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Episode 27:

I have to get stronger.

"You know, Alice... When I said I wanted time with you, I didn't mean with company in tow." Katrina purrs the words while sipping on her hot mug of blood.

"Don't be like that, my love. You will make them feel bad." I hum back in response, then both of our ears lift at your own words.

The cat shows her teeth in a grin and shakes her head. "I'm just messing with you, newbie. I appreciate the offer though, stick around."

The black cat looks to me and gives me a loving smile. "So... they seemed pretty interested in the whole Gloria thing, did you bring them up to speed?"

I nod my head and playfully collect the mug she was using, stealing a sip for myself. "I did, up to the whole point of meeting Toroah and her getting her wings."

Katrina gives a nod. "What do you plan to talk about next?"

I show my teeth in a grin and take a seat next to her, watching you sit in the chair opposite us. "Elias assigned you to go with her during some of her initial visits with the various lords and ladies of our court. Anything of note during that first month or so?"

The cat put a hand to her chin in thought. "Well, we spent the month bouncing around from house to house, staying at each for a few days. It was mostly for her to meet our people and understand how each was different. The only real note worth of the trip, was I got in a brawl with Harold and his wife Mino."

I giggle at the words. "That doesn't surprise me in the least."

"I would hope not, you were the first I told about it." Katrina grins at me as she speaks.

You speak out curiously towards us and the cat shrugs. "Well, of course I didn't win, it wasn't a malicious thing. I did put his bitch on her ass though. Harold is just crazy though."

"Ah, poor Mino. I remember the first time we earnestly fought." I hum the words fondly.

I see both you and my cat shift your gaze to me intently. "This is a story you have not told me, Alice." Katrina spoke out to me curiously.

"Oh? I could have sworn I did." I put a finger to my cheek in thought. "It was nothing I meant to hide. That was shortly after the Gloria incident and we had a lot going on that year. I guess it slipped my mind."

"Well now you have a captive audience, so let's hear it. Isn't that right newbie?" She speaks out with a grin and I see you nod your head.

I show a smile and nod before shifting to lay and rest my head in my cat's lap. I felt her hand move to stroke at my large white ears, playing with the ruby rings I had worn today. "So I was happy things worked out with Gloria, but I felt shaken over the encounter. I needed to get stronger, I had to work harder to protect my family... I had two goals in mind upon returning home."

Katrina nods while rubbing my ears and I show my sharp teeth and shift my gaze to you. "One was to go see Kazemde about improving myself against the various magicks of the world, the other was to sharpen my martial skills with Harold..."

#

I asked to see Harold earlier than usual. Usually, we met once per season but recent events left me eager to train. Had Elias not shown up or I had not gotten my words out to call my sheep, the outcome would have been very different.

"You ask too much of yourself, sister." The lion folded his arms while standing across from me in his armory, his ropey tail flicking about, the tuft of fur fluffed out slightly. "Not even a decade with us and you stood against centuries-old celestials and walked away, that in itself is a testament."

"Thank you, brother. However, I can't forget how powerless I was during that. Had I not called upon Lorelai, had my lord not showed himself when he did..." I clenched my fists and shook my head. "I would have lost all of them..."

I clenched my teeth and gave the lion a level gaze. "I have to get stronger, I can't just rely on others. What if the time comes Elias or Lorelai need me instead?"

Harold set me with a stern look. "If the time came that Lorelai needed help, you being helpless would be the least of all of our concerns."

"You damn well know what I mean, Harold." I spat the words with a glare.

"The martial arts of any style, be it with weapons or fists. It is like any other power, Alice. You must spend time cultivating it. You can't just will yourself to be stronger." Harold spoke the words and held his palm out. "You have made remarkable progress in these few years, I dare say you may be one of the most proficient users of a whip the world over. Easily in the top five. You certainly have surpassed me and I see so much skill in you, the same skill I saw in my former master that taught me."

I gave him a nod. "Thank you for the kind words, Harold." I unhooked the whip and tossed it aside on the mat. "Can you teach me more pointers of unarmed combat then? My gun and whip I feel fairly confident in, but as you said, my whip is useless once someone is atop me."

"Of course, my pupil. We will begin right now!" The lion showed his teeth and lowered himself into a stance I didn't recognize. "I have you for a few weeks again. I will make you into a killing machine with your bare hands."

I won't drag things out with the tiny details of the training. Suffice to say we trained like we did my first time with him. Sometimes not leaving the armory for a handful of days, foregoing sleep altogether and just fueling ourselves on blood as well as tenacity. Let's jump ahead to about the mid-portion of my second week there.

