FSE

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See Chapter 1 for disclaimers and warnings

Star Fox Odium

_ Chapter 3 - Comfort _

The grove was burning.

Krystal could feel the heat of the flames on her fur and skin, the smell of smoke and ash and singed wood filling her nose with every breath.. that, and the faint, bitter metal tinge of blood on the wind. The crackle and hum of flames had replaced the rustle of leaves and wind, the birds silent. Smoldering embers littered the path underneath her sandals as she ran - vaguely, she realized from the clatter and jingle that she was wearing her old outfit, thin but sturdy armor plates guarding her lower legs, shoulders and arms. A little part of her brain noted the engraved patterns in the metal were glowing, a faint, soothing cool blue-white radiance - but the rest of her pushed on. Something was rising behind her, a darkness skittering at the back of her mind, itching and clawing..

A familiar clearing came to view, even as behind her, one of the trees fell with a loud crackle, embers floating up in a torrent of sparkling red and orange. The fields of flowers were slowly turning a dirty brown, the plants withering and dying before her eyes. A figure kneeled between them, blurred and instinct - a ghost of a giggle drifting into her ears, hands tearing bunch after bunch of flowers out of the ground and tossing them into the approaching flames. It was wrong, everything was wrong - but Krystal didn't stay behind to try and stop it, the meadow fading into memory behind her as she ran. A final giggle drifted up into her ears as she rounded the turn, before the crackle of fire engulfed it all.

The stream was still there, she could hear from the faint splashing sound ahead - but when she caught sight of it, she skidded to a halt. The previously so cool and soothing water was thick as mud, colored a deep, dirty red, like a river of half-coagulated blood - the wooden bridge creaking and swaying, the vines that'd decorated it now dry and withered, leaving the thing a skeleton of its former self. Just for a brief moment, she considered turning back, before a creak of burning wood crumbling under its own weight made her rethink it. Feeling tears flowing down her cheeks, she forced herself to push on.. only part from the smoke stinging her eyes. Why? Why am I seeing this? What did I do to deserve..

Behind her, the butterflies ignited into fluttering flames, falling like little meteors one after another, before the lantern fell from its hook onto the bridge. Dashed into a thousand little gleaming shards, they winked at her one last time before the whole bridge went up with a fiery whoomph. It was getting closer, she realized, the flames and the smoke growing hotter and thicker. What had been a path she'd walked so many times was getting narrower and more.. sinister, the branches of the forest tugging at her fur, whipping at her face, roots rising to snarl her paws - but she ran. She had to run. Whatever was coming behind was worse, so much worse..! She fought her way through the woods, pulling herself free from the branches, sidestepping roots. Once she tripped, the air driven out of her lungs with a painful whump on impact - but she picked herself up, yanked her paw out of the grip of the roots wrapping around her ankle, forced herself to rise again, and then..

She burst out of the forest, and into a familiar yard. The plants were already dying here, too, dry leaves rustling under her paws - on both sides of the path boxes of herbs were turning brown, withering away. A part of her mind realized that her mother had poured so much love and care into growing them, and now..

"Mother!" She took the stairs up two at a time, sandals thumping on the wooden deck. "Father!" The darkness was growing outside the house, chittering and screaming in her senses, making her shy away - she had to find them --

Strong arms caught her, held her. Just for a brief moment she struggled, a startled squeak escaping her muzzle - and then that warm, familiar scent filled her senses, the calming memory of arms around her..

"Father," she whispered, burying her muzzle into his fur, tears tracking down her cheeks. "What.. what's happening..?"

Darkness rises from the heart of the world, a voice whispered into her ear - a hand pressed against hers, cool metal caught them, a familiar length of engraved metal. Her staff, held between them as a second, more shapely body pressed to her side - father and mother and daughter holding each other in a shared embrace, as around them, the darkness rose.. their little home an island in the sea of blood and darkness rising around them. Around her paws, a circle of power was flaring to life, her father's arms tightening around her, holding their little family close - she could feel it from him, determination and defiance and a stubborn, proud will-not-die-here, coupled with warm love and pride and trust from her mother_.._.

