When the Mistress of the Moon vanished everyone stood there frozen for a few moments. Xipil was still out of it, Geoff was looking pale with the strain, Mari definitely had a broken leg and arm so they were down. Of the two specialists one was collapsed on the floor and she was pretty sure the other was dead. His neck was bent at an unnatural angle and she couldn't hear any breathing from him.
When the portal opened and deposited the girl on the floor she almost cried at first since nobody had the energy to do anything. As one tail rose to do what it could to protect everyone the girl appeared on the floor. It was obvious that she was unconscious but was in severe agony from the wounds. Pam didn't have any energy left and simply called for help. *I need medics, guards, and mystics or magic users in Xipil's rooms sooner than soon. One, no two severely injured female wolves, the leader is unconscious, my mate is back but he is unconscious as well, and I am going to drop in a moment.* Which was exactly what she had done. The last thing she remembered was the sounds of feet running in their direction.
~~~
Back at the lair the tainted one wasn't even twitching. How long he was going to be out was anyone's guess since the backlash of the magic being broken was going to be horrible. Much of his equipment had been damaged or destroyed and to replace it was going to take time. It wasn't just finding the right age, gender, and virtue of being needed to cast the spells but many had to take place on certain days of the month, quarter cycle, or year. The preparations would take time as the spell materials were gathered and prepared properly as well. One thing nobody was there to see was the cork to the bottle he had been holding had been knocked slightly out of alignment.
~~~
Amaratsue and Red were at one of their favorite watering holes discussion the ladies in their lives as well as Amaratsue's kits. Both of them were feeling quite pleased with how things were moving along now that they had an idea of what was happening. They had been talking about that as well and had come to the conclusion that the evil had been aimed at the south simply due to the population. Up north were more powerful supernatural beings but in the south when the term hordes of peasants was used it was meant. There was easily three to four times the population of that nation state compared to the combined population of the major countries in the north.
Amaratsue was holding a decent sized mug of Saki and was sipping from it. He wasn't near wasted, just feeling just a bit buzzed at the moment. Since he was a spirit creature he could eliminate that almost instantly if needed though. "...Anyways as I was saying I have a feeling that whatever this evil is it has aimed it sights to the south for two reasons, sorry I am going to probably annoy you with this. First is you have been rather distracted with your chase for some time, in human standards for over a century. You have allowed the humans to not just prosper in your lands but to eventually take them over. With this the evil was able to invade the seat of human power and work his, or her, tails into their affairs. I did try and look back and see if I could identify when it started but the best guess is about halfway through the last century." He took another sip of the warm saki.
Red sighed. "I know Ratsue but damn it she has some fine tails and she has led me on a merry chase. I know she wants to mate with me and become both my mate and the mother of my children. I don't know why she hasn't accepted any of my offers or hints. I have never had this much trouble with a female before damn it." He took a sip of brandy and his eyes turned dreamy. "Her fur is so soft and well groomed, she is fine looking in all three forms, her tails dance to a hidden music, and above all she is smart as a whip. I know there are some of the old guard who don't find that a redeeming quality in a female but I do. I happen to know for a fact that you do as well."
Amaratsue snorted at him and leaned forward with both of his elbows rested on the table. "Red please don't take this wrong but Gin No had been given one of the 'love letters' you had sent. She accidently left it on her dressing table in our room and I glanced at it before I realized it wasn't hers. I am sorry but something along the lines of 'Your Tails are so sweet, why don't we meet and...'. I know you are still fairly young but you need to work on your approach just a wee bit." He had to chuckle slightly since he remembered doing similar things at Red's age.
Red stared at him and started to retort that he had worked hard on that little poem about her tails. Before he could he felt a cool hand on his shoulder. The voice sent a chill up his spine and he knew that he was in trouble. It wasn't that he necessarily recognized it so much as the tone of a seriously pissed off female.
"Good evening boys and I am pleased to see you here. I really hope you don't mind my sitting at your table." Her voice was cool as the moonlight and smooth as a polished rock. When the woman came into view she was a very graceful beauty but with a hint of distant coolness in her movements. Her hair was long and flowing, her features were smooth and an ageless beauty that caught the eye even though the coolness of her gaze seemed to indicate she didn't have time for you. The body under the flowing silvery dress hinted at forbidden desires and delights.
Amaratsue sighed when she sat down and Red just looked confused. "Red meet the Mistress of the Moon, the Alpha female of all wolves. You could say she is top dog of all the packs." He turned to her and settled for a smile and pleasant greeting. "How are you doing Luna? I have a feeling that saying it is nice to see you again might not be totally appropriate but I have always liked living on the edge." He reached over and took one of her hands and lifted it to his nose and inhaled before kissing it. "You are looking as lovely this evening as usual. I have missed our little meetings in the past but with the mate I can't dally anymore."
Red looked at her and then at Ratsue and was starting to feel rather confused. He also had a feeling if they weren't very careful there was going to be a great deal of pain in his future. Once Ratsue was done Red lightly bowed to her and repeated the gesture. "I knoweth you naught much to my sorrow. I wish I had perchance met you previously Mistress Luna if for no other reason than to make the acquaintance of such a lovely lady."
Amaratsue did his best not to kick Red's foot under the table. The moon was a fickle mistress and though she had been fun to dally with frankly she scared him silly at times. Right now was one of them and he had to wonder how badly they had ticked her off.
Luna gave both males a gentle smile though there was a brief flash of fangs. "Good evening gentlemen. It is pleasant to see you Amaratsue and your mate is looking well. Please give her my congratulations when you next see her. The two kits you have graced my wolf and his mate with are darling and starting to stir the urges to mate and have some more pups of my own. You did get the present I sent you at your mating I assume?" Before he could answer she turned to Red and gave him a definite wolfish smile. "If you weren't so young I would have to consider inviting you to my home. I have met your future mate as well and found she is a very intelligent woman. It is very enjoyable to see males that appreciate intelligence in their women."
Red had no idea when she might have met Aka No and was rather curious about this. "I am pleased that you approve of her and I do appreciate her mind as much as the rest of her. An intelligent Kitsune is usually a skilled one and makes the chasing and catching all the more fun. Once they have let you catch them they keep life interesting as well." He tilted his head and twitched his ears. "When did you meet her?"
Amaratsue settled back in the chair and eyeballed the saki and sighed before pushing it away for the moment. Pain was most definitely headed their way and he would prefer the drink afterwards to dull the pain. For now he would let Red wonder and play. Since all Kitsunes played and even if they got it in the end as long as they had fun it was worth it. They would learn but sometimes the learning curve was steep.
