I do not own or lay claim to any of the characters or concepts that this story stems from, only the characters and concepts that I have brought. I thank Monty and the rest of the RT crew for giving us this, and add to it with the deepest of respect.

(A special thanks to AYangThang, for helping me develop this idea, and allowing me to take bits and pieces of his amazing piece of work and add them to my own)

By Oum, I give you….

RWBY: Of Fang and Claw

Chapter one: Journeys and beginnings.

Ruby bustled about the room, her ears perked and her motions jittery, filled with an overflowing exuberance, and, if she was going to be honest with herself, more than a bit of nervousness. She was going to BEACON! Beacon, the most prestigious combat academy in all of Remnant! The same one that her older sister, Yang, was attending! Her father had taken it well, all things considered. She continued to pack, trying to make sure she had everything she needed, her eyes roaming over to her sweetheart resting in it's usual place on her little workbench in her room. Crescent Rose, her darling true partner. The extension of her soul that she had found with the help of her Uncle Qrow.

She knew that Yang had already packed, since she had known for months that she was going to be attending Beacon, well, packed as much as Yang ever did beforehand. She smiled as her ear twitched, hearing her father and sister talking down in the living room. She couldn't make out what was being said, not exactly, but she decided to give them what privacy she could. If she had been a human, she was sure she wouldn't even have been able to hear them at all, but to her faunus senses, the smells and little bits she caught pretty much could fill in the blanks, if she let them.

If she knew them, and she did, they would be talking and there would be probably a lot of hugging going on. The two bear faunus were very..Huggy...people. Mind you, she didn't mind, being a rather huggy-feely person herself, but it took some getting used to from others. Or at least, it seemed like that to her. She took a breath, running her hand lovingly over her sweetheart, and checking Crescent Rose for about the hundredth time, finding a sense of peace in the feel of her, the smell of her.

Her thoughts were interrupted as her dad knocks on the door "Little Red? It's time to go. I know you're going to do fine, so stop fretting so much. Signal has prepared you as much as it can, and I know you're ready for Beacon, or Professor Ozpin would never have invited you in. Take a breath, and finish packing." The bear faunus pauses outside of her door, a warm smile on his face as he breaths in the scent of his daughter, so much like the scent of her mother, but distinctly her own, as well. He wasn't exactly happy with his daughters following the path they had chosen, but in the end, they were very much their mother's daughters, and there was really nothing that would have stopped them from going this route.

After he has left, Ruby quickly finishes her packing and gently closes her door, leaning her head against the door and breathing in the scents that mean 'Home' to her again before settling her sweetheart in its stowed form at the small of her back and her luggage at hand. She smiles as she sees Yang stepping out of her own room, doing much the same thing as she turns and winks to Ruby.

"Are you ready, pup? We are going to take on Beacon, and make it our own! The next step is right before us, the beginning of our journey! In four years, we will be full fledged Huntresses, and it's going to be AWESOME!" she punches her hand into the air, all exuberance and wildness. Ruby rolls her eyes at her sister's usual nickname for her, and follows her towards the docks to board their flight to Vale and Beacon.

Glynda goodwitch, combat instructor, mage, Lioness. Very few things could faze her, or rattle her. The one person who did it more often than not sat before her, calmly sipping from his usual mug. Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy was an enigma to everyone, even his right hand lady. She continued her agitated pacing, her ever handy crop in hand "Ozpin! Why, exactly, are you letting most of these people enter the academy? Most are not ready! There are incomplete transcripts, and even one who is two YEARS too young! She CERTAINLY is not ready! And at least one set of transcripts that are so sketchy, I would not be surprised to find that they had been forged!" She states as she paces back and forth, back and forth, her golden ears flicking in an agitated manner, and the calm indifference she gets from Ozpin is most CERTAINLY not setting her at ease.

Ozpin looks up at her, glancing at her over his ever present glasses as he reclines in his chair, the massive clockwork of the Tower turning serenely around them. "If they were not ready, they would not be here, Glynda. You and I both know that. I have made mistakes in the past, yes, but these are not going to be added to that list. Miss Rose has been fully vetted by that dusty old Qrow, and her sister is a formidable fighter in her own right. And you are talking about our young lion, Mr. Arc, are you not? I see...Potential..In him. The kind of potential and drive that this school was built to enhance and focus. You and I both know that trying times are ahead, and that the light that leads us out of the darkness that is looming on the horizon could very well be lit here, now." he steepled his hands, resting them on his cane as he stares her down without even attempting to. A fact that the human headmaster finds mildly amusing at times.

Glynda stops her pacing, looking at him as she takes a long breath "I still do not think they are ready, Ozpin. We haven't even talked about some of the others that I have concerns about. What about that young lady, Blake Belladonna? A human, with her rather sketchy record, and no listed formal training to speak of passes the tests, easily. What lies in her past? What secrets is she hiding?" She resumes her pacing, stopping when he speaks.

"Ready or not, we don't have time, Glynda. They will be ready, because they must be." He sips from his mug, eyes distant. "We all must be."

