Ruby was incredibly excited, and also incredibly scared. She was a Grimm reaper, a spirit who's job was to keep order. Grimm reapers collected souls of the dead, and keep evil spirits from spreading there 'bad luck' and dooming the lives of people wombs time had yet to come. She had never been on a proper mission before, never collected more then a single soul under the guidance of her uncle, Qrow, who was the closest thing she had to a family.

Today Qrow was tasked with mass collecting souls. He was a member of the consul, he was one of the strongest Reapers who made sure all the other Reapers were not doing anything stupid. Even tho it was the spirit world, there were still laws, and someone had to uphold them. When Ruby heard of his mission, she had instantly got excited. She begged and begged to be sent on the mission in his steed, confident after years of training that she could handle a job on her own, and her instincts told her this was the one. Qrow, seeing the fire in his child's eyes, sent her on her way. Ruby was beyond confident that she could handle whatever was thrown at her.

Boy was she wrong.

When Ruby phased out of the spirit realm, her nose was assaulted by a smell unlike anything she has ever endured. She looked around with utter horror in her eyes. Everywhere, lining every inch of every street in the town, was dead body's. Ichor and metal burned the air, so thick Ruby couldn't even make out any oxygen. Ruby had to cover her mouth to stop a gag. She had seen dead people before, but when she heard she was mass collecting souls, she hadn't imagined it would be anything like this.

Ruby focused her mind on the lost souls in the local area. Ruby started to walk threw the streets, her boots making squelching noises whenever she stepped in pools of blood or hunks of flesh that was far too plentiful to avoid. She had to fight back a shiver as her stomach tied itself up in knots. All around her she could see the souls she had to collect. "There are so many..." They swirled around her in a panic, so many white streaks of light that her mind was in a haze. She had to focus on the souls so she didn't vomit due to the state of the bodies. They were mangled, torn apart and almost unrecognisable as human. Ruby didn't even want to think about how this happened.

"I guess I should just start..." Ruby shook her unease away, reaching out her hand and guiding the souls from the air to her finger tips. The light spun around her arm as it flowed down to her torso like a snake moving along a tree branch, before it vanished from sight inside of her. Just one of many she'd have to store before she could go back to the spirit realm and drown herself in praise to get these sickly images out of her mind.

Then, she heard it. A piercing howl flowed past her like a wave, such intensity that she felt overwhelmed for a brief moment. "Is that, a Werewolf?" She asked herself, despite knowing she was right. Ruby had not had much experience with Werewolf's. she had seen her father fight one or two when she was young, and was always taken aback at how it fought. The question lingering in the back of her mind, asking how this happened, was just answered before it could be asked. Ruby wasn't expecting to fight anything today, but if the monster that caused this death was still nearby, she would do her task and end it. Anything to get away from the smell of decay that bathed the town like a blanket.

Ruby quickly exited the town, soaring threw the air before she landed herself down on the ground so she can walk slower and more discreetly. She knew she was getting closer to the source of the sound, and as she did, her mind went into a frenzy. She could only imagine the sight she'd witness, a horrible bloodthirsty beast that was likely far worse then anything she had seen other Reapers fight. Ruby took a deep breath, taking in the fresh smell of the pines that attempted to contrast the smell of blood that stained her nose.

Ruby formed a weapon in her hands, a glowing white blade of pure energy. Her eyes glowing white and trails flowing from her eyes in an oddly beautiful display. She had not decided on what its final design would be, as she was but a fledgling Reaper, but it still did its job and she was ready to use the scythe when she came into contact with the werewolf. When Ruby first arrived at the clearing, she could feel the unholy energy nearby. She took another breath, before preparing herself for the battle mentally, and taking her first step out of the treeline.

The sight she saw was nothing like what she expected.

The Werewolf was there, standing next to a large rock. It grinded itself against the stone. Ruby could see in its posture that it was not mentally stable. It was trying desperately to get the blood off its paws, but doing so only caused the rough stone to cut the skin and mix its own blood with those of its victims. Repeatedly spitting to try to get the taste of ichor out of its mouth, but all it did was dispose of much needed bodily fluids. Tears stained its face, pushing down the fur due to the layers of water buildup adding weight to the otherwise fluffy hairs.

The werewolf looked, downright, positively, pathetic.

The werewolf climbed itself onto the rock, not noticing the reapers presence. It tilted its head back, and let out another mighty howl. Ruby again felt the noise flow over her like a wave. Instantly Ruby's eyes widened, the glow in her eyes vanishing and her weapon fading into nothingness. Previously she hadn't made anything out of the howl, but thanks to her proximity, she could feel distinctly human emotions in the Howl. It carried with it every negative emotion under the radar. Fear, Regret, Sadness, Pain, Despair. The despair was almost painful, Ruby had to fight back her own tears as the emotions swirled around in her head like a bag of captured and panicked wasps. If this was how much emotion she felt in a single Howl, then how did the werewolf feel itself...?

