Puella Magi: The Plague Witch [IC]

[Noel]

[IC Thread]|[OOC Thread]|[CS Thread]

---

Eight PM in the town of Yules, the streets began to quiet, winds howled and whipped powerfully over the city. Lights of businesses and shops began to flicker out, late night shifts being called off due to the appearance of a sudden snow storm. By nine the snow storm was over the town in full force, blanketing the roads and sidewalks with a sheet of white. Most people were safely back home by now, but the unlucky ones were stuck trying to navigate the snowy winds. Snow storms were not entirely uncommon for the city within the winter months but they had a nasty tendency of showing up suddenly leaving people caught off guard.

But for some the snow storm would be the least of their concerns. With the fall of night the world of magic begins to wake, the time for the witches which stalk the town to make their move. And on this night one such witch had a perfect opportunity. The familiars spread out over each district of the town, and as they moved began to target those lost in the snow storm. At first those seeing it would seldom believe their eyes, within the blanket of snow something trotting casually towards them. They would strain to look as it grew near and before they would know it they would be entranced by the familiar. Rich or poor, healthy or sick, even those so stricken by the plague they could barely would would be compelled to stand and follow.

Over the course of an hour the various familiars gathered people up who had been marked with the witches kiss, an icon of a canine head, shepherd’s crook and cage mesh placed upon their neck, the familiars began their home trip to the witches barrier on the eastern side of the underclass district. The black canine creatures trotted through the snow masked streets without a care, after all only a select few could see them, to everyone else it would simply look like an odd marching line of distraught townsfolk. And one would have to actually be searching for something amidst the snow storm to even notice that much.

---

Though it was late Gwen was only just waking from sleep, however not by her own accord. She felt her soul gem begin to pulse, a sign that a witch or familiar was near by. And judging by the frequency it was close, very close. The girl woke quickly though reluctantly, still feeling exhausted due to only getting relatively short periods of sleep here and there, having spent the day hopping from room to room of the Addison Plaza Hotel while trying to avoid detection, where she chose to stay for the day. Unfortunately even with her abilities she could not find a room which stayed unoccupied for long. ”Never trying the hotel again...”She muttered to herself, and tired as she may have been the girl grabbed her coat from the heap it sat in beside her and blinked up to the roof of the hotel.

She was instantly greeted by the sharp winds of the out doors. If the girl was not awake yet she would have been now, and rather rudely in fact. She shivered and blew into her hands to warm them before gripping her soul gem. A blue light enveloped her body and a moment later her plain and subdued attire was replaced with the significantly more striking attire of a puella magi. A light glow then shone around her eye, her vision being augmented. The world around her gray and desaturated save for a potently visible splotch of black on the street below. ”And there you are.” She said casually to herself, her sickle forming in her hand just before stepping off the edge of the building.

A moment after she began to fall Gwen blinked down landing her safe on the ground just behind the trail of people the familiar lead. The space around the area warped and shifted into something akin to that as a miniature moving witches barrier. Below the almost happily trotting familiars feet and to the last person following it extended a trail resembling a paper cut out of a grass path. In the distorted which only those introduced into the world of magic could see, the path weaved out into the distance and intersected with many others. The familiar kept going for a moment ignoring the armed intruder like any other before stopping in its tracks and turning. It looked to Gwen with blank white eyes then let out an odd cackling giggle. The surreal looking beast turned and lunged before the magi girl could launch the first attack. The possessed people stumbled out of the way, but the first in line did not move fast enough and was knocked aside by the familiar.

Gwen grit her teeth and glared sharply at the sight of the man being knocked aside and lain prone on the floor. But the attacking foe demanded her attention. Just before it reached her she blinked away behind it. Its muzzle smacked into the ground, before it could recover Gwen tossed her sickle. A chain materialized from the handle and into her hands. The weapon wrapped around its neck, the curved blade positioned at its throat. A sharp yank back and the blade sliced through the familiars neck, it let out a distorted yelp before fading away. The pseudo-barrier then began to waver and the witches kisses upon the group lead by this particular familiar faded away allowing them to slowly come to their senses. Gwen moved to the man who had been knocked away, now maimed and dead by the hand of the familiar. She dismissed her weapon and heaved the body over shoulder before blinking away with it, the barrier dissolving a moment later. The people would awaken dazed but with no memory of what had happened.

