Archive of Our Own

“One day, the moon will call for you, my little pup. And you won’t be able to resist its pull.”

Ruby, so young and incapable of understanding the reality of what it means to be a werewolf, can only stare up at her mother where she lays curled up in the space of her arms. Little globules of warm light float in the air around them like fairies and fireflies, summoned forth by her mother’s magic. A tiny parlor trick used to distract and entertain the children, nothing but a small scale compared to what the witch known as Summer Rose is truly capable of.

Some part of her heart yearns to know what it’s like. To feel the rush of magic flowing through her veins (or… however Summer described it once when Yang asked her what it was like to be a witch).

But all little Ruby is stuck with is a beast that has yet to wake up.

(But oh… the beast is hungry. She doesn’t know how she knows, but she does. An innate feeling in her heart; not quite fear, but not quite excitement either. Some kind of middle ground between the two clashing emotions that will never blend together seamlessly.)

Summer wears a sad expression and if Ruby wasn’t halfway to the realm of sleep, she might’ve asked why her mother looked like that. But alas, the comfort and safety of being in her arms never failed to lull her senses. Her lap is the pup’s favorite place for a nap.

“But don’t be afraid.” Summer brushes a finger down the bridge of her nose, succeeding in making her give up the fight of trying to keep her eyes open. Ruby curls up closer to her with a pleased sound, nuzzling into her chest as her mother swaddles her protectively. “I’ll be here to help you through it, my pup. We all will.”

On the ushering hands of sleep, consciousness starts to fade bit by bit. Like droplets of rain kissing her skin. Like sparks of her mother’s magic whenever she puts on a light show for them.

(Like blood spilling from an open wound. Bit by bit by bit.)

The last thing she hears is an unwavering promise;

“You won’t ever be alone, my rosebud. Not if I can help it.”

…

She hears it.

Fading on the breeze. A distant echo getting farther, getting closer. The push and pull of the ocean waves.

There is an uncomfortable tightness to her skin that makes Ruby scratch at her arm in the hopes of getting rid of an itch she can’t reach no matter how deeply blunt nails sink in. And perhaps some of that discomfort comes from sleeping on a makeshift bed made of hay (the farmer has yet to notice his two new guests that snuck into the barn for the past few nights and Ruby hopes they can get away with it for at least another week before hunger inevitably drives them to their next destination), but it’s… more than that. Deeper. Maddening.

All-consuming.

She can’t reach it. 

She can’t reach it and she hears it, she hears the call and- 

Oh Gods, she can’t reach it, she can’t-

“Ruby?”

She sucks in a sharp breath, (danger, danger, dangerous, defend yourself, protect), spinning on her heel and damn near tripping out of the open window she’s somehow found her way to. She doesn’t even remember climbing up the stacks of hay to get here; she only recalls waking up, restless with a cold sweat, and watching the moon outside. Nothing in between. Ruby’s senses sharpen in the dimness of the room, gifts and boons granted by the wolf, by the moon, by whoever or whatever made her this way. And there, emerging from the shadows- intentional or not? Was she trying to sneak up on her or does it just appear that way? She doesn’t know, she doesn’t know- is her partner.

“Weiss…” Her voice comes out in a croak and Ruby immediately clears her throat afterward, trying again, “Weiss, hey. Ah, sorry. Did I wake you, starshine?”

Weiss isn’t paying attention to her (which is a real shame, she loves the way those beautiful blues soften whenever they land on her). Instead, she focuses on something else. Eyes narrowing slightly as she draws in a slow breath, hitched at the end like she’s desperately coming up for air.

“Weiss?”

“You’re bleeding.” Her partner blinks, and just like that, blue is replaced with deep red and- uh oh. That’s no good. Weiss hasn’t been able to feed in a few weeks now so any whiff of blood, even if it is Ruby’s ‘foul’ one as she so eloquently put it once, comes with the risk of setting her off.

Ruby peeks down at herself and only when she notices the streaks of claw marks on her arm where she had been scratching does it start to hurt now. She hisses between her teeth, taking her red-stained nails away and shaking it out in the hopes of cleaning it that way. Cursing under her breath, “Damn it.”

“Are you okay?” Though there is an obvious concern in her smooth tone, Weiss notably doesn’t leave from where she’s rooted at the edge of the elevated platform. A small space that is probably meant to be a mini attic but makes the perfect stargazing balcony for them.

“I’m fine,” and though, physically, she is (her skin stitches together in a matter of seconds, courtesy of lycanthropic healing), the lie is obvious in the way she turns away from Weiss. 

Facing out the window once more; the vampire was nothing more than a small distraction to the call. The call that she had to answer. So distant, so close; so loud, so faded. 

The beast within, the beast she is, is starting to grow hungrier. Starving for something that a simple meal of flesh and blood from a deer she’s hunted will never quench. 

Repeating more to herself than to Weiss behind her, “I’m fine.”

“...You’re clearly not,” Weiss sighs, hesitating a moment, before Ruby starts to pick up on the faintest sound of footsteps shuffling through the loose strands of hay on the floorboards. 

She senses her presence directly behind her, and though she probably should be expecting it, Ruby still jumps when her partner, her friend, her beloved presses a palm to the center of her back. Tensed muscles flexing tighter, rigid and warlike, but there is nothing for her to release that ever-growing strain within her on. 

“What’s wrong, moonlight?”

Ruby clutches the windowsill to anchor herself, forearms bracing as though ready to either pull her through the gap (leave, leave, outside, answer the call, answer the-) or keep her there for eternity. Should a tornado come, should the world end, should time wear down the rest of the wooden building, this one spot where she is will remain because she’ll make it so. She will endure everything.

She hears it. Feels it in her chest, a tug leading her to… to where? She doesn’t know. They’ve been loosely following it, mostly at her behest and mainly because neither of them have a true destination in mind. They are wanderers. Outcasted and hunted by society for being creatures, for curses forced upon them.

Silver eyes lift to the glimmering moon, glaring. Revering. Angry, dutiful. Why are you doing this to me and Whatever you request, my creator, my Goddess, my mother, it shall be yours, just leave it to me.

Her partner’s hand drifts higher and Ruby isn’t aware that she’s trembling until cool fingers brush the shattered moon marking at the nape of her neck. Like a reset button that makes her heave a sigh, crumbling against her own weight and damn near collapsing to her knees. She crouches instead, still clinging to the wood that creaks and starts to splinter to her nonhuman strength, head bowed.

Weiss doesn’t push. She simply combs through her hair, patient and expectant. Leaving it up to her to answer. And Ruby doesn’t want to let her down. Not her, not Weiss. Never Weiss.

Fading, fading, fading on the breeze. A spiraling echo descending into an endless cavern.

(Closer, closer. Come to me, my child. Come to me.)

She has to answer, she has to answer, she has to-

“Have you ever heard…” Ruby begins in a raspy timbre, not leaving her crouched position, balanced on her toes. But as Weiss stands close to her, she subtly leans her way. For comfort, for companionship. “...about the blood moon?”

“Back in Atlas, there was a brief lesson Winter gave to me and Whitley about it.” The ache in her voice is undeniable, longing for the family she had to leave behind, and just for that, Ruby presses into her more in the vaguest of nuzzles. “It occurs once every few dozen generations. All creatures are affected by it; witches have a harder time controlling their magic, shapeshifters and dragonfolk become more twitchy and restless, vampires are endlessly hungry for that one night no matter how long ago they fed. But none are as affected by it as the werewolves. They-”

“Go feral,” Ruby admits like she is already asking for forgiveness, staring at a moot point of the dust-coated wood. “My mother… She studied the stars and moon constantly after I was born to better understand them. To better understand me. A-And she was looking for… not really a cure, but a sort of preventative. Something that could help me through it when the time came.”

But disaster came before the blood moon; and now, instead of being with the rest of her motley family in their cabin in the woods of Patch, preparing themselves for the inevitable as best as they can…

She is here. In the middle of nowhere with no sense of where dad and Yang are.

And her mother, the one person who was going to help her through it, is dead.

“I take it,” Weiss murmurs, soft and sympathetic, knowing the things Ruby will not say out loud (she connected the dots remarkably fast; so much so, Ruby can’t help but wonder if Weiss somehow saw into her memories or whatnot, but she’s never thought to ask), “the blood moon is any day now.”

“...I can feel it.” Ruby gives up her struggle now, sitting down on the ground as she leans her head into Weiss’s leg. Still at a perfect angle to see the moon from where she is. “Can’t you?”

“No. But I haven’t fed in a while so I can’t tell if the hunger I have is because of that or the approaching lunar cycle.”

She doesn’t understand.

Nobody will understand. Even if she had been at home, they wouldn’t have.

The only ones who will are others who have been touched by the moon like she has.

“I don’t know what to do, Weiss.” Ruby brings her knees up to hug them close, nails unintentionally digging into her skin again to relieve some of that ache. The uncomfortable tingling. The flare has reached its end for the night, but it’s always there. Always there unless she gives into the hunger, the call. Her body feels too small and she’s afraid the wolf will just tear its way out to give itself more room to breathe, to roam, to hunt. “It’s getting worse every day.”

“That… pull you’ve talked to me about,” Weiss lowers herself to sit beside her now, bringing her head into her lap. Ruby is too weak to resist the temptation, closing her eyes and exhaling harshly through her nose as the brushing resumes. So gentle, so pleasant. “Do you think it could be leading you… I don’t know. Somewhere that can help you?”

“I don’t know.” She inhales, angles her head to bury her face into her lap. Soak in her scent. 

Gardenias and loneliness and colorful auroras and snowflakes on her skin and blood upon her tongue and love, love, love. 

Ruby greatly enjoys it, even if she can’t truly understand how half of those things have a smell. She’s learned to stop questioning it so long ago when Yang smelled like flying through the clouds and freedom. 

“I don’t know anything about being a wolf. You’d think after all these years I would learn something.”

The distant echo. The itch underneath her skin. The burn in her chest that she has to get to, to tear out of her, to-

“Well,” Weiss leans down, leaving a kiss on  the side of her temple that works wonders in relaxing her tense muscles, “we can always check it out.”

We.

Any plan they make, it is never I- but we. Us. 

Together.

It brings a fluttering warmth to her stomach. The butterflies must be back. They always come back whenever Weiss does anything.

But…

Ruby tips her head to look up at her, frowning, “What about Menagerie? We’re a few days away from reaching the beach and the pull takes me in a different direction.”

They were just waiting for the right time. Waiting the usual week they do after being chased by hunters because a majority of them give up searching (give up doing their jobs) after a week of not being able to find their quarry. Weiss and Ruby have learned to take advantage of the laziness of humans. 

But now it’s seeming as though that ‘right time’ is going to have to be after the blood moon.

“You’re more important.”

Her heart clenches. Aching, swooning. Lips twitching in the start of a smile. “But what if Whitley’s there?”

What if you can have your thread-bound family again?

The one thing Weiss has been longing for since the moment they encountered each other. To be with her thread-bound again after being separated from them. While Ruby has been searching for Yang, Weiss has been scouring the continents for her brother and sister. Wherever they may be.

The wolves had their packs, but the vampires had their covens. They were not like the lone creatures so many people of the world claimed them to be.

Ruby has learned a lot about the descendants of shadows because of her partner.

She knows just how important it is to Weiss to follow through on any potential lead that may or may not take her to her siblings. Because even the chance of finding them again is more than she could ever hope for.

So it amazes her when Weiss shakes her head, leaning down again to leave a kiss on her nose this time, and proclaims, “He can wait.”

“Weiss…”

Her partner doesn’t let her finish. She cups the side of her cheek and leans down a third instance, this time capturing her lips. Who is Ruby to do anything other than reciprocate? She strains her neck at first to lift her head from her lap before deciding there has to be a better way to do this, sitting up now and leaning into her partner. There is the slightest sting of the vampire’s fangs that prick against her, but Ruby only ever finds the threat of the bite more enticing.

The ache settles in her chest, the itch crawling along her skin, the call of the moon forever trying to capture her attention- but kissing Weiss makes all of it gradually fade away. Not entirely, it’s there on the outskirts of her attention, but it’s nice having something else to concentrate on.

