Until it is done

There was a soft mist floating in the air as what once was a gentle plant-filled camp had become a battleground of upturned mud and toppled trees. Amongst the scuffle, a dwarf ran in unnoticed and placed one of her recent creations, a bomb, to intercept their elemental opponent and catch him off guard. It fulfilled varying degress of success as the ensuing blast brought a brief halt to the battle, stunning everyone within its noise radius. It had been the only time in her stay that one could hear their own blood pulsing through their body, as the aftermath left even mother nature speechless as was evident by its lack of rustling leaves or grazing branches.

Felix turned his back to the blast, grabbing the closest person he could and sheilding her with his body. He was the first to stand up with a tense ache in his back muscles, rubbing his neck as he helped Ori'chi to her feet. Ori'chi hadn't quite recovered yet, her ears were ringing for a short time and there was a soft blur in the air as vision became hindered by combined mist and smoke. She hugged Felix tight, her face hidden in his chest, shaking softly as the young man returned her hug, eyes wide open and scanning around.

To his relief, everyone around him came into view, mostly stained in patches of mud or moss from the ensuing debree. Dimyri stood in front of her sister Syri and Janette, while Nukka's fur stood in a new coat of mud from shielding the villagers and other cat girls in a hurry. Zimi quickly inspected her mate as Nukka rubbed her sore head, falling on her butt and resting her dazed head.

One person remained unseen which quickly troubled Felix as he looked around frantically in search for her. "Wait, where's Nyitzcha? Nyitzcha!"

"Right 'ere." The soft accent answered his call as Felix turned toward its direction. Against the black hind of a large trunk, Alma held Nyitzcha in her arms from behind. The two appeared to be the cleanest ones of them all as Nyitzcha wiggled out and ran to meet Felix, brushing his legs and torso.

"Ye hurtin'? Ye bruisin'? Tell me where it hurts."

Felix recoiled as soon as she slipped her hands under his shirt, brushing his ribs. He hugged his chest, giggling quietly as he shook his head. "Sorry, ticklish. I'm fine, I think. How about you? Ori'chi?"

"Ay, I'm alive." Nyitzcha answered back, spinning to reassure him of any brusies.

"I-I-I am-m... sc-scared." Ori'chi whispered back, hugging his arm tight.

Felix held her back, stroking her hair to comfort her. "It's okay, we're still here. Everyone is fine... right?"

Dimyri had been busy counting heads. "Yea, I think so. Where's Raz?"

"YEEP!" Syri shrieked as suddenly she felt her lower paws pulled from under her, sliding across the wet ground when Janette jumped forward and grabbed her arm.

"Help me!!" Syri cried out, unable to struggle in her panic as she looked into Janette's eyes.

"I'm... not... letting go!" Janette grunted, pulling as hard as her tired body could handle, feeling her feet slide and dig into the inch deep teal puddle they were in. That puddle began to rise, accumulating in volume and taking the form of a large water snake. It looked at Janette and hissed, diving around her to wrap its body and engulf both women.

"Save them!" Felix ran in, digging his arms into the snake and grabbing Janette's ankle. Several of the Nekomata's looked shocked and watched, shaken and uncertain as Dimyri and Alma joined the tug and grabbed Felix from behind.

Ori'chi turned to her friends and back at Felix and the others. With a look of fear, she ran in, grabbed Dimyri and pulled, joining them as Janette and Syri were slowly being recovered from the snake's hold. Ori'chi's friends ran in to help, and soon most of the other cat girls and villagers were taking part in the rescue!

Janette opened her eyes as she felt her body free itself from the magical water with Syri remaining in its hold. They locked eyes as Syri noticed the huge crowd behind her mate, freeing them both. Nyitzcha ran behind the trunk where she took cover behind, grabbing a large sack and digging through to grab a handful of tiny pelts. Running in, she threw them over where the snake was coming from as a flurry of tiny blasts impacted the creature enough to dissipate and return to shapeless water, soaking everyone else as they fell back like dominoes.

