Sudden Change

"Oh, look! The entrance is caved in. We should go-"

"-Hmm... No."

Cuu looked up and down the abandoned ruins of the tower, looking for a way in; all while his doting doctor walked in circles, biting at the tips of her fingers. He spots a few holes that could provide a swift ascent, but noticed that the brickwork below them was shifting lightly in the wind; too loose. Sighing, he returns to the entrance; which is completely covered by rubble.

"Doctor Oswald, please stand a few paces further away." He asks, cracking his neck.

She takes a single step back, her eyes widening. "Um... why?"

The Wolf huffs, and puffs. The midnight wind is no longer being that which shuffled the brickwork. Sucking in a ridiculous amount of air, Cuu's inhale began dragging Dorothy's shoes across the ground. Noticing this, she tries to sprint away; finding it harder to breathe. With an unearthly howl, the rubble was blasted away with a torrent of wind. Dorothy too was blown away, tumbling down, and landing rear-first onto the grassy field outside the tower.

Cuu returns to her, holding out a hand. "I said a few paces; not a single step."

Dorothy bats the hand away, and rises to her feet; baffled as she dusts herself off. "Well then wait next time! I didn't think you would do... well, that!"

The Wolf shrugs. "Whatever you say."

He enters the tower, seeing his handiwork. The rubble had been embedded into the wall opposite the door; with massive clouds of dust kicked up from the blast. The new entrance was tall enough for him, he didn't even have to duck down to pass it; unlike the doors in the Storyteller's house. Cuu holds his nose, and gingerly walks up the stairs spiralling out around the walls of the tower, watching his step to ensure he didn't slip.

Dorothy sneezes as she quickly makes her way to his side. "Oh, it's so dusty in here! I should have brought a handkerchief."

He nods, thinking to himself. "Good. More dust means there's likely to be no recent visitors."

The Storyteller slips as one of the stones at her feet comes loose. Cuu swoops over, catching her in both arms. She is just about to thank the Wolf; with a blush forming across her cheek, when-

*Ahchoo!*

-he sneezes directly in her face. Thankfully, nothing came out of his nose, but the flecks spittle all splat across her face.

"Ah! Disgusting!" She cries, wiping her face on her sleeve. "Thank you for catching me, but still-"

*Ahchoo!*

He sneezes again, this time away from her. Cuu quickly drops the poor girl onto the stones of the second floor to pinch his nose again.

"Ow!" She yelps, holding her backside. "Why you..."

"Sorry." He says; his voice altered to a comedic degree by the fingers holding his nose closed. "Maybe climbing would have been better."

Dorothy is silent, and then bursts into laughter.

Cuu rolls his eyes, heading further up the tower.

...

When she finally stops busting her gut, Dorothy pulls herself to her feet; looking around at the second floor. There was a hole in wall, facing away from the full-moon up in the sky. As well, old, decrepit tomes lay on rotted wooden floorboards, which covered the stone of the tower. Once more, Dorothy's curiosity took a hold of her. She carefully approached one of these books, opening it to its first page.

It had gotten water-logged by rain, with a few words remaining readable.

From the third house, the bricks were moved; their power needed to pave the way.

Excited by the sudden mystery, she carefully turns the page; not noticing the sudden shuffling noise that had come through the open wall. The further she got into the tome, the more words there were to read on each page; protected from the elements by the pages prior. Eventually, there began to be full sentences.

The Emerald Spires of our beloved city have fallen, taken by the filthy half-breeds of the north. Their champion, the Tale known as The Wonder, stole them from us. He had grown to immense size with the boon of his Tale, snapping the great gemstones free like rock candy...

This time, Dorothy heard the noise. The shifting of heavy cloth. Turning around, she saw nothing; no signs of life as she scanned the moonlit room. Her heart begins pounding even harder than it had in her bedroom, when she was having her fantasies. She holds the book close to her chest, keeping a finger at her spot; a result of strong muscle memory. But, it was rather too late-

-something wraps tightly around her neck.

...

Cuu arrives at the top of the tower, the light of the moon hidden by thick clouds. Annoyed at this, he decides to pass the time looking around at the final floor. Right away, he spots something of keen interest. A pile of ashes; a somewhat freshly extinguished campfire. It was days old, he could tell; he had plenty of experience with fire-pits from his youth in the Great Caravan; it was said that the lifeblood of any traveler, was firewood. More interestingly, by looking further, he had found a basket; one that seemed familiar in its style of weave.

