Mother meets Father

Emyri stood her ground, chin up with no show of fear in her. She did not shiver from the icy touch on her nude surface, did not beg for the lives of her loved ones, her confrontational stance had something else to display. Leone kept his ground as well, his feet never shifting backwards or forwards. The girls and everyone else stared at the lone Nekomata with the same expression and thought in mind, just what was it she was planning? She must have something in mind, or this really was a brave facade to pull.

Father raised his eyes towards her, pushing himself back on his feet and standing tall to meet her. He did not look amused.

"So the mother entered in to protect her children. I can admire that."

"Is that so?" She asked.

"Indeed, rather I find it to be quite endearing."

"To think you find a mother's love endearing just shows bittersweet irony. Like a wolf wearing sheep's clothing, how callous of you."

"My dear I can be a great number of things but callous is not one of them. I see the mother, where is the daughter? You have a litter of three if I am correct."

Emyri glanced at the hunter to see him shake his head in return. Her eyes blinked before returning to focus on the priest. "I've only two-"

"Don't lie to me, you'll find my patience to be quite lacking if we play this game. If you have your daughter hand herself to me now, I will promise that no harm shall befall onto either of you. Not by me or any of my men."

"Really, why do you want us so badly if not to sate your lust for blood."

He scoffed in return, "My lust for blood, as if now I am the demon here. Which one of us is the Monster?"

"That seems irrelevant with your actions. We never hunt or kill, we made sure to live our way a safe distance from you. Why hunt us down and call us killers while chasing us with the butcher's knife? Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining." She hissed, baring her feline teeth.

Perdilius took the opportunity to burst into a sharp cry of laughter, wiping at his eye and clearing his throat. "Well you're amusing, I will give you that. Most definitely gifted with the sharp end of the tongue, cat. I have seen many things and witnessed many tragedies in my humble upbringing, and I know what it means to feel the world falling down on you. So in a twisted play, I suppose that means I can empathize with you here. You must feel like it is you versus the world, like no matter where you turn or how big the world appears it is all imagination, that we are all trapped under a cage of our own making. I hold the key for your cage, I don't need you anymore. All I ask is your remaining spawn under my care."

Emyri kept a calm face. "Why do you want my children so desperately, is it envy?"

"Far from it, your children are being called for by the gods." Emyri rolled her eyes as he continued. "Do you find that amusing, mother?"

"I find it to be nonsense. Just an excuse to wave around your men to do as you say without question. You always were the most fanatic of your group."

Perdilius' expression began to shift, from one of amusement to a colder glare of cautious repressed anger.

Emyri took notice and continued, slowly pacing as she spoke. "You know I remember your father to be more of the old-fashioned type. He was stern but serious and to the point, with no need to be making a show of things like say... burning a house down. Seems rather childish if you ask me, like a boy trapped in a man's corpse emitting an adult play at a temper tantrum."

"Careful now, you know the curse that goes with speech. A sharp tongue makes for warranted silence." He stepped back before grabbing Leone's dagger from his belt and gripping Janette by her hair. She grit her teeth and sucked in her breath, hearing Syri and KuliKuli shout behind her. Dimyri nearly jumped back, bumping into Raz who didn't bother keeping a grip on her. It seemed he too was caught by surprise.

Perdilius' eyes flared in a sense of victory, his action clearly having an effect with Emyri stepping forward. "Stay where you are, monster. I tried to talk reason but you'd rather waste our time, and I would very much prefer seeing you comply here. Where is the third?"

Emyri grit her teeth and felt her tails wave around nervously, uncertain of what happens next. A bead of sweat began to form on her quickly, her two daughter struggling and shouting profanities at the man from behind him.

"Stop that, stop that right now!" Syri yelled, wiggling her arm free. She quickly delivered an elbow to the Nekomata above her, forcing herself up before being kicked down once more by the other men surrounding them. Raz flinched at the display of violence, staring directly into the man's face to diminish his small laugh with his friends. He turned back around, feeling his palms grow sweaty under what was happening before them. He was not alone either.

"Syri." Janette spoke out, feeling his grip bring slight daggers of pain on her head. "Syri please calm down."

"No!"

"Syri calm down now, please!" She shouted with force this time. From the edge of her sight she could barely see her mate out of focus with a boot on her back. "Syri, Syri things will be okay."

Syri pouted as tears began to roll down her face, with Perdilius taking notice. "A lot of emotion for a friend, don't you think? Is this woman even your lover? Or perhaps..."

He paused as Leone gripped the dagger in his hand. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Don't touch my stuff." He growled, harshly pulling the dagger away from his grip. "If you want to put up a show, do it with your own toys."

"My own..." Perdilius clenched his teeth under those words before catching movement several meters past the hunter, behind his men. Was that a bush stepping closer?

Something fast shot towards him, barely giving the priest enough time to tilt his head. Whatever projectile was shot had grazed his cheek and stabbed into the wagon behind them, revealing itself to be an arrow. As the other soldiers turned around and raised their light, Perdilius managed to make out the appearance of a young woman, complete with dark blue shoulder length hair and sharp slanted eyes staring back at him with a makeshift arrow in hand.

KuliKuli couldn't be happier. "Reta!"