For A Season
AN A LITTLE NOTHING /COONAVERSE CROSSOVER
Legal Notice: This story is Copyright © 2007 by Tigermark. This story may not be sold or used for commercial profit in any way, shape, form or fashion. This story may not be modified in any way. This story may not be posted on a mirror site or any other Internet site without the written permission of the author. This story may not be distributed on print, magnetic, electrical or optical mediums or any other mediums yet to be discovered. Characters are not to be used without obtaining author’s permission. This story is a fan fiction of Joe Martelle’s Open Season ,and Chuck Percy’s Change of Season, and every attempt is made for it, with the author’s permission, to be canon to those stories and the Coonaverse.
Rick Coona, Kelso (Kel) Amanda Vixxen Ujinkhan, Max Badger, Kath Badger, Kacy Kelso Coona, Richard Randolph Coona, Gwen Smith (Harcort-Smythe) Coona, Jo-Ann Procyon, Dr. Charles Procyon,and Mike Ferretti are Copyright Joe Martelle.
Kassir Ujinkhan, Lynne Smyth, Richard Kassir Charles Procyon and Kelso Gwenwyfar Procyon © Chuck Percy
Tigermark M’Rega © his player. Tammy Lynx (TL), Rachel, and Brianna M’Rega © Tigermark. Aslaug Larsdater and Aramis Dagaz © their players. Joe Latrans © Silver Coyote. Tani the kitsuné angel, The Amigos, and the Scruffy Squad © the ALN writing team.
All other characters not credited here were created for this story and are © Tigermark
Any resemblance to persons furry, non furry living, dead or undead is purely coincidental.
Introductions
“Arlo, everything’s ready. Are you sure about this? It just doesn’t feel right.”
The big male lion regarded his associate for several seconds, as one might regard a bug crawling on a window. Finally he spoke.
“Bernard, do you doubt what I’ve told you? Haven’t I showed you the scriptures about keeping the species pure?”
The doberman’s tail tucked down as his ears drooped. “Yes Arlo, but still, making a sacrifice? I’ve never seen any…”
The lion’s cold stare silenced the canid. “Nonsense. Did not God tell Israel to purge the impure from the Promised Land? Did He not tell the twelve tribes not to marry outside their own? What we sacrifice tonight is impure, but with its sacrifice we will start to purge the infection, and open the door for aid to come to us. That raccoon and his bunch of mixers and their lawsuit have bankrupted the Brethren even with it bound up in the blind and bleeding-hearted courts, so now desperate times call for desperate measures. Have them bring in the object for the ritual.”
The doberman nodded and slipped away. The lion surveyed the place to make sure it was ready. Arlo Rexonis was a distinguished-looking lion in his late forties, with gray beginning to spread through his mane and muzzle. He had been with the association of purists known as the Brethren of the Pure Strain for ten years, ever since he became concerned about all the hybrid species he was seeing show up at his factory wanting employment. When the government had mandated that he must give them a job if they were qualified, it had been the last straw. He’d found like-minded furs willing to put action to word, and began his work to purge the inferior mixed-breeds from the world. Now, ten years later, it seemed they’d gone backward the whole time, as mixed-species marriages and hybrid offspring abounded everywhere. With the lawsuit and the media exposure it brought, most other patrons of the Brethren had turned their backs on the cause. Only Arlo himself and a pawful of the faithful continued the fight. Several of the most bold and faithful now languished in prison after putting action to their beliefs and attacking the hybrid filth. The traitor who had betrayed and testified against them, had, at least, been 'dealt' with.
“But soon, no more.” He gritted his teeth as his tail lashed in barely controlled anger. Two weeks ago providence had come his way. An old scroll, made with parchment and sealed with a leaden seal, had shown up on his workshop table. The writing was old, but he found he could read it. It had given encouragement to the pure of species and heart, and given a ritual by which help from the angels could be summoned. He had prepared the clearing in the woods behind his home, and had six strong furs from the Brethren drag in the large rock they would use for an altar. The symbols from the scroll had been placed where it indicated, and all that was needed now was the final ingredient. Off to the side, he heard the commotion of furs carrying something in.
“Ah, very good,” Arlo rumbled as a boxer and a weasel carried a small wrapped bundle in. “Place the object on the altar and secure it.”
