Blazing Glory Ch. 03

"It's not true! I didn't do anything wrong! I'm innocent,' a light voice cried out from behind him.

He looked over his shoulder to the catwoman. She gripped the bars as she looked directly into his eyes pleadingly. Those golden eyes held such bright innocence that it caused him to wonder if she could even comprehend the act of doing anything wrong. Her whiskers twitched nervously as she looked between him and the mob that just as soon would kill her.

Still looking into the catwoman's eyes, he nodded, "What is your name?"

She smiled a little as she wiped away a few tears with her hand, "Nadine Teigra."

He returned her smile with one of is own, "I'm Blaze and this is Kendra." Looking back to the man, he smile turned upside down quickly. "You will refer to her as Nadine or Ms. Teigra. If I hear one more person call her an animal or beast... Well, let's just say you don't want to find out. Now tell me how you came to the conclusion that Nadine is guilty."

The middle-aged man looked from him to Kendra. She smirked wickedly as she held her whip casually around her neck with both hands. The man swallowed visibly before looking back to Blaze. "One of the men went missing yet again a few days ago. His wife told us he was going to the Ghoul Bat Cave area to gather some of the fruits that grow in the area. We searched the area until we found his shirt on the ground. We saw tracks that led away that were his and another set of tracks that weren't human. We followed them until we came upon that be... Came upon Nadine. We demanded to know where she had been taking our friends to, but she proclaimed her innocence as she still does. So we captured her and are keeping her here until she tells us where."

Nadine sobbed behind him, "But I'm telling you I don't know anything about this. I was just out for a long walk from Azami."

"As you always say. That lycan filled city is full of you no good furries. Always looking down your noses at us. Always thinking you are so much better than us!" he snapped back at her.

Those hateful comments seemed to sting Nadine and bring more tears to her eyes. Frowning, Blaze held up his hand to stop the tirade of insults from all the others that followed.

Kendra narrowed her green eyes slightly, "But by your story, you never saw her commit the act herself correct?"

The man was taken aback by Kendra's question that Blaze had been pondering himself. The man struggled to find the right words before he burst out in visible frustration, "No! We didn't. But the tracks led right to her and they were very fresh. It's the only lead we've had during this crisis!"

Blaze couldn't help but sigh at this messy situation. He'd sprinted headlong right into a bad situation with no hopeful solution within sight. He glanced back to Nadine thoughtfully. Hope filled her bright golden eyes as she looked to him. He nodded to her before looking back to the leader.

"Alright then. Right now I believe in Nadine. I believe her to be innocent because I have reason to doubt her guilt. The circumstances of her being in the same area could have been mere coincidence," he said to the disturbed whispers of the mob, "However, let me try and help you find out who the true culprit is. You have the right to detain her as a suspect, but I will not allow any more torture of Nadine to happen! If she really is guilty, why lower yourselves to her level?"

The large group looked about uncomfortably and the youths looking especially ashamed. The man cleared his throat and nodded in agreement, "That sounds reasonable and we are truly glad to have your assistance. You are welcome in Jolon, Blaze and Kendra."

"Thank you, but for now I think Kendra and I will camp out not too far from here," he said with a pleased smile. He was glad to have found a temporary truce in this situation. The leader nodded and turned around to leave, waving the others to disperse back to the village too.

****************

It was a chilly night in the village of Jolon. Being much higher in elevation than most places in Quinlan, it tended to have cooler summers and harsher winters. But the cool night air didn't chill Nadine Teigra any. Her soft fur kept her warm enough even without any clothing. However, she still hugged her arms about herself shivering. The cold hatred in the eyes of all those humans chilled her to the very bones. She had always heard stories of human mobs and the terrible things they did in their hateful rampages.

The catwoman sniffed and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Why did they have to be so cruel? Her body ached from the places those jagged rocks pelted into her body. She had done nothing to these people. Mulling these questions over in her head, she remembered that frightful moment only a few days before. Humming a light tune to herself, she was walking through the nearby woods to gather the well-known healing herbs that grew in abundance there.