Power crackled and hummed around them, pulling them away, the world melting around them - at once, she felt like she was being both squeezed and cradled gently between her parents, while their very selves were clinging to one another. Like flying, or falling deep, deep, through the darkness and towards safety - power, so much power - and still not enough. It was like something was pulling them apart from one another, a powerful grip holding onto her while she clung back to her family with all her might - and she was slipping, despite everything they did.

Terror ripped through her as she felt it, that faltering as that pull dragging her away grew stronger and stronger. And through her connection - defiance, so stubborn, and.. fear - fear of loss, growing in a gnawing ache, three souls trying to cling to one another through the forces pulling them apart, like castaways swept away through a raging wave. She looked to her father - and for one moment, one detail became crystal clear. Eyes full of anger and sorrow and pride, so old, digging into hers as if he could keep her there by sheer will alone - shame, fear of failure - and love. So much love for her. A few times, she'd wondered if she'd been abandoned because she hadn't been wanted - now, she'd gotten her answer for that, if the memory shard held correct. Still, the realization didn't fill her with a warmth she'd hoped for, but a brutal, aching sense of loss.. and she slipped.

I love you, echoed in her ears - and suddenly, warm fur was fading away, becoming insubstantial as mist, even as terror flooded her mind. Her parents, melting away, or was it her who was melting away from them? She cried out, screaming in defiance, trying to hold to them, and all she got for her efforts was cold water splashing into her fur and armfuls of chill rain..

_ Where are you?, _ the storm roared, wind tearing at her fur, clouds spreading above her like a great set of wings - so much alien fury and mourning and need, engulfing her, filling her..

<<<<<>>>>>

A chime at the door. Fox woke up with a grunt, green eyes snapping open before blinking blearily, turning his head to see the clock on the wall - two in the morning? Who'd want to see him at two in the morning, he wondered, grumbling wordlessly under his throat as he slipped out of bed and padded blearily towards the door, dressed up in a set of pajama pants..

"Mnrrff. What's going -" Hydraulics hissed as his door slid open, and right on the other side.. "Krystal? You.. you.."

"Look terrible, I know," she murmured - and while Fox had the brains to not flat-out agree with her, he couldn't really say anything against it, either. The cerulean vixen's fur and hair was mussed up, the normally bright emerald green of her eyes dull - little tracks of moisture tracking her cheeks, like she'd been crying. Little shakes and shivers tracked up and down her body as Fox watched, dumbstruck - she was dressed up in one of her bathrobes again, a dark green fluffy thing, her paws bare on the metal deck. "Can I.. can I come in? Please?"

The question had Fox finally snapping out of her confusion, shaking his head to clear it before drawing back from the door. "Uhh, yeah, sure. Come right in, make yourself at home. Just.. Sorry for the mess." Fox spent so much time on the training deck, comms room, and doing all the little things one needed to actually run a mercenary group, it left him very little time for his chores. It was funny how things seemed to pile up, even without him really doing much else than sleep in his cabin - though then again, he had a fair amount of stuff, too. Mementos or trophies of every world he'd visited or fought at - a miniature Arwing, Landmaster, Blue Marine and Great Fox on his desk, a little souvenir globe from Corneria, a giant pearl from the depths of Aquas, a photo of Zoness before Andross had fouled the resort planet's environment.. A picture of him and Krystal, smiling at the camera, the huge, hulking red-orange mass of Tricky behind them, bright blue eyes peering over his shoulder at them. He saw Krystal glance around before spotting the photo - and the little smile that grew onto her muzzle made a nice warm feeling spread in his chest.

