Some time during Raki's stay at Rabona, his two humanoid comrades had their own adventure.

"Are you sure we should be here?" Renee asked her companion as they walked through the village nearest to the fort Raki and Serana had claimed for themselves. Out of curiosity, she had asked how they had managed that.

Serana's answer had been, "We asked those bandits politely. Their leader took one look outside, saw our friends and made no difficulty."

Yeah, who would be stupid enough to argue upon seeing two giant winged reptiles with huge claws and teeth ready to receive their refusal?

"Well, some of his underlings didn't quite agree. Sahrothaar and Odahviing had a nice lunch that day." Serana had finished.

And yes, indeed, some people would be stupid enough to do that.

Back to the present, the two inhuman women were currently visiting for supplies. Serana had bugged Renee until the Claymore had caved. Renee also suspected she had asked Paarthurnax to make his lessons on dragons, be it history, customs or anatomy, extra boring on purpose.

"You've been cooped up there since you joined us." Serana replied. "You need some fresh air, relax a bit, enjoy some human company. Seriously, are all Claymores so stiff?"

"The Organization does not encourage mingling, and humans don't like us anyway. As far as they are concerned, we are a necessary evil. Moreover, you don't strike me as the outgoing type yourself." Renee countered.

Serana frowned slightly. "Unlike you, I am not human. Not anymore. If you look at it, I have even less of a place in human society than you. So take it from someone who knows, don't discard your ability to bond with people so readily."

Renee didn't reply, unsure of what to say. She had been told the vampire was centuries old, with the experience and burden that inevitably came with it. But at the same time, jaded as she was, Serana still displayed the need for companionship and human contact, unlike Yoma who only needed humans for food. In that case, could a Claymore sever her ties with humans? Or rather, what would happen if a Claymore did?

The thoughts snowballed unpleasantly. Distancing yourself from humanity would mean ultimately losing sight of what makes you human. And for a Claymore, the outcome was clear. Renee shivered visibly.

"Are you cold?" Serana asked. "I thought…"

"I'm fine." Renee interrupted her a bit sharply. "Just thought of something unpleasant."

"Ah, sorry. Well, my point is, enjoy the moment once in a while."

Renee gave the vampire a flat stare. "This coming from the woman hiding under a cloak. Even though it's such a nice day."

It was late afternoon actually, but the sun would remain up for a few more hours. As a result, the night-walker was wearing a black hooded cloak over her shoulders, which she kept completely closed.

"I'm not good with the sun being what I am. However, we do have to buy supplies, so we have to get there while the stores are still open. Speaking of which, aren't you hiding too?" Serana asked, pointing at the similar garb on Renee.

"I'd rather not stand out. You may be convinced it's safe here, but I don't want the Organization to catch wind of my presence if I can avoid it." Renee admitted.

"Would they really try to kill you?"

Renee nodded grimly. "It is standard protocol for any rogue warrior, regardless of her circumstances."

The two women went about their shopping. Apparently Serana had become something of a regular here and shared some small talk with the inhabitants, though not enough to be overly familiar with them. Just enough to know that the people were speaking of dragons, whose sightings were becoming more frequents. Daanlotfel might be actively marshalling them and in this case, Raki had his work cut out for him here already. Still, something felt off to Renee. It was a little too silent. The people had an air of tension to them, eyeing the pair suspiciously. The Claymore chalked it up to her presence and checked that her hood was in place.

"I tell you, it's her!" Renee heard a man say quietly while she waited outside the general goods shop Serana was currently visiting.

"Come on, you can't be sure." another replied.

"Yeah? It started shortly before she showed up. I don't believe in coincidences! If we don't do something soon, the victims will increase!"

That got Renee's attention. Had there been some attacks in the village? Serana claimed she didn't feed on humans, but could it be that she had lied?

As Renee waited, she noted that more people were gathering. The mutters got louder, making her worried. She knew mob mentality and had heard of a few cases where townspeople thought they had identified a Yoma in their midst and dealt with them, only to be proven tragically wrong.

When Serana came out, a stone was thrown at her. Thankfully the aim was off and it hit the wall of the store instead. Upon seeing the group, her body tensed under the cloak though her demeanor remained calm on the outside.

"All right!" she called. "What's going on?"

"As if you don't know, you monster!" a man's voice shouted from the back. More shouts and accusation joined him.

"Yeah, how many people have you killed?"

"She' s a Yoma I tell you! Look at her eyes!"

"Wait, aren't they orange? I thought Yoma had golden eyes..."

"Pah! It's the same you idiot!"

Renee was the only one who noticed the shift in Serana's stance as the crowd grew more restless, having seen something similar on many missions when a Yoma understood it had been found out. She was clearly expecting violence to break out and was ready to fight back if attacked. Under her cloak, one hand probably had a spell ready and her dagger was in the other.

Now, Renee didn't know how dangerous the vampiric mage was compared to a Yoma, but from what she understood, she was more than able to defend herself – especially considering how weak people from Toulouse were compared to Skyrim according to her. And she had no qualms about using lethal force.

