On a Playful Wolf's Territory

"I'm glad to hear that," the blonde man said. "I'm Zeke Veiller, by the way. Just an ordinary lumberjack, of course, but I'm pretty popular here. Haha, kidding. Anyways, welcome to the village. We're grateful that people as young as yourselves are bothering to help simple folk like us."

"They may ask you guys to the center of the circle later," Rory explained smiling. "Just so that everyone knows you guys. But in the meantime, let's eat shall we?"

Zeke waved goodbye and Rory led them to one of the many long tables and handed them forks and plates and knives. A kindly homey woman with brown hair was giving a ham that had been laid out. There was more food around. Fruit salads, pastas, breads of all sorts and cream of mushroom soups.

"Help yourselves," Rory smiled.

"Alright with me," Ron says. As they get close to the food, Ron lets his eyes roam the entire platter. He responds to Rory with, "Gladly." He then begins to load his plate with as much meat, fruit, and bread as he can. Then he gets a second plate to start filling up.

"As long as we aren't dancing. I've had my fill of that back home." Pierce said, laughing happily as they arrived at the table. "Thank you very much." He said, nodding politely to Rory and her father before filling up his plate and eating happily.

Having quickly finished his plates, Ron thinks about going up and getting more food. However he decides against it, I don't want to get stuffed in case I actually have to do some physical activity in the next hour. He looks over at his comrade for the mission and asks, "So Pierce, are you liking this place as much as I am?"

"Of course." Pierce said happily, taking a bite of bread and chewing contentedly, swallowing before he spoke. "What's not to like, amazing food, friendly people, a great place, no wonder Rory's so nice, growing up in a place like this." He said, looking around and finding himself smiling at the scene before him, unable to do otherwise.

Rory moved over to them with stacks of meat on her own plate and grinned.

"Eat up as much as you can!" she grinned. "It's not everyday we celebrate like this."

She bit into a big turkey leg before she stopped eating and looked behind Ron and Pierce. A tall woman with reddish hair and sharp green eyes in a fencing outfit was behind them and moving towards them, a long rapier in her hand.

"L-L-Lady!" Rory exclaimed as she placed down her food as she ran up to her past the two and gave a sharp salute.

Lady gave Rory a small smirk and placed her hands on her hips.

"It's been a while, runt," Lady said as a long tan wolf tail swished behind her. "How are you?"

Rory smiled and lowered her hand. "Great! And ready to report for duty!"

"I recall you're only the guide, not the one doing recon," Lady said bluntly.

Rory laughed sheepishly. "Stingy as ever, geez," she said as she held Lady's wrist. "They're over here. Pierce, Ron!"

Lady was brought over and she looked at them with crossed arms.

"Lady, this is Pierce Michellis and Ron Rouge," she said. "The Beacon students assigned to the recon mission."

"Pleasure to meet you," Lady said bluntly.

Ron stood up thinking, Crossed arms? And that tone... I don't think she wants us to be here. He bows nonetheless and says, "Very nice to meet you, Miss."

The woman narrowed her eyes.

"That's Lady to you," she said sharply. "And you better get used to saying it if you're going to be investigating with me."

Rory's ears drooped.

"You don't need to be harsh, Lady," Rory said sheepishly. Lady merely rolled her eyes as she looked at Pierce expectantly.

"U-uh, yes!" Pierce said, fumbling just a bit as he's suddenly barraged with her piercing stare shooting daggers at him. "I am Pierce, Lady. Pierce Michellis." He said as he politely stood up, extending his hands toward her's for a handshake.

"Hm," Lady said as she looked at the two of them. "I know I don't get to brief you until tomorrow, but I want to get one thing straight: recon is not slackey work. Unlike most people believe, it's not just browsing around the entire day just because there are no Grimm to kill. So if I see so much as a yawn or 'this is boring' out of you students, I'm kicking you off and making you pick fruit the rest of the stay. Got that?"

The woman waited for no response and left. Rory looked at Ron and Pierce.

"You'll have to excuse Lady..." she said. "She's err...not that fond of students..."

"She isn't?" Pierce asked, watching the woman walk off before turning back to his companions, smiling as he rested his forehead on his palm, elbow propped up on the table, "Cause I'm almost sure she likes me." He joked sarcastically, sitting up and taking a bite of food.