"Thank you, Fox," the vixen murmured, her voice soft. Long blue fingers reached out, brushing softly over the frame of the photo as she passed, rounded hips swaying under the bathrobe - a bunch of dirty laundry was already occupying his desk chair, so after a moment of consideration she sat on the edge of his bed, looking up at him. Behind her, the door hissed shut, leaving them alone. "I.. I'm sorry to bother you," she whispered. "I didn't realize how early it was-"

"Hey, that's all right," Fox murmured back, gently but purposefully cutting her off. She looked so small and alone there, shivering by herself, he didn't even have to think about it - slipping in to sit beside her, one of his arms reaching around her shoulders. Just for a brief moment, she tensed under his touch - before she let loose a soft, almost purring sound and relaxed a little, warm as she pressed to his side. He didn't even try and cover up the smile growing on his muzzle. "I don't mind, really. Just.. What happened? You look.. shaken up."

For a long while, she was quiet against him - he could feel her heartbeat against his side, he realized, her soft, feminine scent filling his nose. No perfume, just.. Her. Fresh and free, just as when they'd first met.. "I had a dream, again," she finally whispered, resting her head against his shoulder. "A.. A nightmare, really. And you.." Was there a hint of a flush growing under the fur of her muzzle and ears? "You felt.. nice. Soothing. Calm."

Despite himself, Fox couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Thanks. I guess." His hand rose, gently running his fingers through her hair - he could see her eyelids droop a little at the pet, the folded-back cant of her ears relaxing, and he smiled, repeating the gesture. "Did you want to talk about it..?"

"It didn't make much sense," she whispered. "It was.. It was my home. And fire. and I saw.." She paused, pressing back against him a little, burying her muzzle into the fur of his shoulder. "I saw my family. My parents, Fox.. Why can't I remember.." Her ears were sliding back into that hurt cant, her voice turning into a sob - and he could feel hot moisture seeping into his fur from her cheek. And despite himself, Fox couldn't help feeling his spine stiffen - Parents. He had his own set of emotional scars on that front, too. And from the way he felt her stiffen in his arms - now she knew it, too.

"Tell me about them?" he asked, trying to focus to push his own memories aside. "I.. For all the time I've known you, you haven't spoken a word about them.."

"That's because.. there's not much to tell," she whispered. Her muzzle rose out of his fur, green eyes looking at him - he could see the pain in her eyes, sorrow and frustration - he didn't need to be a telepath to read her, not when she was so vulnerable. "I.. I can't remember then, Fox... Not their names. Not their faces. How home looked. It's like - it's like it's been wiped clean from me.." She buried her face in his pelt, again, her slim fingers clutching at his fur. "I've been so alone.. looking for them for so long.. I miss them so much.. and I can't even remember them.." She went quiet and shook in his arms, silent sobs wracking her slender frame.

For the longest time, Fox was quiet himself, holding her in place, trying to get his own whirling thoughts under control. "I.. I miss my parents, too," he finally whispered - quietly, his eyes not looking at Krystal but through her, as his own memories came up. She couldn't remember? He couldn't forget. And Krystal, in his arms, feeling what he was feeling, twitched a little, her ears shifting uncertainly, one green eye opening to look at him.

"I was.. I still remember it. I was.. I was twelve. And I'd just gotten back from school that day. My mother.. She was supposed to go to the store. But her car was out of fuel.. and my Dad loaned her his."

The backpack, heavy on his shoulders. Her arms around him as Vixy leaned down to nuzzle him - 'Awww, Mum!' - His father ruffling his hair, before she stood up and kissed James. "Drive carefully," Dad said. "I always do," she told him with a warm smile, keys jingling on her finger. And Fox remembered, remembered so painfully clear, watching her pad to James' car, get in and hit the ignition -

Bright, so bright light, thunder in his ears, heat on his muzzle and burning his eyes, but he couldn't look away, couldn't look away from the one perfect heartbeat of his mother's profile, night-black against the searing, blinding blue-white, and then it was gone, she was _ gone- _

There hadn't been a body. Just a round, molten scar in the pavement.. and one forever burned into the heart of a young boy. In the present, Fox felt the old, familiar pain tear at him, Krystal jerking in his arms with a soft whimper.