"There she is! Get her!" a voice cried out. Her ears perked up as she straightened up to see what was going on. Looking around, she saw herself surrounded by large men armed with pitch forks, swords, and nets. The stern looks they had made her hackles rise in fear. She dropped her basket and made to bolt. Nets filled the air, however, and caught her in their tangled web. She hissed and mewed her protests loudly as she struggled, but they didn't listen to her as they drug her back into the village.

For the past few days, she had been treated cruelly verbally and physically. They fed her only a few times during the day. The problem is what they did feed her looked to be only measly scraps. She was tired, hungry, and emotionally exhausted to the point of frequent outbursts of panic and sobbing. That was until the stranger had shown up. What was his name again? It was Blaze. He was the first and only human to listen to her words. The first to treat her as a person and not as a beast. Since his warning to the villagers, she had not been harassed the rest of the day. Nadine liked him already.

The catwoman's ears perked as she heard the small rustle of leaves in the quiet night. Someone was coming. Holding back her sob of fear, she quickly moved to the opposite corner. Her golden eyes were wide with fear as she watched the shadowy figure move towards the cage.

"Nadine?" asked a familiar voice, "Is everything alright? You look terrified."

"Blaze? Is that really you?"

The figure stepped more into the dim moonlight to reveal its identity. It was him! Blaze kneeled down beside the cage before dropping back to sit there. The fear leaving her quickly, the catwoman crawled over to him with her tail swaying. She sat right next to him, looking him over with her cat eyes. For a man, he was actually pretty cute. That thought made her smile and giggle a little.

"Thank you for helping me today. You didn't have to... but you put yourself in harm's way anyway. You don't even know me," she said.

On the other side of the bars, Blaze simply shrugged as he leaned against the cage, "As I said before, what they were doing wasn't right. I wasn't going to stand for it and let it pass."

The catwoman continued to smile as she studied the human man so close to her now. He was unlike any human she had ever met so far in her life. He seemed like such a good person. And all this time, her people had told her how humans always destroyed what they feared or failed to understand, including the lycans. But she could see how Blaze was special. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly through the bars.

Blaze blinked and turned to look at her in startlement. Nadine simply giggle and smiled in return to him. His confused expression was soon replaced by a smile as he turned to face her more. "I have heard some things about your people, but not much. I'm still new to seeing the wonders of this world. Seeing you is amazing to me and I'm curious about you and your race. Where do you call home? What is your culture like?"

Seeing the honest curiosity in his expression, Nadine couldn't help but give in to a fit of giggling. How strange yet funny this man was. So powerfully commanding earlier in her defense and now curious like a newborn child looking about the world.

"Well, as you know, I am one of the 'lycans' as you humans choose to call us. I'm a catwoman," she said with a big smile, revealing sharp fangs like one would expect of a feline.

He looked her over once again before nodding, "So are all lycans just like you?"

Nadine blinked as he asked that question. She forgot to cover that part. "No, they're not all like I am though. There are so many others. There are lycans that resembles wolves, bears, snakes, birds and so many other normal animals. Most of us coexist peacefully together in a small land north of here."

"I remember you mentioning it earlier. Azami. I've never heard of it before though."

"Yes. That's because it's not very big and we reside just within the border of Kozue. We normally keep to ourselves and most people of both lands seem to accept that. The only ones that don't are the humans around these areas. They are unsure about us and because of that, they are fearful. There have also been misunderstandings from a few human hunters having killed a few deer and stag lycans that were out in the woods. So relations between us have always been very precarious. But we've always been a peaceful race with no evil intention"

She sighed softly, "That's similar to what happened to me. I was out gathering herbs when they surrounded me and captured me. They accused me of this without even hearing a word of what I said in my defense!"

Blaze remained silent as he thought this over. Her tail swayed side to side softly as she watched him, enjoying his friendly company. "I can understand now why they seized you on the spot then, Nadine. They rushed to judgment with their already hostile feelings against your people. They judged you guilty without even bothering to see who you even were. I don't know you that well yet Nadine, but you don't seem to be like the kind to do any mischief at all. You have to be innocent. I just need to find out who the real culprit is," he said.

