Pawprints (ch12)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!

So how is Weiss going to react to her new life and transformation...?

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

-----------

													Chapter 12. The New Plan

When she opened her eyes again, a splitting headache overcame Weiss, and her body was throbbing with a dull ache. She could see Yang walking away, and tried to call out after her.

But all that sounded was a low whimper.

It wasn't her voice.

When she noticed Blake sitting above her, Weiss wanted to cry out and jump into her arms. But her body was numb from the cold until she tried to sit up.

She saw her paws, saw the long white fur of her scarred chest, felt her heightened sense of hearing, felt her tail swishing in the snow behind her.

She wasn't human.

With a terrified roar, she tensed, pulling herself into a crouched position, ears flat and eyes wide with fear.

She was a panther. Blake had turned her by spilling so much aura into her to save her life. But Weiss didn't know how to turn back, or if she even could. She couldn't understand Blake when she spoke to her in her human form - the noises were unintelligible to Weiss.

A low whining sound rose up in the back of her throat, and Weiss shivered, looking up at Blake with pleading eyes.

. . .

Blake was more than relived to know Yang intended to give up her hunting career, and she was more than ready to watch her walk away after all this today.

"Thank you, Yang. I'll keep her safe. I promise."

Then, Blake heard a whimper and looked down. Weiss was awake.

Immediately, the white panther started to panic. She let out a terrified yowl as she tensed and crouched. Blake had been too tired and wary of Yang to think of how Weiss would react to waking up as a Panther. She quickly reached out to rest a hand on Weiss' shoulder.

"Shhh, it's all right, Weiss. You're alive. I had to give you my aura and you turned... but it's all right. Remember what I said? It's just like a thought. Just think about being human and you will change."

Blake spoke calmly to Weiss, hoping to ease her fears. The other girl either couldn't understand or was too terrified as she started to whine, looking at Blake with a fearful eyes. Resting her head against Weiss' muzzle, Blake kissed the cat's nose.

"You'll be fine, Weiss. Just relax, just think about being human," Blake repeated.

. . .

Weiss flinched and shuddered when Blake touched her head, scared she might accidentally hurt the girl somehow now in her bigger form. She couldn't make sense of what Blake was saying, but when she leaned in to place a soft kiss on her nose, Weiss calmed herself.

She tried to dig into her memory of how Blake had once told her she transformed, and once the image of her human self was firm and clear in her mind, Weiss felt her body morphing once more.

Her stature shrank, muscles recoiling as her body took the shape of a human's again. Her tail remained, however, as did her ears, her long white hair fanning out all down her chest and back, a coat of white fur still covering most of her skin, but she was human again. Mostly.

The first thing she did when it was possible, was cry out Blake's name.

"Blake... Blake!" She wailed and threw her arms around the girl, her heart still pounding scared with all that had transpired. Blake felt weak in her arms after having spilled so much of her aura into Weiss, but now she was better, and she could feel it, so Weiss opted to give some back.

She held a long, soulful kiss to her lips and transferred a bit of her replenishing aura back to Blake, just a bit, just enough to make the dark-haired girl's embrace around her a bit stronger.

Weiss didn't care that she'd turned. She didn't care that she'd lost her old life. Because she had a new one ahead of her, with Blake.

But she still had one last thing to do.

She broke her kiss with Blake and pulled her to her chest, resting her chin on the tired girl's shoulder as her eyes sought out her old friend.

"Yang!" she called out.

The blonde had stayed behind, worried when Weiss woke in her panther form panicked. When she heard the girl's voice now, she turned back to meet those familiar blue eyes. Her throat closed up.

"Weiss-" she sobbed. "I'm... so, so sorry-"

"Yang…" She cut off her apology and smiled softly. "I forgive you. I'm sorry, too. For… For leaving you, making you worry. But also, thank you. You took care of me a lot back then. Now that's her job." She nuzzled into Blake's shoulder.

Yang was glad to see she was all right, that she was alive and happy. She knew Weiss would be fine.

"Okay…" she sighed. "Thanks, Weiss. For forgiving me 'n all. I'm… turning in my hunting badge, so you don't have to worry about that anymore. You two just… take care, okay? Maybe I'll take a hike to that forest sometime in the spring and see you around, yeah?" Her lips grinned, but her eyes watered at the thought of saying goodbye.

Weiss' condition was the same.

"Yes. Please do. Thank you, Yang."

