
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/9362456.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Underage
  Category:
      F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
  Fandom:
      RWBY
  Relationship:
      Ruby_Rose/Weiss_Schnee, Blake_Belladonna/Yang_Xiao_Long, Jaune_Arc/Pyrrha
      Nikos, Lie_Ren/Nora_Valkyrie, Neptune_Vasilias/Sun_Wukong, Glynda
      Goodwitch/Ozpin
  Character:
      Ruby_Rose_(RWBY), Weiss_Schnee, Blake_Belladonna, Yang_Xiao_Long, Jaune
      Arc, Pyrrha_Nikos, Nora_Valkyrie, Lie_Ren, Sun_Wukong_(RWBY), Neptune
      Vasilias, Taiyang_Xiao_Long, Qrow_Branwen, Raven_Branwen, Winter_Schnee,
      James_Ironwood, Ozpin_(RWBY), Glynda_Goodwitch, Penny_Polendina, Ciel
      Soleil
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_High_School, Alternate_Universe_-_Creatures_&
      Monsters, Vampires, Lesbian_Vampires, Succubi_&_Incubi, Urban_Fantasy,
      Monster_Hunters, Fantastic_Racism, Blood_and_Gore, Threesome_-_F/M/M,
      Threesome_-_F/F/M, Threesome_-_F/F/F, Polyamorous_Character, Polyamory,
      Human_Experimentation, Cannibalism, Past_Rape/Non-con, Aftermath_of
      Torture, Serial_Killers
  Series:
      Part 1 of The_Unnatural
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-01-17 Updated: 2018-02-11 Chapters: 11/? Words: 46639
****** The Heiress and the Unnatural ******
by Dark_Dhampir
Summary
     Weiss receives a letter asking her to meet a girl she barely knows
     behind the school on Senior Prom. One accident later, and she gets
     swept up into a hidden world of monstrous creatures and the fanatics
     who hunt them. Can love and friendship win out when the world is out
     to get you?
Notes
     This story was inspired by the fic "You're Beautiful My Lady (And
     You're Blood Is Delicious Too)" by Lolpuppy101. Still, this is my
     story, at least as much as BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is Disney's story,
     except for the characters which are owned by Rooster Teeth, and the
     mythology which is mostly stolen from SUPERNATURAL, and HIGHLANDER
     but I ripped other folks' works off too.
  This work was inspired by
      You're_Beautiful_My_Lady_(And_You're_Blood_Is_Delicious_Too) by
      Lolpuppy101
***** The Beginning *****
Chapter Notes
     Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, SUPERNATURAL, HIGHLANDER, or anything
     I am ripping off here.
     I also don't own the images, they're just stuff I found online.
Why am I doing this? Weiss asked herself. There she was, trudging around behind
the school—which practically meant walking into a swamp, given where the school
was situated—on Prom night to meet a girl she barely knew. She was practically
the enacting the opening scene of a slasher movie.
Weiss stopped under the only available street light. In the distance, she could
make out the football field. If it wasn’t for the almost full moon, she’d be
standing in the last patch of light for miles. That was probably why she wasn’t
already caught.
Weiss pulled out her phone, checking the time. If Ruby didn’t show herself in
ten minutes, she was leaving. As she did this, she got a look at the corsage on
her wrist. It made her remember . . .
===============================================================================
Weiss was coming back to her locker from another unpleasant day. It was Monday;
Prom was on Friday, and every male without a girlfriend (along with a few who
did, for now) in the entire school had been pestering her for a date. Weiss
didn’t have a lot of patience to begin with, and she was rapidly running out.
She practically screamed when she saw another note with a rose taped to it on
her locker.
Last year, at least that buffoon Jaune had had the guts to speak to her
directly. She couldn’t stand stunts like this. When she examined the note,
however, it surprised her.
Dear Weiss,
I know we haven’t gotten along the best, and I want to change that. Please meet
me behind the school at 8:30 on Prom Night.
Ruby Rose
Weiss was more than a little confused by the request. She knew who Ruby was, of
course, a highly intelligent, russet-haired girl who’d been bumped two grades
up and was often her classmate. Ruby seemed as though she was on a perpetual
sugar-high, always running around to and from every class—which made her habit
of falling asleep in Literature kind of ridiculous. Granted, a lot of students
nodded off in Port’s class, but that wasn’t the same thing.
Ruby also seemed to want to be everyone’s best friend, especially Weiss’. The
two had literally bumped into each other the first day, and Weiss had reacted
with one of her usual blow-ups. She felt a little bad about that now as Ruby
had profusely apologized and was always trying to be helpful and friendly to
her, in an awkward sort of way.
Usually, scarring people off didn’t bother Weiss; it gave them less power over
her. Maybe it was because Ruby had no obvious endgame or because the girl
didn’t seem to assume that Weiss should automatically like her and want to
shower her with money and popularity. It was kind of endearing.
So, when Weiss saw the note taped to her locker, she felt curious, and half-
heartedly considered meeting her. The rose was white, something only Jaune had
also thought to do. Everyone else offered bright red roses, which were
beginning to hurt her eyes.
At lunch that day, Weiss discussed the matter with her friends: Pyrrha and
Neptune. And Sun, but Weiss wasn’t overly fond of the blond boy. She only
really spent any time with him because he was Neptune’s boyfriend. As usual,
Sun had given an enthusiastic support of the idea. Pyrrha and Neptune, though
had been more cautious, staring at each other before answering.
“I don’t see any harm in it,” Pyrrha said, at last.
“Just go if you’ve got a cut or anything,” Neptune added. “Blood kind of . .
.bothers her.”
Odd, but not the most unusual hang-up. Given that the trio were better friends
with Ruby than she was (really, most of Weiss’ social circle were her friends’
friends), the heiress decided to trust them.
Then came Prom night. Weiss had a good time. Dancing and laughing with her
classmates, basking in the moment. It was the sort of thing she’d only seen in
the gushy movies that Pyrrha’s made her watch.
To cap the night off, she was voted Prom Queen while Neptune became King.
Unsurprising, given that he was most popular guy in their class, despite his
sexual orientation (the Florida Gulf Coast was far from the worst place to be
openly bisexual, but it wasn’t perfect either). The pair danced under the
spotlight, and it was perfect. At least until Weiss heard the whispering.
“I wonder how much her old man paid to get her that crown.”
“I heard her father threatened to buy up and close down the school if she
wasn’t made Queen.”
Weiss cringed. That wasn’t true. Her father didn’t care one way or the other
about this. He wouldn’t threaten or bribe the committee or the board into
giving her the title, and she wouldn’t have asked him to.
But did the Prom committee know that, she wondered. Did they just give this
crown to her to avoid her father’s expected wrath? The heiress felt a pit open
in her stomach. After the dance was over, she thanked Neptune and slipped away.
Seeing Ruby suddenly seemed far more desirable.
===============================================================================
“Hey, Weiss!” a voice called, snapping the heiress out of her reverie.
Weiss looked around. Ruby was sitting in a tree. How she’d managed to climb up
in her Prom dress was a mystery. The dress was red, like the hoodie the girl
always wore, and helped set off her pale skin. That skin, almost as pale as
Weiss’ own, glowed in the feeble light. The younger girl smiled broadly before
hopping out of the tree. Even though she was on the lowest limb, she was still
six or seven feet off the ground. Weiss was amazed she landed so lightly, like
a cat.
Speaking of cat-like, her silver eyes seemed to literally shine in the shadows,
before she walked forward into the light.
For a moment, Weiss was caught off guard by how agile the girl was, and how
cute she was, her innocent face framed by her russet-colored locks. “Ruby, you
shouldn’t do that. What if you’d hurt yourself?”
Ruby shrugged. “Everyone gets hurt from time to time. We heal. Some of us
faster than others.”
“And some injuries heal slower than others,” Weiss pointed out. “Besides, I
don’t think your parents would approve of you ruining your dress.”
Ruby just shrugged, still smiling.
Weiss sighed. “Very well, why is it you wanted to meet with me, Miss Rose?”
Ruby laughed, snorting a little. It shouldn’t have been so cute. “You don’t
need to be so formal, Weiss. I just wanted to talk. You’re always so guarded
and confrontational in class, even with our friends. I just wanted to talk like
a couple of normal girls for once.”
Weiss frowned. “Guarded” was a good way to describe how she normally acted.
She’d like to blame the formality on her upbringing, but that was only part of
the problem. The truth was, she’d chosen to be that way. Her father’s wealth
and influence (part of which her sister currently wielded and the rest of which
Weiss would one day herself inherit) meant she was constantly being courted by
those who wanted to take advantage of it. She’d had to become cautious to be
less vulnerable to manipulations and pain.
She smiled a little. “I’d like that, Ruby.”
Ruby smiled back, wider. “Hey, a slow dance is coming on,” she said, tilting
her head. Weiss concentrated and thought she could vaguely make out a low beat
coming from the gym. Ruby must have very sharp ears, she decided, or had stolen
a copy of the DJ’s track record. The red-dressed redhead held out her hand.
“May I have this dance?
Weiss rolled her eyes. “Dolt. You just asked me out here to dance, didn’t you?”
“Of course not! Dancing was just part of my amazing plan,” Ruby replied,
shamelessly.
Weiss huffed. “Well, why not?”
Ruby placed her hands on Weiss’ hips; the heiress put hers on Ruby’s shoulders.
Ruby was shorter than she was up-close. Except, the younger girl was wearing
flats. If Weiss hadn’t been wearing heals, the heiress would be looking up at
her.
They swayed to the music for what seemed an eternity. Weiss rested her head on
Ruby’s shoulder. The exposed skin felt cool against her cheek. Weird, given
what a balmy night it was, but that just made it more pleasant. This was
perfect. Ruby wasn’t as good a dancer as Neptune, but Weiss had needed to teach
Neptune in preparation for the dance back in Freshman year; without it, Mr.
Suave would’ve made a fool of himself. Ruby was different. She obviously had no
experience dancing with a partner, but her movements were naturally graceful.
And holding her felt so right. Weiss smiled, she’d always suspected she swung
both ways.
“Weiss . . .” Ruby breathed.
The heiress frowned. Ruby’s breath felt cool. “Ruby . . . are you OK?” she
asked, starting to raise her head.
She was stopped when Ruby’s left hand went to the back of her head. It was like
pushing against a brick wall. “I’m sorry, Weiss,” she whispered.
Before Weiss could question what was going on, she felt a terrible pain in her
neck. She screamed. The heiress felt something cool and wet wiggle against her
skin, like a fish, and her strength left her. As her vision began to fade, she
became aware of a voice calling out Ruby's name.
===============================================================================
“Ruby! Ruby! SIS!”
Ruby’s dreamy mind snapped back to reality with a shock. Pulling her fangs back
into her gums, she withdrew from Weiss’ neck. “Weiss?” she asked. “Oh, no!
Don’t leave me, Weiss. No. No. No. No!”
“Damn it, Ruby, stop the bleeding,” Yang yelled coming up. Ruby saw that her
sister’s eyes were red, a sign she was beyond angry. Right now, Ruby didn’t
care, though and did as the blond-haired girl instructed. Placing her mouth
against Weiss’ neck again, she pressed her tongue against the wound, not to
lick up the blood now, but to apply pressure and the soothing enzymes in her
saliva.
Eventually, she drew back and examined the wound, crippling the unconscious
girl in her arms. It was raw and ugly, but it was healed. “She’s safe,” Ruby
said.
“Darn it, Rubes, how did this happen?” Yang asked. The older girl had crossed
her arms and was still giving her sister the red-eye.
“She put her head on my shoulder. I didn’t think. It was just her pulse and her
neck, and I was so hungry . . .”
“Damn it, Rubes, I told you to feed before coming tonight!” Yang yelled.
“Shhhhh! Do you want everyone to hear?” Ruby asked.
“I’m sorry, but this looks like a scene from a frickin’ horror movie,” Yang
spat. The blond closed her eyes and counted to ten. “All right, we’re leaving.
I’m going to call Uncle Qrow and get Blake. You think you can keep the Ice
Queen and yourself safe without taking another chomp out of her?”
“Yes,” Ruby whispered. She wasn’t used to being yelled at by Yang like this,
but she knew she deserved it. She’d royally screwed up.
Yang sighed, her eyes returning to their normal lavender. “Ruby, why didn’t you
feed like I told you to?”
“I didn’t have time,” the girl said. “I needed to shower and change, and I’d
fed pretty well yesterday, so I thought I could skip one night . . .”
Yang shook her head as her little sister rambled on. “Forget it. I’ll handle
this, just make sure the wound stays closed and none of the blood gets on her
dress. It’s almost impossible to clean that stuff out.”
===============================================================================
Weiss woke up in an unfamiliar bedroom. For most, this would trigger a panic
attack, but the heiress didn’t have the energy for that. As a result, her mind
remained clear enough to take stock of her surroundings. The bed was smaller
than hers—though, as Weiss lived in what was practically a manor-house, that
wasn’t saying much. It also contained a set of bunk beds. She was lying on the
top bunk; it had red covers and pillows and a black comforter. Looking over the
edge, she saw that the bed below her had one with yellow covers and pillows and
a tan comforter. Casting her eyes about the room, she saw a pair of closets and
a pair of elaborate desks with bookshelves. One was stuffed full of what looked
like books, comics, and technical manuals. The other had a few books but was
mostly filled with CDs and movies and sat below a collection of posters
featuring various pop artists and bands, generally in revealing outfits and
alluring poses. She noticed the windows were covered by thick, dark blue drapes
that blocked out most of the light. However, she could see through the cracks
that the sun was out.
At this point Weiss noticed herself. She wasn’t wearing her Prom dress.
Instead, she’d been dressed in an oversized white T-shirt and baggy red pajama
pants. She also noticed a thick bandage on her neck. Weiss swallowed, now
conscious enough for the fear to start settling in. She was in an unknown
location, with a person or persons unknown who had apparently undressed her and
. . .
“You’re awake. Good.”
Weiss turned and saw a dark-haired, hazel-eyed girl with Asian-looking features
standing in the doorway. Weiss hadn’t heard her come in. “Blake?” she asked.
She knew the girl from school, one of a number of people who were friends with
Pyrrha and Neptune. If memory served, the girl used to date Sun. At present,
she was dressed in a black silk nightrobe. “What’s going on here?” she asked,
starting to get up.
“How much of last night do you remember, Blake countered.
Weiss frowned. “I was at the dance. I met Ruby. She apologized . . .” Weiss’
hand flew to her neck. “Did Ruby do this to me? Why? How? What’s going on?” The
heiress moved towards the ladder.
”RARRRR!”
Weiss was shocked as she heard an animal-like roar. Suddenly, she felt
something slam into her, knocking back onto the bed, pinning her in place. When
she could see strait again, she saw it was Blake holding her down. And that the
girl had suddenly acquired fangs and glowing, slitted, amber-colored eyes.
***** Stepping into a New World *****
Chapter Notes
     Fair warning: This is going to be a long one. Major exposition/lore
     dump.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“Thanks for the lift, Pyrrha,” Weiss said, climbing out of her friend’s car.
She was again dressed in her Prom outfit, somewhat worse for the wear despite
the Rose/Xiao Long family’s best attempts to the contrary. They just weren’t
used to caring for a 4,000-dollar designer dress.
“No problem,” the tall, athletic girl replied. Weiss had called the girl from
Ruby’s house phone to request a pick up. This had been Uncle Qrow’s insistence.
He refused to let her call Winter for a pick up or to drive her home himself or
let his brother-in-law do so. Privately, Weiss thought that the right decision.
Given how mad Winter was likely to be, this was probably not the time to
introduce her new friends/potential love interest to her sister. At least
Winter already knew about and respected Pyrrha. Hopefully though, her friend
would leave before she could get caught in the blast range. “I’m glad to see
the two of you are finally getting along. Do you think you’ll hang out with her
again?”
Weiss blushed. She’d gotten pretty good at reading between the lines when it
came to Pyrrha, and she knew when her friend was being too polite to comment on
something. In this case, Pyrrha obviously thought she’d slept with the other
redhead the night before and was trying to figure out whether or not it was a
one-time thing.
“We thought we’d go out sometime in the future. Maybe.” Weiss looked away, not
sure if she wanted to see her friend’s smile or frown of disappointment.
Everyone thought of Pyrrha as some kind of badass Amazon woman due to her
success in the basketball and volleyball teams, especially since it was common
knowledge she had also earned a black belt in karate in her spare time. Given
that she also had one of the highest GPAs in their class, everyone thought
Pyrrha was too driven and/or too tough to care about romance. But her friends
knew that the future Valedictorian was really a gushy romantic under it all.
The girl had dragged Weiss and Neptune to every dumb teen romance movie that
had come out in the past four years. Sometimes more than once.
That included the Twilight series, oddly enough. Weiss wondered what Ruby
thought of those movies. The russet-haired girl certainly didn’t sparkle in the
sunlight. Saving that thought for later, she told Pyrrha “You’d better leave
before Winter realizes you’re here.”
“All right,” Pyrrha said. “I’ll see you later, Weiss.”
Where I’ll pester you for all the details. She didn’t say that last part, but
Weiss knew her friend pretty well. As she saw Pyrrha drive off to safety, Weiss
sighed and tried to smooth her dress a little. Might as well get this over
with. She walked up to the front door and reached for the handle.
It opened before she could touch it.
“Where in world have you been?” Winter shouted. The normally cool and
controlled woman was (by her own standards) a wreck. Bags under her eyes
suggested she hadn’t slept last night, and a few strands of hair were loose
from her bun. For Weiss this was as shocking as if her sister had shaved her
hair into a Mohawk. At least her white suit looked pressed and neat.
“Pyrrha invited me to her house last night. I slept over, and she drove me home
this morning. She just left.” Weiss mumbled, looking down. At least Pyrrha had
already made it clear she was perfectly willing to let Weiss throw her under
the bus. The taller girl’s reputation was such that Winter would only take
minimal offense. Hopefully.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Winter shouted. “Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
“I don’t know. I guess I missed it in the excitement.”
“I was calling you half the night.”
“My phone’s dead,” Weiss replied, repeating the story she had worked out with
Ruby’s father and uncle before leaving. “I didn’t notice until I tried to call
you on the drive over. Pyrrha didn’t have a car charger.” Weiss had to swallow
the bile building in her throat. She hated lying to her sister. Winter had
practically raised her, was her parent for all intents and purposes given how
often their father was away (and how distant he was when he was home), but
Qrow, Taiyang, and Yang had made it clear: she couldn’t let anyone know Ruby
was . . . not normal, and that meant Weiss couldn’t say anything that would
lead Winter to the family’s doorstep.
“Why didn’t you try to call me when you woke up?” Winter asked.
“I slept in. When I woke up I had to rush to get clean and dressed.” Weiss
said.
Winter huffed but didn’t question her. Weiss slept in on weekends anyway, so it
was perfectly believable that she might do so at a friend’s house. She checked
her watch. “I have to go to work now. You are grounded for the next two weeks,”
she said.
Weiss felt her stomach drop. She opened her mouth to argue, but shut it again.
She knew she couldn’t argue with Winter. If Weiss had been guilty of what she
said she was, the punishment would be totally justified. Besides, maybe
accepting this would make her feel better about lying to Winter.
Winter turned and walked back into the house to take the side door into the
garage. She paused as Weiss walked in. “Weiss,” she said. When her sister
stopped, she continued. “I won’t tell Father. This time.”
“Really?” Weiss asked, eyes widening.
Winter nodded. “Yes. We both know he’ll just explode and force some
unreasonable punishment on you and make both our lives miserable for months.”
Weiss ran up and hugged her sister. “Thank you,” she whispered. In spite of the
negativity she’d shown earlier, Winter returned the hug.
“You’re welcome Weiss,” she said, a smile forcing itself onto her face. “Don’t
forget your fencing and singing lessons. I’ll be back at five to pick you up
for dinner.”
“We’re still going?” Weiss asked, shocked. She and Winter had planned on going
out to a steakhouse in the neighboring city for a couple weeks, a place so
high-class and popular one had to call that far ahead to get reservations. It
was one last hurrah before Weiss had to knuckle-down and prepare for Finals.
Winter nodded. “Consider your grounding suspended for meals between the two of
us.” She let go and walked through the door, shutting it behind her. Weiss
turned to go up the stairs to her room, when Winter poked her head out again.
“Weiss?”
“Yes?”
“You . . . you had a good time, right?”
“ . . . I did.”
“Good. Now get changed.” Then she was gone.
Weiss wiped a tear from her eye as she headed upstairs. Sorry, Ruby, she
thought, but you only have the second-best older sister in the world. She still
had trouble believing the pair were sisters, though. Unlike herself and Winter,
Ruby and Yang looked and acted nothing alike. That thought led her to realize
how little she knew about Ruby and her family. And her nature.
===============================================================================
Earlier that day
“Stay down, Weiss. We have a lot to talk about.” Blake’s voice was a snarl, a
menacing sound Weiss would’ve expected from a lion or a panther. The heiress
wanted to scream but was too terrified to. She was staring at Blake’s mouth;
the girl’s canine teeth were extended into fangs and her incisors had become
elongated and diagonal, the four teeth coming together to form a triangular
point. The nails of the hands that held Weiss down had lengthened into pointed
claws, and Blake’s eyes had become gold. Glowing gold, not like Ruby’s shiny
silver orbs. While the redhead’s eyes might have been reflective, these shone
with a hostile inner light and had slitted pupils, like a cat’s.
Then, before Weiss’ eyes, Blake’s teeth melted back to normal, flattening out
into human dentition. The claws shrank back into nails, and the black-haired
girl’s eyes dulled, losing their luster and returning to their normal shade of
light hazel, their pupils again circular.
“Wha-What?” Weiss asked. “Blake . . . how?”
“I’m a Were, Weiss.”
“A Were? What? Do you mean a Werewolf?”
“I prefer the term ‘Werecat,’ actually,” was the smug reply. “But it’s all
academic these days.”
“That’s . . . No . . . This is impossible,” Weiss stuttered.
“I’m afraid it’s quite possible, Weiss, and it’s a part of your life now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Where do you think you got that bandage on your neck? Ruby gave it to you.
She’s a Vampire, Weiss.”
“What? No. Vampires an—and Werewolves . . .”
“Werecats,” Blake corrected.
“They’re not real!”
“I’ll admit, most of the mythology is . . . baloney,” Blake said. For a moment,
the inherent silliness of the statement caught Weiss off guard. “But Weiss,
what’s your explanation for this?” Blake opened her mouth and Weiss shuddered
as her teeth once again morphed into fangs and back again. At least this time,
Blake had closed her eyes so Weiss didn’t have to see those change again. Those
feline eyes were just so fundamentally predatory, even more so than the
admittedly frightening teeth. “Like I said, most of the lore is dead wrong, so
if it helps, consider us the real-life beings who inspired superstitious and
ill-informed peasants to make up stories of monsters.”
Weiss could recognize a blatant rationalization when she heard one. But, it was
something she could wrap her head around, so she latched onto it. “OK, Ruby is
a Vampire, or something close to one. . . and she bit me? Why?”
“Not on purpose,” Blake explained. “Her instincts got the better of her, but
the deed was done and had to be dealt with. Yang, her sister, called their
Uncle Qrow and grabbed me from the dance. We snuck you into his car and drove
back to Ruby and Yang’s house. You’re in their room now.”
“OK. Wait, is this Ruby’s bed?” Weiss asked.
Blake smiled. “I wondered when you’d catch onto that. Yes, but she hasn’t slept
all night. She went out hunting for deer with Qrow and is waiting for me to
explain everything to you before she sees you again.”
“Why can’t she explain it to me herself?” Weiss asked, a little annoyed. She
decided to ignore the part about hunting deer. Thanks to Pyrrha’s insistence
one watching the Twilight Saga, she had a pretty good idea why Ruby was hunting
them (and how), and that image was a little too much to think about
“Tradition,” Blake explained. “It’s a rule among our . . . tribes that whoever
exposes a normal person our existence must be the one to explain it to them.
Technically, Ruby actually did that, but she’d just trip over her words trying
to explain everything at once; she’d leave you more confused when you started.
So someone else had to be on hand to do something . . . drastic.”
“Hence the pouncing?”
Blake smirked. “Well, it was also fun.”
Weiss frowned. “OK. So, monsters are real . . .”
Blake frowned. “You might want to avoid that term, Weiss. A lot of our peoples
find it insulting. In fact, some even find names like ‘Vampire’ and ‘Were’
insulting. Remember, those are terms your ancestors used for the things they
told scary stories about. Stories that justified their fear and hatred of
our’s.”
“Really?” Weiss asked. “Then what do you call yourselves?”
Blake smiled. “Generally, we call ourselves ‘Creatures’ as a whole. Not much of
a step-up, I’ll grant you, but it’s more or less what we’ve all agreed on. As
for specific races,” Blake shrugged, “most actually do use humanity’s names for
us, but that wasn’t always the case. In the old days, we had no names; we just
use various titles based on our diet or other characteristics. For example,
Ruby’s kind are traditionally called The Blood-drinker’s Clan, while mine are .
. . well, let’s save that for later. Anyway, the majority of Vampires around
here are perfectly fine with that name, just be careful around strangers.”
“There are more?” Weiss asked, deciding to ignore Blake’s obvious dodge for
now. If Blake thought it was too much, the heiress wasn’t in the mood to argue.
“More Vampires here in Vale?”
“Yes, but I doubt you’ll be meeting them anytime soon,” Blake said. “I’m going
to let you up, now. Do you think you can handle this without freaking out?”
“ . . . Yes.” Blake moved back and Weiss sat up again.
“Good. Now, let’s head down to breakfast.
Blake casually jumped down to the floor, landing appropriately cat-like, before
straitening up and looking expectantly at Weiss. The heiress shook her head and
climbed down the ladder. The pair walked down the stairs to the kitchen. On the
way, Weiss got the chance to examine the house she found herself in. There was
another room down the hall from the one she’d woken up in, with a bathroom
whose door was half-open beyond that. Headed down the stairs and on the walls
leading to the kitchen, she saw numerous pictures on the wall. Some featured
younger versions of either Ruby or a blond-haired girl she recognized as
Yang—they’re actually sisters? she thought—or both together. There were also
pictures of a male version of Yang she knew must be the girls’ father, along
with two women. One was a black-haired, red-eyed version of Yang. The other was
simply an older, calmer looking image of Ruby. She paused. Which one was the
mother?
“Weiss?”
The heiress turned. Standing in the corner of the kitchen, wearing a black and
red skirt, complete with black stockings, red-laced black boots, and an honest-
to-goodness red cloak with hood, was Ruby. The silver-eyed girl shuffled her
feet a little. Her eyes avoided Weiss’.
“Good morning, Ruby,” Weiss said, not knowing what else to do. She noticed
Blake had slipped away from them.
“Did you sleep well?” the girl asked.
Weiss struggled for a reply. “Yes, your bed was adequately comfortable.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s good. Say, are the pajamas comfy? They’re mine. Cuz, we’re
about the same size, you know. Closer than Yang or Dad or Uncle Qrow.”
“Yes, they are quite nice—wait, Ruby were you the one who changed my clothes?”
“Um, Yang helped.” Ruby tried to smile to lighten the situation.
It didn’t help. “You undressed me?” Weiss screeched. It was embarrassing enough
to think of Ruby seeing her in her underwear, but Weiss’ dress had been held up
by spaghetti-thin straps. She’d forgone wearing a bra.
“I’m sorry. I just thought you’d be really uncomfortable. And you’d ruin your
dress, and then you’d be upset about it . . .”
“I’m more upset that you saw me practically naked!”
“You still had your underwear on!” Ruby cried trying to defend herself.
“I didn’t have a bra!”
The pair stood in silence for a moment. Red-faced, eyes glued to their feet,
silence, before the voice of Yang rang out. “Holy crap, Weiss! You just found
out my baby sis is a freaking Vampire, and she sucked your blood last night,
and all you care about is that we saw your A-cups? Get some perspective
girl—Ouch! C’mon, Blake, you know it’s the truth!”
Weiss felt her face go from heated to hot, verging on an explosion. Her
clenched fists shook, her nails digging into her flesh.
“Heh, heh. Leave it to Yang to get to the point,” Ruby said. “So, yeah, I’m a .
. .”
“Blood-drinker?” Weiss asked.
“Heh, always preferred Vampire myself, but yeah.” Looking up, Ruby’s face fell.
“Weiss, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bite you. It’s just I hadn’t eaten well
before the dance, and I was so happy to be dancing with you, and you were so
close, and . . .”
“Enough, Ruby,” Weiss said. Ruby clammed up, looking down again. Weiss sighed.
“Look, Ruby, I’m not mad, not anymore. This is all just so much to take in.”
“Sorry,” Ruby said again.
Weiss fidgeted a little. “I liked dancing with you as well, Ruby.”
“Really?” Ruby’s face lit up cartoonishly bright. Which was so wrong on a
Vampire.
“Yes,” Weiss said. “It was . . .very nice.”
“Want to . . . go out sometime?” Ruby asked.
“I think I would,” Weiss said. “But not today. Winter is already going to kill
me for disappearing last night, and I need to get home as soon as possible.”
“In that case, why not put it off a little longer?” Ruby asked.
“Because if I don’t show up before Winter leaves for work, I’m fairly certain
she’ll call the National Guard.”
Ruby laughed. “All right, got time for Breakfast? It’s only 7:30.”
Weiss raised an eyebrow at that. Usually she slept in if it wasn’t a school
day. “I think so.” She walked forward to the kitchen. Ruby said she needed to
stay back because she hadn’t slept in about 30 hours or more.
As was walking out, Ruby stopped and added. “You know, I thought your breasts
were really nice, Weiss.”
“What? You . . . DOLT!”
===============================================================================
Weiss hadn’t gotten to question the odd little family about the issue much at
breakfast. No, that wasn’t true. She’d actively avoided discussing the subject.
Tried to pretend it didn’t exist. Thinking back, she shouldn’t have done that.
It was foolish, dangerous even, and it could cause her to insult or injure Ruby
or her loved ones by accident. She needed more information.
Weiss took out a notebook and opened it to one of the few remaining blank
pages. Before she pestered anyone else, she figured she should start with what
she knew about Vampires. That wasn’t much, though, and almost everything she
knew contradicted itself.
The heiress frowned and divided the page into three columns. One was filled
with the clichés: turning into bats, hypnotism, sleeping in coffins, stakes to
the heart, crosses, garlic, burning in sunlight, capes, fangs, Transylvanian
nobility, and you became one by being bitten by a pre-existing Vampire. In the
second, she transcribed all she remembered about the Buffyverse Vampires:
enhanced athleticism, senses, and healing; morphing faces and fangs; more
stakes, sunlight, and crosses; plus holy water, fire, decapitation, needing an
invitation to enter a human house, and in spite of being immortal,
soullessness. Unlike the previous type, conversion required a pre-existing
Vampire feeding their blood to a human. Biting was just a way to get to the
blood. Weiss then transcribed all she could recall of the Twilight vampires in
the last column. They were superhumanly strong and fast, more so than their
Buffyverse counterparts, with diamond-hard skin that sparkled in the sunlight;
on that note, these Vampires didn’t suffer from any of the previous groups’
weaknesses. They had promsuperhuman senses and the slightest scent of blood
could set them off. They didn’t have fangs, but did have color-changing eyes,
didn’t sleep, and were superhumanly beautiful. Weiss thought for a moment,
before writing “prone to extreme romantics” in the last row.
Ruby didn’t seem to fit neatly into any of the above categories. She walked
around in sunlight, but didn’t sparkle, didn’t have the complete amorality that
came with being soulless in Buffy, and didn’t have an Eastern European accent.
The heiress was also fairly certain the girl couldn’t turn into a bat.
Weiss sighed and dug out her phone, turning it on. Pyrrha had suggested she
turn it off to support the dead battery story, even though it helped paint her
in a bad light. Weiss would have to buy the girl something really nice as a
present. Maybe a box set of movies?
Weiss scrolled through her list of contacts. It had almost doubled since
yesterday. Before Weiss left, Ruby had dashed down the hall—still staying in
the shadows, though—and told everyone to give Weiss their number so she could
call if she needed them. She now had all four of the family’s numbers, plus
their house phone and Blake’s cell phone. It was actually heartwarming to see
how much they cared, if a little depressing that six new numbers was such a big
deal.
Weiss considered calling Ruby, but realized the girl would probably be sleeping
by now. Did she sleep during the day? She went to school, but Weiss almost
never saw her outside of it, and she was always falling asleep in Port’s
classes . . .
Regardless, Weiss didn’t feel comfortable asking directly from Ruby or any of
her family. It was just too awkward. Besides, it would more or less defeat the
purpose of researching to avoid insulting her.
Instead, Weiss hit Blake’s phone number. Hopefully, she wasn’t already asleep.
Blake answered on the third ring. “Weiss? What is it?”
Weiss sat down at her desk. “I was wondering . . . That is, I hope you would be
willing . . . what I mean is . . . Could you tell me more about Ruby?”
“You mean her favorite flavor of ice cream?” Blake asked. Weiss could hear her
smirk.
“No. I mean about . . . Vampires.”
“Why so curious all of a sudden?” The question sounded vaguely hostile.
“I just realized I knew almost nothing about Ruby’s nature, aside from the fact
that she accidently bit me on the neck and apparently goes hunting with her
uncle at night. I was just . . . I don’t want to do or say the wrong thing and
hurt or insult her by accident.”
Blake’s voice changed. “Good answer. What do you know about Vampires?”
