I'd (though biased due to participation) call the whole Sebastian Dash/ Catrina Whiteclaw "First Heartbreak" storyline, which starts in Find the Oriole! (as a result of the traumatic events in Chrono Quest and continues through the next mission one of the absolute very best stories in AIL, despite it's almost genre bending nature; it's a heartbreaking, mature and very serious topic that touches on some very dark issues.

I'll refer you to the links if you want to lead the stories leading into this.

• Set up during Chrono Quest Mission Finale part II and III as our heroes face various nightmares brought into reality!
• The first time she tries to tell the story, Dash doesn't react well at all.
• Continues throughout Find The Oriole! and Save That Toot! with tensions still high between Dash and Catrina.
• This roleplay caps that off nicely.. for the time being.

Catrina heard a familiar sound of movement behind her. Sebastian Dash joined her, his expression unreadable. With a quick flick, Dash deposited something in the fire, and sat down besides her. Only then did he allow a hint of a smile to cross his face. "Hi there. Fire hot enough, Cat?"

Catrina stared into the fire for a long time. There had been a chill in the air earlier, but someone had come and built the fire up again and now it was blazing bright enough to make Catrina wonder how long it would last. "For now...."

Dash shifted, quickly getting comfortable. "Good. That'll keep the chill out for the night."

Catrina looked at Dash, forcing the small frown on her face into a smile. A part of her knew the misgivings she had were idiotic. After all, hadn't he saved her life again on two occasions these past few days? Her grin broadened a bit as she sought to tease him as if the past had not happened. "There are better ways to keep two bodies warm, hon..." She then winked at him.

Dash blinked, taking a second to respond. "Heh.. yeah.. I guess so."

She purred, enjoying her game. She leaned forward, propping her head in her hands atop her knees, smiling at him in a thoroughly provocative manner. "Wanna get warm?"

Dash tilted his head, a smile of his own matching hers this time.. Heh.. unusual reaction for him. "Hmm, how would you propose we do that?"

Catrina grinned, no longer knowing how much of this was play for her. "I thought you'd NEVER ask!" With this she stood, and moved over to him, sitting in his lap, reaching back to nuzzle and stroke his cheek.

Dash grinned wide and decided to do a little of his own teasing. "Gee, you didn't mean a couple hours of strenuous training in the nearby plains?"

Catrina was almost taken by his tease, but noticed the twinkle in his eye. "Oooo! You like to do it outdoors too? And for two HOURS?" The grind she gave his lap gave him the message that 'training' had nothing to do with it....

"Whazza matter?" Dash continued, playing oblivious. "I've seen you run more than two hours straight. Even without feline nip involved."

Catrina purred, but rolled her eyes. "Please! Like I'd run two hours for something any pocket mining perv has- just in case..."

Dash slipped his arms around her, genuinely relaxing now. "You got me there."

Catrina snuggled back into his chest, enjoying this bit of intimacy more than anything in the world right now. Then her frown returned as she remembered how she had treated him so badly. "D-dash...?"

Dash just pulled her closer. "Yes, Catrina?"

Catrina hung her head, remembering how all this had begun. "I...I'm sorry...."

He stroked her shoulders, gently. "If anything, it should be me who's apologizing."

"No!" Catrina twisted in his lap, her face in his, her lips mere inches away, the fur of her cheeks damp with tears. "You've been wonderful all this time, while I...I've been such a bitch! I..I mean- you even went against a Prince's orders to save me! And all I've done is growl at you and snap at you and call you all kinds of nasty things and ...oh Goddess!" She began to weep on his shoulder.

"It's okay, it's okay," Dash reassured her, although he was obviously surprised by the reaction. "I.. I'm sorry I left during your story. I really did want to listen.. it was just.." Dash sighed, the emotion draining from his voice.. He looked clueless on what to say. "I needed.. resolution.. I guess I found it."

Catrina sniffled, but looked deep into his eyes, as if trying to read his very soul there. "You...you want to hear my story?"

He smiled back at her, reassuringly. "I do.. If you still want to tell it."