Blake had her head reeled back, looking at the moon. That cursed, full moon that did this to her. That ruined her attempts at a happy life. Blake tried so hard. She tried so hard to hide her secret, to live a normal life and get a proper education. She had been able to fight the urges and stay in her human form every night, but she didn't realise the full moon would have such a powerful effect on her. She stared at the moon, looking for some form of distraction from the maddening thoughts in her head. She couldn't focus on any one thing, the emotions in her were far too much. She felt like she was being dragged threw a thousand washing machines. As she stared at the moon and felt herself cry the last tears she had left, her mind drifted away and went back to earlier that day.

It all happened in less then an hour.

Blake was walking home, her best friend at her side. Blake was looking forward to a study session. She always loved books, and relished in talking with people of similar interests. On the way home, in the middle of a public park, the full moon rose. The lake sparkled in the gorgeous reflection, but Blake couldn't enjoy the sight. She felt her head drawn upwards against her will, her eyes widening as if absorbing the power of the moon. Then and there, in front of so many people, including her best friend, she changed.

It was far more painful then any transformation before, and far slower to boot. Blake felt herself bend toward, the fur growing out of her skin as pins and needles flowed threw her. Her fingers turned to claws, her teeth turned to fangs, a tail shot out from under her small school skirt, and two ears perked high above her head. They would look cute, if they didn't look so feral and wild, contrasting her normally small and delicate features.

Blake fell onto her four legs, and turned her gaze to the man standing beside her. Her eyes glowed a bright yellow. Blake felt panic inside her as everyone stared, the boy who was once her best friend showed no sighs of his usual affection. All he had was fear, and as he brandished a weapon to her, Blake's mind lost its focus. She couldn't tell what he was holding, all she knew was she was being threatened. The fear in her only grew, and it consumed her. She found herself lashing out in self defence, cutting the boy down were he stood. But she didn't stop there, she could have just killed him and been done with it, but she didn't. She gored him, tearing him apart with her teeth and claws, crushing and ripping every part of his body.

She could have stopped, she could have just ran instead of attacking. She could have done so many things different. Oh how she wished she could have ended it then and there. Oh how she wished she didn't make such a foolish mistake.

When the screams filled the air, and more and more weapons were pointed at her, Blake only lost herself even more. She didn't have a chance to recover and take in what she just did, as she was instantly threatened again. Her senses were overwhelmed, the blood in her mouth, the screeching noises in her ears. It was all too much. Blake cut down every person who dared look at her wrong. But she didn't stop there. At that very moment, she was not Blake. She was a monster, and she didn't stop till every person in that town was dead.

Now, Blake was here, alone. She had no one anymore. She tried so hard to get the blood off her, to run away from the town and escape what just happened but it was impossible. The taste of blood filled her mouth and dulled her senses. All she could taste, smell, and feel was blood and pain. She glared at the moon, that damn moon. She tried to direct her anger at the celestial body, but only found herself weakening as the blood flowed from her body like a river. Blake tilted her head back, and let out the third Howl that night. All her negative emotions focused on that one call. It helped ease her stress, if only a little. But when she realised she was releasing stress by acting like a monster, the stress came back even worse.

Ruby stared at the Werewolf as it let out another howl. Ruby knew her job was to collect the souls, she knew her job was to kill this werewolf were it stood and take its soul back for trial. But whenever she tried to move with ill intent, she couldn't, her body stone. The emotion in this Howl was unlike anything she had ever felt. The look in its eyes was so distinctly human that she couldn't bring herself to summon her weapon. Ruby didn't know what to do, but she couldn't kill it. All her years of experience were useless here. Figuring she couldn't stare forever, she swallowed the tight orb that was gathering in her throat and took a step forward. With no ill intent in her, she finally found herself able to move.

Blake stepped down from large, now red rock, feeling the last of its tears turn dry. It was then it saw the movement in the corner of her eye, however faint. Her defensive instincts went into overdrive again, fueled by her built up panic. She backed herself against the rock, too exhausted from weeping to run. Blake could feel a sharp edge of the rock dig into her back, she could feel the flow of fresh blood cling to her fur and pool at her feet, but she didn't dare budge. She wasn't human, Blake could tell. She didn't know why but she could tell something wasn't the same about that girl. Blake looked for anything to tell her what was different, and that was when her eyes locked to the bright silver once like a key being inserted into a lock. Almost instantly, Blake felt her muscles growing less tense.

Ruby grimaced as she watched the rock pierce the flesh of the werewolf. The beast had no reaction to it tho, and that only made Ruby feel more worried. Ruby could tell it was running on nothing but primal instincts, as if out of other options. Ruby felt tears gathering at the corner of her eyes. 'I'm crying' Ruby thought to herself, her own voice ringing in her head like that of a stranger calling out to her from a distance. 'Why am I crying? I should be killing it'. Yet, she couldn't move. She just stared into those eyes, exploring the wild beauty that lay within them. It was hard to enjoy the sight when so much despair was built up. She could see it wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Tiredness slowly started to replace the look of fear in its eyes, and with a thud, the werewolf fell to the grass below.

