Hello peeps! Who here expected another dog related fic? I sure didn't!

So yeah, this idea came to me while writing Head Pats, my mind was like hey why stop at Jaune being a dog faunus? Why not go Full Dog? At first, I wasn't too sure about it, didn't know if I wanted to invest in a fic with elements a bit similar to a previous one, also I had no idea how to work some crucial plot points (like how to start the story lol). But then one day I shared my initial ideas with PorterHawk here, she helped me a lot with developing the parts I had trouble with, gave me some motivation and was up for a collab so now here we are!

This one is going to be a big one, and for a bonus, every chapter is going to be accompanied by an illustration! We'll put the links for you at the end notes so don't forget to check them out after!

Enough babbling, hope you like it!

Miserable.

That was the one word Ozpin would use to describe his current state.

Getting sick was one of the worst parts of being a powerful wizard reincarnated over and over and over again. Forget the weight of Salem's constant scheming weighing on his conscious. The world being in a never-ending state of unrest. Hell, forget the terrorist currently making the fears of civilians far greater exciting the Grimm outside the walls.

No, the common cold was far worse than anything else he had ever experienced. Actually, this was worse than a cold. This might actually devolve into the flu with how chilled he was currently feeling. At least he still had his warm cup of coffee. The heat temporarily soothed his aching throat giving him a very short respite from his agony. It proved to be once again his only source of happiness in a world weighed down by his illness and misery.

"ACHO!" The man threw his head to the side as a massive sneeze wracked his frame, only to be followed by several magical sparks. His wastebasket had just transformed into a toaster, and two slices of brown bread popped out of the top whacking him in the face. He reared back trying to process what had just happened.

Well, that wasn't good.

"Professor Ozpin. I have the reports Ironwood sent." Glynda stated as she entered his office. She quickly walked up to his desk only to raise a brow at his dazed state. The professor glanced over his desk seeing the appliance sitting by his feet and two pieces of crumbling toast laying nearby. "Why do you have a toaster here?" She asked.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better that used to be my trash can." The man answered trying to hold back another sneeze. She glanced between him and the toaster, shaking her head and placing the stack of papers on his desk. She pulled out her tablet and began going through her digital messages.

"In any case, The Council has been very persistent in a meeting regarding the Vytal Festival. They fear all the robberies-"

"ACHOO!" The stack of papers exploded into a flock of several dozen rainbow-colored parrots. They flapped their wings and squawked trying to find shelter while Glynda swatted them away.

"By the Gods!" She shrieked as one nearly smacked her in the face. The woman hit it sideways with her tablet knocking several strands of hair loose from her bun. The thing squawked angrily before joining the other birds perched in the rafters above. A few of them sat on the back of Ozpin's chair while another decided to sit on his desk phone. Just as things seemed to settle, another smaller sneeze forced its way out.

"ACHO!" The coffee mug on his desk transformed into a potted cactus. Ozpin felt about ready to cry. With his one source of pleasure gone the man lowered his head to the desk. He groaned miserably while Glynda tried to fix her hair.

"I think you should go home Ozpin."

"Just keep going, Glynda." He weakly waved his hand already giving up on ever finding joy again. There wasn't a point anymore. "It's important right?"

"Not that important. We can talk about this tomorrow. The Council won't be happy about it but I will try to reschedule." She looked at the paperwork that was now a bird sitting on her bosses' desk. The parrot looked up to her and squawked.

"BWAK. LIGHTEN UP PRUDE!" Ozpin stiffened and Glynda gasped.

This wasn't good at all.

"What did that bird-" She didn't have time to finish as the other parrots quickly joined in.

"BWAK! SUCH A STIFF!"

"LIGHTEN UP LADY!"

"SHE PUT ON WEIGHT!"

"RIGHT TO THE THIGHS! TO THE THIGHS!"

Ozpin could feel his death creeping closer and closer with each comment the parrots were making. Glynda's face grew red with barely contained anger, especially at the weight comment. She actually snapped her tablet in half with how tightly she was squeezing it. This was the end. Ozpin fully expected her to impale him with her riding crop. Surprisingly though she managed to keep her head. Finally, the woman took a death breath and growled.