I grit my teeth as the lion blurred out of my vision, I didn't even think, my body just reacted. He was behind me grabbing for my shoulder but I sidestepped and leaped straight up and back. The massive cat let out a surprised grunt as my smaller body pushed to his back. I hooked a leg under his knee and sent him face-first to the mat in a loud displacement of air.

"Ha... your ability to adapt and grow never fails to surprise me, Alice!" Harold spoke the words with pride before climbing to his feet.

"I appreciate you humoring me and letting me drop you. I know you could have countered that." I showed a grin and put my hands upon my hips.

"If you don't know how to react to both counters and the falls of your enemy, you won't learn properly. Being ready for the next move is just as important when an attack fails, as when it lands." The lion showed his teeth in a grin, his palm extended as he spoke. His chest was rising and falling in heavy labored breaths, most of his training shirt torn showing his defined muscles beneath.

In the moments of calm, I found myself looking upon him and averted my eyes. It was getting harder to focus, of course, it had been a week and a half since I had any proper energy. He saw my body language and relaxed his stance. "Alice..." He called out in a surprisingly gentle tone to me.

"Yes, teacher?" I folded my arms over my stomach and looked upon him.

"I want to thank you for respecting my wishes. In these last years of training with me, you never used your powers to coax, even when I saw the ravenous hunger in your eyes." He bowed his head while speaking.

"Respecting the boundaries of your marriage and own preferences is hardly something to thank me for, Harold." I showed him a smile and shook my head. "Did you ever speak with Mino over my proposal? I never followed up after I made the offer years ago."

"I considered it, but I ultimately chose not to. I love my wife and she is all I need. The thought is a tantalizing one, but I do not wish to even ask. I do not want her to assume she isn't enough for me." He nodded his head as if telling it to himself as much as me.

I smiled and flicked my ears slowly. "You're a fine mate, Harold. I'm happy to count you as a friend."

He took a deep breath and shook his head. "We have been at this for days. Let us retire for the time being. Might I suggest taking a trip into the city and refreshing yourself?"

I nodded. "There are several hours of the night left, I think I might just do that."

"Will you be killing?" He asked me curiously.

I shook my head. "I've not taken the life of a mundane yet, I have no intentions to start."

He gave me a quick nod. "I expected as much, just watch yourself out there."

"Thank you, Harold. I shall." We parted ways and after cleaning up, I slipped away to the city to hunt.

It was nothing of note, simply coaxing a few mundane. I didn't even bother giving them the full session of mental lovemaking, I was eager to get back to training. I simply fed upon them and left them fatigued in bed, blissful from the exchange.

I came back from my hunt with renewed vigor and decided I would do a little practice in the armory on my own while Harold rested. A few hours passed of that before I heard the elevator in motion. I assumed it was Harold and turned to face it when the doors slid open. You can imagine my surprise when Mino was the one that stepped from it.

I folded my arms over my stomach as she approached and then bowed my head. "Lady Mino, thank you again for always welcoming me into your home and letting me train. How may I help you?"

"May we dispense of the formalities and talk woman to woman?" The dark-skinned cat spoke out in a matter of fact tone. I could tell by her inflection she had a clear purpose in this visit.

"Of course, Mino." I relaxed my stance and put my hands on my hips. "What's up?"

"You have been a constant in my husband's life for years, rabbit. I have never smelled you upon him short of the typical scent of sweat and blood that comes with training." She hissed the words showing her teeth.

"Yeah... imagine that? I'm a succubus, Mino but I've got standards and respect he's spoken for. Do you accuse me otherwise?" I showed my teeth and felt my body tensing at the topic.

"I do not. All the showering and sweat would not have hidden your scent on him. However, I have seen my husband's eyes when he speaks of you. I can tell he desires you." She snarled the words and thrust her hand out towards me.

"Actually he and I have-"

"You need not make excuses, rabbit. I have seen how you look upon him as well!" She snapped the words at me sharply.

I scowled at her and folded my arms. "I have a name, cat. Did you come down here to pick a fight?"

"I did." She spoke out pointedly to me.

I lifted my ears and frowned. "Mino, there is no need for hostility. I have no intention of trying to lay with your husband."

Her sharp canines showed as she spoke out in authority to me. "Do not play the fool with me, rabbit. I respect a warrior first and foremost. You and I will settle this here and now, and if you can best me, you may have him."