Now, normally in situations like these heroes are known to have inner dialogues with themselves...but right now Catrina's inner selves were locked in a bloody catfight, each spitting at her either You HAVE to tell him! He deserves to know! or Don't tell him! He'll just run away again if you do! along with various epithets to each other that would have kept her mother busy with the soap for days. She shut them away to their bickering, having long decided what to do.

“Hmm…let’s see, where was I? Oh yes…” Catrina smirked. “Well, let’s skip ahead a bit, except to tell you that at the end of that night I was thoroughly humiliated, exhausted and mated!  He then had the gall to announce to all those gathered (would you believe not one of those pervs left?) that I was now his mate! I was too… well, too worn out to do anything about it, and the Masters seemed unwilling to do anything, actually I think that he’d had them scared for some time, and that this last event was just proof of it!

"I was moved in with Him, away from the others, and there is where my decent into the darkness began. I have no idea what he was doing before but my new ‘mate’ had now found the perfect release for his pent up energies after a night of fighting…me. I will not describe what he did, but suffice to say I fought for my life twice every night….”

Catrina paused for a moment, closing her eyes and fighting not only to gather her thoughts, but to quell her emotions. Recent experience had reopened some old wounds, and she found telling the rest of this tale more difficult than it had been a few days ago. But she knew that Dash needed to know- the whole story, right up to the beach where he had ‘molested’ her.

“I… I guess I could have let him just kill me…if not for my friends, and what he did to them. It all began with Atsushi- you remember the Warrior who bound my wounds after the test? He saw what was going on- a limp here, a swollen eye there. I tried to tell him I got the wounds in battle in the Pit, but it was if he saw though my lies even as I spoke them. Finally, he wore me down, and I told him the truth…. He went crazy, confronting this monster and giving him a dressing down- even though my mate was nearly twice his size and a vicious predator! He openly challenged Him to a match, and of course…he got what he wanted.”

Catrina hung her head, fighting back tears as she relived those agonizing moments. “What…what came out of that ring that night wasn’t even human.… Thus fell our Brotherhood, and I knew then I had to get out of there as fast as possible!

"The question was: how? How could I win freedom from this place- from this animal? Remarkably, my situation with Him provided the first clue- the first step in a quickly growing plan for my escape. You see, the Masters were afraid of Him and, by association, me.“ She grinned. “Not as bad, of course, but it was something I could use… but I had to show them I was their bitch. “

She hung her head for a moment. “I…I gave them what they wanted. Those fighters I knew- my friends- I treated as before. But the others… well, I will answer to the Goddess for them. I became the fierce fighter they wanted, and was rewarded accordingly. The katana I carry were given to me by my Masters in reward for my fighting. Every time I use them for good now, I hope I am erasing some of the stain from their blades.

"But the violence had the desired effect; they loosened up on me a bit. I then took the next step. I went to the Master who had bought me- what seemed ages ago- and asked him what I could do to help them. Firstly, I offered a slight change on an old routine. On my suggestion the keepers now only tied me down to the table loosely.

The patrons who paid for my ‘services’ were led into the room as normal. But as they began to have their fun…’ she giggled ‘…they would find their fierce bitch had been able to free herself!  What followed after I escaped was that I pounced them- and proceeded to give them exactly what they came for! Would you believe I was even MORE popular doing this?

They agreed then to let me help around camp, at first allowing me only to do small, menial tasks about the arena, but later giving me greater responsibilities- and freedom. They were especially happy when I volunteered to tend to the pyres.” Her nose wrinkled at this. “It was a gruesome job that no one really wanted to do, so they jumped at the chance to give it to me. It entailed setting up pyres to dispose of the bodies of those who lost their matches every night. I would never have done the job actually, except for one important fact….

"It gave me access to the pyre oil.

"I started skimping on the oil, saving a little off the top and hiding it. It was chancy work, not enough oil and the bodies wouldn’t completely burn- a nasty thought that! But eventually I had enough oil to suit my needs.

"One night, after the matches, I made my move. They had had someone with me, pretty much to watch me, but he basically was there and helping me move heavier bodies and stuff. We had gotten to know each other, and if the situation had been different we could have been friends.