"Just go home Ozpin."

"Glynda-"

"I said go home! Before you make this worse for yourself." She huffed angrily clearly on the brink of losing it. A white substance fell from the rafters hitting her square in the shoulder. She looked to the bird poop and then back at him with absolute murder in her eyes. Well, he wasn't about to argue with that face. Several centuries of experience taught him that much at least.

"Yes, ma'am." He said nasally. Ozpin blew his nose and moved to throw the tissue away, remembering his wastebasket was now a toaster. The older man shoved the used thing in his pocket and tiredly wrapped his coat around himself. He shuffled to the door as quickly as his wobbly legs would go, his heart sinking as another bird started squawking about Glynda's age.

Gods why was his office so big?!

"And for the love of the Gods please don't sneeze on anyone! Oum knows how big of a mess that would cause!" She slammed her riding crop on his desk forcing the rude parrots to scatter.

"I'll… do my best." Ozpin shambled into the elevator while Glynda dealt with the birds. He hit the first floor button and shakily waited as he descended.

Well, that was almost a disaster. Thankfully, Glynda was taking pity on him. He hoped anyway. For all Ozpin knew Glynda was biding her time planning the perfect revenge. Though she probably wouldn't get to enact it. He literally felt like death at this point and all he wanted was some hot tea and a warm bed.

After what felt like an eternity, the elevator hit the ground floor. The doors opened right as another sneezing fit started.

"ACHOO!" He tried to cover his mouth but some of the magic escaped his hand. It hit the desk phone, transforming it into a salsa bottle. Thank the Gods the receptionist was out to lunch currently. She could have been hit instead. The man wasn't sure how he'd even start explaining that one. Thankfully, Glynda wouldn't hunt him down for transforming a phone at least. Ozpin just needed to get out of here before the situation got worse.

He shambled down the hallway looking more like a zombie than a teacher. His frame was shivering and the world felt like it was tilting sideways. Yep, this was probably a severe case of the flu. He just had to make it home, and then he could collapse into a pathetic pile and bury himself in a blanket nest. Until then he needed to save face around the students. Ozpin tried to compose himself enough to seem somewhat coherent, though it didn't help much. Quietly he made his way towards the exit. Nobody in sight. Just one more corner to round and he'd be able to run home. He lived on school grounds so he wouldn't have far to go either.

A pressure started welling up in his nostrils after only a few more steps, and he knew exactly what was coming.

Suddenly a mop of blonde appeared from around the corner with a massive stack of books, stumbling into Ozpin right as the man let out the biggest sneeze of his life.

"ACHOOO!"

Books and papers flew everywhere as magical sparks erupted around his face. The force knocked both parties to the floor as the magic particles rained down around him. It took him a moment but Ozpin managed to sit up only for his gut to sink. In the place of whoever was carrying the papers was now just a bundle of clothes – a very agitated bundle of clothes. His aching mind was trying to keep up with what happened, especially when a fluffy golden tail suddenly popped up from under the mess, and something told him it didn't belong to a Faunus. All Ozpin could do was stare and sniffle back a bit of mucus as a fully-grown golden retriever ran around in circles whimpering and yelping in a complete panic while tangled up in a boy's uniform.

The dog flipped over ripping the pants freeing his tail and back leg as well as a bright blue pair of boxers. He finally managed to free his other leg but flung the pants away in the process. A scroll and wallet fell from the torn pocket and tumbled to the floor. The scroll skidded a bit, coming to a stop near Ozpin's hand while a pair of blue Pumpkin Pete boxers floated onto his shoe. He kicked the underwear away and stood up, finding the scroll and wallet belonged to Mr. Jaune Arc of all students. The man glanced between the scroll and a very fluffy Jaune currently tangled in his tie and jacket still panicking. It took several long seconds for his sick brain to put all the pieces together on what all of this meant.