In other words, this was a disaster in the making. If a fight broke out, either Serana would kill the villagers, which Renee couldn't allow as a Claymore, or the villagers would kill her, and Renee didn't want to explain Raki what happened. Serana had told her how he had brought down an entire fort on the leader of the Dawnguard when the vampire hunters turned on her – he might have his two winged allies raze the town down in retaliation. The situation was balancing on the edge of the proverbial knife and a single tiny push could make it fall either way.

Renee truly didn't want to bring attention to herself, but she knew she had to do something before things got out of control. Serana was now radiating danger, to the point she could almost feel the monster lurking under her beautiful facade, and fearful hostility was pouring from the people who were mustering courage from numbers. The Claymore had only one choice.

"Calm down! She's not a Yoma!" Renee's voice called, snapping like a whip between the two factions.

The lead man turned his head toward Renee, noticing the second woman for the first time. "How the fuck can you know that? Maybe you're with..."

Renee didn't let him finish and pushed her hood back, showing her silver eyes to the crowd. The meaning of those eyes was clear and broke the humans' trance.

"Wha..."

"Is that a Claymore?"

"Did anyone call her?"

Renee ignored the mutterings and addressed the apparent leader. "Now, if you're done acting like a bunch of terrified idiots, could you tell me what's going on?" she scowled around, calling upon her typical mission mode and ignoring how unnatural it felt after her recent experiences. "As for you all, don't you have anything better to do?"

"Yikes!"

"Right... right away!"

"Damn silver-eyed witches... give me the creeps..."

()()()()

Serana looked in slight amazement as the mob quickly dispersed. One person was easy to deal with in a non-lethal way thanks to a quick vampiric hypnosis, but a large group required more complex spells that took time to cast. As a result, she had been ready to fight her way through, albeit regretfully and regardless of how many she would have to kill. But somehow, her half-human companion had defused the stalemate just by revealing herself.

Of course, she didn't miss the reactions and mutters from the crowd either. A bit of respect and a lot of fear. Relief mixed with distrust. A necessary evil to fight a greater evil, like Serana herself had been to the Dawnguard.

The vampire found herself looking at the Claymore under a new light. This was how those hybrid warriors were treated by the people they protected. As a result, it was no wonder that Renee had trouble warming up to others. The two of them indeed had a lot in common, and she resolved to try harder to reach out to her.

Not for the first time, Serana was also reminded of how much of an oddball Raki was, to be able to so easily extend a caring hand to creatures which others would scorn. Creatures like her.

Shaking her head wryly, the vampire turned her attention to the conversation Renee was having.

()()()()

The village chief had soon joined them to explain, replacing the leader of the aborted mob. As Renee had guessed, some inhabitants had been found dead over the last few weeks and a Yoma was thought to be the cause. She shook her head no at the chief.

"I am not sensing any Yoma in the village, or in the surroundings. Are you sure it's not a wild animal?" the Claymore asked.

It was the man's turn to refute. "The other night, Lico was killed. He was one of our woodcutters, and a giant of a man. We found him mauled to pieces and his axe shattered in the forest, and he was a guy who once fought a bear that had cornered a couple of kids, bare-handed. A mere animal couldn't have done him in."

"What about a dragon? Haven't there been some around?" As she suggested this, Renee felt a piercing stare against the back of her skull. Apparently Serana didn't like the implication that Raki's subordinates might have something to do with this.

"There have, but we've never seen'em in person, thank the goddesses. Some people say they've seen them fly over, especially at night, but nothing more."

"Moreover," Serana added, "a dragon would wreck many trees when landing in a forest. Was the area damaged?"

"Nope miss. There were signs of a struggle, but no sign of something as big as a dragon being there. And Sargos said it had to be a Yoma."

"Sargos?" Renee asked.

"He's a hunter that lives in the forest. Trades furs and brings us some game once in a while. We asked him if it could be a beast too, but he said no. Something about the claw marks being too big. Sargos is a damn good hunter and tracker, he wouldn't be wrong." the chief said.

"Is he that good?" Serana asked.

"About three months ago, he hunted down and killed a magnificent stag. Very big too. The entire village had a feast. Anyway, after seeing the corpses, I'd agree with him."

Renee frowned deeply as she half-listened. Raki would have teased her about getting wrinkles if he were here, she thought briefly. She was an Eye, the best warrior at long-range sensing in the current roster. Sure she was still inexperienced and couldn't be compared to her predecessor, God-Eye Galatea, but she was nonetheless on another level compared to her peers. Unless it was a rare stealth-type Yoma or Awakened, she would be able to sense it from afar. Something felt wrong here.

"Just a question." she queried, "You said Lico was mauled, and I suppose the other victims were too." As the man nodded, she continued. "But were their guts eaten?"

The human turned green as he undoubtedly remembered the gruesome scenes. "Guts, limbs, organs, even bones. Sometimes some of them, sometimes everything. Please, will you help us, or should we send for another Claymore?" he pleaded.