"I do not want to take your husband, I am spoken for. He is yours." I snapped the words out and rolled my neck and shoulder. "There is no point in this."

She laughed out bitterly. "Of course he is still mine! I do not offer to let you wed him, simply you may lay with him!"

"So... if I best you, I can fuck him?" I spoke the words crudely to get a rise from her.

"Yes..." She snarled in response.

I flexed and clenched my fingers. "Hmm... can I have you as well?"

The cat flinched at the words then clenched her teeth. "Are you mad? You are a woman, I wouldn't ever-"

"So you're straight, got it!" I gave her a grin. "That's a shame, I would have loved to taste you, Mino." I purred the words and shifted my stance.

She saw my shift and the silent acknowledgment I accepted her terms. "I have no desire to lay with you, but you may have him if you can best me." I saw her move into her stance.

"Oh that's great... I can't wait to-" I clenched my teeth as she blurred forward and was atop me in a blink. The tigress slammed her fist against my jaw and sent me spiraling to the floor with a thud.

"Truly? This is the extent of what your years with my husband has given you?" She hissed the words mockingly towards me.

I rubbed my jaw and coughed dryly. "Damn... anyone get the number of the truck that just hit me?" I spoke the words in an amused laugh and then looked back up at the cat, not bothering to rise. "If that's the best you're offering, you might as well ride that elevator back up and fetch your husband. I assure you the elevator won't be what I'm going to be riding after you do."

Mino showed her sharp teeth in a snarl and dropped a kick into my ribs that sent me several feet across the floor. "Do not mock me, prey!"

"Ah... there's that word again..." I hissed the words and climbed to my feet, rubbing my ribs, feeling them setting back into place and the fractures in my bones healing. I showed my teeth to her in a wide grin. "Alright, bitch. Now it's your turn!"

She set her stance as I darted towards her. She took a swing that I handily slipped past before leaping off my feet to slam my fist into her jaw, right in the same location she had struck me. The cat slammed down into the mat and bounced off it from the impact. I didn't let up and as soon as she settled I planted my boot into her ribs, hearing them crack like mine had done moments before.

"You know what? Just stay here, I will just have him in your bed!" I spat the words down at her, showing my teeth in a victorious grin. She hissed out and grabbed my ankle in response and I showed a wider grin.

She hauled me up by my ankle as the world flipped upside down. I gave her a smile while hanging upside down looking at her as she held me up by my ankle. "Disrespectful, bitch!" She thrust her free hand forward and I casually pushed my palm against it, catching the blow while hanging upside down.

"I tend to get a sassy mouth in fights, don't take it personally kitty." I quipped the words then yelped out as she slammed me down to the mat like a rag doll.

"Don't, make, light, of, me!" Each word ended with her lifting and dropping me back and forth on the mat before she threw me against the nearby wall. I slammed into it and crumpled to the floor, groaning as I rubbed my head.

"Yes... this is what I needed..." I found my feet and blinked the stars out of my vision before showing the tigress a coy smile. "You sure you don't want to retract that offer? Because I'm about to bring you to heel, cat."

"Vainglorious prey, I will have your throat!" Mino shifted her stance then blurred towards me. I sidestepped the grab and shoved my hand into her orange curly hair, grabbing a fistful before slamming her face to the wall she had thrown me against.

"Out, of, your, league!" I slammed her jaw into the wall with each word, in a retort to what she had done to me prior, then slung her across the mat by her hair, letting her scatter to the floor.

Mino snarled and shook her daze off before springing to her feet. Her eyes widened as she saw I had summoned my fire, blue flames covering my arms and legs. "I grow weary of this..." I hissed the words and was atop her in a flash.

The cat yelped out as I delivered a vicious blow from my knee into her stomach, my leg caked in flames. She took a knee while coughing and I grabbed her by the throat and hauled her off her knees. My teeth showed and my eyes burned with a cold white fire. "Say my fucking name, Mino!"

She winced at the grip to her throat, blood rolling from the corner of her mouth. "Tch... Alice."

"Good kitty." I spat the words and dumped her onto her ass. The flames faded and I folded my arms. "You're a hell of a warrior, but I've been fighting off lycanthropes, mages, and vampires for the last few years. I have even been throwing down with celestials. Some things training simply can't compare to. Do you understand? We are not even remotely in the same league anymore."

She gave a bitter laugh and rubbed her throat. "So it would seem. You are more than worthy, go take him."

"I won't. Because he does not will it." I spat the words at her and frowned. "He only wants you."

