Blood & Carrots - Silverpaw Ep. 18

If this is your first visit to Silverpaw, I strongly recommend starting from episode one to get the best experience.

If you are new to Blood & Carrots as a series, you need to start with the first serial if you want to fully enjoy it, no 'silverpaw' in the title.

Take your time, I'll wait for you to catch up. :3

And with that out of the way...

Heads up my dear reader, if you recall the first serial, I had a few episodes dedicated to our favorite black cat. Well, that is happening again!

Yep, that's right, this is a Katrina episode, so don't be too confused when you start reading. Frankly, I feel that given her pending situations, it would be more fulfilling to feel events happening in her head. Also, this may be needed for other events to come, dun dun dun~

Let's get right into it then, I hope you enjoy~

Teacher and Student

"This is truly fascinating, in the course of less than a season having seen you last, you have not only fully fallen, but became an archangel as well!" Kazemde hissed the words with an excitement in his voice I rarely heard from him. The cobra was a scholar first though, so it stood to reason he'd be so excited at the prospect of seeing something never before seen.

My eyes rolled as I put a hand to my hip, watching him circle Gloria, asking a barrage of questions, the dog looking uncomfortable and trying to answer as best she could. Finally, I called out to him, "Teacher, could you please focus on the task at hand? You're making Gloria uncomfortable."

"Oh, no he's fine Katrina," The angel spoke out quickly in a gentle voice, offering the cobra before her an understanding smile.

Kazemde gave me a quizzical look, as if not sure if he should be upset at my words, or himself for losing his composure in the moment. The mage nonetheless stood up straight and reinforced his grip on the large ivory staff before giving the smaller dog a bow of his head. "My student is right, I apologize for getting too excited, Lady Gloria. At your convenience, I'd enjoy speaking more about your changes and experience once business is concluded."

"Yes, I'll be happy to, Sir Kazemde." The retriever wagged her tail as she folded her wings. They really had gotten quite bigger, the tips of them as tall as the archmage was, even though he had nearly a foot on the retriever in height.

Sarnai shifted her stance, her head tilting in a curious way, a look I had grown accustomed to over the last year or so. I already knew the question that was coming, but I humored my fox all the same as I spoke, "What's on your mind, love?"

She rubbed at her chin as if she had picked up on my intent before speaking, "What's this teacher and student thing?"

Most of our house was with us in this meeting, including Alex, Elias, and Alice. All of them looked upon me with surprise that I hadn't brought Sarnai into the loop, of course, I had my reasons for that. It's true I loved her, I had for decades, however, some cards I wanted to keep close to my chest. It's not that I was outright hiding it, I just made sure it never came up.

"A few years ago, Kazemde proposed to take me on as a student. A lot of those 'council affairs' I would go off to every few weeks, that was our lessons together." I gave a shrug as I continued. "I wasn't trying to keep things from you, it was just... well, it was just something I've been doing for the last few years, I never talk about it."

The archmage gave a nod to my words before chiming in as well. "Yes Lady Blackpaw, Katrina is one of many thaumaturgists your greater family has in it, but after hearing of and witnessing her powers, I knew she had something special within her."

"Wouldn't that be Alice's chimera powers coming into play?" The black fox asked curiously, her tail wagging about as she kept rubbing her chin.

Kazemde nodded as he spoke, "Yes and no. There are more-"

"I'm my own cat, Sarnai. I'm happy to share my powers with all my family through Alice, but there are things that I want to call my own. I worked hard to train my thaumaturgy, just to have it snapped up and repurposed." I hissed the words out, surprised by the heat in my voice, then seeing my rabbit flinch at the words, but I was already set in my course.

"But magic... you can't siphon off or enhance that with such powers. That is a power that you craft and earn all on your own!" I snapped my fingers, willing a small wound open, blood rolling down my finger before it rose to form a small sphere in the air.

The wound closed as I waved a hand, feeling the pull on my willpower as I made the small sphere ignite into radiant fire, not unlike Elias's, then shift to the familiar hellfire as the vixen gave a nod of her head.

"I've seen you infuse your blood with our powers before, Katrina. What does this have to do with magic?" She asked me skeptically, my girlfriend was ever the realist. She would always seek to push me, she did it in training and she did it while we sailed.

