Pawprints (ch3)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!

So now these two are going to have to figure out what to do in the middle of the woods together after running away. Hmm...

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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												Chapter 3. The Deserted Cave

Blake ran until her muscles ached, until she deemed that they had run far enough away to stop. She crept into the undergrowth, into a bushel of brambles to keep them hidden from plain sight. Gently, she set Weiss down and let go of her collar, shifting back into her human shape as Weiss was turning around.

"Sorry for the bumpy ride. Hopefully you aren't hurt."

. . .

Weiss knew she was going to regret this in the future. She'd seen the look in Yang's eyes as Blake had taken them past her. Yang had been furious at Blake and scared for Weiss, not wanting to see another of her friends hurt or killed by the cats.

Weiss had given her companion an uncertain look, but one that would hopefully allow Yang to know she'd accepted her fate. She wanted Yang to give up hunting after losing more people she cared about, not be full of rage and kill more.

I'm sorry…

There was certainly no turning back at this point.

When Weiss was let down onto the ground, she shed her equipment - the satchel she had brought along as well as her rifle; she might need it in the future.

"I'm… fine…" she huffed, turning back to Blake-

First order of business.

She dug into her bag quickly and yanked out one of the changes of clothes she'd packed along that morning under the impression something like this might happen between the two of them. She tossed Blake a pair of black pants and a purple long-sleeved shirt.

"Put these on. I can't… think very clearly otherwise."

Blake really was stunning.

. . .

Blake was painfully aware of her state of dress - or rather lack of it - in that moment. It wasn't normally a problem in the pack; everyone was naked when they reverted from their Panther form, so they were used to seeing others without clothes. And even in their human forms, patches of short fur lined and covered the necessary areas.

But Weiss wasn't a Panther so she wasn't used to it - not to mention Blake felt self-conscious around her.

"Err… right. Thanks." Blake accepted the clothes, quickly putting them on. Once she was finished adjusting the shirt, she looked back at Weiss who was trying not to look back at her. "I'm dressed now," she said calmly.

A moment of silence passed by, and the weight and awkwardness of the whole situation finally caught up to her. Her skin felt hot beneath the foreign clothes.

"Um... It's nice to be able to see you again, though I wish it could be under different circumstances..."

. . .

It was a bit of a relief to see Blake clothed, but when Weiss realized they were her clothes she was wearing, it was a bit strange; she looked just like a normal person-

-aside from the ears and tail that remained.

She knew it was possible for them to retract those as well, but Weiss couldn't help a small smile when she saw that Blake left them visible.

"It… It's nice to see you again, too," she said carefully, slowly getting to her feet. She felt no need to be wary of Blake, as the other girl's ears were perked out of curiosity, not flattened out of fear or distrust.

She wanted to get to know her more, too...

But it was then Weiss seemed to truly realize what they'd just done, what this meant.

"Oh, god…" She brought her hands to her head and slumped to her knees with a groan.

. . .

Blake's tail swished back and forth as Weiss stood up to her height. But not a minute later Weiss slumped to her knees, head in her hands and a groan passing from her lips.

Startled, Blake rushed forward without a second thought, kneeling in front of Weiss and putting her hands on the other girl's shoulders.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

Weiss didn't respond right away, and that was when Blake figured out what probably had her upset. She had just abandoned her friends and the life she knew. That blonde Huntress would assume that Weiss was dead and pass that news along to the other Hunters. Weiss would be dead in their eyes, in their world...

It might just be too painful.

Blake's heart sank. They'd really made a huge mistake, hadn't they? One that would put them both in danger and at risk, both from the opposing parties and possibly even their own.

"If you want," she murmured. "You can go back... I'll tear things up enough to look like a fight happened between us, and you can tell them I got away."

. . .

"No…" Weiss sighed. "No… I don't want to go back there. All they'll do is try to brainwash me into killing more… more of your kind…" She shook her head as flashes of her first six kills went through her mind like shooting pains. She never wanted to kill a seventh Panther.

"If… If they find us together, we'll be killed. I'm sure your pack or my people would have the same reactions. They'll call us traitors. I told Yang your pack were Human-borns and not hostile, but no one listens to me… ugh…"

She took a deep breath then, feeling Blake's hands on her shoulders, firm and supportive. She looked up and met honest, melancholy golden eyes.

And Weiss came to a decision.

"Forget it," she huffed. "Forget them. We can figure something out together. But for now, we just need to survive until we come to a surefire decision. You can… show me how to live in this forest, and I can give you some pointers as well. I…" She offered a small smile. "I think we can do this, if we're together."

Weiss quickly kicked her rifle away then, taking one of Blake's hands and holding it to her chest over her heart as she bowed her head - a display of the utmost honesty back at home in her village.

