Rabbit

Jaune Arc wakes up to an unfamiliar ceiling. Sitting up from the couch he slept on, he stretches before leaning back. He looks to his right and stares at his mentor, Preto Hele-Nui, still sleeping in the rocking chair, the leather jacket he usually wears used as a blanket.

As he stares he wonders about his mentor, he doesn't look much older than Saphron, so maybe twenty three. Though he could be a bit older or younger but not by much, he's barely an adult.

Yet, Jaune can't picture him as anything but epitome of maturity, of strength and patience. He barely knows the man but he's sure what he feels for them is what he would have felt for an older brother. 

The man had taken him under their wing, gave him hope in what seemed like a hopeless situation, taught him how to control the beast within, showed him their family trade, and is now sheltering him after leaving his family. 

If Jaune becomes half the man they are then he's sure he'll become the hero he always dreamed of.

Sighing, he leans back and practices. First he grows his nails into claws and then forces his eyes to glow, he repeats the exercise a couple dozen times, switching the order every once in a while. 

It becomes second nature, he wonders if he's a fast learner or if it's this fast for everyone. Considering his lack of talent at almost everything he's ever tried from playing guitar, to singing, to skateboarding, the only things he's good at took monumental effort on his part like dancing and bodybuilding.

Jaune is sure this is something else he has no natural talent in. Which means he has to put in even more effort. 

He won't become a monster.

He won't.

The boy pulls the heat from the tips of his fingers and eyes before focusing on his teeth, specifically his canines. Clenching his teeth and breathing through his nose, he tries to grow them and like always nothing happens at first but like Preto said; it's like learning to walk and Jaune's got nothing but time.

Eventually he feels a hint of hotness in his gums, right above and below his canines, tonguing the teeth he feels a slight sharpness, not enough to puncture anything but it's a start.

One hour passes and then another before he can comfortably say he can control his fangs. 

"Good job." 

Jaune startles at the words and looks towards Preto who's smiling, he relaxes and returns the expression, "Thanks. Anything I need to know about werewolf teeth?" He jokes.

The man hums as he runs his fingers through his hair, "Unlike claws, there is no inherent power to a werewolves' fangs, except of course for an Alpha's. An Alpha's fangs are venomous, that venom can turn an Auraless human into a werewolf but for everything else it's a guaranteed death sentence, the only beings immune to an Alpha's venom are werewolves."

Jaune nods, his smile gone, "Is there a cure or…"

Preto nods, "If there is, I don't know it." He pursues his lips in thought. "I heard that a human or faunus with their Aura unlocked could survive but I've never seen it, if it is possible they would need to have an unusual amount of Aura."

The boy says nothing.

The man stands up and stretches, "I think it's time to kick your training up."

Jaune gives an interested look.

"A wolf is, before anything, a hunter. We use our senses to locate our prey and our superior endurance to catch them."

The boy nods, "So, you want to take me hunting?"

Preto nods as he strips himself of his clothes.

"Preto?" Jaune calls out, getting a hum, "Whatcha doing?"

"I'm going to transmute." Preto easily replies as his thumbs hook the band of his pants before pausing, "You don't know what transmuting is." Sighing, he sits back down. "You know about shifting but there's a step above that; transmuting. Transmuting is when a werewolf has reached a… inner peace with themselves."

"Inner peace?" His face twists in confusion, "What exactly does that mean?"

"What I mean by inner peace is there is no conflict with me and the wolf within, I am the wolf. To you I'm sure it feels like there's a beast underneath your skin, something separate from you. I used to feel the same way but I learned that the wolf is just me consumed by instinct, by hunger, by rage and by accepting that I gained the ability to transform into a true wolf." 

The boy stares blankly before looking down with a frown, "I don't–"

"I know Jaune but it is and you have to accept that, otherwise your worst impulses will always control you." The man stands back up and kneels in front of him, "You are the wolf."

Jaune sighs before looking up, locking eyes with the other, he gives a small, empty smile. 

Preto returns the smile and stands back up, he tossle Jaune's hair before standing up and turning away, revealing a black silhouette of a wolf with a triple spiral within it.

"Whoa!" Jaune exclaims, "Cool tattoo."

Preto chuckles, "Thanks, it's the Hele-Nui Pack's symbol." He turns back around.

"Does it have a meaning?"

The man nods, "It represents a lot of things but for us it represents our species cycle of power; how an Omega could become a Beta, how a Beta could rise to the position of Alpha, and finally how an Alpha could fall and become a Beta or even an Omega. It was to remind us how anyone has the potential to become more and how that potential could be wasted if not treated with respect."

"Deep." Jaune mutters, getting a snort from Preto, "But how did you get it? Wouldn't your healing prevent you from getting a tattoo."

"It's a little complicated, our healing is tied to our sense of self, at least partially. If you're depressed your healing will slow, if you're happy then it'll become faster, a tattoo would have to become extremely important to your sense of self to become permanent."

"How would you know if it's important enough to become permanent?" Jaune says with a frown.