Ruby instantly felt any hesitance in her movements vanish as she dashed over to the body so fast it was like she teleported. She ran her hands along the fur, flinching at the built up layers of bloody cuts and gashes hidden below the fur. Ruby rolled it over, grunting slightly at the weight as she looked at the new wound. It was horrible, and Ruby again had to fight back against a urge to vomit. Ruby didn't know what she was doing, but she was doing it. The brilliant white weapon formed into her hand, and she cut threw the air in front of her, forming another glowing portal. The same one that took her here. She reached down, groaning in discomfort as she lifted the unnaturally heavy beast into her arms. Ruby didn't care her favorite outfit was being stained an unnatural red. She felt determination unlike anything before, and despite her wavering sense of worry, she stepped threw the gate.

Blake panted as she layed in the grass. She tried to move, she tried to get up and run away, but her body burned the second she tried to do anything. She looked up at the girl above her, struggling to make out her features due to how woozy she felt. All she could make out was the emotion in her eyes. The silver glow was the only thing not wavering, and felt far more soothing then the moon ever made her feel. Then, she saw the light form between the girls fingers. She again felt that primal feeling build inside her. 'Its a weapon! Not another Weapon!' She cried out silently. 'I have had enough of weapons to last a lifetime.'

She watched the girl pull back for a swing and she prepared herself for a blow, unable to close her eyes or look away. 'I'm dead. She is going to kill me'. Her thoughts were slow, it was painful to even think. Everything hurt... 'maybe that's a good thing.' she thought. 'I don't deserve to live. I killed so many people, I am a monster.' The blow never came, and instead, she felt herself being lifted. A unnaturally cool, but soothing light washed over her, and she let herself pass out.

She didn't dream, she felt like she was sitting in a world of darkness, in her human form. She felt pain jabbing at her form every side, as if she was a goldfish in a bag and kids were stabbing at her with sticks. All the while hundreds of voices echoed around her, the same voices as each and every scream she heard before she killed someone. Worst of all, her own voice was the loudest of them all. "You killed them!" They rang out. "You did this! You killed them all! Your a monster! Your evil!" Blake felt like she was spinning, like she was on the worlds worst rollercoaster ride and she had no way to get off. "You killed them!" the voices repeated, looping and eating away at her sanity.

How she wished this could just end!

Ruby stepped out onto the cold, pure white floor of her home. The place was simple, yet undeniably elegant. On the far side of the room she could see Qrow, leaning back in a chair and swigging a drink from his flask. It always carried some sort of booze from the mortal realm. Ruby, for the love of her, didn't know why he loved it so much. The stuff smelled awful!

"Hey Rubes" He lazily called out "Back already eh? How'd the trip go?" He tilted his head back, looking at her upside down from his chair. His casual, half asleep look was whipped away when he saw what was in her arms, and lost his balance in his shock. After recovering from his fall, he looked at the monster in her arms, and held out his hand to form his weapon. "Ruby, what the hell is going on?" He asked, his voice slightly distant yet no less stern. His weapon instantly faded mid transformation, the look in his little girls eyes was unlike anything he had seen. Ruby was on the verge of tears, and she practically screamed at him. "Qrow! Please!" She begged, briefly looking at the near dead girl in his arms before looking back at him. "You have to help her!" Ruby didn't know why she called it a girl. She had never seen its human form, yet it didn't feel right referring to the werewolf as an it anymore...

~~~

"Ruby?" She heard a familiar voice call out to her, causing her to shake her head. "Ya, what is it Blake?" Ruby turned her head to the beautiful girl sitting behind her, the wolf ears proudly perched atop her head, having remained after her full moon encounter despite being in her human form. "Are you okay?" She asked, sounding concerned. Ruby briefly took a moment to take in how lovely her ears looked, how her eyes lacked the feral edge they did on there first encounter.

"I'm fine" Ruby insisted, before turning to look up at the moon above them. Ruby layed back in the grass, and Blake quickly followed suit. "I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic." Blake followed her gaze to the moon. It was beautiful, and Blake could tell it would be one more day before the full moon. "I kind of am too" Blake said, letting out a small chuckle. Unlike her first full moon, she was looking forward to this one. The feeling of freedom she feels when running threw the forest, letting her wild side take over felt so natural. And with Ruby by her side, she could truly enjoy it without worry.

Blake slowly sat back up, wiping some dew off her shoulder. "Want to go for a run?" Blake asked, before giggling softly under her breath. "Unless you'd rather do homework." Ruby instantly shot up, on her feet within moments "As if! Come on, we can stop for cookies before crashing at your place." Ruby held out her hand, and Blake gladly took it. "You and your cookies" Blake shook her head, but her smile was as bright as ever. Blake slowly let her wolf form take over, her clothes dropping around her. Ruby collected them and began to levitate "Wanna Race?" Ruby asked, causing the furry Blake to grin, and bolt ahead of her. "Hey!" Ruby deadpanned "No fair!" She shouted, before speeding off after her.