"A plasma charge, rigged into the ignition," Fox whispered. Once it started, it all bled away from him, words tumbling over one another. "A car bomb. Dad.. Dad was devastated. And then when we found out who did it.." He shook his head. "Andross. Still a scientist back then - he was jealous of Dad. Wanted Mom for himself. And he had somebody rig Dad's car to get her.. clear him out of his way.." The irony stung at him. A part of him wanted to laugh at it, a cold, dead laugh - it'd been his mother. "Instead, he killed the only thing he'd ever loved. Dad - Dad hunted him down, all the way to Venom. But he never came back.."

It hurt. It hurt, telling her the things he'd rarely told anyone, opening wounds he'd left untouched for so long - and she shook in his arms, and a part of him realized she could feel it, feel his pain, too, and immediately he regretted it.. regretted making her feel it all. And that - that was when she looked up at him, her arms shifting a little to wrap around him, as well, before he could even really think of pushing her away.

"I was.. twelve, too, that night, I think," she whispered, voice so soft and quiet. "And I didn't know how I got there.. I didn't know where I was.. I didn't know who I was. All I had was my staff.. my armor.. and what my parents taught me. I survived. I grew up. But I never, ever stopped looking for them.."

"..My parents would've loved you," Fox told her, quietly, running his fingers through her hair again. She chirred softly, tilting her head into his touch, cuddling up a little bit closer. "They loved me. They gave everything they could to have me grow into who I am today. And the greatest lesson they gave me.. 'never give up. Never forget who you are, never let anyone push you down.'" He paused for a moment, licking his lips. "You're one of the strongest people I know, Krystal. Strong, intelligent, resourceful, bea.." He paused again, ears shifting at his slip. "And beautiful," he told her, soldiering on. "My parents would've liked you.. and I know, wherever your parents are, whatever happened to them.. they'd be so proud of who their daughter grew up to be.."

She blinked a little, looking up at him, him looking down and into her eyes, and that moment.. he could feel it, a connection. They'd both been through so much, suffered so much.. but now, here, with her in his arms, he could take it. Could take anything. Her muzzle was so close to his, her breath tickling his whiskers, her eyes drawing him in, her scent so sweet and in his muzzle, the feel of her there against himself so right.... He dipped down. She rose up. Their lips met.

She was warm, her lips sweet and soft against his, a soft purring noise of sorts slipping into his mouth from her - echoed by a deeper, more masculine rumble in his own chest. Her scent, so clear and feminine, filled his nose, her fur so silky soft and warm under his touch, and growing warmer. And her lips tasted like.. a little like blueberries?

He didn't know how long it held - it was like time stopped for a moment. He only knew that by the time the kiss - their first kiss - broke, he could feel her heart beating fast against his.. just as fast as his was.

"Hold me, Fox," she whispered, eyes shining softly, so deep, so clear, so beautiful.. "Just.. don't let me be alone tonight.."

And Fox held her. He held her against himself until she fell asleep, so safe and warm in his arms. Held her until he followed her into dreamland, too. And hours later, when ROB chimed his good mornings over the PA, Fox was still holding her.

<<<<<>>>>>

Katt Monroe was bored. A bored kitty was a dangerous kitty - and that went doubly so when said kitty was one of the most prominent female bounty hunters in the system. Some people just needed to have something occupy themselves, and Katt was one of those 'lucky' few. So, when she thought she saw a friend in the crowd - Well, a friend of Falco's, anyways, or the girl hanging out with their little group in any case, what was her name again? Her brain kept misfiling it - Gem? Jewel? Nowait, she got it - Anyhow, she pounced.

"Hey, Krystal!" The flash of blue fur she'd caught sight of didn't pause, and Katt slipped into the crowd after it - dodging and weaving between people, coming close to getting groped in the process but a flash of claws stopped that, no touching without permission mister - she saw it again, a flash of fluffy blue fur, and she reached out, grabbing the first thing she could reach.