"Well shit." Ozpin sighed miserably. "Glynda is going to kill me."

"So what do you think Professor Goodwitch is mad about this time?" Nora asked as the three students walked down the nearly abandoned corridor. Classes had ended for the day, but Ren, Nora and Pyrrha had been summoned by the combat professor for a very important meeting.

"Well, there was the incident in the library last week, or being late for her class three times in a row." Ren listed off. "Maybe it was the baking soda volcano in the student lounge?"

"But it made the pancakes more explosive!" Nora laughed at the memory. "The vinegar didn't taste too good with it, but that is a lesson learned for next time!"

"Right." Ren sighed but smiled at his partner's antics. Pyrrha couldn't help but worry about her own partner. He was supposed to meet them for baking in the student lounge hours ago, but he never arrived. Their leader hadn't answered his scroll either oddly enough, and he'd been missing all afternoon. Pyrrha hadn't seen him since study hall that morning. In fact, both he and Professor Goodwitch missed combat class too. Professor Peach was recruited as a last minute substitute, and no one was sure why the strict woman would have missed her own lesson.

"Do you think it has to do with Jaune?" The champion asked worriedly.

"Maybe he got into a scuffle with Cardin?" Ren suggested.

"If that's the case we'll have some legs to break!" Nora growled. "I thought Cardin had stopped bullying Jaune."

"That's what I thought too." Pyrrha wondered. Ren patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm sure we will just be scolded for the pancake incident in the student lounge. Jaune is most likely just waiting in the office for us to arrive."

"You're probably right." Pyrrha smiled. "I'm just overreacting." It made sense though. Since Jaune was the team leader he would likely be yelled at first for the mess they made. She was sure the whole team would be laughing this off in detention later.

The group came up to Professor Goodwitch's office, the door uncharacteristically closed. That was odd. The strict woman usually left it open when she expected students to stop by. Nora didn't seem concerned, quickly skipping up to the large wooden door and delivering several hard knocks. They herd the clacking of heels, followed by the Professor in questioning opening the door and stepping aside.

"Good afternoon students. Please enter." She motioned to three chairs set up in front of her desk. The group slowly took their seats, a bit put off by Glyda's somber attitude. Usually, she was far angrier when the team was in trouble. Something was clearly off.

"Ummm… we're sorry for the pancake mess." Pyrrha said starting to feel guilty under the woman's serious gaze.

"This isn't about that." Ms. Goodwitch shook her head. She moved over to her desk and clicked several buttons, a screen appearing with Ozpin on the other end. He looked awful, wrapped up in several layers of blankets and an ice pack on his forehead. His nose was red and he was sporting a very swollen eye, as if somebody punched him into next week. He blew his nose before addressing the team.

"Good afternoon students. I apologize for the unusual circumstances of this meeting, but I'm afraid my office is… compromised." Glynda face-palmed at his statement unable to hide her frustration.

"You look horrible Professor!" Nora commented.

"Perhaps we should have this meeting at another time?" Pyrrha suggested.

"No students, I'm afraid this is very important." Goodwitch sighed. "Go on Ozpin. Tell them." The man on screen took a swig from a steaming mug of tea before continuing.

"This meeting pertains to your team leader, Mr. Arc." Pyrrha could feel her stomach drop.

"What happened?! Is he hurt or-"

"Nothing like that Ms. Nikos." Ozpin interrupted.

"That's good at least." Pyrrha felt a small bit of relief before remembering Jaune's fake transcripts. What if he was discovered? Were they about to be told their team leader was expelled?

"I brought you here to hopefully prepare you for this odd situation. Mr. Arc has… unlocked his semblance." Ozpin stated.

"Well, it's about time!" Nora said sounding proud of their leader, but Pyrrha still didn't understand.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but why would you call us into a meeting for this?"

"You see, Mr. Arc has a… transformative semblance. A very rare type- ACHOOO!" Ozpin doubled over to the side with a massive sneeze. There was a small ploom of sparkling particles followed by the sound of a cat screeching and a lamp shattering against the hard floor. He glanced over to Professor Goodwitch hoping she would take over. Glynda sighed clearly agitated but continued regardless.

