Dusios – Pronounced: Deuce-ious

In the Gaulish language, Dusios was a divine being among the Continental Celts who was identified with the god Pan of Ancient Greek Religion and with the gods Faunus, Inuus, and Silvanus of ancient Roman Religion.

Love, Pride and A Crimson Scythe

Chapter 1: A Faunus Fairy Tale

It was still dark out when Blake woke up. For a moment she wasn't sure where she was, but then it came back to her, and the Faunus happily found herself in the middle of a pile of blankets, pillows and snuggles and just didn't want to move. It was so warm and peaceful. She nuzzled into the snow white hair draped across her shoulder and breathed in the calming scent of Weiss as somewhere else came the radiating warmth of Yang, intermingled with the soft scent of roses.

It was a long weekend, and Ruby had insisted on having a camp out sleepover. At first Blake and Weiss weren't sure what that was, but as soon as the tent was set up in the middle of the floor between the bunk beds by the gleeful sisters it became clear. The night of movies and fun that followed was fantastic, and one by one the girls fell asleep.

One amber eye cracked open and Blake had a long and satisfying stretch that curved her back more than a normal human could possibly hope for without years of gymnastics training. After a content sigh Blake rubbed at an eye and started to try and extract herself from the pile of limbs and haphazard blankets.

From somewhere in front of her there was a slight sound, and she froze.

A moment later Yang muttered something in her sleep, something about bats? Then she pulled Weiss closer like she was a huge teddy bear to cuddle and relaxed again.

The fencer's face scrunched up at the shifting and feeling of arms around her middle, and it seemed like for a moment she might awake, but the steady breathing and rhythmic heartbeat now pressed into her back was so soothing her face slipped back into peace. Actually, if anything Weiss seemed to cuddle back into the powerhouse more. In the day, or around anyone but Team RWBY Weiss could still be quite chilly, but there were many times like these when the Ice Queen thawed and showed a side that was a lot more cuddly and warm

A little smile tugged at Blake's lips as she blearily got to her feet, moving with near ghost like silence as she carefully step around arms and legs. She idly wondered where the speed demon was, Ruby ... Ruby had to be in the pile somewhere, but it was late and Blake had to go to the bathroom.

With deft steps and silence Blake moved across the tent like a mix between a ballerina and a panther in the deep jungle, her every step as dainty and quiet as a feather fall. Once she made it to the bathroom Blake didn't bother with the light since her night vision made it pointless as anything more than a human like cover and closed the door as quietly as she could.

A little later there was a flush that sounded like a lions roar in the still night. At least it sounded like that to Blake as she washed her hands and stepped back into the room, intending to slip back into the warm tent, hopefully get into a nice spot in the middle and fall back asleep. It all reminded her of a chapter in a book she had read just recently with two foreign Princes who were both brothers and both loved the same Princess. When the princes got a cold in the middle of winter while the King was gone they kept both kept her warm the entire night. It got quite intimate.

A soft sniffle made one of her feline ears twist towards the sound.

Eyes still unfocused and with a mind fuzzy from such a deep and content sleep Blake looked up slowly, and for just the barest instant the Faunus thought she saw silver eyes reflect back at her.

Reflective like a cat's eyes would be.

Reflective like a Faunus' eyes would be, with their night vision.

On Ruby's upper bunk, all wrapped in a red cloak was a tiny figure. "Ruby, is that you?" she asked in a whisper.

Ruby wiped at her eyes, trying to hide it in the motion of pushing her hood back and smiled, looking just as half asleep. "Yeah, I had to go to the bathroom and when I got up you were already in there."

"Oh, okay. It's free now," Blake said softly, ducking slightly as she started crawling back into the tent. She must have imagined it. "And Ruby?"

"Hm?" Ruby hummed she clambered down the back of the bunk bed, being careful to not slip and fall on the tent. It would not be good to literally crash on top of three sleeping Huntresses in training.

"This was a really good idea."

"Thanks, and all of you seemed to have had a good time too," Ruby said barely above a whisper, knowing Blake could hear her.

"I did, and I think everyone else did too. Especially Weiss."

"And the cuddles are pretty good," Ruby said in a matter of fact way, but with a grin that said a little more.

Blake blinked at Ruby slowly, her mind still like molasses with sleepiness before a little bit of a flush came to her face and she looked bit bashful. "I ... yes, they are quite nice," she admitted, glancing over to where Weiss was now being little spooned by Yang.

The golden mane draped over the slender fencer's shoulders and neck like a second blanket as they snuggled so close. A warm feeling swelled in Blake's chest as she crawled over a leg and lightly started to get settled again.