Mino looked upon me with a shocked glare. "What? Do not be absur-"

"Will you shut up?" I spat out at her and stomped my foot. "He loves you, dumbass! I told him years ago to propose the three of us together, he never brought it up because he only wants you, he didn't want you to feel you weren't enough."

"You speak the truth?" She hissed the words skeptically.

"Ask him yourself." I showed a grin and stomped over to her, offering a hand.

She took it and climbed to her feet, towering over me once more. "So you will not lay with him?" She rubbed her throat again and looked at me curiously.

"Not unless he wills it. He has said he doesn't and I will not coax him. I am honor-bound by my word." I frowned and turned my back to her. "He has eyes for only you, Mino. Cherish him and be thankful for his loyalty."

"And if he changed his mind?" She called out to me as I took a few steps away.

I looked back upon her curiously. "What if he did? Would you stop loving him and think less of your relationship?"

"A warrior has-"

"Why don't you give that shit a rest already? Love doesn't have a code, it doesn't need to make sense. Would you be hurt if he laid with another, yes or no?" I frowned and glared at her.

"I would not be happy about it." She hissed the words and stood up straight to face me.

"Yeah? Well, I think he knows that already. Don't throw your love away over some misguided honor." I sighed and looked away. "I bested you and all I ask is you use my name... and never call me fucking prey again."

"A fair request. I accept." She showed me her teeth in a grin and folded her arms. "I can see I've been lazy. I need to begin training more heavily and catch up with you."

"Well, you have a hell of an advantage. I am only friends with the greatest warrior on the planet, you are married to him. I might get a few weeks a year, you can get time with him almost daily." I felt my cheeks darken and I shook my head. "Oh, I would love to see some of the crazy violent sex you two would have after having been locked in a spar for hours..."

Mino's already dark cheeks grew a little darker. She shifted her eyes from my gaze. "I am not the voyeuristic type..."

"A shame... I would let you both throw me all over the mat, you could be as rough with me as you pleased..." I felt my tongue loll slightly and shook my head, reigning in the demons. "Sorry... it's the succubus in me."

She smirked and folded her ears. "I wonder how much of that is true. Regardless, thank you for respecting mine and my husband's boundaries."

"Cool. So we're good? Friends?" I extended my hand, a childish look in my eyes.

Mino hesitated before clasping my hand. "Friends may be a bit much... but you have my respect."

"Well... I guess I will just have to do my best to win you over. Next time I visit in a season, let's spar and see how much you've improved." I showed her a challenging glare while squeezing her hand.

"You have a deal, Alice." She showed her own challenging grin and returned the clench of my hand.

#

I grin up at Katrina and flick my ears. "And now you know the rest of the story."

"So you never laid with Harold? Huh... I always assumed you had." The black cat fondles my ears while I sigh happily.

"No, and still have not to this day." I hum the words and look over to you, my teeth showing. "You see my pet? Even your mistress has standards and will not lay with every creature she sees."

"Mistress?" Katrina laughs at my wordplay and rubs one of my ears. "You're laying it on thick with them, aren't you?"

I blush and frown. "You're going to ruin the air of mystery and desire I've built up over the last several days, Kat." My ears lift at your laughter and I give the cat a fussy huff.

"No doubt... why not tell them of your time at the circle next, since you already brought it up?" Katrina purrs the words, drifting her fingertips down my throat and over my chest, laying them to rest against my left breast while I lay there against her.

"You have been quite dominant with me these last days, Katrina." I hum the words then bite my lower lip, feeling her hand circling and kneading at my breast.

"I suppose it is my longing for you that brought it to bare." The cat shows me a confident grin then looks back to you, your intent upon us full of interest.

I shiver and sigh before looking back to you with a blissful smile on my lips. "After my visit with Harold, I spent a week with the circle, I had some questions I needed answers to..."

#

I clutched his silky indigo vest in both hands, my head pushed to his chest. The cobra embraced me and held me close while I pulled heavily from him. I drank deeply of his power and finally willed myself to calm. A shudder rolled through my body as the connection severed and I felt my knees weaken. He held me securely in his arms and I gave a weak sigh, blinking up at him.

"Do you feel better, Alice?" Kazemde showed me his sharp teeth, his fingertips now in my hair, rubbing at my ears.

"I do... but it was your request, remember?" I practically purred the words, my nails digging into his chest gently.

"My apologies, I will see to satisfy this debt as soon-"

"Shut up." I snorted out a laugh and pushed my forehead to his chest, giggling as he held me.