"The problem is that he can't change back to his human form. For the time being, he seems to be stuck." The blonde woman finally said.

"So where is he? Can we see him?!" Pyrrha asked desperately. If it was his semblance causing the issue she could help him with that. The results must have been terrible if they were keeping him hidden.

"He's in the office, though he's been nervous about seeing you three." Glynda looked over to her desk.

"Oh no!" Nora yelled grabbing the decorative lamp sitting by the screen. "Jaune became a lamp! Don't worry fearless leader, we'll fix this I swear! Ren! We can fix this right?!" She cradled the thing rushing over to her partner and holding it to his face. Ren just looked at the lamp questioningly only for Glynda to snatch it back.

"I wasn't referring to the lamp." The woman stated setting the light back in place. "He's under the desk." Pyrrha lowered her head to the side trying to peer under the gap. She saw a bit of hair but not much else.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha stood up and made her way to the other side of the desk. She stopped when she heard the scratching of nails against the tile floor. The champion peered around the office chair seeing a large ball pushed as far towards the back as he could manage. "Jaune, it's me, Pyrrha. Please come out." The furry ball somehow managed to get smaller as he shied further back. She looked over to Ren for help.

"Hey, Jaune. Professor Goodwitch explained the situation. There is no need to hide anymore." Ren stated calmly.

"We promise we won't laugh. And I will personally have a word with anyone who does." Nora chimed in followed by the loud sound of knuckle cracking.

"They are both right Jaune. I promise we will all help you through this, but we can't do that if you stay there. Can you come out please?" Pyrrha said soothingly. It took several long seconds but the form finally shifted. Jaune stood up on four narrow legs and made his way into the light. A big fluffy dog poked his head out of the shadows. He had his uniform jacket tied around his neck like a cape, and the poor thing was scrunched up nervously. Pyrrha put a hand to her mouth in shock. The two made brief eye contact, the dark blue eyes of the canine looking at her both apologetic and ashamed. She recognized those eyes, this was Jaune no doubt.

Her partner and crush turned into a dog.

Ren and Nora leaned over Pyrrha's shoulders trying to get a look too, only for the bomber to gasp at the sight.

"He's so CUTE!" Nora tried to leap over Pyrrha but was quickly pulled back by Ren.

"Nora, now's not the time." The ninja stated. He seemed surprised at first but was able to mask it with his usually calm voice.

"I'm sorry! It's just… Why didn't you tell us you could become a puppy?!"

"He didn't know Nora. And he's not a puppy." Ren scolded. Jaune squirmed when Nora tried reaching for his face. He backed up further under the desk giving her an agitated look. "I think you should apologize." Ren glanced at his partner patiently. She gave their leader an apologetic smile and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Sorry Jaune. I'll just… back up a bit." She shifted back a few inches giving her leader more room. He relaxed a little more now that he had space again.

"Can you come out now? I'm sure Professor Goodwitch would like her desk back."

He stepped further out of hiding at her prompting, now visible to everyone. From what Pyrrha could see he was completely covered in golden-colored fur, and even had a bushy tail to go along with it. He looked just like a full-grown golden retriever.

"Oh Jaune, what did you do to yourself?" He looked to the side shamefully, his adorable ears flopping down over his face. Pyrrha couldn't help but pull him into a gentle hug. Ren and Nora quickly joined in and the group shared a nice quiet moment.

Glynda watched the teens sympathetically while Ozpin just looked guilty. Pyrrha wondered why he would even feel that way. It's not like the man was responsible for any of this.

"Hopefully his… semblance will wear off in the next few days. In the meantime, however, Ms. Nikos will be appointed as temporary team leader until this is sorted out." Professor Goodwitch handed Nora a bag with Jaune's clothes and books before continuing. "You four will also be excused from classes for the rest of the week." Pyrrha just stared at her completely baffled. This was just an issue of his semblance right? Why was she acting like Jaune was dying or something?