"And I swear on my life that I'll never try to take yours again," she said solemnly.

. . .

Blake nodded slowly. She knew that everything Weiss said was true. She had attacked one of her own pack members to defend a Hunter; she couldn't go back now either.

"I'll do my best to keep you safe, Weiss. I promise..."

Weiss' hands were small but soft around hers. When she brought Blake's palm to her chest, Blake could feel the slightest pulse beating underneath. It was a nice feeling...

But it was soon followed by a prickle up her spine, some foreboding warning that this wasn't going to work.

But Blake wanted to make it work.

She shook her head for a bit of clarity and looked down into Weiss' eyes.

"So... where would you like to go?"

. . .

Weiss almost sputtered at the comment.

"Go? There are places to go in this forest?" Releasing Blake's hand, she looked around herself slowly. It just looked like a jumble of trees and bushes to her.

But then again, she hadn't lived her entire life here. She didn't know every secret spot of every nook and cranny.

As she went to retrieve her rifle, she tried to think a bit on her answer.

When she did turn back to her companion, she made sure to keep her rifle pointed at the ground; from hereon out she only planned to use it to keep the two of them safe.

"Then… I suppose we should find somewhere to stay the night."

. . .

Blake smirked a little at Weiss' confusion - she should have known that the white-haired girl wouldn't see anywhere to go in the forest.

"All right, somewhere to stay for the night. Give me a second to think."

There were several spots they could go - the biggest worry was finding a location where they wouldn't be found by other Panthers. She went through the list of shelters they could go to, thinking of the areas that surrounded each.

"Okay, I know where we're going." Blake lifted her chin in confidence, taking off her shirt as she spoke. The safest spot for them to go would be the cave the Panther pack had just occupied the previous night. The Panthers wouldn't go back there and the Hunters would never find it; the only concern was fresh drinking water, but that could come later.

. . .

"All right…" Weiss spoke and nodded slowly, relieved Blake had thought of someplace to go, hopefully with some kind of stream nearby.

She noticed that Blake was disrobing, and Weiss turned away for modesty's sake, picking up the clothes and putting them back into her satchel as Blake removed them. While she was putting things away, Weiss checked her supplies; she still had a good amount of ammunition left, along with the knives on her belt and two vials of poison. It would keep them safe for a while, so long as no other soul ever caught wind of their secrets.

Weiss had also squeezed in several pairs of clothes before she'd headed out that morning, and hopefully a clean stream somewhere could provide water to wash things.

Despite how incredibly dangerous all of this felt, Weiss had to admit she was a bit thrilled.

. . .

Blake took off her pants, handing them to Weiss without making eye contact with her companion. The black fur covered her skin entirely now as she put her hands to the ground, her fingernails elongating and sharpening. Her muscles and bones grew and shifted to their new places on her panther form.

Once the transformation was complete, she was once again a sleek black panther. She turned around to look at Weiss, finding the girl looking through the bag she had brought with her. A gentle nudge with her nose to the back was how she got Weiss' attention. Her golden eyes looked into deep blue and a moment passed.

This is the decision I've made. I'll stand by it to my last breath.

Blake scanned Weiss' face. She wanted to know more about this girl. She lowered her front half to allow Weiss to climb on.

. . .

Weiss got lost in her golden eyes and somehow understood what Blake was telling her.

"Me, too," she murmured. "I'm not going back there no matter what. I always knew that wasn't the life for me. I don't want to kill anymore…"

Securing the bag around her shoulder and putting her equipment into place, she stood just as Blake lowered herself. Carefully, Weiss swung one leg over her broad shoulders, feeling the taut muscles of Blake's body as she straightened up, holding Weiss' weight easily. Weiss leaned forward, hugging her arms around Blake's neck, squeezing her flanks with her legs.

The instant they took off, Weiss experienced something she'd never felt before.

It was… invigorating.

She felt entirely free with Blake to support her like this, so powerful and like nothing could touch her. Her heart pounded, and by the time they came to a halt, she was florid, shaking slightly from the thrill of it all as she dismounted.

"Wow…" she breathed. "I know all you did was run, but… that was amazing."

. . .

Weiss was so light on Blake's shoulders, her thin arms wrapped around Blake's neck and her legs squeezing her flanks. Blake's legs pumped as she tore through the undergrowth - she was taking a longer way to the cave to avoid potential onlookers.

The rock outcropping was soon in sight, and Blake slowed down from a sprint to a slow trot before stopping. She lowered her front half again so Weiss could dismount easily. Blake reverted into her human form with a smirk already on her face.