“Sure ‘ting, Arlo. We prepared it just like youse said,” the boxer replied as he began to unwrap the blanket they’d carried in. They took hold of what was inside and soon had it placed upon the altar.
Arlo looked down with a look of revulsion and hatred. Upon the alter, a young hybrid femme about eight years old, rabbit and fox from the look of her fur and physical build, was stretched naked and spread-eagle. Her mouth was gagged, but her eyes were huge with fear and pain. There were bruises and cuts, and patches of missing fur on her entire body. Bloody spots on her legs gave mute testament to the extent of her torture.
“None of you defiled yourself with it, correct?” Arlo asked without looking away.
“Oh no, we wouldn’t do such a ‘ting. We used da broom handle, just like youse said.”
Arlo nodded absently as he pulled the long knife he’d prepared for this ritual from his coat. He told the others where to stand and what to do. That’s when he noticed Bernard was missing.
“Where is Bernard?”
The boxer laughed. “He wuz over dere barfin’ his supper, an’ den stumbled off. He won’t get too far before we’re done. We can find ‘im den.”
Arlo shrugged and returned to his task. If the doberman wasn’t with them, then he was against them, and what the lion was about to do would give him the means to insure Bernard’s silence.
The lion intoned the phrases he’d learned from the scroll, and began the terrible ritual. The knife sliced through the air several times, accompanied by the terrified, muffled screaming of the child. A final phrase, and the lion lifted the knife high, bringing it down in a swift, deadly plunge.
# # #
“Stupid furs,” Specaurious thought to himself as he waited for the lion to clumsily finish the ritual. He had searched long to find the realm he was waiting to enter. Having been banished to the lower hells in his home realm for overreaching his position, the demon had slipped out and gone looking for a new place to dominate. He’d found the perfect potential minions in the hateful and narrow-minded furs in this realm who called themselves the Brethren. They already misused and misquoted God’s word to justify their views, so finding one to open a doorway hadn’t been hard. The lion had some latent ability, but that was also the beauty of it. He fought so hard against anything like that, he was a useful and easy target for one such as Specaurious. The lion spoke the last line in the doorway incantation, and the demon stepped through into his new home.
“Greetings to you from my master, good furs. Your prayers and faithfulness have been noted, and he has sent this angel to assist you. I am Specaurious. Tell me what you wish and I will accomplish it.”
The demon smiled. He was feline in appearance, like a large reddish/orange furred tiger, with a loose white robe and large white wings. The furs in the clearing were surprised, but they were also enthralled. Specaurious was wearing his “angel of light” disguise, and Arlo and the other two furs were looking at him as though Almighty God Himself had just stepped into the clearing. Later, he might even have them start bowing to him, just to keep them humble. For now, though, the plan was to make them think he was their humble servant.
“S-specaurious? Ah, we, ah, did the ritual as the scroll commanded,” Arlo stuttered. He was absently holding the long knife, and blood was speckled across his muzzle from the death blow he had just administered. The demon looked him over, appearing eager to serve and meek. The fact was, the sacrifice of a child wasn’t required to make the doorway. The setting and the incantation, along with the lion’s latent talent, would have done so. The sacrifice was to bond the participants together in obedience. After participating in the death of one, especially a child, it would be easier and easier for Specaurious to lead them to kill again. He was going to stoke up the fires of hate in this realm until it all blazed a comfortable glowing red.
“It was most effectively done, Good Arlo. You may dispose of the refuse, and then you may go. Now that I am here, I am only a call of my name from you. Now, go and rest, and prepare yourselves for great things. I am with you, and none shall stand against you. Your enemies’ offspring will join this one, and then the power you have to cleanse this world will be unlimited.”
Arlo’s eyes blazed with hatred and ambition. The other two were looking a bit befuddled, but that wasn’t unusual when the demon was weaving an enthrallment. Specaurious turned to leave and find himself a good place to inhabit until he was ready to take possession of Arlo, which would be necessary for his plan to be completed.
“Ah, Specaurious, there is one thing. A doberman, a recent associate of ours who it seems didn’t have the courage to follow through with us, has run off through the woods. Can you do something about him? It wouldn’t be good for our plans if he were to go to the authorities.”
Specaurious looked down his nose at the lion for a moment, but then his expression softened and he smiled. “Consider it done, Good Arlo. He will cause no trouble.”