Glynda walked over to the door and held it open for the group. "I'll be sure to check in with you four as well. Please notify me if you need anything."

"Right… thank you, Professor." Pyrrha smiled tightly. The three walked out of the office quietly while Jaune tailed behind them. He was slow, having trouble deciding which leg was supposed to go first. His timid behavior wasn't helping. Jaune's tail was tucked between his wobbly legs and he just looked like he wanted to disappear. Nora slowed down so she would be walking beside their team leader, while Ren leaned in and whispered.

"That was odd, don't you think?"

"Yeah. It seemed like they were hiding something." Pyrrha added. Hopefully, Jaune would be back to his human self in the morning and everything would go back to normal.

As soon as the door cracked open Jaune sprinted inside, doing his best to avoid crashing into the desk chair as he made the turn, instead he managed to slap his uncontrollable tail against the leg of a nearby bed. Climbing on his familiar mattress, the soft bedding was a small comfort compared to the constant feeling of rough paw pads and the clicking of claws against the floor he had to deal with on his way to the dorm room.

Jaune made it under the covers even before the light was turned on. Between being buried under his own clothes and a distressing journey to Professor Goodwich's office, he got pretty good at hiding underneath things. Which was good in this case, the knot tying the uniform jacket around his neck had been coming loose during their silent, slightly tense walk, and his sharp entrance was the final tug for it to come undone. Plus he didn't want his teammates, or anyone really, seeing him like this a very furry and... very naked.

"What should we do now?" His ears flickered unintentionally with Nora's question, the breathy words indicated they were meant to be a whisper, it reached him louder than that though.

He could pick up on a familiar sounding ruffle of fabric. His jacket was being picked up from the floor and tossed over the desk, followed by a sigh that could only have been produced by his partner. "I guess wait…? I've never heard of a semblance of this kind before… how… why did it suddenly activate? What could be the trigger for him to turn back… The Professors said the effect would pass… but will it really take one week...?" She trailed off, and if it was possible, his tail would have pressed itself even tighter against his body. Jaune was sure he could smell the confusion and worry coming from her tone, spreading over the room.

He didn't want to be only a cause of concern for his teammates, not again, but what could he do? Try to assure them he would find a way? That he would get this under control? Just panic? He couldn't even speak! The yelps he was able to produce weren't exactly comforting. And after hours of the last option under a cold office desk, it got tiring pretty quick.

Jaune dared to try to just take a peek from under his covers, and leaving the darkness of shut eyes under his blankets didn't exactly make him feel better. His vision was completely bewildering; he couldn't even see the other side of the room clearly, hazy blurs taking over as he blinked forcefully, as if that could bring the focus back. And the colors, gone! Well, mostly gone, every trace of warmth had vanished, leaving behind only brownish yellows and cold blues.

The breath he let out sounded like a whimper. The out of focus, off-colored faces of his teammates turned towards the sound.

"I think we should just... talk and try to make him feel as comfortable as possible." Ren played his role as the voice of reason, and soon the faces in front of him gained a bit more clarity as they approached. Jaune contained the urge to hide back under his cover; he was embarrassed, yes - very - but didn't want to appear to be afraid of his own friends.

"Sooo..." Nora prolonged the word as the team sat on the floor in front of his bed, fidgety hands tapping against a restless leg. He was sure she was containing herself from jumping forward and screaming about how... "cute" he was again, there was a certain layer of excitement under her own worry. "You can still understand us, right? Normally?"

"Yes! Of course." Was what he wanted to say if his vocal cords weren't of a dog, words being replaced by an uneven groan. He shut his mouth, opting on weakly nodding instead.

"Oh! Great!" The three seemed to lose a bit of tension with his reply. Nora continued, lightly bouncing in place. "And you know what else is great? You finally unlocked your semblance!"

"Ah! Yes, isn't that wonderful?" Pyrrha perked up too; Nora's optimistic tone just had that effect on people. "And just like any other semblance, it can take a while to learn how to control it, but we will find a way."