The mage grinned and resumed stroking my hair, keeping me held close like that for several moments. I heard him hiss the words softly into my ears after a time. "I did miss you... it's been nearly half a year..."

I nodded my head a few times and hesitantly pulled from his embrace. "Yes, our schedules just couldn't line up it seems. Each time I wanted to call, you were busy..."

"And likewise, anytime I had invited, you were away with council business." The archmage smiled and folded his hands in front of him.

"I'm glad you could see me on such short notice..." I spoke the words and folded my arms over my stomach, glancing my eyes away.

"Well it took a few weeks to set it up, I wouldn't call that short notice, Alice." The snake hissed the words and moved to me with a lithe motion, his fingertips to my chin, lifting my face to look into his dark eyes. "Something weighs upon you, what is it?"

I blinked into his dark eyes and set him with a determined look. "I had to fight celestials for the first time recently. Very powerful ones..."

He frowned and pressed his palm to my cheek, staring into my blue eyes. "I thank the gods you are still with us then..."

I clenched my teeth at the words, biting my lower lip at his gentle touch. "Your words are too kind for me, Kazemde."

He smiled and pulled from my arms to put a finger to his chin. "How did you survive the encounter?"

"I had a lot of help, and I outsmarted them you could say." I showed my teeth in a grin.

"Outsmarted them eh? Now you sound like a mage, Alice." Kazemde gave me a coy grin.

A frown formed on my face and I asked him point-blank. "Is it possible for me to learn any tricks? The celestials were using shields like I have seen mages use."

"It stands to reason they would. They are a tricky bunch." Kazemde frowned and folded his arms. "I do not think it would work."

"Why is that?" I asked curiously.

He wagged a finger as his words took on a scholarly tone. "Most mages will focus on a particular school when they study. The truly adept of us, perhaps two. If you can do more than that, you risk spreading yourself too thin and your willpower will fray."

"Fray?" I frown and tilt my head.

"If you pull too heavily from the arcane, you will go mad. I don't think I need to tell you about what happens when mages lose their mind." He frowned and folded his arms.

"So, in theory, couldn't I learn a school?" I asked him curiously.

"I believe your radiance and hellfire already take a great toll upon your willpower reserves. Your thaumaturgy doesn't have much impact because it pools more from your physical body to function." Kazemde nodded his head while he spoke.

"It might be possible, but the arts are not for the faint of heart, Alice. This isn't just a show of force or will. You have to study diligently for years to see any progress. Incantations require years of study to even see the smallest of results."

"How many years are we talking, Kaz?" I frown as I ask the question.

"Most apprentices will be able to cast their first rudimentary spells after around a decade of study. This is assuming their willpower is not being pulled upon by other sources." Kazemde sees the shocked look on my face and follows up with a question. "When you channel your fire, do you feel like feelings and emotions are sometimes not your own?"

I lift my ears and nod. "Y-yeah... sometimes if I'm pulling heavily from it, I get this overwhelming desire to rampage and destroy. I always thought it was like the other power in me, just my demons wanting to come out."

The cobra shook his head and raised a finger. "That is no demon, Alice. That is the madness of losing yourself. You channel entropy like we mages do when you use that power."

A shiver rolls down my spine as I put the pieces together. "You're saying if I try to pull my willpower into other directions, I could make that voice louder and harder to shrug off."

"That's it." He gave me a nod and I saw the pride in his eyes from me putting the pieces together from his context clues. "You channel radiant fire, hellfire, thaumaturgy, and you even have divinity in your body. Your willpower is already overloaded, I think adding new tricks to your bag is a very dangerous prospect, Alice."

"O-overloaded... Am I going to be okay?" I blink upon him and frown.

"You should be, if it were too much to bear, you would have lost yourself by now." Kazemde smiled and put his hands to his stomach, clasping them. "Your force of will, it will improve as you utilize your powers. I do not think learning other things will be beyond you. I just feel you need to take it slowly, stop thinking like a mundane and realize you have all the time in the world to strengthen your resolve."

I nod and frown. "Let me ask you something else then, Kaz."

"Go right ahead, Alice." He gave me another smile.

"Those shields. Is there a trick to cracking them?" I fixed him with an annoyed look. "If that asshole hadn't had the shield backing him up, I probably could have taken him."

The cobra smiled and put a finger to his chin. "Do you honestly believe you could have brought down an elite celestial on your own, Alice?"

"Well, I certainly would have fared better!" I grumbled and folded my arms.