“Not much. I wasn’t much of a fan before. I know some girls are really into
that, but not me.”
“Not before Ruby, anyway,” Blake said. Weiss wondered if the Werecat could hear
her heartbeat rising through the phone.
“Right, well, all I know is the popular things from cartoons and whatnot, and
what I’ve seen watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Winter.”
“Your sister watches Buffy?” Blake asked, curious.
“It’s her guilty pleasure,” Weiss admitted. “Also, she says we need to support
positive portrayals of women with power whenever we can.” When Blake didn’t
comment, she continued. “Anyway, I didn’t watch every episode, but I saw enough
to know the Vampires there were different from the ones I was used to. Oh, and
I saw the Twilight movies with Pyrrha.”
Blake chuckled across the phone. “Now that’s what I call a guilty pleasure. We
all make fun of Pyrrha for liking that series, given how wrong it is.”
“What—you mean, Pyrrha knows about you? Is she a, a Vampire or a Were too?”
“No, but . . . Weiss I didn’t want to tell you this until later, but . . .
everyone in our group except you, until now, either is or knows about
Creatures.”
“Oh,” Weiss said. She took a deep breath. “OK, then. Could we just focus on the
Vampires today and come back to that later?”
“Sure,” Blake said, and Weiss mentally thanked her. “Well, it sounds like
you’ve heard the most common portrayals of Vampires in modern media, which
unfortunately means everything you know contradicts itself.”
Weiss looked up from her list. “Yes. Almost the only things they all have in
common is drinking blood and living forever.”
“As I said earlier, most Vampire lore is trash. A cross won't repel them.
Sunlight won't kill them, and neither will a stake to the heart. But the
bloodlust—that part's true. They need fresh blood, preferably human blood, to
survive, and that instinct is strong. That leads us to Rule Number One: don’t
ever place your heart or any place where you could feel your pulse near Ruby’s
ears or face. This includes your neck, chest, and wrist. If she hears your
pulse, her hunting instinct will take over, at least until she develops more
control.” Blake paused for a moment, then continued, sounding amused. “The
insides of your thighs are also off-limits. Sorry.”
“So that’s what happened with Ruby,” Weiss said, ignoring Blake’s insinuations.
“I guess when I rested my head; my neck was too close.”
“Exactly. So, from now on, watch how you touch Ruby, at least until she’s
older. Oh, and watch out for her nails—they don’t grow like mine do, but
they’re sharper than your’s. A lot sharper.”
“I understand. Actually, Blake was Ruby born a Vampire? That doesn’t really
show up in what I’ve seen.”
“It is uncommon,” Blake admitted. “Most are Vampires Turned. That is, they were
born human and were changed later, but there are a handful like Ruby who were
born into Vampirism.”
“And how does that work?” Weiss asked. “In Buffy, you had to drink Vampire
blood, but in other versions, just being bitten was enough—Oh my gosh, Blake!
Am I going to become . . .”
“No! No, Weiss. Buffy was right on that one, mostly. Just being bitten won’t do
anything but give you a scar. Or make you bleed to death. You have to drink
their blood to Turn, and you have to drink a lot or it’s no good.”
“All right,” Weiss said, fingering her neck. Her hair had kept the mark
concealed from Winter. She’d have to use makeup to hide it in the future. At
least until she came up with a good story for it.
“All right, are you ready to continue, Weiss?” Blake asked.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, my with earlier comments you might be thinking that Twilight was
right, and Ruby really is unstoppable. That’s far from true. Sunlight doesn’t
physically burn them, but it hurts—like a nasty sunburn without the actual
burn. Some really do sleep in the day, especially the traditionalists, but most
just wear sunglasses and a hat or carry a parasol to avoid sunlight. You might
have noticed Ruby wears her jacket’s hood a lot around school and stayed in the
shadows this morning. Qrow’s told me they actually do sometimes use coffins,
but that’s more of a convenience for hiding or travel than a necessity.”
“All right,” Weiss said. “What else? I don’t think Ruby can turn into a bat,
and Qrow complained that they can’t mesmerize people.” He said if he could,
they’d have just made her forget the whole thing.
Blake nodded. “Some can, mesmerize that is, but it seems more like a learned
skill than an innate power. Like a hypnotist. The shapeshifting . . . that’s
something different. Mostly, the idea that Vampires could turn into bats, rats,
and wolves (yes, there are legends about that, it’s in Dracula, the book not
the movie) are based off the fact that these animals like them.”
“Really?” Weiss asked, turning up her nose in distaste. Rats . . .
Blake nodded. “We don’t know why, but they tend to flock to a Vampire’s home
and will even curl up around them while sleeping if they can. I don’t know if
you’ve noticed, but Yang complains about the family’s rat problem. A lot.”
Weiss frowned. She did recall hearing the blond complain about the family’s
pest problem once or twice. She probably wouldn’t be over to Ruby’s house again
anytime soon. “Domestic animals, like cats and dogs, however, hate them—all
Creatures, really.”
“Why?” Weiss asked. Now that she thought about it, she remembered seeing dogs
go ballistic when she was walking around town with Pyrrha, Neptune, and Sun.
“They have a strong sense of smell, and they’re acclimated to being around
humans,” Blake explained. “They can tell we’re not quite right, that we’re not
really human.
Weiss frowned at that statement but couldn’t think of anything to say. She
tried a different question. “What about the enhanced strength, healing and
senses?” she asked, looking at her notes.
“That’s all true, although it’s nowhere near as outlandish as Twilight,” Blake
said. “Vampires are stronger than humans; most Creatures are really. Ruby could
easily win an arm-wrestling match against any high school quarterback if she
wanted to—and probably some college-age ones too. She’s also agile enough to
climb brick walls as easily as if she was crawling across the ground and has
the stamina to run a marathon without becoming winded. Her kind have some of
the best healing abilities of all Creatures: pretty much anything that doesn’t
involve amputation can be undone. And because she’s biologically designed to be
a nocturnal predator, her senses are heightened as well. Did you see Ruby’s
eyes flash last night?” Blake asked.
Weiss nodded, though she knew Blake couldn’t see her. “Yes, I ignored it then.
I thought it was a trick of the light.”
“It’s something most mammals do, but humans can’t,” Blake said. “It’s called an
eye-shine. It helps them see in the dark. A Vampire’s senses are also sharp
enough to actually taste the chemicals in your blood and know if you’re on
drugs, medication, or how healthy your diet is, and they can literally hear
your blood flowing in your veins,” she said. Weiss imagined the frown the dark-
haired Were was giving her.
“Which is another reason to avoid neck exposure,” the heiress completed.
“Right. But, their best sense is smell. Once a Vampire has your scent, they
remember it for life.” Blake paused. “That’s actually where the myths about
garlic come in. While garlic cloves do sometimes repel them because of the
stench (though that’s nothing to rely on if you get in trouble), the real value
is in the flowers. If you them around yourself or your residence or burn them
and dust your clothes with the ashes, they can hide you from a Vampire’s sense
of smell.”
“Really?” Weiss asked. It sounded a little fantastic.
“Yes, it’s one of the few things Dracula got even partially right. The book,
not the movie that is. The first movie used wolfsbane instead of garlic.” She
chuckled. “Wolfsbane is how you hide from my kind.”
“OK. So they can eat garlic?” Weiss asked.
“Most can, although some are allergic to it. Not Ruby, though.”
Weiss looked over her notes. “Well, I think I’ve seen Ruby’s reflection before,
and I know I saw Qrow’s reflection in the window, so that’s out.”
Blake chuckled. “I’ve heard Stoker made that part up himself, actually.”
“All right,” Weiss said, marking it down. “Ruby eats lunch with us—does she
really eat it?”
“Yes, but it’s like eating candy—little to no nutritional value.” Blake paused.
“That does remind me of something important, though.”
“What?”
Blake sounded uncomfortable. “I don’t know if this will ever come up, but you
should probably know it anyway. Don’t ever offer her a bottle of blood or
anything, OK?”
Weiss scrunched her face. “Ew, why would I do that?”
“I don’t know, just don’t, all right? Vampires need fresh blood. Like what
they’d use in transfusions. If it isn’t fresh, they can . . . get food
poisoning, basically.”
Weiss shrugged. “All right. Wait, then how do they . . .?”
“Feed?” Blake completed. “There’s a farmer out past the edge of town. He knows
about Creatures and helps provides for our needs. He lets the Vampires have
some of his herd from time to time.”
“Cows?” Weiss asked. She didn’t remember there being a dairy farm anywhere near
Vale.
“Pigs,” Blake corrected. “And I know Qrow and Ruby hunt pretty regularly, too.
Animals, that is. It isn’t as healthy or tasty as human blood, but it gets the
job done.” Blake paused. “I know there are some of their kind that have . . .
symbiotic relationships with humans.”
“You mean people let them drink their blood?”
“In exchange for security, money, whatever,” Blake said. “It’s not something
Ruby and Qrow have much fondness for, but if it keeps them from attacking and
killing people, why complain?”
“Good point,” Weiss said. “Let’s see. Ruby’s eyes don’t change color, but . . .
do other Vampires have silver eyes?”
“Ruby’s mother did, but I don’t know about any others. Qrow doesn’t, but his
are red. Most Vampires have more human-looking eyes, aside from the eye-shine.
That said, a good rule of thumb is that if someone has unusual eyes, they’re
not human.”
“I always thought your eyes were too yellow,” Weiss said. “Wait, Yang’s eyes
are purple, and sometimes I swear they’re red.”
“That’s complicated.” Blake said. “The red comes from her mother, Qrow’s
sister; she was a Vampire too. The purple is the same as their father. Aside
from that, though, Taiyang’s human. I know Yang’s mother, Raven, and Ruby’s
mother, Summer, both wanted to turn him, but couldn’t. The only explanation is
that he must have something preternatural in his background, although usually
when you have one Creature parent, you’re one yourself. Whatever it is, we
think Yang inherited part of it, and it’s why she isn’t a Vampire like Ruby.”
“Then Yang and Ruby are half-sisters?” Weiss asked. That would explain the
differences.
“Yes, but you’ll have to ask them about it if you want the details. Later. Much
later,” Blake said in a tone that told Weiss not to argue. “Vampires mate for
life, and are usually monogamous, but there are exceptions. Their parents were
one of them.”
“Right.” Weiss said. That was definitely a topic she wasn’t ready to deal with.
She examined the mark on her neck. “What about fangs? It doesn’t look like Ruby
just left two holes like a snakebite. Is it like Buffy with multiple fangs, or
like Twilight, where they just bite with super-strong human-shaped teeth?”
“Ask Ruby to show you when you see her again,” was the reply. “You won’t
believe it otherwise. Trust me.”
“All right. Um, Blake, is Ruby immortal?”
“Why do you want to know?” Before she could answer, Blake continued. “When a
human is Turned, they stop aging. Ruby was born a Blood Drinker, so she’ll age
like a normal person until she achieves sexual maturity. Then she’ll stop. And,
yes, Vampires don’t die—unless or until their heads are removed. Buffy was
wrong about stakes—ironically, Vampires are some of the few species that won’t
die from jamming a piece of wood into their hearts—and about fire making them
disintegrate but they were right about decapitation being fatal. A newborn
Vampire has the chance to live for untold millennia—maybe even as long as the
mythical Methos—or maybe all they get is another week.”
“Methos?” Weiss asked.
She could hear Blake’s smiled again. Enigmatic and unsettling. “We have our
legends too, Weiss.”
“Right. I think that’s everything. Thank you, Blake!”
“Anytime. If you want to know anything else just call.”
“Of course. Have a pleasant-”
“Wait!” Blake cut her off, “There was one more thing. Do not tell anyone about
Ruby and her family! They could be taken away or killed in the streets.”
“Obviously!” Weiss said, half-indignantly and half-angry at the suggestion that
she would be so careless with Ruby or her family.
“Most people would expect them to harm others. Do you understand me?”
“Yes! Yes!”
“All right, well goodbye, Wei—”
“Wait! Give me the phone!” Weiss heard Yang’s voice through the phone and heard
some kind of rumple-sounding noise along with a brief argument between Yang and
Blake. “Weiss, you still there?”
“Yes,” Weiss said, wondering what the blond girl had to say.
“Blake, she just mentioned Vampires mate for life, right?”
Weiss frowned at the blonde’s choice of name, but answered. “Yes.”
“And that they’re immortal, right?”
“Right. Yang—what does this mean?”
“It means, Princess” Yang growled, “that when my little sis was asking you out,
it was a big deal. Vampires don’t do that for just anybody. It means she’s
considering you for the long haul. The very long haul.”
Weiss blushed. “What? But, Yang we haven’t even had one date yet!”
“I didn’t say it was a done deal. I just mean . . . Vampires tend to be
cautious, really cautious about this sort of thing, all right? Ruby’s never
dated anyone before; she wouldn’t have asked you out unless she thought there
was something there. Understand? She feels something for you.”
“I think I do,” Weiss said, feeling a lump in her stomach. “ . . . Is there
anything else?
“Uh . . .no that’s it. Just . . . take care of my little sis, all right?” It
sounded like Yang had something else she wanted to say, but had changed her
mind. Probably just the normal threats to her sister’s potential date.
“I will. I promise.”
===============================================================================
“I thought for a moment you were going to tell her.” Blake said, setting her
phone back on the night side table, carefully. Ruby was still snoring above
them, but she wasn’t nearly as deep a sleeper as her sister. They’d been lucky
not to wake her. Blake and Yang were in their nightwear in the lower bunk. The
last night had been so hectic no one had been able to sleep. They were making
up for it now.
Yang sighed, rolling over and embracing her girlfriend, possibly her mate. “I
was going to but . . .” Yang lowered her voice. “How do I tell my sister’s
heartthrob her older sister is probably a freaking scav?”
Blake swallowed. Yes, that was bad, but it was only the tip of the iceberg.
“Yang, I spoke to Qrow earlier. He thinks it’s worse than that.” Blake took a
deep breath. “Yang, he thinks she’s a Specialist.”
Yang’s eyes bugged out. “Fuck.”
Chapter End Notes
     Most of this was stolen from SUPERNATURAL, but the part about animals
     (Bats, Rats, Cats, and Dogs) is stolen from THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN.
     Oh, and Garlic isn't used in SUPERNATURAL to hide from Vampires, that
     bit was kind of a cross between SUPERNATURAL'S scent-blocking
     mixture, and GRIMM's use of Wolfsbane to hide from the Werewolf-like
     Blutbaden.
***** Movies and Missing Persons *****
Chapter Notes
     Disclaimer: I know nothing about fencing.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“Point! Weiss Schnee wins.”
Weiss paused, panting. She was dressed in fencing pads, holding a saber in her
hand—a saber which had just made contact with the heart insignia on her
opponent. The match took place in a moderately-sized room, where numerous
adolescent and older individuals came together to master blade work.
Coach Ironwood hobbled over to the pair with as much dignity as he could. “Well
done, both of you. If you both hold your commitment to participating in this
summer’s tournament, I’m certain we’ll have a new trophy for the cabinet.”
“Thank you, sir,” Weiss answered. James Ironwood was a man whom she admired
greatly. He was a former military officer who had lost his right arm and leg in
combat. He never specified where or when, though many assumed it was the
Persian Gulf or Desert Storm. Since then, Ironwood had made his living teaching
a variety of martial arts in his gym. In addition to fencing, the Atlas Gym
also ran courses in various weapons—including Kendo, Eskrima, and Bo-Staff,
plus kickboxing, grappling, and self-defense courses. He was also good friends
with Winter, though she’d never told Weiss how they’d met.
Beside Weiss, Ciel removed her helmet, tucking it under her arm. “Thank you,
sir,” the dark-skinned girl repeated, only without the enthusiasm. Nothing
disrespectful, it was just her way. Ciel was known as a model of efficiency.
Almost like some kind of robot, really. She was already smoothing any wrinkles
in her uniform and straightening her hair.
Weiss turned to her. “Good match,” she said, offering her hand.
“Good match,” Ciel said. Once again, the response was mechanical, as was the
handshake. Weiss had given trying to elicit reactions out of the girl.
“Ladies, you’re dismissed. Don’t forget, I won’t be here next week because of
prior commitments. I’ll be back next Monday, though. See you then,” the coach
announced, before heading to his office. Despite the missing leg, his walk was
dignified and strong. Ciel immediately spun and walked towards the girls’
locker room. Weiss started to follow her.
“Good job, Weiss!” Neptune shouted. As Weiss left the ring, the blue-haired boy
came up, accompanied by his boyfriend. Unlike Weiss and Neptune, Sun was not
garbed in fencing gear; he wasn’t a member and was only there to see Neptune in
action.
“Thank you, Neptune,” the heiress replied.
“You sure showed that creepy little . . . creep,” Sun added.
“That’s not a terribly polite thing to say,” Weiss said. In all honesty,
though, the girl creeped Weiss out, too. The heiress had just been raised too
well to remark on it.
“Eh, when have I ever been accused of being too polite?” the blond replied.
“Want to grab some lunch?”
“I can’t. Winter has me grounded for two weeks.”
“Should’ve snuck back home before dawn, Ice Queen,” Sun said. “That’s what I
always did.”
“I don’t think Weiss was in any condition to do much sneaking, Sun,” Neptune
said, casually scanning the room.
“What are you—wait do you know . . . ?”
“About you and Ruby?” Neptune smiled. “Pyrrha couldn’t stop talking about your
‘Prom-night romance’ with everyone’s favorite prodigy. Blake also texted the
whole club that you were a member now.”
“The whole club? You mean . . .”
“That we know that you know about Ruby’s . . . batty-ness,” Sun said, cheesily.
Neptune shook his head. “Forgive him; he’s spent too much time with Yang.”
Weiss shook her head. “Sorry. I’m still a little new to all this. So, are
either of you . . . ?”
“Special?” Sun asked. He heaved an elaborate sigh. “Nope. I’m afraid I am just
a boring, normal Homo Sapien. Neptune on the other hand is a merman.”
“I prefer the term Nix,” Neptune deadpanned.
“The Greek primordial entity of night?” Weiss asked, low looking at Neptune
askance.
“More like the German river fairy,” Neptune said. “Naiad, if you want to use
Greek terms.”
Weiss frowned. “But you’re terrified of water. I saw you at the beach on skip
day.” It was true; the boy had made it apparently made it his goal to stay as
far up the sand as he could.
Neptune frowned. “That was because we were at the ocean.” The boy shuddered.
“My tribe belongs in fresh-water. Like I said, river fairy.”
Weiss cocked her head. “You’re named after the Roman god of the seas, and
you’re specifically afraid of the ocean?”
“All my cousins were named after river spirits,” Neptune grumbled. “Blame my
folks and their over-developed sense of cultural pride.”
“I think it’s kind of cute,” Sun said, wrapping his arm around Neptune.
Weiss rubbed her head. “So you’re a Nix, Ruby is a Vampire, Blake is a Were—”
“Better than being a What,” Sun quipped, eliciting a groan from his boyfriend.
Weiss decided to ignore it.
“And Yang is something that has color-changing eyes and apparently can’t Turn
into a Vampire,” Weiss finished. “Can I ask what anyone else is?”
“Uh, tricky question,” Neptune remarked. He adopted a “thoughtful” pose,
scratching his chin. “That might be a little too personal.”
“Ren eats liver,” Sun chimed in.
Weiss stared at him in shock. Neptune sighed. “On the other hand, why not?”
“He . . . I’m sorry . . . He eats liver? As in human liver?”
“Or animal,” Sun said, unrepentant.
Neptune immediately went on damage control. “Ren’s what’s called a Gumiho, or
Kitsune in Japan, but Gumiho is more accurate. It’s similar to Weres like
Blake, only without the moon thing, and they eat liver instead of heart.”
Neptune blinked as he looked at Weiss’ face. “And, I’m guessing she didn’t tell
you that part, did she?”
Weiss’ mouth was doing its best impression of a fish, as she tried and failed
to form words. Eventually, she was able to force out a single question. “What .
. . else does . . . anyone eat?”
Sun grinned. “That’s kind of a big deal for the Creatures, the ones with weird
diets, anyway.” Weiss looked at him askance. “Not all Creatures are that way.
Neptune doesn’t; he’s just a guy with a few extra tricks.”
“I prefer to think of myself more like the Missing Link,” Neptune said with a
smile. “Actually, some folks think Creatures like me are more along the lines
of convergent evolution: I’m human-ish, but I didn’t evolve from the great
apes. There isn’t much way to tell, though. It’s not the sort of thing you can
run tests on in a lab.”
Seeing that Weiss had checked out again, Sun laughed. “Yeah, that’s how it
always goes. Anyway, most Creatures are divided by what they feed on and where
they’re from: Blake and her cardio-chomping ancestors basically popped up
everywhere, Ruby’s kindred started out in Eurasia, and liver-eaters like Ren
hail from the Far East. There’s other lineages too, though: fat-suckers from
Peru, corpse-eaters from the Middle East (you’d call them Ghouls), marrow-
suckers from Africa, and brain-munching zombies from the Caribbean, plus brain-
fluid drainers from the British Isles and spinal-fluid drainers from mainland
Europe. Rumor has it Scandanavia had this weird group that could suck out your
body-heat, and Eastern Europe has these Hags who can steal your bio-electric
current, but that sounds a little far-fetched to me. And let’s not forget
everyone’s favorites: Incubi and Succubi who actually feed on your . . .
whoopie,” he said, grin-widening as Weiss blushed, getting the idea. “Then, of
course there’s the guys who just like raw, fresh meat; they popped up
everywhere, like the Weres did. Still with us?”
Weiss swallowed, trying to grasp it all. Turning to Neptune she asked. “Is that
everyone?”
He shrugged. “More or less. He forgot the ones from Japan that eat
liquefied—you know what, let’s not bother—and we’re still ignoring all the ones
like me who don’t have any weird dietary requirements; we’ve just got a little
extra skills that you don’t have. Satisfied?”
“No, but that’s my own fault,” Weiss sighed. Then, she frowned. “Actually, now
that I think about it, where is Ren? I haven’t seen him with you group for a
few days.”
The two boys shared a look. “That’s cuz he’s been missing,” Sun whispered, no
longer so bright.
“Missing?” Weiss asked.
“We don’t know why,” Neptune said. “But there’s the possibility . . . Weiss did
you read the newspaper today?”
Weiss blinked. “No. What does that have to do with anything?”
Sun took out his phone and punched some touch-screen buttons. Then he handed it
to Weiss. It was a news article.
                      VAMPIRE HUNTERS KILL LOCAL COUPLE!
 Local couple, Jean and Gary Sable, were found dead in their beds this morning
by police after concerned neighbors noticed the pair hadn’t left their house in
 two days. Officers were shocked to discover the couple lay in their beds with
large, wooden rods sticking out of their chests. Upon further inspection, they
 discovered the couple’s heads had been severed and their mouths stuffed with
                                    garlic.
The article went on, describing how the officers imagined the killers entered
the house, and other such mundane details. Weiss barely glanced at it. She
looked up in shock at Sun and Neptune. “This is . . . I mean . . .”
“Yeah, it’s pretty gruesome,” Neptune said.
“The real kicker is that they probably weren’t even Vampires,” Sun said.
“Fricking scavs.”
“Scavs?” Weiss asked.
Neptune smiled bitterly. “The Southern Coalition Against Vampires,” he
explained. “They’re like the KKK, but with a hate on for supernatural
creatures. Mostly Bloodsuckers, but they have some silver bullets for Blake’s
people too.”
“Oh,” Weiss said. “Is that . . . I mean do you really need a silver bullet to .
. .?”
“Nah,” Sun said. Growled, really. “These guys are like every other racist in
the world: ignorant and misinformed. I hope it breaks their banks.”
Neptune took over. “They’re also like witch hunters: they go after anyone who
sticks out, anyone who might fit their prejudiced, folklore-clouded perceptions
of what a ‘monster’ is.” He pointed to the screen. “Maybe these people worked
the late shift and didn’t get out much during the day. Maybe they liked their
steaks rare. Maybe the scavs just smoked the wrong weed and thought they saw
fangs. It doesn’t matter. The end result is these guys found themselves on the
scavs’ radar, and now they’re dead.”
Weiss swallowed. Her blood ran painfully cold. “So, you think Ren was . . .
killed by these . . . monsters?”
Sun smiled. “Nice name, but no. Those idiots would need some of that Felix
whatsit stuff from Harry Potter to kill a real Creature. No. That was just to
prove a point. Weiss, there are people who hunt and kill people like Neptune
and Ruby.”
The heiress’ breath hitched at the russet-haired girl’s name. For one horrible
instant, she had a vision of Ruby lying in her bed, wooden stake impaling her
chest. Garlic peeking out of her sweet lips on a dismembered head . . .
She shook her head. Neptune saw it all, but chose to ignore it. “Weiss, not
everyone who knows the truth about us is friendly like our club. There are
people—like you—who know the truth about us. We call that ‘Enlightened,’ and
sadly some hunters are Enlightened, even if they’re still prejudiced against
us. The difference between them and scavs is that they know they don’t need to
waste their money on silver weapons or lug around wooden stakes and mallets.
Not for most of us, anyway. They know what works and what doesn’t.” He paused
for a moment, looking Weiss in the eye. “And they really don’t like the humans
like you, Sun, Mr. Xaio Long or anyone one of our friends who hang out with
creatures like me.”
Weiss shuddered. Sun patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Ice Queen. The
Specialists—these ‘Enlightened’ hunters—mostly hang out in big, important
cities, like Chicago, New York, L.A, or even Detroit. Heck, the last time
anyone had ever even heard of them in Florida was in Miami, and that was back
in the 80’s.”
“Thanks,” Weiss said, not feeling totally reassured. “I have to leave now; I’m
probably breaking my probation, and I need to eat before my singing lessons or
I’ll be too distracted to sing.” Weiss paused for a moment. “I hope you find
Ren soon. He seemed nice and was always very polite.”
Neptune nodded. “Yeah, he was a gentleman.”
“Nora’s been going insane,” Sun muttered. “Jaune and Yang have been pretty
upset too.”
“Why them?” Weiss asked.
Sun smiled sadly. “Jaune has seven little sisters; Ren’s like the older brother
he’s wanted since he was five. As for Yang . . . they dated a while back.”
“Nine months,” Neptune said. “Before Blake, that was a record for her.”
===============================================================================
Ironwood sat in his office, phone pressed to his ear. “I’m telling you, we need
her,” he said. “She’s the best student I’ve had since you graduated, Winter.
Weiss would make an excellent Slayer—”
“No,” the voice on the other end of the line said. “We’re not having this
conversation again, James. Weiss stays out of this. Period.”
“You told me you wanted her to be ready,” Ironwood reminded her, a touch of
annoyance in his voice.
“Ready to defend herself,” Winter said. “James, I’ve spent half my life running
into the darkness, jumping and shooting at shadows, and I’ve done it for her,
to keep Weiss safe. I asked you to train Weiss in case I wasn’t enough, not so
that she could see that nightmares are real.”
“Winter—”
“You once told me we’re fighting to make sure the fantasy the rest of the world
believes in becomes real, James. Weiss is my world, and I won’t let you throw
her into danger. End of discussion.”
The coach sighed. “Very well. I’ll have to contend with Ciel. At least she was
raised into this. Anyway, I received word that there’s been a . . .
development. Pack your bags, Winter; we have some exterminating to do.”
“. . . When?”
“We leave tonight. 7 p.m. at the latest.”
“. . . I promised Weiss we’d have dinner together,” Winter muttered.
“I’m sorry, Winter, but it looks like those morons in S.C.A.V. finally caught a
real lead, and we need to clean out the infestation before the amateurs spook
the leeches off.”
“Very well, I’ll leave as soon as I can. The usual rendezvous spot?”
“Yes. See you there.”
The pair hung up without further pleasantries. Ironwood leaned back in his
chair. It was annoying, really; he’d have liked to have the younger sister on
his team. She was already displaying more promise than Winter had at her age,
and Winter the best Slayer he’d ever seen. Still, he wouldn’t argue with her.
In addition to having no desire to ruin the effective relationship he had with
the elder Schnee, Weiss lacked the kind of harsh experience and the resulting
coldness or rage that filled their organization’s recruits. It was for that
same reason that he hadn’t tried to recruit the Nikos girl from Weiss’ school,
despite the redhead’s reputation as a scholar and athlete. She was just too
positive and had too many friends amongst the ignorant, innocent masses.
Still, as he said, he could make do with Ciel. The girl had been raised for the
job since she was orphaned by unknown assailants years ago, and she was almost
as tough as the Schnees. In time, monsters would fall by the dozen before her.
Ironwood picked up his phone again and dialed a number. “Ciel, it’s Ironwood.
Come see me. Now.”
Chapter End Notes
     And now, I reveal how much of a nerd I am:
     S.C.A.V. is not my idea. I stole it from the 1991made-for-TV move
     "Blood Ties." It wasn't my favorite, but what I really liked was the
     idea of the Southern Coalition Against Vampires. I'd seen "monster
     hunters as metaphor for racism" works before, but this was the first
     time someone actually went so far as to create an anti-Vampire
     version of the KKK. Maybe it's because I'm from Florida myself, but
     that resonated with me.
     The Term "Specialists" is less a reference to the show than it is to
     DC's Helix imprint's excellent "Black Lamb" comics (It was about a
     costumed Vampire who hunted monster hunters is a dystopic futuristic
     setting). Why did Ironwood use the term "Slayer?" Because
     "Specialist" is a Creature-specific term, and they're not exactly
     talking to the guys trying to kill them.
     Where all the Creature Types come from:
     Nyx - YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL MY LADY (AND YOUR BLOOD IS DELICIOUS)
     Vampires - SUPERNATURAL
     Heart-Eating-Werewolves - SUPERNATURAL
     Gumiho (Liver-Eating-Things) - SUPERNATURAL/Traditional Korean
     Folklore
     Pishtaco (Peruvian Fat-Sucker) - SUPERNATURAL
     Ghoul (Middle Eastern Corpse-Eaters) - SUPERNATURAL
     Scavengers (African Marrow-Suckers) - Grimm (inspired by the Barbatus
     Ossifrage)
     Zombies - iZombie
     Wraiths (Brain-Fluid Drainers) - SUPERNATURAL
     Changelings (Spinal-Fluid Drainers) - SUPERNATURAL (They actually
     claim the monsters drain the fluid foun in people's joints, but the
     sucker clearly went for the spine).
     Heat Vampires (Scandanavian Heat Suckers) - GRIMM (inspired by Varme
     Tyv)
     Hags - SUPERNATURAL (inspired by Shtriga)
     Incubi/Succubi - LOST GIRL (sort of, I wanted an excuse for a
     sexually active race that didn't involve something as esoteric as
     "Chi-sucking"/slash I kind of already used that with Shtriga).
     Wendigo/Rugarus (Flesh Eaters) - HAVEN/SUPERNATURAL
     Jorogumo (Japanese Liquefied-Organ Suckers) - GRIMM (inspired by
     Spinnetodd)/SUPERNATURAL (Arachne)
***** Books, Dinner, and Movies *****
Chapter Notes
     Disclaimer: I've never tried to study this way, and I don't know if
     it'd actually work.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“What do you mean dinner’s cancelled?” Weiss asked, shocked.
Pausing in the act of packing her suitcase, her sister sighed. “I’m sorry,
Weiss, but there’s an emergency with one of our facilities in Mantle, and I
have to deal with it.” Unlike the stereotypical rich girl, Winter was a model
packer; she’d only brought a single suitcase out and was filling it with
necessities, just enough to get her through three days or so of work. “I
promise I’ll be back Tuesday night. Wednesday at most. Monday if I can swing
it.”
“You promised we’d have dinner together, tonight,” Weiss muttered.
“Well, I’m sorry, Weiss, but the world doesn’t stop for the sake of our eating
arrangements.”
“I know, it’s just I barely get to see you! You’re always so busy these days!”
“I have responsibilities—”
“I know you do!” Weiss snapped. Hanging her head, she spoke softly. “I know you
do, Winter, I just . . . I miss my sister.”
Winter stopped packing and hung her head. “I miss you, too Weiss,” she said,
softly. “Just remember, everything I do, I do for us.” Turning to look her
sister in the eye, Winter smiled. “You know, I’ve been thinking, it’s wrong to
keep you cooped up alone in this house for three days or more. Why don’t you
call up one of your friends and ask to sleep over?”
Weiss’ eyes lit up. “Really? But what about my punishment?”
Winter’s smile shrank into a slight grimace. “I may have over-reacted. You’ve
never done anything like that before, and it obviously wasn’t pre-planned. And
in spite of all that, you went along with being grounded without complaint. So,
I’m going to drop the matter. Consider yourself paroled for good behavior.”
“Thank you!” Weiss cried, looking up at her sister in adoration.
Winter’s smile returned—sometimes, she caught glimpses of the child Weiss
hadn’t really gotten to be—before turning stern. “I do expect you to study
while you’re gone, and keep your phone on. I’ll be texting you every night, and
it would be in your best interests to answer. Understand?”
Weiss nodded. “Yes, of course. Thank you, Winter.”
“You’re welcome. Now start calling your friends and packing your bags. Remember
to pack enough clothes for three days and an extra outfit in case of an
emergency. In fact, pack something semiformal in case you all want to go out to
dinner. Plus, toiletries and pajamas, and your study materials.”
Weiss nodded. “Yes, of course. I’ll go do that!”
Winter allowed herself a quiet laugh as Weiss scurried off to her room. She
couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her younger sister so cheerful.
