from her… ugh. Goodbye, pride; hello, practicality.

"That would be very helpful." Weiss replied tactfully, to which Ruby nodded and stood up to stretch.

"I'll be back in a few. Try not to move." Weiss resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Ruby winked and dashed out of the room.

Ruby returned about an hour later with her mouth set in a flat line.

"Soo… they're all kinda, well, gone. I guess they haven't gotten the word that all the Grimm were killed." Weiss cursed silently.

"Then I suppose you'll have to… carry me." Weiss grimaced, furious on the inside with her own helplessness.

Ruby looked the girl on the pallet over with a critical eye before walking over to the dresser while talking.

"Hmm… I don't think I can do it like you are now… but let's try this." Ruby pulled a long knife and several coils of rope from the dresser (thought there were clothes in there) and walked over to the skin that consisted of Weiss' bed.

"I'll make, like, a carrying pouch thing!" Ruby motioned wildly with the knife and it was all Weiss could do to keep her worry under control. It was a clever idea, however, and it only took Ruby fifteen minutes to do everything. After finishing, the dragon girl grabbed her knife and the remaining rope, stuffed it back into a drawer and yanked another pelt off of the rack next to it.

"This should help cover you up more, since your clothes are, uh… kinda ruined." Weiss blushed a little but realized it was a cloak made of an animal with white fur. After tugging it closely around her shoulders and front, Weiss' brain suddenly spun as the world shifted sideways. After a few seconds of scraping noises and bumping, she found herself being dragged down a hallway, dimly lit by the occasional torch. Another few seconds passed by and the world became a blinding tunnel; another few, and Weiss saw the sky again. Looking around, Weiss noticed that they were at the top of the outcropping that Ruby had built her home into.

"Hang on!" Ruby shouted before Weiss felt the tug on her carrying pouch increase tenfold. Looking up, Weiss noticed a wall of shining silver scales that outlined Ruby's underbelly; closer to her were the two claws being used to keep the pouch in place. Looking down again, the pale-haired girl noticed they were at the edge of the cliff.

Weiss yelped as the dragon sprang like a cat, wings beating furiously as Ruby gained altitude. The yelp and other curses were drowned out by the deafening noise. Squeezing her eyes shut, Weiss gripped the cloak around herself tightly with her good arm.

I hate heights.

The flight was mostly uneventful until Ruby decided to land in the center of Beacon Academy's campus. Naturally, the students and hunters weren't about to simply continue their business while a dragon landed nearby. As a result, weapons were drawn and aimed as Ruby swooped to the ground; nervous looks sat upon the students' and teachers' faces alike. Many were poised to strike when Weiss' muffled voice yelled from within the pouch.

"Stop it, immediately!"

Everyone stood in stunned silence; most, likely wondering how the dragon had talked, some, wondering what the hell that furry ball of pelts was and what was inside. None had actually seen Weiss yet, but they hesitated. She sighed and tried raising her voice to a shout.

"Would someone please get Headmaster Ozpin?" To this demand, another voice answered from the group.

"Miss Schnee… is that you?" Professor Goodwitch raised an eyebrow when an alabaster-skinned hand reached out from within the pile of skins as it was lowered to the ground by Ruby.

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch. And yes, it is a long story. And no, I am not in the mood to tell it. Also, I require immediate medical attention, if you wouldn't mind." Weiss snapped, easing the mood of some of the students. Goodwitch's second eyebrow coming up was almost audible.

"Very well. And would someone, please; incapacitate that… beast." Weiss reasoned who they were referring to and a growl came out of her mouth involuntarily.

"Do. Not." She hissed coldly.

"Miss Schnee, you are in no position to be telling anyone what to do while lying there under that blanket. Students, if you please?" Ruby backed away towards a line of trees that made up one of the walls of the center area, hissing faintly as she moved.

I wish I could see; Ruby could be in danger! Or… maybe the students are in danger. Either way… dammit.

"Professor Goodwitch," A soothing, smooth voice washed over the area, carrying across the entire scene. "May I ask why, exactly, are our students preparing to attack a rare, mythical creature while one of our best hunters is seemingly lying naked underneath an Ursa pelt?" Headmaster Ozpin had materialized, omnipresent coffee cup in hand.

"Ah, Headmaster, I was just going to-" Glynda began, only to be cut off immediately by Weiss.

"She was trying to completely ignore anything I was saying in order to attack Ruby!"

"Ruby? The creature has a name?" Ozpin sipped at his cup and wondered what Schnee had gotten herself into.

"Yes, sir. In fact, she's quite smart. I think she's actually more intelligent than most of the people here." Weiss noted icily.

Meanwhile, Ruby had slid backwards into the trees, unnoticed by most to be getting smaller until she came out of the tree line once again as a teenage girl, albeit scantily clad compared to the rest of the student population. She waved at the confused, weapon-wielding crowd nervously; understandable after having an assortment of armaments aimed at her with the intent to 'incapacitate'.