"Goodnight Blake," Ruby said as she started to close the bathroom door, pausing long enough to watch Blake lay down in front of Weiss and rest her head on a pillow facing the Heiress. Blake reached out a few fingers and with the utmost care and tenderness brushed a little hair out of Weiss' eyes. Amber eyes closed as black hair and white almost touch as Blake nearly laid forehead to forehead with Weiss.

Silver eyes that always seemed to see more than they should sparkled as Ruby looked over the snuggle pile in the tent for a long moment before she slowly closed the door.

Blake heard the door close as she was already drifting off, the familiar smooth and minty cool scent of Weiss enveloping her, calming and bracing like a chilly breeze on a hot day twinned through with the lilac and gunpowder of Yang, giving ghostike memories of campfires, rough housing and the happy end of a fun day. And with it all was the soft hint of Ruby's sweet roses, cinnamon and safety. So cheerful and bubbly, smelling like home and warm baked cookies and running through the back gate into a sunny field for a brand new day.

Weiss' scent was always like elegance and control, while Yang was strength and tenderness and Ruby was bubbly cheer that could chase off the darkest days, and the Faunus couldn't think of any better way to fall asleep than to be surrounded by all three. Blake's mind was already starting to fade as she squirmed a little closer to Weiss and a lazy thought brushed her ebbing consciousness.

A velvet tipped feline ear twitched. Did she hear the click of Ruby turning on the bathroom light?

It wasn't important really. Of course Ruby turned on the light in the enclosed room, especially in the middle of the night. Blake briefly had the thought of raising her head to look and quell that lazy thought, but that would mean getting up, and she was so comfy.

Of course Ruby had turned the light on. She just missed the sound.

Humans couldn't see in the dark.

As the last scraps of consciousness fled into dreamland, one last something flickered through Blake's mind. Hadn't Ruby gone from the bunk bed to the bathroom in near total darkness, and even made eye contact from the bathroom, which was pitch black?

Before she could think anymore on that Blake was out like a light, with that last thought disappearing along with the fleeting consciousness.

'The next time something this big comes up, you come to your teammates.'

Ruby watched Yang from her bunk as the powerhouse stowed the tent away in the back of the closet. The room was bright with the morning sun as the birds sung and chipped outside. It was supposed to be a nice Saturday, and the best part was they didn't have to be back to class till Tuesday.

Ruby swallowed hard, her tummy in knots as she watched the same muted video on her scroll again. The same video she had been watching for the last half hour as Weiss' words ran through her head again and again. When Blake's Faunus heritage came out in a less than idea way Weiss had many things to say, but once she cooled down she exacted her promise from Blake.

Ruby hit the replay button and watched the screen as it looped again.

Weiss hadn't asked her for the same promise, but Ruby was still feeling guilty. She was keeping a secret and she didn't like to keep secrets from people she cared about. "Y-Yang," she said, her tummy doing a panicked flop as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

What am I doing!

"Yeah Rubes?" Yang said, her voice muffled since she was still in the closet, trying to get the tent to sit in the back properly without falling.

I don't want Weiss or Blake to hate me cus I lied.

I don't want to keep secrets. I know why I'm supposed to, but they're my teammates. They're my best friends, aside from Yang. They will understand.

Please let them understand.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Weiss asked from the desk where she had been working on a study guide for the quiz on Tuesday. "You look... sick."

Amber eyes darted over to her as Blake came out of the bathroom after a morning shower, her hair still slightly damp and ears unbound for now as she fixed the high black collar on her top.

"Ruby?" Yang asked, popping her head out of the closet and quickly coming over to the bunk, pressing the back of her hand to her sisters forehead and then both cheeks. "Are you feeling okay."

"Yeah, I um," Ruby said, squirming a little as she nervously shrunk under all the attention. The video began on muted repeat again. "I think ... I ... um." She clutched her scroll closer to her chest, the images on it moving silently.

Yang's lavender eyes dropped to the scroll, catching only the corner of the screen but recognizing the video immediately. A slew of emotions flitted across her older sisters face, and Yang gave a quick glance back at the other two girls before she ducked her head low enough to look up into those silver eyes. "Ruby?"

"I want ... I think I want to tell them."

"Are you sure?" Yang asked softly, her voice catching both Blake and Weiss' full attention. It was the voice they heard only now and then when Yang was concerned for Ruby, and more recently on occasion the two of them. It was a more honest and tender voice that somehow seemed to convey a sense of worry, understanding and the feeling that she was fully in your corner, ready to go twelve rounds right by your side. All you had to do was say the word.

