Toofy Ch. 19

Toofy felt terrified, as she gathered the key members of her ragtag army into the tavern. Pretending to be fine, as Orli's father fried up some meat for her, and she pressed far too much silver into his hands.

Her entire life, from the moment she should have died as a kitten, had been leading up to this. Every glimpse of knowledge that she shouldn't had, had been coordinating and guiding her towards this moment.

It wouldn't be a mistake to say that her entire existence could be summarised in the next few days.

From yowling in the rain... To whatever happened next.

The catgirl slurped up a piece of meet, smiling happily even though she didn't even want to eat in the first place.

Before she could launch into organising the assault on the palace, and the delicate magic that they would need to do before that happened to save Toofy's son, and to protect all of them from Menes' legacy, a heavy tail wrapped around her waist.

Toofy's eyes widened as she was jerked from her feet, the salamander sprinting out of the tavern and leaping up onto the roof. Dragging the catgirl with her, as if she weighed nothing.

She held her breath as she once again found herself on her back, looking up into the salamander's eyes. Seeing the barely contained lust there.

She could see dozens of new marks on their scales from the fighting. From where Mia had beaten down the hundreds who had gathered into a half-dozen she could respect.

"Want share." Mia said at length, and sat up, lifting Toofy into her lap. The dragon put their arms around her waist, and the catgirl finally noticed the sunset.

She felt the tension fading from her shoulders, as she looked at the treasure that the dragon was willing to share with someone else. "It's beautiful... Mia?"

"Mmm?"

Toofy bit her lip, "She doesn't love her. Can't. She's sorry."

"I am artist. I will record Twenty Four. Bring her image to life in the wood. Bend and shape, bring it out." The dragon said stubbornly, "I convince you to share egg, one day."

She leaned back into the solid lizard, noticing that even their breasts felt like stonework. Though that might be part of the transition. Toofy let them hug her, let them make her feel safe.

"Toofy might die, soon." She whispered.

Mia flicked a tongue along her neck, "Want egg?"

"Fixated freaking lizard." Toofy said with irritation, "She was sharing her heart, because Mia shared this with her. Toofy is... Toofy is scared. Has to be strong, especially for her Sai."

The salamander kissed her neck again, "I know she is strong. Always know. Always know. I will follow, even if everything looks stolen."

"Toofy's son is sick. Bad magic." She whispered, "Only one who could save him, is the motherfucking kitsune. Who would like to hurt Toofy. But if Toofy doesn't try... Emperor could use him. Kill Toofy with her son. Use bad magic, inside her, to swallow her up."

Meerakeilian sighed and leaned their head onto her shoulder, "Life difficult for the Devourer. I wish could help, but only kill things. Break things. Break things."

"You help." Toofy smiled sadly, and then frowned, "Mia... Back when we were young... And you attacked Toofy and made her angry enough to plot to become your Devourer... Were you trying to flirt?"

"Mmm."

The catgirl gave a little chuckle, "It must have been hard. Being the only salamander at the temple. We were taught so many things, but never really taught how to be our own. A companion is a servant. That... Isn't you."

"Hated." Mia agreed quietly, "Chose art, instead. To be left alone, and explore. Want to make art of you. Can't have heart, but will still love. Want egg."

Toofy closed her eyes, feeling the warmth behind her, and the warmth of the sun. She could laze here all day, given half a chance. Safe in the embrace of the strongest thing she knew.

Yet... Yet even Meerakeilian would barely be able to hold her own against the abomination that the ork warlord had turned the emperor into.

Power beyond power, and yet it still wasn't enough for that man. He had ambition, just like Toofy. Both of them couldn't be content with this empire.

The entire world was for the taking.

Though both of them saw the world as full of their playthings, the difference was that one of them wasn't afraid to break all of their toys, and the other wanted their toys to feel free.

Toofy's ears twitched as her mind flooded with knowledge, and she growled, "Oh, fuck off, Eratigan! How many times must Toofy say it!?"

"Oh, I'm not here." Her mother replied lightly, "Because I'm not allowed to be here. So I'm not here. Can't go breaking the rules."

Toofy looked up sideways at the white-haired witch, and then understanding dawned and she leaped out of Meerakeilian's grip with a bone-disjointing movement.

She landed on the edge of the roof and let out a bellow filled with rage, "To arms!"

---

"It isn't much, but this is where I'm supposed to wait until she contacts me." Saia said, waving around the deserted underground city.

She frowned, looking over, "Though... I was not expecting to find that. Looks like the Castelle family have been sorting out their problems."

