Pet Quartet (ch10)

Please enjoy some adorable fanart of these little friends from Saucy Tango!

saucytango,tumblr,com/post/190002468291

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

-----------

												Chapter 10. An Unexpected Guest

After Weiss had officially decided that she was going to stay with the humans and her friends, all the tension that had previously been floating about in the air started to vanish.

There was no more worry – at least not about Weiss. She'd made her decision, and it was one everyone was happy with. Ruby no longer had to worry about one of her best friends leaving, and Blake and Yang didn't have to worry about that happening or Ruby being crushed by it.

As spring became summer, the four friends became even more inseparable. Their daily routines involved patrolling the house for potential trouble like wasps or hornets, but more often than not, there were never any issues.

Their humans took good care of them, always feeding them at least twice a day and giving them baths as often as necessary.

Their days consisted of playing together, lazing about in the sun, and more playing. They told each other about their lives before they'd met.

Ruby talked of the mice she'd grown up with, but explained she didn't remember much. She'd been separated from her mother and the others when she was a baby. So instead, she talked about meeting and befriending Blake.

Weiss told about her flock and family, her older sister and younger brother, her mother and her father. She mostly talked about Winter, though.

Blake told about her time spent in the allies with Adam, and how different a way of life it had been. She left out the details about the mean or gross things she'd had to do in order to survive and focused on more funny stories, like the time she'd seen Adam try to catch a live fish and it had smacked its wet tail into his face.

Yang told them about her old owners, and how there had been a raven and a crow that would come to her yard often and talk to Yang. They'd told her stories about the world, which had been part of the reason why Yang had struck out on her own once her people had passed.

Their days were warm and happy and filled with stories.

In Blake's opinion, it beat the life of a frightened, sick stray any day. Yang agreed as well – she'd much rather be around humans and other animals than be alone.

As the four grew closer, they gradually began opening up to one another.

One warm day as they were sunbathing together, Weiss took her leave from the group momentarily to converse with some of the wild birds. It was up to Blake and Yang to keep Ruby with them and out of Weiss' business.

"Just let her be," Blake purred.

"Weiss knows what she's doing," Yang added.

"Those dumb birds are hitting on her..." Ruby grumbled.

"Well, heck," Yang chuckled. "If I were a bird, I probably would, too. Have ya seen her? She's awfully pretty."

"Don't worry," Blake said, giving a lick to Ruby's head. "She's doing it on purpose to get information out of them."

With a flick of her ears, she picked up on a bit of Weiss' conversation with some sparrows and black birds at the bird bath. She began by asking them how the weather had been, then inquiring about wind turbulence and how good it was for flying. Small-talk for birds.

But then Weiss got to the heart of the matter.

"I was wondering if you might've happened to see my old flock," she was saying.

One of the black birds dunked his head into the water and then shook himself off, trying to appear handsome.

"Flock, eh? Gonna assume it's a flock of white birds. Can't say I've seen anything like that around here. You get lost or something, chica? You lookin' to join 'em back up?"

Weiss flashed a glance over her shoulder to where her companions were resting in the grass.

"No. Not looking to rejoin. I've found a flock of my own," she declared. "I only asked because I wonder how they're fairing. Mine and a few others' feathers are white, but almost everyone else's were brown, black, or gray."

The sparrow twittered a laugh.

"Flock of white, brown, black, and gray birds? Oh yeah, I've seen 'em. That's every flock o' birds ever, sweetheart."

Weiss heaved a sigh.

"Very well. I'm done here. Enjoy your baths."

And before the others could even hope to call her back, Weiss took off in a flurry of white, leaving nothing in her wake but a blast of cold air to their faces. She circled the yard, getting a good view of the house from above.

For a moment, she flew up high, allowing the sunbeams to grace her back and wings. She was about to dive back down and join her friends when something caught her eye.

It was an unmistakably familiar shape, one she'd seen many times from above and even more unpleasantly from up close.

There was a strange cat creeping its way onto their yard, slinking close to the bushes to keep hidden. None of the other birds had noticed the predator yet.

Panicked, Weiss flitted down to where her friends were and landed in a fluster. The others all looked up at her in surprise, about to ask what was the matter.

"Th-That cat!" she gasped before they could speak. "He's back! In the bushes!"

She didn't need to say any more than that. Blake let out a growl and lashed her tail as she got to her paws. She drew Ruby behind her protectively, nudging her into a flower bed.

"Stay here," she murmured. "Weiss, you too. He's come after you guys before. I won't let him do it again."

"I'm comin' with you, Blake," Yang declared. "That mangy cat can't take me."

"You'd be surprised," Blake grunted. "I've seen him take down dogs before. I'll try to handle this peacefully, but please be careful, Yang."

"Don't worry about me."

Blake checked behind her shoulder to ensure Weiss and Ruby were safely tucked away in the flowers. With a swift nod, Blake tore off across the yard with Yang on her tail.

Blake could see Adam now, his ragged pelt blending in perfectly with the shadowy undergrowth. He hissed as soon as he noticed them nearing him, and any bird within range took off. And he wasn't very thrilled to see Yang.

"Adam!" Blake shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Well, well, look who it is," he snarled. "Little miss human-pet, coming to spoil all my fun." He gave a contemptuous lash of his tail. "And my lunch."

"Why are you here?" Blake demanded, her fur lifting up along her spine. "Why hunt in my yard?"

"Because I can," he spat at her. "There're no rules, Blake. I can hunt wherever I want to. I don't have borders to abide by."