Weiss shot a glance at Blake, who gave a confused shrug in return.

Weiss set down her pen and turned her chair, preparing herself for whatever her partner felt she needed to reveal. The Heiress brushed some nonexistent lint off her skirt and crossed her legs, resting both hands on her knee and looking every inch crisp, professional, ready to handle any task as if she was in front of a huge mahogany desk in an office rather than in a dorm room. If her partner needed help, she was going to give it her best.

Blake on the other hand took a more relaxed, but just as serious position sitting cross-legged on Yang's bed. The Faunus picked up her brush from the top of the bookshelf and started to run it through her hair, eyes closed looked perfectly calm and collected as if it was simply another regular day and the Feline Faunus was going about some grooming. She would let Ruby dictate how this conversation went, much like how her mother did when she was younger and had something serious to confess.

The next time something this big comes up, you come to your teammates.'

Ruby looked back and forth between the two girls, and then back to Yang. A small wavering smile pulled at her lips and she nodded. "I am, they are our teammates and friends. They always have our backs and we have theirs, right?"

"Damn rights," Yang said with a cocky smile.

"Language," Weiss said pointedly from her seat.

"Damn still isn't a swear," the powerhouse called back over her shoulder with a bit of a good-natureed eye roll to Ruby who's smiled brightened a little more.

"It's still no reason to be crass."

"Pardon my filthy mouth Heiress," Yang prodded back with a sassy grin, turning to take a lax stance with her arms crossed. The two bickered for a bit, neither really putting any heat into it as Ruby looked down at her scroll once more and barely listened.

The slightly exhausted face of her mother silently talked, her silver eyes so bright and full of love and life as she looked down at the tiny baby in her arms that fussed and flailed.

Ruby stopped the video and tucked the scroll into a pocket before descending the bunk and sitting on Weiss' bed so she could face all the girls. A few moments passed as Yang and Weiss continued their game and Blake quietly brushed her hair.

"I have ... something to tell you guys," Ruby said, her voice starting out as nearly a whisper and gaining a little strength by the end of it.

"I'm listening," Weiss said immediately, still looking every inch the professional problem solver.

Amber eyes opened, but didn't quite focus on anything and instead gazed at the floor at Ruby's feet, implying listening but also not pushing.

Yang came over and sat down next to Ruby, lending her support silently.

Ruby sat in a long moment of silence, her hands fidgeting with the edge of her cloak. "I'm ... not sure how to start. It's kind of a lot."

"Weiss, have you heard of a Dusios?" Yang said, idly plucking at a few threads on the bed. Ruby shot a momentarily panicked look to Yang, but it only lasted for a second.

Amber eyes darted to the golden dragon. Blake looked confused at the conversation starter, but assumed that Yang was trying to help Ruby by steering.

"It does sound familiar, but I am afraid I'm drawing something of a blank," Weiss said.

"Blake?" Yang prompted.

"It's a camp fire story," the Faunus said replied. "A story that's in Faunus fairy tale books."

"Did you have one of those books?" Ruby asked, her hands continuing to play with the red fabric.

"I did," she said slowly, glancing to Weiss who raised an eyebrow in askance. Blake wasn't sure how this could lead anywhere, but thought it couldn't hurt. "There are a lot of versions, some more like scary camp fire stories and others more like Fairy tails. I've heard a few of both. It's a little bit like ghost story. One of those tales that is always from a friend of a friend. The story goes that the Dusios are two sided tricksters, though the stories change whether they are good or evil depending on the context or who's telling them."

Something flickered in the back of Blake's mind and she scented the room subtly, detecting exactly what she expected to. Three human scents. Mentally swatting away the errant thought she continued.

"There are basically two kinds of stories about Dusios. The first is usually about a new Faunus who moves into a community. They say they have been travelling or came to visit friends and plan to stay for a while. Over time the characters in the story start to notice strange things about the new Faunus. They act right most of the time, but there are little things they don't seem to know about and sometimes they don't act quite right. It's nothing overt, at least at first, just little cultural things. Things that every Faunus child knows because they grow up around it."

"Eventually the characters of the story confront the stranger but when they get to where they sleep there is no sign of them. The Faunus search all night and never find a trace or scent of the stranger, but they do find things missing and stolen, or in the good versions there is some terrible catastrophe averted. A warning goes out about a natural disaster, or a Grimm incursion. Maybe a treaty is signed, and the Lord claims it was a trusted human like a noble or merchant who came out of the woods and begged for mercy for the Faunus within before making off into the night never to be seen again."