The grunt she got in response was distinctly.. not feminine. Katt blinked, and a heartbeat later flushed immensely when she realized just who she'd caught.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed up in dark leather, fairly handsome, too, with bright golden eyes, black hair contrasting sharply against his fur. Thick muscles moving under his pelt - particularly around his lower back at the moment, the long, fluffy length of his tail, white tip ringed with black, twitching in Katt's hand. Blue fur and fox, sure, but very much male - and very distinctly not Krystal.

"I'm sorry," Katt murmured - the normally boisterous feline feeling about six inches tall under those golden eyes. "I, er, thought you were a friend of mine.." Belatedly, she realized she was still holding his tail, and let go. The male pulled it back and turned all the way to face her, one hand cradling the abused limb.

"No harm done, this one - no, I suppose.." He had a nice voice, she realized. Very deep, with an odd, thick accent - deep and throaty, kind of.. growly. The way he seemed to be picking at his words, though, told Katt this wasn't his primary tongue - and looking at him, she could see his clothes had no manufacturer's insignia or other labels on them. In fact, they looked very much.. handmade. Either he had enough cash to dole out for some impressive replicas, or..

"Do you treat all your.. friends, like this?" Golden eyes flicked up and down her slim, toned frame - dressed in a jacket over a fairly formfitting flight suit, her fur freshly re-dyed to its usual cheery magenta-pink tone, equally platinum-dyed hair falling to her shoulders, Katt fully knew she made for a striking sight. And those eyes were calculating, in a way, but not in the usual way.. so, an off-worlder - off-system, quite possibly - who could keep his hormones under control.. and had a sense of humor, too? She could learn to like him.

"No, no, I don't," she had to admit, a slow smile growing on her muzzle - blue eyes flicking to check on her wrist-com. Two hours to go before the meeting time, and an interesting handsome guy to talk with - "How about I offer you a drink to make up for it?"

They'd made for a funny image, the two of them, when she'd led them into the bar - a big - not burly per say but very well-toned - fox, with deep regal blue fur, dressed mostly in black leather, and a slim, dyed-pink kitty like her in her pink-and-white flight suit. And they still made for a funny mental image ten minutes later, when she'd gotten them drinks and lead him to a table - Skye (that was his name, she'd gotten that much out of him already) had given the paper umbrella sticking out of his drink a long, deeply suspicious look, much to the amusement of the bored souls watching (not to mention Katt's), even going far enough to take a series of searching whiffs at it, black-tippled muzzle twitching. A long, pink, deft vulpine tongue finally reached out to take a curious flick at it, a soft rumble in his chest at the sensation - Katt suppressed a smirk - before he downed about a third of it with an approving look in his eyes.

"So, tell me," Katt purred, fingertip trailing a slow circle on the table between them, sipping at her own drink, "You're obviously not from around here. How're you finding the great big universe out here, so far..?"

Skye paused for a moment, one eyebrow rising - she'd never seen eyes quite that shade of gold before, she realized, almost like she could see her own reflection in them if she let herself look deep enough. The tips of the male's fingernails clinked against the side of his glass, the length of his tail shifting a little.

"Crowded," he finally told her with a soft snorting chuff. "So many people.. too many people, in too little space. The air smells like sweat and oil and smoke and steel, and people press to one from all sides.. and it's been so long since one felt the wind against one's fur.." He paused for a moment, scrunching up his muzzle, before sipping at his drink a little. "Some things, though, make it.. tolerable."

Katt couldn't help herself. She blinked in surprise, as the words sunk in - the deadpan serious tone in that coarse accent - Her lips twitched, tailtip shifting, before a soft snicker slipped through. "To be fair, you are in one of the seediest dives in the system," she pointed out. "Some of the bigger stations are much better, and the planets actual - Sauria's gorgeous at this time of the year, and Zoness-" she paused for a moment, shaking her head, ears drooping. Some years ago, Zoness had been gorgeous this time of the year, yeah. That'd been before Andross' rebellion - and his armies turning the resort planet into a staging area to attack the rest of the system from. All that pollution - so little time, but Katt'd never feel the sand of the shore under her bare paws near her parents' cabin, again. Her children, maybe, or her grandchildren.. if things went well.