Weiss watched her go, unspeakably happy that the blonde was giving up hunting, trusting she would be able to take care of her younger sister more now.

Weiss felt Blake sag a bit in her arms and leaned back slightly. She kissed her again, pushing a bit of air into her lungs as she did so, stroking through her hair gently.

"And thank you," she murmured. "For saving my life. For giving me a new one."

. . .

Weiss' arms wrapped around Blake's neck the second she was human, crying her name as she pressed a kiss to the tired Panther girl's lips.

Blake was too exhausted to do anything but kiss back, happy that Weiss was alive and well. A trickle of aura flowed in from the kiss, but this time Blake didn't need to pull away; she was able to accept her partner's aura.

Strength returned to her limbs and she wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist, holding the girl tight, not wanting to ever let her go again. Quietly, she listened to Weiss and Yang's exchange, happy that the friendship between the two didn't die because of her.

Even with the aura given to her by Weiss, Blake was still exhausted and slumped into her partner's arms, another kiss pressing to her lips.

"I would do it again," Blake replied lovingly as she kissed Weiss back, curling Weiss' tail together with her own. "Also... you're really pretty..." She blushed a little, ears flicking.

. . .

Weiss was fairly flattered by the comment and her ears tilted slightly downward in embarrassment, her tail swishing through Blake's.

"I'm going to need some time to get used to it. You look much better, trust me."

The air was still now, their breath billowing in white puffs around them. Weiss could still feel how exhausted Blake was and held her there for a while, realizing that her own sickness was gone. She assumed it was from the enhancements of now being a Panther; she'd never know Blake to fall ill, after all.

She slid her head down and rested it against Blake's chest, sighing again in relief when she could feel the girl's heartbeat. It's strength matched that of Weiss' renewed pulse, and she squeezed her tighter, thankful that she could.

"Let's go back," she murmured. "I know you're tired so I'll transform and carry you back. That's a favor it's about time I repaid."

She let go of Blake and concentrated, thinking of her Panther form, surprised by how effortless it was to make the shift complete. It was painless, too, thankfully.

Once finished, she laid down in all her beauty as a white panther, and nudged Blake toward her back with a small purr.

. . .

In spite of her enervation, Blake smiled as she watched Weiss transform so effortlessly; she was going to make a fine Panther.

When Weiss was ready, Blake carefully climbed on top of her as best she could. It was a little strange though; she'd given plenty of rides, but never been the one to receive one before.

Once she was situated, Blake grabbed handfuls of Weiss' fur and leaned down over her.

"All right, let's go." Blake kissed the back of Weiss' ears and chuckled.

. . .

Weiss gathered her clothes in her mouth as Blake got comfortable, and once they were both ready, she headed off through the forest.

The snow was barely cold against the pink pads of her paws, and though her weight was almost double that of her human weight now, she might've been moving even quieter in this form. Her body heat was incredible, but it wasn't at all stifling, and simply felt natural.

As they went along, she noticed a herd of deer in the distance, but knew now was no time for hunting. Still, she wouldn't mind getting a lesson or two from Blake in the future.

The cave was soon in sight, and Weiss was eager to get back, pausing briefly just to dig up a few sticks for the fire before she brought Blake back inside and let her off, depositing what she'd carried in her mouth onto the ground. She shifted forms as quickly as possible and went to Blake instantly, catching the exhausted girl in her arms and kissing her forehead.

"Here, rest now," she murmured, laying Blake down on their blanket and clothes. "I'll keep you warm this time." She got the fire going before draping herself slightly over Blake, resting on her shoulder and keeping a firm hold on her hip, trailing slow kisses from her neck to her cheek and back.

. . .

They reached the cave, where Weiss grabbed some sticks for the fire. The cave was cold and dark when they entered, but as soon as the flames were going the temperature rose cozily.

Blake sat unsteadily on their blankets; her aura was regenerating slowly and her body still felt heavy and slow.

Weiss transformed and wrapped her arms around Blake to steady her. Blake had to admit she already felt so much better jus being beside her. Blake sighed happily as she wrapped her arms around Blake's waist and kissed her cheek.

Blake let out a small purr.

"I love you, Weiss," she murmured as she tilted Weiss' head up and kissed her yet again. "But... I'm sorry you were forced to turn. It was the only way to keep you alive... but you should have been the one to decide if you wanted to turn or not." Blake looked away regretfully.