"Except that in most stories there is always a sighting weeks or even years later. One of the main characters sees a human in a town, and this human looks exactly like the Stranger and even smells somewhat like them, but they are always definitely human with no Faunus features. The human usually winks or sometimes even has a conversation with the Faunus like they were longtime friends, and then just vanishes into the crowd and no matter what the Faunus do they never see them again."

"The other version, and keep in mind there are thousands of these. Everyone knows someone they met once who claims to have seen or met a Dusios. This version is different because the Dusios is not a stranger or a drifter, but instead one of their own. The stories all starts with a Faunus who has a family, or is a well known person in a community like the chief's wife, someone's long time best friend who they grew up with or even a lover. People know them; they watched this person grow up from a child and they have roots, as well as friends and family. They usually end the same however, with either a disaster or a great deed and a human seeming to replace the Faunus."

"They're just stories though," Blake continued, watching the girls who were listening with varying degrees of attention.

"So a Dusios is a Faunus who can become human?" Weiss asked, following it all as best as she could.

"Sort of but not quite," Blake said. "They're supposed to be a trickster who can change between both, being either human or Faunus. A being who is not quite one or the other. Some Faunus call them evil spirits who want to infiltrate and destroy communities, others think they are good omens who avert disasters or downfalls."

"Which do you believe," Ruby asked, biting her lip as soon as the words were out of her mouth, her eyes still trained on her hands.

Now it was Weiss' turn to have a flickering doubt.

Surely not. It's just a story. A fairy tale.

Blake's eyebrows tugged together as her head tilted a little. "Ruby, they're just stories," she said carefully.

Worry twisted Ruby's tummy till it felt like it was trying to crawl up in her throat. It was only the strong sisterly presence of Yang that kept her from fleeing away in a flurry of rose petals.

Ruby's lips moved, but the sound that came out was so quiet even Blake couldn't make it out. The Faunus' velvet tipped ears flitted, focusing on the small speed demon.

"You need to speak up a little Ruby," Weiss said, her voice making Ruby slowly look up and over to her. Silver met pools of calming blue, and a little of the tightness in her belly loosened. The girl looked to Blake next, and the Faunus just looked back, content and sitting perfectly relaxed, seeming to be totally open and ready to listen.

Ruby's hands had been clenching the edge of her cloak the entire time Blake talked, and only now was she realizing how tightly. Ruby forced her hands to let go, and as soon as she did Yang reached over with one hand and laced fingers with Ruby and giving a supportive squeeze. Lavender eyes watched, and the powerhouse gave that same supportive look.

"I'm right beside you Ruby. Always," Yang said quietly, but just on the edge of Blake's hearing.

Ruby squeezed back, before clearing her throat. Another long moment passed, before she finally spoke in a trembling and small voice. "I'm not human."

Blake's feline ears perked up, swiveling as her mind processed. Weiss glanced to her, and then back to Yang who just continued to sit beside Ruby. Strong, supportive and without a speck of the teasing that said she was pulling a joke or in on one.

"You smell human," Blake said slowly.

Ruby flushed a bit, ducking into her hood slightly. Blake had told them some basic things about Faunus traits, one of them being a heightened scene of smell. "I guess, now I do."

Weiss had been thinking, still sitting ramrod straight and professional. "So what you're saying is that you are... I'm trying to find the right words here and I feel like I'm inches from another Blake situation, so I'm sorry ahead of time. I'm trying." The Heiress brushed a few stray hairs behind an ear. "So you're claiming that you are one of these Dusios?"

Ruby gave a nervous nod, her eyes darting back and forth between the two girls, silver eyes meeting amber and calming blue alternately and seeing curiosity, some confusion mixed with a want to understand and ... trust. Togetherness. The same all for one that she had always felt from Yang.

"I am." Ruby let out a soft sigh. There was still a lot to talk about, but they were still listening.

"Told you that you were getting all worked up for nothing," Yang said, bumping shoulders with Ruby.

Weiss pulled out her scroll and set it on her crossed knee, starting to do a few searches for any information and hard facts about what exactly a Dusios was. Since it was a Faunus thing and Blake seemed to believe they were nothing but legends the fencer doubted she would be able to find much concrete information, but was at least hoping for a more compiled list of theories and legends.

"You've been watching that vid on repeat Rubes." Yang nodded down to the scroll in her pocket. "Do you want to show them?"

One of Blake's ears twitched, and her eyes darted to the corner of Ruby's scroll still poking out of her pocket.