"Anyhow," she shook her head, ears twitching as she firmly pushed away the depressing thoughts. "Plenty of things to see, people to meet, all that, yadda yadda. But tell me.." She leaned forwards a little, hands crossing under her chin, eyes sparking at the male. "What's a big, strong, handsome man like you, doing in a seedy dive in the armpit of the system like this, anyhow..?"

The fox twitched his tail, sipping at his drink, golden eyes cool as they flicked over her searchingly - a little part of Katt frowned - alright, so she was bored and curious, and flirting a little, but the look on his face - it wasn't as if she asked him his life story.. "One could ask you the same," he finally murmured, "Though worded a little differently, of course. But if you must know.." He sniffed at his drink again before shrugging and taking a new sip, "There is.. something, I am traveling for. A thing lost to me, that I must find."

"Of course," she murmured, the white-bobbed tip of her tail flicking softly behind her. "All the way out here, too? You must be a very.. determined.. man. But what, exactly, are you.."

"Oi, you. Pink broad."

Katt froze for a moment before cursing under her breath, turning her head to look to the left. The source of the voice was big, burly, dressed up like a ganger, and about.. belt buckle to eye level with her. Coarse dark bristle-like hair pointed every which way around a pair of tiny, watery eyes, a tusked snout twitching and gleaming wetly at the end of a head a couple of numbers too small for the rest of his body - as far as she could see, he didn't really seem to have a neck. A boar. And he had friends, too, who seemed to make up for their relative lack of size compared to their boss in pure unpleasantness. Beside her, she could feel Skye tensing up, a soft churring rumble, barely audible to her, vibrating the air.

"I hear you'z been asking questions," the boar rumbled, leaning down - the sour smell wafting from his yellowed tusks making Katt's muzzle twist unpleasantly. Somebody clearly didn't believe in dental hygiene.."De wrong kind'o'questions. 'Bout de wrong kind'o'people. I dink dat you'd better come wid us, now." Watery eyes shifted over towards Skye. "An' yer boyfriend oughta forget 'bout tonight, iffen he knows what's good for 'im." Behind him, his friend were chuckling and grinning meaningfully - she could feel their eyes on herself.

Katt looked over to Skye, the male's golden eyes meeting her own. And for a brief moment, there was perfect understanding between them.

Therefore, it didn't come as a surprise to him when Katt quite casually lifted her paw towards her muzzle - oooooooh, pretty little girl threatened by a big ugly man, I'm _ so scared! - _ and then, with speed only a feline could pull off, balled her paw.. and smashed her fist into about the only vulnerable spot on him she could reach from a seated position. Ichh, ran through her head, Sweaty!

The boar squealed in sudden pain, voice jumping up several octaves, and crumpled forwards, tiny eyes crossing in his skull - right before a blue-furred hand reached up, met the back of his head, and yanked to assist with the motion. The thug's snout met the table with a loud wet thump and a nasty snap - the front third of one of those tusks stuck in the wooden surface, as he bounced off the table and onto his ass on the floor. Skye almost blurred as he followed him, a growl vibrating in the air - a savage, deep, almost feral rowrrrrlll that sent shivers down her spine.

Katt followed him only a heartbeat later, while the boar's friends were still reeling. One of the men, a lanky mongrel feline with patchy fur, reached for the gun on his hip - Katt's fingers flexed, her hair and fur puffing up by instinct as her claws slid out of her fingertips, slashing at his face. He yelled in pain, stumbling back, clutching at a row of shallow cuts on his cheek - Katt's bootheel met his knee with a loud crack!, making him tip over, out of the count for a moment. Yells filled the air, yells and the rattle of glasses and furniture as people got out of the way.

