Save Us

Nyitzcha stepped back, pressing against Felix's thigh while Spi'Reto crawled to their side in a hurry. His hand was a bleeding mess but it was apparent his three fingers remained, a sight which both repulsed and reassured Felix. Emyri slammed her head down, growling and grunting as her paws clumsily fought the satchel off her fangs, providing sweet relief to her aching jaw and salivated lips. Flexing her bite once or twice, she fell forward on all paws once again, stepping to the side to circle her prey.

Despite the added company and assistance of his friends, Felix couldn't help but feel intimidated by her, her stalking them with her claws extracted and ready. One wrong move and they will slice through skin like drawing in the sand. He loved her, saving her mind as well as her body won't be an easy task.

Spi'Reto held his hand as the nerves twitched and spasmed, his eyes studying the marks under his torn flesh and wondering how deep her teeth sunk through. Well, the fact that he could manage to bend his fingers meant the nerves remained functional, unfortunately ignoring the searing pain was impossible and required most of his focus. A troubling thought began to concern him as he scanned around in search for it... there it is behind her, his bow still whole and lying in wait. He peeked over his shoulder to confirm the lack of arrows in the empty quiver behind him, so much movement and all of his jumps and flips must have scattered the arrows over the ground, kicked away during the previous fight. Still, he could see a number of decent arrows around her paws and all he needed was just one.

Nyitzcha squinted at the glowing stone on her collar, connecting it with the spontaneous glimmer in her eyes which matched the same color scheme. Looking down the hall, she connected the pieces rather quickly before now regreting handing her bag over to the feral cat. Maybe jumping into the fight wasn't her best move, considering she wasn't the most skilled fighter regarding her old profession. Feeling her back touch his thigh, she felt somehow eased of her worries when recognizing the pounding beat of Felix's heart rippling through their point of contact.

Leaving no room for a plan of attack, Emyri made her move and glared at the new challenger, pouncing at the dwarf and ready to slice. Felix pushed her way, taking the blow and rolling along the hard floor with the cat in his arms. She kicked him away, recognizing his repeated course of action and countering effectively by maintaining distance from him immediately. Felix hit his back against the wall, lying several feet from Emyri and rubbing his stiff neck in pain. Looking back, Emyri caught the wounded elf make a dash to his bow. Her tail brushed along one of the fallen knights' bodies before gripping a helmet and tossing it casually to his back, knocking Spi'Reto down. Nyitzcha made the mistake of staring when she should be moving, reminded of her error once the Nekomata made quick contact with her. She stumbled and spun around, hurrying to grab her crumpled leather bag while a bloodthirsty Cat Girl bent her legs and lept forward.

THUD!

Emyri hit the ground hard, turning around as Felix chuckled nervously with both of her tails in his hands. She growled furiously, baring her teeth, he returned the gesture with a worried smile. Keeping his head low, Felix felt a sharp sting burn across the right side of his face above his right ear, the shock demanded he released her as Emyri slithered out from him. Facing forward, she was met with a slam to her head as she fell to her side from the blow. Nyitzcha held the satchel strap and looked to Felix to see three thin cuts above his eyebrow beginning to bleed.

Seeing Emyri pick herself up and turn around with incredible speed made Nyitzcha gasp, raising her arms as she swung her bag hard, an easy feat for the cat to evade before reaching to her neck with those teeth. Nyitzcha saw the attack coming and gasped, her pupils shrinking in size. Felix looked up to see Emyri fall atop of Nyitzcha, hearing her chew and naw at her newest prey. He lost his breath, feeling his heart tear away as he scrambled to his feet wrapped his arm around her neck.

He was about to scream, his eyes were swelling and his anger had begun to flare when he now had a better, closer sight of what took place. Nyitzcha was gritting her teeth back, holding her arm out in front of her as the Nekomata caught her forearm instead of her neck. No time for relief yet, he bent his arm around her neck and pulled back, slowly peeling the Nekomata away from the dwarf yet she refused to let go. Something caught his eye as he looked forward, seeing Spi'Reto aiming his arrow at him with a quivering red-stained hand. If it wasn't for the injury, he wouldn't miss. With an unconvincing wavering aim, he knew if he did miss it would be her life or Felix.

"Don't!" Felix begged, fearing the cost of his inaccuracy.

"Don't move." Spi'Reto ordered, closing one eye and sucking in breath. Once he exhaled, he felt his aim lock on as his bloodied fingers released their grip on the nock, the speed of the arrow sounding like a light whistle and grazing Emyri's neck as well as Felix's arm.

The pink stone fell, landing with a sound with a light clink like glass. All eyes fell on its once bright display, its color beginning to go dull as it laid there. Without missing a beat, Felix stomped on the stone hard as the sound of shattered glass echoed down the hall. Emyri's eyes returned to their normal green color as her strength gave out and she fell onto Felix's arms. He gently fell to his knees, easing her down as her head came to rest on his lap. Her face appeared calm and relaxed, parting her eyes as they came in to view him. Emyri slowly lifted her paw up to touch his face, Nyitzcha flexing on instinct before seeing her change of state. Once her furry paw cupped his cheek, her eyes shut in anguish as tears began to pour down her face. He held her tight and shook his head as Spi'Reto and Nyitzcha watched in silence.