Now that would be a problem for Renee. Any warrior approaching would detect her, as she had run out of suppressants. And investigation would bring them right into the dragons' nest, with predictable results. She didn't want to be indirectly responsible for her comrades' deaths. She sighed dejectedly.

"I'll look into it. But I can't promise anything if it's not a Yoma."

"Sure thing! Thank you miss! And if you need anything..."

Renee just waved him off and began walking away. Before they left however, Serana suggested, "Maybe we could check with this Sargos person. Where does he live?"

They received the directions but Serana had one more question. "Just one more thing. When did the murders start, how often did they happen and when was the last one?"

As it turned out, it had begun ten weeks ago, with people killed mostly at night though there was no apparent pattern. Sometimes two in a week, but there had been a twelve days period or so without any victim. By now, the villagers were forbidden from going out after dark. Renee nodded at the precaution but she was further convinced this couldn't be a Yoma, as it didn't fit their eating habits.

With this, Renee and Serana left.

()()()()

After leaving the village, the two women returned to their home at a brisk pace without exchanging any words. That is, until Renee broke the silence. "All right. Spill it." she commanded.

"What do you mean?" Serana asked.

"Some things that guy said made sense to you, I could tell. You know something. Or at least, you have an idea. So tell me what's going on."

Serana looked reluctant. "I might have a clue, but no definite proof. That's why we must hurry back. There are a few things I'd like to have at hand if I'm right and it comes to a fight." She looked up at the darkening sky. "Tonight... tonight is going to be bad for that village unless we make our move."

Renee wanted to know more but she could see how serious the vampire was, so she increased her pace. Still, she refused to back down. "Fine. Then tell what you think you know." She looked at Serana suspiciously, remembering her earlier doubts. "I'm sure it's not a Yoma or an Awakened; the guts would be eaten every time. Something else then... a dragon?"

"Raki has forbidden Odahviing and Sahrotaar to eat humans, bandits aside. They wouldn't disobey their Thur, ever."

The Claymore found herself a bit surprised at the denial. Serana was not trying to convince her, she was stating a fact. "Which leaves," Renee finished, "a vampire."

A dry laugh was her answer. "A fair assumption but no." Serana looked at Renee and showed her longer canines. "I can assure you I don't have the teeth required to rend flesh. Moreover, vampires rarely bleed their victims dry, much less rip them apart."

"How noble." Renee snarked. "Then?"

Her companion sighed and let out a single word. "Werewolf."

"What?"

"I told you how pure-blood vampires like myself are created by a Daedric Prince, didn't I?" Serana reminded and Renee nodded, though she found the concept of dark god-like beings difficult to accept. "Well, Hircine, the Prince of the Hunt bestows his own blessing on those who impress him. Of course, what they call a blessing is often a curse to mortals. His is lycanthropy. It turns them into hybrid creatures of human mixed with a predator, commonly a wolf or a bear."

"Prince of the Hunt..." Renee repeated. "You mean... Sargos, the hunter..."

"He probably got Hircine's attention when he killed that stag the chief told us about, I guess." Serana surmised.

"But the murders started several days after he killed it. Wouldn't he have received this blessing right then? Why wait? And why does he kill humans?"

"Werewolves are savage creatures. There are those who can control their inner beast. And those who are controlled by it. They are also heavily influenced by the moons." Serana explained. "It began on Masser's full moon. The long gap without any victim matches the dual new moon. But tonight..." she looked up, and so did Renee. Two perfect orbs were becoming more visible with every hour. "Well, you get the idea." she finished grimly.

Renee looked absolutely horrified at the implication, her dusky skin paling noticeably and her face aghast. At first Serana thought it was because she imagined a rampaging beast, but the Claymore's words proved her wrong. "You want to kill it."

"There is no other choice." Serana replied calmly. "What's wrong? I thought you Claymores killed monsters on a regular basis."

"Yes, we kill monsters." Renee hissed while emphasizing the last word. "Yoma are monsters. Awakened are warriors who have lost their humanity and become monsters. But you're talking about a human here! It goes against everything I was taught as a warrior."

"Renee," Serana called her by her name before explaining gently, "at this point, the human called Sargos no longer exists. Only a beast remains. In a way, he is similar now to what you call an Awakened Being, except he didn't go through the hybrid phase. It will keep killing to satisfy its bestial nature. If you truly want to protect the humans, you have to fight."

Renee still looked uncomfortable despite the analogy but Serana continued. "I wouldn't ask for your help if I could avoid it, but I'm afraid that I'm going to need you. One on one, werewolves are stronger than vampires. And if he received his curse from Hircine himself, he'll be much more powerful than normal. On a normal night, I might be able to hold my own, but not when it's further empowered by the full moons."

Just great, now the vampire was guilt-tripping her. Knowing this, Renee could not in good conscience let Serana go alone. They may not be friends, but she owed her that much... and once again, there was no telling Raki's reaction if his friend with benefits died because of her.

"Fine." Renee relented. "I'll come with you."