"Glad you enjoyed it. Welcome to... our new home, I guess." Blake gestured to the clearing of rocks around them and the large cave. It didn't slip Blake's attention that Weiss had watched her transformation with rapt attention. She flicked her ears. "Are you... curious about how the transformation works?"

. . .

Our new home…

She repeated the words to herself as she took in the sight of the cave. It was carved out in the side of a massive mountain, and she assumed the caverns inside were huge, enough to house an entire pack of Panthers.

It would need some touching-up, and Weiss knew it'd take her a while to get used to it and the rough new lifestyle that awaited her, but if her roommate was Blake, she didn't think it would be so bad.

She dug into her bag and tossed Blake her clothes again as she transformed to her human shape. Weiss put all of her things on the ground and sat cross-legged, inviting Blake to do the same.

"Am I?" she said incredulously. "Of course I am. I mean, I've studied Panthers quite a bit, but I never understood the physics behind it all. How do your bones and muscles just… shrink and expand without causing damage to your human form? Doesn't it hurt? And your stomach - how does that work? Do you need to eat for a panther or a girl?"

What better way to find out than to ask a Panther herself?

. . .

Blake caught the clothes Weiss tossed her and put them on quickly. Once she had finished adjusting the shirt sleeves, she sat crossed-legged across from Weiss, the contents of the bag between them.

She thought about the questions carefully. This wasn't something she had ever really thought about in depth - as a kid it had been prohibited, and once she'd grown up it wasn't relevant. Her tail swished back and forth before she answered.

"I don't know specifics, not sure anyone does since just being a Panther is outlawed. There isn't any pain, it's just like a thought - one minute I'm human the next I'm a panther. I don't know how it is for Panther-born, but as a Human-born-Panther, I have to expend some of my aura to hold the panther form. As for food, I eat normally. I have to eat more if I'm a panther, and less if I'm a human."

Blake finished explaining, tail swishing in a little bit of embarrassment. She'd never talked so much about herself before in her life.

. . .

Weiss almost felt she should be taking notes. She leaned forward, listening eagerly to every word Blake spoke, utterly fascinated.

"Wow…" She breathed, sitting back when the girl had finished talking. "That's incredible. Sorry, it's a bit hard for me to digest. Speaking of which…"

She heard a growling, and it wasn't from Blake's mouth, but about a foot lower.

"We should… find some way to get supper, I suppose. How should we do this? I wouldn't want to risk the sound of my rifle giving us away, but I wouldn't want you getting hurt hunting something. Is there perhaps a stream nearby we could fish in? I can start a fire and we can cook the meat. I'll try to give you a meal that's worth your while."

If Blake was basically going to be her protector and companion, it was the least Weiss could do for her, though she fully intended to provide the same security for Blake.

. . .

Blake could hear a rumbling coming from Weiss' stomach, and could feel the pangs of hunger herself. She stood up, already preparing herself for a hunt.

"We can't use your rifle. The battle should have been over a while ago for either side, so a rifle firing now would draw suspicions. There's a stream about half a mile away, but I'm lousy at fishing," Blake confessed, holding a hand out to help Weiss up.

"Also, don't worry about something hurting me. The sound of the fighting will have driven away most of the large game. I'll be hunting us some rabbits, so I shouldn't be too long." Blake took her shirt off again, only stopping to look at her companion. "You can come with me and see a panther hunt, or you can stay and make a fire and make this place feel a little more welcoming. Your choice."

. . .

She'd be a fine fool to pass up an opportunity like that.

"I'll come along. I can make the fire quickly when we get back. I just…" She looked down briefly. "I hope I won't be a distraction to you when you hunt. Not to say that I doubt your skills, but I'm not exactly… inconspicuous."

She gestured down at her attire; though it was camouflaged a light brown color, her bright white hair was a bit hard to miss. She didn't want whatever prey to see her and then have it result in giving them away.

As Blake transformed and left her clothes behind, Weiss gathered a few twigs and sticks from the entrance of the cave, putting them into a small pile for later. Once ready, Blake lowered herself for the Huntress, and Weiss left her equipment and bags in the cave, making a lighter carry for Blake.

Weiss hesitated though, just for a moment.

She must be crazy. She can't really be doing this, running off with Blake, finding a place to call 'home' with her in the middle of the forest, planning on how to find dinner, somehow hoping to avoid detection...

It's impossible. It will never work...

And yet... she still slipped her arms around Blake's neck, feeling a powerful warmth wafting from her fur as she curled her fingers.

Blake already trusted her. Weiss believed she trusted Blake, too.

"All right," she said, climbing up. "Let's go."

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A/N: So this is like a 'they were roommates' AU except, y'know... they're living in a cave... uh...