I showed my fox a challenging grin before cutting my now red eyes to my teacher. He gave a nod and I shifted my gaze back to Sarnai, showing her my sharp teeth as I made my request, "Love... may I injure you ever so slightly? Just enough to draw a small bit of blood?"

The fox barked a laugh and waved a hand dismissively. "We've broken bones in training together, by all mea-" She barked out in a sharp yip as the little sphere morphed into a small blade, forged in the hellfires, not unlike Alice's little trick she used. The blood-steel had already blurred past faster than a bullet, a small cut left on her cheek, blood rolling down it.

"This... is what it has to do with." I focused my will on the wound I had opened upon my fox and heard her give a shocked huff as I forced her own blood to draw forth before her very eyes. I didn't pull much, just a few drops worth, then with a show of will, I sealed the injury on her face as if it never happened.

My teacher spoke out in a scholarly tone as Sarnai rubbed at her cheek, looking shocked that the wound was gone without a speck of blood to show for it on her fingertips. "You see, Lady Blackpaw, a lot of your kind refer to thaumaturgy as 'blood magic', but we do have our own school of the power within the circle. It is highly forbidden and only the most skilled and faithful may learn its arts, because of the very nature of what it does."

"So, you're teaching her to fuse the powers together," My fox spoke out in understanding as her look of shock faded and she resumed her contemplative stance.

"That's right." I huffed out, seeing her eyes on me and feeling pride well up in me, I could see she was impressed. "Blood magic is dangerous because you can not only do all sorts of arcane tricks with it, but unlike my thaumaturgy, you can use other beings' life force to augment your power."

"You know... I never meant to leave you feeling like I stole something from you, my cat," Alice spoke up with a frown, folding her arms at her stomach.

"I don't think that, Alice. However, I need to be stronger, I can't just rely on you and the others. Recent events have shown relying on just a chimera to bolster power may not be enough," I spat the words out, frowning as I thought back to the condition Sarnai and Alex returned in that night.

"Why haven't I seen this power used during your training with me? Why didn't you use it when... that night happened?" My vixen asked me pointedly.

I frowned and gave a shrug. "I wasn't strong enough or educated enough to use it to full effect that night in question, I would have done more harm than good to try to employ it in my tactics. As to training... Well, I'm under strict oath to only use it outside of the circle under the direst of situations."

"It's true. Blood magic is a very intoxicating power that has led many down the path of ruin. I do not doubt my student's abilities, but it will take years to temper her resolve, especially given how fiery her temper can get." Kazemde hissed the words, the last of them an obvious playful jab towards me.

"Ha! You can say that again, you're pretty scary when you're mad, Kat!" Alex finally barked out to add to the conversation.

I gave the wolf a grin, then stared into his eyes for a long moment before shifting to look upon Gloria, then quickly averting my gaze, my thoughts shifting with what to do about the two of them, as well as my own feelings.

"So much for staying on the task at hand." My master hummed the words out in that cool playful voice he would use, his white tail lazily wagging. I could tell he spoke out to ease my anxiety, I'm sure of all the beings on this planet, he knew me the best and could sense my tension.

Kazemde gave a nod, "Yes, especially now that the rest of our party has arrived." The cobra waved a hand as a gate formed. I saw the look of shock and then excitement cross my vixen and rabbit's faces when Lorelai came trotting through the gate, curls bouncing, her long sword across her back, the shorter wakizashi on her side.

"My lady!" Both Sarnai and Alice called out in unison, both the rabbit and fox taking an eager step forward before stopping to look upon one another in surprise.

The sheep bleated out in a surprisingly childish giggle at the display, putting her fingertips to her cheek as she smiled upon the two of them, then the rest of us. "It's good to see you too my loves, as well as the rest of you, my family." She hummed the words, then I saw her focus sharpen as she turned to Kazemde, her voice shifting to a business tone. "Archmage, you summoned me?"

The cobra offered a deep bow of respect. "Thank you for coming, what of the lords of Silverpaw?"

"They will be along within-" The sheep huffed out as she reached into her jeans, pulling out her phone. "Oh, they're ready, open the gate."

