The Beast And The Fairy (ch5)

Finally, the wait is over!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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						Chapter 5. A Beastly Encounter

The night was an understandably uneasy one for Weiss.

She woke frequently due to one reason or another. Sometimes, it was the rustling of the bushes beneath her or the trees around her. Other times, it was due to nightmares or just her own nerves.

She only slept when she was too exhausted to stay conscious and quite literally passed out.

But she woke with the first rays of sunlight in the morning, feeling golden light dancing on her skin. Cracking her eyes open, she found herself balled in between the crevices of the tree the bats had led her to last night.

But now, only birds were in her sight, flitting about to and fro as they went about their busy morning routines of catching insects and collecting twigs.

Weiss was still for a moment, assessing the forest around her. The fact that the birds were out and about indicated to her that there was no immediate danger nearby, so she dared to make her first move.

Weiss stretched her arms out in front of herself, feeling her back and shoulders crack a few times here and there.

Next, she straightened her legs, still drained from yesterday's ordeal and her significant lack of sleep in the night.

At last, Weiss slowly unfurled her wings, taking great care in stretching them out. To her great relief, they were no longer damp and had been dried by the night air as she'd hoped.

Still, just to be safe, she turned them toward the strongest rays of sunlight, allowing the warmth to seep through her hair and back. She absorbed a bit of energy from it, and before long was ready to set out.

If only she knew where to go.

As she gathered her bow and arrows and put them into place in her sash and over her shoulder respectively, she felt the hollowness in her stomach. She knew her first order of business was to find some breakfast, for she would be too weak to travel if she failed to do so.

Therefore, once Weiss was confident she could take flight, she stood on one of the mighty branches and spread her wings.

Then, with a familiar step, she kicked off and jumped down onto the nearest current of wind.

But for some reason, it was a struggle for her to take off. She'd never had a problem before, but right now, she wobbled sloppily in midair, flitting about precariously.

"Wh-What is going on?" she gasped, very nearly colliding with the tree.

Her wings shuddered strangely, in a way she'd never felt before.

Then, she dipped toward the ground.

Only her quick reflexes spared her a broken nose. Weiss immediately called forth the magics she'd kept stored in her necklace and clothes, and spread it to her wings to make them steady. Her posture was fixed, and she smoothly lifted back into the air.

With a sigh of relief, Weiss realized what was amiss. Here in these woods, no fairies dwelled, and so no magics filled the air - or if they did, they were very faint, not nearly enough to support her.

Right now, the only magics she had were the ones in her own body and trinkets. She knew there wasn't much left, and she didn't want to risk using it all up in flight before she could get home.

She'd need to return quickly.

Weiss flitted out through the trees, bound for the way she'd come.

She soared more silently than any bat or bird. The magics that weaved within her wings weren't like feathers or flappy membrane, so they made no sound as she moved. The only indication that a fairy was flying overhead was a very small, faint, and almost unnoticeable trail of fairy dust produced by the magics necessary to fly.

Such dust was often carried off on the breeze and dissipated before it could ever hope to sprinkle the ground below - what did make it down blessed the grass and made it fertile. The rest provided an almost ethereal glowing trail following up to a few feet behind each fairy.

Weiss hoped the silver dust shed by her wings might somehow attract other fairies to her position so a rescue team might find her and lead her home.

But until that happened, she'd do her best to make it home on her own.

Presently, she followed the birds amongst the treetops, searching for bushels of berries hidden beneath the leaves. She found a few blueberries as well as a few red ones and plucked them off to collect them in her palm.

Once she'd gathered a handful, Weiss saved her energy and sat down on a branch, folding her wings at her back to give them a rest. She popped the berries into her mouth in turn, letting the familiar flavors calm her a bit. The berries tasted similar to the ones back home, so it reassured Weiss that at least she wasn't in a part of the forest so distant the food tasted differently.

But that also meant the ground was still likely the territory of the beasts, so she dared not go down.

Despite having swallowed a large amount of water yesterday, Weiss found herself parched.

Casting her gaze downward, she spotted the inviting, glimmering water of the river not far away. She swallowed, scouring the area below for any signs of prowling beasts, but detected none.

Quietly, Weiss took flight once more, keeping to the tree branches and foliage as best she could to cover herself from view.

Gradually, she lowered herself to the ground, until her bare toes touched the dewy grass.

Cautiously, she scurried forward toward the water's edge, checking over her shoulder one last time before she knelt down. Cupping her hands, she dipped them into the cold water before bringing it up to her lips to drink.

Weiss assumed the beasts would only be waiting in ambush in spots they knew fairies would stop to drink at. But since there were clearly no fairies living in these parts of the woods, she thought she might be safe from harm – at least for the moment.

Evidently, she'd thought wrong for the second day in a row.

Upon her second drink of water, Weiss suddenly felt a chill shoot up her spine, and her shoulders went tense. It was the unmistakable feeling of a rabbit being watched by a fox.