. . .

She could hear the guilt dripping from every word Blake murmured to her, and Weiss shifted above her, pressing her weight down just a bit to have her stop talking.

"It's fine," she sighed happily. "To be honest… I've been thinking for weeks now about… asking you to turn me. I just never found the guts to say it. I always felt… lesser around you. Being just a human when you were so much more." She stroked her fingers slowly through Blake's hair, running nails over the fur of her ears.

"I'm glad that you turned me. I… didn't want to die, not when we've only just found each other. Thank you for turning me, Blake." She held a long kiss to the girl's lips, breathing softly against her before pulling back. "Though… I do wish we could've done without the bullet," she chuckled to herself, briefly flashing her eyes down to the pink scar slicing over her chest. "It's… kind of ugly, isn't it?" she muttered, her smiling fading.

. . .

Blake smiled at Weiss' words, relieved with the knowledge that her companion wasn't bitter. The white-haired girl's nails ran through her hair, scratching her ears as well and eliciting a purr from Blake.

"You were never lesser than me, Weiss. You've always been amazing," she replied.

Blake enjoyed the following kisses, but when Weiss voiced her insecurities about the scar, Blake frowned. Blake immediately pulled her closer.

"It's not ugly at all," she protested. "Nothing about you is," Blake pushed herself up to kiss the scar on Weiss' collar, just above her pulse. "You're beautiful, Weiss."

. . .

She closed her eyes as Blake's lips ghosted over her heart, feeling it thump, then went up to her cheek. Weiss sighed and laid down against her partner, tucking her head beneath Blake's chin.

"Thank you, Blake..."

She closed her eyes, humming softly as she listened to Blake's steady pulse. Her tail snaked down to find hers, curling them together as her hands played through dark hair, then down over Blake's sides, rubbing soothingly as she continued to kiss her neck and collar lazily.

Once they'd both rested more and replenished their auras and strength, Weiss had many things in mind they needed to do.

But until then, she simply curled into Blake and dug up her first purr, rolling it out until her breathing grew slow and quiet.

. . .

Blake wrapped her arms around Weiss, entwining their tails. She purred happily as Weiss trailed slow kisses along her neck and collar, massaging her sore sides as well.

Then, Blake's ears flicked at a certain sound.

Weiss purred for the first time in her new body, a pleasant sound that Blake adored as it mixed with her own and echoed throughout the cave.

Even though she knew they needed to rest, Blake had one more thing that needed to be addressed.

"When do you want to move to the forest that Yang mentioned? We can't stay here much longer," she murmured as she kissed the top of Weiss' head. Her hands rubbed light circles up and down Weiss' back, fingernails gently scratching.

. . .

Weiss pondered for a moment, softening her purr a bit so she could concentrate on her thoughts. When she honed in on her senses, she could easily tell they were heightened, much more sensitive than they had been in her full human form. She could sense the oncoming weather beneath her skin, taste it on the roof of her mouth.

There was a distant cold on the air, probably only a few days away, and if they wanted to avoid the blizzard and find a new home by then, they needed to get moving soon.

"Maybe…" her jaws parted in a yawn. "Maybe we should leave tomorrow, before the storm. We don't want to be trapped in here or travel in that."

The present day was no more than half over, so depending on when they woke, they could take off under cover of the night.

"And then once we're there, you should teach me how to hunt. My… pelt will be perfect in the snow."

To refer to a pelt as her own felt odd, and yet it was as though it'd been that way all her life.

. . .

Blake hummed in agreement, happy with the new plan they had. She could feel the storm that Weiss was talking about, the taste of it filling the air.

Mirroring Weiss's yawn with one of her own, Blake pulled Weiss closer to her, the smaller girl resting on top.

"We should rest before we go. It's going to take some time to reach that forest, but I know where it is," she said sleepily, closing her eyes. The exhaustion from the day caught up with Blake, and she could quickly feel herself starting to fall asleep. "I'll teach you to hunt when we get there... I promise... We'll have... the best meals you've ever eaten..."

She mumbled herself to sleep with thoughts of good food and new scenery that would inevitably come with her new life with Weiss.

The same images danced through Weiss' mind as well as they both slipped into slumber.

-----------

A/N: After all that drama and angst, we had to have a fluff chapter.

We've got a bit more to go! The final 3 chapters will be a little shorter apiece, but I'm aiming for a solid 15!