Another gate opened and the new lords of house Silverpaw walked through, the two mice that shared a long history with my master and girlfriend. Sarnai and Elias were quick to move over to greet them, most of their old crew now reassembled. The hugs and small talk eventually broke out amongst them, the point of the meeting getting pushed aside for the time being.

I smiled at the display, even as I saw Gloria and Alex glance over to me, I swallowed hard, feeling my heart start to beat. I left them to their mini-reunion and moved over to the angel and my long-time partner. "Hey," was about all I could muster to say.

Alex gulped and gave me a small smile, "Hey Kat, uhm..."

Gloria frowned and folded her arms, looking torn before she spat out pointedly, "Katrina, sister, I'm so selfish, please forgive me."

"Stop it. You have every right to feel how you do, my sister," I retorted back sternly, then jerked my head to indicate them to follow me. I started walking, pulling them from the group, as I could tell it was going to take a while for the rest to settle down.

Walking outside of the tower onto one of the overlooks, I propped against the railing, staring off into the distance, arid shrubland as far as the eye could see. Prodding Kazemde about it, I eventually learned the tower was nestled deep into the wilds of the outback of Australia, enchantments reinforced upon it throughout the last few centuries to keep it secure.

To a mundane, the tower would simply appear to be a jagged rock outcropping, but the energies gave off a subtle feeling of avoidance. It wasn't overwhelming, but it was constant and deterred most creatures to keep a wide berth of it. The few mundane that had managed to shake off the feeling and approach usually had sufficient natural talent with the arcane, so the guild usually recruited them.

"We've got a few minutes to ourselves out here." I looked back over my shoulder at the two dogs behind me, my black tail coling and flicking slowly before I pushed off the railing to face them.

"Sister, where do I even start?" Gloria huffed out gently, clasping the small rosary at her chest.

"How about you start with the part where you two decided to put the moves on my girlfriend, you know... the only other one I have other than Alice whom you both already have." I snapped the words out, not bothering to contain the annoyance in them.

"Kat, we didn't put the moves on anyone, it just sort of happened," Alex responded quickly, his arms folding, giving me a look I had seen many times in the past. He had a very defensive stance he'd take when my anger came out, he had seen it plenty of times over the last decades after all.

Gloria shook her head as she tried to explain, "Sister, we weren't trying to-"

"And now, you want to come sniffing at my skirt too?!" I hissed out and shifted my own stance, thrusting my hand out to the side, tail whipping about. "I gave you two your damn space, I ignored my feelings, and now that you've both been shaken, you want to pretend like it's okay?"

They both grew silent, Alex putting a hand to his chin, rubbing at it in thought before he finally spoke out, "Katrina, are you angry because you feel I chose Gloria over us?"

"No, you stupid dog!" I snapped out and clenched my fists. "It was my idea you focus on Gloria, it was my suggestion we keep it to friends only. I never... I-" The words sunk in hard, which I suppose was what he was going for. He had been willing, even Gloria had shown glimpses of interest over the years, especially when I had to feed on her for various reasons.

Gloria folded her hands, tilting her head as she spoke, "Katrina, sister. You know I love you, and even before recent events, I've found you-"

"Stop." I hissed out and turned my back to both of them, clutching the railing as I ground my teeth. I couldn't put my finger on how I was feeling. I loved them both, of course, I'd known Alex for over half a century and Gloria for over a decade. I chose this route for Gloria and his sakes, I chose it, not them. I'm sure Gloria would have been receptive had I shown my own interest.

I glanced back to the two of them, then gave a frown. I remember hearing about the battle from Sarnai, I recalled the deep wounds on Alex's chest and the battered form of the angel. Had I lost them that night, what would I have to show for bottling all this up? They would have been gone all the same.

"When I saw the condition you two were in that night..." I clenched my fist, looking upon it as flames started to drift from my knuckles, the show of my master's power now coursing through me.

With a frustrated snarl I flung my hand out once more, flames flinging out into the cool night air before dissipating. "I came to accept the situation and let it be, but now you drag it all back out into the light! Of course I never stopped wanting or loving you Alex, and of course, the years have left me wanting to be closer to you Gloria, but... Argh!"