"I'm sorry-" She whispered, her voice paired with her emotions now showing signs of a broken soul. "I couldn't stop."

"It's not your fault." Those were his immediate words, hoping, praying that they would provide comfort to her in all of his naivety.

A soft hand reached for her paw, squeezing gently as Emyri looked down. "Spi'Reto?"

"Hey, Auntie." He smiled a most timid smile with a gentle nod, "It's been a few months hasn't it? You still look amazing for your age."

Emyri sniffed and shook her head yes, the edge of her lips turning upwards in a subtle smile. "You've grown to be a handsome man, Spi'Reto."

"Cover dem eyes." Everyone turned around as Nyitzcha pulled out a moldable putty from her bag, waving it for them to see. "I said cover 'er eyes."

Puzzled, Felix gently hovered his hands over Emyri's eyes while staring at his wife in a crossed look. Nyitzcha ignored him and tapped the elf on his shoulder. "Oi, see dat pink rock o'er der?"

He looked down the hallway and nodded, watching as she passes the handful of putty to him.

"Dis 'ere blows on impact. Do yer thin."

Spi'Reto glanced back to Felix before reaching for an arrow from the ground, snapping the tip and leaving it. Using the shaft, he allowed Nyitzcha to stick the soft clump onto the end before patting his back and stepping aside. Drawing it back, he narrowed his sights onto the large pink boulder at the far end of the hallway before letting the arrow slip away.

BBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!

"What was that?" Dimyri cried out, covering her eyes from any raining debris spraying them. The other Nekomata's squealed and doubled over as a surprise layer of dust and pebbles engulfed them.

"My hair!"

"Oh no, this stuff is in my eyes!"

"Itchy itchy!"

"Girls, settle down!" Dimyri ordered, looking around and taking count once more. Let's see... Ori'chi and Nukka are outside helping with Janette and Syri. Janette... that book of hers would be most appreciated by now. And where was the little one, the dwarf explosives extraordinaire? Did she venture off course from the plan or was she here but too short among the clutter? If she could remember just her name.

Another head count, this time she asked everyone stand still. No sign of the dwarf, fine. She expected the plan to run into a few curves, so then... deep breath Dimyri. Time to improvise. Scanning the area left her feeling more frustrated, squinting hard to make out the vague details of her environment. Damn, this spell was taking its toll on her, her lack of Nekomata eyes left her vision easily blind under the darkness they were in somewhere along the tower. Now she really regreted having her sister stay behind.

"Girls, I need you to be my eyes. Help me find a path onward."

"There's one entrance going that way." She heard a voice call out nearby.

Dimyri nodded and extended her hand. "Take me and lead us, we'll go that way."

A soft duo of furry snakes wrapped around her hand tight and pulled her to a specific direction, the other Nekomata's following behind. Dimyri raised her hand and turned back.

"One of you call for my sister and her mate. Have them find us here, tell them its urgent." One of the Nekomata's agreed and ran back as Dimyri requested they continued their route. Walking like this in the darkness, it scsred her. She couldn't tell if her eyes were open or not, what she did know was where ever they were going, they were descending downward.

"I don't think I can be of much help, I'm afraid." Emyri explained. "I tried fighting back against every move I made, I-I am afraid it's left me feeling numb and in a state of fatigue." Felix brushed her hair to keep them away from her eyes before wiping the dried tears from her beautiful face. She looked up and smiled despite her sad eyes.

"To think you came through to save us. My daughter knows how to pick them. If we survive through this, I'll have to ask her to keep you in the bedroom for days."

Nyitzcha stayed quiet, looking down as Felix leaned in to kiss Emyri's forehead. The Nekomata smiled as another tear began to form in her eye. Eventually, the dwarf turned away and lightly kicked an arrow aside, fumbling with her bag. Her hand let go of the strap as her eyes fell onto the ring on her finger, studying it momentarily and glancing back to them.

"Did that thing down the hall free any other potential mind control?" Spi'Reto stepped forward, making his presence clear while getting back on point. His serious look fade as soon as he made eye contact with Emyri. "Not that I don't like this moment, but-"

"I understand, dear. I honestly don't know. My memory is hazy from when I fell under, but I do know there should be a lift down that way. It will take you up, that's where they are being kept."

"Then come on." Felix nodded, politely letting Emyri lean against the wall to rest. "We should get going. Are you okay here?"

"So long as they keep me company." Emyri gestured to the four fallen bodies around her. Felix rubbed his nose, standing around waiting for something, contemplating. Falling to his knees, he leaned in and gave her a warm, tight hug. She returned it immediately, closing her eyes and obtaining his scent. Still human, but she could detect a strong touch of her daughter through him. They were mated now, she smiled and held him close before giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Save us." She whispered, leaning back. Saying nothing, he turned around and started running down the hall with an elf and a dwarf catching up.