However, Weiss would only be distracted for so long. Winter dug beneath the
piles of shirts in her dresser and pulled out two pairs of black and gray camo-
shirts and -pants She tucked these beneath her other clothes, along with two
pairs of thick, black socks and black ski masks taken from her sock drawers.
Bending down, she removed a second suitcase from under her bed. Checking it,
she was pleased to see its inner mechanisms all looked secure. Then, she went
into her closet. Drawing back several dresses, Winter revealed a hidden alcove,
filled with guns, swords, and other weapons and equipment. Winter selected
three handguns of varying caliber, along with the necessary boxes of bullets
and cleaning kits. These she secured within the specially-designed suitcase,
fitted with groves and straps to keep the items from moving around too much.
She also added a pair of night-vision goggles, a heavily customized first-aid
kit, combat boots, and a sword-care kit. Finally, she removed a pair of sabers
and secured them inside a suit bag-behind her white-and-black formal suit; like
her other luggage, it had been modified to conceal her weaponry.
Pausing for a moment, Winter snagged a second combat knife to compliment the
concealed one she was currently wearing. Then, she moved her clothes back into
place, hiding the alcove from the world and more importantly, her baby sister.
===============================================================================
“Thanks, Pyrrha,” Weiss said, holding her phone to her ear as she packed her
clothes. “I don’t think I’ll ever repay you.”
“No problem, Weiss,” the redhead replied. “So, I take it you’re planning to
take advantage of your no-longer-grounded status to spend some time with Ruby.”
Weiss blushed. “Shhhh. Not so loud!” she said, looking over her shoulder.
Thankfully, the door was shut, and Winter’s room was down the hall from her
own.
“What? You two are . . . ‘together,’ aren’t you?” Pyrrha asked.
Weiss blushed. That was Pyrrha code for ‘Last night wasn’t just a one-night-
stand, was it?’ “We don’t know what we are Pyrrha,” she said, thankfully
avoiding stuttering. “We’re planning to do something together to see if it
works, but for now we’re just friends.” Friends who want to be more after one
dance. Weiss shook her head. Anyway, that isn’t my point. My point is you need
to watch what you say; I haven’t exactly,” she looked at the door again, “come
out, really.”
“Oh,” Pyrrha said. “Will it be a problem for your sister?”
“I don’t know,” Weiss said, running her free hand through her hair. “I’ve never
heard her say anything disparaging, but every time I try to bring it up, she
changes the subject. I think it’s a case of her being tolerant in theory but
less than thrilled at the idea that said theory might apply to me.”
Still, she heard Pyrrha smile on the other end of the line. “At least you can
admit it to yourself. Believe me, that’s a big first step.”
“Thank you, Pyrrha,” Weiss said, before pausing. For one moment, Weiss
considered questioning why Pyrrha sounded like she was speaking from personal
experience. But, the moment passed. “Anyway, Winter said she wants to leave by
6:30. Do you think you could be here by then?”
“No problem,” Pyrrha replied. “I have to say, though, Weiss, it’s hard to
believe someone from a family as rich as yours doesn’t have her own car.”
“Well there isn’t much point in owning a car if I don’t have a license,” Weiss
snarked.
“You don’t—Weiss, who turns 18 without getting her driver’s license?”
“Blame Winter,” Weiss said. “Sometimes she takes her guardianship duties to the
extreme.”
Pyrrha laughed. “Well, I guess Yang and Ruby have lost all right to complain
about over-protective parents. I’ll see you tonight, Weiss.”
“See you, Pyrrha.”
It was only after they hung up that Weiss remembered something. Blake had said
Pyrrha was neither a Vampire nor a Were, but she’d never said whether or not
their classmate was human.
Weiss wondered briefly what percent of her graduating class actually was the
same species as her.
===============================================================================
“Here’s Pyrrha,” Weiss said, as the redhead’s graphite-colored SUV pulled into
the driveway.
“Right on time,” Winter said approvingly as she loaded the last of her bags
into her corvette. White, of course.
“Hello, Weiss,” Pyrrha said, getting out of her car. “Need help with your
bags?” she asked as she opened up the trunk.
“No, I’ve got them,” Weiss said, sliding her bag in. Despite this, Pyrrha
hefted her backpack up and into the vehicle.
“Thank you for volunteering to take care of Weiss for a few days, Pyrrha,”
Winter said.
“It’s no problem,” Pyrrha replied. “Although I kind of wish I’d known about
this last night,” she said, winking at Weiss. The platinum blond shuffled as
she remembered she was still lying to her sister about the last night.
“Yes, well. Please remember that Weiss needs to study for her exams, though I’m
sure I don’t need to remind someone with your academic record of that,” Winter
said, pointedly.
“Don’t worry,” Pyrrha said, seemingly unsurprised Winter knew about her grades.
“I promise Weiss will be ready for her tests.”
“We were actually planning to study together tonight,” Weiss jumped in. Beside
her, Pyrrha nodded, and Weiss resisted the urge to sigh in relief. Good, she
wasn’t technically lying to her sister.
Winter nodded. “Very good.” Turning back to Weiss, she addressed her sister.
“Take care of yourself, Weiss, and remember to text me every night if I don’t
text or call you first, and keep your phone on and with you at all times, and
study for your tests, and be sure to get enough sleep, and eat balanced meals,
and—”
“I will, Winter, I promise,” Weiss said.
Winter stopped. Her eyes darted to Pyrrha for a moment before returning to
Weiss. The younger Schnee thought she saw her sister’s cheeks darken ever so
slightly. “Very well. I’ll see you in a few days, Weiss.” Then, she bent down
and gave her younger sister a quick hug before sliding into the driver’s seat
and driving off.
Weiss watched her driver off before turning back to Pyrrha. She shuffled
slightly. “Right, I suppose we should get going.”
Pyrrha nodded. “It looks like the two of you share a strong bond,” she said, as
the pair entered the SUV.
“Yes,” Weiss said as she buckled up. “It makes up for not having any parents.”
Pyrrha didn’t comment on this, merely turning the key and driving the car out
of the driveway onto the road. The pair drove in silence for about ten minutes,
before Weiss realized they were in a part of town she didn’t recognize. “I
don’t think I’ve ever actually been to your house before.”
The athletic girl grinned. “No, you haven’t, which makes the story we told your
sister more than a little ironic.”
Weiss blushed. “Thank you for that again, Pyrrha.”
“Don’t mention it; I’d do the same for Ruby or Blake or Neptune, or any of our
friends.”
Weiss smiled a little at the thought. Getting attacked by Ruby and discovering
she was a Vampire might have been a terrifying experience, but it had given her
many new friends. And possibly a girlfriend. Blushing at the thought, she
decided to distract herself. “I know, but . . . I really don’t like lying to
Winter.”
Pyrrha frowned as she pulled up and stopped at a red light. “Weiss,” she said,
turning to her friend. “You realize you can’t tell her anything.”
“I know, Neptune and Sun told me about . . . S.C.A.V., and the Specialists.”
“They called the rest of us,” Pyrrha said. “Those two really should learn the
value of silence. However you found out, I hope you understand just how
dangerous this is, Weiss.”
“I know, it’s just—”
“You didn’t come out to Winter while I was driving over, did you?” the other
girl asked.
“What? No!” Weiss asked, feeling slightly insulted. “Why would I do that?”
Pyrrha sighed. The light changed, and she pushed down the accelerator. “Weiss,
you aren’t ready to share your sexuality with your sister, the sister who
practically raised you as a parent and obviously loves you a great deal. If you
don’t think she’s ready to deal with your dating a girl, what makes you think
she’ll be thrilled about your dating a Vampire?”
Weiss bit her lip. She understood where Pyrrha was coming from. “But, if this
becomes a long-term thing . . . that is, if Ruby and I, if our relationship
works out well . . .” Weiss was blushing heavily now at the thought. “Don’t you
think I’ll have to explain why Ruby’s stopped aging at some point?”
Pyrrha smiled widely at that. “I hope you will, Weiss,” she said. “But first, I
think you’ll have to explain why you’re shopping for a ring for another woman.”
Weiss’s blush took over her whole face. “Shut—shut up, Pyrrha! We’re . . . That
is, we don’t . . .” The heiress’ frantic stuttering descended into
unintelligible babbling. Pyrrha, to her credit, managed not to laugh.
“Speaking of the others,” Pyrrha said, once Weiss had finally fallen silent. “I
hope you don’t mind that I invited them over to join us.” The redhead now kept
her eyes fixed on the road straight ahead. “I did say it was a study party.”
“Well, yes you did,” the white-haired girl said.
Pyrrha grinned guiltily. “It’s kind of our group’s Exam-time tradition.”
Weiss frowned. “How come I was never invited?”
“You didn’t know about us then,” Pyrrha said, carefully. “It’s true we mostly
eat pizza and stuff, but some of us have other hungers to feed.”
“Ruby drinks blood,” Weiss said, “And Blake . . . is going to eat a heart?”
“They’ll probably have killed a deer or something before they came over,”
Pyrrha said, carefully, “but I can’t promise you. And, some of our needs aren’t
as easily met ahead of time.”
“Oh . . .” Weiss considered that for a moment. “Uh, what exactly are the
others, Pyrrha?” She cringed. “That came out badly, didn’t it?”
“A little,” Pyrrha said. “But, it’s good that you realized that, and since
Neptune and Sun apparently failed to tell you, Weiss you should also know that
in our culture, it’s a pretty personal question to ask someone what they are.
Especially for you, since you’re a human.”
“It is?”
“Yes. Some claim it’s dehumanizing, seeing a person only as their species
instead of who they are.” Pyrrha flipped her blinker and turned left, entering
a residential area. “But truthfully, it’s more about survival. Knowing what we
are means knowing how to fight us. Our strengths. Our weaknesses.”
“I see,” Weiss said. She did, looking back on it. When Blake had explained
Ruby’s nature to her, she’d listed the limits of the Vampire girl’s abilities
as well as her vulnerabilities: Garlic, expired blood, sunlight, decapitation.
Not that Weiss would ever want to hurt the cheerful, silver-eyed girl, but now
she knew how and she could see where that might make some uncomfortable.
“We’re here,” Pyrrha said, pulling in. Weiss’ friend lived in a modest, single-
story home, painted green with white doors and roof. It had a small lawn, with
grass, bushes of pink roses, and a statue of Cupid in the middle.
“You have a lovely home, Pyrrha,” Weiss said, getting out.
“Thank you,” the taller girl replied, opening the trunk and helping Weiss with
her bags.
“I thought you said everyone else would be here,” Weiss commented. “Where are
their cars? All I see is Neptune’s.” The ocean-fearing river spirit’s blue
Chevy was parked on the side of the curb.
“Most of our club don’t have their own cars. They just ask for rides from those
of us who do,” Pyrrha explained. “Nora’s parked next to Neptune. She and Ren
share the Jeep. With him gone . . .”
“I’m sorry,” Weiss said.
“It’s not your fault,” Pyrrha said, opening the door.
“Weiss!”
The White-haired girl jumped as a red blur exploded out of the house and
collided with her. She would’ve been knocked off her feet if a pair of
surprisingly strong arms hadn’t wrapped themselves around her torso. The
heiress struggled for a moment, before she saw the smiling face covered by the
hood.
“Ruby? Let me go!”
The younger girl blushed, but did as she was told. “Sorry,” she said. “I was
just so excited to see you. I mean, I’m sorry your sister had to up and leave
you like this, but I was looking forward to seeing you again and expecting I’d
have to wait another week or something and—
“Ruby.” The rambling girl stopped at Weiss’ interjection. Grinning, she dropped
her head like a dog that had been scolded. Weiss sighed; this girl was
irresistible. “It’s all right. I’m happy to see you too.”
The blood-sucking girl’s head shot up again, smiling once more. She took the
older girl’s hand in her own, apparently ignoring what it did to Weiss’ pulse,
and casually picked her suitcase up in the other—a suitcase Weiss would’ve
needed both hands to lift. Blake was right; Ruby was stronger than she
appeared. The older girl also noticed that Ruby’s hand felt unnaturally cool,
given how warm it was outside. Weiss recalled the girl’s skin was cold when
they danced too. She also recalled the Vampires in Twlight had cold skin.
Apparently, the movies did get a few things right.
“Come on, Weiss; everyone’s eager to meet you,” she said, leading the older
girl inside.
“But they’ve already met me,” Weiss protested.
“Yeah, but then you didn’t know about Creatures,” Ruby said, smiling. “So, we
had to be really cautious around you. Now you know, so we can start over
again!”
Weiss shook her head, but allowed Ruby to lead her in. It was actually kind of
sweet, in a duncy, Ruby sort of way. Weiss smiled at the thought, as the
younger girl led her into Pyrrha’s house. Through the front door was the
kitchen which merged into a moderately-sized living room area. The floor was
made of large squares of white tile, but some squares were red, yellow, and
green. There was a sliding glass door to one side of the room, which had
curtains drawn over it. Weiss wondered about that before she recalled the girl
whose cool hand held her own and realized why it was so.
In the middle of the room was a large, round table, next to a counter-top. Both
of these had been dominated by textbooks, notes, and laptops, owned by the
other six people whose club Ruby, Pyrrha, and now Weiss were all a part of.
“Heya, Ice Queen!” Yang grinned, waving. Next to her, Blake (now wearing a
black bow on top of her head), rolled her eyes and nodded in greeting. Across
from them, Neptune and Sun sat. Weiss was surprised to see that Sun’s shirt was
now open, revealed his muscled chest; clearly, the boy was even less interested
in social graces at his friend’s home than he was in public buildings. Between
the two pairs, facing Weiss was a morose-looking red-headed girl. Unlike Ruby
or Pyrrha, this girl’s hair was more orange in color. Nora, as Weiss recalled,
but Nora was usually even more hyper than Ruby. What could have made her—?
“Ruff! Ruff!”
For the second time that day, Weiss felt a living creature slam into her like a
racecar. This time she was only knocked back a few steps, though. Swiveling her
head in confusion, Weiss saw nothing until she looked down at the point of
impact: her shins. Looking up at her was a black and white corgi with a big
doggy grin, panting at her. The diminutive dog barked again.
“And that’s Zwei,” Ruby explained. Bending down, she scooped the dog into her
arms. If anything dog and girl began to grin even wider. “He’s our family’s
pet. Dad lets me and Yang bring him over to these study sessions. Isn’t he the
best dog in the whole world?”
“Ruby,” Weiss said, frowning “why would your father let you bring a filthy,
mangy mutt to a study session even if he’s the cutest little thing in the whole
world? Oh yes, he is, yes he is!” Half way through her rant, Weiss’ frown had
become a smile as dopey as Ruby’s, and she’d switched to using the gushy voice
adults like to use when they talk to babies.
“I’d have thought the Ice Queen was a cat person,” Yang mused.
“I think I might have cured her of that this morning,” Blake remarked as she
admired the two girls fawning over the tiny dog like a newborn. For a brief
moment, she allowed herself to hope for the future.
“Hey, Weiss,” Pyrrha said. “We’re ordering pizza for dinner. What do you like?
WE’re already getting a vegetarian, a meat-lovers’, and a bacon, pineapple, and
jalapenos.” At the look Weiss gave her, Pyrrha smiled and explained, “It’s Yang
and Ruby’s favorite.”
“What? It’s cheesy and salty and sweet and spicy!” Ruby interjected.
“Don’t forget the cheese,” Jaune said.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Nora. We’re also getting a plain cheese for Nora.”
“You’re ordering her a whole pizza?” Weiss asked. Then again, she had seen girl
make whole stacks of pancakes disappear in the school cafeteria . . . Was she
some kind of Creature? One with a super-charged metabolism? Weiss couldn’t
think of anything off-hand that fit that bill, but then again, she was never a
horror/fantasy enthusiast in the strictest sense, and thus far her education
into the nature of genuine supernatural beings had been minimal, possibly by
design. When the taller girl didn’t answer, she decided to let the matter go.
For now. “I’ll just share with you and Nora, if you’re both all right with it.”
Pyrrha eyed Nora. The orange-haired girl flicked her eyes over to her before
replying “Sure,” in a dead-pan voice. Weiss shuddered; this was not like Nora
she was accustomed to. Granted, she didn’t know that Nora particularly well,
but this was definitely not healthy behavior. Did this have something to do
with Ren’s disappearance? Neptune said she’d been taking it hard.
“Ruff! Ruff!” Zwei barked. The small canine jumped out of Ruby’s arms and
landed, surprisingly cat-like, on the floor. Once again acting like a furry
bullet, Zwei raced around the table and jumped into Nora’s lap, barking once
more. The girl smiled slightly and began petting the dog who stayed still and
silent, only moving to lick his friend occasionally.
Seeing him so affectionate made Weiss remember something Blake had said
earlier. “I thought dogs didn’t like Creatures.”
“Most don’t,” Ruby replied. “But Zwei isn’t any dog; he’s a Black Dog.”
“His fur is obviously black and white,” Weiss deadpanned.
“It’s a type of dog, not a description,” Sun said, laughing.
“Yeah, like the Grim from Harry Potter,” Yang said.
“Specifically, Black Dogs have been specially bred and raised to act as
companion animals to Creatures,” Blake explained.
“They’re kind of like witches’ familiars,” Jaune said. “The others mentioned
there are versions of them in cats and other animals, too.”
“I’ve been asking about Black Monkeys,” Sun said. “I almost found a breeder for
one, but it ended badly.”
“It’s true, unfortunately,” Neptune remarked. The others nodded sagely, except
Yang who . . . shuddered? As if in fear? Weiss wasn’t sure she wanted to know
what the blond girl had seen to provoke such a reaction. She wasn’t aware Yang
was capable of fear.
“Anyway, pull up a chair, Snow Angel,” Jaune said, gesturing to the open spaces
at the counter.
“Maybe I should sit somewhere else . . .” Weiss said. She wasn’t sure whether
or not Jaune had actually given up with his crush one her.
“There’s an open place next to me,” Ruby said. Weiss turned to face her . . .
potential girlfriend, who was grinning and blushing. “I’m next to Jaune; you
could sit at the end of the counter.”
“All right,” Weiss said. She set her things down next to Ruby. The younger girl
smiled, still blushing.
Blake spoke “What was the Lend-Lease policy of World War II?”
“What?” Weiss asked.
“The Lend-Lease policy, formally titled ‘An Act to Promote the Defense of the
United States,’ was a program which ran from March 11, 1941 and ended in
September 1945,” Neptune answered. “The United States supplied the Allies with
ships and planes in exchange for leases on army and naval bases in Allied
territory during the war.”
“We also lent stuff that couldn’t be returned, such as food, oil, and
munitions,” Sun added.
“Right and right,” Blake said.
“It was all the Allies, right?” Jaune asked, looking up from his notes. “Or was
it just Britain?”
“It was more or less all the Allies, Jaune,” Pyrrha answered. “Although Britain
is the one everyone knows about.”
“Can someone please tell me what you’re talking about?” Weiss asked.
“It’s a study party, Weiss,” Ruby explained. “This is the ‘study’ part. We
discuss definitions and events with each other.”
Weiss sniffed. “That is so inefficient,” she said.
“No. It works,” Ruby insisted. “Come on, Weiss, why don’t you try the next
one?”
Weiss rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said. “Ask me something.”
And so it went: for the next few hours or so, the friends took turns quizzing
each other. They paused for a moment when the pizza arrived with breadsticks
and soda. Pyrrha warmed up some broccoli to go with it. The group continued to
eat while studying. To Weiss’ surprise, Nora really did eat an entire cheese
pizza herself, minus the one slice Weiss took when the box was opened. Weiss
also tried a slice of Ruby and Yang’s concoction after being pestered by the
younger redhead. Not bad.
There was one thing, though. Rather than drinking soda as anyone who knew her
might expect, Ruby was drinking from a red metal sports bottle, the kind hikers
and bikers used. Weiss tried to ignore it, but the open bottle gave off a
coppery scent that reminded her that the girl she was sitting next to was not
human.
Afterwards, the group piled onto the couch with a couple of bowls of popcorn to
watch a movie. Weiss snorted at the title. “Twilight?” she asked. “Really?”
“Hey, you’re one of us now, Snow Angel,” Neptune said, grinning. “Now you can
laugh along with us at all the dumb vampire stuff!”
“Consider it your initiation, Weiss,” Ruby said. She sat down next to Weiss,
still blushing and smiling.
“Pyrrha likes it,” Jaune said, sitting beside the tallest redhead. “It’s her
house, so her choice of movie, right?”
Pyrrha smiled and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Jaune,” she said. She whispered
something else into his ear, which made the blond boy blush. It also made Ruby
blush even more and fidget in her seat.
Yang snorted. “Hey, my innocent, Vampire sister’s in the room, you two. Watch
it!”
Pyrrha and Jaune straitened up. Pyrrha stuttered something about people minding
their own business.
Weiss blinked once, before blushing much like Ruby and dropped her eyes to her
lap. It was pretty obvious what the couple—and it was also obvious they were a
couple, strange as it might seem—had been talking about. They were both 18; so,
they were both legal, consenting adults, but still . . . She hadn’t realized
they were that involved.
The movie started, and Weiss soon saw that the group was right. It turned out
to be amazingly funny to watch a movie about Vampires that was amazingly
inaccurate. Now the sparkly skin seemed even more ridiculous. Yang and Ruby
also kept calling the movie out on how over-powered the Cullen family and their
enemies were.
“Come on!” the blond yelled. “If they’re that stupid strong how come these guys
aren’t ruling the world? If I was an indestructible, super-fast, unbeatable
monster you think I’d be hiding it?”
Blake smiled indulgently and patted her companion’s arm.
Ruby unfortunately was in full agreement with her sister. “I know! Those guys
don’t have any reason to fear humans, so why are they keeping themselves a
secret? Maybe Edward wouldn’t be so lonely if he just came out!” Que more
blushing from the flesh-and-blood Vampire as she realized what she was saying.
“Sounds like a good idea, Ruby,” Sun said, smiling. “So when are you planning
to ‘come out?’”
“Well, she and the Ice Queen are thinking about going on a date,” Yang said,
grinning evilly. “One picture of them together will demolish that closet door
forever.”
“You two are so bad,” Jaune said, laughing.
“Very bad,” Blake said, smiling. “What should we do about them, Neptune?”
“I don’t know, Blake. Maybe banish them to the couch?” He was smiling, too. Not
in a friendly way.
“Wait, are you threatening to cut us off?” Sun cried, looking at his boyfriend
with betrayal.
“You wouldn’t!” Yang cried.”
“They would,” Pyrrha said, trying—and failing—not to laugh. “You know they
would.”
Immediately, the two blondes began apologizing to Ruby, who took great pleasure
in pretending to be traumatized at their words. Weiss meanwhile was fighting
another blush; apparently Pyrrha and Jaune weren’t the only couple “getting
busy,” as the term went.
Eventually, the movie wound down to the Prom scene. This, Weiss was informed,
was the one part they couldn’t mock because Pyrrha loved it so much. The white-
haired girl already knew her friend cried every time she saw it. Honestly,
Weiss’ own feelings about the scene were a little more mixed than they had been
when she’d watched through it before. Watching Bella and Edward slow dance in
the gazebo while discussing their relationship brought to mind thoughts of
herself and Ruby on Prom. Then there was that moment when Edward dipped Bella
and brought his mouth so close to her neck. A little more uncomfortable now
that an actual Vampire had chomped into her. A little weirder now that that
Vampire was sitting next to her and squeezing her hand during that scene.
“Ruby,” Weiss whispered. “My hand.”
“What? Oops, sorry Weiss,” Ruby said. The girl let go instantly. Weiss flexed
her fingers. Thankfully, she’d realized what was happening before Ruby could
use her super-strength to do any real damage, but she wondered when the younger
girl had taken her hand at all.
“All right,” Pyrrha said as the credits rolled. “Time to wash up. Grab your
toiletries, Weiss; I’ll show you where the showers are.”
“Oh, all right,” Weiss said. As she followed Pyrrha down the hall, a thought
occurred to her. When was everyone leaving? Why were they all washing together?
And, where were Pyrrha’s parents?
“The bedrooms are this way,” Pyrrha said, stopping in front of a hallway behind
the kitchen. “Mine’s on the right; my parents’ is on the left.” She pointed
each one out. “We also have a guest room on the other side of the living room
if you need to use the toilet during the night, but it doesn’t have a shower.”
“Thank you, Pyrrha,” Weiss said. “But, I have to ask, where are your parents? I
was always under the assumption you had a close relationship with them.” Weiss
tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice as she spoke. She’d long ago
realized her family was neither the norm nor the ideal, and it was useless
being jealous of others whose father’s didn’t share her own’s shortcomings.
“Oh, ah,” Pyrrha shifted a little. For a moment, she made Weiss think of a
taller, older Ruby. Somehow, the thought was not unappealing. “I forgot to
mention. These parties—they’re sleepovers; we all spend the weekend at my
place, while my parents go . . .out.”
Weiss almost fainted. “You mean your parents just . . . clear out so you and
your friends can spend time together?” There was no way her father would do
such a thing. Not that he was home enough for it to matter, anyway.
“They trust us enough not to burn the house down or anything,” Pyrrha said. A
faint blush creeped into her cheeks, “and they have . . . other ways to occupy
their time. Friends who will let them . . . sleep over.” The taller girl shook
her head as if to say it didn’t matter. “Anyway, you have to remember that our
community is a tightly-knit one, Weiss. I’ve known Neptune, Blake, Ren (and
thus Nora), along with Yang and Ruby practically since I was born. Our parents
all see this as a good thing.”
That took Weiss a moment to process. Her father, in what little time he could
stand to be around her, had tried to impress upon her how much “above” others
she was. How superior. And Winter, while encouraging he to make friends, was
always careful to remind her that she had responsibilities and resources they
didn't, and that she would be watched and judged by everyone around her.
It seemed Vale’s paranormal community lived differently than its financial one.
Neptune had mentioned something to that effect when she’d spoken with the river
Creature earlier, but it was one thing to be aware that a member of their
demographic had gone missing; it was another thing to hear and see how much
this secret society seemed to heavily encourage camaraderie and closeness
between its members.
“Very well, then. Would it be too much to ask to use the shower in your room?
It feels a little weird to use one belonging to people I’ve never met before.”
“No trouble, Weiss,” Pyrrha said. “Let me just grab my towel and stuff.” She
led Weiss into her room. The white-haired girl was unsurprised to see a
collection of academic awards and sports’ trophies crowding the walls and
shelves. Like Yang, Pyrrha had chosen to paper her walls with posters, but
instead of bands, Pyrrha used movie posters in her decorating: Titanic, Romeo
and Juliet, Some Kind of Wonderful, Beauty and the Beast, and of course
Twilight. “I guess I am kind of obsessive,” the athletic girl admitted,
emerging from the bathroom with her supplies. “Just let me grab some pajamas,
and I’ll be—”
“Uh, bad timing?” Weiss spun around and saw Jaune standing in the doorway,
nightclothes in hand. The blond boy was shuffling a little, clearly wishing he
was a Creature that could melt into the floor.
“Sorry, Jaune,” Pyrrha said. “Weiss is using mine. We—ah, you’ll just have to
use the one in my parents’ room. After me of course.” She gently but forcefully
pushed the flustered boy out of the room. Stopping to close the door, she
turned back to Weiss. “We’ve got a pretty good water heater, so don’t worry
about taking too long. Well, except that some people will want to use the
shower after you, so don’t take too long. Bye.”
With that, she shut her bedroom door, a little too hard, leaving Weiss standing
in the middle of her room, trying to figure out what had just happened. Why had
Jaune come in? If he was familiar with the house, didn’t he know there were
only two showers and both she and Pyrrha were using them? For that matter,
shouldn’t he know where Pyrrha’s parents’ room was? So why had he instead gone
to his girlfriend’s room—oh.
Maybe the real question was how many times would her friends make her blush
before the night was out?
===============================================================================
Weiss returned to the living room, dressed in a light blue nightgown, her hair
for once free of its usual ponytail. The group continued to banter lightly
about whatever. Blake and Ruby had pulled out books they were reading in
between comments. At various points, pairs or individuals would slip off to the
showers themselves. Soon, Weiss wasn’t the only one dressed in for bed. Well,
“dressed” might be too strong a term; while Neptune was wearing a T-shirt and
gym shorts (the first time she’d seen him wear such garments outside well,
gym), Sun was bare-chested, dressed in nothing more than a pair of boxers and
his usual coin necklace. Perhaps it was because she was too shocked, but Weiss
actually managed to avoid blushing.
Yang, Ruby, and Nora were dressed more conservatively: in a combination of T-
shirts, pajama pants and boy shorts. Nora’s pink shirt with “Boop” written on
it seemed out of place on the girl who was still sitting morosely on the couch
holding Zwei. Blake however had taken a page from Sun’s book and gone for a
more “exotic” look, dressing in a black silk kimono-like garment. Except, Weiss
knew enough about Japan to know kimonos were supposed to go below the wearer’s
thighs.
Eventually, Pyrrha and Jaune returned. Pyrha wore a simple nightgown much like
Weiss’ own (though the heiress’ was undoubtedly ridiculously more expensive).
Like Nora’s shirt it was bright pink. Jaune, by contrast, wore sky-blue flannel
pajamas, the sight of which made Yang and Ruby snort. Obviously, there was some
private joke she wasn’t privy to. The blond boy was also shambling; he seemed
barely able to walk.
Pyrrha was carrying a bundled-up sleeping bag in her hands. “Here, Weiss. Sorry
I forgot to grab it earlier,” she said, trying her best to avoid looking the
younger girl in the eye.
“Thank you,” Weiss said, cautiously. She wasn’t exactly sure what the protocol
was for speaking to a friend after said friend returned from a prolonged bought
of intercourse. Jaune groaned and collapsed onto an open sleeping bag on the
floor. Glancing over at him, the boy looked like he was already asleep. Still,
all things considered, he had probably proven that Cardin Winchester had no
reason to make fun of him ever again.
The sleeping bags were arranged in a circle in the middle of the room, all
facing towards the middle, with the exception of Nora. Pyrrha gently pushed the
girl down on the couch, drawing a blanket up around her. The pair exchanged a
mumbled good-night, before Nora closed her eyes and hugged Zwei closer to her.
The corgi snuggled up, apparently content to act as the grieving girl’s Teddy
Bear.
Weiss saw Ruby pat a spot next to the sleeping bag she was sitting on. Weiss
frowned a little. She liked Ruby, acknowledged the girl might make a good
romantic partner, but this all seemed to be moving a little too fast for her.
Swallowing her pride, Weiss opened her bag between the one Pyrrha had claimed
for herself and the couch Nora lay on. It was a little tricky positioning her
bag as there was a table next to the couch, but she made it work. The noise
roused Zwei. Lifting his head, the corgi let out a couple of quite yips. Weiss
smiled and patted the Black Dog’s head.
Weiss was trying to avoid looking back at Ruby, lest she see the hurt look she
expected was on the girl’s face. As a result, she missed how Ruby had let out
an inaudible growl at her actions. The young Vampire had tried to get up, but
Blake (who’d heard the growl) and Yang (who hadn’t but was sitting right next
to her sister) had pulled her back down. Ruby had glared at them both before
coming to her senses. Blinking, she looked around. Pyrrha, Sun, and Neptune
were all trying to avoid looking at her.
“Well talk later,” Yang whispered into her ear. Ruby nodded quickly, then
scrambled into her sleeping bag.
Blake shook her head at the younger girl’s antics, then rose from the spot
she’d crouched between her and Jaune walked over her and Yang to her spot on
the blonde’s other side. Next to her was Neptune, followed by Sun. There was an
unspoken rule that Sun and Blake should not sleep next to each other.
Pyrrha switched the lights off. “Good night, everyone,” she said, before
slipping into her own bag between Weiss and Jaune.
It was an unusual situation for Weiss. For a while, she shifted, in the
sleeping bag. Her family had never gone on camping trips or the like, so she’d
never slept in such a thing before. More distractingly, though, were the
sounds. She heard other people shifting in their bags. Soon, the sounds of soft
breathing were heard from some of her friends—only to be drowned out by the
loud snoring of others. How was a person supposed to sleep in a crowded room?
But she was so tired, and the sounds of breathing were so rhythmic that in her
fatigued mind, they transformed into a lullaby, like the sounds of the road on
a long journey. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep on waves of nocturnal
sounds.
It was then that Blake got up. Her inhuman hearing telling her the Heiress was
deep in Morpheus’ embrace. The Were shifted into her eyes into their creature
form; while her senses of smell and hearing were always advanced, she only had
enhanced night-vision when her eyes were in their glowing golden state.
Quietly, she nudged Yang’s shoulder.
The sleeping blonde just rolled over and wacked Blake in the face with a
flailing arm. The Were growled softly. Of course, her human mate would fall
asleep after promising to speak with her sister. Luckily, Blake was experienced
enough to transform specific aspects of herself without changing others. Or,
put another way, her eyes were luminescent, but her nails were still blunt and
short. As such, Blake wasn’t concerned about hurting her beloved when she
licked her finger and shoved it in Yang’s ear.
“GYAAAAHHHH!” Yang cried out, flopping around in her bag like a wet fish.
Blake slapped her hand over the girl. Even with her superhuman strength, it was
difficult; Yang was stronger than she looked, and she looked like a
professional volleyball player. Probably a result of whatever the heck she and
her father were descended from, alongside her perpetually high body-
temperature.
“Shhhhhh!” the Were hissed, putting a finger to her lips. Yang stopped
thrashing and frowned at her. Still, she did as she was told, so Blake removed
the hand from her mouth.