"Weiss?" She called shyly. "Uh, your friends are kinda, well, absolutely terrifying. And armed. And scary. Should I, you know, run?" Professor Ozpin shook his head and strode over to Ruby; his cane tapped on the plaza in sync with his orders.

"Someone take Miss Schnee to the infirmary. Preferably someone who's standing around, like an idiot, instead of attending class." A student for each corner of Weiss' tarp started to move her off in the direction of the infirmary; the rest of the students eventually milled back to their respective classes. Ozpin rested a hand on Ruby's back and guided her after the students carrying Weiss.

"Shall we go to Miss Schnee's room? I would love for the two of us to… chat while Miss Schnee rests. I promise certain…" Ozpin looked over his shoulder at a scowling Goodwitch. "over-eager people will leave you alone." A wave of relief flooded through Ruby; she really didn't want any more weapons pointed at her today.

"O-okay… I just really wanna make sure she's alright, ya know…" Ozpin nodded with a slight smile and pushed her onwards.

"As you will, dear, as you will."

As soon as Weiss was settled into a bed, a nurse moved aside the cloak to stab a shot into her ribs, causing Ruby to wince a little. Weiss immediately fell asleep and a grimace twisted into her expression, causing Ozpin to tsk and take a look at the monitor next to the bed. Ruby took a seat in the chair next to the window and wrapped her arms around her chest for warmth in the cold hospital room.

"The poor little idiot. Her body is dangerously near to death and yet she stubbornly uses her aura to numb the pain to appear fine to others. Just a couple hours more and she might've slipped into a coma, and for what?" Ozpin huffed and began pacing. "Well, she may have saved your life out there, I suppose. Or possibly that of the students… Who can say?" Ozpin seemed to be talking more to himself now, but Ruby didn't mind much.

"Oh, that's why she was perfectly fine when she woke up… it was kind of a little weird."

"Yes… our dear huntress Weiss is quite possibly the most stubborn person on the face of Remnant. We've had this happen too many times to count. I believe the nurses keep a vial of Ursa tranquilizer on hand with her name on it as a joke…" Ozpin stopped to chuckle and take a sip of coffee.

"She is so dedicated to not expressing her own weakness that she will drive herself to the brink of death to keep up the fantasy that she can handle things." He turned to Ruby as he spun to a stop on his heel, glaring her down over his glasses. "I do believe we need to have a little chat, Ruby."

"Um… aren't we chatting already?" Ruby laughed nervously but Ozpin's demeanor changed none.

I don't like the way he says 'chat'. He's kinda scary. Real scary, actually.

"Weiss was going to die in that forest, wasn't she? So... why did you decide to play hero for a human?" Ruby was slightly taken aback by the question but answered without much hesitation.

"I just like… helping people?" Ruby ventured, feeling that Ozpin wasn't buying it.

"Hmm." Ozpin mused, turning away to look out of the window next to Ruby. Out beyond was the beautiful scene of the sun setting over downtown Vale, the sun's golden rays fading from behind skyscrapers.

"You know, I've only ever met one other dragon in my entire life, which means I now know two more dragons than most other people on this entire planet… He had quite the vicious tail, razor-sharp wings; do you know him?"

"Oh! That's my uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed, finally able to understand exactly where Ozpin's head was. "Man, I haven't seen him in ages…"

"Hmm," Ozpin mused again. "Well, Ruby, as a showing of gratitude for keeping Weiss alive, I will allow you to stay here as long as you wish. Weiss can help you handle where to stay when she wakes up in a day or two; try not to get in the way of the surgeon who will assess her later." Ozpin slipped off his coat and handed it to the girl.

"Thank you, sir." Ruby felt the need to try to be a little more formal in the presence of this intimidating yet kind man.

"But I do not take deflections or no for an answer. Eventually, you will tell me what you are doing here. If the dragons are returning… I am going to figure out why."

With that, Ozpin left the room coatless.

Ruby wrapped the coat around her front instead of putting it on properly and glanced over at the sleeping figure of Weiss, snoring gently.

Ozpin's pretty scary. But… I suppose he's not far off with his suspicions; I had to restrain myself from exclaiming with joy when I found out that Weiss stayed here. How convenient! But I, heh, well… I have to find someone to trust around here. But who?

The only person Ruby could trust at this point was in a semi-coma. Ruby sighed and clicked a lever on the chair that reclined it. Sleeping as a human was less comfortable but it would have to do.

This is too complicated. Yang needs to get here… very soon. If she doesn't I'm definitely going to screw something up. Hopefully she gets here before anything too bad happens… didn't she say she'd be here 'ASAP'? I bet it's just some acronym for late, like she always is.

Ruby nodded off with her last thought being that Weiss' weapon was still in her cavern and how nice of a gift it might be for her new friend.

A… friend?

A/N: Updating this as a side project. No promises. Things, like my name, have changed.

-ken