I stomped away a few paces in an angry huff, both the dogs looking upon me before Alex finally called out, 'Kat, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to torment you like this."

"Sister, I'm so sorry for making you bottle up all these feelings over the years." The angel frowned as she once again placed a hand to her rosary.

My mind wandered to that night with my fox, the words I spoke to her about being patient and having a right to a girlfriend. However, as my mind filled with her, I snapped my teeth and stomped back over to them, putting my hands upon my hips. "I'll ask a simple question, and I'll know if you're feeding me falsehoods. Do you seek this simply as a means to console me over your interests in Sarnai?"

Alex quickly responded, "Of course not, Katrina, you know my feelings for you have always been there, just recent events-"

I held my hand up to silence him, then shifted my focus fully to Gloria, giving her a glare that I'm sure she saw right through. The retriever set her jaw before speaking in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "Sister, by your own words, Sarnai can do as she pleases. I need not seek you out to further my relationship with her. I seek you out because it is what I want, what I want for me and my mate Alex. Yes, recent events have spurred me on, but the feelings have always been there for you."

With a resigned huff, I stepped back, putting a hand on my hip, my bluish-white flames finally fading. "I don't know the details, but Kazemde's little meeting is going to get dangerous, and he's already told me we'll need to form groups for whatever it is."

I gave both the dogs a point of my finger as I continued, "You two with me, no Alice, and no Sarnai. Stand with me as you've done before. Let's get out of this present task with our heads on, and I'll..." I swallowed the lump in my throat as I hissed out in a smaller voice than I'd have preferred, "I'll entertain the idea."

Alex wagged his large brown tail, giving me a crooked grin. "How magnanimous of you, Kat."

"Don't get sassy with me, you dumb dog!" I hissed out, thrusting a finger at the wolf, my cheeks feeling warm. My heart had been pounding for a while now, so it was no surprise, funny thing about not having a pulse, you're keenly aware when it starts up again.

Gloria gave us both a loving smile, that gentle grace coming from her she always carried. "Thank you, sister. Know that no matter what comes, you'll always have my love and my sword."

I gave her a nod and grin, then scowled at Alex. "See? Why can't you be dignified and cool like that with your responses?"

The retriever huffed out and put a hand to her mouth. "I was not trying to make light of my wolf's feelings."

"Nah, you're fine, my angel," Alex growled then set an intent look upon me, both of us staring upon one another for a long moment. "You need me to get serious with my words to you, Kat?"

I waved a hand and offered him a small smile. "Don't bother, you'd fall all over yourself trying. I know very well by looking in your eyes how you feel."

Alex walked right over and took a knee, hugging me to him as I gave a soft gasp at the gesture. I could feel his energy coursing through me, I hadn't touched him since he turned, he felt strong and the energy he was giving off, reminded me of Sarnai's.

Before I knew it I had pushed my forehead to his chest, a rumbling purr in my throat and Gloria flanked me, also joining in on the hug. Their energies were so much different now, his felt frightful and so familiar, her's just felt like it had been amplified to a whole new level.

We stayed in that embrace for several moments before I huffed out and pulled from their arms. I felt my heart pounding and the hunger in me starting to claw to the surface, I did have a sex demon as my lover after all, the carnal desires were bound to show quickly.

The look they were giving me said they were feeling the same urges. I glanced past them to look back into the main hall, seeing the group had calmed, some of them even looking in our direction, as if trying to decide if they should come to collect us.

"We should get back," I spoke the words as I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets, moving past the two dogs to return to the rest of the group. Alex stood as well as Gloria, the three of us returning to the group. Alice gave me a sly smile and Sarnai a contemplative look as I quirked a brow at them as if there was nothing to talk of.

"So what do you have for us, Kaz?" Alice hummed out the words, giving the cobra a grin. The archmage frowned, as if he didn't appreciate the nickname, but had given up the battle to prevent it long ago.

"Allow me to explain from the beginning. The Faemarch has always been a study of fascination for us here at the circle. The magi before me studied it, as did their predecessors, and the ones before that." He took paces back and forth as he explained, his movements lithe and elegant like they always were.