Only, Weiss felt she had a bit of a better chance than a rabbit might have had.

Slowly, with controlled motions, she reached for her bow with one hand and an arrow with the other. But she didn't want to start a fight unless it was inevitable.

She looked straight ahead, not wanting to show she'd noticed her stalker and give them reason to attack.

Calmly, Weiss stared down at the water, watching the reflections of the forest around her. The birds stopped chirping, and she watched as a few of them flew away from one tree in particular.

Weiss took note of which tree it was, knowing that would be where she'd find her opponent.

She listened for a moment longer, until she heard the padding of cautious feet atop grass.

Whatever was watching her was drawing nearer now, and Weiss wasn't about to be ambushed – not again.

With one swift motion faster than the blink of an eye, Weiss whipped around, drew her bow, positioned an arrow on the string, and fluttered several feet up into the air, taking aim at the bushes below.

"Show yourself!" she demanded, elbow pulled back behind the taught string of her bow.

There was a hiss of sorts from the bushes as a beast revealed itself.

Weiss quickly took note of its appearance.

Clearly, it was female. She had long, scraggly black hair like the night itself, and adorned a brown shirt woven of forest fabrics that covered the chest area, but revealed the stomach. Pants of a similar color covered her waist but revealed her thighs and everything below them.

A long, snake-like black tail stood erect at the beast's back, and the catlike ears were perked tall in surprise atop her head. At the ends of her bare fingers and toes were long, claw-like nails, probably double the length of Weiss' own.

But unlike the previous group Weiss had encountered, this girl adorned no mask to cover her face. Her nose was a small black dot against the tanned skin. That tan was a darker contrast that spoke of years of absorbing shadow - as opposed to Weiss' purer, whiter skin that captured the brightness of the sun.

The beast looked up at Weiss with wide golden eyes, more fearful than antagonistic.

But that didn't mean Weiss was about to let her off easy.

"Halt!" she hollered, arrow aimed at the beast's toes in warning. "You are trespassing on fairy grounds, beast! Leave now, or I will be forced to take violent action!"

Truth be told, Weiss wasn't entirely certain if these were still fairy grounds or not, but she hoped her tone and choice of words would be enough to startle this beast away.

Clearly, she was mistaken again.

She watched as the beast remained frozen in place for a moment, her golden eyes locked on Weiss'. The beast hunched her back slightly, as though she were prepared to either lunge or turn and dart away – but which one it was, Weiss couldn't tell-

-until the beast rushed forward toward the river in a blur.

Startled by the sudden movement, Weiss took aim once more and fired her arrow. It shot directly at the beast's path and embedded itself in the grass just inches away from the girl's toes. The beast scrambled to a halt just a few feet away from the river, hissing in frustration as she glared up at Weiss.

The Fairy Princess drew another arrow and hovered in place.

"Cease your meddling, beast! I know you can understand me. Or are you that uneducated?"

She waited for a response of some sort.

Now that the beast had run out of the bushes, Weiss could see she was unarmed. It made her feel guilty for firing at a weaponless opponent, but Weiss reminded herself she'd need to be a bit harsh if she herself wanted to avoid an even more troublesome situation.

The beast girl wrinkled her nose, as though smelling the air, then shook her head before meeting the fairy's gaze once more.

"I understand," she grunted. "I just want to-"

"Then if you understand-" Weiss snapped. "Obey my warning! The direction you're trying to advance in is fairy territory, so I suggest you turn tail and head the other way," she warned. "There are already enough of your kind invading my lands. We don't need any more of you there."

Judging by the fact that she hadn't seen more beasts since the ambush yesterday, this one was probably alone. Weiss almost considered trying to take her hostage and force the girl to bring her back to the correct part of the forest.

In exchange for her bringing me back, I could set her free to return to her clan. Weiss was seriously considering this for a moment, until she quickly shook her head. Heavens no! What am I thinking? Fairies never take captives! That's barbaric! I'm starting to think just like those awful beasts!

Distressed at her own thoughts, Weiss took her eyes off the beast for a split second.

Not one to pass up such an opportunity, the beast took action against her armed adversary. Bending down, she scooped up a handful of dirt and dust, then grunted as she thrust it up into the fairy's face.

Weiss shrieked as she was temporarily blinded, forced to lower her weapon as she ducked her face into her shoulder in an effort to wipe her eyes.

"Wh-Why you-!"

But the beast didn't stick around to listen to insults. Knowing she wouldn't have enough time to swim across the river, she had no choice but to hurry back into the forest the way she'd come.

Weiss listened to the sounds of movement and could infer where the girl had gone.

"Why that... vicious beast!" she spat. "Do you know who I am? You won't get away with soiling my dress and putting dirt in my hair!"

Folding the bow beneath her arm, Weiss took off through the forest after the beast. She wasn't familiar with these parts, but she was skilled enough to be able to maneuver through the foreign branches and tree trunks with minimal effort. Enraged as she was for being made a fool out of, Weiss moved with deadly precision as she tracked down the guilty party.