"You have proof?" Weiss asked eager for some hard facts, especially in video format, before wincing and realizing how that might have come out. "I didn't mean it to sound like you needed proof because I didn't believe you. I do, it's just a lot to process and some hard evidence would be nice."

"No it's fine. Really, you guys are being awesome about this." Ruby waved her hands about, trying to wave away any negative feelings on the part of Weiss. "I wanted to tell you guys before but it's not exactly easy to bring up. Like hey guys, I'm not human and totally something outta a story book, wanna get breakfast before class?"

Weiss flashed a weary smile. "I understand, really."

"Difficult to bring up conversations are not unfamiliar to me," Blake said with a humorous chuckle.

Yang was already on her feet in front of Ruby and sat down with her back to the bookcase. "Alright, movie time," she said with a clap of her hands, and almost without a look Ruby popped up and darted over to Yang, taking a movie time position between her sisters legs and leaning back against her chest, already flicking settings on her scroll. Weiss made her way over and sat on the powerhouses' right as Blake slinked down to her left. With her scroll set, Ruby unfolded the stand and set it on the ground in front of herself, aiming it at the plain white wall across from them and hit the projection function.

On the wall an image flickered to life. It started out white and washed out at first but quickly snapped to colour. There was a beautiful woman sitting against the headboard of a bed in a warmly lit bedroom wearing a simple rose coloured top with a white hood pushed down around her neck. Around her right wrist was a thin gold chain, and on her left was a small black one.

This woman bore a striking resemblance to Ruby at first glance. The same cheekbones and smile. The same silver eyes so full of life and cheer, though this woman's eyes also held years more of experience and hardships, looking down with absolute love at the slightly fussy baby loosely wrapped in a blanket and dressed in a soft vine green onesie. The baby was small, maybe a month or two old but she had a little swirl of black hair on her head and the most kissable rosey little cheeks.

"Is that your mother," Weiss asked, her voice pitched low as if afraid to startle the infant.

Ruby beamed and nodded as Yang hugged her from behind. "Yup, that's mom and me."

"Shh, it's alright my little gem," Summer said gently, humming a quiet tune as she rearranged the blanket while small fists flailed, latching onto her fingers and wrist. "I know you're hungry but I can't give you your bottle if you're wrapped around my arm like this, no I can't. Tai can you pass me the bottle? Ruby won't let go."

The camera shifted a little, focusing on a pair of boots and the hardwood floor for a second. "Give me a second," said a deep male voice as the camera panned over the floor.

"That's dad," Ruby added, reaching out and taking Weiss and Blake's hands in her own, eyes locked on the screen.

The camera panned back up just in time to see a golden mop of hair trying to struggle it's way up onto the bed. The small two year old was in a bright yellow shirt, clearly stained with ketchup around one shoulder and sky blue shorts. "Careful," said Tai, and a hand reached into view and helped the tiny Yang up onto the bed. "Sit in the middle, and don't bounce or you could hurt your sister.

The two year old wasn't listening in the slightest, instead her lavender eyes were enraptured by the tiny baby in Summers arms. The arm came back into frame again and passed a bottle into Summers left hand.

Blake caught it first, and her eyes darted to the Ruby sitting beside her before shooting back to the screen as Summer's left hand, unadorned by the black bracelet now, took the bottle. Tai took a few steps back and the camera came up again, getting a shot of all three on the bed, with Yang half climbing into Summers lap in an attempt to get closer to baby Ruby.

"There we go," Summer said with mirth as she guided the bottle to the tiny mouth that strained for it and held it steady. Both tiny chubby hands latched onto the bottle as well as the hand holding it and gripped tightly. Even a little pink foot made an appearance and kicked a few times.

A cord thin black tail, barely more than four or five inches long lashed out of the blanket and wrapped around Summers wrist again in a greedy effort to keep the food from going away. Weiss let out a small gasp and leaned forward a bit, focusing on the video intently.

"You have a tail," the Heiress said in a near whisper, before her voice pitched to a near squeal. "And it's so cute!"

Blake squeezed her Ruby's hand in reassurance and got a glowing smile back.

"It really is," Yang said with a little laugh, dropping a kiss on the top of her sisters red tipped locks. "Though I always thought her ears were the most adorable."

"Ears?" Weiss asked a moment later, tearing her eyes away from the screen and sounding confused as she looked back to Yang, who just nodded to the vid.

Again Blake caught it first. In that messy little tuft of black hair were two positively tiny Faunus ears. Each was barely tall enough to poke up above the tuft, but they flexed and moved in perfect time with the tiny girls jaw as she hungrily drank. "You had ears and a tail?"