Scrambling to grab hold of her, Janette held Syri tight while Dimyri helped them to their feet and retreat. With an audible grunt, the large puddle came to life and rose to from a thin wall separating the three girls from the rest. Acting fast, Felix nearly slipped as he pushed himself up and jumped through the wall, landing on the other side.

"Oi, catch!" Looking back, Felix manage to catch a tiny sack tossed over by Nyitzcha just in time as the wall cracked and expanded once it turned into ice. His hands were shaking rather hard, he couldn't tell whether it was from the rush or from how cold the water was when he jumped through, either way he realized only he and Janette were left with the two cat girls this time.

From the outside, many of the cat girls began clawing and scraping against the icy surface, with Ori'chi furiously kicking the ice as fast as she can. Alma stood up and quickly doubled over, collapsing to her knees and grabbing her side. Some of the villagers rushed to her as Zimi came to help.

"Let me see, subject shows... strong pain below the ribs, possible muscle damage? I'll need to remove your shirt, may I?" Zimi asked.

"Not now, can Nukka get through that thing?"

Alma glanced over before giving her a sorry look. "She can, but she's out of the fight. I'm afraid she took quite a hit from the bomb earlier."

"By the gods, is she okay?"

Zimi smiled. "Some bruises, nothing a good nap can't heal. You take priority here."

"My kid is still stuck... send some of the girls to help him."

"Fine, but sit down. You need to rest."

Some of the villagers gave way as Nyitzcha pushed through to catch them. "Ay, sorry for the blast."

"You can apologize by breaking that ice barrier over there." Alma groaned, leaning against Zimi.

"Ye know I would, but me goodies are too big a hit for it. Might end up hurtin' em if I ain't careful. S'all up to 'em fer now."

Alma and Nyitzcha stared over at the icy wall, unable to see through more than several blurry shadows moving around. On the other side, Janette and Syri were pounding against the ice in mid-panic, panting as they drew close to exhaustion.

"Hey-hey, don't do that now. You'll hurt yourselves." Dimyri warned them, gently pulling them away for them to catch their breath. Syri and Janette looked at her then each other, gently reaching to hold hands... paws, you get the idea.

"Hey, Nyitzcha gave me these. Maybe they can help us break out?" Felix offered, lifting the tiny sack of pellets with two fingers when a rush of water pushed the item away. Everyone jumped back as the sac fell down, sinking under the rising water. Felix turned around to see Raz in an unpleasant state, his legs shook to keep him standing, his left arm and leg armor pieces were chipped and blown off, and he was bleeding from his left temple and arm.

Syri hissed and changed into her cat form, rushing towards him and leaping with her claws ready. With the sway of his hand, a large gush of water met her in midair, sending her soaked and tumbling back to Janette. She shrieked and scooped Syri in her arms, turning away from him as Felix and Dimyri moved to shield them.

Raz's eyes grew as he observed Janette, she was shaking and whispering to the kitten in her arms. He noticed her tummy was rising up and down, granting him a moment of relief before settling his eyes on the other two.

"You're paying for that, no one hurts my family-"

"-And gets away with it." Felix and Dimyri shared a quick glance before turning to Raz. He fell on one knee, coughing hard and grabbing his side before wiping the blood off his face and forcing himself back up. He formed a cage of ice around them, no interference this time, however he was aware that he wasn't in the best state to fight back. He had hoped to catch the girls on time, Felix's arrival would be an issue. Gods, he was becoming an annoyance, none of this was going as well as he had hoped. He never thought this one man would cause him this much trouble.

"You lot... are far more trouble than I anticipated. I give you remarks for that." Raz coughed hard, wincing and gritting his teeth. "But I can't fail Father again, not this time. I can't stop... until it is done."

Felix looked over at Dimyri, her hands trembling yet balling into a fist. She noticed him and he nodded, showing her to make a fist with her thumb out rather than in. Once they were in mutual agreement Felix looked back at Raz and sucked in his breath.

"Sounds good to me."