Gwen meanwhile swiftly moved across the canal near the hotel and placed the body near an area where stray dogs were known to roam. She gave a faint sigh, looking down to it for a moment. ”At least someone can find you now, thats better then no one you knew knowing what happened, right?” Looking at the body she couldn’t help but feel a bit distraught, she was sure the body being able to be found and a cause of death being determined, even if it was a false one, it was better then letting it vanish with the barrier all together, but it still bothered her that no one would know the real cause.

”Kyuubey, there’s a witch near by isn’t there?” She thought while looking around the area with her enhanced vision, counting on the telepathic communication the fuzzy little creature had demonstrated many times before. She could see traces of a witch off in the distance but such traces were common, she was sure the familiar was leading the people somewhere but with it dead its trail went cold.

As it most often did when called, Kyuubey emerged from just beyond some corner, no matter where it was the odd white 'cat' was there a moment later. ”Out hunting again tonight Gwen? I saw familiars coming from this area not long ago, you should be able to catch it if you hurry.” Kyuubey's high pitched, even cutesy voice piped through her ears as it approached along side. Gwen nodded and formed her soul gem in her hand, using both the gem and her enhanced vision to try and pinpoint the location of the witches barrier.

[Asuras]

A silent snow had overcome the Underclass District of Yules, dampening the sounds of the restless city to create a sense of loneliness even in such cramped conditions. Anzhelina Katushka busily scrambled about her miniature kitchen station to fabricate some large dish of food. She wasn't wholly sure what she was intending to make, only that it needed to be edible, and at the very least, mediocre. As it had turned out, two of her friends from high school decided to visit her dingy little home, despite the two of them living in the Middle Class District. They were simply appreciative of her friendship and company, and never made much mention of her economic state. Despite her making it clear that she didn't want visitors to her old home, they seemed to have come without, as well as with a few snacks.

Of course, she couldn't keep them during the night without giving them some sustenance. Being in the Underclass District meant more than cheap food and tiny living space; you had to deal with sleazy individuals, near-constant drunkards, and worse. As dumb a decision as it was, her two friends decided to bus and walk to her home while still clad in their high school uniforms. Certainly a blaring signal of their greater wealth. Anzhelina delivered a swift friendly punch to the tops of their heads for such a decision. The two girls sat patiently at the small sitting table over her tiny living room floor talking with the mad cook.

"It isn't that bad actually! It's kind of... Homey. Like it was meant only for you," Sam pointed out, a short brown-haired girl just a year younger than Anzhelina and her other friend.

"Well it is meant only for her," the other girl, Linne retorted, "And of course it'd seem that way. Poor thing's living alone." Anzhelina sighed and itched a tingling spot on her cheek with the back of her hand, refraining from wiping foodstuffs on her face. She took a quick glance aside the gathering plates of dishes to find her soul gem sitting just behind a matryoshka doll, and its color caught her attention. Practically living with the thing left her with some supernatural ability to detect minute changes in it that any normal individual would pass off as an illusion. An ominous feeling caught hold of her body, and she began to feel the presence of dark forces nearby.

Familiars...

Anzhelina bit her lip, wondering what she should do; leave it to some other puella magi or drop what she was doing and at least remove the pests from her general vicinity? She could always go after a witch too. Her two friends were still waiting on some actual dinner, considering she wasn't going to allow them to leave onto the streets so late at night. Screw it.

"I uh... I need to get some extra ingredients from the convenience store, I'll be right back!" Anzhelina quickly mentioned, grabbing her soul gem and heading for the door.