Weiss trails a path down from her lips to her neck, the grip on the front of Ruby’s worn tunic tightening, sharp nails pricking holes into them. Her next ragged exhale carries the rumble of a growl, a low hiss of hunger. Of desire.

And because she’d rather be focusing all of her attention on Weiss and not the pull of the moon or the dread of the impending cycle or the beast’s rising hunger, she does not hesitate to whisper, beg, “Feed.”

They don’t do it often. Only in emergencies if there is absolutely no way to get her partner a meal in the form of a drunkard walking around late at night. Not only because Weiss finds her blood foul, but something about a personal code or whatever. Ruby hardly understands it. Will never know what it’s like to crave the taste of someone’s blood.

Weiss wants her to know she loves her and chooses to be by her side because it’s her choice. Not the hunger’s. Not because Ruby can be a convenient meal however long they stick around with each other.

But whenever she explains it, Ruby always wants to laugh.

Because she knows Weiss loves her. For her and not the blood in her veins.

She shows it every single day they’re together. Even in the littlest of acts.

Even now, especially now, when instead of diving right in to sink her fangs into her neck, Weiss stops herself to ask, “Are you sure?”

Ruby grins. Breathless as she is from their kissing. “I know I don’t taste the greatest, but if we’re going to be following what this pull is, I want you at full strength.” She swallows lightly, certain that Weiss follows the movement of it with her gaze, angling her head just enough to brush her lips at her cheek. Wincing. “I don’t want anything happening to you, starshine. I can’t lose you.”

Weiss exhales despite not needing air, the breath fanning across her already tingling skin and bringing a new kind of goosebumps to her. Anticipation thumping at her heart.

“You won’t,” Weiss mumbles, fingers threading to her hair to grab on and direct her better. “I’m right here.”

And her words are punctuated by the piercing sensation of her fangs. It brings a shiver through her body, the radiating pain overwhelming the itch. Distracting her from it. A groan of gratification escapes her, a blush rising to her cheeks as her eyes flutter shut. Her heart races, races, races.

The beast doesn’t like it. Doesn’t like it when Ruby allows Weiss to feed on her. There’s a deep disapproval that emits from it, wherever it resides in her. A growl that always finds its way out from her chest that comes from it instead of her (that they both ignore). Its mortal enemy, feeding upon its other half. Oh, it hates this.

But Ruby is not the beast so she doesn’t care what it thinks.

When Weiss is done- only a few minutes, never enough to pose any harm to her; Weiss will be damned if she ever drank so much from her to the point where it could hurt her- she pulls back after closing the wound and licks her lips with the tip of her tongue coated in red. And Ruby, only ever following instinct, leans down to kiss her, to chase it into her mouth.

There is something so profound in tasting her own blood from Weiss’s tongue. Something she can never explain or understand.

Maybe one day she’ll get it.

Or maybe it’ll always remain a mystery.

…

The tug takes them in the complete opposite direction. Which is just great after they left a majority of the towns they’ve passed recently by the skin of their teeth. They stick to traveling even deeper into the woods, something they’ve learned not to complain about by now, staying as far away from those civilizations as possible.

It’s not the worst thing in the world, and a majority of the hunters that had been after them have all left by now. 

Growing up in the forests of Patch, Ruby has always had a fond appreciation for nature in general. It was her greatest playground, providing never-ending entertainment when she and Yang could spend hours and hours and hours expelling their energy (between a werewolf and a dragonfolk, they had a lot of energy to use up) by racing each other or seeing who could climb the highest and jump the farthest. They’d go out and collect herbs and pick flowers for their mom, ingredients she’d then use in either cooking food or concocting potions. 

With her magic, Summer would bring the world to life- literally- and strange as it may sound (if Weiss’s looks are anything to go by when she rambles about her childhood), she always gushes about one of her friends being this nice old tree. A real gentleman.

But now, far away from home and her family, Ruby fully understands why some people are so afraid of forests. It’s so easy to get lost and there might be dangers around every corner.

Traversing through the woods, as wonderful as Weiss’s company is, feels so lonely. Without Yang. Without Summer and Tai. Without the friendly trees there to play with her.

This forest is so lifeless.

It makes her long for home so much more, and she has to remind herself that that’s never going to be possible again.

Even if Ruby did ever go back to Patch, the forest would not be there.

The day everything fell apart, the trees burned to the ground with their house. There would be nothing but flatlands and ashes waiting for her there. And the memories, forever taunting her of something she can never have again.

On the first day, they travel through the night because Weiss doesn’t necessarily need to sleep anyway and Ruby is much too keyed up to even think about the idea of rest, so it works for them. Though her partner frequently sends her concerned glances, she keeps her worry relatively to herself as the moon-touched pushes forward, forward, forward. Following that pull, taking her away to who knows where.

The second day is marked by heavy rain, a fierce storm that forces them to find shelter under a tree canopy. Forcing them to stop for a few hours. Ruby hates it the entire time, pacing back and forth like a caged animal where the overhang of leaf foliage keeps them dry.

She’s always hated when it rains. Not only because the wolf does not appreciate getting wet, but also because so much of her life depends on her sense of smell. And pleasant and refreshing as petrichor is, it is like nature’s very own rest button. It wipes away most base smells entirely and Gods save her if she’s trying to track anything.

The rain is part of the reason she lost Yang’s scent so long ago and hasn’t found it since.

So, yeah.

Ruby doesn’t like it when it rains.

…but Weiss does.

It’s a passing glance more than anything else that is her undoing. She peeks to the side on one of her turns, a worn path in the dirt now with how aggressively she’s been pacing, and comes to an absolute pause. Because there is her partner. Standing just at the edge of the overhang, with one of the most peaceful expressions on her face. A hand extended outward to cup the falling rain within her palm, watching it overflow and finish its journey to the forest floor.

She stares. Forgets everything that’s been agitating her. Even the wolf, setting aside its dislike for the vampire, revels in the peace coming from the other girl. The call is drowned out by the song of the storm, the itch soothed by the fresh breeze. And the hunger?

It doesn’t leave, but rather, it’s replaced. By longing, by desire, by need that has nothing to do with transforming or hunting.

“In Atlas,” as though aware she’s looking, Weiss starts speaking, a soft tune nearly drowned out by the rain, “it usually always snowed. That was common. But… There were rare occasions when it was warm enough to rain. I always loved listening to it.” 

Her features take on a more nostalgic shade. Wistful. Reminiscent. 

“Whitley loved the feel of it against his skin. And Winter loved to dance. So every time it rained, we would always go out to the roof of the castle and… play in it. Dance in it.”

Oh.

Ruby shifts her gaze back out to the storm. The thunder in the distance, the way the leaves and branches shake in the wind as though seconds from breaking and flying away, the rapid thump-thump-thump of the raindrops hitting the muddy ground. 

She didn’t have any fond memories of it. Yang hated the rain as much as she did (for a different reason entirely, and some part of Ruby always wondered if her sister was afraid of it because she was a being of fire), so whenever it stormed, they would always huddle together under their blankets and wait for it to pass. It would be even worse if there was thunder and lightning, the flashes of light scaring her sister and the rumbling roar scaring her with its volume. Summer would always create a protective barrier of magic over their home like a dome to at least lessen the ferocity of the weather, and Tai would always make them their favorite meals, fresh and warm for them to eat.

But it’s never too late to make good memories, right?

As such, she makes the executive decision, nodding to herself.

And faces her partner again, extending a hand to her.

Weiss finally peels her gaze away from the rain, peering over at her with a raised brow in question. “What?”

“Do you want to dance?” She tips her head to the side. Indicating outside of their protective canopy.

Weiss chuckles quietly, the sound of it making her stomach clench. A tug in its own right that forces her to shuffle toward her. Closer, closer, closer. It is more intoxicating (and a thousand times more pleasant) than the call of the moon.

“I’ve seen you try to dance, darling,” she shakes her head in amusement, eyes glittering with humor, “you don’t know how to.”

“Hey!” Ruby huffs, smiling despite the fact Weiss giggles at her expense. Undeterred by it as she keeps her offered palm out. “Teach me, then.”

“You hate the rain though.”

“I know,” she clears her throat, fighting back the faint blush threatening to rise as she shyly admits, “but I love it when you’re happy. So, it’s worth it.”

You’re worth it.

Weiss blinks, nonplussed. Amazed that someone would put her needs before their own. So easily, so quickly. Without a moment’s hesitation or a second consideration.

She smiles and it’s the most beautiful thing Ruby has ever seen.

When she accepts the offer, Ruby pulls her close, closer, ever closer until they’re pressed together. Hand-in-hand, chest-to-chest. She has little doubt that Weiss is able to feel the way her heart speeds up just by her touch, her presence.

And as Weiss guides them out of their safe covering and into the downpour, Ruby trembles but it has little to do with her distaste for being wet. Their dance is slow, simple. With only four steps for her to memorize, it is a repetitive thing that makes it easy to adapt to after the third or so iteration.

Yes, she hates being in the rain.

But the look on Weiss’s face as they dance together?

Oh, she will do this forever if that’s what it takes to keep it there.

Whatever it takes.

The rain ends on the dawn of the third day and they spend up to the middle of the afternoon wrapped up in each other in their canopy. Content and at ease.

…At least until the itch starts again and Ruby has to regretfully get them going. They take a small break by evening so she can get a meal for herself and accidentally run into hunters so they take off running. Even forgetting to eat. She is forced to transform when one of them gets too close to Weiss for her liking- rip, rip, tear, protect, devour, kill- and it’s her partner who stops her from finishing the job.

“Ruby, let’s go,” she stands in front of her, preventing her from charging to the unconscious, bleeding body of the hunter who thought they could overpower the two of them, and Weiss frowns at her with a worried expression. “Moonlight, please. Okay, we won. It’s over.”

No.

No, it’s not over.

That person is still alive. She can hear their heartbeat. If they’re alive, they can go after them. Ruby has to stop him, she has to stop him, she has to-

A cold hand presses to the side of her snarling snout, immediately bringing her growl to an end, and Ruby blinks once, twice, multiple times. Only then realizing the position she’s in- crouched and ready to pounce. Past Weiss? At Weiss?

“It’s okay,” Weiss murmurs, soothing, a balm. “It’s okay, we can go. It’s over.”

Ruby remains frozen in place. The fear building in her chest because…

She’s losing control. It was brief, very brief, only a minute at most, but she felt it. The hunger, the rage, the bloodthirst taking over. She clawed at the hunter until he was down and would’ve definitely continued even after that had Weiss not stepped in front of her.

(Closer, my child. Come closer.)

(Oh, how enticing. If I just…)

In a panic, she shifts back. Afraid that it won’t even be possible and greatly relieved when it is. There’s a spike of pain that courses through her and that, too, is a new experience because as long as she’s known, the transformation between wolf and human has never been painful. Though the sight of it may beg to differ, Ruby has always found it… honestly, ticklish. Not pleasant, but not agonizing. An odd thing that just became second nature to her, a source of comfort.

But now…

Now, it’s starting to become painful. The cracking and rearranging of her bones leave behind a throbbing ache that leaves her feeling weak. Uncomfortably sore. And for but a moment, there is that torturous experience, pain to the highest degree-

And that’s why she cries out, falling to her side as her human body returns to her and curling into a fetal position.

“Ruby!”

She has never been more grateful for the fact that Weiss’s hands are always chilly because right now, they are the best form of relief to her heated skin. One presses into her shoulder, and the other, to the top of her head. Ruby grits her teeth to contain the rest of her pain, blinking away the start of tears before they can overtake her, exhaling raggedly as the agony starts to dissipate in rolling waves. (Ocean waves. Push and pull. The moon, the moon is calling, the moon is-) She grunts, nails digging into her biceps, stray twigs and pebbles poking and prodding her body as she shifts against the ground to try and find a more comfortable position.

Oh, the itch is unbearable.