The half-cat girl clinging onto the elf peered around. Her golden eyes glowing like watchtower lights in the dark. The woman whispered nervously, "What is this place?"

"No idea." Saia shrugged, "Toofy found it, when she was living on the estate. I had a feeling that she... Went looking for it. She reinforced the tunnel we took, but she used to spend hours down here. I don't know where she went or what she did."

Esmerelda sighed, "Well, I can't see shit."

The halfcat raised a hand and snapped her fingers. There was a spluttering of sparks, and then suddenly Saia was wincing as a globe of light winked into existence, high above them.

It may as well have been a sun.

Taudry took a deep breath, "I've never seen a dead body, before."

"Lady of the aristocracy." Saia said with disgust, and went and leaned against one of the walls, "Do you have even the slightest idea how many people the Domina had ordered killed off? Esme and I do. We did her dirty work. Your ladyship."

"Leave her alone!" Esme yelled, wincing as her voice echoed out and into the dark. "It isn't her fault, Saia. Don't... Don't be like that."

The succubus shrugged, "I wasn't, idiot. I was preparing her. You two are now part of something far worse. There has never been a peaceful transition of power in this empire. Not once. When our current bastard took the throne, he had his father's entire household killed."

Esme cringed, "I know."

"I know, that you know." Saia sneered, "You're an elf. You are old enough that you were there. As one of Yu's apprentices. Inexperienced, but good enough to hunt down a bunch of concubines. Frightened women. Killed because someone else owned them."

The two looked down, feeling turmoil.

Saia rolled her jaw with irritation, "You're still not getting it. People are going to die. But Toofy isn't the same. She won't do the same. The emperor will, out of spite. We will have to stop him."

"What do you mean, she isn't the same?"

The succubus touched her neck briefly, feeling the lack of weight there, and smiled slowly, "That's why she taught me. Gods, I hate how she always seems to know."

"Huh?" Esme asked.

Saia waved a hand, "Show me the markings that you're a slave."

"Gold bell, on a silver belt I can't take off." Esme pulled up the edge of her shirt. "It's the same for Taudry. The preference of the Domina."

The succubus took a deep breath, "Esme, we're going to need a dome of silence. A strong one."

The elf hesitated, but then cast the spell, surrounding them. "What the hell are you up to, now?"

"Block your ears." Saia instructed, before she closed her eyes, and remembered the symbol that Toofy had drawn in the air. The cat didn't need to cast like that, but she had.

She had drawn it, so that Saia would remember it.

For this.

The succubus cast the spell.

She cringed, patting at one of her ears as the dome shook with the thunder of it. Deafening all three of them. Thankfully, it didn't look like the sound had escaped from Esme's spell.

"What the fuck!?" The elf yelled, but as she stepped towards Saia to complain, the silver belt around her waist fell to the ground in a dozen pieces.

The succubus smiled at them both, "Toofy is a different kind of empress. No more slaves. You get doomed by your own choices. Not because someone paid for you."

Taudry looked down at her own, and then slowly back up, "Th... She's going to outlaw slavery?"

"She's going to burn the temple to the ground." Saia replied confidently, "The temple. The companions. The slave market. All of that crap pisses off my mistress. So... We're going to wreck it all. You're free. You're not a lady of influence anymore, cat, but you're free."

Taudry bit her lip, "I have no idea how to... Serve."

"We fight, first." Esme whispered, pulling the halfcat into a deep hug, whilst she stared over them at the succubus. Eyes bright and moist. Thanking Saia.

She shrugged.

They were probably going to die, anyway.

May as well die free.

Saia sat down on the ground, her tail curling into her lap. She picked up a handful of stones absent-mindedly and began to juggle them. "I heard them announcing, as we left. Apparently you're the new priestess, Esme. You okay with being a nothing, instead?"

"Yes." The elf said firmly, "I can't protect Taudry properly. Efina couldn't even protect her favourite punching bag. Twenty Four ended up in front of the emperor. Used by him. None of us are safe."

Taudry turned around, "She's being polite. Which is odd. But... Anyway. What Esme really means is that I wouldn't forgive her if she became the thing we all hate. Dying free... I prefer that. I don't care if I'm totally useless. At least I'll be me, and not just some... Thing. A toy for the politicians to manipulate."

Saia shrugged, "I know the Domina's victims. I don't know what she was like as a person. Esme implied you got locked in until you were of age. Must have been rough, for a part-neko."