"Wher – there there are!" Weiss said, getting up on her knees with her eyes sparkling at the sheer adorableness that threatened to overtake her heart. "Oh they're just precious! Why are they so tiny compared to her head though?"

"It's how it is for Faunus', at least for the first few weeks," Blake explained, now pulling Ruby's hand into her lap and was brushing her thumb over the speed demons knuckles. "When babies are born with one of their traits being ears, they mature slowly. For the first few weeks the ears are folded and very close to their heads, but at about six to eight weeks they start to unfurl and look more proportional."

"Having two predominant traits like that is rare though." Blake spoke while not taking her eyes off the screen, watching as the two year old Yang reached forward and with the utmost care held one of the baby Ruby's feet in her hands. It being the only part she could reach from her position sitting next to Summer. "Normally a Faunus only gets one major physical trail, and perhaps a few minor ones as well. It's apparently less than three percent of babies are born with two major traits."

"Mom said it was a little more common for Dusios. More like ten or fifteen percent," Yang replied.

"She's perfect Summer," said a gravelly voice that all three girls recognized as Qrow. A floor board squeaked as someone off screen stepped closer to the bed, and in a flash Summer's stormy silver eyes darted to the sound of the noise and her lips peeled back, a feline hiss bubbling up from within her as she glared threateningly off screen.

"Sorry, sorry, staying back," Qrow said with the shuffle of retreating foot steps.

Summer blinked, and the threat faded from her eyes. "No, I'm sorry. It's alright, just please ... let me come to you. Here, do you want to hold her?" she asked, setting the empty bottle down.

Weiss looked questioningly back to the three girls, and it was Blake who answered. "Feline Faunus' can be very protective of their kits for the first few weeks. It was that way when I was born. It was nearly a week before my mother could let my father hold me, and longer for anyone else but him and the midwife to even come in the house. Summer seems very open and trusting with Qrow since he can be in the same room and even that she will let him hold Ruby, but I'm not surprised she has to go to him because Qrow approaching her will trigger those maternal protective instincts."

"It was about a week before she let dad hold Ruby too, from what dad told us," Yang added.

"She very clearly thinks of you as her own Yang, since she let you just crawl up and touch Ruby," Blake said, getting an honest and emotional look back from the golden dragon.

Weiss was quiet through this exchange, opting to listen, since she was still learning the true culture and life styles of Faunus, while unlearning the ... lessons her father taught her. She tossed almost all of those out the window after the Blake Incident, but that left her very much at a square one. The vid ended just as Summer was carefully extracting herself from the bed to pass Ruby to Qrow. "Awwe, can we watch it again?" she pleased, wanted to see more of the heart melting adorableness.

"I got another one," Ruby replied, leaning forward and flipping through a few folders on her scroll and pulling up the next vid. "There," she said, leaning back into her sister.

This time the video started facing the ceiling, with bright silver eyes and the edges of a white hood just in frame before it turned around and showed a door that was slowly opened. From somewhere outside came Tai's voice again, and it was quickly followed by the gravely tones of Qrow, going back and forth in some sort of conversation.

The door was pushed open slowly and Summer walked in. The lights were off but afternoon sunlight lit the room quite well. In the middle of the small bedroom, presumably the same one from the last vid judging by the walls and large bed in the middle, was a large box on it's side with some bubble wrap and foam strewn about it.

The decal on the front of the box was from some small window company, and from outside the little bit of conversation Weiss could hear from the men seemed to be about replacing a window a bird broke? It sounded like Tai was telling Qrow that a robin flew into the glass last night and broke it. Weiss guessed the two men were working to replace it and this box was what the replacement window had arrived in.

Summer crouched down in front of the window box and pointed the camera inside. It took a moment for the camera to adjust to the darkened interior, but the sound coming from within made Weiss gasp.

A soft rhythmic and very feline purring could be heard from inside.

When the vid focused it showed two small forms curled up together at the back of the box. Ruby looked a lot bigger, maybe about a year old and was curled up in a small red dress dotted with strawberries, clutched in the arms of Yang who was dressed in a simple purple top and very cute, tiny jeans. The mini-mane was longer and hung in her face as Ruby snoozed, curled into a tiny ball against her sister and purring contently.

Ruby's tail looked much fuller, furrier and longer, and this time it was curled up around one of Yang's legs. The fur was not pure black anymore, but instead had a black and orange stripped pattern running down it from base to tip. Even Ruby's ears, which were now much larger and twitching softly as she dreamed were patterned with orange and black.

"Awwwe, look at them all snuggly in da box. Aren't you two just the cutest," Weiss gushed, both fists held up under her chin.