With that the demon faded from sight. Arlo blinked a second, and then commanded the other two to take the body of the little femme and bury it somewhere away from his property. They were all grinning until they heard a keening scream from off in the distance. They looked at each other, and then hurriedly wrapped up the body.
“Yo-you might want to go find out if that was Bernard, and ah, as the angel said, dispose of the refuse,” Arlo told the other two. He seemed a slight bit shaken, but then stood tall and pointed as the furs prepared to go their separate ways. Rain was forecast in a few hours, and that would wash away the blood. Arlo hurried home to his wife and children, stopping long enough in the garage to wash the blood from himself. He grinned evilly one last time before setting his face to a pleasant neutral expression and going inside. He would sleep well that night.
# # #
Tigermark was rolling, desperately trying to escape. The femme pounced upon him, pinning him to the floor. He squirmed this way and that, but couldn’t get away. The feline on top of him reached out with both paws…
And began to try to tickle him in the ribs. He barked a short laugh. “Bri, you know I’m not ticklish in my ribs. You are, though, so you’d best try another tack before I return the favor.”
“Oh Da-ad, you’re no fun! How can I-whoops!”
The young tynx gasped as the large white tiger suddenly flipped her over and began to tickle her without mercy. Both father and daughter laughed until their sides hurt. Sitting in a chair near the television, Tammy Lynx, or TL to her friends, watched in bemused silence. She looked over at her elder daughter, Rachel, and asked, “You think they’ll ever grow up?”
Rachel put her book down for a moment and took in the sight on the floor. “No, I really don’t think so.” At age twelve, she considered herself above such things now. At age nine, Brianna was still very much a rough and tumble kitten.
The pleasant scene was broken and all four coats of fur stood on end when a voice suddenly spoke from the doorway into the kitchen. “Well, the Boss did say you’d enjoy a very long life, so maybe a very long kittenhood is part of it.”
All four felines had jumped to their feet and turned to confront the owner of the voice. Tigermark managed to relax enough to speak first.
“Tani! How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak in here like that!” The tiger had a large-framed Colt .45 automatic estate pistol in his paw, and he was regarding a red and white fox vixen over the sights of it. Exactly where it had come from, TL didn’t want to hazard a guess. He just always seemed to have it come to paw if he needed it.
“Oh Tiger, you’d lose your edge and get slow if I didn’t keep you and the other amigos on their toes,” the three-tailed kitsuné replied as she strolled over, expecting hugs from the cubs. They normally greeted her very enthusiastically, but they were still a little stressed by her sudden appearance.
“Uh huh, I notice you never try that with Aslaug,” Tigermark stated as he stowed the pistol away. It seemed to just disappear.
“Are you kidding? I know better. She’d pull my tails off and beat me with them. You, on the other paw, usually calm down after a moment and give me a hug.” Tani looked pointedly at the two tynx cubs, and they shook off their surprise.
Tigermark walked up and gave the kitsuné vixen a brotherly hug, his daughters forming a line right behind him to do likewise. He stepped back to let them in and gave TL a look that spoke of resignation. He knew he’d be away from home a lot when he married the lynx, and his “missions” usually began this way, with the fox-spirit dropping in to tell him what to bring and brief him on who, what, where, when, and what to do with the bad guys at the end.
He’d been doing this, traveling from plane to plane, realm to realm, bouncing through the universes and time and space at God’s bidding, ever since leaving his homeworld at around age seventeen. Along the way, he’d met and married TL, bringing her along and finally establishing the world they were now in as their home. At first his missions had been solo, but he’d accumulated friends and allies, and now he was the de-facto leader of a team. They had adventured together many long years, probably the equivalent of several lifetimes, but at the end of each mission, they always returned home to kith and kin with very little time elapsed in their “real” world.
With a sigh, he went to TL and put his arm around her. Turning to face the kitsuné, he gave a shrug. “So, how soon are the rest coming? Or do I need to get out to California to meet them?”
Here the vixen’s usual mischievous smirk and smile turned serious. “They, ah, they’re not going on this one, TM. The Boss thinks the whole team would be a bit too much of a disruption. It’s just a stray demon snatch. Go in, grab the wayward wyrdo, and bing, you’re home in time for dinner tonight.”