Kazemde smiled and shook his head. "They say confidence is key..." He cleared his throat and opened his palm as he spoke. "Shields like that come in a variety of forms. The ones you are encountering are designed to absorb kinetic energy."

"Alright, so they shrug off physical attacks, but if I'm infusing my strikes with fire, doesn't that mean it shouldn't work?" I fold my arms and tilt my head curiously as I respond.

"Yes and no..." Kazemde taps his chin in thought. "Let's look at it like this. Say I placed you before a stone wall and told you to bring it down with your whip?"

"Uh... that wouldn't work. I think my whip would wear down to a nub before the wall so much as had a few chips knocked out of it." I tilted my head curiously.

"Now say I placed a very powerful sledgehammer in your hands. Could you bring the wall down?"

"Sure... I mean depending on the size and strength of the wall, it would take a while, but I could." I blinked and put my hand to my cheek. "So... kinetic attacks would just flail away on the shield uselessly, but infusing my attacks does chip away at them?"

Kazemde nodded and smiled. "That's right. You could stand there all day striking a shield with your whip or firing upon it with your gun. The mage projecting it would feel next to nothing and could hold it indefinitely."

I nod at his words. "Well I'm glad I can crack them, but is there a sure-fire way to bust them down quickly?"

"Yes actually." He nodded and raised a finger once more. "The more variety of energies you push against a shield, the more of a toll it will take on the mage holding it."

"So I should maybe lash against it with hellfire while shooting at it with bullets infused with radiance?" I show my teeth in a grin.

"That would work, but even better... fuse your divinity into the attacks, or combine them into one." He put his hands on his hips and peered at me curiously. "Have you ever tried to do this?"

I blinked at the thought of it and shook my head. "I... I wouldn't even know where to begin..."

Kazemde sighed and gave me a smile like a parent would a child. "It is a good thing you are with me for a week, come Alice. We have much to practice."

The next several days were spent with the archmage teaching me of focus and how to more accurately harness my powers. I won't lie, it was very difficult, and worked a part of me that hadn't been getting a lot of exercise these last few years; my brain. It's hard to explain, I had been studying and educating myself in the traditional sense of things. It was like learning a new language versus learning a new mathematical formula. Both required your brain, but on different levels.

#

We found ourselves in one of their practice halls. "Well then, Alice. It's your last day here, let's try putting all you've practiced to a more practical use." Kazemde spoke the words calmly as he paced away from me.

"Alright, what shall I do?" I rolled my shoulder and bent at the knees a few times, limbering up.

"I will project a screen of energy before me. We will test your new powers against it." He gave me a look as if he already knew the concern and spoke out. "It will be several feet from me, even if you break it, I will be in no harm."

I nodded and smiled in relief before unfurling my whip and cracking it in the air a few times with some warm-up strikes. The cobra nodded and I felt his will gently fill the air. "First let's go over the basics. See how the shield looks as you strike it with just your whip and nothing more."

With a nod I sent the tip of the whip out, it slashed and striked an invisible force in the air. There were no signs of anything, just simply a wall of an unseen force that batted the tip away. Kazemde nodded. "As you can see, there are no signs of the shield, you see nothing and only the force of it deflects your blow."

The cobra hesitated before averting his eyes. "Infuse your whip with radiance." I waited until he looked away, I knew to see me hurt myself bothered him. I tore a gash in my palm open on my tooth, then proceeded to drag the whip over the bloody wound, coating it.

I dragged my tongue over my bleeding palm to heal the wound, lapping the remaining blood back up. "Alright Kaz, it's safe to look."

The cobra nodded and fixed his eyes back towards me. "Go ahead and strike." My whip erupted into blue flames and I lashed it out hard, the tip again struck the shield and this time I saw the familiar-looking screen of energy right where the tip struck. "Did you notice you could see it this time and it lingered for a breath?"

"Yeah, I've seen that before when fighting mages and the celestials." I cracked the whip in the air a few times then pulled it back, letting it wrap around my wrist, the flames still rolling off it.

"The sight you glimpse from the impact gives an idea of how much stress you are putting upon the shield. Now while it still has radiance, strike my shield several times in the same spot and watch." I did as the cobra ordered and slashed my whip out rapidly, striking the tip viciously against the unseen force repeatedly. With each strike, the screen grew darker and more obvious. "Good, stop." He called out.