“We’re talking about this later,” the blond whispered.
“After you fall asleep?” Blake asked. If Yang could pick one word to describe
her smile it would be “catty.”
Now came the hard part. The blond turned over to Ruby. Like her, the girl was
snoring loudly. Blake moved to wake her, but Yang grabbed her wrist. No, she
shook her head. Blake paused in concern but acquiesced to her mate’s
instructions. Yang let go and, closing her hand into a fist, brought it down
hammer-like on Ruby’s stomach.
“HOOOOONNNNNKK-OOOFFF-HHHSSSSS!” Ruby’s reaction was like a bizarre movie
sound-effect. Yang’s hand had come down in mid snore, cutting off the
inhalation as Ruby was flung back into consciousness. The elder sister pulled
her hand away as Vampire instincts took over, the young bloodsucker’s fangs
dropping (and rising) as she hissed a warning. Yang had to suppress a shudder;
in the dark, it looked like Ruby’s teeth had morphed into a mouthful of fangs,
more savage-looking than Blake’s. Granted, she knew this wasn’t the truth—the
truth was even more bizarre—but it was still a little unsettling.
“Yang?” Ruby whispered. It sounded harsh with her fangs out, and the fangs
themselves made a clicking noise as they brushed against each other when she
spoke. Realizing what she was doing, the young Vampire drew them back. However,
her eyes continued to glean with reflective light. “What was that for?” she
asked.
“I promised we’d talk, didn’t I?” Yang asked, ignoring an eye-roll from the
dark-haired Creature-girl behind her. “What’s up with you, Rubes?”
“What do you mean?” Ruby asked.
“You growled when Weiss refused to sleep beside you, and then needed me an
Blake to stop you from going over there and doing whatever it is you were
planning on doing!” Yang said. “That’s ignoring your insistence on sitting next
to Weiss every possible moment we’ve been here. And don’t think I didn’t notice
you stop yourself from following after her into the shower!”
Ruby’s blush was luckily hidden by the darkness from her sister’s eyes (but
unluckily not from Blake’s). “What’s so bad about that? I mean, we are dating,
aren’t we?”
“No, you’re not,” Blake said. “Weiss specifically agreed to go out with you to
see if the two of you could work as a couple, and you haven’t even done that
yet.”
“Even if you had, you’re getting way too clingy, Rubes,” Yang said. “Wanting to
spend every minute of the day with her this early on, and getting angry when
she wants space? That is not a healthy relationship.”
Ruby hung her head. “I know,” she said. “I know, it’s just . . . it’s like
she’s the sun or something.”
“Yes, a wonderful thing for a Vampire to say about a potential date,” Blake
remarked.
“That’s not the point,” Ruby said. “I mean, when I look at her, everything
seems to revolve around her. It’s like I’ll forget to breathe if I look too
long—and I know that’s not a big deal for me—but it’s how I feel and just, just
the thought that she might turn me down . . .” Ruby shuddered, wrapping her
arms around herself. “I feel something inside me breaking, shattering, and her
smile is the only thing to make it whole again. I felt it last night when I bit
her, and we were watching to see if she would recover. And, when Uncle Qrow
made me go hunting, all I could think about was her, so when she said she
didn’t want to sleep beside me, I just, I just . . .”
Ruby couldn’t find the words to finish, to express how scared and hurt she was,
but she felt a pair of strong, warm arms wrap around her tightly. Her big
sister rocked her gently. “Poor Ruby,” Yang crooned. “My baby sis fell in love
at first sight.”
“Figures,” Blake said, scooting over. Hesitantly, she added herself to the
embrace, enveloping the younger girl in sisterly love. “Just remember, Ruby,
real life isn’t like fairy tales.”
“. . . I know,” Ruby said. “But if we work hard, we can get a happily ever
after, Blake. Just like our parents did.”
“Happily ever after doesn’t last, Ruby,” Blake whispered. “People die. Even
Vampires.”
“That’s not the point, Blake,” Ruby said, looking up. “Happily ever after
doesn’t mean forever. It just means time, together.”
“Together. Just like our parents did,” Yang repeated. Her mind traveled back
twelve years, to when she and Ruby had had two mothers alongside a father and
an uncle. Before a headstone on a cliff became Summer’s home. Before Raven ran
off looking for answers, never to return. To the days when her parents’ happily
ever after looked like it would last forever.
Chapter End Notes
     Some of you have probably already guessed Pyrrha's secret. Sadly, I
     won't confirm it until later.
     I more or less stole Ruby's lines from DOCTOR WHO, specifically "The
     Husband's of River Song." I thought it was a beautiful, powerful
     statement about love and life.
***** One Hectic Saturday *****
Chapter Notes
     A short chapter than the last two, mostly just character interactions
     and filler.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“OK, here’s one,” Yang said. “What is the difference between Sine and Cosine?”
“The sine of an angle is the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the
length of the hypotenuse,” Weiss answered.
“Whereas the cosine of an angle is the ratio of the length of the adjacent side
to the length of the hypotenuse: so called because it is the sine of the
complementary or co-angle,” Pyrrha finished.
“GHHHHAAAAA!” Ruby cried. “We’ve been going over this for hours!”
Weiss frowned. “Ruby, we are trying to study for our finals, you know.”
“I know that, but we’ve been doing it for literally hours!” the Vampire said.
“Can’t we take a break? Go somewhere for lunch?”
Weiss opened her mouth to say something, but Blake cut her off. “She has a
point; it’s one now, and we all got up at eight, more or less.”
Weiss scowled at the memory. Ruby had apparently considered it a good idea to
use a whistle to wake the group up. The only consolation prize was that various
some of the others had more sensitive ears than she did.
Neptune threw his two cents in. “Yeah, and we all started in on studying while
munching on our toast and cereal.”
“Yeah, and that’s hardly breakfast,” Sun added.
“I’m surprised Nora hasn’t passed out from sugar-loss,” Jaune said with a
smile. When nobody laughed, he cringed. “Too much?” he asked.
Pyrrha spared her orange-haired friend a glance. Nora was as depressing as
ever, just staring down at her book, absent-mindedly stroking Zwei.
“Too soon,” his girlfriend said at length.
“Sorry,” he said in a subdued voice.
“Not a lot you can do,” Yang said, shaking her head at the sight of the girl.
Standing up from her place at the table, she placed her hands on her hips and
declared, “Come on, let’s take a break for lunch. Losing an hour won’t kill
us.”
“An hour?” Weiss cried, horrified. “We still haven’t touched the biology work
yet! Or the languages! We can’t leave for an hour and expect to get everything
done!”
“How much time do you usually spend studying?” Blake asked, raising an eyebrow.
“As much as possible, obviously. I have to spend some time fencing on Saturday,
of course. Yesterday was a little unstable between that and . . . everything,
but I wouldn’t be able to keep my high academic success if I wasn’t taking
every advantage I could.”
“Then how come Pyrrha has a higher grade than you in almost every class?” Yang
asked.
Weiss flushed. “Shut, just shut up, you! I have to study! I have to Ace my
classes. It’s the only way I’ll get into Harvard or Yale or whatever will make
my father—” The heiress shut herself up.
“Just an hour, Weiss,” Ruby said. Weiss turned to her and wondered if her
blood-drinking maybe girlfriend had somehow switched eyes with her own dog.
“Probably won’t even be that long. We’ll just go somewhere, get some food, ooh!
I could even help you study while we wait if it makes you feel better!”
Weiss tried to look away, but found it difficult. It probably wouldn’t do much
harm, she thought, ignoring the murmurs behind her, which were mostly something
to the effect of how Ruby shouldn’t have been encouraging her. Eventually, she
said “All right. Where should we go?”
“Not far,” Pyrrha said, standing up. “I’ll drive you, Jaune, and Nora. Anyone
else?”
“I can fit the others,” Neptune said, putting his arm around Sun. Ruby raised
her hand slightly and opened her mouth, then froze. The lowered the hand and
closed her mouth. “No,” she said. “We should be good, Pyrrha.”
Weiss frowned. Her feelings from Ruby’s actions the past night at war with her
feelings from seeing Ruby so downcast. She decided to ignore it. For now,
anyway.
===============================================================================
“OK,” the waitress said as she looked down at her notepad. “That’s two cobb
salads, one fish sandwich with side salad, three cheeseburgers—two with fries,
one with summer berries and no pickle—one Rueben sandwich with chips, one
dinner-sized order of meatloaf with mashed potatoes and broccoli, and one bacon
macaroni and cheese with side salad. Do I have that right?”
“You got it, gorgeous,” Neptune said, grinning at the woman. She blushed,
muttered something Weiss couldn’t understand, and scurried off to place the
orders.
Yang snorted. “You’re lucky your boyfriend is so forgiving, Neptune,” she said.
“What?” the dye-haired boy said. He gave Yang another of his infamous grins. “I
can’t help it if I’m irresistible.”
“Yet more proof you should be called a mermaid,” Sun quipped. “Anyway, I’ve
gotten used to it.”
“Hm, I guess I shouldn’t be upset he chose you over me, then,” Weiss commented.
Beside her, Blake offered a nod of approval. The others were more vocal.
“Sick burn!” Ruby cried
“The Ice Queen speaks! Hear and tremble, lesser mortals!” Yang declared.
“I am not an Ice Queen, you oaf!” Weiss yelled.
“You are kind of cold, Weiss,” Jaune said. The blond boy withered under the
freezing glare. It was times like this he guessed he shouldn’t be upset Weiss
chose Neptune over him, aside from every minute he spent with Pyrrha, of
course.
“I am not cold,” Weiss growled.
“Yes, you are,” Blake said.
“But only to people who don’t know you,” Ruby interjected. Weiss turned to her,
and Ruby gave a cheesy grin. Weiss dropped her head; why couldn’t she stay mad
at Ruby?
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll admit I can be a bit . . . difficult.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Yang remarked. That led to another protracted
debate-slash-argument-slash-screaming contest, but the barrier had been
crossed. The friends began to speak openly. Nora, despite being deprived of a
Zwei to hold, even managed a small smile. Weiss tentatively asked about the
Creature community as a whole.
How many different types of Creature were there?
It was hard to say. So many myths could easily have been caused by the same
Creature, and there was no telling how many species had gone extinct. No, it
wasn’t always humans, Blake hastened to add. Before they had to hide, Creatures
were each other’s greatest enemies; they’d fought each other to the death over
territory, territories containing limited shelter and a limited supply of human
prey and/or breeding stock. Not that they still looked at humans that way, Ruby
interjected.
Were Dragons and Unicorns and such real?
Not likely, and if they were, they’d gone extinct long ago: impossible to hide
from humans. That said, some people believed there were still Phoenixes hiding
in remote mountain ranges in China and India. Neptune explained there were
still pods of mermaids living in the ocean, the one place big enough that they
could comfortably hide from humanity forever. Or at least for another century
or two. Mermaids, though, were isolationists and had never wanted much of
anything from the other tribes.
Where did Creatures come from?
Same place as humans: no one really knew, but everyone had an idea. Some people
thought they evolved alongside humans or even from humans while others thought
they’d been created by the power of various deific figures. And those were the
normal ones.
“Aliens?” Weiss asked.
“What, haven’t you heard of the Ancient Astronauts theory?” Yang asked.
Grinning she explained, “Since a bunch of humans—”
“Crazy humans,” Blake interjected.
Yang ignored her girlfriend “think that humanity’s stories of gods and heroes
were really just one-sided, misunderstood accounts of encounters with
incredibly advanced aliens, some Creatures thought maybe the aliens played
around with DNA some and made them.”
“There’s also the Atlantis Theory,” Ruby said, looking semi-serious. “Atlantis
was this super-advanced civilization, right? So, what if they used alchemy or
ancient super-tech or something to turn humans into monsters!”
Weiss ignored the fact that her maybe-girlfriend had just called herself and
her fellows monsters. “What kind of ‘ancient super-tech’ could do that?”
“Radioactive meteor crystals?” Ruby suggested.
Weiss just dropped her head. Those with inhumanly acute hearing heard a mumbled
“Dolt!” come from her.
“Then of course, there’s the Mother Theory,” Blake said. The
“What’s the Mother Theory?” Weiss asked. After the last two, she was mentally
preparing herself for Gary Larson levels of bizarre.
“The theory that every race is descended from a “patient zero,” the first of
their kind, an Alpha,” Blake explained. “And the Alphas were all born of a
single primordial entity.”
“Where’d that idea come from?” Sun asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Lots of human cultures feature a mother figure for monsters,” Pyrrha
explained.
“Lilith, Tiamat, Echidna, Ymir,” Jaune listed. Everyone looked at the normally
clueless boy in confusion. “I looked into it for a research project a few years
ago, right after I’d just found out about . . . all of you. Lilith was Adam’s
first wife in Jewish folklore; they say she was cast out of the Garden of Eden
and gave birth to Vampires or Succubi or Demons depending on the story to have
them take revenge on Adam’s children. Tiamat was mother of dragons and monsters
in Sumerian mythology, and Echidna gave birth to a lot of the famous monsters
in Greek stories. Ymir was Norse, and he was actually male, so maybe not
strictly a mother, I guess. Anyway, he was the father of the first giants whose
descendants appear all over the place in Norse mythology.”
 
Weiss blinked. For a moment, she almost opened her mouth to say how surprised
she was Jaune had put so much effort into studying. She stopped herself,
though, when she saw Blake glaring at her. It wouldn’t be fair to Pyrrha
anyway, she thought.
Actually, it wouldn’t be fair to Jaune. She’d spent enough time with the boy
yesterday to realize that he did study hard. He might not be as smart as
Pyrrha, herself, or (surprisingly) Ruby, but he made up for it through sheer
grit. There was nothing to mock about Jaune, she decided.
===============================================================================
Back at Pyrrha’s, the group resumed studying. At a quarter of six, Yang got up
to start working on dinner. She was making quesadillas, she said, and asked
Weiss what she wanted on hers.
“Chicken, please,” Weiss said. Handing Pyrrha a couple pieces of paper, she
asked, “Will you check over this for me?” On the papers, she’d re-written (from
memory) her answer to a previous essay question, “What is Nationalism and what
role did it play in the First and/or Second World Wars?”
“Sure, Weiss,” Pyrrha said, taking essay. Blinking, she examined the papers,
then flipped them over. “Weiss,” she said. “You used both of these sheets . .
.”
“Yes,” Weiss said.
“On both sides?” Pyrrha asked.
Jaune turned. “Weiss, you wrote a four page essay?”
“Yes,” Weiss said.
“Doesn’t that seem a little much?” Sun asked.
“I only wrote two pages when we had it on the test,” Neptune said.
“Page and a half,” Jaune said.
“I’m applying to Ivy League schools,” Weiss said. “I have to get the highest
possible grades and submit the best possible essays if I want to be accepted.”
“I hate to be the one to tell you this, Weiss, but the deadline for college
applications past,” Neptune said. “About a month ago.”
“Yeah, and it’s not like you need the scholarship,” Sun added.
Weiss huffed. “There is no reason for me not to try my hardest on my final
test. I will be Salutatorian; I know I can’t beat Pyrrha for Valedictorian, but
my family expects it, and I intend to show everyone exactly how capable I am.”
“You go, Weiss!” Ruby cheered. The others looked to her. Blushing from the
attention she was receiving, the young Vampire muttered. “I mean, it sounds
like a good goal: be all you can be and all that.”
“. . . Thank you, Ruby,” Weiss said. She fidgeted in her seat. “Yang, do you
need any help with dinner?” she asked getting up. Weiss didn’t actually know
that much about cooking, but she needed something to distract her from the girl
sitting across the table from her.
“Wha—ah, no, Weiss! I’m good. You can sit back down!” Yang said, frantically
waving her hands as the white-haired girl approached. She was oblivious to the
havoc she was wreaking on Pyrrha’s kitchen as she did so; her right hand held
the cutting knife that had just sliced through several kinds of meat.
“Watch it, Yang! You’re getting blood every . . . where . . .” Weiss’ voice
trailed off as she spied what was on the counter. It was already half-diced but
Weiss had read enough science textbooks to recognize it.
It was a heart. On the cutting board on Pyrrha’s counter sat the bloody remains
of a heart.
“. . . Weiss . . .” The heiress turned around at the sound of her name. Behind
her was Blake. She wasn’t fidgeting the way Ruby had when she’d met Weiss in
the hallway. Blake looked defeated, standing stock still, her eyes glued to the
floor.
Weiss sucked her breath in. Blake was a Werewolf—cat, whatever. Weres ate
hearts. Sun and Neptune had discussed this with her earlier. Ergo, Blake ate
hearts. Blake ate hearts. Blake most likely ran out into the woods in the
middle of the night to hunt down animals and rip their hearts out to eat.
“It’s all right, Blake,” Weiss said. She had taken speech coaching lessons and
realized her delivery was awful, but all she could do was press on. “I know
that you have dietary . . . needs, like Ruby does, and, I know you don’t eat
human hearts. Well, I suppose you might, but they come from people who have
already died, so there’s no great loss. Although, some cultures do find such
practices abhorrent—taking organs from a dead body, I mean. I know most human
cultures look down on cannibalism already. Is it even cannibalism, though? I
mean, you are from a different species—”
“Weiss,” Blake cut her off. “You’re rambling worse than Ruby.”
“Hey!” said redhead cried from the table.
Weiss huffed, crossing her arms. “Well, I apologize for trying to express my
acceptance to you. Maybe next time I’ll just be silent and let you stew.” Weiss
mentally kicked herself. This was why she had so much trouble making friends.
“Yeah!” Ruby said, zipping next to Weiss. “Don’t give her a hard time when
she’s trying to be nice, Blake!” She held her hand out to Weiss, palm up.
After a moment’s hesitation, the heiress gave the Vampiress a low-five. Ruby
smiled before zipping back to her seat and burying her head in her book. Weiss
raised an eyebrow at the younger woman’s behavior and fought the urge to smile.
Yang had no such compunctions. “Awwwww, Little Sis is so protective of her
girlfriend.”
Weiss’ face turned the same color as the disembodied organ on the cutting
board. She opened her mouth to chastise Yang when Ruby beat her to it.
“Shut up, Yang!” The assembled group looked at Ruby. She was blushing, yes, but
she was also scowling.
Yang cocked head. “What?” she asked.
“We talked about this last night. Weiss and I aren’t dating. She’s not my
girlfriend yet,” Ruby said, still scowling (and ignoring Weiss’ reaction to her
statement). “Not that she will or won’t—not the point. The point is, you
crossed the line Yang.”
Yang shook her head. “All right. I’m sorry, you two. That was too much.”
“It was,” Ruby said, before letting her own breath out and dropping the frown.
Turning to the girl beside her, she asked, “Weiss, could we talk, please?
Alone?”
“. . . All right,” Weiss said, trying to ignore the strangeness. She also tried
to ignore sense of déjà vu as Ruby led her off to another part of the house so
they could talk alone. Hopefully this wouldn’t end like Prom did. When Ruby
stopped the heiress spoke first. “What is it, Ruby? Why did you snap at Yang
like that?”
Ruby’s hands began playing with themselves again. “Weiss, I . . . I spoke with
the others last night, and I realize I was trying to rush things with you.”
Kicking the wall (and Weiss didn’t miss the sound that resonated at the kick;
Ruby was definitely stronger than she appeared), she continued. “I’m sorry
Weiss. I’m so sorry.” Ruby leaned forward, steadying herself against the wall
with her hands. “I want this, us, to work. I want it so bad . . . But I realize
now . . . I can’t expect you to want it as bad as me, or to move as fast as me
. . . So when Yang called you my girlfriend . . .” Ruby swallowed. “It brought
up all this conflicting emotional . . . mess in me, and I just, I just
snapped.” Ruby shook her head straitening up. “Guess I should apologize to
Yang, huh?” Weiss could see the smile Ruby wore now was the definition of self-
flagellation. The Vampire walked past her, heading back to the kitchen.
“Wait!” Weiss called. Ruby stopped and looked back at her, cocking her head in
a manner that was reminiscent of her older sister. “Ruby . . . I—that is, we .
. .”
“Yeah, Weiss?” Ruby asked. There was an edge in her voice. An urgency.
Weiss opened her mouth to reply when they both heard a loud scream. “What was
that?” Weiss asked.
“It sounded like Nora,” Ruby said. From the kitchen the pair heard a loud
commotion. Ruby bolted down the hall. After a moment of shock Weiss took off
after her.
This gave her a front row seat to see Ruby plow into Yang who had been
barreling towards them. “Ouch!” The Vampire cried.
“Ruby, what the heck!” Yang yelled from her position on the floor. Bulky though
she was, she had been knocked down when she’d collided with her baby sister.
More proof that Ruby was stronger than she looked. Weiss noticed Yang’s eyes
were a vivid red.
“Yang, what’s going on?” Ruby asked.
“Ren’s been found,” the blond replied, getting up. She took Ruby’s hand, and
Weiss had to ignore the odd feeling in her stomach. “We have to go. Now!”
 
Chapter End Notes
     This is the last of the chapters I have written up until this point.
     The next chapter will come . . . eventually. Sorry, that's how it is.
***** Blood Is Spilled, Part 1 *****
Chapter Notes
     Three quick warnings before we begin:
     1) These two will probably be the last couple of chapter for a while.
     I have other fics I want to work on (and school work I should
     probably consider doing). They're posted on Fanfiction under the same
     name, but I'll see about reposting over here.
     2) I originally planned for this all to be one chapter, but then
     decided it was too long. So you get two chapters for the price of
     one. Bare that in mind if you see any weirdness pop up.
     3) These chapters are going to EARN the "Mature" rating. There will
     be LOTS of violence here with lots of accompanying moral gray-ity.
     Also, this one will have swearing. Lots and lots of swearing.
     4) (It was originally three, but then I thought of another one) This
     chapter will contain Original Characters whose very existence heavily
     modify's the backstory of characters from the show. If this offends
     you . . . sorry? I don't really know what to say.
     Additional Note: Now that I've FINALLY figured out how to use Ao3's
     posting function (more or less), I went back and modified my previous
     chapters, generally cleaning them up and adding pictures. Go check
     'em out if you haven't already.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“Do you even know where we’re going?” Weiss asked.     
“Dad said they were at a warehouse on the Southside docks,” Yang replied.  Like
at lunch, she had taken the keys to Ren’s Jeep and was driving herself, Blake,
Ruby, and Weiss to their destination.  Neptune drove himself and Sun while
Pyrrha had Jaune and Nora in her SUV. 
“You know Southside is the worst part of town, right?” Weiss asked, nerves
creeping into her voice.  “There are assaults and robberies there  every day.”
That was untrue, but no one bothered to correct her.  It was only a slight
exaggeration. 
“You don’t have to come with us,” Blake said.  “I’m sure Sun and Neptune
wouldn’t mind taking you back . . .” 
 Weiss frowned.  “No.  Ren is my friend, and I’m not going to let . . . you all
go run off by yourselves.” 
The heiress felt a pair of cold fingers wrap around her hand.  Looking over,
she saw Ruby give her a smile.  Not a big, goofy one like the younger girl
normally gave.  This one was calmer and somehow warmer.  “It’s OK, Weiss. 
We’ll protect you,” she said, gently squeezing her hand.  What Weiss heard was
“I’ll protect you.” 
Weiss blushed a little, looking away.  The quartet rode in silence for half an
hour or so.  As they approached Vale’s low-rent, high crime district, Weiss
(still holding Ruby’s hand) found her voice again.  “All right, so do you know
which warehouse your parents are at?” 
“Nope,” Yang said, turning left at an intersection.  She honked for the other
drivers to follow her. 
“Then how do you expect to find them?” 
“We drive around, looking for whichever one has Dad or Qrow’s car parked in
front of it,” the diver replied, too cheerfully. 
“. . . Who took Ren?” Weiss asked.           
Yang’s smile disappeared, her eyes focusing on the road.  Blake closed her eyes
and let out a single breath.  Without opening them, she spoke a single word. 
“Specialists.”
  “WHAT?” both girls in the backseat cried.  
“Those jerks are HERE?” Ruby asked.  Yang flinched at the question.  Ruby
missed the way Blake glared at her sister, making Yang offer a weak grin in
reply.  Thankfully, their silent conversation was drowned out by Weiss. 
“I thought you said those freaks weren’t anywhere near here!” she shouted.  
“They shouldn’t be!” Ruby said.  “Yang, did you know about this?  Did Dad or
Uncle Qrow tell you?” 
“They’re everywhere,” Blake said, shooting Yang another glare.  “Including
Vale, apparently.  
“Then why did Sun and Neptune . . .” 
“Sun and Neptune are idiots,” Yang said.  “Well, Sun is, at least, and
Neptune’s parents try to keep him as shielded as possible.” 
“They still would have told him about the Specialists,” Blake said. “Actually,
that might be the problem.  They warned him so much about so many things that
he can’t take it all seriously anymore.” 
“So, the . . . Specialists are here, and they have Ren,” Weiss said.  “What are
we going to do?  Is there some kind of . . . Creature Law Enforcement we could
call?” 
“We are the Creature Law Enforcement, Weiss,” Ruby explained.  “Uh . . . that
is . . . not us specifically; I mean kind of police ourselves.” 
“What?” Weiss asked.  “You mean your Uncle and father just went to fight
expertsin killing Creatures on their own?  Are they insane?  You’re father’s
practically human!” 
“He’s also a champion MMA fighter,” Yang said.  “And Uncle Qrow’s pretty old. 
I don’t remember for sure, but I think he was born in the 1870’s.”            
“And vampires become more powerful as they get older,” Weiss said. 
“Not really,” Ruby said.  “Well, I mean we get a little stronger, but it’s
mostly experience.  Uncle Qrow’s been around for about 140 years, and he’s
spent a lot of that time fighting people who really wanted to kill him.” 
“Besides,” Yang said.  “Qrow and Dad aren’t alone.  Nora’s parents are with
them.” 
Weiss looked at the other blonde askance.  “And what difference does that
make?  Nora’s human so they must be too.” 
“Mr. Valkyrie is a retired Army Ranger, for one thing,” Blake said. 
“An Army Ranger?” Weiss repeated.  “As in . . .” 
“As in the elite, rapid-deployable light infantry unit,” Yang answered.  “Now
as for Mrs. Valkyrie, well . . .” 
===============================================================================
“COME BACK AND FIGHT ME, YOU COWARDS!” 
Qrow turned towards his brother-in-law.  “You know, I think that woman is the
scariest monster here.” 
“You really should stop using that word,” Tai replied, his voice tired.  They’d
had this argument before.  
“What, you don’t think she’s scary?” Qrow asked.  The two men stood outside a
warehouse that was in better shape than the others.  They’d just finished
dragging away and tying up the last of guards (those still alive anyway).  Now,
they were debating whether or not to join their friends inside.  Qrow’s eyes
widened a moment, before he tackled Tai.  The blonde man almost asked why,
before a barrage of buckshot flew through the space the men’s heads had
formerly occupied. 
“STOP RUNNING AND LET ME SHOOT YOU ALREADY!” 
“Yeah, I’m sure that’ll make ‘em stop running,” Qrow snarked.  Then he cocked
his head as though listening to something.  He gripped the blade in his hand, a
wicked-looking, scythe-like weapon. 
 
“Heads up.  They’re coming out the left.” 
Tai frowned and swung the metal baseball bat he held against his hand.  Time to
be serious.  “Think they’ll be armed?” he asked. 
“Probably with those fancy crossbows of their’s, if anything,” his brother-in-
law answered.  “They probably dropped their stuff when Heather started lighting
the place up.  Hard to carry a weapon when you’re scrambling to escape the
crazy chick with the sawed-off 12 gauge.” 
The blond man cringed.  “She’ll avoid hitting Ren, right?  OK, dumb question,”
he said when Qrow gave him the same look he would have given if Tai had asked
if fire burned things. 
“Here they come,” Qrow said, running around the car.  Tai took the other side,
hoisting his baseball bat.  The door to the warehouse burst open as four men
ran out like a herd of stampeding cattle.  The lead man ran head-first into
Tai’s swinging bat.  The big man felt the ringing metal vibrate up his arms and
stumbled back.  He was still better off than the other guy, who fell down with
a flat, broken nose.  The next man met his end as Qrow turned him into a Pez-
Dispenser with his knife.   The Vampire didn’t waste time and threw the dead
weight away, spinning in place to slice into the stomach of the third man in
line.  The one had been holding a machete, but he dropped it to try to stem the
bleeding.  Qrow’s blade slid into the man’s temple, and the trying stopped. 
It was then the in-laws ran into trouble, literally.  They attempted to charge
the last man at the same time.  This one was the most heavily-armed; as Qrow
had predicted, he held a crossbow.  An unusual crossbow with two bows.  He was
back-pedaling, trying to put some distance between himself and the others to
raise and fire his weapon.   Tai Yang was closer and got in front of Qrow,
swinging his bat out wide to deliver a devastating swing.  Unfortunately, he
stepped on the machete Qrow’s second victim had dropped.  It slid under Tai’s
foot, causing the man to fall forward.  Qrow tripped over him, but his Vampiric
reflexes allowed the dark-haired man to stay on two legs.  It did,
however, slow him down. 
“Ouch!” Qrow cried as the arrow struck him in the chest.  He stumbled back; the
arrow had pierced his heart all right, and while that wouldn’t kill him like
the Vampires of folklore, it did weaken him.  Worse, he could feel the hollow
bolt injecting Dead Man’s Blood into his system.  With a burst of strength,
Qrow yanked the arrow out, but the damage was done.  He fell to his knees,
panting and disorientated.  Beside him, a groggy Tai pushed his face up from
the ground. 
Meanwhile Specialist ambled over beside them and reached down for Qrow’s lost
blade.  
“BANG!”   
A bullet ripped through the side of the man’s head, giving Qrow a firsthand
look at the difference between entry and exit wounds.  The dead man dropped the
crossbow and flopped over like a puppet whose controller had dropped the
strings.  Looking back at the door, Qrow saw a burly man with a thick black
mane and an equally thick beard holding a shirtless, bloody teenage boy with
one hand and holding a smoking Berretta in the other. 
The man carefully advanced, aiming his pistol in all directions, always keeping
his body between the gun and the boy.  Finally, he emerged into the night air
and holstered his weapon.  “You’re out of practice, Qrow,” he said. 
“Can’t say I was ever an expert on killing humans,” the Vampire remarked.  “How
is he?” 
Beside him, a recovered Tai stood up.  “Cole?  Ren!  Thank God.  Is he—?” 
“He’ll live,” the now identified Cole said, lowering the boy to the ground.
 The young man moaned softly, and the giant gently rubbed his charge’s brow,
his eyes softening.  It was a surprisingly parental gesture given the two
looked nothing alike.  “He’ll live.  No thanks to them,” he whispered. 
“How’s Heather?” Tai asked. 
“I’ll be better when my boy is home again with these bastards’ livers in his
stomach,” a woman said.  She marched out of the building a shotgun in her hands
and preceded by a pair of men in dark clothes with their hands on their heads. 
One was a white-haired, bearded man.  Aside from the lack of glasses and the
black clothes, he could have passed as an evil Colonel Sanders.  The second was
a wide-eyed young man, more of a kid really.  The three men grimaced.  It was
unsettling to see someone so young involved in such a activities. 
“I don’t think that’d make him feel better,” Qrow remarked, wiping his blade
with a cleaning rag he’d have to throw out later.  Nothing ruined cloth like
blood and brain matter.  Even if the cloth was just a rag.  He cocked his
head. 
“Oh no,” Tai Yang groaned.  “Don’t tell me it’s the cops.  I reallydon’t want
to explain this to the cops.” 
“I don’t hear sirens,” Qrow said.  “But there’s a few cars pulling up.  Three
or four, I think.” 
“Reinforcements?” Cole asked casually, as he drew his Barrette and ejected the
magazine to load a full clip.  
“Maybe,” Qrow remarked.  “Doesn’t sound like tactical vehicles.  In fact . . .
I think it’s three different models.” 
Heather’s frown increased.  “Why would three civilian cars be headed . . .
here.”  At this point a trio of very recognizable cars pulled.  “What the
fuck—” 
===============================================================================
“—are you kids doing here?” the orange-haired woman yelled. 
  “I guess Mrs. Valkyrie isn’t very happy to see us,” Yang said as she parked
the Jeep. 
“Probably not,” Blake remarked. 
Weiss was more confused that entertained.  “That’s Nora’s mother?” she asked. 
“Yeah, she’s a P.I. who used to be a cop, and between her and her husband, she
has this SUPER-big, super-cool arsenal that she sometimes lets me check
out—when she’s there, of course, she wouldn’t let me look at it on my own;
that’d be dangerous—and . . .”  Ruby had to pause for a breath before she
continued.
“That’s enough, Ruby,” Weiss said.  “I just . . . she doesn’t act much like
Nora.”  
“More like Nora doesn’t act much like her parents,” Yang said.  “Speaking of,
we’d better get out now before she has to ask us again.” 
The four got out of their vehicle as the other two cars were parked and emptied
of occupants.  Pyrrha didn’t even put the car in park before a pink-clad,
orange-haired missile shot out of her vehicle accompanied by a dog and
screaming at the top of its lungs, “RRRRRREEEEENNNNNNN!” 
Nora almost crashed into Ren before the big man caught her.  “Careful,
Lightning Bug,” he said.  “Ren’s not ready for a lot of excitement right now.” 
“. . . Re-en,” Nora sniffled.  Looking down at the boy, she began to cry. 