He looked to her, "Did you happen to hear any information from the villagers on what the kidnapper may look like?"

"Yes. One man said he saw the shadow of it and that the figure had a tail," she said as she rolled her eyes. Her bushy tail flicked up through the bars to tickle his nose, "And what lycan doesn't have a tail, right?"

Blaze sneezed and laughed at her jest. The sound of a snapping twig drew both their attentions away suddenly.

"Damn.... They haven't killed you yet? Stupid humans are so unreliable," growled the voice as the figure stepped out from the bushes.

Both Blaze and Nadine slowly rose to their feet as the stranger approached. Both quickly noticed the figure having an extended shadow that swayed behind. When the figure stepped into the light, Blaze couldn't help but stare in shock. At first, he swore he was looking at a gypsy with the elaborate colorful clothing and jeweled headscarf adorning her head. Only thing was, this gypsy had silver-colored furry tail! Nadine hissed in anger as she knew what this woman was.

"Nadine... Who or what is she?" Blaze asked.

"A foxwoman! Her race is one of the few that we don't associate with. They think they're the superior of all lycan races," the catwoman said in disgust.

Sure enough the woman had fox ears poking hot of her short light silvery hair and fox tail waving behind her. Her face was very much human-like though as she smiled arrogantly to them. Nadine knew this foxwoman was looking down her nose at two 'inferior creatures' in her pompous attitude.

"That we are you filthy furball. Honestly, look at yourself and then me. Clearly I am so much more beautiful than you are," the foxwoman said with an arrogant air about her. The catwoman hissed angrily as her fur stood out.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Blaze demanded as his hand reached up to grasp the hilt of one of his blades.

Her grey eyes turned to gaze in disdain to the human man. She waved her hand towards him as she chanted some words Nadine couldn't understand. The young warrior froze for an instant before his hand slowly dropped away from his swords. He was oddly silent and had a glazed look about his eye.

"Blaze? Are you okay?" Nadine asked frantically. She darted in her cage over to him and reached through the bars to wave a hand in front of his face. Not even a blink! The catwoman turned and hissed angrily at the foxwoman, "You! What did you do to him!?

"Same thing I did to the other humans. I cast an enamoring spell over him. And my name is Aurora Talasi, you stupid wench. Not 'you'," she growled angrily in response before regaining her haughty attitude. "It makes no difference that you know who I am or what I'm doing. They won't listen to you no matter what you say. These humans will give in to hatred soon enough and kill you. Your death will enrage the lycans to respond in kind and soon there will be a small war between the humans and your inferior cousins."

Nadine could only stare at the foxwoman in horror, "But why? Why would you want to do this?"

"Higher orders of course. But I also want to see it myself. Nothing like watching vermin kill each other for entertainment. This Blaze is kind of cute though for a human though. I think I will keep him. Always wanted to have a pet of my own."

Aurora laughed softly as she beckoned Blaze towards her. The entranced man moved away just before Nadine could make her frantic grab for him through the bars. Together, the two of them walked off into the darkness of night, soon lost to her sight. The catwoman cried in frustration. She cried that she was being used in a ploy to destroy her own people. That she had failed to protect a newfound friend hurt even worse. All because of this damn cage and that... that... that BITCH! Nadine hiccupped in startlement through her tears. She'd never been so angry before. She had to do something but what could she do now?

****************

Kendra opened her eyes from where she lay. Something wasn't right. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes sleepily and glanced around. She knew it didn't feel right to sleep alone without her arm around her man, but this was something else. He had told her to rest for a bit before he went off to speak with that catwoman. He wanted to know more about her and the circumstances of her capture. But he had promised to be back shortly. Looking up to the sky in the clearing, she saw the moon had passed quite a bit to signify she had been asleep for a few hours.

The succubus quickly stood to pull her leather coat over herself in the cool night air. She cursed herself for falling asleep so quickly like that before he returned. He better not be fucking around with that furry woman! Just the thought made her huff in anger as she stomped off towards the cage. It took her a few minutes with pushing bushes and branches out of her way to reach the area of the cage. A small cry in the distance caused her to pause. Listening quietly, she heard the cry again from the direction of the cage in front of her. The image of the catwoman butt up against the bars as her Richard rammed his cock into her from behind through the bars filled her mind.