"You're a Tigress Faunus?" Blake asked, getting a nod from both girls in reply. A thought struck her. "Is that how you knew?" she said, one velvet backed ear giving a little flick at the memory of a late night cuddled up, when Yang lightly stroked the sweet spot just behind and heard Blake's purr for the first time.

Yang flashed a cheeky grin. "How I knew how to hit your purr button? Yup, always worked on little Rubes, so I thought maybe it would on you as well."

The vid cut off and left Ruby sitting quietly, surrounded by all three girls. Now that it was all out in the open she glanced from one to the other, even shooting a glance back at Yang. "So ... yeah, that's me and all," she said quietly.

"That is quite surprising," Weiss said, crossing her legs and turning so she could face her friends. Years ago, even just months ago she didn't put much store in friends. Her up bringing was all about finding people that were useful to you and exploiting them, or so her father said. Now that was gone, and she finally had a place where she didn't have to be anything but exactly what she was. It was going to take some time to get used to, but it was a fantastic feeling, and with a lesson learned she would never let any of her friends feel like she was not there for them. "I'm glad you trusted us with this Ruby."

"I didn't want to keep it a secret, but mom said that I should cus there will be bad people looking for me if they knew."

That got the attention of Blake and Weiss and they exchanged a look. "What kinds of bad people?" Blake asked.

"I dunno," Ruby replied with a little shrug. "But that's what mom said, and what dad and Uncle Qrow always say so I try to not let it get out. I don't think I'm the only one. Mom said that there were a bunch of us, but I might never meet another because we were all hiding."

"That is ... worrying," Weiss said, frowning slightly.

"Tell me about it." Yang rolled her eyes. "I've tried to find a little info here and there on who these bad people might be, but I never found anything. It might be out there but I didn't want to ask too many questions, or give too much away in case one of these 'them' got wind of it and started to look at us too closely."

And uncomfortable silence settled over the room for a few moments.

"I have a question," Blake said, breaking the tense air. "What happened to your Faunus features? I know some Faunus families choose to, uh, I'm trying to find a nicer word than mutilate for what they do to their children, but what I know about your family I don't believe they would ever do such a thing," she said, shifting uncomfortably. "It's not common practice anymore now that the Faunus have some rights, although some still view them as second class.

"But back before, there were families who used to remove their child's Faunus features surgically and pass them off as human to give them a chance at a better life. But those children still smell like Faunus. Any Faunus would be able to tell the instant they met a person who had that done to them, but you smell human. Even right now, after seeing that I can't scent anything Faunus about you at all."

"That was Mom," Yang said, as Ruby nodded. "I was too young to remember it, but the day after Ruby's fourth birthday she told Dad to take me on a camping trip and to come back in a few days. When we came back Ruby had lost her Faunus features completely and we started to refer to Ruby as human, because that was going to be how she hid from these bad people. Dad told us that they had discussed it and Mom said it would be easier to hide a human within a family of humans than it would be to hide a Faunus."

"Can you chose to move back and forth?" Weiss still had Ruby's hand in her own, and had yet to let go. Which had not gone unnoticed by the speed demon or the amber eyes that glinted.

"I guess there is a way, but I was too young to remember what happened and mom died a year later, so she never taught me." Ruby had a sad smile on her face, the same one she always did when talking about her Mom. A smile of happy memories tinted with the lens of losing her Mom so young. And in a moment it was gone, replaced with a little bit of a teasing look in her eye as she glanced back at Yang. "Though I did try, cus Dad said Yang cried for days cus when she came back her 'kitty sister' was different and she wanted me to have my ears and tail again."

Yang looked a little embarrassed, but got her revenge with tickles to Ruby's sides, getting a shriek of laughter as the smaller girl fought and wiggled, unable to defend herself because her hands were tied up. "Who said I missed you smacking me in the face with your tail all the time."

"Yan-Yang stop!" she cried, trying to wiggle away from the fingers laying the torture. Luckily her sister wasn't feeling to vindictive today and let up quickly.

On Yang's left side Blake seemed like she had been most of the conversation. Taking the information in, processing it, formulating questions, getting an answer and applying that answer to the picture she had in her head. "That wasn't a dream or me just being half asleep last night was it?" she asked. "You can see in the dark like I can."

Weiss flicked her eyes to Ruby and saw a little flicker of guilt at another secret kept. "As in Faunus night vision?"

"Yeah kinda, at least I think so," Ruby said, looking a little uncomfortable at keeping more secrets, even if it was an offshoot of one she was currently confessing but a quick hand squeeze from Weiss swept that away like leaves in the wind.