Weiss couldn’t help but feel for her.  The boy looked awful.  His torso was
covered in cuts, burns, and bruises in various stages of healing.  Some were
almost faded, while others were fresh and still bleeding.  On closer
inspection, some of his fingers looked misshapen, as though they’d been
broken. 
She thought he was asleep or perhaps comatose, until he groaned.  “. . . Nora .
. .” 
The girl’s tears increased, but she seemed to become stronger now that Ren knew
she was there.  “I’m here, Sweety,” she said.  
"S-sorry if I worried you,” he whispered, a smile forming despite his obvious
discomfort. 
“It wasn’t that bad,” Nora said, trying to match his nonchalance.  A difficult
feat when she was starting to hiccup.  “Hic! I barely noticed you were gone.” 
“Flirt later you too,” Mrs. Valkyrie growled.  “I’m asking again, what the fuck
are you kids doing here?”  She turned to glare at Weiss.  “And with her?” 
Weiss cringed.  Ruby took her hand again while Pyrrha stepped forward to
answer.  “We knew Nora wouldn’t stay back now that Ren was discovered,” she
explained.  “So, instead of letting her rush off on her own, the rest of us
decided to accompany her.” 
Mrs. Valkyrie made a sound that would’ve been called a grunt had she been a
man, before mumbling something about “Stupid, stubborn kids.” 
The big man—the one Weiss wasn’t familiar with—frowned.  Looking down at Nora,
he said.  “Nora, Lightning Bug,” he said.  “How did you know we were here?” 
Nora hiccupped.  “Hic! Yang told us, Daddy,” she said. 
Mr. Valkyrie—like Ruby, Nora apparently got a lot of her appearance from her
mother—looked up and spoke very slowly.  “Really?  Yang, how did you find us?” 
"Dad told me where to find you,” the blonde answered immediately. 
“Wow,” Blake whispered.  “I’ll bet he didn’t see that bus coming.”           
“Wha—I did not!” Tai Yang cried.  It might have been more convincing if he
looked like he believed it.  Instead, the man was frowning, cross-eyed,
obviously trying to remember exactly what he’d told Yang. 
"Technically, he just said was a warehouse on the Southside docks,” Ruby said,
leaping to her parent’s defense.  “Yang just figured we’d drive around, and
eventually we’d find your cars.  Instead, we found all of you standing out
here.” 
“Sounds about right,” Qrow remarked, earning himself a dirty look from Tai. 
“Listen, you kids just take Ren home, all right?” Tai said.  “We’ll talk about
this later.” 
“Oh, we will,” Mrs. Valkyrie said.  While it was obviously meant for the Xaio
Long patriarch, she was glaring at Weiss.  The heiress struggled not to wilt
under that look as she would her father’s and squeezed Ruby’s hand for
comfort.  The Vampiress rubbed her fingers over Weiss’ knuckles.  In the corner
of her eye, Weiss saw Ruby flash her a smile. 
“All right, Dad,” Yang said.  “Come on, gang.  Show’s over.  Everybody back
into the cars.” 
Everyone did, with almost no fuss.  Sun commented “So much for showing up all
heroic and saving the day,” which earned him a whack to the head from Neptune,
but that was all.  Looking back, Weiss recalled how the blonde girl almost
never gave orders, but the group had always followed them when she had.  At
school, Yang was generally considered a bimbo; sometimes, she even acted the
part.   It was amazing how little people knew about her.  Weiss hoped she
wouldn’t develop paranoia because of her friends. 
Sometime during the confusion, Jaune had gone over to Ren and Nora.  Now, he
was helping her guide the injured boy into Pyrrha’s SUV, the short redhead
refusing to move from his side.  Jaune hesitated though, and grabbed Pyrrha
before she got into the driver’s seat.  Weiss couldn’t make out what they
said.  Jaune appeared to be asking a question.  Pyrrha shook her head, No.  Are
you sure? Jaune seemed to ask.  Pyrrha hesitated, then dropped her head and
replied.  The blonde boy hugged her, and the taller girl hugged back, giving
him a chaste kiss, before handing over the keys.  Then, she slid in next to Ren
in the back, while Jaune took the wheel. 
"What was that about?” Weiss asked Ruby as they got into their own vehicle. 
Well, technically, it was Ren’s vehicle, once he actually recovered enough to
drive it again.           
“Jaune thought Pyrrha might want to sit next to Ren,” the Vampire replied.  No
surprise she had heard them.           
“Why?” Weiss asked.           
 “Drop it, Weiss,” Yang said.  She turned the ignition and looked back at the
heiress in the mirror.  “Just drop it.”
 “You’ll find out eventually,” Ruby said, sounding like she was trying to be
helpful.
 “But it isn’t our story to tell,” Blake said.  The statement sounded as though
it was directed as much at Ruby as it was at her. 
 “All right,” Weiss groaned, settling into her seat.  She was getting a little
tired of all the secrets she was not discovering about her new friends.  Did
Pyrrha and Ren used to date or something?  Considering he’d apparently gone out
with Yang in the past and was likely with Nora now, he would have dated the
three most desired girls in their class.  Weiss considered that a pretty
impressive record for an eighteen year-old.  Especially an introverted one. 
===============================================================================
 “I can’t believe you told them,” Cole Valkyrie said.  Unlike his wife and
daughter, his hair was as dark as his homophone.  He grew a thick beard that
would’ve made a certain pirate captain green with envy and a long, horse-like
mane fell down his shoulders.  Cole hadn’t raised his voice, but it was stern,
as were the eyes leveled on Tai Yang.
 Tai Yang rubbed the back of his head.  “I didn’t mean to—look, I just meant to
say that we’d found Ren—to let them know he was OK—then, Yang demanded to know
where we were.  I didn’t think I gave them that much to go on.”  Tai was
uncomfortable being so . . . uncomfortable with another man.  He was big and
athletic, not easily intimidated, but Cole was the size of bear and, while Tai
Yang had a lot of experience in Mixed-Martial Arts and real-life brawls, Cole
had once been a trained, professional warrior.  The man had likely forgotten
more about violence that Tai would ever know.
 “You didn’t,” Qrow said.  “If you had, they’d of shown up earlier.”  Unlike
his brother-in-law, Qrow was unintimidated by their large friend.  Possibly due
to his own abilities, or perhaps merely because Cole wasn’t angry at him. 
“You shouldn’t have told any of them until we got him home,” the fourth member
of their party growled.  Heather Valkyrie, nee MacLeod looked much like her
daughter, albeit angrier than anyone had ever seen Nora.  Her long, bright hair
was pulled into a tight ponytail, secured by a purple hair clip, the only color
she wore.  Otherwise, she was dressed in black motorcycle leathers.  The sawed-
off shotgun was strapped to her hip, and she held a pistol in her hand, trained
on the three remaining Specialists. “Speaking of which, what she we do with
these jackasses?”
“Not a lot we can tell the police,” Qrow muttered.  “Otherwise, we wouldn’t
have had to do this ourselves.”  It was true; police would’ve meant blood-tests
and interviews and CSI crap.  Not to mention rushing Ren to the nearest
emergency room where it was unlikely there was a Creature or Enlightened on
staff to cover-up the boy’s . . . oddities.  As was often the case with
Creature-related issues, the victim’s family and friends had no choice but to
cowboy up and deal with it themselves.  Unfortunately for his
kidnappers.           
“It doesn’t matter what you do to us,” the Colonel Sanders wannabe said. 
White-haired and bearded, he looked like Colonel Sanders in a black ops
uniform.  “More will come until you and all your wretched kind are
extinc—Uuuk!” 
“Sanctimonious son of bitch,” Heather growled as the man struggled to regain
breath after the vicious kick to the stomach.  “My husband and I are
human,asshole.  More human than any of you are.” 
“Liar,” spat the one Qrow and Tai had captured.  “If you’re that,” he saw how
Heather’s eyes narrowed as she glared at him,” boy’sparents, you’re as inhuman
as he is.  Those genes aren’t recessive.” 
“We adopted him, moron,” Heather said.  “After psychos like you slaughtered his
original family.” 
“Then, you are human?” the youngster said.  “But . . .but, don’t you know what
they are? What they do?” 
“We do,” Cole said.  “We’ve had Ren with us for twelve years and met others
like him.  And, in that time, we’ve seen them grow and learn.  Work and play. 
Laugh and cry.  Love and dream.  As we do.” 
“But . . . but . . .” the man stuttered.  Tears began forming in his eyes. 
“They eatpeople.” 
“Some of us do,” Qrow said.  “Some of us get by on animals.  You want to kill
everyone with a hunting license?”  He looked down at the young man
contemptuously.  “It’s finally sinking in, isn’t it?  What you’ve been killing,
they weren’t monsters;they were people.”   
“They were monsters,” Evil Sanders spat.  His head then snapped backwards as
Heather pistol-whipped him.  When he righted himself, a cut above his left eye
was seeping.  He glared at the offending woman.  The youngster’s bowed his
head, tears falling from his eyes as he began reciting prayers.  The third man
ignored the whole thing.           
“This is getting out of hand.” Cole said.  “We need to decide how to deal with
these three.”  He already knew her answer, even if he knew it would be . . .
unpleasant.  
“Kill ‘em,” Heather said.  At her blunt reply, the one with the broken nose
paled, while the Sanders lookalike tried to straighten up as he glared
defiantly at them.  The weeper continued to pray. 
“Blood for blood and mercy for mercy,” Qrow quoted.  “I guess when in doubt, go
with the classics.” 
“No,” Tai Yang said.  “We should let them go.” 
“You want to let these bastards go?” Heather growled.  “After what they did to
Ren?” 
“You heard him,” Tai insisted.  “We kill these guys, we only make them martyrs
to their cause.  We need to show them that they’re wrong about us.  That we’re
not the enemy.” 
“He raises a point, Heather,” Cole said, slowly.  It was obvious his fatherly
concern for Ren was at war with his militaristic sense of honor.  Though this
was an unconventional and unprofessional battle, these men were functionally
prisoners of war, and both international law and basic human decency demanded
that POWs be treated with mercy and dignity.  It might not have always been
practical, but it had saved his spirit from being crushed by guilt under the
unpleasantries a front-line soldier was required perform in combat. 
Heather frowned.  She respected, admired even, her husband’s sense of honor,
but she wasn’t a soldier.  She was a disillusioned cop who’d quit the force
before the regulations and legalities could make her sick enough to vomit.  
Warfare had rules, but in the city, the only law was might makes right.  Sad,
but true.  “Letting three go after ventilating the rest of their buddies won’t
make much difference.  Except let them know what we look like.” 
Qrow grunted.  “She has a point, and I don’t anything could convince that old
fart to change his opinion of us.”  His words clicked as he spoke, his fangs
extended.  “Now could someone make up their mind?  Between the garlic and the
blood, the scents here are driving me nuts.” 
BANG!  
“Gladly,” Heather said. 
The Evil Sanders fell backwards, a hole in his forehead, his face still a mask
of hate and arrogance.  The man beside him, his entire face bloody now, gagged
and looked away.  He tried to vomit, but nothing came out.  He just dry heaved
for a fee moments. 
The praying youngster now spoke four words again and again.  “Forgive us our
trespasses.  Forgive us our trespasses.  Forgive us our trespasses . . .” 
Heather ignored him, turning her gun on the other man.  He stopped dry heaving
and looked up.  While he attempted to put on a show of bravado, it was obvious
he was terrified.  It was the eyes that gave him away.  It was always the
eyes.  For the first time that night, the woman’s anger slipped, and she spoke
calmly to her victim.  “Do you want to pray too?”  The man swallowed and
nodded.  He bowed his head in silence.  Heather was silent as well, for a whole
minute.  Then, she pulled the trigger.  “Rest in peace,” she said as the body
collapsed like its comrade.  
Turning back to the praying boy, her face contorted in fury once more. 
“Heather.”  Cole tried to get her attention.  She ignored him.  Grabbing the
boy by his arm, she hauled him to his feet and jammed the barrel of the gun
under his chin.  Looking into his eyes through his tears, she spoke. 
“Leave this city.  Tonight.  And if you ever come near my family or my friends
again, I swear I will kill you in the most horrible way I can think of. 
Understand?”  The boy nodded, despite his shaking.  Heather shoved him back and
he fell down.  “Then get,” she said.  The boy he scrambled to his feet and off
into the night like a bat out of Hell. 
“Honey . . .”Cole said, walking up to his wife and putting his arm around her
shoulder. 
“Shut up, Cole,” she said, her gun dangling in her limp hand.  “I just want to
get home to my kids.” 
Cole nodded.  Taking the gun from her, he slowly led her away, back to the car
they’d driven here.  “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, Tai Yang!” she
said.  “We’re going to have a long discussion about a couple of things in the
morning.” 
Tai shook his head.  “Well, that was a thing,” he said dully.  “Qrow, what
should we do about the guys we captured alive?” 
 “No need to kill those clowns,” Qrow said.  “They didn’t get a good look at
either of us, and at least one has head trauma from that bat of yours.” 
“Yeah,” Tai said.  “Do you mind . . .” 
“Just get the car,” the Vampire said.  Tai nodded and walked off after the
Valkyries.   
Left alone with the fresh corpses, Qrow reached into his pocket and dug out his
phone.  Despite the commotion, it was perfectly intact.  Thank God for
LifeProof, the agnostic thought.  Scrolling through the contacts, he chose a
familiar number.  “Oz?  Sorry to bother you, but we got a problem.  Yeah, it
was about the boy.  No, he’s safe, but we’re going to need a cleanup.  Thanks
Old Man.”
 
Chapter End Notes
     So, how did everyone like Cole and Heather? I'm not sure how much
     I'll end up using them, but I enjoyed making them up (Even if Heather
     might have made me use more profanities in this one chapter than I
     may have in my entire life--wow, does she have a dirty mouth). For
     those of you against foster-incest . . . sorry? Then again,
     considering how many Harry Potter fics seem to want to make Harry get
     frisky with his Mom (discounting the ones whose writers think Ginny
     looking like Lily is a reason for Harry to get together with her.
     Yes, I'm a fan of ReixShinji, but her being a partial clone of his
     mother is something for them to overcome not a reason for him to fall
     for her), I'm not sure there's that many of you. Internet is a
     strange and disturbing land . . .
     That scene with the Valyries and the Xaio-Long/Branwens was kind of
     inspired by a similar scene from BLOOD TIES. It ended pretty
     differently though.
     For those of you paying attention, yes, Qrow's weapon is Sam's knife
     from the poster for Season 1 of Supernatural which for some odd
     reason only appeared briefly in the pilot of the actual series (I
     don't know why; it looks AWESOME). Let's face it, there's no way he
     can lug around a giant scythe/sword/gun hybrid weapon, even if such a
     thing were possible in this world. Those who were paying attention
     also noticed I dropped a hint about the dusty old crow's backstory. A
     backstory which will be important later on.
     I also dropped a couple (literally 2) clues about Ozpin's identity.
     In this story, he's not just going to be Ozpin; he's a combination of
     Ozpin and three more characters from other series. It'll all become
     apparent later.
     I haven't been paying much attention to Volume 4 yet, as I'm still
     nursing my wounds from Volume 3, but I did notice on the RWBY wiki
     that Qrow's Semblance is bad luck. Obviously, that isn't the case for
     this fic, but I think I may have found a new running joke for his
     character.
     On a totally unrelated note that has nothing to do with Qrow or
     anyone else, can anyone point me to some free pictures of the Crocker
     family weapons box from episode 2x11 of HAVEN ("Business as Usual")?
     Specifically with the box open showing off Duke's father's varied and
     impressive collection of armaments. Again, this has NOTHING to do
     with ANYTHING, I just want to know for . . . reasons.
***** Blood Is Spilled, Part 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     ALERT! This chapter was posted with Chapter 6, as they were
     originally meant to be one chapter. If you just jumped to this
     chapter, go back to Chapter 6. Also, I've finally (more or less)
     figured out how to use Ao3's publishing functions. So, I went back
     and cleaned up the previous chapters and added pictures. Enjoy!
     2nd ALERT! There will be lots of violence and moral gray-ity in this
     chapter as in the last one! You have been warned.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
In Mantle, at the same time as the previous chapter.  
Winter cursed as she snuck through the trees.  Damn Scav-idiots!  This should
have been a simple operation.  They’d found the bloodsuckers’ nest, an
abandoned barn on the edge of town, a relic from a previous age converted into
a typical Vampire hideaway.  The beasts almost always lived in squalor, as
though they’d forgotten human needs for comfort and privacy.  As long as it was
hidden from humans, they seemed content to sleep like rabbits in a warren. 
Unfortunately, the Southern Coalition Against Vampires had also figured out the
location, somehow.  This mission was supposed to take place before the
numbskulls could get together enough manpower and “resources” to stage a raid
on the place.  Apparently, they’d overestimated the group’s response time. 
The Slayers, two dozen men and women, had parked their cars a half mile back
and continued in on foot.  They’d dusted their clothes with pollen from garlic
blossoms to avoid being scented by the Vampires. Most carried machetes although
a few carried hatchets and kukri, and Winter had her saber and an Arabian
Janbiya dagger.  
Most also carried crossbows whose hollow arrows had been filled with Dead Man’s
Blood.  Rather than the traditional models favored in the movies, these were
custom-designed weapons holding two and in some cases three bows, allowing the
user to fire multiple times without stopping to re-load.  It was an innovation
German hunters had developed early Nineteenth Century.  Guns weren't effective
against some beasts.  
  
The Schnee daughter, however, preferred to trust in her blades over the bulky
projectile launchers, although he had a revolver strapped to her hip just in
case.  They were also armed with an assortment of flashbangs, and one member
even carried a S.W.A.T.-issue tear gas launcher as well as an unlit flame-
thrower.  They would use the tear gas to force the Vampires out into the open,
where they would be first slowed with the blood-filled bolts, then decapitated
with the blades.  It would be much more dangerous than that, of course, but it
was a simple plan that had served them well in the past.  The night would end
with the flame-thrower being used to eliminate the evidence. 
The team had made it to the barn without incident, positioning themselves in a
wide circle around the building.  Before the tear gas could be launched,
however, half a dozen pickups had charged in, their engines roaring, their high
beams blazing.  The nit-wits had used duct tape to draw crosses onto their
headlights and had affixed gas-propelled, high-power stake-launchers and
Ultraviolet flood-lights onto the backs of their trucks.  The men had streamed
out, bedecked in crosses and wreaths of garlic bulbs and carrying traditional
crossbows along with roughly-carved wooden stakes and mallets.  The men on the
backs of the trucks aimed their floodlights and fired their wooden missiles
into the windows of the building, dispelling whatever doubt the bloodsuckers
had as to why they were there.           
As one, no less than ten Vampires leapt through the windows and doors, their
fangs extended and their lips pulled back in a display of animalistic fury. 
Some of Vampires ran into the woods while others charged their foes head on. 
They targeted the Scavs, either realized that anyone who thought shining
crosses at them was easy prey or else just angered by the bright light.  In all
fairness to the Scavs, they didn’t seem perturbed when the Vampires didn’t
burst into flames under the UV light.  They fired their arrows into the
approaching horde, but because their weapons were silver-tipped rather than
slathered or filled with rotten blood, the Vampires ignored them and continued
the charge.  The men with the stake launchers fared better, their projects were
moving with enough force to knock the Vampires back.  Of course, that wouldn't
stop the monsters from getting up again, soon. 
The Slayers reacted with precision and discipline.  When the Vampires were
slowed by the stakes, they opened fire with their own arrows.  The hollow bolts
hit home, connecting with undead torsos, thighs, and shoulders.  The Vampires
moaned and staggered, falling over as the poisoned blood did its work on their
mutated systems.  The Slayers moved in for the kill.  Unfortunately, the idiots
once again beat them to it.  
The Scavs charged in to hammer their wooden stakes into the bodies of the
fallen Vampires.  One particularly dense fellow who had clearly watched too
many Joss Wheaton episodes didn’t even have a hammer; he tried to thrust the
stake in like it was a knife.  Regardless of technique, however, the results
were the same.  The Vampires grabbed their would-be killers and dragged them
down to rip open their necks and wrists.  
Winter had raced as fast as she could, drawing her long, curved sword, she
severed the head of the nearest bloodsucker before it could bite into its
victim.  The others weren’t so lucky.  Some of them managed to decapitate a few
Vamps without issue, but the hapless Scavs’ lifeblood was counter-acting the
Dead Man’s Blood.  The Vampires might not yet be at 100%, but they were strong
enough to stand and fight or cut and run.    
A couple did dash into the forest, but four or five more were engaging with the
Slayers.  Winter saw a few Scavs run into the forest after the Vampires. 
Taking a calculating glance at her comrades, she cursed and ran after the
idiots.  As annoying as it was, she couldn’t let the Vamps escape with
potential recruits. 
The elder Schnee daughter raced in the tracks of the Scavs.  She spared a
glance at the compass attached to her wristwatch and saw she was headed north. 
Hopefully, the Vamps had escaped.  Hopefully, their enhanced athleticism and
natural stealth had allowed the monsters to disappear into the trees without a
trace.  Hopefully, the idiot Scavs were blundering around in the dark lost, and
she could just lead them back to the fight to help clean up the
mess.           
The screams in front of her destroyed those hopes. 
Winter raced forward.  In front of her, a Vampire lifted its head from a man’s
bleeding neck.  The beast hissed at her, fangs barred, lips bloody, eyes
shining.  It threw its victim down like a sack of trash and charged at her. 
Winter slashed with her saber, but the Vampire dodged.  She tried to slash
again, but this time the Vampire caught her arm, twisting her wrist.  Winter
heard a “pop” and the blade fell from her hand.  She ground her teeth to avoid
screaming as the Vampire used her injured arm to spin her around.  It grabbed
her other shoulder.  She felt its cold breath on her neck . . . 
“AAAAAHHHHH!” 
The Vampire screamed in pain, its grip weakening.  Winter wrenched herself
free, drawing her Janbiya from the beast’s thigh, its blade dripping a
combination of blood from both the dead and the undead.  Spinning around, she
used her momentum to build up strength.  With one neat stroke she separated the
monster’s head from its body.  
Winter struggled to keep herself upright, panting as her body began crashing as
the adrenaline surge wore off.  She stumbled over to the man on the ground,
examining his body.  Dead.  Gripping a tree branch, she hauled herself up
again.  There was no need to worry about the corpse becoming another Vampire. 
Vampires didn’t feed off people they’d infected, and this man’s comrades might
still be alive. 
Winter transferred her dagger to her weakened hand.  Gritting her teeth, she
used some bandages to wrap it in place.  Satisfied the blade was secure, she
continued on.  She returned the saber to its scabbard; it wasn’t particularly
useful right now. 
Winter pushed on.  She couldn’t hear the sounds of the battle behind her
anymore.  Good.  That meant they’d won.  Guilt stung her heart like a bee, but
she pushed it down.  She couldn’t let the last Vampire get away or let it snack
on the— 
“NO-O-O-O!”  a voice cried.  It was a human voice, the personification of fear,
despair, and anguish like she’d never heard before.  Winter raced forward.  Her
legs burned, her shoulders felt heavy as lead, but she still ran.  Before her,
in a clearing was a sight from any hunter’s nightmares . . . 
One of the men lay on ground, shuddering, as though he was about to start
crying.  The other was held in place by the Vampire.  Although a tall, well-
built man, he was no match for the monster’s inhuman strength.  In the
moonlight, she could see blood on both their mouths.  
The plague-ridden beast had infected them. 
The monster lowered its bloody wrist from its victim’s mouth.  This man wasn’t
shaking as the other one was, he was still struggling, still trying to escape. 
Despite herself, Winter felt her respect for the Scav rise.  Reaching into her
belt, she pulled out her gun.  A simple black revolver, .357 caliber.  “Let him
go,” she said. 
“You people . . .” the Vampire said.  It wasn’t like the other one.  Its fangs
drawn back, it looked like a young attractive man.  Dressed in torn jeans and a
black leather jacket, with hair down to the shoulders, it looked like any
wannabe post-teenage rebel.  Winter wasn’t fooled by the disguise though, not
in the slightest. 
“I said let him go!” Winter ordered.  She thumbed down the hammer for
emphasis. 
“Or what, you’ll shoot me?  You know that won’t work,” the Vampire spat.  “Even
if it could, you wouldn’t shoot this poor sap would you?”  Winter voiced
nothing, but her face must have, because the Vampire nodded.  “I thought so. 
You won’t risk a humanlife.  You people . . .  Why can’t you just leave us
alone?  We have as much right to live as you do!”  
“No . . . you don’t,” the captured man said.  He jabbed his elbow into the
Vampire’s gut as hard as he could.  Winter didn’t know whether or not Vampires
needed oxygen to survive, but they certainly didn’t enjoy getting all the air
forced from their diaphragm.  The Vampire bent forward and the captured man
tried to break away.  The Vampire caught his arm, but it was too late.  
“BANG!”  Winter’s gun fired.  A bullet drilled into the Vampire’s forehead,
leaving a bloody-hole.  The monster staggered, and the man broke free, falling
to the ground and rolling away.  The Vampire was disoriented, but it wasn’t
dead.  Extending its fangs, it took a wobbly step forward. 
“BANG!  BANG!  BANG!  BANG!  BANG!”  
Winter emptied the remaining chambers into the Vampire’s face, walking forward
as she did so.  The beast fell to the ground, spasmming as its ruined brain
tried desperately to cling to life.  Dropping the gun, Winter wrapped her
functional hand around the one wrapped around her Janbiya.  “Aaauuugggghhhh!”  
With a primal roar so at odds with her normal persona, Winter swung the blade
with all her might, severing the Vampire’s head and drawing a gash in the
ground beneath its neck.  Already on her knees, Winter flopped over, panting
heavily now.  
“Wow,” a shaky voice said.  Winter looked over and saw it was the other Scav,
the one who’d been infected first.  
“Not bad,” said the other, sitting up.  He’d drawn something from his pocket, a
wallet.  “Can I ask your name, lady?” he asked. 
“. . . Winter,” she said. 
The man nodded.  “That wouldn’t happen to be Winter Schnee would it?” he
asked.  “My son goes to school with your sister.  Small world.” he said.  
“Is your son a part of your group?” Winter asked. 
“Unfortunately,” the man said.  “Ever since his mother was . . .taken from
us—by the vamps—all I saw was evil.  I took what I’d learned in the Marines,
and I taught it to him.  Didn’t do much for our relationship, of course.  Six-
years-old and the boy’s mother is gone, and his father’s become a drill
sergeant.  Then a man came and told us what had taken my wife and offered us
the chance for revenge, I accepted for both of us.  I had to.  We were damaged
goods.  Unfit for anything else.”  The man shook his head.  “Sometimes I wonder
if he might have recovered if someone else had been his father.” 
“That’s why you joined them, isn’t it?” Winter asked.  “Vampires.”  He nodded. 
She tried not to wonder if it had really been a Vampire that had killed his
wife.  There was a fifty-fifty shot it had been a human or disease that had
taken her, and the Coalition had merely fed a traumatized man their half-
truths.  But now wasn’t the time for such questions. 
“Think you could teach him how to fight?   My son.  I don’t know who you guys
are, but you did a better job than any of us did.  He needs to get stronger.” 
Winter thought for a moment before replying.  “Yes.  I will.  I could teach
you, too.”
 The man laughed.  “There’s no teaching me. Look at my mouth.  Fanged bastard
infected me.  This is the end for me.  Him too,” the man gestured to his
companion.
“Wa-wait, Gordon,” the man said.  “This doesn’t . . .it doesn’t . . .we might
not turn!" 
“We will,” the now identified Gordon said.  “I just wish I was strong enough to
put you down before you finished.  But I don’t have that kind of strength
anymore . . . I keep remembering . . .  Doesn’t matter.  I’m too tired.” 
“Gordon!” Winter said.  “Wait!” 
“I’ve waited too long already,” the man said, drawing a small pistol and
pressing it under his chin.           
“Gordon!”  Winter cried. 
“Gordon Winchester,” the man said.  He tossed his wallet over to Winter. 
“That’s my name.  My son is Cardin Winchester,” he said.  “Tell him I’m sorry,
but he has to get strong now.  He has to.” 
“No!  Listen to me Gord—” 
"BANG!" 
Gordon Winchester’s body slumped over, the top of his head had a crater like a
meteor had struck it.  The rock he’d sat against painted red with his blood. 
“Damn you!” Winter hissed, looking down at the wallet.  Picking it up, she saw
a faded photo of a younger Gordon with a woman and a young boy with red hair. 
Poor boy.  No one should have to go through that.   
“Ma’am!” a girl’s voice barked.  Winter looked up and saw a young woman, barely
more than a girl really, leading a team of Slayers.  African American with
short hair, stopping she fell into a ready stance.  Solieil, as she recalled
Ciel Solieil.  “What’s the situation?” she asked. 
“I tracked and killed the two fleeing Vampires,” Winter explained.  “But this
one had already infected these two.” 
“Infected?” the girl asked, turning to still-living Scav.  He wasn’t
shuddering, anymore.  Instead, he was staring frozen at Gordon’s corpse. 
Winter couldn’t blame him, despite how green he seemed.  It was hard to see a
friend go in such a bloody way. 
“He needs silver, now!”  Winter barked.  She padded around her vest and
withdrew a, mercifully intact, bottle of colloidal silver.  “Here!” she said,
tossing it to the girl.  
Solieil caught it and moved to the man.  “Drink this,” she ordered. 
“What?” the man asked. 
“It’s the cure for Vampirism!” Winter cried. 
“But, I thought there was no cure,” the man whispered.  
“Not if you complete the transformation.  Now drink!”  Winter ordered. 
The man nodded and took a swig of the bottle.  He coughed at the taste before
taking another one.  
“We should warn you,” Solieil said.  “That even when taken immediately, there
is still a chance the silver will fail to halt the transformation.  Should that
occur . . .” 
“At least I have a chance, right?” the man said, weakly. 
“More than a chance,” Winter said.  She looked over to the dead Gordon
Winchester.  “That’s what I was trying to tell him.”  She gripped the wallet in
her hands.  “The Damn fool.” 
===============================================================================
The scene that met Winter as she led the Slayers and the living Scav back out
of the forest was not as bad as it could have been.  It wasn’t pleasant
though.  The Vampires were all dead; that was good, but she saw at least three
dead Slayers and at least as many Scavs on the ground.  Combined with Gordon
Winchester and the unnamed man she’d encountered earlier, that was eight dead
people.  More counting the corpses in the barn; usually Vamps fed on their
victims over a period of days or even weeks.  These hadn’t been so patient.  
The living weren’t all in good repair.  Winter cringed at the sight of the
flamer-thrower operator.  The poor man had apparently been attacked by three
Vampires and once and had tried to use his tool as a weapon to fend them off. 
It seemed to have worked minimally well, but he was still being wrapped up like
an Egyptian mummy by his comrades.  Fire, like stakes, garlic, and sunlight,
did not kill Vampires.  Only beheading could do that. 
 “Who in Blazes are you people?” a voice shouted.  Winter turned.  A man about
Ironwood’s age was marching towards her.  It might have been intimidating if
not for the jangling silver crosses and the wreath of garlic dangling about his
neck.  “What happened to my men?” 
“Dead,” Winter spat. “The Vamps killed one.  The other killed himself when he
was infected.” 
“Good man,” the leader said, coldly. 
“But, he didn’t have to!” the survivor cried.  Pointing to Winter, he
continued, “she had the cure!” 
“Foolish girl,” the man said.  “There is no cure.  And I suppose she gave it to
you too?” he asked his subordinate.  Shaking his head, he reached into his
coat.  “I’m sorry, but there is no other choice.  It’s a shame you lacked
Gordon’s strength, but—” 
Wham!
The man’s mistake had been taking his eyes off Winter.  As soon as he began to
raise the gun at his man, Winter had grabbed his wrist in her good hand and
swung her elbow into his face.  The man stumbled, the gun slipping from his
hand.  Winter punched him in the face, knocking him on his back.  “He didn’t
have to die!” she shouted.  Ignoring his groaning, Winter straddled his torso
and began hammering away at his face.  “He didn’t have to die!  He didn’t have
to die!  He.  Didn’t. Have.  To.  Die!”  
Some of the Scavs tried to assist their boss, but the Slayers restrained them. 
Others were just too shocked to do anything.  After a moment, Winter sat back,
panting.  Looking down at the bruised face beneath her in disgust, she stood
up.  Walking around the man, she spoke.  “You’re friends died tonight because
they had no idea what they were doing!  What they were facing!”  She scanned
the faces of the men who’d followed the fool’s command.  “Real Vampires are
nothing like the movies!  You thought wooden stakes and sun lamps would kill
them.  Instead, it got your friends killed.  And mine,who died trying to
protect you!” Taking a deep breath, Winter forced herself to calm down.  “We
are the Society of Slayers!  Weare the professionals. We deal with this.  Go
back home to your families and get back to your lives.” 
Turning back, she addressed Ciel.  “Take some men and retrieve the cars.  I
want to leave as soon as possible.  The rest of you, if you can, pile the
bodies into the barn and douse them.  Then torch it all.”  The girl saluted and
began barking instructions.  Winter nodded.  It was tragic that a girl so young
should be caught up in all this darkness, but there was no denying that James
had chosen well with her. 
As the men and women still able to do so, began to carry out her instructions. 
Winter heard footsteps behind her.  It was the man she’d cured.  “Um,” he
said.  “Can I join your team?”