“You told me it didn’t hurt,” Weiss’s voice is hitched with something. Worry? Anger? Betrayal that Ruby apparently lied to her? She doesn’t know. But there is a distinct raspiness present that scalds her. “You told me-”

“It…” Ruby swallows thickly, trembling on the dirt, not knowing where their usual satchels of extra clothes are for her. She licks her dry lips, tries again, the taste of the hunter’s blood clinging to the roof of her mouth, staining her tongue. Horrible. “It didn’t. It didn’t used to.”

“So then, why-”

“I don’t know,” emotions start to choke her up and she curls tighter into herself, nails piercing her own skin to draw blood. Bringing but a sliver of relief for that itch. Tears start to fall as the helplessness of her situation crushes her, “I don’t know, Weiss, I don’t know, I don’t…”

Closer.

Come closer.

You’re almost there.

The wolf within snarls. Agitated and restless. Pressing against the frame of her body from the inside as though testing the strength of its cage. And Ruby just hopes it doesn’t realize just how weak her bones are right now because it’ll surely breakthrough.

The wolf’s resolve is overpowering, and even though all she wants to do is lay there and let Weiss soothe her with her cold hands and loving words, Ruby sniffles and wipes away her tears as she presses her palms into the ground to push herself up. Uncaring of her state of dress (or lack thereof).

“We need to keep going.”

“It can wait, Ruby,” Weiss tries to meet her in the eye but fails, the gaze of the moon-touched fixated on a certain point to the side. Right in the direction they had been going. As she cups the side of her partner’s cheek to try and force that eye contact, she grimaces as Ruby pulls away from her with a grunt. “Sit down. Take a breath, and get dressed. You’re shivering, my dear. It can wait.”

“It can’t!” She snaps, though it is not her intention. The wolf is pushing, pushing more. Any second now and it’ll break free and there’ll be nothing Ruby can do about it. All she can think of to stop it from doing so is trying to appease it. To go in the direction it wants to go so that at least it won’t feel the need to take over to do so. Her bones are brittle and close to snapping and she really can’t go through another transformation right now. “We need to keep going. Now.”

I need to answer the call.

The echo grows. The pull tugging tighter, harsher. A demand rather than a suggestion.

This way, my child. You must come this way.

“At the very least,” Weiss forces the satchel of clothes into her hands, eyes narrowed, the blue gleaming as though on the verge of changing to red, “get dressed.”

Wasting time, wasting time.

Ruby closes her eyelids, exhaling through her nose. Beseeching the wolf for just a few more seconds. That’s all she needs. Only a minute tops to get dressed, to continue her masquerade as a human even though clothes have only ever felt tight and constricting. The clothes Summer made her never felt that way, enchanted to be more comfortable for her, but since then, Ruby’s had to make do with whatever she could steal, find and fix, or buy with what little coin she had.

Thankfully, the beast relents. Annoyed, but it’s always annoyed at her so Ruby has learned to stop trying to make it like her.

From the moment she was born to the day she underwent her first shift and beyond that to now, there has always been a divide between her and it. The girl and the beast. The monster and the human. She doesn’t entirely know what she ever did wrong to it, but then again, she doesn’t know what she could’ve done right instead.

In some ways, she’s learned to sympathize with it. Because no matter what the situation is, it is always the one trapped. She can’t stay in beast form forever before it runs out of energy, so its freedom is always limited.

And here she is.

Able to walk free. To do what she wants. To explore and experience the world first-hand while the wolf has only scraps to feed on.

Ruby is the prison cell and the wolf is the prisoner.

She wouldn’t want to be stuck like that. So its frustration and attitude are understandable.

…but right now, it’s starting to get on her nerves.

She dresses as quickly as she can, the tunic and trousers put on haphazardly and sloppily. But it works and she gets to her feet before Weiss can even offer her the socks and boots. Biting her lip to spark sensation to herself, to ground herself in the present. Giving only a stray glance at the body of the hunter. If no one finds him within the hour, he’ll bleed out.

But that’s not her problem anymore.

The hunter made their decision the second they aimed that crossbow at Weiss.

“Can we go now?”

There’s more Weiss wants to say, she can read it on her face. A displeased expression twisted with concern that’s only increased in the past few days. Because as much as Ruby is out of her element here, Weiss is as well. If not, even worse because she does not have this strange mythical pull that insistently yanks at her being. She has shown no signs of the “endless hunger” that vampires are said to have on the blood moon, or maybe she is just that adept at hiding it and controlling herself.

Either way, the uncertainty of it all doesn’t sit right with her.

Ruby is right there with her, but unlike Weiss, there isn’t anything she can do but follow along.

And hope she doesn’t lead both of them right to their deaths.

“Fine.”

They continue. Leaving behind the shredded pieces of Ruby’s previous outfit and the bleeding-out hunter.

Forward, forward, forward.

The environment starts to change near the end of the fourth day of travel. From lush, sprawling forest lands to a rugged mountainous region. They come up to the very bottom of the mountain that is littered with fallen boulders and patches of flowers capable of not only surviving in this environment, but thriving. With the trees far at the back, the open space provides plenty of room for the moon to reach them.

“Ruby?” She jumps- growing increasingly twitchy as the hours wear on- as Weiss’s fingers brush against hers at her side. She peeks at her partner but is drawn toward the rock face again, eyeing it upward until she has to crane her neck back uncomfortably. Unable to see the top. “Where to now?”

Ruby pushes a finger into the stone in front of them, frowning. “Forward.”

It’s always forward now.

“Seriously?” Weiss sends her a deadpan look, and despite it all, it makes her grin mischievously.

“Afraid of climbing, starshine?”

“No, but…” Weiss trails off abruptly, head snapping to the side, and she doesn’t continue afterward. Simply staring at… whatever it is that caught her attention. Ruby is much too distracted by the call to truly focus on her surroundings (a dangerous thing, she knows. But she can’t help it). 

“What?” She murmurs, shifting her weight to the other leg because they’ve been standing still for far too long now.

“Something is…” She better faces that direction, tilting her head in confusion. A moment passes in silence- before Weiss looks a different way now. “Something’s cornering us.”

“Hunter?” Ruby spins around with a growl in her chest to the forest behind them, eyes adjusted to the low light of night. In the trees many meters away, she can only detect the slightest of movements. Nothing befitting of hunters. Not the ones that have chased them at least. They are always so loud.

Humans don’t know how to move silently 

“No.” Weiss steps closer to her side, the towering mountain at their backs, the blue becoming red from one blink to the next as her fangs become prominent. Alert, on guard. Ready to fight or flee. “We’re surrounded.”

Her words are proven true when, naught but a heartbeat later, the things tracking them emerge from the forest.

Things.

More than one.

Ruby straightens her back as a group of wolves stalk out from the shadows. Five in total. Much larger than any normal animal, and as she meets the brown eyes of the one at the front, fur taking on a goldish hue underneath the silvery moonlight, she knows there is sentience there. Humanity, hidden beneath the bestial form.

…She’s never met another werewolf before. Let alone five of them.

They stay a respectable distance away, the leader keeping its eyes trained on her- while all the others focus on Weiss.

And oh. Oh, that irritates her.

Ruby curls her lip, revealing her teeth, the burn striking her through the chest as she grabs Weiss (gently, gently, gently) by the elbow and pushes her behind her. Standing between her and the pack, shielding her with her body.

“Mine,” she snarls, instinctively able to speak a language she doesn’t remember learning, but it feels right, fingers curled as her claws reveal themselves. “Don’t look at her.”

Each of the pack members releases their own growls, kneading the ground in anticipation as though dying for a fight, but they are obedient to their leader. And the leader has not given them the signal to charge. So they stew in their hunger to shed a vampire’s blood, the thirst to end the life of a sworn enemy.

“You,” the golden wolf at the front grumbles, and though it is nothing but rumbles and growls, somehow Ruby can understand the speech in it, “are one of us. Yet you bring a Pale One to our sacred land?”

“Traitor!” One of the others, a wolf of black and grey fur, takes a single step forward and Ruby can feel herself bristling. Made even worse when another, white with brown, barks, “Heretic!”

“Bring her forward,” a tan-furred wolf takes more steps forward than the others, peering past Ruby to where the vampire hides behind her, flashing their fangs, “we will cleanse you of her curse.”

“No,” the beast hungers, and for once, Ruby is right there with it if it means defending Weiss, “She is mine. She is my mate and you. Won’t. Touch her!” Her eyes narrow at the tan one, the closest to her. “Back up.”

“Or what?” Another step forward- and it’s too much for her.

Defend her.

She will.

Ruby dives forward, clothes tearing and bones breaking as the transformation takes hold, and the pain is negligent in the presence of anger. Of her desire to protect. With hackles raised and ears flat, the fur along her tail bristling, she snaps at the face of the tan one in a warning. Not enough to bring any harm, just enough to deter it. To force it away. Do not come closer unless you want to fight.

And fight it does.

Though it flinches from her warning bite, it only snarls ferociously before lunging at her with its entire body. Teeth gnash at her neck, her ears, her face and shoulders. It is so different from any other fight she has been in before, only ever against hunters. The growls of the tan one fill her head, bouncing around in her skull and resonating in her bones.

Though it has size to its advantage, Ruby has a purpose. To protect Weiss.

She can not- will not lose.

She refuses.

She throws herself into the fight just as much as the stranger does, ripping chunks of fur out of their haunches and neck. With ferocity unmatched, Ruby pushes forward, forward, forward. Not giving it the chance to escape. She gets her teeth around one of its legs, tugging it back as it tries to get at least some breathing room between them, blood blossoming in her mouth. It gets her in the cheek for that, whirling around so quickly to snap at her face before she can evade it, and she is forced to let it go.

And it’s crazy to her how only a few seconds against another wolf can wear her out more than the hours it can take to fight and escape hunters.

Ruby and the tan wolf stand across from each other, both of them panting. Bleeding in a couple of places, but overall, nothing too severe that they wouldn’t be able to heal from on their own.

If nothing else, that had been only a test of strength. Sizing each other up.

She takes a step to the side where Weiss is, doing her best to always keep herself between her partner and the pack, curling her lip at the tan one and giving it another chance to back away. Standing tall, ears perked and tail high in the air. Towering over it in dominance.

It doesn’t take the offer she gives it, crouching as though prepared to leap back into it now that it caught its breath, but a deep bark from the leader causes both of them to freeze, “Agate, enough!”

The tan wolf- Agate- flattens their ears, irked, but gives in. Agate huffs at her, licking their jaw to clean off the blood from their teeth and mouth, before pacing back to their original place with the rest of the pack. The one next to them sniffs at their body as though checking in with them, and they nod once.

A palm presses into her side, causing Ruby to lean into it. And even without needing to talk, she knows Weiss is asking her Are you okay? It would make her smile if she could, but all she settles on is tilting her head in her direction and bumping her snout into her chest with a small whine.

“Why have you come, outsider?” The leader eyes her warily now, though most of the outward aggression from them has vanished. Even if the rest of the pack remains cautious, never taking their eyes off of where Weiss is behind Ruby, the leader themself is starting to grow more relaxed. (Like Agate’s attack had been nothing more than a test.) “From which pack do you hail from?”

Part of Ruby- No… part of the beast doesn’t want to answer. Still on edge, still enraged, still protective. It only wants to fight, even if Ruby knows the best thing to do now is answer the basic questions given to her.

If it weren’t for Weiss subtly petting her shoulder, constantly reminding her that she was there, grounding her to herself, Ruby would have let the beast run free to do as it wishes. But she can’t.

She won’t.

“From no pack. I’ve never had one.” Somewhat of a lie. She had a pack- but it was not one of werewolves. There were two dragonfolks. A witch. And her. Family. But something tells her the leader wouldn’t consider that an official pack. “We are travelers. Our goal is Menagerie.”

“And Menagerie,” the leader tips their head to the side, back the way they came from, “is that way. You are far off from your goal.”

“I know. I know, but…” Ruby’s ears droop as she lifts her gaze back to the mountain. Indicatively. Back again with a whine escaping her. “I have heard the call. And it’s led me here.”