Tigermark arched an eyebrow at her. “Yeah, okay. In that case I’d best pack for a winter or two.”
Tani almost blurted out “Oh you won’t need too many clothes there” but she managed to hide it behind a laugh. What she did say was, “Oh, by the way, go weapons-heavy. Modern firearms and black ops short blade, along with the belt K-Bar. I think the sniper thingy and the shotgun, along with that big pistol you had a few minutes ago are what Chris said. Usual drill, when you’re ready just stand alone and I’ll send you on your way.”
With that, the kitsuné was gone as quickly as she’d arrived. TM leaned over and kissed his wife, long and passionately. The two tynxes giggled after a couple of moments and the felines broke their embrace.
“I have to go change and go to work,” TM stated gruffly. TL held his arm just a second and he turned back to her.
“God speed, and come home safe, Love.”
The big tiger nodded and turned back to the task at paw.
# # #
Jo-Ann Procyon eased down into the hot tub at Casa Coona North, the home of Rick and Gwen Coona. She’d been spending a lot of time there since being “adopted” into their family, and she considered it home to her and her kits now. The warm jets soothed her tired muscles, and she tried to get the images she’d seen just before end of shift out of her head. There had been two bodies discovered in different locations on the outskirts of Seattle, and the pictures had been passed around so that anyone who might hear anything about the bizarre deaths would know what to listen and look for. One had been a male doberman found in a dumpster. The fur had basically been turned inside out. Some officers had speculated it was a revenge killing, because after IDing the body the name came up as a known Purist.
Then had come the worst. The dead canid had looked like so much meat and gore, and as such the mind could kind of disconnect that what it saw there was a once-living being. Not so with the second one. The little rabbit-fox hybrid femme had been found in the edge of a wooded area on the north side, half-buried in a shallow grave. She’d been missing for nearly a week, having disappeared on her way home from school. The detectives so far suspected a child-predator of some sort. The poor kit was battered, burned, cut and bruised. The pictures didn’t show it, but the report said signs of violent rape were present on the body. What the pictures did show was the stab wound gashed into her little chest. The sight made Jo-Ann sick and mad and sorrowful all at once. The raccoon femme was still tense and ill from the thought that the one who had done such a depraved thing was still walking around upright. As a police officer, she knew such feelings were very dangerous, as they could cloud one’s judgment at a critical time, but she was pissed!
“Hey Jo-Ann, you don’t look like you’re relaxing very well. Does the water need to be a bit hotter?” The raccoon turned her head to see the beautiful skunk femme who’d spoken. Gwen Coona was just absolutely gorgeous, and nearly a year and a half after giving birth to twins, her figure had recovered very well. Jo-Ann again marveled at the love she felt in this house. Gwen and Rick had not only befriended her when most of her family turned their backs on her, they made her a part of their family. Even moreso now, as Rick had, with Gwen’s consent and encouragement, agreed to be the father of her kits, too.
As was usual in the Coona home, Gwen was clad only in her fur. The Coona’s and their closest friends were naturists, and clothing was not usually worn around the house. Robes were available for those who weren’t comfortable with being nude, but in the hot tub and sauna areas, there was a strict no-clothing policy. As the skunkette approached, Jo-Ann thought of her own figure, and how well it had recovered after the birth of her own twins several months ago. Despite her anger, she smiled a little. The steady diet of exercise for her job, along with a steady diet of workouts in the bedroom, had returned her to her pre-pregnancy shape, or better, in record time.
“Hi Gwen. No, the water’s fine. I just… saw something disturbing at work, and I’m trying to work through it.” Jo-Ann still looked like a localized thunderstorm.
“Want to eat something? I brought a tray of fruit in with me.” Gwen reached in from behind and began to knead the muscles of the raccoon’s shoulders while giving her a quick kiss on her ear. After several moments, Jo-Ann visibly shuddered and the tension left her. With a sigh she put her head back.
“That feels wonderful. Yes, I could use a snack.” The raccoon seemed to want to say more, but then gave her head a shake. “What I’d really like is some answers about the crimes they told us about at work. A little femme turned up dead, and …… It’s just really bothering me. I’m not in Homicide, but I sure wish I could help break that case.”
Gwen held the tray for her so Jo-Ann could select her snack. A couple of slices of cantaloupe later, and the raccoon femme felt much better. Gwen put the tray aside and joined her in the tub, settling in close.