Skye's style, meanwhile, didn't seem to be nearly as.. complicated, as hers was, but what he lacked in grace he seemed to make up in pure sheer power and aggression. A wide slam of his arm sent a canine - some sort of a bulldog mix, ugly and stout - whirling around before collapsing to the floor with a loud meaty thud. Only when a gecko pulled a knife and sparks flew did Katt realize the leather sheathes on the blue fox's arms covered armored bracers of some sort, adding more weight to his crushing blows, parrying away the knife - but then she had problems of her own to deal with. A dark-furred monkey of some sort was grinning toothily, visibly leering at her, long muscular arms reaching out for her - moving in to try and strangle her, her hands busy batting away his gnarled fingers reaching for her throat. "Don't want to play, kitty?" he taunted her, yellow teeth flashing.

"Not particularly, no," Katt gritted her teeth, ears folded back. Stepping back, she pretended to stumble, boots seeking purchase for a moment - his hands reached for her, leer widening - and then her paws snapped up, grasping his wrists and yanking while her foot reached forwards to tangle with his. A second yank, a twist, and he slammed into the table, the wooden edge smashing the air out of his lungs. "Not with you, anyhow," she hissed - right before a good elbow drop took him out of the fight for good. Shaking her head, she turned around for the next one - and then paused at the view.

Two more thugs lay in groaning heaps on the tiled floor, out for the count. In the middle of them, Skye stood tall, snarling into a second feline thug's face, fingers of one hand wrapped into a fist around his jacket front - the smaller male's boots dangling a good foot off the floor. Strong for his looks, Katt had to note, pausing for a second moment in pure brief appreciation for the way the male's muscles swelled and shifted under the dark, now torn leather and the blue pelt of his arm, dark engraved steel glinting dully through the tears - and then she saw movement behind him, a weasel aiming a boxy gun-shaped object at him. "Look out-!"

A pfapft! of compressed air, a glittering arc as twin barbed spikes flew through the air, trailing thin silvery threads, smacking into Skye's side - and then a loud electric crackle-humm. Skye jerked, tensed, eyes snapping wide open -

And roared. It was the only word Katt could find for it - a low, deep, pained bestial rahrrrrgh! that made her take a step back with its intensity. Thick muscles twitched - and then he spun, swinging widely, yanking the stunner out of the thug's hand as the wires went taut. The little plastic gun went clattering across the floor towards Katt's feet - right as the feline thug's coat left Skye's hand at the end of that swing. The weasel's eyes went almost comically wide, a heartbeat before his friend's shoulder met his chest in a loud, meaty crash that ended in the two of them sliding under a nearby table.

For a moment, all she could do was to stand and stare at Skye, the male's bright gold eyes locked on hers, both panting from the exertion. And then.. someone began to clap. It spread, someone else whistling at the show. And Katt.. Katt looked into those golden eyes, and saw him look at her again, hand idly plucking the stunner barbs out of his coat, his gaze flicking over her, again, replaying the fight in his head from the looks of it, remembering how she'd moved - and this time, she could see a very distinct approval in there. She returned the look with one of her own - she'd never seen a man his size move with such an effortless, instinctive, near-animal grace before.

"Thank you, thank you!" Katt called out to the patrons around them, grinning widely, waving a little - just enough calculated spring in her motions to make the cheers double in volume. "We're happy to entertain! And please," she nudged one of the thugs with her boot-tip, getting a groan out of him, "The losers foot the bill." She gave Skye a knowing look, a smile growing on her muzzle. "As for you," she purred, "I think you and I can.. help each other out."

The male looked at her for a little bit more, giving her a distinctly canine cock of his head, startling gold eyes inscrutable.. before softening up a little, the fox smiling and nodding. A little part of her cheered deep inside - oh, this was going to be fun. "Let's head out of here, handsome," she grinned. "The atmosphere got kind of ruined." Though the fight had gotten her blood pumping - and she wasn't the only one. A part of her was almost sure Skye's fur and eyes hadn't been quite so clear and shiny in hue the moment she'd met him. Shaking her head, she smiled and stepped after him.. and her boot bumped into something that clattered on the floor.

"Huh." She paused and bent down to retrieve the stunner the weasel'd pulled on Skye. "That's odd," she murmured to herself, examining the thing, "What kind of an idiot loads a stunner with an empty charge pack..?"