I pulled away and I watched. It took a few seconds this time for the image to fade. "Good job, you would get similar results from your hellfire or thaumaturgy." Kazemde showed me a grin and I saw him shore up his own resolve. "Now my student, infuse your whip in the manner I showed you, and wait for my command."

Biting my lower lip I nodded. I pulled the length back and gripped it in both hands, holding it taught, one hand gripping the base, the other holding the center. My ears folded and I focused inward. I did as he had shown me these last days, focused upon the hellfire, the radiance, and the divinity within my soul.

We had discovered there was no way to bring both hellfire and radiance to their full potential together. I could lean more heavily on one or the other for this technique but one had to be dominant.

"Strike with your radiant fire!" The cobra hissed the words and my eyes opened in focus. My left hand erupted in black flames that rolled over the length of the whip, my right started blue and flushed straight to a white-hot flame. I clenched my teeth in focus and mixed the divine energy in my soul, mingling the three together. It's hard to explain really, suffice to say the divinity acted as a catalyst to let me fuse them.

I pulled the whip from my left hand and lashed it in the air a few times, the whole length caked in an ominous flame the color of charcoal, not unlike the wings of my angel. The warm-up strikes made the air around me quiver with force. My eyes narrowed and I lashed out against the shield with a single slash. The grey shadow flames struck the force and left a clear outline that had taken more than a dozen strikes to produce with one form of the power.

"Ngh... that's phenomenal, Alice..." Kazemde grunted the words, showing his teeth as he stepped back a pace as if I had shoved him.

I frowned and lifted my ears. "Are you okay, Kaz?"

"I am!" He showed me a smile and straightened himself. The image of the shield faded after several seconds.

He took a controlled focus and narrowed his eyes. "I'm pushing it all into this one, strike it with your hellfire until it breaks."

"W-won't that hurt you?" I spoke out with worry in my voice.

Kazemde showed his teeth in an uncharacteristically cocky grin. "Yes... but I want to test myself against a chimera. It will be splendid training for us both."

I swallowed hard and gave a nod. "As long as you're sure..."

The cobra showed me a resolved grin and narrowed his eyes in focus. "Pour all your energy into the strikes, I want to test myself as well!"

I took a controlled breath and pulled forth the whip and clenched it in my hands. My eyes closed tightly and I dragged forth the flames anew. My left hand erupted in blue and my right black, my brow furrowed before the black flames took on a blood red. I let the power run amok in me and fused it with my divinity.

I opened just one eye, my right one, my pupil was jet black with crackles of blue energy coursing over them. I looked at the cobra with the wink and cracked the whip a few times, a coy arrogant grin on my face. The red flames had fused with the blue ones and the whip now had bright purple flames pouring off it. "Ha... truly this is my favorite of the two... isn't it beautiful, my mage?" I purred the words in a drunken voice.

Kazemde parted his lips to speak and I lashed the whip hard. The tip struck his shield and purple flames rolled over the dome of energy. I gave a wide grin as I opened my other eye, both looking wild and crazed with power. "Ha! I wouldn't have it any other way of course!"

By my third strike, the archmage had taken a knee but met my wild eyes with cold focus. I showed my large canines in frustration and focused my will, giving the power a firm grip upon me. The energy roared forth and the violet colored flames burst out from my own form, rolling off my elongated ears and tail, along with my limbs.

At full power, it took a single final lash from me. The shield shattered and Kazemde took both palms to the floor, panting in fatigue. "W-well done..." The cobra panted the words, then sensed my presence as I was over him in a blur of speed. "A-Alice?"

I showed a grin and pushed my hands to his shoulders, shoving him down to his back and looming over him. "Well, I beat you... don't I get a reward?" I sighed the words drunkenly, my purple flames lapping at my ears and palms, rolling over his shoulders but showing no signs of burning him.

"You have lost your focus, reign the power in." He hissed the words and narrowed his eyes upon me.

"Or what, mage? You're out of energy, I can practically taste it." My hands gripped his wrists and shoved them to the floor, pinning him as I pressed my smaller body down to his own, my tongue lolled.

Kazemde blinked up at me in shock, his forked tongue showing as his mouth gaped slightly. "Alice, control yourself, what did I tell you!" He spat the words out in a hiss then clenched his teeth hard as he felt my will baring down upon him.

"Haven't I respected your preferences long enough, my mage?" I cooed the words and leaned in, dragging my tongue along his throat, feeling the faint outlines of his scales create slight ridges against his flesh. "You enjoy the power I present... it would be all the sweeter in the throes of passion..."