Ron sighed at the slight ordering tone that Lady was giving them, thinking, Great another self-absorbed woman. Why do I keep running into people like that? Little did Ron know that he would be trapped in a room with the worst one of all in just a few days. As she looked over them Ron stared back emotionless. When she left he sat back down and responded to Rory saying, "Well this student doesn't find her particularly charming either. I'd much rather work with Xiao."

Rory laughed sheepishly as she ate herself.

"Don't take it personally, though," Rory said. "The last bunch of students she got were pretty terrible. And she likes to work alone, mostly. She thinks a lot of people underestimate the importance of investigative Grimm hunters. Anyways, as long as you're doing your job, she'll be happy. As for Xiao, well, he'll be along, too, so things won't be that tense."

Meals went on with no further interruptions and by the time everyone was sitting in chairs and drinking the tree fruits' freshly squeezed juice, Xiao was in front of everyone with the large bonfire lighting up behind him.

"Good evening, all!" he said with a big smile. "I'm pretty sure you're all enjoying this little feast here."

Cheers came from all around as they raised their glasses and nodded and there were some yells of "Yes!".

Xiao laughed.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" he said. "I know we've all had quite a scare from a few days ago."

The cheers turned sullen and there were a few murmurs of agreement and disagreement.

"We still haven't found out or caught the supposed Grimm," Xiao said now seriously. "But rest assured, Lady and I are hard at work and we even have a few guests over. I'm sure you've spot them already! And Rory is also back in the village!"

Cries of excitement came as everyone began peering in the three students' directions. Rory waving confidently, already used to the welcomes. Xiao waved them to come over.

"Why not come up here and introduce yourselves?" Xiao said. "Let the village know you a little better!"

Rory tugged on them and smiled. "Come on!"

"Uhhh, I'd rather not." Pierce said, chuckling happily as he put his hands up like someone who was getting arrested rather than someone who was just being introduced to a village. "No one'd really pay me any attention, besides. Ron on the other hand... is visible." He added with a small laugh. A second later, he vanishes from sight, turning completely invisible. To any onlooker, he would be long gone but in reality, he was still sitting at the table, waiting for them to make their move.

The villagers were a bit surprised and there were a few little gasps here and there. Others actually applauded as if a magic trick had been shown to them. Rory looked around panicked and turned to Ron.

"Err...why don't you go up to the center first while I look for Pierce?" she said sheepishly pushing him there.

Xiao grinned. "Ron, my man! Come over here and greet the village!"

Meanwhile, Rory scanned the area, but she didn't need her eyes. She had taken good caution of both Ron's and Pierce's unique smells and she knew he was right there. She moved closer to the table cautiously.

"Pierce, if you don't want Lady to skin you alive, I suggest you appear right now!" Rory said in a warnign whisper.

Ron is surprised both when he is pulled and then pushed in the direction of Xiao. When he sees Pierce disappear he thinks, I could easily catch him if I run quickly, but I guess she has it handled. He walks over and stands next to Xiao looking out at the villagers.

The villagers clapped as Ron moved over to the stage. Xiao swung an arm around him and grinned.

"Our first helping hand from Beacon is this here Ron Rouge," Xiao told everyone.

"Hello, Ron!" the village greeted like school children.

"Ron, why not say some words of hello?"

Ron falls forward slightly at Xiao's arm bumps him in the back. He grins nervously before saying, "H- he- hello, N- nice to m- meet you all." He turns to Xiao and says quietly, "I'm n- not g- good in f- front of cr- crowds." Ron looks at his feet anxiously, thinking to himself, Damn it, come on idiot, speak clearly.

Despite Ron's supposed anxious greeting, the villagers merely smiled and applauded their welcome. Xiao gave him a not-so-gentle pat on the back.

"Well, they seem to like you just fine!" Xiao reassured. "Now! For our second person from Beacon..."

Xiao glanced in the direction Rory was who was still waiting for Pierce to reply.

Since Pierce had yet to respond, Ron focused his hearing toward the table, waiting for the slightest sound to show where Pierce was hiding. Come on, just shift where you are just a little bit, Ron thought, waiting for Pierce. He wasn't too happy that Pierce left him all alone up here in front of a crowd.

Neither Rory nor Ron would be able to hear Pierce leave the table, his semblance muffling every noise he made and slight footprints left in the dirt being the only indication that he was walking to stand beside the nervous looking Ron. Well it's good they didn't ask us to sing or something. He thought, silently chuckling to himself before he made his appearance. Out of nowhere, Pierce stops his semblance, turning perfectly visible as he stood in front of the audience. "Pierce Michellis. Nice to meet you all."

