Black Rose Blooms Silver by CyberQueen_Jolyne

Summary:

Yang's trip into the forest with Ruby ends differently- Qrow is just a minute late. One minute changes a lot of things when it's a pack of Beowolves against two tiny children.

Yang is scarred, Ruby is transformed.

Somehow, this is... a good thing?

A Hound!Ruby fic featuring puppy cuddles, adopted siblings, lesbians, happy endings, friends, family, and Ruby Rose's never ending quest for a bigger caliber of rifle.

Edit 12/25/23: I uploaded the entire rest of the fic from chapter 176 to 210

Edit 2/23/24: Apparently all the image links broke... fixed it. Hopefully.

Edit 3/17/24: Okay, I fixed the images for real this time. It better fuckin' stay fixed.

This fic made possible with support from The Madhouse

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Notes:

Another new fic after a little while of not posting anything! I've been writing this a while, so I'm gonna post the same as always- five chapters now, then one a day every day until I either run out of backlog or finish the story.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

"STAND STILL AND DIE ALREADY YOU FREAKY BITCH!" one member of the dueling pair screamed, swinging a single action heavy revolver/machete combination around as hard as he could at the dancing thing that had stormed into their camp and defeated everyone else in single combat without breaking a sweat.

"Nuh uh! That's a bad word! You shouldn't say words like that!" the other member huffed, dodging every swing, every shot, with contemptuous ease as she held her massive, overbuilt scythe at the ready- the gleaming anodized metal shining in the firelight and dripping with blood. 

The bandit almost hoped that she'd left her victims dead, because if they were alive then that meant they were vulnerable. And if they were vulnerable, then something far worse would come along and end them .

So he swung desperately, knowing that he could do nothing but pray that the thing before him granted him a merciful death. He knew it wouldn't last, hidden behind that feral grin full of shark teeth. She moved like a specter of death as she spun her massive scythe around and deflected his blows with such force that it nearly disarmed him multiple times- only just barely able to keep a hold of his unnamed weapon despite the fact the thing in front of him took the appearance of a child - not even someone old enough to attend a combat school, but a small girl so slight of limb and delicate of features she almost looked doll-like with how pale her skin was.

In the distance, a crow cawed and the sudden noise almost made him drop his sword- stuttering his rhythm and making it so that the next swing he made was clunky and slow and awkward to the point of being unable to recover as that massive, Huntsman made scythe came down and…

Missed.

There was a slam that reverberated in the man's bones, shaking him to his core as he trembled in his scruffy clothes and took in the sight of the gleaming blade perched barely an inch from his face- so close that it was a miracle he hadn't been split in twain.

For once, the girl seemed surprised at the sudden burst of misfortune on her end, only to reel back in surprise as he let loose with the most powerful, vengeance filled roar he could and thrust his machete forward in a last ditch attempt to end the monster in human skin that had taken his clan from him, had left their bodies broken and bleeding on the ground without a care in the world.

Battered steel met fabric and skin and slid through almost without a second thought- the merest whisper of sound twinging through the air for a microsecond before the sickening squelch of flesh, bone, and muscle parting around his blade followed suit.

The girl… stared. 

She looked down at herself and gasped, silvery eyes blowing wide open as she stared at the blade now protruding from her chest, crunched through her delicate ribs and flesh as though it hadn't been there at all.

For a moment, the man almost felt victorious.

For a moment.

The very next instant, the girl simply looked up, pouted, and socked him in the face so hard he flew away in a heap- completely and utterly dead to the world with the remains of his meager aura shattering away into green flakes in the wind.

"This is my favorite shirt!" she huffed, grumbling as she pushed the machete fully into her chest and frowned at the new hole in the cool band T-shirt her daddy and big sis Yang got her the last time they went to Vale together. She hadn't seen them in a while, honestly, but that was okay! 

Still, though, she stared at the unconscious men and women in what used to be a bandit camp and frowned, tilting her head as she swept her vision across the entire area and rubbing her chin. Hmmm…

She'd sensed a good amount of people here earlier, and although she couldn't sense them anymore, it wasn't like there couldn't be any survivors that ran off, or people that might come back later. Mmm… still, though. It was about as done of a job as she could have expected.

Good enough for her!

And with a little shiver, her body shifted and relaxed as the familiar shapes of grimm plates and markings swirled to life over her skin and clothes- pitch black corruption oozing around her body and forming into a soft, comfortable hoodie with beautiful red tribal marks and bone plating over strategic areas. Her tail wagged behind her, and her ears untucked themselves from where they'd been hidden within the wild, shaggy mass of her hair- hair that slowly retracted down to its normal, brushed, civilized length and style as she fully relaxed and sated her battle lust on the sheer violence she'd visited upon the hapless bandits that had once preyed on the good citizens of northern Mistral, including travelers heading south out of Argus.