He shuddered and I heard him give out a soft gasp as my tongue dragged over his flesh. I showed my teeth in a wicked grin then parted my lips, my canines pressing to his throat. The cobra hissed out loudly into my ear. "Alice, if you feed from me now, you will kill me! Think about that!" He spat the words out in a pant.

"Ha... as if I would ever harm my cute little mage... my adorable snake... my..." I gasped and shut my eyes hard, shaking my head. When did he become mine, when did I call him 'my snake or mage'?

"S-stupid... knock it off..." I growled the words aloud to myself and pushed away from him, rolling over to sit on my rear. I clenched my teeth as I hugged my arms tight to myself and shuddered. "Stop... stop... calm down..." I panted the words to myself, willing the power to calm, locking my demons away once more.

My body shivered as the power left me and drooped my head, panting heavily to compose myself. "I'm... sorry... Kaz..."

The cobra was next to me on his knees, his hand on my head. "It's alright... when is the last time you lost control like that?"

"Years... I was arrogant... stupid... thought I was past it..." I shook my head and felt tears fill my eyes but I clenched my teeth, I wouldn't hide behind my pity and sorrow.

"Your kind must always fight that battle, Alice. I understood and accepted the risk when I asked you to call it all forth." He rubbed my head gently, his touch making the tears finally start to roll down my cheeks.

"But what... what if I hadn't reigned it in... w-what if I?" I sobbed the words and shook my head, not even wanting to think about the consequences.

"Ease your mind. I had a backup plan in place." Kazemde hissed the words and rubbed at my head lovingly.

"Y-yeah?" I frowned and looked up at him, his hand stroking my ears.

"Yes, one of the rings I wear is charged with a kinetic wave enchantment. I could have willed it forth and launched you across the room. I would have the moment your teeth pierced my flesh." The cobra gave a shrug. "So that's one less worry on your mind."

I gave a relieved sigh and nodded, pushing my head to his chest while he held me. "I'm such a screw-up..."

"You are young and make mistakes. You are just as fallible as the rest of us, Alice." Kazemde nodded his head and held me tightly. "You did a great job, and you will be a force to be reckoned with now, especially against anyone using that sort of power against you."

"Thank you... I just want to keep my loved ones safe..." I nodded against his chest and felt my tension ease as he pushed his will into me.

"You will be a mighty deterrent someday, rabbit... Just remember to not lose yourself." He hummed the words and rocked me gently in his arms.

"Lose myself..." I frowned and shook my head while he held me, pushing the thoughts aside to just relaxing in his arms.

#

I gave the cobra a polite bow as we stood outside of one of his shimmering gates, the front of the mansion in clear view. "Thank you for everything Kazemde. I do not deserve to count you as my friend, especially after how I acted earlier."

"Nonsense. Even us magi have our moments of weakness where the power gets the better of us. I feel all the more powerful after having faced such a force." The cobra showed me a grin. "I will ask you to test it against me again when you visit me next, it is rare something can push the limits of my will."

I gave him a smile and nodded. "I'm glad, I would be happy to train with you again."

He gave a wave of his hand. "Off you go now, come see me again soon, at least within a month of time."

With a nod, I gave him a smile. "It's a promise." I turned and stepped through the gate, feeling my feet land on the familiar lawn of my home. I felt the force of will fade behind me as the portal snapped shut. I looked upon my home and took a controlled breath. Yes, this was mine and I would protect it.

#

"You can tell some pretty dramatic stuff when you want to, Alice." Katrina purrs the words and fondles my ears.

"Well I try my best, did you like it, my pet?" I showed you my smile and saw your nod.

I saw Katrina look over at you, then back to me. I recognize the hunger in her eyes and give an excited grin. "My sweet... I think our time is at an end for the evening." My words came out playfully towards you.

"Damn right it is..." Katrina purrs the words and stands, gripping my wrist and pulling me to my feet.

I grin towards you, my tail flicking about. "Who knows my pet, perhaps once your decision is made, you may join us one day."

Katrina shows a sharp-toothed grin and clicks her tongue. "We will see..." I huff as I feel her pull me along and eagerly follow.

"Rest well, my pet. I will see you upon the setting of the sun." I hum excitedly and pace up with my cat while she pulls me along.

"I wouldn't have minded putting on a show for them..." I hum the words gently in her ear as we walk away.

"Maybe later, I only just got back, let me have you to myself for a while." Katrina showed me a smile, her tail coiling and flicking.

"Anything you want my, lovely cat." I cooed the words while pushing up against her.

---

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