"I hated it." The girl burst into tears, hugging her elf even tighter. "I'm not some tame animal. A whip cracks, and I have to perform. That was my life. Pretending to be sweet and innocent..."

Saia paused, "That's not a metaphorical whip, is it?"

"You don't want to see her back." Esme spoke quietly, her voice filled with venom and anger. "I'd kill the Domina, if I could."

The succubus shrugged, "I'd ask if you want some help, but Toofy probably has plans for her. Best not to do anything until I ask her about it. She let me kill Yu, though. Probably let you deal with Florence."

Saia suddenly sprang to her feet, tossing one of the stones in a sharp arc into the entrance of the tunnel. They heard a squeal followed by an angry and frustrated groan.

The succubus chuckled, "Xiv. Shouldn't sneak up on people, like that."

The half-elf handmaiden was holding her bleeding head as she emerged from the tunnel, glaring, "It's you. Elia."

"Saia. Toofy named me." The succubus said tiredly, already sick of telling everyone. "Coming back to dispose of your handiwork?"

The handmaiden looked over at the other two, and then back, "I'm not surprised to see you, El... Saia. Lady Twenty Four did have a hand in that tunnel. However, may I ask what our new priestess is doing in this place?"

"Refusing the job." Esme said firmly, "Who are you, and why should I care?"

"Introductions." Saia stepped in smoothly, "This is Xivian. She's Lady Castelle's handmaiden, and regular bedtime comfort. She's half the reason the Lord Castelle is now dead. And the whole reason the younger Lord Castelle, over there, is dead."

The handmaiden hesitated, "He ran here. I didn't know what to do with the body. Not an assassin, like you."

"Eh." Saia shrugged, "Toofy was expecting this. Told him where to run. You're just doing what she wanted. But, digressing, how's the guard looking in the city? Patrol build-ups, yet?"

"You've been down here, a while, then." Xivian mused, "Uhm... Saia... You should stay down here. Hiding. The royal guard have been deployed. Apparently some dragon flew over the city, and the palace is quite distraught about it."

"Dragon dropped me off." Saia shrugged, "That's Meerakeilian, Esme. The girl has... Well, she has balls, now. To start with. Toofy says that they're Irrlichdan's heir."

Xivian sucked in her breath, "The dragon that burned down half the elven empire?"

"That'd be the one." Saia laughed.

Taudry swallowed, "What was Meerakeilian doing, Saia? Is that the start of the war?"

"Yeah." Saia nodded, stretching, "But nothing that big a deal. Mostly kidnapping Lord Sai from the ork front and delivering him back to Toofy. The two of them are probably breaking a bed."

Xivian cringed, "I need to return to m'lady."

"You've misread me. You're not going anywhere." Saia said, her tail snapping in the air. "You're fine to talk and whatever. Feel free to be at peace. But... Try and leave, with the knowledge of us here, and I'll tear out your throat."

Esme glared, "You'll have to beat me to it, first. Nobody gets to find out that Taudry is here."

Xivian looked between them, and collapsed onto the ground in a pained huff. "Crap. Every single time... That cat always makes me feel like I'm a moment from dying."

"Just means that you know the truth of things." Saia laughed at her, and laid down on the ground. "Toofy will send word to us, when she's good and ready. Though, I expect I'll be fetching another member for this gang, Esme. So you'll need to keep guard."

Xivian stiffened, "Arina."

Saia yawned, "Yeah. She still loafing around in bed?"

"She was taken. By one of Lord Westcolm's men. He mentioned your name, and seemed quite angry." Xivian said cautiously.

The succubus winced, "Aw, crap. John. Well... In that case... I can't wait around. Esme... You know what to do. I'm off."

She flicked onto her feet. Her bones cracked and popped painfully, and then she was standing there as a perfect mirror image of Xivian. She smiled at the handmaiden, "Don't worry. I won't hurt m'lady."

---

The elf danced beside her, flowing and moving with a regal grace. Showing the skills that any ballerina would be jealous of, whilst Orli was dragged along by her tight grip to the woman's hand.

Trician was as ruthless as she was flexible. A knife alone as her weapon of offence, yet somehow allowing the pair of them to face off against sword and spear.

The human's eyes were a bright and terrified blue, as she was pulled through the maelstrom of the attack.

They were surrounded, they were outnumbered, and Orli had never even been in a fight before she met any of these people.

The enemy wasn't some pushover. They cut through lines of the draug with a precision and skill that made it seem like they were more automaton than man.