Serana smiled understandingly. "Thank you. I promise, if a killing blow is necessary, I'll try to be the one who does it. Now let's move. We cannot go into this unprepared. Potions, weapons... what else could we need?"

"A dragon maybe?" Renee suggested glumly.

Serana's musical laugh rang into the air.

()()()()

Later, as they made their way to Sargos' hut deep in the forest, Renee was tense, eying the shadows around her suspiciously and keeping her other senses on alert. The rich scents of the forest tickled her nostrils and the noises of the night critters filled her ears. Next to her, Serana was also on alert, though more comfortable than the Claymore.

Understandably so. Looking at Serana right now, Renee could get a glimpse of how different she was from a human or even a Yoma. Here in the night, the vampire was in her element, in a way no other day-walking creature could ever be, human or not. This was displayed in the silent grace she walked with, or the sheer confidence with which she dismissed the irrelevant stimuli around her, knowing which belonged and which did not.

Comparatively, Renee felt ill at ease. Her surroundings were unfamiliar, her target even less so. Moreover, she had to deal with the fact that she could not sense it. With her main means of forewarning gone, the battle could start at any moment. She could only rely on her natural five senses, superhuman as they were, and on her companion.

Then again, the Claymore knew she was the most disadvantaged here. The night was the vampire's domain, but the forest was their enemy's, and it too felt comfortable in the darkness. Renee had not been so apprehensive since her first Awakened hunt.

Serana stopped once again and held out a glowing left hand before starting walking again.

"I've been meaning to ask," Renee said mostly out of curiosity and to break the silence, "what's with the glowing hand?"

"Life detection spell." Serana replied calmly. "As it says, it lets me find life forms around me."

"Sounds useful."

Serana shrugged. "Not that much. Its range is fairly low, and it's restricted to living things. It does not react to undead like myself." She sighed. "I wish Raki was here."

"Well, sorry about that." Renee shot back with more bitterness than she intended. Even ignoring their very close relationship, of course Serana would prefer having someone she knew and trusted at her back if she had a choice. Though it could be implied than Serana considered the Claymore an inferior warrior. She was ranked number six damn it!

Surprisingly, Serana apologized. "Sorry. It's just that he has experience with these types of monsters. Plus, he has something better than this spell for cases like this. "

"A Thu'um?" Renee half-asked, half-guessed.

"Yeah. It's called Aura Whisper. No restriction on targets, better range and he's good enough with it that he can determine the nature of its findings. Oh well, this isn't here or now." The vampire then changed the subject. "Are you sure you shouldn't be wearing better armor?"

Renee was still wearing the beat-up set she had been when it all began. It had been pierced and slashed by Riful, and her right wrist guard had been destroyed. Similarly, her grey shirt was the one Raki had patched up. While no blacksmith, Serana could tell it was mostly ornamental – the steel looked decent but too thin to slow a blade down, and it didn't cover the vital areas. The contrast between this and the obvious quality of her sword was mind-boggling until you remembered Claymores were considered disposable by the Organization.

To be honest, Renee knew it was in shambles. But she just couldn't let it go. Just like the familiar weight of her claymore on her back, it was a comfort.

"You're one to talk." Renee deflected the question, pointing at Serana's outfit, which lacked any protective part and displayed a good amount of her well-endowed cleavage in the gap between her tunic and her cloak.

Serana shrugged again. "I'm a mage. I don't usually stand at the front. Even this dagger is mostly a last resort." she pointed at the dragon bone dagger at her side. "And I know some spells that work like armor if I need it."

It was Renee's turn to sigh this time. "Still, I can see why you insisted on me taking another weapon." She looked around at the cluttered area, full of intersecting trees and bushes. "It's going to be tough swinging my claymore in here when the time comes. I still wish I could have taken a sword however."

The only difference in Renee's usual attire was the addition of a heavy dragonbone mace dangling at her right hip. Expecting to fight in possibly cramped quarters, Serana had pointed her claymore would be too cumbersome and suggested a shorter secondary weapon. With a half-Yoma's strength, Renee would be able to use it easily.

"Our other swords were also too big. An axe would have been adequate, but they're more technical than people think, and you've never used those. It was the best compromise, especially since we had a couple of books on using them." Serana smiled a little. "Though I agree, it's really not you."

Renee imagined herself using a mace instead of a claymore. Pictured a Yoma's head caved in or crushed to a pulp, or its limbs smashed to pieces. The brutality and crudeness of it made her shake her head. "Speaking of which, what's with the staff?" she asked while gazing at the thing Serana had strapped to her back.

It was, to say the least, weird. The shaft was colored with a mix of brown and dark green, and made to look like wood. Four spikes rose from the top and curved halfway around the tip, which was shaped like a flower in bloom. Try as she might, Renee couldn't imagine using it as a weapon, as it looked too fragile.

Serana smirked mysteriously at her. "This is our contingency plan."