Dorothy's style.

This stolen basket held black rocks, which on further inspection, were quite the find; Anthracite. Pure coal. The kind of coal the Great Caravan would kill for; given its ability to produce its smokeless, blue flames. Perfect for the hideouts of the... less law-compliant, of his kin. There were yet more items of interest to Cuu, next to some paintings, tucked away in yet another basket, under a green hood. A pair of trousers; made from a fantastically smooth silk, as well as a collection of jewellery. Touching one of the three rings, the stinging pain he felt confirmed it to be silver. Under the trousers, however, he found something even better.

His boots; looking just as polished as they had when his father presented them to him, on the day of his exile.

"Oh ho ho. Hi Doggy. Sorry, but these toys... they're mine."

...

Dorothy held the string that had tightened around her neck, rolling on the ground desperately as flickers of red cloth whipped across her periphery. She had dropped the tome, sadly; but that wasn't exactly her primary regret at the moment. Mostly, she was praying; thinking of her mother and father. Thinking of her Gran. Hoping Cuu would hear her struggling, and come to her rescue. A knight in fuzzy armor...

"Calm down, Storyteller."

She ignores the words of this strange fanciful voice; they were just trying to make it easier to strangle her, clearly.

"Damn it, woman. Be reasonable! You're going to tear my seams!"

That makes her stop; mostly out of confusion. Looking around, she sees no-one; no horrific killer, trying to strangle her, at least. She did feel something, however. A heavy weight on her head and shoulders, pulling her down. She hurried to her feet, and sees a mass of red cloth leading up to her neck, where a thick white string tied around her neck. Peering up, she sees the covering of a hood; not unlike the green one she usually wore, before it went missing.

"See? Perfectly normal... what is your name, Storyteller?" Said the hood; speaking to her mind directly.

Said. The. Hood.

Dorothy screams, yanking at the string once more. "Gh-gh-ghost! Ghost!"

...

Cuu's tail began flickering as he heard Dorothy scream.

"Leave her out of this!" He demands. "Tell your accomplices to let her go, this is between me, and-

The cat, sat on the ledge of the tower, perks a brow. "-I have no idea what that Storyteller of yours is on about, doggy. My only accomplice is in town; likely drinking."

Cuu lunges at the annoyance, his claws shattering a segment of the tower to pieces as the cat leapt over his head. With a smile, she vanishes from sight; a loud thunk sounding off as her blackjack impacts Cuu's skull. He could feels his skull crack, displace, realign, and begin mending itself in the few moments before the cat audibly landed to his right side.

If she thought this fight would be anything like before, than this thief was sorely mistake; this time, The Wolf wasn't already half-dead...

Cuu swings hard and fast into the unseen foe's ribs, the sound of the air leaving her lungs in a yelp, breaking the silence of the night, as she is sent into one of the paintings; shattering the frame, and ripping the canvas to pieces. She nearly falls off of the tower itself, but just barely manages to yank herself back to safety; landing on her hands and knees.

"W-wait, doggy-" The cat begged, smiling nervously as she did; appearing in the flesh. "We can talk this out..."

Cuu stomps towards her, his eyes no longer amber; instead, they were a hateful blood-red. "Tell your accomplices to-"

"-I wasn't lying!" She shreaks, her pupils shrinking to slits as she began coughing; blood flecked onto the stone. "Whatever she's screaming about isn't on me!"

He slowly approaches his prey, claws extended. He leans down to her, breathing in deep...

"I have your scent, cat." He whispers in a deathly tone; the heat of his breath sending shivers down the thief's spine. "Stay put, or I will tear out your heart. Doctor Oswald will want her basket back; and I doubt she'd be happy with me letting her new patient get away."

The cat nods. She seemed both confused, and afraid; letting out a few raspy fearful breaths. Her eyes flickering over to the stairway. Cuu notices this, and looks to the stairway as well. Dorothy, wearing an all-too-familiar red hood, waves to him. The hood waves one of its corners, as well.

"Mister Cuu? Do you know this hood? He seems to know you."