"What ingredients are at the convenience store?" Sam asked, confused. Too late, nevertheless, as Anzhelina had already darted out the door. The wind was far from chilling, given Anzhelina's magic ability; she was always warm and cozy, no matter what temperature it was around her. She had to suppress the standard effects though, or else appear as a walking heater melting ice around her. Clad in nothing but her common brown cargo pants and heavily cropped shirt, she would've looked insane to have ventured outside with such minimal clothing, but she was unfettered. Sure enough, her brisk run led her to a rather hidden alleyway harboring a familiar. The shadowy dog stood in front of two dazed citizens, individuals who had obviously been kissed by a witch. Without hesitation, Anzhelina shifted her form to the more fantastical magi form. Beside her, four grim black knights manifested themselves in a cloud of ash and dark flame. Having no true weapon herself, the knights did the fighting for her, working together to take out witches and familiars with stunning synchronicity.

The dog growled and dashed for Anzhelina, seemingly ignoring the many giant knights standing around her. Without hesitation, the four knights rose and swung their massive silver blades at the dog, impaling and pinning it to the snow-covered ground in tandem. The familiar whimpered before dissipating and sinking into the white alleyway. It was but one of many familiars she knew were prowling and hunting the city, but she felt satisfied so easily dispatching the entity. She would look out onto the horizon if she could, but the dominating buildings on every corner of her vision limited her sight to the sky. Looking above, she pried into the city, searching for any sense of the witch's position. Surely other puella magi were already targeting the witch, and if she wanted to get it first -and get home for her friends before they got angry and hungry- she'd need to be speedy. One of the knights extended an arm for Anzhelina to hold onto as it brought her to its chestplate. The blackened knight carried her softly as it rushed through the alleyways, evidently much faster than the magi herself.

[Reialgo]

A girl walked through the almost pitch black streets of yules' underclass district, watching her breath as it turned to little clouds before disappearing just as quickly. "Damn snow, your not supposed to be this sudden" she grumbled to herself, her hands stuffed as deep insider her pockets as they would go, despite already wearing thick gloves. She was strangely far from her home for the time of night, her home being situated in the middle-class district making her presence all the more baffling. Truth was she had been hanging around the abandoned district on her own personal patrol, daring the creatures of the night to show themselves. However she had not predicted the snowstorm, much to her chagrin.

It also didn't help that she saw yet again, nothing, she was starting to think the little thing had gone in a huff with her and blinded her from that world, though she would be surprised if he showed any emotion bar happy. Sighing her eyes simply started to trail the ground, noting that it was starting to lie as a thin white. But oddly, after some number of uncountable steps she found that the freshly laid snow was already marked by numerous footprints, enough to destroy most of what should have landed. Intrigued she raised her head and looked around, the place was deserted, save for the occasional flickering of light there wasn't any sign of anything even moving. he tracks, however, were fresh enough to lead her on a trail.

Forgetting the time and the snow Emilia followed the "tracks" thinking back o cartoon detectives who always followed conveniently placed black foot steps, normally leding them into nothing but trouble. Perhaps she should have considered that as she found he tracks leading into an extremely dark alleyway. She could hardly see two feet inside, and lacking a torch she turned back o hurry home, the consideration finally entering her mind, when she heard a growl float out from the alleyway. She tensed up, looking backwards again towards the alley this time. There was another sound, more akin to a growl, and another, the shuffling of feet through snow. Figuring it was a man walking his dog she heaved a sign and stared moving again, but as she listened she could hear more and more pairs of fee join the shuffling sound, and there volume was not decreasing despite the fact she was moving away.

She decided to look back one last time to reassure herself, and saw 4 people stumbling towards her. She couldn't see their face properly, but they seemed drunk at the least. She tightened her grip on the swiss army knife in her right pocket, when a savage bark broke the night air. A dog shot towards her from just behind the pack. She caught a glance of it, but it seemed off, it didn't quite have dark fur, more than it's entire being was black, and it almost looked like it was made of mist. But none of that mattered at that moment as she instinctively let out a scream at the razor sharp teeth barreling towards her. She immediately darted right and started to sprint along the pavement. She wasn't about to outrun a dog in the open like this, but the fallen snow had made the ground slippery and she looked back to she the dog slip onto it's side in it's attempt to follow her, legs frantically flailing around to try and get itself upright. She desperately looked back and forth from the sides of the road to find more alleyways to lose it in, but she could no longer see any.