()()()()

The hut was small but functional, obviously meant for only one person to live in. It was in many ways similar to the many huntsmen's lodgings in the wilds of Skyrim. Basic furniture, barrels for water and dried food, a corner to maintain weapons... A shed outside held a tanning rack and a stock of furs and leather. The only decorations were a few trophies on the walls, obviously the ones Sargos considered his best hunts.

Except that all of this was completely thrashed, thrown on the floor and broken. It reminded Serana of the times she had seen Raki use Unrelenting Force indoors. Seeing a bunch of bandits sent flying along with whatever was in the room at the time, be it furniture, foodstuffs, weapons or miscellaneous items, was a spectacle she never got tired of.

Forcing herself to be serious, the vampire thoroughly looked around, inside and out, and checked for hidden compartments, unlikely as it was. All the while, Renee watched her, her face scrunched unpleasantly.

"It stinks." Renee complained.

"That it does." Serana agreed. "Reeks of wolf, meaning I was right. But the scent is abnormally strong, even for a werewolf."

"So?" the dusky-skinned woman prodded.

"Either it was here not long ago, or the scent is an indicator of its strength. Or both." The vampire finally stopped her search. 'Nothing hidden, no shrine, no daedric markings.' she thought sadly. 'It would have been easier in a way if he was a worshipper but no. This man is just another victim of the Daedra's games.' Of course, she couldn't voice those thoughts lest she weakened the warrior's resolve, so she wisely kept her mouth shut and walked out.

"All right, What now?" Renee called. "Do you truly have an idea on how to find it?"

"To an extend."

"Which is?"

"Werewolves are hunters, not prey. The plan was not quite to find it. More like, have it find us." Serana admitted.

"We're bait! Just great! There's a monster prowling around and since we can't sense it, we have to wait for it! How can we even be sure it's still around?"

Serana pointed at a tree nearby. Renee instantly understood why. There were four eerily long claw marks across the trunk, and they looked recent. The Claymore gulped nervously. Judging by the marks, the beast's claws had to be much larger than a Yoma's.

"We are in its territory. By now, it should have caught our scent." Serana's posture shifted into one of cautious readiness. "Be alert."

Out of habit, Renee drew her sword. "You don't have to tell me."

()()()()

Fittingly for a hunter, the attack came without any warning. Only their superhuman reflexes saved the two women when the beast jumped them from above. They rolled in opposite directions and took ready stances in preparation. Renee brought up her claymore and Serana's hands were clad in lightning.

Renee took a moment to gawk at the unknown creature. As Serana had described, it looked like a hybrid of wolf and human. The human part mostly came from its upright position and humanoid upper limbs. But the rest was all wolf. Hind legs and digitigrade feet to run and leap, thick pitch black fur covering its powerful muscles, a bushy tail at its lower back. The somewhat human hands had eerily long fingers ending with sharp claws.

And the face was absolutely not human. The jaw and nose, no, maw and muzzle, were elongated and wolf-like. The fangs, dripping with drool, would have made any Yoma back off. A black mane started at the top of the head and made its way down the back.

If she had known him, Renee would have thought of a black wolf version of Rigaldo's Awakened form. With one difference. Its eyes held a primal hunger in them that was unlike even the most starving Awakened.

This thing... could no longer be called a human, Renee thought.

It threw it head back and howled, the sound reverberating in the Claymore's bones. As if to reply, a crackling sound was heard and twin bright blue streaks hit the wolf in the chest.

The effect was…

A small wisp of smoke at the point of impact.

The wolf looked at Serana and growled dangerously before lunging at her. Eyes wide, Renee sprang into action herself and gave chase while the vampire cast another lightning spell which had as little effect as the first, not even slowing down the werewolf.

Thankfully, while it was fast, the Claymore was nonetheless the fastest of the group. She managed to catch up and swung her sword at its side, but it jumped away to avoid the strike. This time Renee stood between Serana and the werewolf.

"Tch!" the vampire hissed, "Looks like it's resistant to magic."

"You didn't tell me about that!" Renee grunted.

"I didn't know! Hircine must have been really impressed with him!"

Before the pair could snark any further at each other, the wolf lunged again and began clashing with Renee. It swung its long arms in wide arcs, attempting to slash at her with its claws. The former Number Six blocked with her blade, sparks flying whenever the weapons collided with each other.

'Strong!' Renee thought as she kept blocking. The swings were not fast enough that she couldn't block them, but too fast for her to just avoid. But at the same time, they carried enough weight and power that she could feel them in her arms.

It was a good thing that in spite of their earlier precautions, the area they were in was wide enough to allow the use of her favored weapon. After a swing swings, she could easily tell those claws would already have notched most normal swords, but her claymore was made to cut Awakened Beings and was holding up as expected. Moreover, thanks to it, their reach was somewhat equal.

Unfortunately, Renee knew she could remain forever on the defensive. Her sword was fine, but her arms were already starting to get numb under the blows while the beast kept swinging tirelessly. She let out a small burst of speed and leaped backward to regain some space.

