Team Witcher

Up in a tree amongst the leaves, Scylla didn't see why Eva liked this so much. It wasn't a matter of balance; she was light on her feet and her tentacles had her safely braced. But all it would take was a branch to crack and she'd fall far enough down to hurt. Her lights were off, and she'd dulled her armor with ash to keep the moon from glinting off it.

With the end of the Hotel's season, she and Eva had moved back into Molehu and her submarine with their brothers and picked up where they'd left off. She loved the training, loved seeing the results of her hard work out in the field. Even though the Cat school still had empty rooms and gaps in it's membership, she'd tried to make up for it by brightening their days as much as she could. Between playing tag with Declan in the echoing halls, brewing potions with Na-mes, and spending time with Caprice and her sisters, she was as happy as she could be... Except for the eclipse over her sun.

Na-mes had been the one who'd found her alone in the courtyard, standing in front of the gate, tentacles limp and head down. The silence and the dark had reminded her of the undertones in her own thoughts...

Scylla blinked and looked down when she heard a branch crack under a footstep; her prey was approaching. The nearby village was being stalked in the night by some kind of predator that sounded all too familiar to her, and after checking her codex she thought she knew what was going on. She didn't have the senses of her brothers to check for tracks and bent blades of grass, but she could put together clues well enough. Especially after reviewing the lunar cycle.

Gathering herself, she checked her potions and her swords, her eyes almost all pupil. The night was barely there for her; she could see just as well even in total darkness. Where she'd come from, light had never come at all. The moon might as well have been another sun.

It had been almost this dark in the courtyard, when she'd told Na-mes what was weighing on her. There was no denying what she was, and pretending wouldn't keep the others from danger. The danger she was putting them in just from being there. When she'd thought they had all perished in the wake of Umbrella's assault, it had crushed her soul like a cockroach under a boot. She'd never felt so bad, so empty inside; but if Molehu was attacked again, because of want for her, it would be her fault. Her fault if any of them were hurt. Her fault if any of them died. It had been tearing her apart.

The Wereleopard stalked beneath her, and Scylla tensed, readying herself to leap. It was big, bigger than her, but she wasn't afraid. One predator to another, she thought she could take him. It took another step, tattered clothes fluttering in the wind before it tensed and looked right at her.

She boomed an Aarde out from her hand before drawing her silver sword and throwing herself with her tentacles, landing on it's back and stabbing deep into it's shoulder before it screamed and ripped her off, tossing her aside. She rolled with the motion and came up, tense-shouldered, red lights bursting into being from all over her. She could've used her power, could've lit up everything until it crumbled into ash or exploded with channeled energy, but it would've been a cheat. Dancing away from a swipe of it's claws, she had a much better plan.

Na-mes had listened to her pour her heart out in silence, looking down at her while she miserably talked. She loved each and every one of them, but he was her favorite. She'd never say it out loud in case it hurt Mirrit or Hrol's feelings, but it was true. She'd stared up at him, eyes watering up, before he'd finally quietly said the one thing that had made her stay.

"Please don't go."

She'd hugged him as tight as she could, but already, she knew. No matter what, they would stay a pack. No matter what...

It roared and pounced, but she was moving as well, slipping underneath and to the right as she cut it again. She flowed like water around it's aggression, careful to always have room, careful not to leave herself open or close to it's jaws. It outweighed her heavily, and the swings of it's claws made the air whistle from how sharp they were. Tail lashing behind it, the beast once more tried to unzip her guts, but she had circled again to it's side-

Her tentacles seized it by the arm before she threw it as hard as she could at a tree, running over and slicing deep into it's leg. It roared again and she snapped her limbs to it's arms, holding them tight and bringing them both face to face. She saw only aggression and hunger in it's eyes, before her lights shrieked brighter with a whine and left them dull like stones.

"STOP!" She commanded it, the air seeming to ripple around them. It's snarl was cut off midsound, before it's mouth slowly closed and it lowered it's arms. The fury in it's eyes was undimmed, but it didn't struggle, just standing there and staring at her. She frowned up before releasing her hold.

"...KNEEL!" She commanded again. She wasn't sure if she had to yell or not, but in practice it had seemed to help. The Wereleopard took a knee and she pried it's jaws open before popping the cork on a vial and pouring it down it's throat.

"This might hurt. I'm sorry... I want to help you." She swallowed, putting her hands on the sides of it's head. It was nearly vibrating with the urge to spill her blood, but as her light once again turned up with a whine, it's eyes were filling with the radiance. Smoke poured out of it's ears before it screamed again and fell on it's back, writhing in pain. Scylla winced and put out a hand, trying to stabilize the agony flowing through the monst- no. This thing wasn't a monster, not at it's core.

When the seizure had stopped, a teenager was lying on the ground in tattered clothes, dead to the world. Scylla smiled softly down at him, trying to keep from panting from the effort she'd expended, but it felt good. She'd burned the Lycanthropy out of him like starving a fever, and as she poured another potion down his throat- one she'd made herself- she let herself smile. What someone was didn't matter, just who they were. Especially now she believed that. She didn't think the youth in front of her was evil, he'd just been cursed with something awful. He didn't deserve to die for something that wasn't his fault. At least it had worked...

Scylla smiled down at him before dragging him against a tree and headed off, back toward the little village. Helping or not, the payment was going to Molehu's coffers no matter what.

She hoped Eva had made shrimp for dinner.