[IkariZero]

While many would consider getting out of the cold and being indoors by a certain hour, certain people were out having themselves a good time. Although what one considered to be a good time was relative yet the blonde that was currently engaged in fisticuffs with someone would consider this more than a good time. "You cheeky little bit--ahh!" A very meaty sound, one akin to a fist hitting flesh, rang out. That sound was actually the blonde young woman's fist colliding with the face of a significantly older man. Said man was currently spinning in the air before his body impacted the icy cold ground with quite a bit of force. The two seemed to have been slugging it out for some time as there were numerous bruises on both of their faces. "Is that all you have? I thought a retired boxing pro would have more for me than that~ Or has all the head blows made your technique as ugly as your face?" Arrogance. Confidence. Pity. Those three cutting attributes could be said about what the young woman just said. This was Isolde, and she was notorious among some of the more rowdy sort in the poor, or rather abandoned district of Yules. While she did not look more than just a slip of a high-crust rich girl, this tigresses was actually an up and coming ruffian herself.

"You think you can look down on me? Just because your family has money? I'll show you!" The man rose to his feet, anger brimming to a boiling point in his coal black eyes. This is just what she wanted, to infuriate her opponent to this point. Now he would be much easier to read, because in truth, he was a lot better than she gave him credit for. It was tough avoiding his blows and even finding the opening to counterattack. The bruises on her lovely cheek was proof of that. However, just as it seemed that the man was going to charge at her, he stopped. This puzzled the blonde as she looked at him curiously. Granted, she did not approach without caution as this could be a trick to make her let her guard down. "You're just going to leave me unsatisfied? What kind of man are you?" There was no response. She tried nudging him with a foot but still no response. Isolde was about to smack him another one on the side of his face when the man just up and trudged off, leaving her alone in the alley they had been occupying for the duration if their little tussle.

"Well isn't that rude of the little bugger." She muttered to herself as she decided she'd might as well just go home. No use staying out anymore if there was no more fun to be had. This little lady lived in the Liefson tower. Her father was a very profitable and successful business tycoon and she was going to inherit the family business...at least, that's what her parents told her growing up. But she had no interest in such boring things. She'd rather fight it out with the best of the best than sit behind a desk managing stock or talking to corporate bigwigs. Her father could live that life while she lived her's. "I guess I stayed out a little too late tonight...I hope Daddy didn't bother waiting up for me." She put her hands in her light jacket. Now that her blood wasn't boiling anymore...it really was quite chilly outside. She didn't expect to be out this long but that guy seemed like such a talented punching bag. Not wasting a moment, she ran as fast as she could towards home. Even running all the way, it'd still take her at least an hour if she took all the shortcuts.

It was sad, that no matter how far she ran it didn't seem like she was gaining any ground. It was like the alleyways just came one after another and stretched on forever. And why did it feel like her body was getting more and more sluggish and all the colder to go along with it? This wasn't how things were supposed to go. That's when she heard it. It was like a scream, the tearing of metal and the growling of a rabid dog all wrapped up into one. It was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time and its attention seemed to be all focused on her. Slowing down to a standstill, she looked around. It was dark all around her, and she could barely see more than a short stone's throw in front of her. How had it gotten so dark so quickly? And better yet, where was the night sky at? Was someone trying to play her for a fool? She crouched low and backed herself up towards the nearest wall, inching along it towards the exit point. She was in no shape for a fight now, and as much as she loved to beat up those weaker than her, she knew better than to always jump headfirst into her next brawl.

The insufferable noise got louder and her fear started to rise. There was little she could do should there be a group of scavengers out for blood. She thought of herself as tough but she was more effective against humans and not animals. A cold sweat dripped down her cheek in the cold, as if it was an icy stake on a slow path to her heart. Against her better judgement, she took off into a run, but she only heard the sounds of the beast, or whatever it was grow even louder still. Picking up stones and empty cans and other discarded garbage, she chucked it behind her with nary a glance, hoping to slow whatever was tailing her down. "This is the worst way to end a day!" She let out, tripping over her own feet while trying to pick up another stone. Sliding onto the cold pavement, she coughed a little. She was winded and she wasn't getting up for at least several more minutes, if she lived that long. With panic rising up in this young aristocrat's body, and the tension of combat slowly draining from her, what was she to do? She didn't want to give up but she was understandably scared as well. All she could do was hope for a miracle.