At that moment, several objects flew past her and hit the werewolf in the side. Unlike before, it recoiled a bit. The projectiles were three ice spikes that were stuck in its skin. Serana had moved slightly to the side and taken advantage of the opening with practiced ease. The wolf once again growled at her while ripping the spikes off. A small amount of blood came out as well, but she could tell the projectiles hadn't gone past the muscle. She cast another ice spike but it swatted it away.

'Not good.' Serana thought. Lightning spells were fast enough to hit the wolf, but they were pure magicka and thus cancelled by the werewolf's unexpected resistance. Conversely, ice spells had mass and could do some damage, but they were much slower and lacked penetration. Unfortunately, she was bad at fire spells. And the thing had such vitality that a vampiric drain spell would do little.

The wolf was about to lunge at her again but an odd, sudden pressure filled the air and it turned its head back to Renee. The Claymore's silver eyes were now gold with a slit pupil, and she looked filled with tension, like she was holding back something coursing just beneath her skin.

To Serana, it was like a Vampire Lord trying to transform but deliberately hold back at the very edge of it. She had heard of this from Raki. The hybrid was getting serious and drawing upon the dangerous power inside her. It was as impressive as he had said, but she could also see how this unstable state could be hazardous to its wielder.

Suddenly, the wolf howled again, even louder than before. It was no longer an animalistic sound, not only. It was now filled with eagerness and exhilaration, challenging them. Was he their prey? Or were they his?

And somehow, the two women swore this howl also said, "WATCH ME!"

Serana looked up, and saw the moons turn blood red. She heard some strange cracking sounds and swore the wolf got a little bigger and bulkier.

The Claymore and the werewolf both blurred into movement and clashed once again, moving faster than anything Serana had even seen, except a lightning spell. Her vampiric eyesight could still keep up, barely, but she would be hard pressed to do anything.

As she had feared, she would have been in trouble if she had tried to handle this alone. Even with the two of them, it might be a bit too much.

'Let's tip the odds then.' she thought as she took the Rose Sanguine and pointed it toward the fighting pair. A crackling noise and a flash of purple later, another ally joined the fray.

Renee was still holding her own but it looked like the werewolf had gotten stronger under the crimson moons. She was a little faster but it was still stronger, but the tie breaker was its agility. The damn thing was even more dexterous with its claws than any Yoma, attacking indifferently with either arm and constantly switching patterns. The Claymore was forced to admit, it was more dangerous than many Awakened Beings.

"ANOTHER WHO SEEKS DEATH!" an odd metallic voice shouted behind her.

Renee barely had time to move as a large black shape charged past her. She thought it was a man, except that its skin was red, and it had horns on its forehead. A dual-bladed greatsword as big as her claymore was in its hand, and it was wearing a set of black and red armor made of metal spikes.

She turned her golden eyes to Serana who had the strange staff in hand. "Contingency plan?" she asked.

"Yes. Do you like it?"

"I WILL FEAST ON YOUR HEART!"

"It's eager at least." the Claymore commented flatly while trying to soothe her aching arms. "I still think a dragon would have been better though."

A metallic scream of pain echoed as the dremora was dispelled after the werewolf clawed its head off.

"Well, shit." Serana cursed quietly.

"Told you so." Renee snapped before jumping in again.

Yet another exchange of blows began, but the two were too evenly matched to score a hit on the other. Unfortunately for Renee however, the prolonged use of Yoki was starting to take its toll as the unnatural energy attempted to escape her control. A brief surge resulted in an unexpected burst of speed that allowed her a slash across the wolf's arm, but left her briefly off balance and overextended. A large, furry hand closed on her right wrist, trapping her. The other grabbed her opposite shoulder, claws piercing through her shoulder pad and into her flesh.

Renee's high pain threshold, a requirement for a warrior, prevented her from losing consciousness as the bones of her shoulder were crushed under the grip. She found herself lifted off the ground and saw the werewolf's maw open to rip her throat open.

'Surviving Yoma, Awakened Beings and even the Abyssals, only to die like this...' she thought regretfully.

Just as it was about to finish her, the werewolf howled in pain and turned its snarling head toward Serana. Two large, sharp ice spikes had been rammed several inches deep into its back. It growled at the vampire, threw Renee away after snapping her sword arm and shifted its attention to the other prey. Renee hit the trunk of a tree, losing her sword on the way. Still conscious, she saw the wolf charge at Serana on all fours.

Serana hurriedly cast more spikes, but the werewolf opted to endure them rather than avoid, and closed the distance faster than she had expected. It crashed into her, threw her down and tried to maul her with its claws and fangs. She hastily cast an ironflesh spell and used the Rose Sanguine to block the snapping jaws. The wolf was trying to bite through the near-indestructible artifact, with no success. Its swinging claws however were scoring multiple scratches on her arms and sides, despite the spell.

The vampire would have tried to turn into bats to escape, but she couldn't spare the concentration for it. Just keeping the staff up was taking all her strength. Furthermore, the accumulating drool on it was starting to make her grip slippery. She was losing her leverage, the beast's breath filled her nose, the fangs drew closer...