“Well, Kass and I are supposed to study together tonight. When he and Kel get here, we’ll do a circle and see what we can find out about it.”
“That would be great. I just feel like that case is related to the other one we got briefed on. Some purist doberman got turned inside out and left in a dumpster down near Sea-Tac.” Jo-Ann had a gift for clairvoyance, and flashes of precognition as well. If she had a feeling the two cases were related, then most likely they were. For now, she wanted to change the subject.
“Is Rick working a full shift?”
Gwen smiled and gave a nod. “Yep. He left about a half-hour before you came home. Since it’s a Wednesday night, he figured that he and Mike would have a busy one. He’ll be home around two-thirty, probably. Kath Badger has Kacy and Randy. I told her we had some work to do here that would need my undivided attention, so she was happy to kit-sit. We were planning on it just being Kass and I, but I’m sure we could do a circle seeking information before we do our Syntheria work.”
“I hope so. I asked Dad to keep Rick and Kelso for the night. I…had a bad imaginary sight, of little Kelso being in the same shape as the little femme in the case file. I just have a bad feeling about this. Can we, ah, relax and talk about something else for a while?”
“Sure,” Gwen replied. With Gwen and Rick’s two kits at “Granny Kath’s,”, and Jo-Ann and Rick’s two at Jo-Ann’s father’s, the house was quiet. The hum and bubble of the water jets made a very soothing sound, and the two femmes talked general chit-chat. Jo-Ann managed to relax for a bit, but the pictures of the two fatalities were haunting her mind’s eye, hiding just out of sight until she let her guard down. She had a couple of brief flashes, of a large, bloody stone in the woods, accompanied by an evil, almost manic laugh. She’d almost stood straight up out of the hot tub each time, and Gwen was becoming very concerned.
She heard the front door open and close, and heard Kelso Ujinkhan call out, “Hey Honeys, we’re home!” That was accompanied by Kass Ujinkhan’s concerned voice.
“What’s up? I could feel the tension when I came in the door.”
The red and cream vixen and the snow leopard quickly left their clothing in the changing area, and made their way to the hot tub. Gwen and Jo-Ann filled the two newcomers in on the raccoon femme’s concerns as they relaxed in the warm, soothing jets. Kel looked more horrified, and Kass angrier with each detail that Jo-Ann revealed.
“What a piece of work,” Kass growled, his thick tail breaking above the water as it flipped in anger. “So you want to try and find out some more information on the cases. Do you want us to ask our Mentor, or do you want me to do a scrying?”
Gwen spoke up. “I think we should let Jo-Ann use the skills she’s been practicing. She’s the one actually seeking information.”
Jo-Ann looked proudly at her teacher, pleased that Gwen thought she had progressed enough in her training to use her clairvoyant talent in that controlled a way. Gwen gave her a smile and went on. “We can make the circle for that, and then let Jo-Ann and Kel depart before we take the circle between the worlds for our session.”
Kass thought it over a moment. His day had been full as commanding officer of the special training facility he ran in the Navy. He could see that Kel was a bit tired also. She had yawned a lot on their way to the Coona’s home from their on-base quarters, and she hadn’t been feeling well lately. He’d put that down to her still trying to recover from all the excitement of that summer’s Olympics, where she’d competed and won gold in several pistol-shooting events. All the paparazzi attention since then hadn’t helped, either. He had to admit he was feeling a bit on-edge himself. Something was wrong, and he couldn’t quite put a claw on what. He nodded, and then got out of the tub and began to dry himself off.
“I’ll go ahead and make the preparations out in the garden.” As he walked away, Kel could tell her mate was tense. He was being a bit distant, and that usually meant his old SEALs training was putting in an appearance. She got out of the tub to go after him.
“Jo-Ann,” Gwen began as they watched the femme walk out of the room. “I think you’ll do fine. Just relax and let your talent work.”
“Okay, I’ll do my best. I really want to nail whoever did it.” The raccoon femme nearly growled out the statement. She shook her head again to clear it, and got out of the tub also, with Gwen right behind her.
In a short time, the four gathered in the garden to begin the circle. Gwen and Kass went about setting the wards, but just before they were going to establish the circle and begin, the doorbell rang. Gwen went to answer it, and found her cousin Lynne waiting on the doorstep.