"Gah!" Ron exclaims as Pierce appears. Out of instinct and surprise, Ron aims a punch at Pierce. "Don't sneak up on me like that," he says as he retracts his arm.

The audience gasped but then there were an applause.

"What a nice trick!" one villager said.

"That surprised me right there!" another would exclaim.

"These Beacon folk look pretty nice, don't they?" yet another said.

Xiao let out another laugh. "Look at you, two!" he said giving them sharp pats on the back. "The crowd's pleased already."

Finally, Rory moved up to the where they were and smiled. "See, that wasn't so bad," she grinned.

"Anyways, folks," Xiao said. "We'll be doing our best as Hunters...and Hunters-to-be to rid ourselves of that horrid problem, so enjoy the rest of the feast!"

The crowd cheered and everyone began playing music again and eating. Lady moved up to the team with a displeased look on her face.

"Rory will be escorting you to your lodging area in a few moments," she said stiffly. "I want you up and ready by five am. That means no last minute I-need-to-go-to-the-bathroom trips, no growling stomachs, no droopy eyes or you have to answer to my weed hacker. Any questions?"

Weed hacker? Pierce thought to himself, his eyebrow raised quizzically before he dropped it back to normal. "Yes of course, Lady." Pierce said approvingly as he nodded politely at Lady's orders. "No questions from me. I will be up bright and early, as you wish." He said, careful to sound more respectful and docile in front of the stern woman.

Ron was stone-faced as Lady talked. All of the things she was saying wouldn't be a problem for him. He answers monotonously, "No questions, Lady."

"Good," Lady said briskly. "Enjoy the rest of your night."

With that, Lady sharply about-faced and moved away, disappearing from the bonfire's bright light and into the darkness. Xiao let out a low whistle.

"It is true, that since she's my wife, I love her with all my might," Xiao remarked. "But that doesn't mean she doesn't scare me."

Rory nodded slowly before brightly smiling once again at the Pierce and Ron.

"We should be heading to my place now," Rory said. "It's not much, but it'll have to do for the night. Follow me."

"Well, you guys have a good night," Xiao said waving them off. "We'll see you in the morning. The earlier one is going to get to go with me, so you better sleep well or you're stuck with Lady! Ha ha!"

Xiao soon followed in Lady's footsteps and Rory was left alone with the two of them. She gave them a perky salute. "Now for my first duty as guide! To show you your lodging area! Step this way, gentleman!"

Rory soon began skipping along at a followable pace. She led them away from the cluster of the main village houses and the crowd and followed a dirt path a bit upward to a curving ledge of the mountain. A small wooden cottage was there, its wood a bright orange and its roof green. There was a warm light there. Rory opened the door without the need of a lock and soon came into the small cabin.

The room was about the size of the dormroom. THere was a table with four seats, a small iron stove with a boiling pot, a counter and sink...and in the corner a small wicker long chair where a lady with blonde hair and green eyes was knitting. She looked middle-age but her smile made her youthful.

"Mom! I'm home!" Rory greeted cheerily. The woman lifted her eyes and stood up seeing Rory and the two immediately embraced.

"Oh, it's so good to have you home, my little cub," the woman said. "I'm glad to see you are doing well."

Rory nodded and turned to Pierce and Ron. "Hey, guys! This is my mother, Ruth Veiller."

"Hello, boys," Ruth said. "It's nice to see you. Rory wrote that we'd be seeing you two. I hope the room will be comfy enough for your stay."

"Mom, I'm going to show them their room. Is that okay?" Rory asked.

"Go ahead," Ruth said. She smiled at Pierce and Ron. "Rest well, now. You all have a big day tomorrow."

With that, Rory led them to one of the corner doors and opened the room. It was simple enough and half the size of a dorm room. Two plain beds with pristine white sheets were on each end of the wall. There was another door that led to a small bathroom. A clear window looked out over the mountain edge and the persimmon-colored leaves of trees.

"It's not much," Rory laughed nervously. "But I hope you guys will be fine."

Ron, needlessly activates his semblance, and runs over to the window and looks out over the land. He whistles lightly before saying, "Now that is a view." Looking back into the room he says to Rory, "It's still better then how I spent 2 years for resting. It'll do just fine." He jumps onto the bed closes to the window.