And suddenly it was ripped away from her with a yelp of pain, which was dwarfed by the sound of its jaw breaking. Serana looked up and see Renee standing above her. The Claymore's face now had bulging veins, her right arm was noisily, disgustingly snapping itself back into place, and she was holding the dragonbone mace in her left hand. She was missing her left shoulder armor, and the visible skin there was bruised and bloodied.

Upon seeing Serana in danger, Renee had taken a risk and released more Yoki to heal faster and acted urgently, choosing to focus on her less-injured left arm and switch to the other weapon. Retrieving her sword would have taken too long, and using it with only one arm would do no good against this opponent.

Now that she gotten a good hit in, the Claymore was not about to let go of this opening. She chased after the dazed werewolf and swung the mace again and again in a continuous stream of attacks. Remembering the book she had read, she repeated the instructions in her mind. 'Relax the wrist on impact, let the recoil bring the mace back in your hand, use the momentum to spin it for another swing... repeat...'

Her enemy was yelping in pain under the assault and steadily backing away from her as its flesh was continuously pummeled. Renee followed through mercilessly, steering it, herding it...

Almost... Just a little more...

Unfortunately for her, she was using a weapon she wasn't used to, with her non-dominant hand. The monotonous rhythm of her attacks was quickly seen through. On her next swing, a clawed hand caught the head of the mace and the other delivered an upward slash across her torso. Four claws went two inches deep into Renee's flesh, raking her from hip to shoulder. Her blood spurted profusely as she was nearly gutted, and her remaining shoulder pad was torn off. The wolf was about to slash again when...

"I HONOR MY LORD BY DESTROYING YOU!"

A black greatsword pierced the werewolf from behind, over two feet of daedric metal sprouting from the middle of its chest. The summoned dremora then proceeded to lift the enemy off the ground while twisting his blade, until it was raised horizontally above it. The werewolf's blood joined the Claymore's on the grass, spewing from its mouth as it tried to free itself.

Then red sparks hit it and in its injured state, the draining spell proved effective. Its efforts to free itself became weaker.

And finally Renee revealed the reason why she wanted to reach this place on the battlefield. Forcing her grievous wound shut with her Yoki, she dropped her mace and stomped toward the monster, and onto the handle of her sword which had been laying there. The claymore spun in the air and into her right hand just as her arm finished healing. Twirling it once as she crossed the distance.

With a shout and a jumping two-handed swing that held all her Yoki-enhanced strength, the Claymore brought her blade down on its exposed neck. The sword wasn't even slowed down and cleaved all the way through, separating the head from the body.

()()()()

Serana swore the atmosphere was filled with an air of bemused approval, as if an onlooker had watched an unexpected twist in a play and shrugged it off to enjoy the outcome. She quickly glanced around cautiously, though she knew if that entity held any enmity toward them, they were doomed. Thankfully, the reddish glow around the moons faded, marking the end of the Hunt.

The dremora dispelled itself, dropping the werewolf's beheaded corpse. Renee remained standing, her body shaking periodically as she forced her Yoki back under control with deep breaths. Serana waited for her and checked herself – dirty from being slammed down, the sleeves of her tunic in tatters plus quite a few more slashes on her clothes, but her wounds were all but healed from draining the werewolf. Renee had kept most of its attention on herself, but the one assault it had turned on the vampire would have likely been fatal if her companion hadn't interfered.

"Renee." Serana called once she saw her relax.

The Claymore turned to her comrade, her face once again smooth and her eyes having returned to their striking silver color. Serana could assess how much damage her comrade had taken. Her entire torso was soaked with blood, which to the point you couldn't tell the difference between her ruined shirt and her skin, incidentally preserving her modesty. The sight and smell stirred Serana's instincts, but while a lesser vampire would have lost themselves to their hunger, she managed to remain calm.

"Let's go home, okay?" she said.

The Claymore nodded wordlessly and the pair left.

()()()()

Currently naked from the waist up as she got ready for a much-needed bath, Renee was holding the shirt of her grey, now dyed red uniform in front of her. Tonight's fight had marked its demise. Entire chunks of it had been torn off by the giant wolf-like monster's claws.

"I don't think you'll be able to fix it anymore." a smooth voice said behind Renee. The Claymore nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around in alert, only to see her companion topless and currently bent forward, taking off her leggings.

"What are you doing here?" Renee half-asked, half-shrieked, though she didn't try to cover herself. Modesty was not a Claymore's forte, their training saw to that.

Serana stood straight, now completely exposed to the Claymore's eyes. Much like Renee, her wounds and bruises had already healed, leaving only stains of dirt and dried blood marring her alabaster skin. Even those couldn't hide how gorgeous the vampire was. Despite herself, Renee paused a moment to stare at her unearthly beauty, eyes roaming briefly before she caught herself.

"Same as you. I'm going to wash myself." the other woman didn't seem to notice her gaze, or just didn't care, and finished getting ready by freeing her hair from its tied braids. Once released, her silky black tresses fell past her shoulders.

"Here?"

"There is no other bath."