"Maybe it's one that stays activated for a specific time?" Ren offered.

"Oh, oh! You think it's limited to turning into a dog?" Nora was visibly more excited than any of them about this situation. "Imagine how unstoppable we would be if he could turn into other animals? Like… like a lion! Or a tiny bug to infiltrate in tiny places! Or a sloth! That would be even cuter!"

He flinched slightly to her raise of volume. Jaune knew she was trying to help by seeing the bright side, but gods, if he had to pass through this shock every time he turned into something it would take years to get used to it. And a time limit? Would he really be stuck as an animal until his body decided "Ok, that's enough" and turned the semblance off?

He let out an uncertain whimper - these sounds were so embarrassing! - his blanket fell over his eyes as he recoiled a bit, just leaving his long muzzle out.

Jaune heard air being sucked between teeth, and a strained whisper of "That's adorable!" coming from their shorter teammate.

"Nora..." Ren reprimanded once more

"Oh! Sorry!"

"The point is-" Pyrrha picked the conversation back up. "We can't imagine how much of a shock an experience like this must be, but we will do our best to figure out the limits of your semblance, and how to gain control over it. Together." The statement was followed by sounds of agreement.

Jaune let out a sniff. That actually made him want to smile for the first time since this whole ordeal started, but his mouth wouldn't respond the way he wanted to. He offered a tiny breathy bark instead, finally poking his head out again from under the sheets.

His teammates' expressions were still not quite in focus, but he somehow knew they picked up the gratitude within the sound.

"You… need anything?" Nora's head tilted to the side analytically. "More blankets? Water? Something to eat?"

Against his will, his ears perked forward and his tail unstuck from his side in a firm wag - Food! What was the time he last ate?

"I think he's hungry." Even with Ren's stable tone, Jaune could hear the upwards tilt of a small smile.

"Very hungry." Actually, he remembered being hungry right before the incident - that's why he was in such a hurry on his way to the dorm, not even noticing he was about to crash into someone after he turned that corner. He just had to arrive fast because Ren had been making-

"Oh! The cookies!" Nora jumped up from her place, zooming around the room and plopping back on the carpet with something in her hands. "We saved some for you after you took too long to arrive."

She opened the plastic lid of the container and the delicious smell hit him immediately, sugary and buttery, chocolate chip cookies.

His mouth watered as one was offered to him, but before Jaune could finally feel the sweet taste of the cookies the treat disappeared from the tip of Nora's fingers with a startling shout. "No!"

"Pyrrha! What-" His complaint came out as an outraged huff.

"You can't give chocolate to a dog!" His partner threw the cookie back into the container. She looked back to him, expression softening a bit in response to his agitation. "I'm sorry, Jaune. It could make you very sick, it's better not to risk it."

"Oh." Nora shut the lid quickly, as if even the smell of the cookies could get him into a hospital. "Should we… try to find some dog food? Ruby probably has some…"

Jaune couldn't help but flinch. "That doesn't sound really appetizing…"

"We… can do a quick search to see if some of the food we have in the kitchen is safe for dogs." Pyrrha continued after seeing his reaction. "Just so he can eat something more… familiar. Ren, could you...?"

"Of course." Ren was already getting up, scroll in hand to look for options.

"I'll get some water in the meantime." His partner got up too. "Nora, don't give him the cookies, and could you follow that suggestion of extra blankets?"

"I'm on it." With a single movement, she was on her feet.

Jaune rested his chin back on the mattress, eyes following Nora's blur as she piled up blankets from the closet on her shoulders. "Pyrrha seems to be doing pretty good as a team leader…"

As half of the team was leaving the room to complete their own tasks, Nora suddenly stopped. "Wait… who's going to get to eat the cookies then?"

Nora ate the cookies. Jaune had to deal with some eggs, toast and a banana already cut in slices. They mostly had breakfast supplies in the dorm's kitchen, since the other meals were offered in the school's cafeteria.