[VenDash]

A faint light flickered at a wooden table full of books in the Levarius family's home library. A few of them were open, while others appeared to have been just tossed aside with no further purpose. Footsteps of a single person echoed throughout the large room. They belonged to Marche Levarius, the youngest member of the Levarius family. With headphones draped over his neck blaring music, he appeared apathetic at best to the ensuing snow storm outside. Right now, his main goal was to find an interesting story he hadn't read before.

The books on the table that were tossed aside were ones that he had started to read and found no interest in. The ones that were open were ones that he wanted to read further into before he made a decision.

"It'd be nice to find just the right one..." he mumbled to himself as he decided to begin going through the historical section of the library.

His hands brushed lightly against the spines of the books as he carefully examined the titles of each of them. Most of them had to do with the history of the development of various medications or about major historical events that had a widespread effect, like wars. He'd read the majority of them, just for the sake of getting to know the time periods better.

It took several minutes, but eventually Marche found a book he hadn't read before that intrigued him. It was a journal written by his great grandfather, detailing the events that happened during their transition to Yules. As he picked it up and blew the dust off of the book, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of things were in it.

Quietly, he returned back to the table in the middle of the library and sat down, and opened up the book and began to read.

[Noel]

With familiars falling the remaining minions began to pick up their pace as they tried to lead the bewitched humans back to their masters lair. Though each of the districts the shadowy canines which were invisible to all but their targets and those few girls who fought ran through the streets with their captivated followers in toe. Soon most of the familiars which were not preoccupied came together in a pack which formed a perimeter around their pray as they marched through the underclass district and towards the witches barrier near the center. Together they moved faster but left a distinct trail in their wake for anyone capable to follow.

The familiars sped up but the snowstorm did quiet the opposite, it began to calm ever so slightly. Where the streets were once invisible against the flurry of snow it now became possible to see the outlines of dazed people being lead through the city which in turn caused them to move with even greater haste, even creating a bit of ruckus when some of the enthralled would inevitably stumble and fall against the icy ground.

---

Gwen was able to catch sight of this trail easily, her soul gem reacting to the presence of the group of familiars and the black blotch of malice sticking out in her vision. The girl took off towards the target immediately, but the path to it was far from a straight shot. Not wanting to expend the magical energy to make herself a straight path she had to weave through the maze of dingy city streets and barely lit alleyways that made up the underclass district of Yules. The pack of familiars was only growing further away with each passing moment, she grit her teeth together in response. There would be no catching them from her position at this rate. But as she moved she caught sight of something else, just barely eclipsed by the signature of the familiar pack. A human signature running from a lone familiar signature not too far away.

The magi stopped for a moment in brief consideration, she wouldn’t catch up to the larger group but she could at least help one person. Gwen stepped forward once and vanished from the alley way in which she stood, blinking and phasing through the various buildings which stood in her way, appearing at her destination a moment later. She turned to see a blond girl, lavishly dressed but with dirtied clothes sitting on the ground. An unearthly bark sounded through the alley causing Gwen to turn quickly, the familiar lunged and its teeth met her arm. She grimaced and lurched back as pain ran through the limb, the familiar threatening to to chomp through flesh and bone in mere seconds. Gwen formed her sickle in her free hand and quickly drove it through the familiars neck. It let out a distorted growl and burst into black mist after being dispatched.

Gwen's arm fell limp to her side, her sleeve torn and blood oozing from puncture wounds caused by the bite. She grasped it tightly, face contorting in pain but not so much she grew faint as one would expect from such a wound. ”My my you should be more careful, that will take at least a few days to fully heal.” Kyuubey spoke from Gwen's shoulder in his usual chipper manner. She simply bopped the fuzzy creature on the head before turning to look at the girl sat on the ground.

”Yeah yeah, just get her home so she doesn’t run into any other familiars alright?” She replied and Kyuubey hopped from her shoulder, approaching the blonde as Gwen blinked away in the direction of the familiars. She eventually caught up to the canines and their flock of prey, simply tailing them from a safe distance half so they would lead her to the witches barrier and half knowing she would have a hard time fighting off several familiars with an injured arm.

