Side story Kettu

Kettu watched while cloaked in a layer of invisibility as Clovek spoke with the Fawn.Tilty had tried to explain who he was when he arrived, but the poor Fawn girl was in tears out of fear. It didn't take a genius to realize he was the owner of her previous Deed and the one Clovek saved her from.

Kettu still couldn't decide if that was a good thing after hearing everything the Fawn had done to the Centaur. It wasn't her place to comment, but that didn't mean she couldn't silently judge. And that was something she was incredibly good at.

Clovek, for his part, was rather passive in his approach to the male Fawn. Kettu had expected more aggression, especially with Tarakona standing behind him. But no, the human was calm and collected. He didn't yield anything even when provoked and seemed to be searching for information that wasn't being provided easily.It was also interesting that his first move was to get Zeldi away. It wasn't for a lack of trust, but he had noticed she was struggling.

Kettu couldn't help thinking this was a trait she liked in the future father of her kits. The thought bubbling in her mind.

Unceremoniously, Clovek sent the Fawn away. Neither causing nor promising violence if he didn't adhere to the words spoken. Though the Kitsune did notice the shift in the air that denounced the rules of entry had changed. She still qualified, but something had changed.

Kettu almost praised him for doing it quickly while at the same time demanding how someone like that could have possibly entered in the first place, but that would have broken her stealth. She, unlike him, didn't like loose ends and had no problem getting her hands dirty.

It was the job of a maid to clean up her master's mess after all.

So with silent footsteps that not even an insect could detect trained over years of serving a Dragon, Kettu followed the Fawn until he reached the boundary. A group of what looked like mercenaries waited with rope and collars. Collars extremely familiar to the Kitsune.

Memories of her past in a slavers' possession rose to the surface of her mind. These men and women were all going to die. Such a shame.

"No luck then?" One of them called out as the Fawn approached.

"He'd already have one of them if it were that easy." Another called out. "Looks like we're up then?"

"Nope, not yet. I think we have someone that believes his Livestock love him. Bloody bastard is thinking with his dick a little too mu..."

The Fawn was interrupted by Kettu's hand being thrust through his back and grabbing his heart before pushing it out his chest for all to see.

"Oh look. Now your body is as heartless as your mind." The Kitsune taunted, having broken her invisibility while the man gasped. He had enough time to realize what it was in Kettu's hand before his body slumped to the ground dead.

Kettu pulled her hand back, still coated in gore, and took a small bite out of the warm organ. She could almost feel it still trying to pump blood into the non-existent body.

"Ten." She countered, taking another bite.

Each of the seven people here had been given a number in her mind. The order in which she would kill them.

"Nine."

The message she was sending was received, but only three of them ran away. Numbers seven, three and two. The rest stayed, thinking they could fight. Well they could try.

"Eight."

The rope one of them held was thrown at her with the intention of tangling her up. It was cut by a simple wind spell before it could even touch her. Again followed by Kettu taking another bite.

"Seven."

A sword was drawn.

"Six."

A crossbow was loaded.

"Five."

Kettu's tails all spread out behind her in what she knew was a beautiful sight, but one that could be so threatening if they knew what she was. The tips all starting to glow as she forced her mana to flow.

"Four."

The crossbow let its bolt fly. Its target didn't even bat an eyelash as it bounced away.

"Three."

Another two started to run. Numbers one and five.

"Two."

Number six lashed out at Kettu with his sword, attempting to sever her head.

"One."

Darkness descended around the seven numbers as their escape was cut off. Kettu had just trapped them in her playpen, with number six frozen right in front of her.

"Now hold still." She whispered, walking past him. "I'll be back for you."

She had given them an order, of course. She didn't want to divert herself from that, and number one absolutely reeked of fear. Easy to track down.

She didn't bother with invisibility this time; they could fight back if they wanted to. If that actually made a difference, then she would have been disappointed in her training with Tithalia.

Kettu broke into a sprint that easily outpaced the running numbers, so much so that she had to slow herself down, or she would ruin the game. A savage grin twisting her features.

Not that number one got much of a chance. He let out a surprised gasp at having noticed her running beside him before she ripped out his throat with a single claw, leaving his body to continue for a few paces before the lack of a head made it fall.

Kettu licked the blood off her hand and savoured the taste before sniffing the air. Number two had made great use of the head start with a decent distance. But it was still largely for naught.