Even with Ren's talent of making even the simplest of meals taste delicious, Jaune couldn't help but feel like his tongue was covered in cardboard, the taste had barely reached him. Not to mention how weird it was to fish the pieces of food with his tongue, and chewing with a mouth that never stopped feeling too long.

He twisted his body under the weight of his blankets, trying, and failing, once again to find a comfortable position. The mattress felt lumpy, he didn't know where to put his paws, or where to rest his head, even with the extra covers given to him, it always felt like something was poking out, and every time he tried to adjust it with a nudge, his claws would get stuck in the fabric.

He eventually gave up, mainly to put his team at ease since that was causing frequent questions of "Is everything okay?", but also because exhaustion was finally catching up to him. The lights were already turned off for the night, the room was silent and he was doing pretty good at ignoring how his tail adamantly resisted on staying under the blankets. At last, he could rest.

Or that was what he thought. Every time he was getting remotely used to a new sensation, it seemed some other inconvenience was just waiting to replace it.

With his eyes shut Jaune let a yawn escape, and gods, even that felt weird. Was his jaw supposed to stretch this wide or was he about to dislocate it? And why couldn't he close his mouth properly? His tongue refused on staying put, hanging out past his lips. And why was he panting now? He didn't want to make any noise, but his new body didn't care.

"Maybe I just need some air… Just a quick peek outside…" Even his tail responded to the thought with a positive wag. He head-butted the sheet wrapping, he just needed to find a way out. No success after a few pushes, his attempts were apparently only making the covers press tighter against his fur. Feeling the rumble of his throat, he resisted growling impatiently, wobbly raising from his spot to paw into the sheets, trying to sniff a source of fresh air - why had he tangled himself so much before?

Then it hit him; his tail wasn't under the sheets, just waving outside without apparently any control from his part - so it literally hit him - the more agitated he got. Trying to invert his position while dodging folds of cloth, Jaune could almost taste the freedom, until a misstep sent him tumbling down from the edge of the bed.

His not at all gracious fall was cushioned by the blankets he dragged down with him; but that only meant he was still stuck! Not containing his frustrations anymore, he let out an annoyed bark, only to shut his mouth in a snap as he heard the creak of his teammates' beds as they were startled awake.

"Wha- What's going on? What happened?" The drowsiness in Nora's voice vanished with each word as she took in the situation.

"Jaune! Oh my- did you fall?" His partner reached him first, hands blindly but carefully patting the sheets around him.

There was a click as the lights were turned on, Ren's voice came from that spot. "I think he is stuck."

Jaune shook his head, letting out a whimper as Pyrrha gently removed the sheets from around his head. Her efforts paid off; soon his muzzle was in contact with fresh air. The fabric was removed from his eyes, just for him to find concerned, unfamiliar yellow looking back to him.

"This is so wrong…" The thought was translated into another whimper as he glanced between his teammates, who were settling on the floor around him - Pyrrha without her lively reds and gold, Nora without her energetic pinks and oranges, and Ren without his greens and magenta highlights - they had the appearance of a group of strangers.

"Hey… it's okay. We are here to help you." Pyrrha assured, handing Nora one of the blankets she managed to remove from the tangled mess.

"I guess the extra blankets weren't the best thing, huh?" Nora crumpled the fabric on her lap, just for Ren to take it and fold it properly.

"No. It wasn't that-" Jaune interrupted himself when noticing there was only one blanket left before he would be completely exposed. He huffed, retreating into the cloth. "I would like to keep this one, please."

"You... want to stay with that one?" His partner raised her hands, bringing it closer to her body. He nodded, and she relaxed again. "Alright then. Do you want to go back to bed? We can try rearranging it so it can be more comfortable." She patted his mattress, tucking the bedding he pulled off with his fall back into place.

"We could…" He blinked slowly. He was so tired, his own bed didn't offer any comfort until now. What was the point of climbing back up? Letting out a defeated sigh then, Jaune just let his body fall to the floor. "Or I can just crash here…"

His teammates exchanged glances, unsure of what to do, until Nora brightened up. "Or we could make the floor more comfortable instead." She rushed to the closet, resurging with even thicker covers in her arms.