“Ah.” Understanding dawns on their face now and the golden wolf bows their head. “I see.”

“Do you know why?” She takes a step toward them, helpless. Confused. Afraid, afraid, afraid. “Please. I-I don’t understand any of this.”

“This is your first blood moon, is it?”

“Aye.”

“Well, for starters, the pull has brought you to us. And you’ve found us.”

“Huh?”

The gold one peeks at Weiss and back again, expelling a heavy sigh. Quiet for a few moments, contemplative. As though debating something within themself.

Eventually, they give another nod.

And start to shrink.

Right before her eyes, she gets to see what a transformation is like from an outsider’s point of view. Now she’s starting to understand why Weiss never fails to ask if it hurts- because fuck does it look like it. There is violence in the way the body rearranges itself. The way the fur recedes into the skin, the way the skull reshapes itself from wolf to human, the way the ears and the tail vanish into the body. Until only a woman remains. Long golden hair falling down their back in waves, so reminiscent of Yang’s (sending a pang of longing through her heart).

She wears animal skin and pelts as clothing and it’s a wonder to Ruby how that could survive the transformation.

“My name is Citrine. I- along with my brother, Topaz- am the leader of the pack that resides here in the mountains of Mistral. You are?”

Ruby expels a breath of relief, content with knowing it won’t come down to another fight at the very least. She shifts in place, glancing back at Weiss as though asking for permission. Is it okay? Is it safe?

Though Weiss still looks rather nervous in the presence of so many werewolves, she gives a nod.

She does not hesitate reverting back to herself-

And immediately regrets it.

The closer the blood moon approaches, the more painful the transition back to human becomes. At least to her, so unused to it. Ruby clenches her teeth to attempt to keep in her cry of pain, coming out in an agonized snarl that has her doubling over on her hands and knees. Weiss crouches beside her, resting her palm at the center of her spine in an attempt to ease her suffering. If only a little bit.

She groans, deep and guttural, hanging her head as she pants for air once it is complete.

It takes everything within her not to fall into a puddle of tears in front of these wolves. Perhaps it’s her pride that forces her to keep it together despite it all.

“Hmm,” Citrine lets out an inquisitive hum, scanning her. “You claim this is your first blood moon, child?”

Child. It pricks at her nerves, despite it not coming out in a condescending tone whatsoever, and she calms herself down with a slow inhale.

“Yeah,” she sits back against her heels, accepting the cloak that Weiss throws over her to cover her, picking at it this way and that just to give herself something to focus on besides the looming pack. Ruby holds one of her hands afterward, giving a comforting squeeze. “It is.”

“And without a pack too.” There’s a mote of sympathy now. Concern. “No wonder Mother Moon called you here. Do not fear, you’ll be safe with us.”

“Mother… Moon?” Ruby furrows her brow. The other wolves grunt at her confusion, an equivalent to a disbelieving scoff, and a flicker of surprise flashes on Citrine’s features.

“Oh my. There is much for you to learn,” the leader takes a step to the side, motioning to the mountain itself. “But first, how about we get to the den? I’ll explain more on the way.”

“...How do we know you won’t attack us?” Weiss speaks up for the first time, and in a reversal of roles, it is her who protectively pushes Ruby behind her now. Like she alone can defend her against an entire pack. (Maybe she can. She’s Weiss after all. There’s nothing she can’t do.)

“Pale One, the invitation wasn’t for you,” Citrine wrinkles her nose, and Ruby presses into her partner from behind, wrapping her arms around her to pull her flush and peer at the leader from over her shoulder.

“I’m not going anywhere without her.”

“You can’t be serious,” the leader gawks at her now, bewildered. Incredulous. “We are offering to help you through the upcoming moon as we have done for generations, to teach you all the knowledge you are clearly lacking about who you are, Mother Moon herself has brought you to us… and you will deny our generosity for a vampire?!”

“She is my mate,” Ruby declares like that alone is enough explanation (and for them, for the wolves, it is). “Where she goes, I go. And if she can’t come, then I won’t either.”

“Ruby…” Weiss mumbles, so low only for her to hear. Looking at her from over her shoulder

And Ruby knows her well enough by now to know what she’s thinking. That maybe Ruby should go with them. Leave her behind. At least until the blood moon passes. Because if these people have answers for her that Weiss doesn’t, then maybe it’s for the best.

But Ruby (and the beast) is selfish, so all she does is hold her partner tighter, insisting, “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

I’m not leaving you alone.

She promised her once. Near the beginning of their partnership, when Ruby found the starving vampire out in the middle of nowhere. Possibly saving her with her blood.

She will keep that promise even if it’s the last thing she does.

So even if that means losing the opportunity to learn about herself, about the beast…

So be it.

“Citrine,” one of the pack members steps forward, having shifted back without any of them noticing. A man with russet hair and piercing green eyes. “I think just this once we can overlook it.”

“Jasper-”

“Mother Moon demands us to help,” he looks over to the two of them, a softening to his shoulders. “We can’t deny her. So we should abide by this girl’s wishes… Or at the very least, let Topaz decide as well?”

Citrine pinches the bridge of her nose. Conflicted. Or perhaps not conflicted at all and steadfast in her resolve not to bring a vampire into their ‘sacred lands.’

But whoever this Mother Moon is to them has a greater hold than Ruby thought.

“Fine. We’ll bring them to the den,” the leader waves a hand aside and those remaining in their wolf forms start racing off in that direction. Scoping out the ground ahead. Meanwhile, Jasper and Citrine remain there. Waiting for the two of them to get up. “I can assure you, Pale One, no harm will come to either of you while you are there.”

Her words and begrudging acceptance makes the boy smile, beaming, and without giving any of them a chance to respond, Citrine starts trailing after the rest of her pack. Grumbling to herself about the vampire.

“There,” Jasper grins, turning on his heel to them and standing taller. “Is that enough to ease your worries?”

“For now,” Weiss huffs, eyeing the man. Distrustful as ever. “What are you?”

Ruby tilts her head, frowning down at her partner. “You saw him, he was a wolf.”

“No. He isn’t.” Weiss focuses on Jasper’s chest, where his heart is. She stays quiet for a minute, listening closely, before red ticks back up to his face. “You are a witch, aren’t you?”

“Sharp hearing, Shadow-cursed.” He taps a finger to one of his ears, the bright smile remaining on his face.

“How do you know?” Ruby’s focus transfers between the two repeatedly. Curious.

“Only witches,” Weiss clarifies with a light swallow, “have three heartbeats in one body. The older, stronger ones can sometimes have five. Maybe even up to seven, or nine, or eleven. But it always starts at three.”

“I am a young Sorcery-born, having found my way here. There are so many mysteries to be discovered, every creature is unique in their own way. With their own beliefs, their own practices.” Jasper holds his fingers together, and this time, his grin takes on an unsettling curl. Not dangerous, per se. But not purely friendly either. “I, like most witches, am a curious being. I like to learn. I like to explore. The world is a fascinating place, if you look in the right direction.”

A witch.

How long has it been since Ruby stood in the presence of a witch?

Too long.

Surreptitiously, she sniffs the air. The wind working in her favor to carry the man’s scent to her.

Dahlias. Curiosity of the world’s mysteries. Ambition to seek out the unachievable. Calla lilies. One life, two lives, three lives. Blood and death and dying. Peonies. Disease and famine. Innocence.

It’s strange. His scent is like that of three different people (with a fourth faded, barely there scent).

It makes her sneeze. Jasper chuckles, a knowing gleam in his eye.

“In any case,” green flicks back to her partner and Ruby holds her just a tad more protectively over it, “we should get going before the pack leaves us behind. They don’t appreciate dawdlers, and I don’t need to give them another reason to go from tolerating me to disliking me. With haste, now.”

“I trust you even less than the wolves.”

Jasper stops immediately but doesn’t turn around.

“But he stood up for us,” Ruby mumbles and Weiss shakes her head.

“A witch only does something for their own gain.” Weiss stands up now, pulling herself away from Ruby’s grasp. The moon-touched scrambles up as well, holding the cloak around herself better, standing as close to her partner as she can. “So, that can only mean he wants something from us. Witches are selfish- there’s a reason every creature fears them.”

“My mom was never like that.”

Weiss sends her a consoling look, squeezing her hand. “Your mother sounds like the one exception.”

And before Ruby can confirm that…

Jasper does.

“She was,” he agrees without turning, one hand going to the back of his neck to massage it. An air of dejection around him now. “Consider this… me repaying a favor I owed her.”

“Wait…” Ruby gasps, stepping forward now (despite how much Weiss tries to stop her). “You knew my mother?”

“Once. I dare say she saved my life.” Jasper peers over his shoulder now to her, vivid green gentle. “You are so much like her, little pup. Protective to a fault. Never change, Ruby Rose.”

“You-”

“Are you all coming or not?” Citrine calls from far ahead. Ruby has to squint to see her in the distance.

“We’ll be there!” Jasper shouts back, waving, grumbling beneath his breath, “So impatient.” He claps his hands together, motioning them along. “Anyway, come now, come now. It’s not far but the path there can get dangerous if you don’t follow the pack. Oh, and-”

He stops a second, angling halfway in her direction, and flicking his wrist to motion to all of her. A glint sparks in his eyes, a glow encompassing his fingers, and all Ruby can do is flinch and attempt to protect herself from whatever magic he’s about to pull.

But for the longest time, nothing happens.

And when she peeks down at herself, it makes more sense.

“Don’t want you catching a cold now,” the witch winks as she inspects the new clothes on her. Created from thin air. “Come on.”

“For the record,” Weiss grunts, fangs sharp like she had been about to charge at him for attempting anything on her. “Don’t use any magic on us without permission. Lest I rip out one of your hearts.”

“Sheesh, so aggressive, Weiss.”

Her partner doesn’t even question him about how he knows her name without having been told it; “You have three, you can survive without one.”

That only makes him cackle in amusement. Continuing down the trail after the wolves.

Ruby sighs once they’re (relatively) alone. Picking at the clothes on her, like the corsets and skirts she used to wear that Summer made her, with a sense of nostalgia. But she shakes it off, going back to her partner because first and foremost, she is what’s most important to her.

Forget the call, forget the beast. Forget the chance to learn more about being a moon-touched. Forget the blood moon.

Only Weiss matters.

“If you’re uncomfortable with this, we don’t have to go, Weiss.”

“We came all this way here,” her partner lifts their hands to her mouth, kissing the back of her knuckles. “And while I don’t trust him or the wolves… If they can give you help and answers that I’m unable to on my own, then we should go with them. Because all I want is for you to get through this moon safely. Once it’s over, we can leave.”

“Okay.” Ruby tugs her closer, bumping their foreheads together briefly and kissing her on the nose. “Thank you.”

Weiss hums, bringing a thumb up to caress her cheek. The skin there, just the slightest shade lighter as it works to heal itself. “Thank you. For protecting me.”

“Of course,” she leans into her palm now, kissing her pulse point and breathing her in deeply. Gardenias. Her favorite scent. “I’ll always protect you no matter what, down to my dying breath.”

The beast will stop at nothing to protect what is hers.

Even if it doesn’t particularly like the vampire, it is inclined to because of Ruby’s emotions.

Weiss rewards her sincerity with a kiss.

“Now,” she murmurs against her lips, smiling, “let’s go find you some answers.”

…

The trek into the mountain range takes the rest of the night. Come dawn, they finally arrive at the den hidden away in the cracks and crevices of the peaks. Extending inward, downward, spanning hundreds- maybe even thousands- of miles in the mountain itself. A large cavern with multiple wayward pathways.

They quickly learn that the pack itself is not just filled with werewolves. There are shapeshifters too. Even a few humans as well, to both of their surprise. Jasper is the only witch- and Weiss is the only vampire.

The wolves make up the majority of the community though. Numbering up to twenty individuals.

Topaz is kinder than Citrine, though he appears more intimidating. Covered in scars from over the generations. Communicating with his sister and Jasper with hand signs and signals and facial expressions, unable to speak. Something about a curse placed upon him by a witch when he was younger (a witch stole his voice; and though Ruby has no idea how it’s even possible to steal something intangible, she doesn’t question it. She’s seen stranger things because of Summer).