Ahhhh… that was nice.

Ruby grinned, feeling her puppy mask form on the fringe of her hair like an oversized clip and continuing to shiver a bit as her body produced sets of eyes to dot some of her bone plates, making sure that nothing could possibly sneak up on her even as she put on the finishing touches of her outfit- a cute red skirt, some leggings, knee high winter boots, and a long red cape just like her Uncle's. At her side, Harbinger found itself once again in her hands as she twirled it closed just like how she'd seen Uncle Qrow do- except maybe a little less fancy because she wasn't tall enough yet.

"Uncle Qrow! Uncle Qrow!" she called out, waving happily as the scruffy old bird in question fluttered out of the treeline and shifted back to his human self without a word, stretching idly as he walked over to his eight year old niece and ruffled her hair with a slightly sardonic smile. Her ears trembled with delight, and her tail wagged frantically even as the weird mask clinging to her hair looked up at him with those horrific burning coal eyes. "Didja see me!? I was like- bang! Whoosh! Bam! And they were all like aaaah! Noooo my gun!!!!"

Qrow snorted, rolling his eyes a little as he picked up one of the stray weapons lying around- nothing fancy, but just shy of Huntsman grade weaponry in a bandit camp meant that the two of them were on the right track for their investigation into the local crime rings. Shame they had to leave so soon, but the Argus investigative departments would be able to handle everything from here.

Well. They'd have to make do without the weapons, though. He still had a lot to teach his little blood rose about the finer points of incorporating Dust into a weapon design, and there were a few stolen Huntsmen weapons that he could really use for that… well. Best to clear out and let the Argus PD handle cleanup.

"Yeah, I saw. Now c'mon. We gotta get outta here before the cops show up- clean up the weapons and any Dust you find and leave the rest," Qrow instructed lightly, tilting his head as he considered the area, then walked over to the side and picked up a bottle of expensive whiskey and popped the stopper off. "Good work, kid. Also- gimme back Harbinger. You're not legally allowed to be armed yet."

"Okay!" Ruby answered instantly, casually taking the nearly seventy pound mass of Dust treated, aura enhanced steel and dropping it into Qrow's hands as easily as one would hand over a box of tissues.

Most children wouldn't be able to handle the weight, let alone even think about picking it up. Most children wouldn't even be able to lift a corner.

Most children weren't horrific nightmare abominations created from the perfect amalgamation of human and Grimm, twisted piles of ooze and shadow and blood and bone and flesh that congealed into the almost faunus-like form of his previously human favorite niece (gods knew he shouldn't play favorites, but he spent way more time with Ruby so she was obviously his favorite).

As she ran off, Qrow simply watched Ruby devour crates and barrels and satchels of Dust- shoving them into her stretchy gullet along with the weapons of the bandits that he'd been sent to take care of. He almost wanted to shiver a little, but kept it down- even as a Beowolf, Ruby was his niece. And besides- he'd dealt with her for four years now, and she'd so far proven herself to be a quick study, an adorable little girl, and a sweet little thing that, even at her most bloodlusted and rage fueled, had a fierce and undying instinct to protect more than she cared to destroy.

After a few moments, Qrow hummed, rubbing his chin lightly and giving the now cleaned out camp one last onceover before calling out to Ruby. "Hey kid! C'mon, we gotta hustle! Last flight outta Argus is in like two hours and I need to make a quick stop in Atlas before we can head home."

"Coming!" Ruby called back, appearing before Qrow in a blur of red, white, and black rose petals a moment later- still bouncing excitedly in her Beowolf form before she shrunk back down to a more proper human shape- then even further until she was an oddly pitch black corgi with white markings along her body almost reminiscent of bone outlines. She wagged her tail again, panting as though she actually was a dog as she reared up and silently begged for uppies.

Qrow sighed, rubbing his forehead even as he picked Ruby up by the harness style collar she'd formed a second prior, a crimson cape coming off of the back just like his. "You're gonna be the death of me with how cute you are, you know that?"

Ruby's only response was a cheery bark, followed by lots of wiggling as she settled into his arms and made herself comfortable for the trip back to Argus. Qrow just snorted, cradling Ruby in his arms as though she were a precious baby.

"Ugh. You better not lick me, kiddo."

"No promises!"