Preto shrugs, "It's a bit of a gamble but the symbol has always been important to me especially after my pack's death. The tattoo makes me feel more connected with them, with my past. Getting it felt right." 

The boy nods in understanding.

The man continues and hooks his thumbs in his pants and pulls them down.

"Oh!" The boy turns away, his cheeks turning red before turning back at a growl.

"Grra.." 

Jaune's jaw drops, in the place of Preto is a wolf. He's large, standing about waist length to him, his coat is a deep black like the night sky without a star in sight and his eyes like the moon unshattered.

He's never seen a wolf in real life but he's sure they weren't supposed to be so beautiful.

So ethereal.

He can feel the wolf within begging to be let out, to be fully in the older werewolf's presence. Jaune doesn't have the will to deny it.

Veins fill with lava, spreading from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. His mind swelters as his chest rumbles, falling to his hands, he walks over and rubs his head against Preto's who copies the movement, a grumble escaping the wolf's throat as he does.

Preto is the first to pull away and walk towards the door, Jaune stands and follows, his gait low and wide. Opening the entrance the two walk out, the older werewolf trots forward which quickly turns into a run.

The boy follows, falling back to his palms as he does.

Noah Arc spends his morning and afternoon going from shop to shop trying to find his son. As it turns out none of them offered his son an apprenticeship. 

The man thinks back and realizes he never asked his boy what apprenticeship he managed to acquire. He sits down, leaning against a building before placing his head in his hands and curses.

He should have questioned Jaune. Asked him about it, and made an effort in meeting his supposed mentor. Instead he waved it off, simply glad his son had given up on being a Huntsman.

~Ring!Ring!~

Noah sighs and reaches in his front pocket, pulling out his scroll he presses the button in the middle of the two handles, a holographic screen appears showing a picture of his wife.

Answering the call, he presses the scroll to his ear, "Hon–"

"Did you find him? How is he? Is he hurt? You better have told him he is in so mu–"

"Jup!" He cuts her off, "I didn't find him, i don't think he's in Orleans anymore."

The line becomes silent for a moment.

"Then where is he, Noah? Where's my baby?" She asks, her voice cracking in pain and terror.

Noah closes eyes tightly, "He's probably walking to one of the bigger villages with Airship travel."

"... You think he's going to go to Vale?"

"Where else would he go? Vale has Beacon." He spits out the last word like a curse.

"Oh Noah, Jaune took so little when he left, he even left his scroll! And what if he runs into Grimm! He doesn't know how to defend himself, he doesn't even have Aura!"

The man grits out, "I know." He's the one that made the decision not to train their children, not to prepare them for the Grimm, to not even unlock their Aura.

And now one of his children are by themselves with no protection whatsoever. He should have stopped Jaune, dragged him back in the house, damn his son's feelings. 

"We clear the forest every couple weeks and we've taken Jaune camping multiple times, he should be fine." He reasoned, "The real problem is if he gets' on an Airship, we may never see him again."

Jupiter breathes out a heavy breath, "I'm going to call Qrow, with bird's eye view he'll be able to spot Jaune but you have to call Ozpin."

"Jup–"

"No Noah, because if this fails we need to know where exactly Jaune is going and if that's Beacon we can just go there when the semester starts and take him home."

Noah closes his eyes and nods.

"I'll take your silence as a yes." She hangs up, the man pulls the scroll away from his ear, looking at the screen he slowly pulls up his contacts and finds the name he's looking for.

He calls and presses the device back to his ear.

.

.

.

"Noah, I haven't heard from you in quite a while. Is everything alright?" The voice of Zoroaster Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy, answers.

Taking a deep breath, he starts, "My son, he may have applied to Beacon. Can you confirm that?" 

"...May I ask why you need confirmation? The acceptance letters for next year have already been sent out, if he hasn't received one then he hasn't been accepted."

Noah sucks his bottom lip, "Because… none of your business, can you do it or not?" He barks.

The silence that follows is loud.

"Give me a moment."

Noah closes his eyes and sighs.

"Hmm, Jaune Luna Arc is your son's name I'm assuming?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, he has been accepted. His transcripts are well above average, you must be pro–"

Noah grits his teeth, "Their fake."

"... Excuse me."

"Jaune never went to a combat school, he never had any training, he doesn't even have his Aura unlocked. Pull him out." He demands.

"...No."

Noah's eyes widened, "Wha.. what do you mean no?!"

"I mean no, I will not pull him out. As you well know I give everyone a fair shot, if he passes initiation then he will be a student."

"Ozpin! He has no training, he'll die!"

"That's what Beacon is for, he'll learn."

"I..if people find out about his transcripts he could go to jail!" Noah tries to reason.

"Good point." Ozpin agrees and for a moment the other man feels a weight lift off his chest, "There, I've erased his transcripts and personally invited him to the academy."

"What?!"

"Now if you excuse me, I have some paperwork to get back to. Wonderful talking to you, Noah." The headmaster hangs up.