“A powerful curse,” Jasper laments with a sigh, wringing his hands out as he sends the second leader an apologetic frown. “I still haven’t found a way to break it. Whoever set it is more powerful than I, unfortunately.”

Thankfully, after a bit of explaining, Topaz agrees that Weiss can stay. At least until the blood moon is over, then they’ll be kicked out (but because they planned on leaving anyway, it works for them).

And considering they’ve been traveling endlessly for the past few days, the rest of their questions wait until both of them have slept. Well, for Ruby. Weiss chooses instead to keep guard over them, humming a gentle tune to help her fall asleep.

She awakens to the sound of her partner talking to someone. Murmuring low in an attempt not to disturb her slumber.

“So you know nothing about… the Schnees in Atlas?”

Ruby keeps her eyes closed, her breaths even. Suspicions confirmed true when it is Jasper who answers her.

“I’m afraid not. I, ah… Atlas is overlooked by a very powerful witch. For the sorcery born to live there or even pass by there, they have to go through them. There are rules and regulations for my kind… Ones I don’t appreciate. I’m a free spirit, I don’t like rules.”

“I see.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“You… wouldn’t happen to be able to trace my threads to my family?”

Again, Jasper responds in a consoling tone, “That’s beyond my bailiwick. My specialty is with the moon-touched. I help them deal with their transformations better, especially around this time. I know very little about your kind since most of them come from Atlas. I try not to step on anybody’s toes. You understand.”

“Begrudgingly so.” The sheer disappointment and crestfallen timbre from her partner urges her to stop pretending now. Ruby stirs, stretching languidly against the bed of moss given to them, her head on Weiss’s lap as a pillow as she rolls onto her back and opens her eyes now. Weiss is already looking down at her, an inkling of peace there that settles her. “Good morning, moonlight. Did you sleep well?”

Before Ruby can respond, the witch snorts, “More like good night. It’s very late by now.”

Weiss shoots him a glare (which only makes him chuckle) but chooses to ignore him. Ruby does the same, nuzzling into her belly to take in more of her scent. “I slept okay. I kept… getting flashes.”

“Flashes of what?”

“I don’t know. It looked like a woman, I think. But I can’t remember.”

“Mother Moon,” Jasper snaps his finger, and at first she thought it was just to get their attention, but as she directs her gaze to him, there are particles of light that bounce around his fingers. Forming shapes that make no sense to her. “She is calling you. Calling all of her children. The moon-touched.”

“Who is… Mother Moon?” Ruby settles down more comfortably against her partner, humming in delight when Weiss casually starts to brush her fingers through her hair.

“She is the Goddess that werewolves worship. Some stories claim she made them, others said she had sympathy for them and gave them their human forms as a better means to control themselves.” With a flick of his wrist, the dancing lights leave the cage of his palm and start to float around the air. Some of them form figures waltzing together, others create the shape of a moon. “Others said she fell in love with a wolf who sang her songs and their offspring are the werewolves; half-human, half-wolf. Hence why another title for werewolves, aside from moon-touched, is Children of the Moon. There are lots of stories here, it would take an eternity to learn them all. More than that, probably.”

“Is she real?”

“Who knows?” Jasper shrugs one shoulder nonchalantly. “Are any of the Gods real? That’s up to interpretation and whether or not you’re a believer. Sometimes these stories are made to better help us understand our reality. Though fictional, they may hold a shred of truth somewhere… or perhaps they’re all balderdash.”

“How come I never heard about her?” Ruby frowns. Such a pivotal piece of her existence, never even discussed with her.

“You are… unique,” the witch grimaces, unable to find the right word, “as far as moon-touched go. As you’ve seen, most are born in packs of other werewolves. Those bitten often either die within the first year of possessing the curse or are adopted into their new family. But never before has a wolf been born from the coupling of a dragonfolk and a witch. Most creatures born take after one of their parents with the slight chance of having characteristics of both… but that was not the case with you, little pup.”

Huh.

Ruby did always find it strange why she was the only wolf of the family, but she always chalked it up to… She didn’t know. Chance? Fate? Destiny?

She never gave it more than a moment’s thought. Because that was her family. It didn’t matter that Yang and her dad were dragonfolks. It didn’t matter that Uncle Qrow was a shapeshifter. It didn’t matter that her mom was a witch.

In her eyes, they were just family.

“So, what does this mean?” Weiss utters, keeping them going. Keeping them on track, as she always does. Forever worried about her. “What does this mean for her?”

What am I?

She doesn’t know anymore.

And neither does Jasper. All at once, the light show ends with his next sigh. “I do not know.”

“What do you know?” Weiss scoffs and it makes him sneer.

“Not enough, apparently... That irks me,” his gaze grows distant, jaw clenching. “I hate not knowing things.”

“Well… that’s alright.” Ruby pushes herself up now. Making sure to give Weiss a kiss on the cheek as she always does whenever she wakes up, making up for however much time for affection was lost because she had been asleep. It never fails to make her partner positively melt. “Part of the fun of living is learning and discovering new things, isn’t it? Otherwise, if you have all the answers and know everything about the world, what more is there to do?”

That was Summer’s ideology, at least. While her mother was curious by nature- as every witch is, according to Jasper; possessing a hunger for knowledge that will never be satiated- she hardly acted on it most of the time. She was fine with not knowing the answers to everything, even if it probably would’ve been the easiest thing in the world for her to find said answers.

There is beauty in mystery, little pup, Ruby lets the ache in her chest grow, the beast whining in response to her sorrow, The more unknowable it is, the more beautiful. Never stop asking questions, Ruby. Never stop learning.

She takes the words to heart, living them to the fullest.

It’s why she’s always unafraid of asking questions (even the stupid ones).

“You are correct, I suppose,” Jasper huffs a soft breath, fond. Lost in a memory she is not welcomed to. “In any case, the wolves are having their evening circle if you wish to go join them, Ruby. They’ll be more than happy to include you and explain the plan for tomorrow’s blood moon.”

“To… Tomorrow?” All at once, the blood drains from her face. Her body goes numb and it is only Weiss’s hand idly at her hip that keeps her from floating away from this plane. “The blood moon is tomorrow?”

“Afraid so,” his tone becomes more serious than she’s ever heard it be so far, the mischief he always carries himself with evaporating like the light show he made earlier. The witch tosses a thumb in the direction of the opening of the den they’ve found themselves in for the night. “These wolves know what they’re doing though. They’ve gone through many blood moons before as a pack. You have nothing to worry about.”

A lie.

She has everything to worry about.

“Go,” Weiss pats her a few times, jumpstarting her, and sends her as comforting a smile as she can. “Talk to them. Ask questions, maybe you’ll learn more about yourself.”

“What about you?”

“I still have questions I want to ask,” blue ticks back to Jasper by the exit. “It is not every day we come across a witch.”

“Well, aren’t you curious?” Jasper grins.

“You are a well of knowledge I fully intend to utilize. I won’t get this chance again.”

“Very well.”

“What if someone causes trouble for you?” Ruby squirms where she is, already crouching on her toes in preparation of standing up. The wolf writhes for freedom and the itch is starting to return the longer she stays idle. Motionless. “What if-”

“Then I’ll come find you.” Weiss kisses her on the shoulder, pointing toward the exit. “But I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Now, go. I’ll be here if you need me.”

I’m always going to need you.

Don’t you know that by now?

Instead of saying that, Ruby only gives her a quick peck on the lips before shooting to her feet. Speed-walking out of the den and waving to Jasper on the way, he gives a dramatic mock salute that makes her giggle, and it doesn’t take long for her to turn the corner and come to the main part of the pack’s home.

A large, empty cavern with the ceiling that extends far into the air. There are no buildings, though there is more than enough space for them, and the hustle and bustle of activity that they arrived at has now been reduced to damn near nothing. The other non-werewolf beings have presumably gone to bed for the night, leaving the main space for the actual pack members to sit together.

For one final night.

There is a center campfire that they sit around and various other, smaller ones that sit on the perimeter of the gathered group. The smell of burning herbs is familiar to her as well, sparking yet another memory of home that makes her want to find some way to reverse time. A pacifying scent, working to calm her nerves just as much as the rest of the wolves.

“Ah, we were wondering when you’d awaken.” Citrine notices her first, drawing the eyes of all nineteen other people, and just like that, Ruby is at the center of everyone’s attention. It makes her hesitate at the perimeter of the circle, nervous. Uncertain. Forever an outsider to the pack. “You can sit, child. We were just about to get started.”

“Get started on what?” Ruby finds a lone space between two of the pack members, still sitting relatively on the outside of them. Ruining the perfect circle.

“Every blood moon, we recount our history. And prepare ourselves mentally for what is about to happen to us.” The woman glances at her brother, signaling something that Ruby doesn’t understand. A silent question, perhaps, because Topaz merely nods at her and she gets up. Standing over everybody she begins her tale; “In the ancient days, when the primordial beings that we are descendants of roamed the lands, there was peace. It was a young world, freshly born for the Primordials to fill in with whatever they wished. Witches and humans were the first to be created, hence why all creatures have a human form.

“From there, the witches played with what they could not control. Shapeshifters were the byproducts of their hubris, animals given human characteristics, and eventually, the ability to change into a human as well. As for the humans, they grew cautious. Aware that, compared to the witches with their magical capabilities, they were outmatched. Should it ever come to some sort of conflict, it would be the witches that would win. So, daunted as they were, groups of these humans sought out the Primordials.”

Citrine stops momentarily where she’s at, lingering in front of her. Ruby listens with rapt attention. The first time hearing an origin story of her kind. (Of any kind, really.)

The leader of the pack regards her with shaded amusement.

“Some went to the being of the Sun, believing he would be able to assist them. Others went to the Creator of Shadows despite the warnings. And only a few went to Mother Moon. Each party made their case, begging their chosen Primordial for help. For power that will tip the scales in their favor, just in case the witches ever became too hungry in their quest for knowledge.

“Sun was prideful, he’d always been. Now was no different, so it’s no surprise he turned away those humans. But for those who remained, insisting he should help them, he gave them a test- and of them, only one survived. Sun rewarded that individual for their tenacity… and gave them the ability to don the form of one of his creations; the dragons.”

If only Yang was here, she was perhaps dying to know the story of their origin just as much as Ruby had been.

Ruby would just have to remember it for her and tell her later. Whenever she finds her again.

“For those who went to Mother Moon, their experiences were significantly better. For one, Mother Moon was one of the more benevolent of the Primordials. She was sympathetic and heard the cries of the humans who sought her out. And just like her counterpart, Sun, she too gave her own test. For those that survived, they were granted with the gift to take on the strength of the wolf. For those that didn’t though… well, the shadows were always watching.”

Citrine’s features harden now, anger kindling within brown. And it takes much too long for Ruby to realize that the leader is staring off in the direction of the den she shares with Weiss.

She curls her fingers into fists, body tensing in preparation to spring into action.

“The Creator of Shadows was the opposite of Mother Moon in every single way. They were always hiding, where the moon did not hesitate to shine. They were as malevolent as Mother Moon was kind. And unlike her, they relished in suffering. For the humans who sought them out from the list of Primordials, they had already signed themselves up for death.

“The Creator was a shrewd trickster. They knew everything going on at every moment in time. So they knew humanity’s worry from the start, only feeding fuel to the fire that was starting to burn. They knew of Sun’s trials. And they knew what Mother Moon had done. The hatred the Creator had for Mother Moon went back to the very beginning of time, though it’s unknown why they would despise her of all beings. Regardless, they saw an opportunity… and took it.”

Citrine returns her gaze to Ruby, the disappointment from her palpable, and Ruby fights back the beginning of a growl. Knowing full well showing signs of aggression to the leader of the pack while surrounded by the pack itself probably isn’t the smartest thing to do.

“For those that died from Mother Moon’s trial, before the Goddess could help them to rest in peace for their courage- the Creator struck first. Weaving their dark magic, they ordered the humans that went to them to collect the bodies. But it was a trick. All the Creator wanted was for those poor souls to get close enough to the dead. So that when they rose… they would have a fresh meal right then and there.”