Grinding her teeth in heated anger, she quickly moved towards the cries. As she got closer, the cries became clearer to her. They weren't passionate cries of getting screwed wonderfully but desperate cries for help! And by the high pitch, it had to be that Nadine. Why didn't she hear her lover? The succubus now ran towards the cries and soon burst out into the clearing with the cage.

"Help! Please somebody! Won't anyone listen to me? Please help!" Nadine yelled as she clung tightly to the bars with her hands. Her ears perked as her golden eyes turned to see Kendra approaching, "Y-you... you're that woman!"

"Kendra," the succubus nodded as she reached the cage, "What's wrong? And where's Blaze?"

"That's what I've been screaming about for the past few hours! She took him! That damn woman took him and I couldn't do anything," the catwoman sniffed.

Not again. Curse the Fates and their obsession in trying to take him away from her. And another woman at that! She growled, "Who and how?"

"A snotty, arrogant foxwoman! She cast a spell over Blaze and took him! She's behind all of this! The disappearances of the human men and using me as a scapegoat! She wants the villagers to kill me and start a war!"

Kendra closed her eyes as she absorbed all this information that the catwoman threw at her as quick as lightning. Her words made sense. The villagers from earlier looked more than eager to make a pincushion out of this kitty. The succubus dropped out her whip as she glared angrily. Nadine yelped in startlement at her actions and quickly backed away from the demoness in fear.

"Relax," the succubus said in cool calm emotion as she narrowed her green eyes. She whipped her long weapon over her head in a circle before he muscles tensed. With quick speed and precision, her arm jerked in several motions in various directions before halting. Multiple booming cracks of her whip filled the air before as many metal bars fell away to the ground. Their broken ends were glowing hot red as if sliced through.

Nadine stared at her in complete shock with wide golden eyes. "W-what are you? I couldn't even see the whip at all!"

Shaking her, head Kendra coiled her whip quickly before putting it back to where it belonged, "Right now is not the best time. Save it for later and come on. Tell me what this Aurora looks like and which direction the headed."

The catwoman nodded and picked up her small pack inside the cage before hopping nimbly out through the hole in the cage. Landing upon free soil, she took off quickly into the woods in the direction they had left with the succubus right beside her.

****************

Aurora couldn't believe those villagers were so unreliable. Humans were nothing but stupid beasts that loved to kill anything, even each other. She had let the humans catch a glimpse of her. She had let them give chase after her into the forest. She had led them right to the first lycan she had seen wandering the woods as usual. She had done her part perfectly. All the humans had to do was one simple part and kill that lycan. But they hadn't!

The foxwoman growled low in frustration. That catwoman's death was key to everything she'd worked for so far. Taking a deep breath to steady herself and calm down, she knew those villagers would kill soon. Their hatred had been kindling for years and only a small spark would start the wildfire. Everything would fall into place and both herself and Koas would enjoy a wonderful show in the slaughter to come.

She looked behind her to the human man following her. He still had that glazed eye look as his eyes never left her. Her enamoring spell made him her slave. A slave to blind love and obedience. Most of all, he was her pet forever. They had been walking now for a while and she knew they were getting close, but she was bored and tired of the silence.

"What is your name, man?" she asked without looking over her shoulder.

"Blaze, Lady Aurora," he said.

She laughed and shook her head, "Blaze?"

"Yes, Lady Aurora."

"Human warriors and their desire for intimidating nicknames," she snorted as she rolled her eyes. She didn't see him shake his head in that her accusation of him was wrong, but no verbal response as she did not ask for such reasons for the name.

A small wood cabin in the middle of all the abundant trees leapt into sight before her eyes. Home sweet home. As they approached, she saw a large number of men, numbering around twenty, in simple clothing approach her with clubs and wooden spears in their hands. Smirking darkly as they approached, she stood there confidently with her hand resting on her hip. These men had faces without emotion and a glazed look in their eyes.