"I thought you said we didn't need more blankets?" Ren pointed out.

"These-" She let the heavy bundle fall on the floor. "Aren't for covering. You two-" She shoved her partner and Pyrrha to the side. "Clear the space. Jaune, it would be nice if you moved too for a second… but you can stay because you look like a sad bean."

He huffed. "Thanks, Nora." Still, Jaune did his best to roll out of the space between his and Pyrrha's bed, ending up under the frame of his own.

Soon the thick blanket was stretched over the floor. Nora snatched his pillows and the extra blankets that had been wrapped around him, fluffing them up as she placed them around the covered space like a fence.

She stopped, observing her work while tapping her chin with a finger. "Almost there…"

Curious to what she was up to now, Jaune followed her movements as she got up and took the blanket that had been folded by Ren, stretched it between both bed frames and created a tent by tucking the edges of the fabric under the mattresses until they were secure in place by their weight.

"Ta-da!" She presented the final result of her creation with a grand hand gesture. "A blanket fort!" She peeked under the bed to look at him. "So? What do you think?"

Careful so the blanket around him wouldn't slip, he crawled over to the soft bedding floor. Not having too much energy to explore, he found the closest pillow and plopped his head over it, lying on his side. The tent made the air warm, but not too hot like his previous cocoon of blankets, the space was big enough for him to stretch his paws in whatever direction he wanted without meeting a wall or falling, the lined floor didn't feel out of place underneath his new lighter weight, and even in his exhausted state, he had to admit, it looked pretty fun.

His tail obeyed him properly for the first time, giving his teammates some wags in gratitude. It was perfect.

"Aw, he likes it." Nora couldn't hold back from cooing.

"Think you'll be okay for the night?" Pyrrha asked while inspecting the raised blanket.

"I…" Jaune adjusted his chin over the pillow. "I don't know… but I'll try." Remembering that his team couldn't understand him anymore, he replied again with a tired wag, they seemed to take that as a positive answer.

"Maaaybe…" Nora straightened the edge of the floor covering. "We could give him some company?"

"You just want to sleep in the fort, don't you?" Ren was quick to catch up to her intentions.

"I mean…" She blew in air, raising her hands in a shrug. "Who wouldn't want to do that, am I right? But I-" She straightened her back, hands on waist. "Just have the pure intention of offering support for our dear leader."

Jaune had to roll his eyes, letting out a huff that would have been a laugh.

"Okay, the intentions may be a bit mixed…" She admitted after his reaction. "But look at this! It's one of my finest works! And it would be just like a slumber party!" She patted the floor, whispering as if sharing a top-secret. "I made sure there was enough space for more people."

"Well…" Pyrrha chuckled. "We can do that only if he says it won't bother him…"

All eyes fell on him, awaiting an answer. He scooted closer to the pillow border, sending a glance and a wag to his team direction. "What are you waiting for then."

Nora squealed to his approval. In a jiff, she got up, gathered her's and Ren's pillows and blankets, threw her partner's on his face and slipped under the tent.

Jaune couldn't stop his tail from lightly wagging as his friends arranged themselves around the space. A tiny bit cramped, but after a few pushes and shoves they were able to settle. Ren was already half asleep wrapped around his blankets, Nora was managing over a pillow horde in one corner, and just as Pyrrha was adjusting by his side after turning off the lights, he couldn't keep his eyes from shutting any longer.

He barely registered the quiet exchange of goodnights, finally falling asleep, surrounded by the familiar, comforting smell of bronze, sugar and chamomile tea.

Hello! PorterHawk here. So my main fic is on hold since I've had too much inspiration to work on this one. I'm really loving this one though. Hopefully, you all will enjoy the work ChrisRainicorn and I put into this. It's gonna be a cute one.

Art found below(replace the DOT with a .):

Cover:

favDOTme/ddk4oo5

Ch1 art:

favDOTme/ddk4v14