Isher Notra

Capt. Tash:

It was a massacre. A deathless one, yet...

Yuki-onna swiftly swerved through the bodies of vicious guards, her icy blades seeming to materialize as glimmering slashes at every corner. One by one, living statues grimly decorated the battlefield, sending shivers across the captain's spine with each sight of the preserved regret and hopelessness etched on the victims' faces.

Of all the ones Tash bothered to remember the name, Venghaan was the first to fall. His flaming wings had long since lost their vigor, a mere child's play against Yuki-onna's concentrated icy blast, rendering them stiff and impractical accessories. With those neutralized, a couple of shurikens into his legs was all it took for him to be helpless against the paralyzing frost.

Hanaken, the poor brute, used her massive body to shield a group of Basan guards against a barrage of ice kunai, turning herself into a pincushion. Since the blades pierced through her skin, her natural defenses against temperature were nullified, granting passage to the Yūrei's wintry power to spread like a disease, immobilizing her for good.

Euraidd and Hufen kept the terrorist at bay with fiery blasts from their mage staffs, bringing this freezing wasteland the last splashes of warm color it would receive for a very long time. At the corner of the action, a blackened blur popped in and out - Locci, using his natural raw strength, carefully relocated the frozen guards to minimize the number of broken families in the aftermath. Better than becoming a second meat shield.

Captain Tash... stood by, unable to do anything as the mere action of standing up brought agony to her knees and joints. The unforgiving breath of winter pierced right through her furry protection and sent its punishment straight into her bones.

Beside her were Tarb and The Silver Knight, both in a similar situation - standing yet too weak to be of use. Of course, in her brother's case, it was more about the ages of his career catching up to him than, you know, burning through every drop of energy you have in the most grandiose light show you ever performed as a sea of opposing Saniya crushed your every atom.

Even if one could argue she contributed the most out of everyone, the grizzled captain couldn't help but feel utterly worthless amidst everyone over there, risking their lives to put that cold maniac to a halt. Tash was always aware of how, no matter how well her day went, there was always this nagging feeling, burrowing into her brain like a parasite, that she hadn't done nearly enough.

Every claimed soul by that wretched Yūrei was her fault, somehow. How ironic, considering the grown Human standing still by her side.

Speaking of him, the Knight's thoughts and feelings were unreadable. The visor in his helmet had malfunctioned hours ago, and his body language was unflinching, just like his frozen cape. And yet, Tash had the strong, founded guess he was concealing just as much pain as her. Physical, at least.

...She'd still need to question him about what that was all about. Was this a natural reaction between Human and Monoke Saniya? If so, she needed to warn Lien and her packmate brat about that immediately.

...That was if Yuki-onna was as lenient and righteous as she claimed. That, or a miracle, to keep them strong to somehow repel the Icy Sorceress and march all the way to the rune grid's core to shatter her operations. Perhaps a lucky guard had slipped through her defenses and miraculously found the untraceable sigil?

Hah. Tash was never one for optimistic delusions.

Her attention was redirected when a faint pressure landed on her shoulder. Imagine her surprise when a Wolf paw, which belonged to the anthropomorphic bulldog himself, was uncovered as the culprit.

The captain had the urge to brush it off her, to claim this was the worst time for brotherly affection. And yet... she was also too emotionally burned out to care. Rationality, old grudges, pride... All were frail leaves, swept away by the raging blizzards that carried the devilish sorceress through the battlefield. A mere distraction before she pounced on the two primary targets of her twisted revenge.

If her head was next on the chopping block... why not lean into a fleeting warmth? What was there to lose? Her daughter was safe in Pantsti, anyway.

And so, Tash's paw rested on Tarb's, her fluffy fingers closing around his. While their eyes never came close to meeting, a faint line reconnected them as they watched the turbulent confrontation unfold.

Locci was nowhere to be found. In fact, as the blizzard grew wilder and louder, the light from the twins' fire spells, ranging from the classic streams of flame to the more complex fiery spheres that illuminated the area like a swarm of unruly fireflies, became the only reliable anchor for hope.

A few words from Hufen broke through the storm.

"Raidd... Closer... Can't see..."

Less than a minute later, Euraidd's voice was heard, also muffled by Yuki-onna's roaring winds.

"Sister... SISTER!"

Silence. Not the kind Tash appreciated.

A couple more minutes passed by. Gradually, the wrathful winter subsided, unveiling a dangerously close silhouette ever approaching. The captain, having fought Yuki-onna in the eye of her storms twice, knew perfectly the unique shape of her undulating, well-kempt hair and the flapping long sleeves of her sensible attire.

"This has been a long time coming, Tash."

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The fog has cleared, leaving the harrowing vision of Yuki-onna standing between a collection of ice statues, prisons for Tash's comrades who bravely fought until the end. Their fierce expressions of stubborn resolve brought the thinnest silver lining to this hopeless situation.

This was it. Only three guards remained between the Icy Sorceress and her complete claim over Chikukei. She doubted Lien's Human crush would survive if the worst came to pass...

If there was any hope left to cling to, it was Yuki-onna's posture, hunched and unsteady, betraying her fatigue. Her steady, heavy breathing was visible as clouds of opaque air billowed out.

And yet, what could Tash even do in this sorry state? Every time a muscle did so much as tense, her body screamed in pain. She and the Knight had to be carried over here by the Locci and the Oni, by Tizohi's antlers!

...

Slowly, Tarb shifted before her, standing in the Yūrei's path.

"Sorry, doll. But you gotta go through me before you lay a finger on my captain."