“Lynne!” Gwen cried, wrapping her cousin up in an embrace of black and white fur.
“Hi Gwen. Ah, can I come in for a while? I’m not sure why I’m here, but something kept telling me to come here after work instead of going home. I hope it’s alright?” Lynne seemed a bit unsettled. Gwen ushered her in and closed the door.
“You know you’re always welcome here. Go get comfortable and join us in the garden. We’re going to do a circle for Jo-Ann, to seek some information about a couple of cases that came up today at the police department. That is, if you feel up to it.”
The skunkette bit her lip and nodded. “I think that’s why I’m supposed to be here.”
Gwen blinked, and then simply nodded. “We’ll be waiting, then.”
The two parted ways, and a few minutes later Lynne walked into the garden to join the group. No comments were made as Gwen and Kass closed the circle. They joined the others, who all sat facing the center in a small circle.
“Okay Jo-Ann, you can begin,” Gwen stated.
Jo-Ann nodded. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate, while relaxing at the same time. Images began to flash into her mind. The small femme, suddenly grabbed from behind. She was blindfolded and gagged. She felt fear. Then pain… endless pain… all over, first here, then there, and finally…
Jo-Ann gave a gasp, and then quickly refocused. The stone from her earlier visions, with furs grouped around it, but she couldn’t see who they were. Then another figure, a tall felinish one, stood over her. There was the flash of silver she recognized as a knife, and the figure slashed over her with it, terrifying her even more. Then it flashed high, and with a final searing pain, plunged into her.
With another gasp, Jo-Ann again tried to refocus. She saw a taller figure, robed in white, but to her discernment, very, very evil. It seemed to be laughing. It was the same laugh from her earlier vision. It seemed to lift and fly. Then it dropped. It basically fell out of the sky onto something. There was a brief flash of a terrified doberman’s face. Then Jo-Ann felt the guardians of the circle pull her back. The robed figure had changed, to a malevolent feline beast, misshapen and dark, and radiating evil. It hadn’t seen her, but had noticed something and begun to reach for it. The guardians had pulled her back just in time.
Jo-Ann opened her eyes and fell over, very shaken. The others were immediately beside her, holding her and helping her sit up. All except Lynne. She sat there, open mouthed and wide eyed. Gwen noticed her and went to her, also.
“Lynne, are you okay? What is it?”
Lynne seemed to come to herself, and looked up and Gwen. “Uh, yeah, I’m okay. I saw a vision, too, but Jo-Ann needs to tell hers first.”
On her side of the circle, Jo-Ann had recovered somewhat. “I’m gonna need about a gallon of Switchel when I go back inside.” She took a deep breath, and related her vision, adding that the doberman’s face she saw was the one they’d found dead. By the end, she was really, really pissed off again. So was Kass. He was working hard to center himself and let the feelings go so they wouldn’t interfere with their planned session. Kel was aghast at what the raccoon femme told them.
“They did that to a little femme, just because she was a hybrid? That’s horrible!”
Gwen nodded. “Just when we thought we’d gotten the Brethren down for good, they find a whole new low to sink to. Okay Lynne, what did you see?”
Lynne blinked and looked at them each in turn before beginning. “I, uh, I saw a white light, that became a white ...place. I saw the little femme. Rabbit-fox, right?” Jo-Ann nodded. “Well, she was in that place, and she was alright. A…a voice told her it was okay, she wouldn’t hurt anymore. And then there was a vixen with three tails! And then she seemed to see me and smiled and said ‘Don’t worry, help is on the way’ and then I came out of it.”
Even Gwen and Kass looked uncertain at that. Neither had heard or seen anything like it in all their experiences. Gwen spoke up then.
“Okay, great work, both of you. Very good and detailed visions.”
“Don’t you mean three-tailed visions?” Kass said before he could stop himself. The ensuing laughter broke the tension and helped everyone relax. Lynne, Jo-Ann, and Kel stood, and Kass opened the circle for them to depart. Kel gave him a passionate kiss on the way out, and whispered, “I’ll get them grounded and settled. See you soon.”
Kass closed the circle, and the three femmes went into the kitchen to get a snack and some Switchel, the special beverage that helped replenish the energy they’d expended in the circle. It didn’t seem very long, and in fact only about fifteen minutes had passed when Gwen and Kass walked in, but both furs looked exhausted. After some quick banter between Kel and Gwen, Kass told the reason for their condition.