Changing her tactics, Kettu jumped into the trees and began using the branches as platforms to run on. She even challenged herself not to let a single leaf fall. It took a little magical help to achieve, but so little she didn't even notice it.

"Above us!" Number three called out, the only woman of the group, though her sex didn't mean she was innocent at all.

Number seven was with them but safe from her assault. For now.

Number two drew twin daggers with practiced ease, then dropped them as Kettu pounced. His speed not giving him a chance to use his weapons before his chest exposed it's insides to the outside world.

Dripping with blood, Kettu spun her leg out, catching number three in the knee. The poor woman's last thought was hitting the ground before a dagger of earth impaled her with a spray of blood that would be good fertilizer for the trees.

She gave number seven a grin as she vanished back into the trees on the hunt for number four.

Kettu found him cowering in the nook of a tree trunk, praying to whoever God he believed in. None of them had saved Kettu when she was a slave, and none of them saved him either.

"Maybe the Gods have better things to do than save others from their own mistakes." Kettu mused, leaving number four to fertilize the soil.

Number five wasn't much better. He'd watched the first kill of the numbers and had been trying to carry the corpse away. Maybe to find someone to resurrect him, or maybe he was a fledgling necromancer?

Kettu wasn't that skilled in necromancy, but she did dabble every now and then.With a thought, she sent some wispy green threads towards the corpse with a simple command. Kill number five.

"What?.."

She stayed only long enough to make sure the zombie had killed him before returning to number six.

"Oh. You did wait for me." Kettu sarcastically hummed as number six was still frozen right where she'd left him.

"Playing with your food?" Voras questioned from above on a web so thin Kettu couldn't see the strands.

The Kitsune held back her surprise. She shouldn't be that easy to sneak up on. How did the Spider go unnoticed?

Kettu held her face as neutral as she could while running through every spell and sense she had trying to understand her flaw. Nothing came up, and even staring at the Arachne now she couldn't detect the woman at all.

"My silk," Voras replied to the unspoken question. "I can make it with resistances. One of those just happens to be magic. You rely on it too much that a simple lack of it makes you miss things."

"Resistance or not, you still shouldn't be able to hide from me." Kettu held her voice as she stabbed her hand through the frozen man's chest.

Voras hummed with a shrug. "My silk only grows stronger as my bond with Clovek does. In time I believe it will be a complete immunity. There is also one left; did you want me to get him?"

Kettu flicked her tail in the last number's direction without looking, sending a wave of water so sharp it cut through the trees well before it found its mark.

"Efficient." Voras praised, coming down from her web.

Kettu smiled back at the Arachne as she calmed her racing mind. She knew she couldn't be mad at this woman, as she was part of Clovek's harem, and someone she needed to get along with. If she were honest, the Kitsune was more mad at herself for not noticing her up there to begin with, magic nullification or not didn't matter.

"I was thinking I should get rid of them, but I might have gone a bit overboard in my follow-through," Kettu explained with a bow. She had to remain professional.

"You won't hear me complaining." Voras chuckled, grabbing number six and stripping him down. "I had the same idea myself. My usual hunting methods require a little bit of set-up time, so it was nice watching you. I never knew Kitsune moved that fast."

Kettu couldn't help the praise from affecting her. She had trained hard after all to get to this point. There was not reason not to enjoy a complement.

"My only complaint." Voras continued as she wrapped up the naked creature in her silk. "Was him." She pointed at the Fawn.

"You wish to have killed him yourself?" Kettu questioned. Her hands were still held together in front of her belly.

"No. I would have preferred we capture him and force him to give up his Deed to us. Clovek needs more to expand his territory." Voras explained, biting down on the cocoon to inject her liquefying venom. "For now we will have to figure out another method to obtain it. Probably through finding it but there's a chance he could have left it elsewhere."

Kettu hesitated. Her thoughts had been on getting rid of the threat. She was still lacking a lot of information about the Deeds.

"Regardless. We should tell Clovek he no longer... Son of a bitch." Voras swore as the fawn's body evaporated into mist taking all his clothes and trinkets with him.

Kettu tried to reach out with her mana and grab anything she could, but she hit a snag. All of her magic was held off by something she didn't understand. Something that sent a shiver down her spine.

"We will be telling Clovek something else then." Voras snarled.

"Mind filling me in?" Kettu asked, walking over to the spot the Fawn had died on.

"Yeah. Dallas is a Deed owner as I'm sure you heard him brag about, and for some reason, whatever Livestock he has bound to him chose to resurrect him instead of letting him die."