Noah looks at his scroll in astonishment before a grimace finds it way on his face, he clenches his free hand and punches the ground, cracking it.

Jaune gallops through the forest, his eyes fixing themselves onto Preto's back, he can go faster but doesn't. He knows it isn't what the other wolf wants. 

They've been running for hours, stopping only when Preto catches a smell. Eventually they slow and crouches low which Jaune copies, he looks to where the other is staring and spots a rabbit with chestnut fur and beady black eyes.

Preto turns to look at him before turning back, his eyes looking at something behind the rabbit behind it before looking back at him and drawing an arch with his head.

Jaune nods and slowly walks around the rabbit, body low and his step quiet. Almost completely hidden by the trees and bushes, as he makes it to the other side and looks back to the older wolf he sees them crouch down low, ready to launch an attack.

The boy tenses and waits.

He doesn't wait long.

Preto leaps from his place, a snarl across his lips. The rabbit moves, running in the opposite direction only to be snatched by Jaune. 

The animal desperately tries to escape, its teeth peirce into his flesh and he lets go out of pure reflex. Luckily Preto's near and snaps his jaws around the rabbit's body.

Jaune flinches at the animals cracking bones, "Th..that was…" He stands up and looks to his hands, he's never shifted for so long.

Preto growls and sets the rabbit down, he gestures towards it before he starts tearing the flesh, it's blood filling the area.

Jaune swallows, his mouth watering at the aroma. He's not sure he's ever smelled anything as good as this rabbit.

He feels the wolf again, its claws digging at his chest, its own stomach clenching in hunger, 'Why are we so hungry?' The thought reverberates inside his skull.

Jaune closes his eyes and his mind shifts along with his body, he falls to his hands and walks the short distance to the rabbit's lifeless and mutilated corpse. Without hesitation he digs his fangs into the body and tears.

The warm blood bathes his tongue and throat, its consistency reminding him of tomato soup, the meat gamey. He never tasted anything better.

After the meal, the two werewolves head home. The journey isn't a long one, both of them running at top speed, as they find themselves home, Jaune stands up and opens the door.

Walking in, Preto transmutes back and the wolf inside Jaune sleeps. The boy collapses on the couch while the man gathers his clothes and puts them on.

"A productive day." Preto states as he sits down on the rocking chair, "What do you think?" He looks to the other.

Jaune licks his lips, "That was… horrifying."

The man raises an eyebrow.

"I never felt so out of control. For hours I was a… animal. I ate raw meat! But…"

"But?" Preto leans forward.

"I also never felt so good before, s..so full."

Nodding along, Preto leans back down, "Everything in life comes with its set of good and bad things, the trick is to learn to live with the bad and take advantage of the good. As a werewolf you have an array of abilities that make you stronger than ninety percent of the population, yes you have to exercise a lot more control but is that really such a bad deal?"

"I…" Jaune grits his teeth, "I almost killed my friend, my sister."

"But you didn't." Preto counters, "You didn't Jaune, even while out of your mind when the time came to rein yourself in, you did."

"By accident!" He yells, his eyes flashing.

Preto shakes his head, "No, not by accident. When your friend was in pain you immediately snapped out of it, when your sister was seconds away from getting her head bitten off you so happened to be distracted by your family sword, the thing you know anchors you. Let's not forget your bullies that you were seconds away from eating only for a stray thought to cross your mind that so happened to be what you needed to stop. Maybe it wasn't a conscious decision but it was no accident, don't doubt your goodness Jaune, others will do that enough for you."

Jaune feels tears gather at the corner of his eyes, "How are you so sure?"

The man smiles, "Because I know you, maybe not for long but it's not hard to see."

The boy returns it.

Werewolves are bloodlusted beasts with little to no humanity. They are primarily driven by an insurable hunger that drives them to commit unholy acts of extreme violence; they will kill their own mother if given half a chance. 

Even the weakest of the species are stronger, faster, more agile than the strongest Auraless human. Despite being savages they have shown remarkable cunning, able to adapt under the most hopeless of circumstances. Do not underestimate them.

A werewolf has two prevailing weaknesses; silver and mountain ash. Silver is extremely deadly to a werewolf, able to burn them upon touch. Injecting them with liquid silver will cause extreme pain and a long agonizing death and when bound by silver chains can strip them of their powers. 

Mountain Ash, like with all supernatural creatures, can trap a werewolf, creating an impenetrable barrier. 

There are times when a Slayer should never face a werewolf under any circumstance, one such time is during the blood moon, when Remnant comes in between the moon and the sun causing a total lunar eclipse, during this time a werewolves power increases by ten fold and the effects of silver and mountain ash become null and void.

When possible, kill on sight.

Amethyst Cazador slams the chapter of the bestiary her father loaned her, she throws the book across her room and lays down curling into a ball. She gathers her legs in her arms and hides her face in her knees. 

'Jaune isn't a monster. He's not a werewolf or a vampire o..or anything!' She feels tears threatening to fall from her eyes, 'He's the best guy I know and I'll prove it!'