Chapter End Notes
     Yes, SUPERNATURAL fans, Gordon Winchester, is a hybridization of
     Gordon Walker and John Winchester. I originally thought about making
     him Black like Gordon, but then remembered S.C.A.V. was the KKK for
     Vampires and thought it was better to make them all white. Also
     notice they're all men, whereas the Slayers are men and women of
     multiple ethnicities. Now I actually feel sorry for Cardin; I didn't
     know that was possible. On the upside, Hey! now I have a way to use
     him in the story! I didn't before!
     Also, yes, the last Vampire is based on Luther from SUPERNATURAL. I
     like that exchange he has with the Winchesters because it seems like
     the first time the show began to experiment with the idea that maybe
     the Hunters weren't unquestionably in the right (an idea which future
     seasons would develop before dropping on its head whenever the plot
     wanted to go dark. Seriously, show. Make up your mind!)
     Slayers v. Specialists? Remember, "Specialists" is a term Creatures
     use. Obviously, they haven't been chatting with the hunters
     themselves. Both communites use the nickname "Scav" because of the
     Coalition's initials. Also, "Slayers" only refers to this particular
     group of Specialists.
     Colloidal Silver is a real substance used in alternative medicine. At
     present the United States government is vetting it for public use,
     but silver has been used medicinally for millennia. For me, this was
     just a fun way to insert the mythological vulnerability of Vampires
     to silver while still keeping in theme with the rest of the (for now)
     more sci-fic style of paranormal happenings.
     IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER OR TWO! DO NOT SKIP!: The next
     chapter or two should feature the first fan-submitted OC. Special
     thanks to RedLikeRuby for the suggestion and permission to use their
     character. If anyone else wants to submit an OC . . . I can't promise
     to use them, but I'll try. Also, the next chapter will be another one
     where this fic earns the "Mature" label, albeit in a very different
     way. Be warned! Here There Be Lemon-Flavored Dragons.
***** Recouperation *****
Chapter Notes
     Hey-O! I know I said it would be a while before I posted a new
     chapter (and I honestly expected it to take much longer), but this
     wouldn't leave me alone, so here we are. I'm sorry. Really, I am.
     Also, I went bac and fixed the last couple chapters because they had
     some glaringly bad mistakes.
     Anyway, thanks again to RedLikeRuby for letting me use their OC,
     Dearg, and giving me the outline of her race. And thanks also to
     Ashliel for making me realize Banshees and Sirens could be the same
     race.
     WARNING: This chapter has graphic, explicit depictions of consensual
     sex between two persons. If this bothers you, then just skip the
     Lemon. Go to the last couple lines of the chapter, and you'll get
     what's important.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“So Ren is Nora’s—” Weiss started.
“Parents’ adopted son,” Ruby explained.
“That makes them sibling!” Weiss said.
“No, it doesn’t!” Ruby said.  “I mean—they’ve had a crush on each other since
they first met.  They’re totally perfect for each other.”
“And they’re parents are . . . all right with this?” Weiss asked.
Ruby shrugged.  “Creature stuff.”
Weiss frowned.  “How . . . Just, how did thathappen?”
Ruby frowned.  “Well, Ren’s parents died when he was young.  I think it was in
a car crash, but it was a long time ago.  I think he was five or six; it was
before we were friends.”
Weiss cut her off.  “And then Nora’s parents adopted him,” she said, gently
(for her).  She was actually growing to like Ruby’s ramblings, but right now
she had questions that needed answers.  “Does the Creature community have a
means of arranging Creature orphans to be adopted by Creature or Enlightened
families?”
“Ah, no,” Ruby said.  “At least not back then.  Nora’s parents didn’t have a
clue about any of this when they brought him home.”
“Yeah, but that didn’t last long,” Yang said.  She and Blake entered the room
then.  “Kind of hard to stay ignorant when your new kid is the only one to who
wants liver and onions.”
Blake swatted the blonde’s arm. “The problem was they didn’t know what to feed
him,” she said.  “Ren had been taught by his parents to keep his hunger and
abilities a secret, but his health started deteriorating.  They probably
would’ve called in a doctor—an ignorant, un-Enlightened, humandoctor—if it
hadn’t been for Qrow and Taiyang.”
Weiss looked at her friends.  “Please don’t tell me they tried to kidnap Ren.”
Yang smiled.  “OK.  We won’t tell you.”
“But that’s totally what they did,” Ruby said, grinning.
Weiss shook her head.  “Ruby, should I be concerned about the number of
felonies your guardians and role models have accumulated?”
The Rose/Xaio Long girls shrugged.  “You get used to it,” Yang said.  “Anyway,
they tried to sneak into the house to grab Ren—”
“Which they totally could’ve done by way,” Ruby said, “because Vampires can be
super-ninja-stealthy when we want to.”
“Ruby, your father is human, remember?” Weiss asked.
“Which is how they got caught,” Blake said.
“Dad knocked over a lamp,” Yang snorted.  “Suddenly, Uncle Qrow’s fighting off
a giant with a jumbo knife and an Amazon with a baton.  In their P.J.’s.  Dad
managed to get into the Ren’s room, but Nora was sleeping with him.” Yang
paused as her brain caught up to her mouth.  “Whoa.  I did not mean to make
that pun.  I mean she shared a bed with him—oh my gosh . . .”
“Nora likes to use Ren as a teddy bear,” Blake deadpanned.  “For as long as any
of us have known them, their favorite sleeping positions have been beside each
other.”
“Wait, didn’t Yang and Ren date for a time?” Weiss asked.
“They weren’t ‘together-together’ then,” Yang explained.  “Took us all a while
to figure out their feelings for each other weren’t exactly sibling-like. 
Anyway, Dad goes into their room and grabs Ren—”
“And Nora went ballistic on him,” Ruby snickered.  “‘She was like a little,
pink whirlwind—that BIT me!’”
Things got bad enough that Ren actually transformed,” Blake said.  “Gumiho are
akin to Weres.  We have similar . . . appearances.”
“And by that, you mean fangs, claws, and glowing eyes?” Weiss asked, arms
crossed.
“Actually, Gumiho eyes don’t glow,” Blake said, not at all repentant.
“But yeah, he totally looked like a monster,” Yang said.  The others looked at
her.  “What?  I’m just saying he would’ve looked really scary the first time.”
“Ren had been raised to keep his abilities a secret,” Blake explained.  “It’s
an essential lesson young Creatures have to learn.  I don’t know if he was even
aware of his diet at the time.”
“So Uncle Qrow’s fighting both of their parents at once, and he’s going he-
yah!  He-yah!  He-yah!” Ruby said, chopping the air with her arms.  Weiss tried
to look disapproving, but could barely contain a smile.  How could this girl
make something so . . . doltish look so cute?
“Yeah, except he’s trying to keep the Vampire stuff a secret, so he can’t go
all out,” Yang said “but then then Dad comes in with a girl chomping on his
leg, carrying a snarling boy with fangs and claws, and the fox is out of the
bag.”
“Fox?” Weiss asked.
“Gumiho in folklore can turn into foxes,” Blake explained.
“That’s when they decided to calm down long enough to listen to Dad and Uncle
Qrow,” Yang explained.  “They call Pyrrha’s parents—”
“Who are lawyers and were tryingto get Ren put in someone else’s custody
legally,”Blake explained.  “Or at least mostly-legally.”
“And they come by and give them the ‘Creatures of myth and legend are real but
need to be kept a secret’ speech, and now we’re all friends.” Yang finished.
“I thought it was the responsibility of the Creature who exposed themselves to
explain the situation,” Weiss said.
“I also said the rules could be bent if the responsible parties couldn’t be
trusted to do a good job,” Blake said.  “Mr. and Mrs. Valkyrie apparently
needed a lot of proof be convinced.”
  “How did they take it?” Weiss asked.
“Mrs. Valkyrie put her foot down and told them they were keeping Ren,” Ruby
said.
“I think she actually threatened to shoot them if they tried to take him,” Yang
said.
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Weiss said.  “So, how is Ren doing?”
“Better than he was yesterday,” Blake replied.
“I made him some soup and a sandwich with fresh liver,” Yang said casually,
ignoring the way Weiss flinched.  “That should help him recover.”
“What is he going to do about exams?” Weiss asked.  “For that matter, what are
the Valkyries going to tell the school?”
“Eh, let’s leave that to them,” Ruby said.  Cocking her head, the Vampire
added, “Hey, there’s a car pulling up.”
“Your Dad and uncle?” Weiss asked.
“No, it’s the wrong model,” Blake said, her eyes closed as she listened.  She
had explained to Weiss earlier that while her own senses rivaled Ruby’s they
weren’t active all the time, a quirk of Were nature.
Bang!  Bang!  Bang!
“Open up!  Open up, you pack of hobgoblins!” a woman called on the other side,
hitting the door with her fist.
“Hobgoblins?” Weiss asked.
“Dearg!” Ruby shouted, bolting for the door.  Throwing it open, she revealed a
tall, young woman with hair as red as Pyrrha’s. 
“Ah!  Ruby!  Calm down before you break me in two!”  Despite her cries, she
wrapped her arms around the shorter girl.
“I’m sorry!  When did you get back!  We missed you last night!”
“I’ll bet you did!” the newcomer said, laughing.
“Who’s she?”Weiss asked, a little harder than intended.
“Dearg’s an old friend,” Blake explained. 
“Are you jealous,Ice Princess?” Yang asked.
As Weiss stuttered out a denial, Ruby led the newcomer in. Up close, Weiss
could see her hair fell to her waist.  She wore jeans and a sleeveless shirt as
red as her hair.  And her eyes.  Bright, red eyes.  “Hello,” she said.  “I
don’t recall seeing you before, Dearg Pléimionn, at your service,” she said,
extending her hand. 
“Weiss Schnee,” the heiress replied. She shook hands with the taller girl.
“A Schnee, here of all places?” the girl asked.
Weiss frowned.  “I’m sorry,” she said, not sounding so, “but who are you
exactly and where are you from?”
“I’m a friend of the family,” Dearg said. 
“A Creature?” Weiss asked. 
Dearg smiled.  “You better believe it, Princess.  Though you shouldn’t’ve asked
methat question.  As for where I’m from, I just got back from a trip to
Ireland.  Visiting the family in the old country and all that.”
“Don’t call me Princess,” Weiss said.  “I guess you’re not a Leprechaun.”
The girl laughed, a musical sound that seemed to fill the room and made Weiss
feel warm and woozy.  Ruby raced over and steadied her.
“Dearg!” Blake shouted. 
“Sorry all,” said the taller girl.  “Lost control for a moment there.”  As
Weiss recovered her senses, she noticed the others weren’t doing much better. 
Blake had her hands over her ears, and Yang and Ruby were shaking their heads. 
“No, Miss Schnee.  I’m no Leprechaun, assuming they even exist; I’m a Ban Síde.
“A Banshee?”Weiss asked.
"Indeed, little girl-child,” the girl said in a thick accent.  She winked at
Weiss, then dropped the accent as she continued.  “Siren, if you want the Greek
name.  Either way, I can do things with my voice you can only dream of.”
“That’s nice,” Weiss replied, not sounding terribly pleased.  She found herself
wanting this woman to go somewhere else.
“Weiss can sing!” Ruby—the traitor—said.  “She’s in the school choir, and she’s
really good!  Maybe you two could sing together sometime!”
“Maybe if Miss Schnee’s interested,” Dearg said.
“Maybe.”  Weiss’ reply implied that she wouldn’t be.  “I don’t recall having
seen you at school, Dearg.  Can I ask how you knew Ren and the others?”
“I suspect you wouldn’t,” Dearg said.  The Banshee seemed to have worked out
that her presence had upset the white-haired girl and had countered with
similar false-sweetness.  “I didn’t go to Beacon High.  I’m a graduate of Haven
Academy.”
“The magnet school?” Weiss asked.  Haven was regarded as one of the best
schools in the county for the arts.
“You'd better believe it,” Dearg said.  “I’m a Thespian, a stage performer, and
occasionally a stage hand.  I graduated last year.  I just completed my first
year at Vale Community before my family shipped off to Emerald Isle.”
“You’re in college?” Weiss asked.
“I’ve got a year on most of this lot, aside from the baby Vampire, that is,”
she smiled at the girl, and Weiss tried to swallow a frown.  “As for how I met
‘em, it was just Creature Community get-togethers.  You’ll probably be invited
to them now that you’re a part of it.”  She shrugged.  “Anyway, is Ren ready to
receive visitors?  I heard he was pretty banged up and wanted to make sure he
was all right.  Ban she couldn’t make it, but sends her love.”
“He’s eating now,” Yang said.  “Pyrrha, Jaune and Nora are with him.  Sun and
Neptune are asleep on the couch,” she pointed over her shoulder.
“I’ll say hi to them later,” the Banshee promised.  “For now, I’d like to see
Ren.  And Pyrrha, if she’ll have me.”
“I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you,” Blake said, loudly to be heard over
Yang’s snorts.  The Were elbowed the blonde in the side, but it did little to
stop her mate’s mirth.  “I’ll take you to them.”
“Thanks, Blake,” Dearg said.  “See you later, all.”
“Good seeing you, Dearg,” Ruby replied.  She was blushing and had been since
Yang began cracking up.
“All right, what’s so funny?” Weiss asked.  “And why are you blushing, Ruby?”
“I wish I could tell you, Ice Queen,” Yang said, grinning, “but Blake would
banish me to the couch if I did.”
“It’s just a stupid pun,” Ruby muttered.
“F-No! Rubes, it’s a great pun!” Yang said.
“I am so sick of all these secrets,” Weiss said.
“Hey, it’s not our fault if you can’t figure out the obvious,” Yang said.  “You
have all the information you need to work it out.”
“Pyrrha will explain it,” Ruby said.  “Eventually.  Just . . . remember we’re
different from you, OK?”
Weiss cocked her head.  Did she mean . . . ?  No.  No way.
 
===============================================================================
 
“How’s the soup?” Pyrrha asked.  She and Jaune were sitting next to the bed
their friend was recovering in.  Nora sat next to him, careful to keep her
weight off him while he was recovering.  Ren sat in the middle of the bed,
propped up on pillows with a tray in his lap, with milk, grilled cheese, and
tomato soup.
“Good,” the injured Creature answered.
Nora snorted.  “Yang made it, of course it’s good.”
“I’ve heard that before,” a voice said. 
The assembled four looked up.  “Dearg,” Pyrrha said. 
“Hey! You’re home!” Nora said.  “How was Ireland?”
“Lovely as always,” the Banshee replied.  “I heard what happened.”  Approaching
the bed, she looked over Ren.  “How are ya doing, Ren?”
The Gumiho shrugged.  “I’ve been better.”
“His lunch is fortified with Vitamin L,” Jaune said.  Ren, Nora, and Dearg
looked at him askance.  Pyrrha actually giggled.
“In other words, Yang put liver in his food,” Dearg said.  “Soup or sandwich?”
“Both,” Nora said, smiling.  “To make sure he gets better as soon as possible.”
“Nora wanted to spoon-feed him,” Jaune said.  “Took an hour to talk her out of
it.”
“Mm-hm,” Dearg said, looking him up and down.  He had deep circles under his
eyes.  Eyes that looked like they were having trouble staying open.  “Your
lunch looks a little light on sugar and vitamins.  Want me to grab some fruit
from the kitchen, Ren?  Maybe another glass of milk?”
Ren blinked.  “Sure,” he said.  “Thank you.”
“I’ll get it!” Nora said.
“NO!” Dearg said.  “It’ll just bother Ren if you move around a lot.  I’ll get
it.  In fact, Pyrrha why don’t you come with me.  We’ll bring back snacks for
everyone.”
“I could go—”Jaune started.
“Nah, three is too many,” Dearg said.  “You stay here an keep Ren and Nora
company.”
“There’s some donut holes in the pantry!” Nora said.
“You mean you didn’t eat them all at once?” Dearg asked.  “You might learn some
self-restraint yet, Nora!”  She and Pyrrha walked out and into the kitchen. 
Pyrrha went to the pantry.
Whereupon Dearg grabbed her and spun the other redhead around.  Her smile was
gone now.  She was glaring at her.
“You stupid child!” she hissed.
“Dearg—”Pyrrha stared.
 “No.  You listen to me.  When was the last time you fed on someone other than
Jaune?”
“I—”
"WHEN?”
Pyrrha dropped her eyes and answered.  “I fed on Ban. . . a week ago . . .”
“A week . . . A week?” Dearg asked, unable to believe what she was hearing. 
“You . . . what were you thinking?”
“Well what was I supposed to do?” Pyrrha asked.  “Ren was missing.  Nora was
almost comatose with the loss.  Youwere across the ocean . . .”
“Ban would’ve helped you again,” Dearg said.  “So would Sun and Neptune if you
would’ve asked them to.  Feck, Yang and Blake might’ve agreed to it if only to
help you out.  Why didn’t you ask them?  You have a biological need—”
“Screw my biology!” Pyrrha said.  “I never asked to be this way!”
“No, you didn’t,” the Banshee said.  “Neither did Jaune, but he’s more
accepting of what you are than you are yourself.”
“He shouldn’t have to be,” Pyrrha whispered.
“You stupid child,” Dearg said again.  This time it was a harsh whisper.  “Do
you know how lucky you are?  To have a mate, a humanno less, who accepts this? 
Who embraces it?  Look at your parents; they sleep around more than old-school
James Bond.  Do they love each other any less for it?”
“No, but . . .” Pyrrha shuffled.  “I’m not like them. I don’t know why—they
grew up watching Disney and stuff and hearing their teachers and classmates
talk about finding your ‘one and only’ just like me—but I am.  Why?”
Dearg shook her head.  “I’m sorry, Pyrrha.  I can’t answer that.  Beyond saying
the Good Lord made us all special, crazy snowflakes.  I can’t tell you why your
or my or any of our kinds exist anymore than I can tell you why Autism or
Turret’s or Savants exist.  What I can say is that you’re killingJaune.” 
“I tried . . . I tried to space my feedings out,” Pyrrrha whispered.
“Which only made it worse,” Dearg said.  “Pyrrha . . . I don’t get you.  I
really don’t.  Your aunts are all porn starts and escorts.  And they’re lucky! 
Most of your kind end up as street walkers and strippers!  Yet, you have . . .
all these people who care so much about you.  Jaune, Ren, Nora, me, Ban, Sun,
Neptune, Yang, Blake—Feck, I think Ruby and the heiress would help you out if
you asked nicely.”
“Vampires mate for life,” Pyrrha protested.
“And you have a life expectancy of two or three centuries!” Dearg shot back. 
“And you’ll be better looking near the end than I will.”  She paused,
thinking.  “That’s why the heiress is here, isn’t she?  She and Ruby are a
thing now?”
“Maybe,” Pyrrha said.  “They haven’t gone out yet, but they’re open, positively
open, to the idea.”
“Ruby’s a Vampire; she’d better be,” Dearg muttered.  “Pyrrha . . . we’ve
gotten off subject.  When was the last time you fed—off Jaune or anyone?”
Pyrrha looked down.  “A couple of days ago.”
“Which means you’re due for another tonight,” Dearg said.  “Jaune’s off the
menu, and I don’t think Ren is up for it, either.”
“I can’t ask Nora, not right now,” Pyrrha protested.
“Feck yes, you can,” the Banshee corrected her.  “She might say no, but she
won’t take offense to asking.  And if she does turn you down, you can ask me
and Ban for some help.”  Seeing the fight had gone out of the other redhead’s
eyes, she let the matter go.  “Now come on,” she said, “let’s get the others
theirsnacks.”
She and Pyrrha returned with Nora’s beloved donut bites, along apples—golden
delicious—and peaches for Ren and the others.  Dearg resisted the urge to make
a culturally-insensitive joke about immortality.  They also had a glass of milk
for Ren and sodas for everyone else.
The friends were snacking merrily for a few minutes, listening to Dearg discuss
her travels when Nora leaned over to Pyrrha and (sort of) whispered, “I’m happy
to help you out tonight, Pyrrha.”
Blushing, the redhead ducked her head and mumbled a thank you.  Jaune took pity
on his girlfriend/mate and put an arm around her.
 
===============================================================================
            
“Don’t worry, Winter,” Weiss said, praying her sister wouldn’t decide to switch
from calling her to Facetime.  “I’m perfectly safe.
“If you insist,”Winter said.  “I’ll pick you up after school tomorrow, and
we’ll go out to dinner.  Maybe I can get our reservations again.”
“You realize I get out at noon tomorrow?” Weiss asked.  “My schedule’s changed
for exam week.  Are you all right, Winter?”
“I am perfectly fine,”Winter snapped.  “I’ve merely . . . Some unpleasantness
happened while I was in Mantel.  It made me think of you.” An uncomfortable
silence followed; Weiss imagined her sister shuffling her feet like she did
when she was at a loss.  “On second thought, I won’t be able to pick you up,
Weiss.  I won’t get back until at least two.  I’ll send a cab.”
“I could just ask one of my friends to take me home,” Weiss said.  Silence
returned as the women processed the odd statement.  Prior to Pyrrha’s shuttling
Weiss from Ruby’s house to hers, had Weiss everbeen driven around by her
friends?
“Yes, well, I wouldn’t want to impose on them,”Winter said.  “Still, I’ll trust
you to decide what to do.  Study well, and I’ll see you tomorrow.  Good night,
Weiss.”
“Good night,” Weiss said, and the two hung up. She wondered what had her sister
so concerned.  Normally, Winter came in two “modes:”  there was the over-
protective exploding bomb she had encountered on Saturday—That was what, two
days ago?  How much had her life changed in the course of three days—when she’d
failed to show up the night before, and then the was the calm, collected
business woman she sought to emulate.  But, in that phone call, Winter had been
neither woman.  She’d been concerned, yes, but without the anger and with a
sense of urgency.  Weiss had been too confused feel guilty about not telling
her sister she and the “study party” had changed locations from Pyrrha’s home
to Nora’s.
Honestly, Winter’s concern had reminded her of Ruby.  Not exactly a comparison
the heiress wanted to make, given how the Vampiress made her feel.  Still . . .
Weiss walked back into the living room from the hall she’d ducked into the take
Winter’s call.  In the Valkyrie’s living room, her assembled friends were
studying again.  Or at least trying to.  It was hard when a recently rescued
friend was recovering from being imprisoned (and possibly more) by a team of
well-trained genocidal maniacs.
In her opinion, it didn’t help that Mrs. Valkyrie was sitting at the table,
cleaning the family’s entire firearms collection.  Weiss didn’t know much about
weapon laws, but she was fairly certain that it was illegal to own some of
those items, even for an ex-soldier and an police-officer-turned-private-
detective.  Shotguns, machine guns, over-sized monstrosities that were probably
sniper rifles, far too many handguns to count, and a collection of very large
knives.  Plus a modest supply of tasers and batons.  Surely, the sheer numberof
killing and/or maiming utensils should have violated some law.
Weiss wasn’t a fool; she could see that this was for her benefit.  The woman at
the table was staring at her as she cleaned the weapons, and every time she
finished one, she just happened to point it in Weiss’ direction as she examined
it.  After looking up to see a gun pointed at her for the fourth or fifth time,
it had lost its impact.  Now, the heiress was getting a little annoyed.
“Why does she hate me so much?” Weiss whispered as she sat back down on the
couch next to Ruby. 
The Vampire shrugged.  “She just doesn’t know you.”
“I’m aware of that, but this seems excessive even for a stranger.”
“She used to be a cop,” Yang muttered.  “She assumes you’re guilty until proven
innocent.”
“That violates American legal principles,” Weiss said.
“That’s what cop shows have taught me,” the blonde countered.
“And we know how accurate television is,” Blake muttered.  “Look at what it did
to Vampires.”
“It’s probably because your—oof!”
Weiss looked up.  Sun was rubbing his side, where Neptune had evidently elbowed
him rather hard. 
"My what?" The heiress asked, sharply.
"Your family," said Sun, looking annoyed at his boyfriend.  "The police aren't
very fond of your father."
Weiss huffed.  She was well aware that a number of charges that had been filed
against her father over the years.  Accusations of civil rights’ violations,
embezzling, fraud, violations of safety standards in products and working
conditions, and accusations of cover-ups accompanied every single one. 
Fredrick Schnee himself and the company as a whole had never been found guilty
of anything in a court of law, just some low to mid-level manager or someone
outside the company, assuming the case wasn’t discredited all together.  Not
that there wasn’t bad press to be dealt with, publicity messes their father
left for Winter to clean up while he quietly directed the legal department in
making the problems in court go away.  Winter told her that these messes
weren’t his fault.  Their father had always acted in the company’s best
interests, she’d insisted, and alwayswithin the law.  Weiss wasn’t entirely
sure.  Even if he was innocent of everything else, she was certain the
accusations of cover-ups were mostly true, if only because there were so many. 
Which meant that if her father wasn’t actively involved in the other crimes
(and the astonishing regularity of those crimes suggested he was), he was at
least aware of them.
“You’re not your father, Weiss,” Ruby whispered, taking her hand.  Weiss looked
up at the girl.  “She’ll see that soon enough.”
“Just don’t try to sneak up on her before that,” Yang said.  “Or after, come to
think of it.”
“Good to see you still remember the paper bag incident,” Dearg said, as she
came back into the room, carrying a tray of sandwiches, drinks, fruit, and
cookies.  “Do you, Sun?”
“Kind of hard to forget,” Yang mumbled.
Simultaneously, Sun whined, “A guy makes one lousy mistake . . .”
Neptune snorted.  “One?  I love you, Sun, but you have made more than one
mistake.”
“Yeah, but I like to think the lousy ones are few and far between.”
“You can ask, Weiss,” Blake said.  “I know you’re curious.”
“I’d hate to ask what Sun considers a ‘lousy’ mistake,” Weiss grumbled, “but I
am curious about this ‘paper bag incident’ you’re all discussing.
“I dared Sun to sneak up on Mrs. Valkyrie with a blown up paper bad and pop it
behind her back,” Yang said.  “She didn’t think it was very funny.”  The
blonde’s expression suggested she thought it was.  Before Weiss or anyone could
comment on the sheer stupidity of that dare, they were reminded of the presence
of the woman herself.
Clack-Clack!
“I don’t hear studying in there!”  Mrs. Valkyrie shouted, holding a freshly-
polished shotgun.
“What is the Law of Identity?” Ruby shouted, picking her math book up again. 
The group got back to studying; Weiss reluctantly picked up one of the
sandwiches Dearg had made. The redhead college student was lounging in the
doorway, smug expression on her face.  The sandwich had been made with thick
slices of honey-glazed ham, the kind the Schnee daughters ate at home.  Weiss’
favorite lunch meat, in fact.    
The heiress was really starting to hate that stupid Banshee.
           
===============================================================================
  
Pyrrha leaned down and kissed Jaune gently.  “Good night, Jaune,” she said.
Jaune smiled.  Once, he had been annoyed, and disturbed, by Pyrrha’s almost
maternal actions, but over time, he’d come to understand why she did this:  to
assure him how much she loved him.  And to remind herself that she wasn’t going
behind his back.  “Good night, Pyrrha.  I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said.  Then she rose from his side and crept out of the
room.  Dressed in a t-shirt and bike shorts, she had the freedom of movement to
sneak over them.  She hoped none of the others were awoken by her actions.  It
was unlikely, given their races.  They were much too polite to ask her about
it, though.  Aside from Weiss, her friends all knew about her nature and its
demands on her body.  But they also knew her personality, and how any comments
about it would have bothered her.  So, they kept their eyes shut and let her
sneak out.  It was an old game amongst their crowd.
Pyrrha crept into Nora and Ren’s room.  The carrot-haired girl was sitting in
bed wearing a bright pink night gown.  She was reading, of all things, her
history text book. 
Who’d have thought she’d be the one to remember they had exams coming up? 
“Hey, Pyrrha,” she chirped, quieter than usual, in deference to the people in
the living room.  She closed the book and set it down beside the bed.
“Nora,” Pyrrha said.  “Ren, why are you still awake?  You need your rest.”
“He wanted to watch,” Nora said.
“Nora, I think after what he went through—” Pyrrha started to say, but was
interrupted by the Creature in question.
“After what I went through . . . I saw some of the worst things people are
capable of.”  Ren was looking down, unable or unwilling to look her in the
eye.  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before raising his head to look
at her face.  “I need to see . . . something beautiful.  Something positive
and, and loving.”
“I’m sorry,” Pyrrha said.  “I’m very sorry.  I, I’ve been hurting my friends a
lot lately.”
“So have I,” Nora said.  “I wasn’t there when you needed me Pyrrha, and Jaune
suffered for it.  Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Pyrrha said.  “If Jaune had gone missing I
wouldn’t have been . . . in the mood either.”  Nora opened her mouth to
protest, but Pyrrha cut her off.  “Nora, you’re not obligated to do anything. 
Our arrangement—all our arrangements,” she said, looking at Ren, “has always
been voluntary.  You’re allowed to turn me down at any time, no questions
asked.  You’re my friend, not my concubine.”
“Right now I am,” Nora said, smiling. Then she got up and walked over to
Pyrrha, hugging her.  “Turn on the pheromones,” she said.
Pyrrha returned the hug, kissing the top of Nora’s head.  “As you wish,” she
said.  Then, she pulled back and began rubbing her hands up and down Nora’s
arms.  At first, nothing happened, then Nora shuddered under her touch.  The
smaller girl gripped her shoulders.  Pyrrha allowed herself to be pulled in for
a kiss.  It was strong, long kiss.  Not a romantic one, but not devoid of
affection either, and it was filled with passion.  Both let out quiet moans
when it broke.  They stared at each other for a moment, before kissing
again—now harder, even more passionately.  They covered each other’s faces with
kisses:  lips, cheeks, and foreheads.  They pulled each other close.  Pyrrha’s
hands began rubbing Nora’s opposite shoulders; Nora’s hands began massaging
Pyrrha’s ribcage. They lifted up the taller girl’s shirt, then slipped under
and made contact with her lover’s skin. 
Pyrrha’s head rolled back, exposing her neck as Nora leaned forward and kissed
it.  Pyrrha’s powers did their work on both girls.  Her pheromones igniting
Nora’s arousal; Nora’s turning her own on.  She gasped as the carrot-head’s
hands slipped up over her stomach to grasp her breasts.  “Hhhhrrrrnnnn . . .”
she groaned as Nora squeezed her bra-less breasts, caressed them with her palms
and fingers.  Tweaked her nipples with her thumbs.  “Oh!  Oh.  Nora . . .”
“Bed,” Nora whispered, somehow making it a question, a plea, and an invitation
all at once.
“Bed,” Pyrrha replied.  She picked the girl up by her waist, pulling her into
another, hungrier kiss.  Nora’s hands slipped down around her waist holding her
close while still keeping her hands under Pyrrha’s shirt.  The redhead sat Nora
down on the bed.  Breaking the kiss, she leaned back and began pulling up
Nora’s night gown, the smaller girl wiggling to let Pyrrha pull it up over her
butt.  As she did this, Pyrrha looked over her lover’s shoulder to Ren.  While
she still had some degree of control over herself, she shot a worried look at
her recovering friend.  Is this still all right?”the look asked.
Ren gave her an easy smile, one that held nothing of the suffering he must’ve
endured over the past couple of weeks.  Yes,he said.  Everything is all right.
Pyrrha smiled, before pulling the night gown over Nora’s head, revealing the
nude girl beneath to the cool air.  Bending down, she kissed her, and
surrendered to her nature.  She became the predator, hungry and eager to devour
her prey.  She became a Succubus.
Pyrrha’s lips pressed against Nora’s harshly, forced her tongue into the girl’s
mouth, sweeping inside it, trying to taste and feel every nook and cranny.  Her
hands gripped the girl under her shoulders, her thumbs gently massaging the
flesh just below Nora’s breasts, teasing her by avoiding the orbs themselves. 
Enjoying the way the girl in question squirmed and moaned beneath her.  Her
species name was Latin for “One Who Lies Beneath,” but that was just medieval,
patriarchal stereotyping.  Succubi were just as proud and fierce as their male
counterparts. Her name, Nikos,was Greek for “Victory,” and she had no intention
of submitting to anyone, save—occasionally—her soulmate, Jaune.
Feeling Nora’s hands bunching up her shirt, trying to remove it despite their
odd angle, Pyrrha pulled back, her libido spiking at the moan of loss the other
girl let out.  She didn’t pause to enjoy her victory, however, grabbing the
offending garment and yanking it over her head, tossing it to the corner of the
room.  Bending over, she slid the bike shorts and panties down to her ankles,
casually kicking free of the last bit of modesty.  The predator smiled as her
prey looked up and whimpered at the sight of her revealed form.  Her prey was
hungry too, eager to be fed upon.  To be, as she’d said, Pyrrha’s concubine.
The predator had no intension of disappointing.
She climbed onto the bed, pushing her prey down and capturing her lips again. 
Nora whimpered into the kiss.  She reached up and returned to Pyrrha’s breasts,
taking advantage of their freedom from the shirt.  She caressed them, kneaded
them.  Twirked her nipples with her thumbs.  Pyrrha groaned and leaned her head
back again.  Nora took advantage of this and pushed up against her.  Leaning
her head down, Nora began kissing the taller girl’s collarbone, continuing to
push up so she could go lower.