She tries to picture it in her head. But the only vampire she has ever met is Weiss and even at her hungriest, she never considered her dangerous.

She smelled it on her. The kindness in that eternal soul.

How could the other wolves not smell it either?

“The Creator cursed the Pale Ones with a never-ending thirst for the blood of the living. Nothing could ever or will ever satisfy them. They tore the humans apart, desecrating Mother Moon’s sacred land, spilling blood everywhere. She gave the Pale Ones and the Creator a chance to leave her domain. She would forget it ever happened. But the Creator would not accept it.”

Citrine turned around now. Ruby began to feel herself start to relax now that she wasn’t under the scrutiny of the leader, glancing to either side of her. The other pack members were more engrossed in the story rather than concerned about her.

“As the humans once feared, war began. But not between them and the witches like they assumed. Mother Moon and the Creator fought relentlessly- and their followers did much of the same. The once beautiful landscape was ruined by death and battle, but since they were in her land, the favor was on the wolves’ side. The Creator and the Pale Ones were pushed out, banned from entering ever again. Mother Moon and her children celebrated their victory.”

The leader sighs, bringing a hand up to the center of her chest. A deep frown on her face.

“But every few generations, it is said that the wolf remembers that horrid night. We hear her call, her cry for help- and it is in our blood to answer it and go to her. To kill anything that gets in our way or tries to stop us from aiding Mother Moon. Perhaps even now, she fights the Creator, and his entrance into the realm is marked by the blood moon.” 

Citrine steps around the fire, once more joining her brother’s side. Pressing a palm to the top of his head and finding comfort in the way he leans into her with a smile. 

“We do not intend to become savage, we only wish to get to Mother Moon. No matter what it takes. Our actions during this time do not reflect bad intentions or an evil heart. Understand that the only thing we want- the only thing you want is to get to her.”

Citrine scans the group, and if she doesn't know any better, she swears there is the start of tears in those eyes.

“What happens tomorrow… no matter what you do or who you hurt… know that it does not make you a monster. All will be forgiven under Mother Moon’s light. But there is little that can be done to resist the beast. So, do not fight it. Do not fear it. Do not resist the call. Let yourself go… and come morning, all will be well.”

And in unison, the other pack members repeat after her like a prayer; “All will be well.”

Ruby doesn’t do the same. She keeps quiet, peering down at her hands.

All will be well.

But what if…

What if she hurts someone here? What if she kills someone?

What if she kills Weiss?

No.

No, she will never accept that.

She can’t.

In the end, though the pack offers, Ruby doesn’t ask any of her questions. Because something tells her every answer will only come with a great deal of bias. She doesn’t know if she believes in the story itself. If Mother Moon was so benevolent, why even give a test in the first place? Why risk someone’s life like that?

She doesn’t understand it.

By the time dawn arrives and the meeting ends, everyone is ordered to at least try and get some rest before the blood moon comes, Ruby wanders back to the den like a lost spirit. So many things running through her mind, crashing and breaking against each other. What was real? What was false? Why did the Creator of Shadows despise Mother Moon so much? Was it something she did to them?

“Ruby?”

Silver focuses on blue as she meets her partner’s frowning face.

And the Pale Ones. The vampires.

How could anybody hate or blame them for what happened? They went to Mother Moon seeking aid and- and were punished for it. They died and it was their corpses that the Creator used.

Not once did the vampires ever ask for it. They never asked to die, they never asked to be brought back to life.

To her at least, it seems like the only thing they asked for was help.

And the Primordials denied them.

“Is… everything okay?” Weiss tilts her head and, notably, Jasper isn’t there anymore. She has no idea where he went, but at the end of the day, she doesn’t entirely care. She feels numb. All the tightness of her skin and the itch of something deep within and the restlessness, gone. Replaced with nothing.

She must be crying, her vision becomes blurry, and it has Weiss racing to her side in an instant.

She cups her cheeks and Ruby grabs onto her wrists, keeping her there. Please, don’t leave. Please, don’t die, I can’t lose you.

“What’s wrong, moonlight?”

“I’m scared,” it comes out in a hiccuping gasp, everything breaking through as she falls apart, “I’m so scared, Weiss. I don’t- I don’t want to be a monster.”

All will be well.

It sounds like denial. Because how could anyone forgive themselves for killing someone they know? Someone close to them? Someone they love?

Ruby could never. It will live with her for the rest of time until her dying breath.

Not even a Goddess can change that.

Weiss brings her close, urging her to her shoulder, and Ruby accepts it more than willingly as she buries her face into the side of her neck. Gardenias and loneliness. Her partner guides them down when it becomes obvious Ruby can’t hold herself up anymore, the weight of her fear crushing her. Colorful auroras and snowflakes on her skin. She whispers sweet nothings in an attempt to calm her, brushing her fingers through her hair and letting her cry freely. Blood upon her tongue. She does not flinch or try to get away as Ruby digs her fingers into her back, trembling catastrophically.

Love, love, love.

“You won’t be.” Weiss kisses the side of her temple, cradling her in her arms. “I’ll make sure of it. We’re in this together, my beloved.”

“But what if I hurt you?”

“Then I will bear the scar like you have kissed me.” Their heads bump together and there’s a hint of a smile in Weiss’s tone. “Although, I highly doubt you’ll find it within yourself to hurt me.”

“What if the wolf hurts you? The wolf doesn’t like you.”

“I know it doesn’t. But you do,” Weiss nudges her back enough to meet her in the eye, wiping her cheeks to get rid of her tears. “And the wolf knows not to hurt me because of it. I will not be in any harm tomorrow because of you- nor from the others because you’ll be there.”

“And how do you know that, Weiss?” Ruby leans her forehead against hers in defeat. Exhausted. “How can you be certain?”

“Because,” she boops her nose, “you’re you, Ruby Rose. And you will never hurt me.”

(What am I?

I’m Ruby Rose.)

She doesn’t know how she can be so certain of that. Especially when Ruby herself doesn’t know if it’s true or not.

But if Weiss is so unafraid…

What is there to be scared of?

Ruby sniffles, tucking herself underneath Weiss’s chin, mumbling against her chest where her sluggishly slow heartbeat is. “Can we cuddle for the rest of the day? I just… I want to be close to you.”

While I still can…

“Whatever you desire.”

You.

You, I only desire you.

Though she just woke up a few hours ago, Ruby gets herself comfortable in the moss bed again. Holding Weiss close to her, keeping her nose against the other girl’s neck where her scent is most prominent. Letting the gardenias wash over her. Letting the colorful auroras come to life behind her eyelids. Letting the love calm her racing heart.

The blood moon will come whether she wants it to or not.

But at the very least…

Ruby won’t have to be alone for it.

(Just like Summer promised.)

…

The hours drag on and the dread only grows and grows and grows. Ruby can’t even stomach an offered meal, only burying herself more against Weiss and ignoring the rest of the world (Weiss, thankfully, assists her by shooing off any potential visitors that try to come by to see her). 

(Come, my child. Come to me. Let me set you free.)

(The wolf inside howls. Begging to go, begging to answer the call.)

Try as she might to will it into existence, time does not stop for her.

Jasper is the one to summon them, not intimidated whatsoever by the flash of Weiss’s fangs and the promise of a feast in red eyes, standing by the entrance of their den with the flickering flames from the main area silhouetting his form. Ruby peeks one eye in his direction, curled up in her partner’s lap with fingers digging (probably painfully) into her back.

“It’s almost time,” the witch announces in a tone tight with tension. Apologetic, almost. He gestures to the rest of the camp behind him, waving them along. “We should get to the safe zone.”

“What safe zone?” Weiss doesn’t stop brushing her fingers through short hair, the repetition pacifying.

“There is a designated area deeper in the mountain where all the wolves are… imprisoned, for lack of a better term, during a blood moon. Kept in chains and behind bars of silver to best ensure that they don’t escape and cause a ruckus, or… well,” Jasper shifts his weight, growing somewhat awkward. “Kill anyone.”

“How often do the wolves escape?”

“Not often, thankfully. But there have been a few accidents in the past.”

“This is our best solution?” Weiss huffs, disappointment rich in her words.

“This is your only solution. And I recommend we get there now before it’s too late.”

Ruby whines, taking in another deep inhale of Weiss’s scent, before tentatively starting to pull away from her spot. The vampire holds her for but a second longer, as though she is the one who doesn’t want to let her go, before deciding against it and releasing her. She stumbles to her feet in a bit of a daze. Senses woozy and her focus fading in and out from her surroundings and to the agitation of the wolf.

Weiss’s hand in hers is a much-needed tether to reality and Ruby gives a grateful squeeze as the two of them start to follow Jasper out of the den. There are bits and pieces of conversation between her partner and the sorcery born that float by her ears, but nothing truly registers and roots itself in her mind. It’s like she’s experiencing the world through layers of steel. Sound echoes around her in waves, sensation of touch taking so much longer to understand.

From one blink to the next, suddenly they’re in a completely new area and Ruby has no idea how long they were walking for, which direction they went, or where they are. She snaps to attention to discover Weiss kneeling in front of her and- oh, she’s sitting on the floor. When did that happen?

Focus, Ruby.

“Weiss?” A low mumble that’s barely comprehensible. (A rumbling growl builds in her chest.)

“Stay with me, Ruby.” As if there’s anywhere else she wants to be. There’s another person in whatever room they’re in- a cell, more like; there are prison bars that line the walls and the front- but she can’t tell whether they’re Jasper or someone else. Regardless, they carry something that looks rather heavy (and smells very odd). “This will hurt, but it’s going to help you through this, alright?”

“Alright,” she responds. At least. She thinks she does, she’s not entirely sure.

Whatever the case, the person comes closer and her wandering attention zones in on the spark of sudden pain that burns at her wrists. She hisses between her teeth, trying to back away from it, but the pain follows her and it takes her much too long to realize what those things were.

Shackles.

Made of silver, no doubt.

Ruby knows the burn of it well, the way it makes the wolf twist and turn to try and get away from it. It brings a wave of nausea to her stomach, but the free-floating feeling becomes grounded thanks to that.

The clang of the cell door shutting rings in her ears and she grumbles as she presses her palms on either side of her head. Wanting to shut it out.

“Moonlight, it’s okay.” Weiss. Weiss is there. Weiss is safe. Ruby tests the strength of the cuffs with a half-hearted tug, the chain connected to the hooks on the ground not giving her much room to work with. Sturdy and strong with no signs of rust. Who does maintenance on them? It can’t be the werewolves, they’d get burned. Maybe the shapeshifters then; shapeshifters didn’t get hurt by silver. Only lead. “It’s going to be okay.”

She reaches out for her and Ruby gasps, pulling her arms closer to herself to prevent Weiss from touching the cuffs. Not wanting her to get hurt by them either. It makes her partner soften, eyeing her from where she is, repeating once more, “It’s going to be okay.”

It’s going to be okay.

Maybe if she repeats it enough times, it’ll come true.

Now comes the waiting game- and Ruby has always hated that game. She was really bad at it growing up. Doubtful that she’s gotten any better at it.

The seconds tick by to minutes and she spends that time occasionally tugging at the silver chains in an effort to find a way to make them more comfortable. A pointless endeavor, so long as they are in contact with her skin, it will make her squirm endlessly. (She’s always wondered, more when she was a kid and less so growing up, what it was like not to be weak to silver. To be able to touch it without the risk of it burning her, naming her as a creature.)

Weiss sits in the caged room with her in silence, perhaps just as put off by all the silver present as she is. There is discomfort in the way her partner holds herself, an occasional twitch to her muscles that has her rolling her shoulders back to chase it away. But Ruby already knows telling her to wait outside of the cell and away from the silver would be useless anyway. Because the vampire is stubborn and if she says she’s going to be with Ruby for the entirety of the blood moon, then she will be.

Ten minutes pass by in relative quiet with no major changes to her. The silver does its job to keep her present, just enough pain to get her to focus but not enough to be a true threat for her with the prolonged exposure.