Tash shouldn't have been shocked by this, considering he was her comrade and subordinate. Nevertheless, a piece of her couldn't process him standing by her after all those years of spiraling grudge. It made loathing him all the harder...

However, this touching moment was brushed aside when Yuki-onna shifted two fingers to the side, compelling a current of cold air to sweep him away.

"I had had enough of fleabags." The Yūrei started to crack her knuckles, her gaze always chasing Tash's like an eagle.

At that point, Yuki-onna was mere inches from the captain, who saw no other choice than to assume her fighting stance regardless of the constant, metaphorical screeching her body made.

Unless...

"H-Halt..." The Knight, against all odds, commanded his brittle legs to form a replacement wall between the female warriors as his pleas weakly echoed. "We can sort this out with a conversation. This can't be the way-"

The sorceress swung her arm to the opposite side, then slammed the Human's head with a closed backhand!

"SILENCE, DEMON!!!" The mighty telepathic cry prompted Tash to recoil, helplessness dawning entirely on her as the armored outsider was flung like a ragdoll. "I'll deal with you soon..."

Here they were, face to face. It was inevitable. Some would call it fate. Tash called it a consequence of her actions.

The canine could glimpse the red veins popping out from her bulging eyes as her oddly hot and cold breath greeted her muzzle with hostile intent. It was almost forgettable next to her frowning eyebrows, tensed jaw, and clenching teeth - an uncanny scowl to a usually emotionless complexion.

Such hatred pointed at Tash... To the point where the vindictive Yūrei ignored a Human in favor of tormenting her... It was practically impossible to grasp a reason why.

"You. Are. A. Horrible. Mother."

The answer came cut into spaced-out words. Tash's attention lingered on each, making her unaware of the turquoise-laced fist colliding against her gut, the Yūrei's deceptive strength shattering the Wolf's ribs to dust.

The captain's toe claws anchored her, allowing her to remain standing in defiance against her wobbly legs as her paw clutched the place of collision, and her lungs ceased functioning for agonizing seconds.

She dared to look forward, witnessing the sorceress marching on with a frightening grin on her shrunken lips. Her Saniya swirled around and strengthened her frail arms, a jarring juxtaposition to her regularly gracious fighting style.

"Too fearful to make the hard decisions. Too complacent to shake the status quo."

A punch on her muzzle. Warm red splatters all over her sight, shouting with disfavored release. Her paws immediately moved to clench her broken nose as if she had a drop of energy to heal it.

"Neglectful wench! You are a monster! Just as terrible as Humanity!"

This time, a shattering kick to her side, finishing off her ribs. The maelstrom of ache finally caught up to her as her world spun, ending on a pile of half-melted snow, ironically soothing the pain ever so slightly.

"You do not love your daughter! I guess you are elated to lose an offspring with her CONDITION!"

Each accusation was complemented with a ruthless stomp all over Tash's body. The Wolf couldn't do anything but curl herself to protect her vital organs. Yet, a flickering flame grew larger inside her spirit.

That whore dared imply she saw her daughter as a burden to be freed from?! What a load of horseshit! Was the Yūrei present through every single day she committed herself entirely to Lien's education? Every arduous lesson she had to find her way around her pup's blindness to teach?! If only she had the strength to channel this overwhelming wrath through...

But no, she could only pitifully writhe and hope Yuki-onna still had the sanity left to not render a poor pup orphan. That was the last cord of hope she hung on.

"Lien is risking her life for that little devil, fighting my ice constructs and dangerous assassins! This is what you have brought!"

Wait.

Lien was doing... what? She was... in Chikukei?

...

......

No.

No, not Lien.

Her precious ray of moonlight... was putting their life on the line... for what? For her? Was the smaller Human involved?

She knew there wasn't time or opportunity for answers. And that was fine.

Now... what mattered most was her daughter's safety. And if she must accomplish the impossible to stop Yuki-onna once and for all, so be it.

The ache of the furious barrage of kicks became a dull sensation on her skin. Her muscles cried in suffering and encouragement as her paw slowly drifted upwards. With a final burst of energy, her claws snapped into thin skin, their tips warming up with Yūrei ichor.

A grunt came into the canine's ears. Yuki-onna's telepathic blabbering became white noise for her numb mind, acting solely on instinct, not too dissimilar from the intoxicating haze from her conjoined spell with the Knight.

Tash prayed for the slightest sliver of untapped Saniya inside her dry inner well. She couldn't care less if such reckless usage would drag her into Tizohi's shadows as long as the sorceress would tag along.

"Please... Just... one more push..." She pleaded to herself, a few tears falling from her eyes as desperation threatened to swallow her static body.

...

......

.........

As every synapse throughout her wavering brain responded to her resolve, jolting in a single frequency, the excess electrical power surged into her veins, bringing new life into her decrepit limbs. A proper conduit.

The miraculous surge of electric Saniya took a tenth of the duration to fizzle out, a blueish flash overwhelming her half-lidded eyes before the energy pulse removed the irritating blot from her sight!

The proud captain could rest easy knowing nothing about her last-ditch effort's effectiveness. Two of her three components were too damaged to care about unfinished business.

The blot returned. Oh, how Tash could picture the scowl Yuki-onna was producing. Her temper tantrum was barely acknowledged, an itch at the pits of her psyche.

The canine's last thoughts before darkness reigned free? Lien, of course.

Nothing positive or negative. No spiraling introspections about the blind pup's safety.

Just... Lien, the bare concept of her daughter, unbound by context.

...

......

The cold has quelled.