"Don't do that. You're trusting your team now, and we – at least I, understand why you kept this a secret. So tell us what you need to." Weiss sat back on her ankles and tucked a lock of hair behind an ear, giving Ruby an encouraging smile. "I'm your partner, if you have to tell me something, tell me. I have your back, always."

"Agreed," Blake added. "Same goes for me."

"You guys are the best," Ruby said with a little laugh, pulling both of their hands to her chest in a goofy little hug. "Alright so ... yeah I can see in the dark, but I don't know if it's exactly like how you do it. I kind of, um have to want to do it? Most times I can't, and I don't really want to cus my eyes can get all flashy and it would give away my secret, but if I want to I can. I can't really explain how."

"You have the ability if you need it, and you need to choose to activate it?" Weiss thought for a second. "Have you ever wanted to see in the dark and were unable to?"

"Nope."

"Best Dad and I can figure, Ruby is able to naturally tap into a little bit of her Faunus side, and even trigger a partial shift." Yang had been keeping a little quiet and just running her fingers through Ruby's hair for the last minute or so to help her keep calm and keep her nerve. "We think she is shifting her eyes to her Faunus side, and if she can figure out exactly how she's doing that, she might even be able to do a full body shift into her Faunus self. But so far no luck."

"It's not easy to explain. I just kinda ... do it," Ruby said with a helpless shrug.

"She can also sometimes have a sense of smell that is near impossible," Yang added, tapping her sisters nose.

"It helps me get cookies!" Ruby pouted, defending herself.

"Is that how you're always in the kitchen seconds after anyone makes cookies or anything sweet?" Weiss asked. It was common knowledge for anyone in the dorms that if you were making cookies, Ruby would be right beside you giving the puppy eyes till you gave her one. It was actually a bit of a dorm mystery how the girl always seemed to know when someone was making them.

"Yup!"

A few moments passed in comfortable silence, as the two sisters relaxed, surrounded by their teammates who were still processing a lot of what was just said. "So what now?" Weiss asked, not sure where to take things after such a huge secret being revealed.

"I think now we support Ruby," Blake said simply with a shrug, taking this revelation with a sense of calm acceptance like she did many things. Yang cracked a rueful grin beside her and gave the Faunus a side hug, even throwing in some light and affectionate ear rubs.

"Well of course we do that." Weiss rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and received her own side hug from Yang, though she put up a token resistance before setting into the warmth the golden dragon seemed to perpetually be giving off. "I mean now that we all have Ruby's back."

"Well," Blake said with a meandering hummed as she basked in the warm affections, just barely keeping a purr under wraps. "I could teach you some things about Faunus culture, seeing as it's your culture now too."

"Really! That would be so cool!" Ruby cheered in the middle, kicking her legs out in front of her as her arms were still wrapped up holding hands.

"If this is going to be a thing, I would like to be involved as well." Weiss cleared her throat, a light bit of colour on her cheeks, but if it was from her past missteps and misinformation about the Faunus, or being so wrapped up in warmth and cuddles no one could say. "If everyone is okay with me participating."

"Of course," Ruby said quickly with a huge smile as she tugged Weiss' arm closer. \

"Not a party without you snowcone," Yang teased, pulling the slender girl closer. Maybe a little too close if Weiss' flailing was any indication. The fencer had lost her balance after having her arm taken by Ruby and the additional tug by Yang tipped her almost face first into the Powerhouse's chest with an undignified squeak.

"Then it's settled," Blake said with a wide Cheshire grin as she watched the white pony tail bob about before blue eyes peered back at her from Yang's other side. The normally pale features of the Heiress were now quite crimson.

"Faunus lessons!" Ruby said before devolving into giggles.

"Why do I put up with all of you," Weiss grumbled, still cherry red and not meeting anyone's eye.

"Cus you love us and we're awesome," Yang replied with a kiss to the top of Weiss' head.

That's the new chapter 1. The old one was a piece about Penny's First Sleepover. I did like it and will probably rework that into a future chapter, but I did some thinking the other day and asked myself why I was keeping Ruby's identity as a Dusios such a secret. Ruby would trust her team? So I started to write this chapter and it just flowed so beautifully.

The next few chapters are going to be the Team exploring a little of what this means, learning some things about Faunus culture and most likely a few short chapters that I think are just fun and flash out the dynamic and interactions between all the girls and their friends.

Two review interaction questions this chapter.

1 What do you think of the Dusios?

2 Is there anything you would love to see from a Faunus (at least half!) Ruby story?

Drop a review!