Ruby Rose shifted excitedly as she sat next to her sister, her ears perked up atop her head and her hood resting lightly on her shoulders as she just about vibrated in place, waiting with all the patience of an over eager puppy next to the relaxed blonde brawler at her side. Said tower of sleek muscle, ample bosom and attitude flips her hair, her ears flicking from among her wild mass of hair with an amused motion as she looks down to her sister "Heel, Pup. No need to get all hyper yet. You're going to be fine."

Ruby Rose sighs and looks up at her sister, her ears drooping a bit "I don't want them to think I'm special just because I got into Beacon two years early, sis…" she says softly, her scent filled with nervousness and worry. Her ears flatten back onto her head, vanishing into her messy black and red locks, the little red points barely visible.

Yang Xio Long laughs, a heartfelt sound as she engulfs her younger sibling into her, appropriately, bear hug and gives her a loving squeeze "But you are special, Rubes! You're my darling, talented little sister! They are going to love you, you will see! You will be the bee's knees!" she says as she gives another squeeze.

Ruby pants and whines, sounding and smelling distressed "Yang...Need...Air...Please…." she gasps out, then sways as her sister gently lowers her to the deck of the airship. She looks up at the blonde brawler "But Yaaaang, I don't want to be the bee's knees! I want to be a normal girl, with normal knees!"

Any further comment that Yang might have had was cut off when the screen lit up with something besides the news that people had been ignoring. A tall, elegant faunus with lion's ears perched atop her head was gazing intently out of the screen, her bearing screaming her status where her scent couldn't. "Welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch, and I will be one of your teachers for the four years you will be attending Beacon. All of you have come here, from one of the preparatory combat schools seeking to become Hunters and Huntresses and enter a much larger world than many of you have ever seen. While you are here, we expect you to excel, and to follow the rules to the letter. Just a reminder, that means no marking any territory that is not yours, or your teams. Respect the rights and privileges of others at all times, and we won't have any issues. You are the best of the best, or you would never have been allowed here. That means we all expect great things from all of you. To be a Hunter or Huntress means to live your life in service to others, to place the well being of those that can not defend themselves before your own. For some of you, this is part of your nature, for others, it will become a driving part of who you are. I trust that you will find here a purpose, a place to belong, whether you are faunus , or human. Welcome to Beacon." She says with an imperious tilt of her head, clearly stating to any and all who are watching who is the Alpha.

Ruby is staring at the now dark screen, mouth hanging open just a bit as the points at the screen, ears flicking as she glances over to Yang excitedly "Sis! Sis! I met her, and she was all cool and imperious and scary! It...Was…..Awesome! And scary, like when Uncle Qrow is sober. Not that that happens much, but but but…." she would have continued her rant if Yang hadn't started to pet her on the top of her head.

"Calm down, pup. You are going to meet a lot of interesting people, and do a lot of amazing things in the next four years." She says as they exit the now docked airship, the blonde bombshell walking with a gait that could be defined as 'Casual sexy'. She stretches, which causes more than a few turned heads and potential nosebleeds as she grins down at Ruby.

Ruby, for her part is staring around at all the students, ears perked excitedly as she looks at their weapons "Yang! Look! A flamethrower axe! And is that a machine gun mace! That is sooo cool!" she pants, eyes wide open and quivering, just a bit. She is snatched, literally, from her wide eyed wonder by a powerful hand grabbing her by the back of her hood and lifting her into the air.

"Rubes, are you even listening to me?" Yang says in a long suffering tone as she looks down at the little pup that is currently dangling in front of her, her ears laid flat in apology as she looks at her older sister.

Ruby gives her older sister her best puppy dog eyes, reeking of apology as she hangs her head "But Yang, why do I need to meet new people, I have you? And and weapons are so cool! They are an extension of us, so if I get to know their weapons I get to know them, right? Right?" she looks up at Yang, clearly continuing a very, very long argument.

Yang laughs and sets her down, ruffling her hair affectionately "Well….Actually...I see my friends over there, I gotta go! Go, meet people! And talk about things BESIDES weapons!" she says as she dashes off, leaving a dizzy Ruby stumbling in her wake.

At the docks, a young lady with flawless white hair, smooth white skin that is only marred by a scar over her left eye, and an outfit consisting of mostly whites, blues and red trim stands waiting for the servants to finish unloading her gear. She adjusts her bolero jacket, the symbol of her house proudly emblazoned across her back as she sweeps those before her with an imperious gaze, preening just a bit inside as the little signs of deference are made to her instinctively. Her fox ears perk forward, staying at that perfect angle that sets her whole appearance off just so. Yes, Weiss Schnee knew how to make an entrance, and how to command a room. As the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, no less was expected of her. From her outfit, to her hair, even her scent, nothing was left to chance, nothing was not prepared for. She strode with a proud, some would even say arrogant, stride towards the academy never looking back to make sure that her servants were behind her. Of course they were, where else would they be? That would be why she didn't see the girl that stumbled into her baggage, but the commotion drew her attention, and her ire instantly.