"Right now?"

"Just because I drink blood, doesn't mean I enjoy it on my skin. By the way, you should also undo your hair if you want to wash it. " Serana said matter-of-factly before rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Oh come on! We're both girls, you have nothing I don't." She looked at Renee's chest and her mouth twitched upward slightly. "Well, almost nothing."

"Would you mind not staring at my tits?" Renee glared at the ancient woman while her cheeks reddened. Since she had already wiped most of the blood away, her impressive assets were in full view.

"Well, they are very nice," Serana giggled in response, briefly looking down at her own sizeable bust, "and bigger than mine to boot." Her voice then returned to its usual cool tone. "But I was talking about the stitches. I'm amazed they never come undone with all that movement."

This made Renee touch her chest perplexedly. Indeed, the grievous slashes she had received near the end of the fight had closed perfectly. There was no hint of her stigma reopening either, thank goodness, though a tiny few stitches would need to be placed in to make doubly sure as some came undone or close to it. "I thought the same thing when I first had them." she said lowly.

She wasn't necessarily upset about her stitches being out, Serana had seen them before and like Raki, cared little, thank the goddesses, though she didn't like it if when any of them looked. The vampire had even started to experiment on a possible remedy by alchemically mixing Yoki suppressing and advanced healing reagents – something to challenge herself she said. Renee doubted she'd succeed where the Organization had failed but if she did…

But something else was bothering her. Her uniform was in rags and more monsters had entered her life. She might have a chance to be relieved from the inherent weakness of her stigma if she chose to in the future. Would she? And beyond that…

Serana was about to apologize for bringing that up until Renee whispered. "It's like I'm leaving my old life behind, piece after piece." She said. "So many changes, in so little time."

"I know, it's scary." Serana replied kindly. "I spent millennia asleep, and when I woke up, the world had changed completely. An empire had risen and was dying. Dragons were roaming the skies. My own father had become a madman."

"How did you deal with it?" Renee asked.

Serana smiled at her. "I made a friend. Someone who accepted me as I was and supported me through it all. Change is much easier when you don't face it alone." She put her hand on Renee's shoulder comfortingly. Their skin tones contrasted starkly with each other, moonstone against corundum. "I... no, we will be at your side, if you allow it. Now, what will you do?"

The rogue Claymore remained silent for a long moment and Serana waited patiently for her after removing her hand. Then Renee smiled slightly and threw away her shirt and then she dropped her pants. Following Serana's advice, she also undid her cornrows and tossed her hair behind her, allowing it to fall past her shoulder blades as its true length was restored.

"Right now," Renee proclaimed, missing the admiring looks Serana was giving her now nude form, "I'm going to enjoy my first nice, long, hot bath since I became a warrior. The rest can wait."

"That's a good start." Serana grinned before spinning on her heel. "Wash my back, and I'll wash yours?" she suggested as she headed to the bath.

Renee stared at the vampire's swaying backside but managed to answer a "Sure." before following.

()()()()

AN: This Chapter was pretty much done by the great Dany Le Fou. I'll let him explain some things here, take it away Dany!

Dany's note : First I'll confess that this chapter had been written for a while. It was mostly a matter of deciding when we'd use it. So yeah, this is an exceptional occurrence, don't expect quick updates to become common. Anyway, I had a lot fun making Renee and Serana snark at each other. Also, I really wanted to give Renee, one of the most underused characters and possibly my favourite post-timeskip Claymore, the chance to shine she never got in the manga – I'm still sore about her death, and how she was missing from the badass group shot during the battle against Europa. So here I gave her a tough battle of her own, and made her show her rank is not just informed ability.

SHP: Now for some review response(s) -

Spyash2: I'll just tell ya right now... dragon and aura, even if small in comparison to the original flows through the hybrids.

Hope my fellow Americans had a good 4th of July. And now for some extra :

OMAKES :

Take one :

Forcing her wounds shut with her Yoki, she dropped her mace and stepped toward the monster, and onto the handle of her sword which had been laying there...

*CRASH!*

… and fell on her face after tripping on it.

Take two :

Forcing her wounds shut with her Yoki, she dropped her mace and stepped toward the monster, and onto the handle of her sword which had been laying there. The claymore spun in the air and...

*SLASH!* "MY HAND!" Renee shouted as she ran around, blood spurting from her wrist.

Take three :

... The claymore spun in the air and...

*STAB!* "MY FOOT!"

Take four :

... The claymore spun in the air and...

*CLONK!* "MY HEAD!"

By now, the impaled werewolf was laughing.

Take five :

... The claymore spun in the air and...

"MY BALLS!" the werewolf screamed.

The moons returned to normal as if Hircine couldn't watch anymore, while the dremora, Serendipitous and Dany crossed their legs.

Take six:

Forcing her wounds shut with her Yoki, she dropped her mace and stepped toward the monster, paused to normally pick up her sword without trying to look needlessly cool, and just plain lopped the werewolf's head off.

And to hell with stupid authors who can't make it straight and to the point.