Pyrrha obliged and sat back on her knees, drawing Nora up with her and holding
the girl’s head to her breasts.  Nora latched onto her nipple and suckled like
a babe, one hand still caressing the free breast.  Pyrrha moaned at the
treatment her teat was receiving, the gentle pressure and suction from Nora’s
lips, the wetness and warmth of her tongue.  Sadly, her pleasure was not the
priority here.  Breathing deeply to remind herself, taking in the scent of
Nora’s phermones and the wetness between the girl’s thighs, Pyrrha reluctantly
pulled the girl’s head back.  She kissed her lover’s forhead to show her
appreciation, then pushed her down again.
Pyrhha began to return the favor.  She took Nora’s own larger breasts into her
hands, feeling their softness and heaviness aroused a new wave of lust and
hunger within the predator.  Squeezing the orbs within her hands, she began to
lay down kisses on them, on the side, the bottom, the edge, always careful to
avoid the hardened nipples.  Nora put her hands on Pyrrha’s head, tried to
guide her to do what she wanted, but the Succubus was stronger than even her
athletic frame suggested, and this time she would not allow her concubine to
move her.  She kissed and licked at the valley between the orbs, a place
experience had taught her Nora was sensitive, making the girl beneath her
squirm and squeal.  Pyrrha began to pinch the hard nipples, twisting them,
plucking them.  Nora gasped at the erotic pain, tried to form words, but
couldn’t.
The predator knew her prey was ready to be devoured.  Dimly remembering Ren was
watching them, smelling his own arousal at the sight of the two lovely women
loving one another, she released Nora’s right breast and leaned back, allowing
the recovering Gumiho to see what was happening to his mate.  Her hand trailed
down Nora’s stomach, over her the sensitive skin below her waist, then twisted
around to her hip and down her thigh.  Reaching down to squeeze a buttock,
Pyrrha pulled the leg out, exposing the tangled mess of bright orange hairs
between her thighs.  Her eyes zeroed in on the sight below her, the moisture
leaking out of the swelled lips hidden by the nest of curls.  The predator
smiled as she went in for the kill. 
Releasing her prey’s buttock, her hand slid over the thigh once more, then
dipped down to play with that special place.  Her fingers toyed with the
swollen labia, rubbing circles over them, reaching back to scrub the special
piece of flesh atop them with her index finger, making Nora cry out so loudly,
Pyrrha wondered if she woke the others. Only then, did she deign to slip her
finger inside the warm, wet channel.
Nora’s moans continued as Pyrrha pumped her finger in and out of her, twirled
it around in the sweet passage.  Her thumb meanwhile, found Nora’s clit and
teased it.  Her concubine bucked beneath her, but the Succubus held her in
place, still kneading the breast in her hand.  Pleased with the reaction, the
predator slipped a second finger in with the first, pumping both, spreading
them to stretch her prey’s channel, her thumb continuing its work.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!” Nora cried, not yet orgasming; she was just a vocal
lover.  The predator knew this, but she also knew her prey’s death throes
weren’t far away.  Dipping down, she delivered the killing blow: Whilst
slipping a third finger into Nora’s pussy, Pyrrha finally latched her lips
around the girl’s nipple, biting with her teeth and lashing with her tongue.
“EEEEEEEE—”  Nora’s back arched as she let out the first note before her
voice—finally—failed her.  She hung suspended for a moment, before collapsing
on the bed, panting as she rode out the remains of her orgasm.
The predator pulled back and removed her fingers from Nora.  Licking them
clean, she examined her prey, pleased with her work.  The proud, vibrant girl
had been reduced to a gasping, defeated conquest, incapable of anything beyond
panting.  Ignoring the fire between her own thighs, she bent down and spread
Nora’s.  The girl groaned as Pyrrha put her face against her womanhood, smelled
the delicious scent for a moment, before latching onto the other girl’s
opening, intent on claiming all of her delicious juices.  Her tongue lashed
about inside the girl’s used orifice, lapping the liquids within as cat lapped
milk.
 “Sissty—Sissdy . . .” Nora whispered above her, unable to form words.
Pyrrha felt a hand on her shoulder and shrugged it off, looking up from her
meal with fire in her eyes.  Who dared disturb the predator’s feast?
Ren smiled in the face of her anger.  “She’s trying to say ‘69,’” he said.
The Succubus looked back at her prey, who nodded, vigorously, unable to
enunciate her desires.  The fire in her loins asserted itself like a lion’s
roar and Pyrrha almost carelessly stroked her own neatly trimmed mound with a
finger.  She shuddered, her suspicions confirmed.  She smiled at Nora.  Such a
loyal, loving friend.  Such a good, pleasing concubine.
Careful of Ren, she got out of bed, then climbed back in again, swinging her
leg over Nora’s face.  Placing the other one on the mattress, Pyrrha lowered
her lips, both sets, to Nora’s.
Despite her exhaustion, Nora somehow found the strength to grip her friend’s
thighs and pull her closer, thrusting her tongue deeply into her.  Nora licked
vigorously, both out of a desire to please her friend and because of the taste
of Pyrrha’s love juices, so much sweeter than even the best tasting human
woman, not that Nora had much experience with those.  She licked the passage
and the lips, even the short, course hairs that covered the mound.  But mostly,
she drank her partner’s pleasure.
For her part, Pyrrha returned the favor with equal enthusiasm.  She suckled and
licked at Nora’s enflamed labia, meaded her buttocks in her hands, flicked the
girl’s clit and explored her passage with her tongue.  Both sides of Pyrrha
were joined in a united assault.  The predator demanded more sustenance from
her prey; the woman desired to share the pleasure she experienced with her
ma—her lover.
Taking a page from her partner’s book, Nora released one of Pyrrha’s thighs to
slip her fingers into the taller girl’s folds.  Pyrrha felt her climax
approaching, her arousal too high to maintain this state for long.  Deciding to
once again up the ante even further, she paused to lick one of her fingers,
then slowly but firmly used it to pierce Nora’s back hole.
Nora screamed once again, this time into Pyrrha’s womanhood, the vibrations and
pheromones sending the taller girl over the edge as well.  Her knees and elbows
went out, and she collapsed on top of Nora.  She rolled her hips and torso off
Nora, her face still next to Nora’s mound.  Gently this time, she lapped up the
other girl’s fluids, taking the life-giving liquids.  Thankfully, her own
pleasure hadn’t expended all of what she had taken from Nora’s first climax,
but every little bit helped.   
Perhaps to even the score, Nora leaned over and placed a kiss on her womanhood.
Pyrrha moaned a little.  “Thank you, Nora,” she said, when she was finished
with her meal. 
“What are friends for?” Nora asked, tiredly.  “Besides pancakes and birthday
presents?”
“I don’t know,” Pyrrha said.  She lay there for a moment, before sitting up. 
“Feel better, Ren?”
“Much,” he said.  Neither mentioned the massive tent below his blankets or the
scent of his own arousal that mixed with her’s and Nora’s.
“Don’t worry, Ren,” Nora said, snuggling up next to her mate.  “We’ll be making
love again soon,” she said as Ren wrapped his arms around her.
“Good night, Nora.  Ren,” Pyrrha said, getting up and gathering her clothes. 
She felt a hand grab her wrist.
“Stay with us, Pyrrha,” Nora pleaded.
“Sorry, Nora,” the redhead said to the carrot-haired girl, delicately, removing
Nora’s hand.  “But I have my own mate to return to tonight.”
“You know he wouldn’t mind,” Nora said, giving Pyrrha her best kicked-puppy
eyes.
Pyrrha refused to look back at her (now former) concubine.  “I would Nora.  I
would.”
Chapter End Notes
     OK. Well, I guess we all know what Pyrrha is by now. Kudos to
     everyone who guessed it earlier.
     To all my fellow nerds: yes, I stole Pyrrha's line "screw my
     biology!" from LOST GIRL. To a degree, Bo is a sort of template for
     how Pyrrha reacts her nature, and I mean Bo when her nature is making
     a mess of her relationships and hacking away at her self-worth, not
     the times when she's reveling in it. Not that I minded Bo in those
     moments, just that Pyrrha is not now (and may never be) in that
     place. Right now she's heartbroken she can't have a white-picket
     fence, monogamous, classical romance. And, this is one of her better
     days. I'm afraid we're going to see worse before this is done.
     In all fairness, though, being a member of her species isn't all
     cupcakes and happy endings. Dearg wasn't lying, this species' diet
     means a lot of them end up as sex-workers. Pyrrha and her parents
     were lucky to avoid that fate (I may do a one-shot or something to
     show a typical day in Mr. and Mrs. Nikos' lives, just to show how
     much effort and support is needed to be what they are), even if
     Pyrrha doesn't feel particularly blessed.
     I actually have given a lot of thought to how Pyrrha's biology works
     to facilitate her species' needs (spoiler: oral sex isn't their only
     method of feeding). While that will show up later, but I might post
     it here if people ask me. If only because I'm sure someone will
     pester me about how females avoid getting pregnant once or twice a
     year (Pyrrha is her father's biological child), especially before
     birth control.
     This has been an extremely weird lecture to write.
***** Home *****
Chapter Notes
     Here's a question: What does "Home" mean to you?
     WARNING: Lemon in this chapter. Also some light-ish gore and
     references to torture and dehumanization. Enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“You’ll be pleased to know,” Ironwood said, “that Mr. Thrush is still Human. 
The silver seems to have done its work.”
“That’s a relief,” Winter said, sipping her coffee.
“Indeed,” Ironwood said.  “He’s still quite eager to join us.”
“Hmph.  He should go back to his old life,” Winter said.
“Perhaps,” Ironwood said.  “Still, he’s willing to fight, and we have a hard
time finding new recruits for this business.”
Winter held her tongue; she was certain this was a reference to her
unwillingness to let Weiss be recruited.  “I can’t train him.  It’ll be hard to
enough to deal with this Winchester boy without revealing to Weiss what’s going
on.”
“We could arrange for someone else to mentor the boy,” Ironwood said.
The Schnee woman thought it over.  “No,” she said.  “His father asked me. 
Besides, I was the last one to see him alive.  I . . . I owe this to him.
"Very well," Ironwood said.  They'd worked together long enough for him to have
come to trust her judgement.   If Winter thought she could handle the work-
load, she could.  End of story.  "You may go Winter."
"Thank you, sir," she replied.  Exiting his office, she considered strategies
for telling the young Mr. Winchester.  He was Weiss' classmate, which would
make keeping the nature of their interactions a secret from her sister
difficult.  She considered picking the two up together from classes but decided
against it; Winchester would probably ask about Vampires, and that would get
ugly very, very fast.  So she had to find a way to meet the boy alone and deal
with matters.
Winter fished out her cell phone.  She needed to make some calls.
===============================================================================
"Ruby, what’s the difference between Sine and Cosine?” Weiss asked.
“What?” Ruby asked.  “Weiss we just finished the exam!”
“I know!  Just . . . just help me check my score,” the heiress snapped.
“Weiss,” Yang said, in a voice one uses when speaking to someone with their
finger on the detonator.  “You’ve spent what, a week, two weeks, studying for
this exam.  And you’ve got three more days’ worth of tests to take.  Take a
breath girl.”
 Weiss openned her mouth to argue, then closed it.  She took a deep breath and
exhaled.  “Fine,” she said.  “Pyrrha,” she asked, “are you ready?”
Pyrrrha displayed no problems with being treated like a chauffeur “Almost. 
Head over to the car.  I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Good,” the heiress replied.  She turned to go, then stopped.  Turning back to
Ruby, she said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ruby.”
“See you, Princess,” Ruby said, grinning.
“Dolt, stop calling me that,” Weiss whispered, turning so no one would see her
flushing face.  She speed walked to Pyrrha’s car. 
“That girl is weird,” Yang commented.
“Like the rest of us are any better?” Blake snorted.
"I'd better get going," Pyrrha said. She kissed Jaune on the cheek. "I'll call
you later, all right?
"Sure," the blonde boy said, blushing. "See ya."
Pyrrha found Weiss standing next to her car, tapping her feet, "Problem?" the
redhead asked.
"No," Weiss said.   Pyrrha said nothing and let the other girl into her car. 
They drove in silence for a few minutes, before Weiss spoke again.  "My sister
will be home tonight," she said.
"I know," Pyrrha said.
"I still don't know how to tell her about Ruby."
"You mean that you're dating her, not that she's a Vampire," Pyrrha remarked. 
"Right.  How do I . . . come out to her?"
Pyrrha sighed.  "There are people twice your age wondering that question,
Weiss," she said.  "All I can say is . . . don't feel like you have to rush
into it.  This relationship with Ruby is still pretty new.  Why don't you just
focus on exploring it for a while and work out how to tell your sister later?"
"I suppose . . ." Weiss said.  Pyrrha signed.  She knew it wasn't the best
option, but what else could she say?  It wasn't like there was ever a big
question over her sexuality.  Oh, the joys of being a Succubus.
Winter knocked on the door of the apartment.  There was no answer.  At first
all she heard was the noise of traffic on the street, but as she listened, she
heard the sounds of something moving around within the room.  Someone was
approaching the door.  She waited.  Still, there was no answer.  There was no
word spoken.
“Cardin Winchester?” she asked.  “Are you in there?” 
As an answer, she heard the rack! of a shotgun chambering a round. 
Winter grimaced.  “I’m a friend of your father,” she said.
“. . . What’s his name?” the voice said from inside the room.
“Gordon.  Gordon Winchester,” she answered.
Cardin didn’t answer, but the door opened.  The teenager stood in the doorway,
still holding the shotgun, though at least it wasn’t aimed at her.  
"May I come inside?" She asked.
"Can you?" Cardin asked lazily, like this was a ritual he had no interest
in but also no choice in taking part of.
Winter resisted the urge to make a disparaging comment and stepped over the
threshold.  "As a matter of fact, yes, I can."  Not that it meant anything; the
only Vampires who needed invitations to enter were the ones dumb enough to
believe their own myths.
Cardin shrugged and closed the door.  He sat down in the chair, the shotgun
laying across his lap.  “You’re one of my dad’s friends?” he asked.  The boy
was smirking.  “Sorry, lady, but if you think Dad’s interested in a repeat
performance or something, you’d better leave.  Save yourself a let-down.”
Winter blanked for a moment, before the obvious explanation hit her.  Oh.  So,
Gordon Walker had filled the void his wife had left with one-night stands
because starting a real relationship was impossible.  He was too broken up over
the loss of his One True Love, or his life was too dangerous to let himself get
close to someone again.  Yada, yada, yada, typical action-hero alpha-male type
stuff.  The said thing was, her own father was much the same way.  She wondered
if the Scavs encouraged this sort of self-destructive behavior.  By contrast,
Slayers encouraged each other to seek counselling if they lost a loved one,
because kamikazes with nothing to fuel them beyond vengeance tended not to last
very long or accomplish much.  It was one thing to rush bravely into battle; it
was another to have no fear of death because you thought you had nothing to
live for. 
“I’m not . . . our relationship was purely professional,” Winter stated. 
Cardin’s eyes widened, and he looked her up and down.  “Not like that!” she
screeched before she could help herself.   This boy had a one-track mind.  “We
knew each other . . . through your father’s . . . work.”  If she could actually
call it that.
“One of the ‘vampire hunters?’” Cardin asked.  As if the blank stare wasn’t
enough, his tone of voice informed her how unlikely the young man thought that
seemed. 
So, Cardin didn’t share his father’s conviction in the existence of monsters,
then.  Well, this was going to become awkward.  “Not exactly,” she said, which
was the truth.  She wasn’t one of those morons Gordon Winchester had hung
around with. 
Cardin grunted and went to shut the door behind her.  She stopped him.
"No" she said.  "I need you to come with me."  The look on his face suggested
she'd just told a bad joke.  "It's about your father."
===============================================================================
Ruby lay on her bed, a notebook opened in front of her.  She was supposed to be
studying.  She WANTED to be studying.  Instead, she was thinking.  
Ren had been captured and abused by Specialists.  Weiss' sister was a
Specialist.  Weiss' sister had been missing but would soon return today.  Did
Weiss' sister, the white-haired heiress obviously loved and admired, have
something to do with Ren's torture?  Did she know about Nora's family and the
others?  Was everyone Ruby knew in danger?
That was an unpleasant question, but it wasn't the worst one her mind was
asking.  Instead, she wondered if WEISS was in danger.  It was silly, she knew,
but it didn’t change anything.  Ruby had read and been told plenty of stories
over the years of tragic or nearly tragic romances between Humans Creatures. 
Quite a few—most, actually—involved the Human’s own family turning on them. 
So, it was understandable that Ruby be worried about her mate's safety.
Ruby frowned.  That was another problem:  as Yang had pointed out a few nights
ago, she was moving pretty fast in her relationship with Weiss, faster than
Weiss wanted.  As unpleasant as the thought was, Ruby was forced to admit there
was some truth to this statement.  She'd only just barely started dating the
girl, and already she thought of Weiss as her mate.  That was probably not a
good thing.
Ruby clenched her notebook, ignoring the fact that she was ripping the pages. 
Yang didn't understand.  She wasn't a Creature, not really.  Changing eyes,
immunity to Vampirism, and few other oddities aside, the blonde was for all
intents and purposes Human.  She didn't know how strong mating instincts were. 
Probably why she had dated Ren (who, raised by Humans, was just as ignorant),
even though anyone could see he and Nora were made for each other, and Blake
had been pining after the blonde since she'd laid eyes on her.
Ruby snorted, rolling onto her stomach.  Yang’s Human ignorance didn’t stop her
from eagerly reciprocating Blake's advances when the Were had finally worked up
the courage to ask her out.  Ruby blushed, wondering if she was as awkward as
Blake had been when she started going out with Yang.  Or, Pyrrha when she
finally confessed to Jaune after watching the boy bumble around perfectly
oblivious to the Succubus’ obvious interest.  At least Neptune had had the
advantage of self-confidence.
Ruby frowned.  Blake and Pyrrha had both moved slowly when it came to their
human mates.  The first night Yang had gone out with Blake, Ruby had honestly
expected she wouldn't see her sister again until the next morning, and that
Yang would have Blake's bite on her neck.  To her surprise, her sister was back
by midnight, and there was no scent of blood (or anything else) to indicate
Blake had laid claim to her.  At school, the young Vampire had secretly asked
Blake what was going on.  Blake had actually blushed a little before explaining
her reasoning:  since Yang was Human, the Were wanted to give her ample time to
decide whether or not Blake was what she really wanted.  As if Yang had ever
doubted what she wanted.  But there was something else, too.  Even Creatures,
Blake said, could make mistakes about their mates, and Blake wanted to make
sure Yang really was the one for her.
Ruby hadn't understood that statement then, but she'd put it out of her mind a
couple months later when Yang had come home the morning after she'd gone out
with Blake, a fresh bite mark on her neck (which also confirmed that Yang was
immune to Therianthropy as well as Vampirism). 
Ruby had understood Pyrrha’s motivations a little better.  The redhead had
fallen for a full-blooded Human.  At least Yang had been raised among Creatures
and knew a thing or two about what they were really like (though there had been
a few stumbling blocks along the way.  Ruby still remembered the time shortly
before her mother died that Yang had asked her to turn into a bat.  Ruby had
replied that she didn’t know how.  Yang’s solution was to try jumping from
increasingly tall perches before their parents caught them and asked what in
blue blazes they were doing.  Ruby recalled Dad had laughed at the bat thing
and had spent the next two nights on the couch waiting for his mates to stop
glaring at him); Jaune was clueless to the fact that A) monsters were real, and
B) 90% of folklore was wrong. Ruby didn't know what the conversation was like
when Pyrrha had "come out" to him, but she wouldn't be surprised if Jaune had
actually wondered if Pyrrha would suck his soul out with a kiss.
Still, the pair had made it work.  Jaune had accepted Pyrrha for what she was
and all the weirdness that came with it.  If he could do that, then she knew
Weiss could do the same for her, given time.
Time.  Yes, that was what Weiss needed, and time meant space.  Ruby groaned,
burying her head into her pillow.  She had to give Weiss her space until she
was ready to accept Ruby as her mate.  So, until such a time as that, Ruby
would have to watch how she acted around the white-haired girl and try not to
imagine how nice she felt holding Weiss in her arms on prom night.  Or
imagining how the pale, white-haired girl would look like with reflective,
Vampire eyes.  Or what it would be like to fall asleep and wake up cuddling
with her mate like Yang and Blake or Jaune and Pyrrha or Nora and Ren.  Or . .
.
Ruby screamed into her pillow, kicking her legs against the bed in a contained
tantrum.
===============================================================================
"How much trouble is the old man in?" Cardin asked.  Winter couldn't blame him
for his concern; the Slayers had established their headquarters in an office
building for rent that had once been owned by the police. 
"The police had been forced to move their headquarters almost thirty years
ago," Winter explained, parking her car in the back lot.  "The building was
bought by an investment company; they rent it now."  She didn't mention that
the "investment company" was owned by the Slayers.  It allowed them access to a
secure location whenever they needed to establish a presence in the area with
no one the wiser.  And when they weren't needed, the building literally paid
for itself.  "Follow me," she said, getting out of the car.
Cardin did.  If he thought the level of security was too much for an office
building—I.D. card readers, metal detectors, bomb-sniffing dogs out in the
open, and guards wearing anti-stab vests—he didn't comment on any of it. Winter
wondered how he would react if he knew the dogs’ job was to sniff out monsters
rather than bombs, and the reason the guards wore stab-proof vests instead of
bullet-proof ones was because they were more accustomed to enemies slashing at
them with claws than  ones who drew guns and shot them.
The multiple security checkpoints did result in a comment, however.  “Don’t you
think this is a little paranoid?” he asked, as he was ushered through a
reinforced metal door that led into the morgue.  “I mean, don’t you think it’s
hard enough to get in through the front door?  How badly do you think someone’s
going to try to get at a bunch of stiffs?”
“You’d be surprised,” Winter answered.  The door wasn’t actually a relic from
the building’s police days; it was added in when the Slayers renovated the
building.  You couldn’t always be sure a corpse was really a corpse. 
“So where’s my dad?” Cardin asked, bored.
"In here," Winter said, leading the way into the morgue.  "Dr. Merlot?" she
asked.
A gray-haired gentleman looked up from his clipboard.  "Is that the boy?" he
asked, unconcerned.
Winter nodded, and Merlot walked over to a covered slab.             
Cardin swallowed.  "Hey, uh, listen if-ah, well . . ."
Merlot unceremoniously pulled the sheet off the slab. Despite knowing what to
expect, Winter winced at the sight.  The upside was that the coroner hadn't
begun cutting into the dead man's body yet, so it was mostly intact—aside from
the massive head-wound and the severed head.  Merlot was what could generously
be described as "de-sensitized to violence."
"Da-Dad?" Cardin asked, walking around the slab, so he could see his father's
face.  Winter wondered whether she should put a hand on his shoulder or
something, when he turned and vomited.
Merlot frowned at the condition of his floor, but Winter glared at him.  It was
his own fault he had chosen not to disguise the head wound.  Likewise that he
had taken the sheet off the body, revealing the decapitation (a necessity,
sadly; the bullet to his brain had almost certainly killed Gordon
Winchester before he'd completed the transition, but it didn't pay to take
things for granted).
"What . . . ?" Cardin asked, gagging.  "What happened to him?" 
Winter took a breath.  "Vampires," she said. 
"What the fuck?" the boy said.  "Vampires?  Fuck it, that's . . . that's
CRAZY!  My Dad was crazy!  And all those psychos . . ."
"I'm afraid Vampires are quite real, Mr. Winchester," Merlot said, dragging out
a new slab from the cabinet.  It contained the rapidly-decaying body of the
Vampire nest's alpha.  "Look." 
Cardin took one look at the severed, rotting head and promptly turned on his
heel.  "Wait," Winter said, stepping in front of him.  He stopped, looking like
he was contemplating decking her.  Merlot came up behind him and grabbed the
young man by the arm and the shoulder, dragging him back to the slab.  "Be
careful with him, Merlot," she said.
"Look at the teeth, boy," the man said.  "Look at the gums.  Press them!  Press
them!"  Cardin twisted in his hold, the self-defense training his father had
put him through began to assert itself.  The young man tried to kick the older
one in the groin, knee, or shin, stomp on his toes, even head-butt him.  No
matter, what he did, Merlot avoided it, and the young man couldn't break his
steely grip.  He maneuvered the boy's hand out and forced him to press his
finger against the dead bloodsucker's gum. 
"It, it's a tooth!" Cardin gasped in horror.
"It's not a tooth; it's a fang," the doctor said, releasing the boy.  It was
closer to a throw, actually.  "A retractable set of Vampire fangs." 
Winter came up to Cardin.  "Cardin," she said, "You're father.  He was right,
there are monsters out there.  He tried to fight them.  To make the world a
better place for you and for your children."
". . . And my Mom?" the young man asked.  "Was she, was she killed by Vampires
too?"
"I don't know," Winter said.  "Those men your father worked with, they didn't
know anything about what monsters are really like.  They were fools, and a lot
of them were killed fighting things they didn't really know how to fight."
Cardin frowned.  "Will you teach me?  Teach me what Vampires and whatever are
really like?  How do I fight them?"  His eyes became very hard.  "How do I kill
them?"
"I have to be strong now," Cardin finished.  Turning to the body he continued. 
"Yeah, sounds like him.  I promise you Dad, I will be strong.  I'll get strong
enough to kill all those freaks.  Every single one of them."
Winter watched as the innocent boy died, and a new Slayer was born.  No matter
how many times she saw it, it never became any less unpleasant. 
===============================================================================
"Hey, Jaune," Pyrrha said as she stepped through the door to they boy's house.
"Pyrrha, Jaune replied, smiling as she kissed his cheek.
"Where is everyone?" she asked.
"Out," he said.  "Mom's at work, and my sisters are all doing their after-
school stuff.  The usual."
Pyrrha nodded.  Jaune was often home alone, though that was often convenient
for them.  The pair retired to Jaune's room to study for the next day's exam.
Sitting on the bed, the couple poured over their notes and munched in snacks.
 Pyrrha didn't pay much attention to it at first, until she noticed Jaune
wasn't eating a candy bar.  It was a protein bar, and he was on his second.
"Jaune," she asked.  "Are you all right?"
Her mate gave her a funny look, before he saw where her eyes were focused.
 "Yeah, I've mostly recovered, I think.  Just trying to build up the reserves.
 It'll be a while before Ren's strong enough to be back in rotation, so I gotta
be ready."  He sighed.  "Glad I got a break last night, though.
 Honestly,Pyrrha Thani was a little worried my . . . 'you know' was going to
fall off.  Pyrrha?  Pyrrha?"
The redhead wasn't listening; she was too busy berating herself.  How could she
have been so stupid?  How had she failed to notice what she was doing to Jaune?
 Dearg was right; she had nearly killed her mate.  And she hadn't realized it
until it was nearly too late.  What was wrong with her?  
"I'm sorry, Jaune!" Pyrrha cried, hugging him. "I'm so, so sorry!"
"It's OK," he said, trying to hug back.
"It is NOT OK!" she said, pulling back to glare at him through the tears. 
"Jaune . . . I keep hurting you.  When Ren was gone, I used it as an excuse to
try for a monogamous relationship, and I nearly KILLED you!"
"Yeah, well . . . I was pretty dumb to go along with it.  I should've realized
you needed it too much--"
"How are you all right with this?" Pyrrha screamed.  "How are you . . . Jaune,
why don't you ever complain?  I'm a parasite!  And a slut!  Aren't you hurt? 
Or jealous?  Why don't you say anything?  Why?"  She was so upset, she actually
started hitting the blonde boy in the chest.
"Wooph"  Jaune fell back under the force of the blow.  Thankfully,
all investment Jaune had in his own ego had long ago dried up from hanging out
with (and dating) super-strong girls.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha climbed on top of him.  Normally, this would be a pleasant
experience for both of them.  Right now, less so.  "Are you all right?" she
asked, ripping his shirt open so she could examine his chest.  Again, under
normal circumstances, this would mean things were going pretty well for the
pair.
"I'm fine," he said, trying to hide the whince as he got up.
"I can see a bruise forming," Pyrrha said.
"Does that ever bother you?" Jaune asked.
"What?"
"You asked if what you are bothers me.  Pyrrha . . . does it ever bother you
that I'm just human?"  Jaune waved a hand over himself.  "I'm not as strong as
you, or as tough.  I'll age faster, so by the time you've hit the Succubus
version of middle-age, you'll be a widow . . .  Doesn't that bother you?"
"No, of course not!  I . . ."  Pyrrha stopped.  "Yes, Jaune it bothers me.  It
bothers me that you're so fragile, that I can hurt you by accident."  She
gently traced her hand over his chest.  It was so light, so delicate, that
Jaune could hardly feel it, even over the bruise.  "I want to ask you to let
Ruby or Blake turn you, so you'll be tougher and have more vitality.  But . .
."
"But, Vampires mate for life," Jaune.  "And so do some Weres.  It'd just make
things harder for us."
"And even if Blake isn't from a monogamous bloodline . . . she's just healthier
than a normal Human," Pyrrha sighed.  "You could live to be an old Human, but
you'd still have a shorter lifespan than mine."
"Better than being immortal and watching you die," Jaune said softly.
Pyrrha frowned.  "Oh, so I can watch you grow old, but you won't do the same
for me?"
"Oh, I didn't think of that," Jaune said.  Frowning, he thought.  "Of course,
if I go first, you'll die eventually.  If I'm a Vampire, I could live for
hundreds or thousands of years after you've died.  That's not exactly fair, is
it?"
"None of this is fair," Pyrrha said.  She lay her head down on her mate's
chest, careful to avoid the bruise.  She felt his heart beat against her head. 
So strong and steady, for now.
Jaune wrapped his arms around her.  "Pyrrha . . . you asked me if I was hurt or
jealous . . . I was, in the beginning.  It bothered me that you were . . ."
"Sleeping around?" Pyrrha asked. 
"Feeding on other people," Jaune said.  "I felt like I wasn't enough for you,
and I guess I'm not, from a biological point of view I mean.  That was the
other thing:  did you really like me?"  He felt her stiffen in his arms.  "I
mean you can understand it, right?  Why would such a beautiful, smart, popular,
and talented girl want to spend time with a guy like me?" 
Pyrrha forced herself back up right.  "I'm not perfect, Jaune," she said.
He smiled.  "You are to me," he said, then kissed her.  "You're perfect,
Pyrrha, except for one thing."
She sighed.  "I'm biologically programmed for infidelity?" she asked.
"No," he said.  "You hate yourself too much."
"But you said-"
"I said it didbother me, at first.  Then, I saw how much you hated yourself for
it, how much you wished you didn't have to."  He chuckled.  "Then it hit me
that for some bizarre reason, you actually loved me."
"It's no more bizarre than you loving me," she said.
Jaune shook his head.  "No.  I've seen how much the others care about you.  Ren
and Nora.  Dearg and Ban.  And I know you care about them . . . maybe more than
you realize."  Pyrrha opened her mouth to protest.  "I know it's not the same
as what you feel for me, but you do care about them.  They're not just . . . I
don't know meals?  Conquests?"  Jaune looked Pyrrha in the eyes.  "You're not a
parasite, Pyrrha.  And you're not a slut.  You're a girl who is loved by so
many and loves so much back it hurts.  And you're the girl I want to spend the
rest of my life with."
"Wha-?"  It wasn't the most articulate of sounds, but Pyrrha had no idea how to
accurately convey her feelings.  She knew that was how Jaune felt about her and
that felt the same way in return, but this was the first time either one of
them had said it so . . . bluntly.
Jaune scratched the back of his head.  "Listen, Pyrrha, we've been 'dating' or
whatever for about a year now, acting like normal teenagers.  But the thing is
. . . we're not a normal couple.  The other night . . . what happened with Ren,
it made me realize how fragile life is, even for superhuman Creatures."  Pyrrha
frowned a little at his description.  Jaune continued speaking as he reached
over to the desk beside his bed. "And I realized . . . no mater how careful we
are, things can still happen.  Bad things.  And, well . . ."  Jaune opened the
drawer and took something out. "I'm tired of trying to act like we're normal,
like there's nothing special about you or our relationship."  IN his hands, he
held a small, black box out of his pocket.  He opened it to reveal a plain,
gold ring.
"Pyrrha, will you marry me?"
A moment passed.  Then a second.  Pyrrha could only stare at the gold circlet
within the box.
"Pyrrha?"  Jaune asked.  "Are you OK?  Oh, no!  I'm supposed to be kneeling,
aren't I?  Crap!  I can't believe I forgot to kneel!  I knew I should have
practiced this.  Bad enough I'm using Dad's ring . . ."  Jaune kept babbling as
he tried to crawl off the bed.
He stopped when Pyrrha's arm snaked out and locked his own in a vice-like
grip.  "Your Dad's ring?  that's your father's ring?" Pyrrha asked.
Jaune looked as though he wished a hole would open up in the bed and swallow
him.  "I got it after he died.  I know, it's not much, but  I can't afford a
real diamond.  And I wanted to give you something better than my class ring.  I
should've given you my class ring, shouldn't I?  At least it has a jewel in I--
"
The Blonde stopped babbling as Pyrrha launched her self at him.  Heedless of
his bruised chest she wrapped her arms around him, drawing him in and kissing
as hard as she could.  For a moment, neither one could think of anything except
the sensation of lips mashing together in joy and passion.  Finally, the need
for oxygen overcame the desire to express love.  The two pulled back, gasping. 
"Yes," Pyrrha said.  "Yes, of course I'll marry you!"
"Really?" Jaune asked.  "Great!"  He pulled the ring out to slip it on her
finger.