The beast was incredibly fast on-foot, probably as fast as the angry fairy tracking her down in the air. But Weiss wasn't about to lose sight of her, not when she knew that would mean losing the girl once and for all.

She kept her eyes trained on the black hair and tail, weaving through the trees and keeping low in order to stick close. She let her opponent know Weiss wasn't deterred by her speed by shouting after her.

"You'll regret that, you cur! I'll teach you to throw dust at the Princess of Fairies!"

The beast was clearly intrigued by what she'd said in proclaiming her title, for Weiss watched her come screeching to a halt.

Weiss, too, angled her wings to avoid a large branch and twisted her body flexibly over it before pausing to hover in midair. Huffing, she glared down at the beast who had likewise stopped to look up at her.

"Princess?" the beast queried, not even breathless. "What's the Princess of Fairies doing all the way out here so far from home?"

"As if that's any of your business!" Weiss snapped. "I'll have you apologize for hurling that dust in my face now, if you please!" Weiss held off on drawing her bow and arrow and hovered expectantly, waiting for the profuse apologies.

But the beast girl merely stared up at her in confusion, still baffled by what she'd just been told.

"You... you're the-"

But she didn't finish.

Instantly, the beast girl dropped down into a crouch on the forest floor, letting out a low growl.

Weiss narrowed her eyes and flew back a pace.

"What is it?" she demanded. "I can't make sense of you if all you do is growl like that. Speak up, beast!"

But the beast girl continued to growl, staring up at Weiss. The fairy was put-off rather quickly at that.

"Wh-What's this now? Plan to attack me and take me hostage back to your clan? Well, I've got some news for you. An entire troop has already tried and failed in that department, so you'd best forget the idea here and now."

Even so, the girl below her looked suddenly fierce and even a bit angry, a dire contrast to the baffled, even flustered girl Weiss had just chased down. She took another fluttering pace back and went a bit higher, wondering whether or not she should take aim with her bow once again.

The girl on the ground lashed her tail and slowly shook her head at Weiss.

"No..." she mumbled. "Don't move..."

"What's that?" Weiss snapped. "I swear it on my honor that if you try anything funny I'll-"

"Get down!"

"Wh-Wha-?!"

Without so much as a second's worth of warning, Weiss was taken aback as the beast girl sprung up from the forest floor. Even though Weiss was a good ten feet above and away from her, it didn't deter the agile catlike girl from reaching her with ease.

Weiss let out an appalled shriek as she felt the beast grab one of her legs, clinging to her like a lizard to a tree. A very big, very heavy lizard. With long claws.

"G-Get off of me, you filthy beast!" Weiss screamed. "Vile, flea-bitten cur! Release me at once!"

In her shock and desperation, Weiss dropped her bow and arrow and pounded her fists in the air, wriggling from side to side midair in an effort to shake the other girl off of her.

She could care less about the shouts and grunts of the beast on her ankle, and Weiss' own voice was drowning out the other girl's.

She could faintly make out the sounds of something moving above her, something that sounded almost like the flurry of wings, but she couldn't be certain.

Weiss had her eyes closed now as she continued to shout and thrash, bumping herself into various branches and leaves in an effort to knock off her unwelcome passenger.

The frightened beast didn't like dangling so high up without something sturdy supporting her legs, and she clung harder to the fairy's leg.

"H-Hold on!" she cried out. "I-I was just-"

"Silence! I won't hear it from you, you brazen creature! Now get off! You're a cat, you'll land on your feet! Unhand me!"

"Easier said than done..."

The world was spinning below her, and her ears were starting to ache.

Weiss was no better off, and she could feel her wings tiring now as she was gradually dragged down by the greater weight of the beast.

"You..." she huffed. "Release me... or else!"

"I'd rather not."

Their midair bickering continued for several minutes as they continued to thrash about, disrupting the forest and scaring off every bird and squirrel around.

Weiss couldn't take it anymore. Her poor wings were throbbing with ache at the extra burden, and she was too flustered to think straight.

In the end, it was a graceless fall.

The beast maintained a vice-like grip on Weiss' leg as they both plummeted – an unsettling sensation Weiss felt she'd experienced two times too many within just as many days.

There were shrieks and whimpers from the both of them as they collided with tree branches and brambles, bumping to and fro as they descended in a tumble of hair, limbs, and wings.

And it all ended with a wet, brown landing, leaving the two girls knotted together in a puddle of mud.

Weiss groaned and wriggled weakly as she caught her breath, feeling the unmistakable pressure of another body crushing hers, and a heavy one at that. She gasped, spitting mud away from her lips before she filled her lungs with air and let out a mighty shout.

"Get off!"

The birds and animals all dispersed, leaving the odd pair alone and tangled in a muddy pile on the ground.

Breathless and groaning, they each lie there in the mud for a moment.

And that was the last time the forest would ever be silent again.

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A/N: Welp, there she is! What an entrance! Find out what she was up to later on~

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