At twenty, Ruby has an inexplicable need to look in the direction where the exit of the cave is. And it’s odd because she didn’t even see them come into the cave, so how in the world does she know where the exit is?

At thirty, she starts to scratch at her skin again and Weiss has to hold her hands to get her to stop before she makes herself bleed.

And at forty, things start to take a turn.

It’s gradual. But she hears it start to grow louder.

Come, my child. Come. I need you. 

Come home.

They are whispers. A song. The itch turns into full-on pain now that has her grunting, wrapping her arms around herself and digging her nails into her sides and against her ribs. It swells in volume, entangling in her mind. Capturing her full attention.

She’s at her feet before she knows it, a coppery tang sitting in the back of her throat now and making it difficult to swallow.

Predictably, Weiss stands with her. Off to the side, just out of visual range.

“Ruby?”

“I hear her…” Ruby shuffles forward until reaching the end of her chains, that pain and panic exploding in her chest and making her whimper. “I hear her.”

“Who?”

“The moon.” 

I need you. Come home, my child. Come to me. 

Ruby strains against the cuff with a growl, starting to grow agitated. Go, go, go. You need to go to her. I need to find her.

“ I have to- I need to go. I need to go, I need to- She’s calling me, she’s calling me, I need to answer, I need…”

In the neighboring prison cells, in the rest of the cave, the horrifying sound of bones breaking and vicious snarls as some of the other werewolves give in first chimes through the air. Bouncing off the stone walls. There’s a howl or two and it makes her jerk more harshly against the chains, her own growl rising in volume as well.

“I need to-”

“Listen to me.” Someone grabs her by the chin, forcing her to look away from the exit (no, no, you need to go to her, no, you can’t-) and she is met with blood-red eyes. Somehow familiar. 

Who is she again? 

Ruby attempts to break free from their hold, but she can’t, and in her frustration, she emits a snarl at the person to scare them off. But they aren’t frightened. They don’t even flinch. 

It’s quite insulting. 

“Listen to me, moonlight. Only to me, please.”

Moonlight.

Her brow furrows.

Moonlight, moonlight, moonlight...

“What did you call me?” Ruby blinks in astonishment at her companion, her friend, her vampire partner. Weiss would blush if she could, but the flustered expression she wears is telling enough. She tries to escape from where they’ve found themselves cuddled together, but Ruby latches on to her to stop her. “No, wait, I want to hear it.”

“You heard me the first time.”

“Please?”

“...Moonlight,” Weiss murmurs with the most shyness she’s ever heard her speak, it makes her want to squeal. But for her partner’s sake, she keeps it in (somehow). “I figured… I don’t know. I found it fitting.”

“Because I’m a werewolf?”

“No,” her partner responds to her utmost surprise, turning around to properly face her and cupping her cheek. Framing her face. “Because even on the darkest of nights, there will always be moonlight to shine the way. And you… You are that light for me, Ruby Rose.”

Weiss.

Weiss is in front of her. Weiss is here with her and…

She forgot about her. If only for a second, a minute. She forgot about who her partner was.

“Weiss…” Ruby utters under her breath, unable to produce anything louder than a whisper, tears glistening in her eyes. So much fear, so much pain, (so much guilt).

Her heart clenches agonizingly, the wolf pushing against her skin. Seeking freedom that she cannot allow it. She doubles over with a tormented shout, leaning into her partner as the two crumble to the floor until Weiss is sitting again and Ruby is laid across her lap, curling up into a ball. 

Crying. 

“It hurts, Weiss. It hurts so much.”

More snarls, more howls. More members of the pack fall into their frenzy and the accompanying shouts of alarm from the non-werewolves paints quite the chaotic scene outside of their prison cell. They can’t see around the corner where they’re located, but oh do they hear it.

Regardless, as tumultuous as it sounds, Weiss is the epitome of calm.

“I know, beloved. I know.” Her fingers return to her hair, and if Ruby didn’t know any better, she’d swear Weiss’s fingers are shaking. “But you must endure it. You’re doing great.”

Endure it.

Louder the moon calls. Louder the wolf howls for release. Louder the madness outside becomes.

Endure, endure, endure.

“C-Can you…” She grits her teeth, swallows down her next scream. Her skin feels like it is staying together by the seams and it’ll take one little thing to break it. To break her.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Sing,” it’s the only thing she can think of, anything to drown out the rest of that noise, “please. Sing for me.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, she does. In a language that Ruby doesn’t understand, from wherever cold place Weiss originates. One that Ruby’s heard her sing only one other time to a group of village children who requested a song (before the village, you know, discovered what they were and chased them out). It is a soft tune, a lullaby. Gentle, but somber.

And considering it is being made with the background orchestra of ferocious snarls and terrified screams and frenzied howls, it carries a haunting nature to it. The dichotomy of it is so confusing that Ruby has to focus really damn hard on her voice just to hear it. (But then that means she’s paying attention to Weiss instead of the moon, so mission accomplished.)

It brings her some semblance of peace. Makes it easier to resist the change. Ignore the call.

The wolf isn’t pleased, but as Ruby closes her eyes and evens her breathing, she can almost convince herself she’s just trying to sleep.

Endure it.

She will. She can.

With Weiss by her side, anything is possible.

Even the impossible.

It’s going okay.

So, of course, something (inevitably) has to go wrong.

It’s lost to her ears, but whatever Weiss picks up on causes her to stop singing for a moment. Long enough to make Ruby start to stir, opening her eyes to find her partner staring off to the side. Eyes narrowed and a scowl to her lips. The sharpness of her fang pricking at her bottom lip as she bites it.

“Damn it,” it’s said so quietly Ruby almost doesn’t hear it, but it has her tilting her head a bit.

“Hmm?”

“...Nothing, moonlight.” Weiss shifts a bit as though getting ready to jump up at a moment’s notice, gazing down at her with nothing but gentleness and adoration. “Do you want me to keep singing?”

“Please.”

She continues, right where she left off. And if she hadn’t paused earlier, Ruby wouldn’t have been able to tell that something was wrong. But now that she’s looking up at her, there is a notable tension in the way Weiss does not take her sight away from the cell door. As though expecting something or another to pop up out of nowhere.

Something’s not right.

That much is made more evident when the peal of footsteps coming their way stops, a new scent making her wrinkle her nose unpleasantly. Leather and oils and blades against skin, sandalwood and suffocating ash and triumph of the hunt. Creature blood staining their hands. That last one is always exclusive to the hunters. So Ruby knows what- or rather, who- is there without even needing to look.

“Well,” a husky drawl from an unknown voice that runs down her spine like claws, it makes her wince, “this should be easy.”

No.

Weiss carefully starts to maneuver her off of her lap, pushing herself to her toes. Ready to spring into action. The ever-familiar toll of a crossbow bolt being set into place rattles her bones (like the bells of death announcing someone’s impending demise).

No, wait-

Too late.

The bolt is fired and Weiss is moving before she can consider trying to stop her.

There is a high-pitched hiss that comes as Weiss catches the bolt before it can impact (at Ruby. The hunter was aiming at Ruby on the ground), the silver creating a band of red at her palm and fingers. A grunt from Weiss that becomes a growl as she tosses the bolt to the ground a safe distance away from the moon-touched. Standing firmly between her and the hunter across the way.

“Speedy one, aren’t ya?” The nameless hunter chuckles, loading another bolt into their crossbow. “Why don’t you come on out of there, bloodsucker? I’ll make it a fair fight for you.”

“Or you can come in here,” Weiss shoots back, “Unless, of course, you’re afraid.”

Too long. She’s gone too long without Weiss’s song and everything she’s been pushing away is starting to crash back in. Ruby clutches at her head, releasing a whimper, gritting her teeth to try and hold back. At least until the hunter is taken care of.

“I ain’t stupid, Pale One.”

“No. Just a coward.”

“Rile me up all you want,” he aims again, right for Weiss’s chest. “It ain’t gonna work.”

He fires, the bolt flying through the spaces between the bars.

Weiss slashes at it mid-air, claws unleashed, the arrow knocked off-course and lodging itself into the wall. A third, a fourth, a fifth. All met with relatively the same results of Weiss hitting it away before it can impact either her or Ruby.

Eventually, the hunter will run out of bolts and be forced to come inside.

But also…

Ruby is running out of time. A growl builds up in the back of her throat, a few of her bones straining and others snapping in an attempt to change. But she refuses with a mournful wail, claws creating craters in the stonework. The pain is unlike anything she’s ever experienced before and some part of her truly believes that this is what dying is like.

(Summer never told her this part. She never told her just how bad it would be.

Ruby wished she had. Because at least then, she could’ve prepared more somehow.)

A shriek of suffering from Weiss has her head snapping up, the gasp catching in her throat at the spark of flames that explode as the vampire slashes at the next crossbow bolt. Magically enhanced with fire dust, no doubt. Only created by witches, so either whatever guild this specific hunter came from was in favor of a witch- or they had one as a prisoner, forcing them to create weapons to better help them kill other creatures.

Whatever the case, the detonation of embers and heat causes her to grimace, the brightness of it so disarming to her heightened vision, but as everything clears up…

Her heart stops. Her body goes numb.

In the distraction of the fire, the hunter had loaded another bolt and fired before Weiss could regather herself. The arrow hits true with enough force to knock her partner onto her back, blackened blood that she truly can’t spare arcing through the air. Weiss holds her affliction in well, only emitting a snarl from it, but Ruby knows the damage it will leave behind.

So close to her heart.

The arrow was so close to her…

An inch closer, a centimeter closer, and Weiss would’ve… would’ve…

She would’ve died.

She would’ve died, Ruby-

How much longer are you going to resist?

No more.

Not when Weiss is in danger.

Ruby has the power to defend her- she just has to give in.

Do not fight it. Do not fear it. Do not resist the call.

She just has to let herself go.

(And she does.)

From one beat of her heart to the next, Ruby exhales.

And lets go.

…

The hunter is not one to scare easily.

After all, his whole life revolved around tracking, fighting, and eliminating the otherworldly creatures that plagued the realm. Threatening humanity with their very existence. From the unmatched speed of the vampires to the unparalleled magical abilities of the witches. From the bestial ferocity of the werewolves to the cunning capabilities of the shapeshifters to the sheer superiority of the dragonfolk.

For all intents and purposes, he was always the underdog. Every hunter was. Humans who decided to take up the mantle to fight a fight that could not logically be won.

But they’ve won. He’s won countless battles- and here he is. Still standing. Still fighting. Still hunting.

Fear is not allowed in his line of work. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to survive this long.

But when a nightmarish snarl rips through the air of the cavern, it makes his blood run cold. He doubles back, reaching to his pouch with the rest of his bolts, only to discover one left. It would’ve been plenty for the wounded vampire.

…The werewolf that suddenly appears, on the other hand?

Yeah, no.

One crossbow bolt won’t cut it.

It is not his first encounter with a mutt- but it is of one this size. Double, perhaps even triple the size of what a werewolf typically should be, dark brown fur bristling like barbs as though that alone will be enough to cause damage. Elongated claws curled wickedly, the unbelievable strength portrayed in every line of tensed muscle. Teeth on full display as its lips pull back, ready to tear him to pieces.

And the eyes…

Gods, the eyes.

They possess a shade of red he’s only ever come to know from hungry vampires. There is no pupil, no colored iris, the usual white of the sclera replaced with a deep scarlet.

The hunter is not meant to know fear. But for the first time ever…

Oh, he fears.

…

The wolf hungers.

It has been ignored for far too long. The moon calls and it has been denied the chance of answering. And what’s more?

This hunter, this human had the audacity to target its mate.

Vengeance will be swift. It’ll make sure of that.

The hunter hastily, shakily, raises his crossbow again and fires, but the wolf snaps at it out of the air. Catching it between bone-crushing teeth, holding it for but a second as it stares right into the eyes of the man. Ignoring the way the silver scalds its tongue, its gums, its lips.

It has a point to make.

You think an arrow, it clenches tighter on the bolt, snapping it two between its teeth, can harm me?