"Not yet!"  Pyrrha laughed.  "Jaune, I love you, but I don't think your family
is ready for this."
"Oh, yeah," Jaune chuckled.  "Yeah, I guess I should've thought of that.  What
about your's?"
"Succubi, Jaune," she said.  "They're going to be ecstatic."  She leaned in and
kissed him again.
The pair continued kissing.  Pyrrha's hands began to roam over Jaune's chest. 
She stopped when she felt him whince.  "I'm sorry," she said, pulling back.
"Don't be," he said.  "Weshould probably get back to studying.  Three more days
of finals to study for, right?"
"Right," Pyrrha said.  The pair kissed again, shoving their books and notes to
the floor.  "Jaune, are you sure?" she asked. 
"It's been three days," he whispered, as his hands pulled up the t-shirt she
wore.  "You fed last night."  He pulled the shirt over her head.  "And I've had
a few protein bars over the course of the past few days."
As Pyrrha brought her arms down, she decided to quit thinking.  Reaching behind
her back, she undid the clasp of her bra, Jaune helping her slip it off.  The
two embraced again, mashing their bare torsos together as they kissed.  Jaune
began kissing down Pyrrha's jaw.  Down her neck.  The redhead pushed his head
further down, until he came to her breasts.  Jaune kissed a line along the
curve of one until he came to the nipple.  Openning his mouth, he took the peak
in, sucking it hungrily, lashing mercilessly with his tongue.  His hand came up
and cupped her other breast, squeezing  and tugging at the mound of flesh,
thumbing the nipple.
Pyrrha moaned as she held him there, arching her back to give him more access. 
All of a sudden, she yanked him back.  She kissed the startled boy again before
shoving him away.  Unceremoniously, she undid her jeans, forcing the pants and
panties down her legs.  Jaune saw what she was doing and copied her, fumbling
with his jeans to get them off, before Pyrrha grapped the offending pieces of
denim and yanked them away.  Balling them up, she tossed them into the corner.
The Succubus pounced on her prey.  Kneeling between her legs, Pyrrha wrapped
her fingers around his erection.  Licking her lips, she opened her mouth and
licked the lip of the organ, lapping up a drop of precum.  Jaune groaned,
throwing his head back, knowing he was helpless until his beloved was
satisfied.  Strangely. he was reminded of the first time Pyrrha took him into
her mouth.  Behind the school gym, when she'd knelt in front of him and
unzipped his pants to--
Suddenly it became too much effort to walk down memory lane, as Pyrrha in the
present took his cock into her mouth.  Her tongue seemed to wrap around his
shaft like her fingers had as she bobbed her head up and down on him.  those
fingers had now reached down to fondle his balls.  Jaune groaned as the
treatment continued.  Pyrrha sucked his manhood deep into her throat, teasing
it with her tongue, while massaging his sack with her hand.  It was too much
for a man to take.  Sensing his end was near, Pyrrha increased suction as he
exploded, flooding her mouth with his warm seed.  Many Human women disliked the
taste of semen, but to a Succubus, it was druglike.  The redhead eagerly drank
it, tonguing Jaune's glands to ensure she got every drop.
Jaune himself groaned slightly as he impotently twitched on the sheets. 
Satisfied with herself, Pyrrha released his semi-erect manhood, crawling up his
body in painfully slow motion, letting him feel her breasts drag against his
flesh, pressing her own dripping sex against his own.  Jaune groaned again, and
Pyrrha captured his mouth in a kiss.  Jaune returned the kiss, his tongue
dancing with hers, unconcerned about what had just been in it.  Pyrrha growled
a little, rubbing her body against her mate's to demonstrate her need. 
He pulled away, pushing her onto her back.  Pyrrha smiled and purred, opening
her legs for her mate.  Unlike his Succubus, Jaune leaned down slowly, until he
was face-to-face with the thin, trimmed patch of scarlet hairs.  He kissed it,
earning a mewl of pleasure from his love (sometimes he wondered if Blake was
really the one of feline descent), the he licked up the length of her slit.  
Pyrrha responded by opening her thighs further and pushing her pelvis into his
ministrations.  Jaune kept licking, trying to taste every inch of her pussy: 
both labia, her passage, her clit . . .
"Grrrrrr-owrrrr!"  In a burst of passion, Pyrrha pushed Jaune off her.  The
next thing he knew, he was on his back, and Pyrrha was above him, his once
again erect cock gripped in her hand as she maneuvered it to her opening. 
Pyrrha smiled a feral smile.  "My mate . . ." she hissed, rubbing herself
against his member  then, she sank down onto him.
"Hhh!"  Jaune gasped at the sensations, stil ltneder from his earlier orgasm. 
Pyrrha rode him hard and fast, slamming repeatedly against his groin.  Still,
the sight was certainly worth it:  Pyrrha's hair plastered to her brow by
sweat, her breasts bouncing as she rose up and down, the play of her muscles,
and the way his member disappeared into her pussy.  His hands reached up and
grasped her breasts again.
"Pyrrha made a sound of contentment, covering his hands with her own, making
them squeeze harder, before throwing them off and falling forward, pressing her
body flush with his own.  Now, her breasts were pressed against his chest, her
nipples digging into his flesh, his penis now penetrating her in a new angle. 
The redhead's arms reached out and grapped Jaune by the wrists, pinning them
down. 
"Py-rrha!" Jaune forced out, feeling the end nearing.  Even after a year of
Pyrrha's touch, he could still only last so long.  "I, I love you!"
"Say it again," the Succubus hissed.
"I love you!"
"Again!"
"I LOVE YOU!" 
Jaune jerked his hips as he came, hitting Pyrrha at just the right angle to
finish her as well.  The Succubus threw her head back and howled in triumph. 
She continued to jerk herself on Jaune's cock, pumping long strings of semen
into her womb.  They never bothered with condoms; not only was Pyrrha immune to
human STDs (and unable to carry them), it was ridiculously hard to get a
Succubus pregnant.  Special glands within her channel absorbed her partner's
sexual fluids, drawing them into her system to be converted into nourishment. 
Pyrrha had no clue how hard her mother must have tried to conceive her or how
the woman was so certain Pyrrha was her mate's offspring.
The couple lay spent for a moment.  For Pyrrha, sex with Jaune was always so
much more intense and fulfilling than any other partner; as much as her more
feral side enjoyed rutting with Nora and the others, the passion and closeness
she felt for Jaune eclipsed all that.   She smiled.  Apparently, there was
something girl and Creature agreed on.  Jaune just lay there, recovering his
strength.  Pyrrha let him be, tracing circles on his chest, eventually moving
down to lick the sweat on it.  This drew a groan from the blonde's lips.
"You're insatiable," he muttered.
"I know."  Pyrrha kissed his nipple.  "But remember, you said you love it."
"I guess I did," Jaune said, before rallying his strength and flipping her
over.  A grin tugged at Pyrrha's lips; the Creature was pleased with her mate's
stamina.  She let him guide the pace this time--mostly.  Rather than the rough,
demanding mating fueled by berserk lust, the pair made slow, gentle love. 
Mostly.
===============================================================================
Winter didn't get out immediately after parking her car in the garage. 
Instead, she slumped against her seat.  Driving wasn't the best time to think
heavy thoughts, and right now her thoughts were as weighty as one of those
1,000 lb. trapezoids cartoon characters used to drop on each other. 
First, there was Cardin.  Training the boy would be an intensive, time-
consuming task, but it was necessary, if she didn't train him, he would just
run off on his own and get himself killed.  Or get others killed because he
didn't know what he was doing--like the Scavs.  Besides she had made a promise
to his father, and deathbed promises were hard to break.  Unfortunately, that
would keep her away from Weiss even more often.  Winter thumped her head back
against the headrest.  She didn't like leaving Weiss alone; she missed her
sister.  More importantly, she worried about her.  Winter had spent a small
fortune on self-defense lessons and enthusiastically supporting Weiss' fencing,
all to make sure her younger sister could take care of herself.  It wasn't
enough, though, and Winter knew it.  She had seen too many experienced Slayers
die on missions to know think otherwise.  There was always someone--something--
better.  There were always x-factors you didn't train for.  And there was
always the possibility of an ambush. 
Being good, even being the best wasn't enough to guarantee safety.
There were times when Winter seriously considered indulging in Ironwood's
desire to induct Weiss into the Society of the Slayers.  It would mean
destroying her sister's entire world view, and forcing her into danger, which
was why Winter never considered for very long before quashing the idea.  But
the tempting thing, the single fact that always made the idea come up again and
again, was that joining the society would guarantee that Weiss would never have
to face the danger alone.
Thinking of the Society brought other ideas to mind.  Ironwood had informed her
earlier that one of their containment facilities on the Southside docks had
been hit a couple of nights ago.  It was terrifying; while she was out of town,
far away from her baby sister, monsters had stormed a Society-controlled
building and either killed, hospitalized, or disappeared a couple dozen trained
Slayers.  Not elite members, of course, and the building itself wasn't exactly
on par with headquarters in terms of security, just a secret place where they
could question the Creatures they captured without interference, but that
wasn’t much comfort, especially as the Gumiho they were in the process of
interrogating had apparently been rescued.  Winter wasn't a fool; she knew
"interrogate" meant "torture."  It was one of the more distasteful aspects of
her chosen vocation, but needs must as needs must.  They had nothing to offer
the monsters, and the monsters knew it, so bargaining was out of the question. 
She took some comfort in the fact that the specimen they'd captured must have
been resilient to have resisted them for so long.  Not a lot though; the
thought of enduring the experience for so long was not something she wanted to
dwell on. 
Now, the Creature was free, probably recovering on the flesh of some poor soul,
and the police were poking questions around a warehouse owned by the Slayers. 
The only piece of good news was that the Society's business interests were
masked by layers and layers of shell companies, dummy corporations, and P.O.
boxes registered under false names, so the police wouldn’t be showing up to ask
Winter uncomfortable questions in the morning.  Trying to navigate that
labyrinth was well above their pay grade.  Still, it was an inconvenience; all
this attention meant the Slayers wouldn't be able to use the docks again any
time soon.
Winter got out of the car, too tired to carry her bags in with her; she would
get them in the morning.  Turning off the security system, then re-arming
it once she got inside, she tip-toed through the large house.  Her legs ached
as she climbed the stairs, mentally cursing her family for buying something so
large.  Finally, she reached her destination:  Weiss' room.  Gently, Winter
cracked the door.  Weiss lay in her bed, sound asleep.  Her hair down,
the covers pulled up to her neck (unusual, wasn't she hot?), her baby sister
was the picture of innocence and contentment.  An island of hope and serenity
in a world that seemed filled with nothing but despair and darkness.  Winter
gently crept up to her.  For a moment, she contemplated pulling down the
covers, at least to expose Weiss' neck . . .
But she couldn't; Weiss looked too comfortable.  Winter bent down and kissed
her sister's forehead, like a mother kissing her child.  She promised she would
find time for her and Weiss.  She wanted it, craved it, and her sister deserved
it.  The poor thing already had enough to deal with between a dead mother and
an absent father.  "I love you, Weiss," she whispered, hoping the girl would
always know that much at least.  
Chapter End Notes
     So you like it? I originally planned to have Winter and Weiss talk to
     each other (each one lying about what really happened over the
     weekend), but then I went and wrote this scene instead, and it was
     too precious for me to replace. So, the lying will come later. I also
     considered having Winter find the bite scar on Weiss' neck and going
     nuts, but it still feels a little early for that sort of thing. For
     now, let the sister's enjoy their ignorance of each other's
     activities. The truth (and the pain) will come later.
     I'm sure some of you are wondering why I'm now referring to Pyrrha as
     a Succubus, when I made a big deal of keeping it a secret in the last
     chapter. Short version is: it's way too awkward, and I can still
     build a fun scene involving Weiss finding out about it, so I went
     back and changed it in the last chapter. Kudos to Slut_for_Roses for
     figuring it out.
     More new Characters! When will it Stop? I actually had no intention
     of making the survivor of the Scavs a member of Team CRDL; he was
     originally supposed to be a wholly original character, but I had a
     better idea. I admit I never played GRIMM ECLYPSE, so I'm just spit-
     balling what Merlot's like based on what other fanfic writers have
     written about him. He actually does have a fairly significant part to
     play in one or more of the sequels I have planned.
     Admissions of Theft: Yes, I stole Merlot's lines about Vampire teeth
     from Season 2, Episode 3 of SUPERNATURAL, "Bloodlust." It was
     actually the first episode of the show I ever saw, and the line
     (along with the unique depiction of Vampire fangs) left an impression
     on me. I also stole the phrase "berserk lust" from THE DRESDEN FILES,
     book 5: BLOOD LINES. It's just a fun phrase. Finally, I took "anti-
     stab vest" from PRIMEVAL, according to Wikipedia, their called "stab-
     proof vests" or just "stab vests." I just liked the phrase (and how
     the one Danny wore was concealable and looked more like chainmail,
     but that's another story). For those wondering why the Slayers don't
     just wear Kevlar and have protection from guns and claws: bullet-
     proof vests are designed to stop blunt damage coming from objects
     without much density and limited propulsion (like a lead bullet fired
     from a gun); they don't protect you from sharp objects being shoved
     into you with continuous pressure (like a steel knife held in a
     person's hand).
***** A Return to Normalcy *****
Chapter Notes
     "Return to Normalcy" was a speech made by President Warren G.
     Harding, calling for a return to pre-war society post-World War I. I
     hope I don't need to explain how that worked out.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Winter didn't unload her car that morning. Although the elder Schnee daughter
was accustomed to working long nights, she was still human and needed sleep. As
a result, she slept in and had to hurry to get Weiss to school on time for her
exam. "I'm sorry, Weiss," she said, for the third time that drive.
"It’s all right," Weiss said, yet again.  "How did your meeting go?"
Winter looked both ways at the stop sign, gaining herself a few seconds to
think it over.  How do you tell your innocent younger sister you successfully
terminated a nest of Vampires, saw a man kill himself, told his son that news,
and then watched his son swear vengeance?  All while you were supposedly on a
business trip?  “It was all right.”
“That’s nice,” her sister responded.
===============================================================================
"How was your weekend?" Winter asked.
Weiss struggled with the question.  How do you tell your rational older sister
you spent three days hanging out with a Vampire, a Were, a Nix, Whatever Pyrrha
Was, and a Black Dog; then joined them on a rescue mission to save their Gumiho
friend, only to discover he'd already been rescued by her friends' parents; and
finally, spent the last day under the loaded gaze (literally) of the Gumiho's
ex-cop adopted mother?  And on top of that saw how close your Vampire
girlfriend is to an older, prettier Banshee?  "Pretty well.  I hope we can do
it again over the summer."
Winter smiled.  "Wonderful. I'm glad to see you coming out of your shell,
Weiss.  I was worried for a while . . ."  She paused.  "Weiss, I'm not sure how
to tell you this, but . . . Do you know a boy named Cardin Winchester?"
Weiss' eyes narrowed.  "I do."
"His father died over the weekend," Winter said.
"Oh, that's terrible," Weiss said.  She'd spent the past few days in the
presence of people with strong, loving relationship with their fathers, so-even
though her own was basically a stranger to her, she had an idea of how terrible
losing a parent could be.  Even Cardin deserved some sympathy.
Winter nodded in agreement.  "It is.  Weiss, I . . . I've given him a job at
the company; he's basically going to be my assistant for a while, so he'll
probably be by the house fairly often, all right?"
Weiss grimaced.  Then she reminded herself what Cardin was going through.  She
would force herself to be cordial to him.  It was only decent.
===============================================================================
"Weiss!" Ruby cried, waving her arm as the white-haired girl approached.  The
heiress smiled at the sight.  She’d missed conversing with her new friends
outside the class as she’d done yesterday. 
“Ruby,” she answered, casually, walking over to the assembled group who were
sitting on a bench half in the sun and half out (Ruby, naturally, was in the
shadow).  The Vampiress moved over to let Weiss sit down.  "How are you this
morning?"
The younger girl blushed, swallowing a "better now that you're here" comment. 
"We're good.  Ren's better now, so that's good."  Back on the bench,
the recently recovered Gumiho nodded and raised his free hand in a wave.  The
other was tightly gripped by Nora.
"That's good.  I, uh . . . I hope your recovery is going well, Ren," Weiss
said.  What was the protocol for interacting with a friend who was healing from
an extended period of being tortured?
"Well enough," Ren replied.  "I'm still a little sore, and our parents are
looking for a Creature psychologist to help me deal with everything."
"Oh," Weiss said.  "That's . . . good."
"It is."
"OUT OF MY WAY!"   The entire group turned to watch Cardin Winchester shoving
someone out of his way.  This was par for the course with Cardin, but for two
things.  Firstly, the person he was shoving was one of his "friends," Thrush. 
Secondly, the redhead was scowling worse than anyone had ever seen him before. 
That was saying something.
"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Yang said.
"He's going through a . . . bad time," Weiss said.  The others turned to her. 
"My sister mentioned it on the way here . . . his father died over the
weekend."
"That sucks."
Blake sighed and nodded.  "Agreed."
"He's not the only one who had a bad weekend," Sun said. 
Weiss turned to him.  "What?"
Sun opened his mouth to reply, but Neptune clapped his hand on Sun's shoulder. 
He cast a surreptitious gaze around them before whispering.  "Creature news
flash:  apparently, a nest of rogue Vamps was wiped out over the weekend. 
Looks like SCAV was involved."
"There are those who are blaming Specialists, though," Pyrrha added.  "The nest
was burned to the ashes." 
She and Jaune were holding hands under the table.  Weiss couldn't blame them;
she shuddered at the thought of what those trained, expert killers could do.  A
pair of cool fingers laced between hers and squeezed, and the heiress was too
grateful to blush.
===============================================================================
Winter made it a habit of arriving at school early to snag an open space in the
parking lot before the line began.  Weiss knew this after four years of high
school and so began the walk to her sister’s customary parking spot. 
What was not normal were the sounds following after her.  Stopping, she turned
around and saw Cardin Winchester following after her.  “What are you doing?”
she asked.
Cardin’s scowl deepened.  “Following you.  What does it look like?”
"I can see that," Weiss remarked.  "Why are you following me?"
"Your sister told me to," he replied.
Weiss attempted to understand what he was saying when Winter came up. 
"Weiss!"  Approaching her sister, Winter grimaced.  "I'm sorry I forgot to
mention this earlier, Weiss; we’ll be looking after Cardin for a while.  I'm
sorry to you too, Cardin.  I'm sure this hassle has been annoying."
Cardin shrugged.  "No big deal.  Just tell me where I can dump my stuff."
"Right," Winter said.  "Very well.  Let's go everyone."  With that, she turned
around and led the way back to the car.
Weiss frowned.  She was annoyed that Winter had decided to do this without
saying a word to her.  Cardin was an arrogant, brat and a bully and sharing a
house with him would undoubtedly be less than fun, much less so when Weiss' was
still trying to figure out how to tell her older sister she had a girlfriend
(and was trying to avoid telling Winter that said girlfriend was a Vampire). 
===============================================================================
"What's wrong, Rubes?" Yang asked.
Ruby was sprawled on the couch, trying to read her notebook.  Thankfully, the
couch was pushed up against the wall, at right angles to the windows, thus
sparring her the full force of the afternoon sun.  "Nothing," she said.
"It's Weiss," Blake explained.  "The only time a Creature is this restless is
when she's newly in love with her mate."
"Mate?" Yang asked.  "You sure, Ruby?  Little fast, don't you think?  Even for
a Creature?"
"I've been watching her for four years," Ruby muttered.
"Yeah, and that isn't creepy at all," Yang said.
"I was watching you for two," Blake said, scooting over to her.
"Eh, that's different," Yang said.
”I’m just worried about her sister,” Ruby admitted.  “Weiss is living with a
murderous psycho, and she doesn’t even know it!  And there’s nothing we can do
about it!”
”I wouldn’t worry about it Rubes,” Yang said.  "How much trouble could she be?"
===============================================================================
Winter pulled into the garage.  "Cardin, I'll show you to your room," she said,
unbuckling.  The teen grunted.  "Weiss, will you be all right on your own for a
while?"
"Yes," the heiress replied, trying to keep the disappointment out of her
voice.  How strange that after only a few days, she missed the energetic, vocal
chaos that had filled her study sessions with her friends. 
Winter and Cardin climbed out of the car and strode into the house.  Cardin
marched after her with his backpack in hand.  Had he already brought his things
over?  Then why did he need to be shown his room?  Weiss shrugged the question
off.  It was none of her business.  Maybe Cardin just needed to be alone.  It
was still strange to feel so bad for the bully, but . . .
As she was climbing out of the car, Weiss' eyes landed on her sister's bags
still in the back.  Deciding that since she had nothing aside from her almost-
empty backpack to carry in, she might as well help Winter get her bags in.  Her
sister must have had a worse weekend than Weiss had thought if her bags hadn't
been unpacked and put away yet. 
Weiss grabbed the garment bag first.  Clang! Weiss froze.  Why did her sister's
bag make a metallic sound?  And why was it so heavy?  She debated with herself
for a few moments before pulling the zipper down and peaking inside.  The
clothes within weren't lying flat on the bed of the car.  She lifted the suit
up and froze as she cut her hand on a sharp piece of metal.  Weiss' eyes went
wide.  Yanking the rest of the suit up, she saw two sabers secured within the
bag.  What the heck?she thought.  Since when did Winter bring weapons with her
when she went out of town?   Weiss looked at her hand again.  Real weapons, no
less.  Sharpened. 
What the heck had Winter been doingfor the past few days?
Chapter End Notes
     I’m sorry there isn’t more stuff going on, given how long it took me
     to update, but this is how my mind works. Hopefully, the next chapter
     will come sooner.
***** Surprise *****
Chapter Notes
     Hey, all! I'm back. By the way, I've started a new story (because I'm
     completely insane and don't think three on-going stories plus thesis
     work is quite enough to do!)! It's called DC Barsoom and is a mash-up
     of DC superheroes like Superman and Edgar Rice Burroughs' BARSOOM
     stories (and whatever other sci-fi franchise I want), staring baby
     Clark Kent being sent to Mars to avoid the destruction of Earth,
     where he is adopted by Jor El and Lara and develops superhuman
     abilities because of Mars' lighter gravity. Oh! And everyone's naked
     because that is the number one thing to stick in your mind about the
     BARSOOM stories!
     Also, thanks everyone for 100+ kudos. It makes me feel like I'm
     actually doing something worthwhile here.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Weiss didn’t say anything to Winter about the swords. In fact, she hardly spoke
to her older sister at all that night; Winter was too busy helping Cardin
settle in.  Normally, Weiss would’ve been annoyed that this newcomer was taking
so much of her sister’s attention away from her, but right now she was too
distracted by her own concerns to care. Why had Winter packed actual swords? 
Why had she hidden them?  Did they have something to do with Cardin's sudden
arrival?  With his father's death?
Weiss’ dreams that night were awful.  She dreamed of her sister wielding those
swords, cutting up her friends, ignoring their pleas for mercy.  Weiss was
startled to wakefulness after watching her sister, covered with blood and
wearing a cold, unfeeling expression, lop Ruby’s head off.  The heiress turned
over and looked st the clock.  2:15 a.m.  It was going to be a very long night.
Weiss knew she couldn’t go back to sleep any time soon.  Instead, she decided
to make a snack and study some more.  She only had one exam left after all, and
she wanted to do well on it.  That would take her mind off her fears that her
sister was plotting to murder her friends.
Weiss snuck out of her room and crept down the hall.  She didn’t want to wake
anyone else up.
”Why arent you telling her?”
Weiss stopped.  The voice came from behind the closed door.  There were no
lights on inside the room. It sounded like Cardin.  
”I’m trying to keep all this a secret from her.”  
Weiss’ heart jumped.  That sounded like Winter.
”Why?” Cardin asked  “Isn’t this ‘the family business?’”  The way he spoke told
Weiss he’d heard that phrase many times in his life and had grown to hate it.
”No,” Winter replied.  “It’s the business I do for my family, to make sure
Weiss stays safe and happy.  If she knew what was out there . . .”  
“The monsters,” Cardin said.
”Yes, the monsters.  If Weiss knew about them . . .”
The pair continued talking but Weiss didn’t hear any of it.  She ducted back
into her room and hid under her blankets.  What were they talking about?  Were
they talking about Creatures?  Was Winter a Scav?  A specialist?
===============================================================================
“Weiss, are you all right?” Ruby asked.  
Her girlfriend jumped as the younger girl walked up to her.  One look at her
told Ruby that it wasn't her Vampire stealth abilities that had taken the
heiress by surprise.  No, Weiss looked like she hadn't slept at all last
night.  It was shocking given how much the heiress valued her grades. Her
girlfriend had deep circles under her eyes, and was shaking like a Chihuahua. 
She looked like a light breeze would knock her over.  Or a harsh word would
send her running for the hills.
Weiss didn't speak.  Instead, she threw her arms around Ruby's neck and hugged
her close, completely forgetting Blake's warnings to always keep her neck away
from Ruby's face.
Ruby was so shocked that her instincts kicked in before she realized what they
were doing.  The young Vampiress immediately locked her arms around Weiss'
waist, trapping her in her superhuman grip.  Her fangs descended, but by then,
Ruby's conscious mind was aware of what she was doing and tried to reassert
control of her own body.  The young Vampire was fighting to pull her fangs back
in when she smelled salt.  It confused her for a moment before she also noticed
the wetness against her neck and shoulder. 
Weiss was crying. 
Once again, Ruby succumbed to her instincts.  Her arms tightened their grip,
pulled Weiss even closer to her, and her fangs came back down.  She stood
rooted to the spot; it was all she could do not to run off, to hunt down and
rip to shreds whoever or whatever was making her mate cry.  Despite this, her
right hand came up and gently stroked Weiss' hair, letting Weiss know she
wasn't alone.  That she had a mate who cared for her.
"Ruby?  Is everything OK?" a voice behind her asked.  Ruby reacted immediately,
spinning her head around, her body staying between Weiss and the newcomer.  She
drew back her lips, showing her fangs, and letting out a snarl.  Stay away, she
was saying.  
And Yang got the message, because it was Yang who had spoken.  Yang who stepped
back at her actions.  That was enough to make the young Creature calm down. 
Her own sister was afraid of her . . .
Thankfully, Blake stepped up.  "Calm down, young one," she instructed.  Her
eyes took on a golden tinge, her own inner predator challenging Ruby's. 
Already dealing with her own guilt, the Vampire was no match for her.  She drew
in her fangs, wilting under the Were's look.
"I'm sorry," Ruby whispered.  She missed how Weiss had stopped crying and
had looked up.  Now once again aware of the world around her, she stared
confused at her friends.
"It's OK, Rubes," Yang said.  "Let's go sit down; we got a minute or two to
kill before it's time for the exam."
"Actually, we have about ten minutes," Blake said.
The four moved over to the picnic tables, far away from the milling students. 
Weiss was initially reluctant to speak about what bothered her, but eventually
she broke down.  She told about the swords she'd found in her sister's bag, the
nightmares, and the conversation she'd overheard between her sister and
Cardin.  "My sister's a serial killer," she whispered.  "A racist.  A bigot. 
A, a Nazi!"
"That might be a bit extreme," Blake drawled, though secretly she was glad her
sister-in-law (or custom or whatever)'s prospective mate had taken such a hard
stance against the practices and attitudes of their people's enemies.
"She kills people for being different from her.  What else should I call her?"
Weiss asked.  This was horrible.  Winter was the one who had raised her.  She
was the mother Weiss had never gotten to know.  If she was secretly some kind
of monster . . .
"Does she?" Ruby asked.  "I mean, do we know for sure that she's a Creature
killer?"
"She's hiding swords in her bags, Sis," Yang said.  "I don't see what else she
could've been doing."
"Maybe she's a vigilante," Ruby said.  "And she was talking to Cardin about
gangsters and mass murderers and rapists and stuff."
"That seems like a stretch," Blake said.
"But it's not impossible," Ruby insisted.  Turning to Weiss, she said.  "You
can't just give up on her, Weiss.  She's your sister."
Weiss' heartbeat sped up, as her mind latched onto the thin strand of hope like
a castaway grabbed the rope the sailors still on ship threw down after her. 
"You're right, Ruby," Weiss said.  "We need proof.  What should we do?"
Blake shrugged.  "The easiest thing to do would be to look around the house for
something incrimidating.  Weapons, mission reports, or some such."
"So . . . spy mission, anyone?" Yang asked.  "We go to Weiss' place after
school and snoop around for whatever."
"That's a terrible idea, Yang," Weiss said.
"That's an awesome idea!" Ruby argued.
"Do you have a better one, Weiss?" Blake asked.  "You wouldn't know what to
look for, so you can't look on your own."
Weiss frowned, but admitted to the logic in the statement.  "All right.  We
have five minutes before the exam starts to make a plan.  Any ideas?"
===============================================================================
 The plan four came up with was simple but effective.  Weiss sent a text to her
sister asking to hang out with Ruby and company after the last exam.  Winter
sent back a message that said that was a great idea, in fact, she'd asked Weiss
about it as she'd driven Weiss and Cardin to school.  Weiss realized she'd been
so caught up in her concerns the night before that she'd missed that
conversation.  So, she hurridly sent back a text saying she'd been too
concerned with the last exam to pay attention.  Winter seemed to by it, and
that was that.  She'd be out of the house for a while anyway, needing to take
Cardin shopping for new clothes and such as apparently he and his father had
been living out of suitcases for a while.
"That's pretty sad," Yang said.
"I wonder why they lived like that," Blake mused.
"Who cares?" Ruby asked.  "We can walk around the house without anyone else. 
Let's go look around!"  She was practically bouncing in her seat.  The four
were in Yang's jeep, driving not to lunch but to the Schnee family home.  It
was the first time Weiss had taken anyone to her house, and she was . . .
nervous about it.
"This is your house?" Yang asked as she pulled up to the gates.  "It's a
mansion!"
"No, just big," Weiss said, feeling her cheeks heat up.  She told Yang the code
to the gate, allowing the four to drive up to the front gate.  Once there,
Weiss led them through the house.  It was hard, as Yang and Ruby kept wanting
to stop and sight-see.  Weiss was equal parts frustrated at how easily
distracted they were and strangely proud the sisters were so impressed.  Maybe
she should have brought people here before?  If only she'd been able to
makefriends before now.
Thankfully, they had Blake to keep them all in line, gently pushing the others
along which reminded Weiss they needed to keep going.  At last, they ascended
the stairs and walked down the hall.  Ruby instinctively turned towards Weiss'
room, but Blake grabbed her arm and whispered "not now," and the Vampire
blushed before falling back into line.  The four reached their destination.
"This is Winter's room," Weiss said.  She opened the door, leading the
group in.  "What she we look for?"
Ruby shrugged.  "I don't know.  If she's a scav, I'd expect garlic and silver
bullets and crosses.  I have no idea what to look for if she's a Specialist."
"Secret communication devices, perhaps?" Yang offered.
 "Like a giant computer screen?" Ruby asked.
"Why would anyone need that when they can just use their regular laptop?" Weiss
asked.  "Or her cell phone?"
"Paranoia?" Blake offered.  "To keep you from finding it.  Anyway, why don't
you try to snoop through her computer while we look around the room.
Weiss made a face.  "All right," she said and went to work.
All four young women had their tasks, Ruby going through Winter’s dresser, Yang
checking her medicine cabinet, and Blake looking under the mattress and going
through her closet.  Meanwhile, Weiss sat down in front of her sister's desk,
feeling horrible.  Snooping through her sister's computer?  This was the sort
of thing suspicious parents did to their children.  It was a massive invasion
of privacy.  It was also bizarrely ironic, given how Winter was essentially the
closest thing she knew to a parent.  Snooping her sister's internet history was
also uncomfortable, but as she sat in front of her sister's desk and its
laptop, she knew she'd have to.  If she could only guess the password.  She sat
starring at the little white rectangle.  She knew Winter better than anyone, so
what would her sister use as a password?  Letting out a little laugh, she typed
"weiss" into the box.  That was probably too obvious, but given how close they
were it seemed like something Winter would at least consider--
Her sister's desktop lay open before her. 
Weiss choked.  Her sister loved her so much.  How could she doubt her?  Yes,
Winter had her problems, but she was also the one who'd raised Weiss, who'd
helped instill her sense of integrity and responsibility.  She shouldn't be
doing this.  They should all leave.  Her friends would understand, right? 
"Guys.  You should come see this," Blake said from the closet. 
"What is it?" Yang asked.
"Come see."
The other three walked over to the walk-in structure.  Ruby drifted to Weiss'
side as the heiress swallowed uncomfortably.  It was cramped, but they all fit
in.  And they all saw what Blake had found.  It was an indent in the wall, and
within that indent were weapons.  Swords, guns, knives, ammunition, and more. 
Weiss was no expert, but she was certain at least some of it was illegal to
own. 
There were also cabinets of chemicals.  Blake took a whiff and backed away,
despite the seal on the bottles.  "Sulphate," she whispered, a hiss.
Yang grabbed her and dragged the dark-haired girl out.  "That's toxic to
Weres," she said. 
Ruby gripped Weiss' hand, but Weiss didn't feel it.  She didn't feel anything,
except her world shattering around her as the most stable and reliable person
in her life, the foundation that held it all up, was forever broken and lost.
Chapter End Notes
     So . . . yeah, Weiss is having a bad day.
     The weapons come from NBC's GRIMM. Yeah, its a cabinet not a
     cubbyhole in the wall, but you gotta admit it gets the point across.
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