The red bands across their armour marked them out, and even a country bumpkin like Orli knew what it meant.

These were royal guards.

The trained soldiers of the emperor, the elite of the elite. Trained in murder and mayhem. Warlocks and mages embedded into their ranks, unidentified by any marking - apart from the hell that they wrought.

Flames burned the village that had been her home. Dirt and rock shot through the air, cutting and bruising her in the explosions that had dulled her hearing.

Trician yanked her out of the way of a spear with a snarl, the elf's ears pulling back viciously before the perpetrator found their throat opening and spilling a bright red fluid.

Orli reached into the heavens, feeling them open to her touch.

The torrent of light flowing down and into her, threatening to sweep her away into the undercurrents. She channelled the magic through her, handing it over to the woman by her side.

Lightning cracked and boomed as the storm sprang into existence above them, blotting out the sun.

Trician screamed and howled out her anger, as the guards continued their brutal assault.

Orli watching as fleeing friends were cut down.

Unable to save them.

Her head jerked as she saw the flash of a red fox's tail, and she found herself looking away from her own eternal struggle and to the fight of two figures upon the burning tavern roof.

"Toofy!" Orli realised, "They're targeting Toofy!"

Trician whipped her head around, "Fuck! She dies, we all die! Tomorrow doesn't exist without her. Protect the neko! Protect the empress!"

The cry was taken up, and the flow of the battle changed. A half-dozen dragons taking flight to come crashing down around the golden-eyed woman, standing proudly over this scene of death and destruction.

"Protect the empress!"

Orli found herself in tears as Trician continued to drag her behind, continued to use the magic she supplied.

"Protect the neko!"

What mercies had the gods denied her?

What crimes had she committed to be forced to watch everyone she knew die?

---

"I be pissin'." Tammy complained, kicking at a rock on the path.

The ork rolled her eyes and sneered, "You're always pissed off, Tammy. Someone stole our master, and you didn't do a fuckin' thing. This is on you."

"T'ch." The fox made a sound of derision.

Khild looked back at the columns of orks marching behind her. Shields in hand, feet thundering in unison. They were her family, and now she was their warlock.

She didn't know if it was just chance that had let her win. Sai had never shown his thunderstep to Hammerhand. Had that really been enough for her to eliminate one of the most skilled of her kind?

She was an ork. She knew that the truth of the world was that anyone could die, at any time. Most deaths aren't spectacular. They don't even serve a purpose.

One moment you live, one moment you die, that's all there is to it.

There were no second chances, no divine interventions. In the rare case that you managed to find a way back from death, things would have been better if you didn't.

"Do you know why a dragon would take him?" Khild growled grumpily.

The foxgirl nodded, "Yeah. Bitchin' neko sent the bitchin' lizard. Didn't realise it, or I woulda been pissin' all o'er dem."

"Neko?" Khild said in surprise, "What neko?"

Tammy chuckled, "His one. The bitch who had 'im first. My goddess downright be pissin' dat I'm headed dis way. She didnae wanna me be near da neko. Dat's why I be pissin'. I wanna be pissin' on his bitchin' neko, but da goddess is apparently gonna piss on me if I try."

Gods and deities.

The thought of them made Khild roll her eyes. Divinity had no say in the lives of mortals, even when they actually gave a shit. Which was about as frequent as a stone striking the ground from the heavens.

All orks knew the gods. The origin of her race was a little hard to forget, once you learned the stomach-turning tale. All the same, no ork was about to bow down to anybody claiming to be divine.

"So... Lord Sai is not in danger?"

The kitsune stretched her hands over her head, sticking out her chest. "Dunno about dat. His neko damn near attracts fuckin' fuckshit. S'got a pissin' empr'r, a bitchin' lich, me, and a whole fuckload o' da lords 'n ladies dat wanna be pissin' on 'er."

"You?"

The fox nodded, "Plannin' be killin' 'er."

"Sai knew you meant to?" Khild reeled at the confession. Seeing the power of the woman in a whole new light.

Tammy shrugged, "I been sayin' I wanna be pissin' on 'er. What dya t'ink I be meanin'?"

"Irritation. Like a pup to the mother." Khild replied.

The kitsune laughed, "I darn be older dan da empire. Ya t'ink I be wastin' ma time by choosin' ta poke at a cat?"

"... Why?"

Tammy's bored demeanour evaporated, "Fuckin' cat damn stole ma goddess. 'N she didnae gave 'er back."

"Do I care to know of what that means?" Khild asked, half-frightened of her enigmatic companion.