“Our Mentor put us through a lot of training and told us to be vigilant. It seems all the astral realm is very agitated right now. Mentor said something had crossed into our material realm from an entirely different realm, and that it didn’t belong here. Whatever it is, it’s a threat to all three worlds here, and to the Coona clan specifically. Mentor did say basically the same thing as Lynne’s vision. That help was coming. Mentor even had a name for whatever it is.”
The three femme’s who’d waited for them were bundles of curiosity. Kass seemed to still be thinking. Gwen sounded to be in awe as she spoke the name quietly.
“Paladin.”
When the three looked quizzically at her, Kass picked up the narrative. “Paladin. In legends, a Holy Warrior. Also in legend, total pains-in-the-arse. Charge at anything evil, large, small, or indifferent. Tended to win out, but a lot of ‘sidekicks’ got killed along the way. Mentor was very neutral about it.”
No one seemed to have any comment or answer as they contemplated this, and then Lynne asked, “Ah, who does Mentor think it is?”
Gwen just shook her head. “No other information given. Unless you know something?”
Lynne chewed her lip. “No, nothing in my vision like that, unless that three-tailed fox was it.”
Kass and Gwen both shrugged. The conversation buzzed about the visions and their meaning for another half hour until Kass declared he and Kel needed to get some rest. No one felt like driving home, so each fur went to a bedroom. Jo-Ann went toward Kass and Kel’s room, explaining to no one in particular that she hadn’t seen them in a while. Lynne opted to sleep alone. When Rick got home around two-thirty, he headed straight to bed, the events of the evening unknown to him. Before long, the house was quiet as everyone slept.
# # #
“Okay Tiger, ready?” Tani said, a glint in her eye. Tigermark stood, ready for departure. He’d been “lifted” from his family room at home, and Tani had held him in this netherspace to finish briefing him. A little rabbit-fox femme wandered by, and TM arched an eyebrow at the kitsuné.
“Oh, she’s just waiting for me to take her on to her destination. I wanted to get you on your way first,” Tani said with an innocent, lopsided grin.
“Uh-huh, sure. Okay, I guess I’m ready.” The little femme had seemed a bit uncertain of the big tiger, at first, but when Tani had smiled at her, and then him, she’d managed a little smile as well. She had then wandered on as though looking about the place. Tigermark stood in an all black outfit made for special ops work, with a black overcoat. Personally he thought it looked too Matrixy, but it was what Tani had provided for him to wear on this mission. He had more regular clothes in a duffel bag, along with toiletries, and a special case for his weapons, except for his sidearm, which was in a shoulder rig under the coat, and the blades at his back and side.
“Good, here we go!” Tani grinned again and waved goodbye. The whiteness grew brighter, and the room faded out. Tigermark began to bend his knees and prepare to step down as he usually did on landing, even giving a slight chuckle at how awkwardly Aramis still landed at times. Suddenly, things went from fading white to pitch black. Tigermark had the quick impression of falling, and then hit flat face first into something hard.
“Owww! Darn kitsuné! That one hurt!” he muttered to himself as he rolled over and sat up. His eyes adjusted quickly, and he realized the vixen had materialized him in midair, and he’d fallen up onto the ceiling, twelve feet off the floor. He felt a slight breeze and looked down at himself. He had dropped in totally naked, with only his fur covering him. He had landed in someone’s home, apparently in the middle of the night, stark naked and upside down on the ceiling!
“When I see Tani again, I’m going to spank her under all three of her tails!” he grumbled quietly. So far, it didn’t appear as though he’d awakened anyone with his awkward arrival. Then he felt it. Aramis was much better at it, but TM could also detect magical wards and power in use. These were very strong, and while the traps hadn’t sprung, the alarm was definitely ringing.
Great, he thought. So somebody knows I’m here. Well, at least so far I’m not surrounded by hostile furs with weapons drawn.
Suddenly the quiet of the house was shattered by a loud ka-CHAK as someone behind him chambered a shotgun round. Accompanying that was a chorus of clicks as safeties came off. He could also feel the buzz of strong magical power being readied.
“Ah, there it is,” Tigermark said quietly to himself as he slowly raised his paws in the air.
End of Chapter 1