How to Train Your Grimm

Chapter V

After telling her friends she was going to go into Vale to have some time to herself, Ruby headed back into the Emerald Forest to find the Night Fury.

She headed back to the spot she'd first found it, and saw the vines on the ground. She bent down to one of them, and picked it up. Despite spending a whole day thinking about it, she still found it hard to believe that the Grimm had a soul, and it let her live.

She dropped the vine, and started heading in the direction the Night Fury had flown away to. She soon found herself walking into a rocky crevice, which lead to a large, isolated cove, with a lake in the middle. The walls of the cove were high, and too steep to climb. If anything the size of the dragon fell in here, nothing would be able to get out. But the Grimm didn't seem to be here. Other than the fish in the lake, there wasn't a living creature in the cove.

She sighed. "Not here. I might as well move on--"

Then, she noticed some black rocks on the ground. At first, she was confused, and didn't know what they were. But then, she realized the possibility that they might be scales. Do Grimm even shed scales? She didn't know.

She bent down and picked up the scale. She ran her finger along the rough surface. Suddenly, she heard a loud noise, and a black creature leapt onto the wall of the cove near her.

She backed up, scared by the sudden noise. When she looked at the creature, she realized it was the Night Fury. It hadn't noticed her. It was just trying to climb out of the cove, but failing. It fell back down to the ground, and used its wings to glide into a safe landing.

Ruby quickly climbed onto a ledge to get closer to the dragon. She watched as it leapt into the air, flapping its wings. But it couldn't get to the top of the cove, and it fell back down to the ground.

Ruby quickly reached for her utility belt and pulled out a notebook and pencil. She began drawing the Night Fury, trying not to miss a single detail. As she finished, the dragon once again leapt for the top of the cove, but fell back to the ground.

"Why don't you just fly away?" Ruby whispered.

But as the Grimm shot a ball of purple fire at the ground in front of him, she noticed a very small, but very important detail. A wing on its tail was missing.

She erased the tail wing on her drawing. She looked back down at the dragon. It tried one final time to leap out of the cove. It flapped its wings, but it still didn't work. It crashed onto the ground hard, and it lied there in defeat.

It noticed some fish in the lake. It picked itself up and moved to the lake. It saw two fish sitting very still in the water. It shoved its head into the water and bit at the fish, only for them to swim away before it could eat them.

Ruby watched as it lied back down, defeated. She felt terrible. She could see the look of sadness and fear in its exposed eye. She couldn't deny it anymore. This Grimm had a soul, and she'd hurt it. And because of her, it was stuck here, destined to be killed by any Huntsman or Huntress that wandered over here.

Lost in her thoughts and regret, Ruby lost her grip on her pencil. Before she could catch it, it fell into the cove, and the Grimm spotted it.

It looked up at Ruby. It seemed to have a mix of emotions. It seemed angry, scared, confused, and curious.

They stared at each other for what felt like hours. Ruby slightly tilted her head, and the Grimm did the same.

Meanwhile, an Atlesian Airship was making its way to the fog bank.

Ironwood stood by the windshield, as an Atlesian soldier walked up next to him.

"Any sign of Grimm?" Ironwood asked one of his soldiers.