"You do now," Blake growled. "From now on, if I see you in my yard again, I won't hesitate to chase you off."

Yang gave a warning growl behind her. Adam laughed bitterly.

"Really, Blake? Now that you've got a dog, you think you can threaten me?"

"Can't she?" Yang grumbled. She took a lumbering step forward and revealed her large teeth. Surprisingly, Adam stood his ground.

"You don't scare me, puppy."

"You sure about that?" Yang made a move to lunge, but Blake quickly blocked her.

"No. Let him go," she said, turning her stern gaze onto the tom. "But this will be his last warning."

"Oh, I'm shaking in my claws," he purred.

"You'd better be," Yang snapped. "Next time I catch you here, I'll rip your tail off."

"Best not to make empty threats, puppy," he growled. "I'll rip yours off first, and I can promise you that."

"Enough!" Blake hissed. "Get out and stay out. I mean it."

"I'm sure you do."

Blake watched as he backed away, his shredded ears held high in a display of nonchalance. He might've been retreating, but he wasn't giving up this battle. That much was clear. He whipped around, and just before he could slip into the bushes, he made sure they heard one last comment.

"I've never tasted a white bird or a red mouse before. I anticipate the day."

With a furious bark, Yang lunged at him. But the tomcat had already disappeared into the shadows without a trace. Blake growled after him before she turned back to Yang and sighed.

"Don't worry. He's just making threats."

"But he'll keep to it," Yang muttered. "I swear, if I ever catch him even looking at Ruby or Weiss, I'll flay him."

"He won't touch them," Blake soothed. "We'll make sure of that."

Yang nodded, digging her claws into the soil.

Blake took a moment to calm herself, then pressed her body against Yang's purring softly. The little rumbles served to make Yang feel better, and she gave her friend an appreciative lick to the head.

"We should get back to those two," she said.

Together, they made their way back across the yard, walking at a slow pace so Ruby and Weiss knew the danger had passed. The mouse and the bird emerged from their hiding spot.

"Is he gone?" Ruby fretted.

"He won't bother us again anytime soon, that's for sure," Yang told her. "But that got me all riled up. I could use a walk. What about you guys?"

"Sounds good to me," Blake agreed.

"Yeah!" Ruby nodded. "A walk sounds nice."

"I could stretch my wings a bit more," Weiss added.

Ruby crawled up onto Blake's back first, then took her favorite perch on Yang's head. Weiss was excited to be flying around the neighborhood for the first time rather than being carried.

Once ready, they set out together, all relieved to get their minds off of Adam for the time being.

They walked along the familiar sidewalk, passing by Pyrrha and Jaune's house. The gorgeous red Great Dane was sun-bathing in her yard and greeted the traveling quartet politely. She trotted up to Yang and bumped noses with her.

"I'm so glad to see you're doing well, Yang!" She knew of what had happened to Yang's previous owners.

"Thanks!" the retriever yipped. "You're looking great as ever, too!"

"Hi, Pyrrha!" Ruby greeted from atop Yang's head.

"Well, hello there, Ruby!"

As the two bigger dogs conversed, the little tan chihuahua waddled over to Blake.

"What's up?" Jaune asked, tail wagging.

"The usual," Blake purred. "Just going for a walk."

Weiss – who had since perched on Blake's shoulder – then puffed out her chest proudly.

"Perhaps you three are going for a walk. But I'm going for a flight."

"Whoa, really?" Jaune perked up and his tail started to wag faster. Pyrrha also looked thrilled.

"Weiss! Your wing is healed! That's grand!"

The pair of dogs congratulated her, and Weiss thanked them kindly and gave a celebratory flight around the yard. Then the groups parted ways for now.

Blake's odd pack passed by Nora and Ren's house soon afterward. The excited cream-colored pomeranian came scampering over to greet them, whereas the more reserved black poodle made his way slowly. They too, congratulated Weiss in her recovery.

As the quartet continued on their walk, similar things happened with all of their other friends who were able to be outside to see them. There were a few other friendly house cats, along with some more dogs.

When they passed by Coco and Velvet's house, their cages were on the porch, allowing them some fresh air and sunlight. Even the timid rabbit congratulated Weiss, and Coco let the four of them come up to say hello. That was rare, and Yang knew it. Coco hardly trusted her own humans, so for her to be allowing a dog and cat near hers and Velvet's cages was a big deal.

The seemingly-laid-back ferret could turn into a vicious biter within seconds, and she could slip through the bars of her cage and attack without issue if it meant keeping Velvet safe. But she seemed to be in a good mood today, and the six animals chatted for a while about this and that.

When at last their bellies started to rumble, Yang, Blake, Weiss, and Ruby headed for home as sunset approached. But just before they could cross the street, Weiss whistled a warning from where she hovered above.

"Hold on," she chirped. "There's something else in our yard."

"What?" Blake hissed. "Is it Adam again?"

"No... I can't tell what it is exactly... Should I have a look?"

"No," Blake mumbled. "Don't go alone. We'll confront it together."

They crossed the street in silence, crouching low, and before long, they could all make out the shape of the intruding animal in the grass. Weiss was the first to stop advancing, but instead hovered in place with a wince. Blake and Yang both froze as well and stuck out their tongues. Ruby held a paw to her nose and made a face.

"Aw, what is that?" she mumbled.

Blake sighed.

"Our guest," she replied. "Our guest is a skunk."

---------

A/N: Now who could this be...?