We're up to the last roleplay of the mission, with one Live RP to follow it!

And though there's definitely some language abuse in here, there's a reason; it's an emotional piece. One I'm proud of. I'm happy to say we'll be exploring this world in the very near future, although in another format.. *Grins*

mild language warning

 
The bitter ice and winds grew worse with every passing second.

Catrina shivered. Because of her new clothing she was unable to fluff her fur properly to keep herself warm in this ice city. She smirked at the fact that given how prudish and staid this society seemed to be as far as nakedness was concerned- the clothes she wore- and that her other wore- hugged certain parts of her body surprisingly tight. Dash, meanwhile, was in the same clothes he always had .. but those weren't built to last very long against the cold.

"I wish I knew what Dark was up to," Dash observed. Thankfully, Lady Whiteclaw's assistants had left them with a passport for the town guards. Still, they'd been careful to avoid unnecessary contact with anyone. After all, if there were guards around, chances are Dark and his crew wasn't there, anyway. Between Catrina and Dash, they had enough options on tracking the competition. What they didn't have was any idea of what they might be up against.

"mmm... I could always go see what He's got." Her paw fell upon Dash's ass in a slight caress, reminding him of how part of her brain- a growing part- was thinking.

"I looked into the eyes of my counterpart," Dash said- no pun intended- darkly. "All I saw was evil without a soul."

It was only a brief time before Catrina sniffed out trouble. Of course, the wintermagic made sniffing things out work a little differently than usual. Then again, it wasn't long before the scent of burning flesh and the flashes of a dark fire caught their attention.

Catrina pointed out the incoming to Dash, expecting that he would know better what it was. "Didn't run into anyone with fire," Dash answered with a shrug. "Can you pick up anything else besides the fire? Because to me it smells like.."

Catrina closed her eyes and took one long test of the winds- at the end of which her eyes popped fully open. "NO!" She cried out and charged- straight for the fire Dash warned her away from!

"Yeah, thought so," Dash said, though with Catrina already out of hearing range, he was forced to take a slightly different path - one that would take him up the rooftops to hopefully give him a better view of where to head. This would only widen the gap between him and Catrina's chi powered rush, but hopefully he'd know what he was getting into and where to head.

Catrina flashed to the site of the fire, stopping a distance away to get her bearings. She was on the edge of the town and the ice was starting to thin out- especially around the fire cage she saw- the fire cage with her friends inside. Catrina braced herself for the last sprint to rescue her friends.

She suddenly stiffened as she felt hands reach around her and squeeze her breasts. A muscular body pressed against her... pleased to see her, it seemed. She growled warningly, but part of her... she gasped as part of her was willing to allow this. She felt his bristled chin- knowing already who it was because... well Dash had been quite clear about him.

Dark whispered in her ear as one of his hands began to stroke her belly. "mmm.. Nice to see you back to your sexy self, darlin'."

"I... I'm not..." Catrina tried to protest, but he shushed her. "Shhh.. You're not an animal like those others I know. " His hand reached her pants, slid into them... and she moaned as his fingers almost gave her relief.

Dash, meanwhile, had made his way towards the rooftop where fortune smiled on him; he could easily see the black smoke snaking from the edges of town, and the buildings were close enough he could stay on top of them and still remain relatively unseen. He drops to the grounds and starts to work out a plan to sneak up on the firecaster, whomever it might be.. only to hear Catrina's pained attempts at resistance from nearby.

Catrina closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing to protest. But the deft fingerwork of Dark was stirring up her scent to the point where she got a good dose of it herself, making things even worse. She turned, opening her mouth to speak, to say 'no'- only to have her lips covered by his, her paw falling to his loins, feeling the bulge that was a match for her Dash any day... and feeling the heat within her become painfully insistent.

Dark began to push her against a nearby wall, moving to slide her pants down. "Time to celebrate another conquest, my lusty bi- wait." He pulled back, looking with disbelief at her ass. "Something is wrong... your mark- it is on the left not the right!

Catrina mrowled, tail up and ready for him."Does it matter? Oh goddess..." She writhed in need.

"Catrina!" A familiar voice called, urging her to break away from his grip. Dash barely held his broadsword in his hands. It feel to the ground when he realized what was going on. Dark pushed her aside, realizing this was Dash's Catrina and not his, as Dash dove at him. The two seemed determined to kill one another with their bare hands.

For a moment Catrina watched like a bitch observing two males fight for mating rights. Which is about what it would look like to most. Both seemed under the spell and scent of Catrina, thrown on top of the other reasons they had for each other. Their similarities made for an interesting, fast paced brawl.

Catrina eyed the fighting pair licking her lips thinking about what she would get from the winner. A small corner of her mind saw her coming to Dash's aid, gutting the bearded Dark but that same Dark's fiendish work had locked her into her heat but good! This's the point where a nearly charblack stream of fire singed Catrina's tail, and an annoying, mischievous, demented laughter caught her attention. She turned to see Skullion Chick holding a 'heart' made of fire. Behind her lay the unconscious bodies of Lapine and Vixen. At least, Catrina hoped they were only unconscious.

"Hey, traitor.. no.. wait.. Let me guess, a cheap substitute of the traitor?!" Skullion Chick laughed in that demented manner of hers.

A growl rose in Catrina's throat as she saw the bitch- but not for the reason she normally would have hated her. She bared both fang and claw and leaped toward the mage roaring ""MINE!"" as she swiped at her, going for a kill shot. A fireball caught her dead in the chest, although it was more designed to hurl her back with a light explosion. Several others followed, although Catrina managed to dodge them all with her trademark graceful agility. Dash wasn't faring so well, though. Dark had forced him into the corner and had began choking him. Dash punched at Dark, though it seemed helpless.

Catrina, now in fighting mode, suddenly realized what was going on as her mind overcame the oppressive heat. She dodged a few more blasts then stopped and smirked at the bitch. "That he best you got, skank? I'm already hotter than those puffballs you been throwing!"

"Ahhh!!" Skulllion Chick yelled, throwing a black burst of fire, bigger than Catrina's body, at Catrina, who dodged it, leaving it to slam into the back of Zedika Dark! "Nooo!" Skullion protested loudly. "My rave!"

Catrina moved like only she and certain Miri-dan could, ending up behind the bitch punching her so that she fell unconscious. "You better be thankful I have friends to save or I'd do a better job, skank!" She then hurried to the fire cage, although without Skullion being conscious, it evaporated quickly into nothing but dimming heat.

Dash gave Dark a hard kick as he passed to help Catrina gather up the unconscious Vixen and Lapine. He kept his voice low and lusty. "Hm.. if we can get them back to the Lady Whiteclaw, she could catch our doppelgangers here.. I think I might have some idea of the ice dragon's abilities." Dash paused, brushing her tail with his hand. "And you and I have to have a private.. discussion.. after all of this."

Catrina closed her eyes and mrowled as she was touched, she felt embarrassed now that she was back in control- barely and her voice showed it a bit. "Dash, honey... Until we have that discussion please... don't touch me. Cause if you do I'm likely to pounce your ass and we'll never get out of here!"

Dash looked around, then scooped up Vixen. "Ahh, then we'd better get moving before the idea gets too tempting." He half smiled at her. It was obvious at a glance, he was looking forward to this pouncing. They still had to get home, and the town itself seemed to grow colder every second. Dash's body was already slowing down a bit from the pure cold. But right now, he could see his world in Catrina's eyes.

This series might just rank up there when AIL finally ends someday as one of our best.