"I took him out before he could raise an alarm, adding him to the pyre.

"I then fetched the pyre oil for today’s pyre along with my little treasure trove of hoarded oil. The other Masters were in their quarters asleep by now. I doused the pyre- then proceeded to use my horde to douse down their huts. I then lit the lot and fled; only taking time enough to unlock the cells holding the other fighters. I almost did not unlock His cell, but in the end I threw the key into his cell for him to free himself.

"I headed east, toward the coast. I had thought long about this, there was no place for me there. My village was gone, my family sold and scattered. I could live with another village of my kind, but I would be miserable, everyone’s face would remind me of what had happened. Not to mention the fact that if anyone survived they were going to be a bit pissed at a certain kitten!

"So I headed for Aldara, the port city in my land. I figured to do what I could to earn passage aboard ship. I didn’t care about where they were going- I just wanted out of there!”

Catrina laughed! “As usual, the Goddess had other plans for me! As I roamed the docks of Aldara, I heard approaching voices, angry ones. Naturally I was a bit skittish about being confronted by an angry crowd, having visions of being hunted for what I had done to the Pitmaster’s camp, so I hid myself aboard a ship. I guess I dozed off, for I found myself being roused by sailors and dragged out on deck. .The Captain of this ship was no John Morgan. For one thing, he hated stowaways with a blind passion; nothing I could say would convince him that I was anything other than a worthless bitch out to steal passage and provisions from him and his crew.   I found myself summarily tossed over the side of the ship- which to my surprise had set sail!

"I…I don’t remember much about my time in the water. It wasn’t too cold, thank the Goddess, but I had no idea where I was so I had no way of knowing where to swim. I conserved my energy; hoping currents would bring me eventually to land.”

She giggled. “Next thing I know, I’m feeling someone force my mouth open, then kiss me. I came fully alert and swatted the perv, scrambling to my feet. I guess while I was out I had washed ashore on a beach. “ Catrina looked down, to see that she had at some point reached out and taken Dash's hand in her paw. She blushed to the ears.

"Heh, I remember that." Dash ran his fingers over his jawline in sympathy of the memory. "Hurt, but at least it somehow didn't leave a scar."

Catrina purred. "Well, I did lick it after I figured out what you had done for me...instead of what you had done TO me, like I thought. Kitty lickin's are supposed to work wonders!" She then stretched, giving his cheek another lick, whispering into his ear. "Shall we go get warm?"

Dash chuckled. "Hmm, wonder what else we can toss on the fire."

Catrina couldn't help but giggle at Dash's attempt to change the subject, except for the fact it made her curious. "Well....what about another letter?"

"I only had one," Dash answered, dryly and in a distant voice.

"Oh? Who was it from, some old girlfriend?" Her smile broke immediately as she remembered. "No...Oh Goddess, Dash- I didn't want to bring it up again!"

Dash shrugged. "It's okay.. I guess I just had to have closure on that part of my life." He paused.. then smiled a bit. "At least she's not with the guy I told you about, anymore."

Catrina snuggled into him again. "Is it okay if I'm glad the bitch left you?"

"Not really." Dash sighed. "But I've found much better allies since."

Catrina, thought for a moment. Just allies? No, better not open that can of worms. "So... who's handling the bitch now?" Catrina couldn't help a little resentment toward this woman. After all- she had hurt her Dash!

Dash shrugged. "One of Honorburg's Z-soldiers, I heard.. does it matter? I mean.. there's a reason I tossed the letter in the fire, kitten. Let's focus on now.." With that, she felt Dash's fingers draw a tickle under her ribs.

Catrina giggled, stretching up and, if anything, tighter to Dash than before. "Yes...I'm ready for some strenuous exercise with you...." She then winked at him and kissed him before he could run away again.

Editor's note: Changed Adrule to Aldara in keeping with more recent stories.. - Dash

I'd call that an excellent story. It's also cool seeing some of Catrina's background. Very well written flashback, made all the more relevant from the events both in Chrono Quest, and those still to come at this point...

Our next Tavern piece is, I believe, the final Tavern piece we'll see Feena in..