Try again, human.

The hunter retreats. Now out of arrows, he turns tail and attempts to flee.

But the wolf won’t let him.

It charges at the prison cell, shredding through the bars of silver and the chains that keep it contained like they are nothing more than thin paper and bone. It hurts, no doubt, but the pain is secondary. Nothing will stand in its way on a hunt, not something as easily ignorable as the burn of silver.

The hunter doesn’t even make it to the corner before the wolf is upon him, pouncing and pinning him to the ground. The force of the tackle alone is enough to break some of his bones, the wolf’s weight crushing him, and his cry is nothing but satisfying to hear.

Even more so as the wolf starts ripping into him as easily as it did the cell door.

It is a messy affair. Blood splattering this way and that on the stone. It could’ve gone for a swift and easy kill, but no.

No, the wolf wants him to suffer.

So suffer, he shall.

Maybe he dies instantly or maybe he feels every agonizing second of it. It doesn’t matter. Not to the beast.

His blood is just the start of its quest to satiate the hunger.

Once there is nothing more for it to break, the wolf tosses its head back to let out a vicious snarl.

I’m coming, my mother.

I’m coming to you.

Mother Moon will be pleased. Any and all beings against her children must be eliminated.

It shoots down the tunnel pathway swiftly, leaving behind the mangled corpse of the once proud hunter. Searching for an exit, for any way to get outside. To get to the realm where Mother Moon awaits the return of her children. Her chosen.

Rounding the corner with its claws scraping against the rock, producing a shrill sound as it goes, it discovers others in the main area of the cave. Some lifeless bodies on the floor, only one or two of those fellow children of the Moon. But a majority of them are other humans. A hunting party that must have discovered this location and decided tonight was the best night to attack.

The fools.

The wolf holds no pity toward them.

Who holds sympathy for the sheep who came to their own slaughter?

A waft of fresh air greets it as it treads deeper into the main clearing, inhaling raggedly. Greedily. So many scents, so many scents. Each one is so different from the last. But there is only one that calls to it from outside; fresh snowfall and frost against the grass, benevolence and gentleness, home, home, home.

It wants to go home.

The moon is calling and it must go. It has to. It needs to.

Nothing and no one will get in its way. Not even-

“Ruby!”

That call…

The wolf pauses at the lip of the cave, the open world straight ahead. All it will take is one choice. One choice to run. To go to wherever Mother Moon is (some part of it doesn’t even know where she is). To return to her like instinct demands and defend her against the Creator and the scourge of the Pale Ones threatening her home.

But for some reason…

It stops.

Waits.

Hesitates.

(Why? It narrows its eyes, trying to will its body to move forward, to run, to go, but something- something deep within, a girl who has lost all control- forces it to stop. Why do I waver?)

Footsteps from behind. One of its ears twitches toward it. So faint, so cautious. A tremble passes through its body and it doesn’t know why. (It doesn’t know why it feels like crying.)

“Ruby?”

Again.

This time, the wolf turns. Looks behind it.

Beautiful. Even with the unkempt air about her, the nervousness she possesses, the dark stain of blood on her clothes by the left side of her chest. Mate.

But also…

The wolf growls, bearing its teeth.

Pale One.

Why else will her eyes be as red as the blood that stains the floor, the cavern walls, its claws and snout?

The woman stiffens, taking half a step back, before she inhales and exhales slowly. As though preparing herself. Coming to a decision-

And walks forward.

It whirls around to face her directly, emitting a warning snarl to ward her off. The Pale Ones only ever hurt the Children of the Moon. Their creator has made it so. It needs to be careful, because it knows the second it lets its guard down, the vampire will strike.

It crouches, readying itself to lunge. Attack first.

But the Pale One continues. Undeterred. Closer and closer and closer.

It attempts to scramble back- away, away, away, get away- but again, something compels it to stop. To freeze in place. It does nothing but flinch, cowering now, as the vampire extends a hand forward as though wanting to touch the wolf.

“I won’t hurt you,” she speaks. Gentle. Alluring. Soothing. (Calling, calling, calling.) Confident as she claims, “And you won’t hurt me, Ruby.”

It tenses as that hand comes closer. So small in comparison to it, but oh looks can be deceiving. It knows just how much danger the vampire holds, no matter how delicate she may seem.

It accepts defeat, unable to move for whatever reason. Closing its eyes as it surrenders to its own demise.

Her palm presses to the wolf’s forehead. Light and tender.

“You’re not a monster, moonlight.”

Moonlight…

It echoes. Flashes of memories that don’t belong to it but that it was still there for flickering by like strikes of lightning. 

There is the girl, its other half, its human half, and the Pale One. Lounging together on the colder nights despite neither of them being susceptible to the low temperature. Cuddled close and sharing lazy kisses, sweet kisses, desiring kisses, greedy kisses, all the kisses.

There is the girl, its prison, its outer shell, and the vampire. Exploring the world and everything it has to offer. Marveling at every new thing at every new place because all they have ever known is the forests they once called home.

There is the girl, the beauty to its beast, the one no one runs from, and her partner. Dancing in the rain and sharing stories under the stars. Feelings reciprocated between them. Laughter and smiles and fun and love.

There is the girl.

There is Ruby Rose.

…And Weiss.

“Come back to me, my beloved.”

It whines. Low and somber in its chest. The rage, the hunger, it settles into something softer. Sadder.

Sorrow.

Heartache.

Envy.

Because Weiss does not love it. She loves the girl. She loves Ruby Rose.

She does not love the beast. The monster made to fight and protect and kill. The wolf that sleeps within, only allowed freedom every once in a while.

The wolf is unwanted.

The wolf is unloved.

No… A whisper in the back of its head, the deepest part of its heart, the center of its soul. Where the girl is. Waiting patiently for her chance at the outside world again. The wolf regards her and Ruby Rose smiles, bright and brilliant as ever. I love you.

And it’s true. It knows it. It believes it.

Because no matter what kind of inconveniences the wolf brings, no matter how much Ruby Rose fears it, no matter how much trouble it's gotten them in…

Ruby Rose has never once hated the wolf.

And that...

That’s enough for the wolf.

…

Ruby wakes up to a splitting headache and a deep soreness all over her body. There’s a scratch in her throat and a foul taste in her mouth, and it truly feels like she’s been put through the wringer more than once. Her bones ache after breaking, muscles throbbing after tearing and rearranging.

Her only solace is the cool fingers brushing through her hair.

“Are you okay, moonlight?”

Her eyelids squeeze, preparing herself for the potential pain, before committing because any amount of pain is worth it just to see Weiss.

Her partner stares down at her with adoring blue eyes. Full of relief. Peace.

(Some part of her didn’t think she’d get to see them again after last night.)

She marvels at her like the wolf worships the moon.

Who are you?

Ruby Rose.

And who is Ruby Rose?

I don’t know, her lips twitch into the start of a smile. One that Weiss returns. But that’s okay. I’ll figure it out.

“Yeah,” Ruby reaches for her hand on top of her head, bringing it close to kiss the back of her knuckles. “I’m alright.”

Perhaps not perfectly okay.

But she’s alive.

And that’s enough for her.

…

Jasper is the only one to see them off because the rest of the pack is more occupied with checking in with each other. And, wanting to leave before all the attention can turn back to the unwelcomed vampire, they count their blessings while they’re ahead and exit the cave without saying goodbye to anyone.

Of course, the witch already predicted where they would be. Waiting for them at the bottom of the slope.

“I’m glad to know both of you survived,” he grins, something mischievous in his features. As always.

“Did you know the hunters would come?” There is an accusation in Weiss’s tone once more, and by now, Ruby knows it will take more than just a day or so for her to trust another person.

“I had a feeling. Didn’t expect them to actually go through with it.”

“A warning would’ve been nice.”

“A warning wouldn’t have changed anything. But, that’s water under the bridge.” He steps away from where he had been leaning against the rockface, hands held behind his back. “I come bearing gifts.”

“We don’t want them.”

“Oh, come now,” Jasper chuckles, extending one of his hands out. Fingers closed over whatever it is. “I think you’d find it very helpful, Shadow-cursed.”

Opening only a couple of fingers, a small object falls from his grasp. Ruby jerks in place, prepared to catch it (because if it’s a gift for Weiss then she doesn’t want it ruined), but finds it ultimately unnecessary. It’s a necklace of sorts, a tiny vial of… something held within.

To Ruby, it doesn’t mean anything.

But to Weiss, it does. A gasp escaping her.

“You know what this is,” he smirks, “don’t you?”

“...A Glutton’s Vial,” her partner answers, glancing at Ruby beside her as she explains. “It’s one of the few objects enchanted for a vampire. It-”

“Curbs your hunger,” Jasper twirls the little chain of the vial, the empty glass bottle spinning in the air. “You won’t need to feed as regularly with it, just one drop of blood from here will satiate you for a month.”

“But,” Ruby tilts her head, “it’s empty though.”

“You’ll only need to fill it up with your blood of choice. And refill it, of course, whenever it becomes empty.” Green eyes focus on the vampire beside her. “Many Shadow-cursed seek out witches for one- and pay quite the fortune as well.”

“We don’t have any coin, I’m afraid,” Weiss shifts in place, squeezing her hand. For comfort. Ruby squeezes back; I’m here, I’m here, I’m here. “And nothing of value.”

“Ah, but that’s where you are wrong, you see?” He tosses the empty vial toward them like it isn’t worth as much as he claims. And because Weiss is too stunned by it, Ruby scrambles to catch it and just barely succeeds. She holds it closer, studying the tiny thing. To her, it just seems like a simple bottle. No hidden runes, no writing or glint of magic. It doesn’t even carry a scent. But nevertheless, she holds it close for safekeeping. “What you have is a destination. You mentioned you were heading to Menagerie, yes?”

“We… are.”

“Excellent.” Jasper extends his other hand now and Ruby takes that as well, only to discover another object wrapped in a thick layer of linen. As she goes to unwrap it, there is a beautifully made twisted iron bangle there to greet her. The design reminiscent of that of dragon scales, almost. “I have a… companion, some may say, in Menagerie that’s awaiting that gift. She’s been expecting it for at least a year now, and she’s very patient but I’d rather not keep her waiting any longer.”

“Why don’t you take it then?” Ruby frowns, perplexed.

The witch flinches, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah, to be frank… she terrifies me. You don’t want to owe that witch a debt, I made that mistake once. She took one of my hearts as payment. I used to have four.”

Oh.

Well.

That makes more sense now.

How is it even possible to steal someone’s heart? (Then again, how is it possible to have more than one heart? Ruby has no idea. It sounds odd.)

“An iron bangle though?” Weiss furrows her brow as well, accepting the bracelet as Ruby offers it to her. “Why would a witch ask for something made of iron? That’s your kind’s one weakness.”

Like silver is to the werewolves and vampires. Like lead is to the shapeshifters. Like gold is to dragonfolk.

Iron is a witch's one weakness.

“I never asked the details. I am a renowned enchanter, I just make the things people ask for. I don’t ask questions.” He claps his hands together once, taking a wary step back and eyeing the bangle from a distance. “So, if I give you the Vial, will you take that to her for me so I don’t have to see her face again? Last I know, she’s somewhere in the jungles of Menagerie. Likes to keep to herself.”

“Sure,” Ruby chirps as she wraps the bangle back up before carefully tucking it into one of the pockets of their satchel. “What’s her name? Who should we be asking for?”

“Blake Belladonna.”

She slots that name into the back of her mind and she’s certain Weiss does the same. Because before that, there is only one goal that takes precedence over all.

Getting to Menagerie.

Neither of them knows what to expect of the fabled “safe” continent. Where creatures and humans lived in harmony. Where hunters were never allowed to step foot unless they took many vows not to hurt anyone. 

Half of her doubts that it even exists because it’s so hard to believe.

But it is their only hope left. They’ve searched everywhere for their siblings, with no luck of either of them popping up.

So, they’ll get to Menagerie.

No matter what it takes.

And Ruby knows that so long as Weiss is by her side…

They can do anything.