Meanwhile Kyuubey casually trotted up to the girl, his pristine white tail swaying back and forth despite having just waltzed through the dirty alleyway. ”You should get up and get moving, Isolde Bryant. Who knows what else could be hunting at this time of night.” The strange cat spoke, perfectly round red eyes gazing up to the blonde young woman, like nothing that had just occurred as anything out of the ordinary.

---

In another near by portion of the city a separate but identical instance of Kyuubey spotted another girl frantically trying to escape a canine familiar. Luckily even familiars sometimes slipped when running against the slick ground. But the ruthless beast would be up and back in pursuit moments later, and the girl appeared trapped. Kyuubey hopped down from the ledge it sat on, into an almost completely pitch black alleyway. ”This way!” It called out, not vocally but mentally, its red eyes and white form barely visible within the thin black passage way. Sure enough the shadowy familiar was barreling down the alleyway with intent too kill. ”If anyones around to help it would be great!” Kyuubey once again called out telepathically with feigned concern, not to the desperate girl this time but to any near by puella magi who may be so inclined to help.

[Reialgo]

Only a few seconds, maybe less than that, and the dog had scrambled onto it's legs once more, simultaneously destroying any false hope that Emilia had built up. The only thing that was now on her mind was the thing's sharp teeth and the impending death as her flesh was torn as easily as she might tear open an envelope. The fear of that reality fueled her legs as she forgot her bodily needs. She didn't think how stupid it was to be running in a straight line away from a canine, she only cared that she was possibly putting distance between it and herself. Suddenly a high pitched voice exploded not into the air as the bark had done before, but into the girl's mind. The sound of something other than her predator grounded her into reality and she forced herself to stop, skidding on the snow but just keeping her balance.

She instantly recognized the voice, snapping her head towards it's "direction" she hadn't the time to think on how that was possible. There was a pitch black alleyway that she had been looking for. "You!" she yelled sharply but ran towards the red dots hat stuck out from within the shadows. She was given a brief moment to catch her breath, or rather realize that she had lost it some number of minutes ago as she coughed against a dry throat. She was about to turn to the creature to actually thank it when the dog ungracefully turned into the alleyway, smashing it's body off the wall as it tried to round the corner.

With he shroud of darkness proven useless almost instantly, Emilia whipped out her swiss army knife, flipping out the longest blade while shouting "Kyubee! tell me that I can stab this thing!", not that there was time for an answer. She thrust the knife out in the insane hope that the dog's madness would skewer itself on the blade before common sense kicked in, for either of them.

[IkariZero]

She was alive? The last thing she knew, she was getting chased by some monster straight out of some twisted kid's fairy tale book and she had tripped running away from it. Isolde thought she had heard someone come save her but she was in too much shock to remember anything over the the past few moments. Her eyes were glassy and a few tears were running down her frozen cheeks. The fall into the snowy ground was enough to chill her to the bone and then some. It would be another miracle if she didn't catch her death of cold by the time the night is through. And now some strange looking cat thing was talking to her and it knew her name! "Wait wait wait...how do you know my name? What are you?" This white thing looked so out of place in a quite city like this. It couldn't be some type of exotic pet could it? It was telling her to get out of here too but what if there were more out there? There was no way she could fight those, whatever they were. Picking herself up, Isolde wrapped her arms around herself. Maybe she could at least warm herself up slightly.

"Maybe you could protect me? You can fight those things, can't you? I'd fight them myself but I don't know how to." It was more to herself but part of her did have hope that this little cat thing was the thing that saved her just moments ago. She couldn't really remember what happened after she fell down. Usually in a fight, she had a pretty clear memory but that wasn't a fight in any sense of the word. Walking out of the alley completely, she looked around to get a better lay of the land. She had ran so much that she didn't know where she was at the moment. Maybe it was that way? Or maybe this way? Not knowing up from down as she picked the road to her left and walked down it. "You'll help me get home, won't you kitty?"

[Noel]

Gwen continued to trail the pack of familiars as well as she could. They were moving at a brisk pace which was just fast enough to be a pain to keep up with on foot. As much as she wanted to she had to hold back using her magic. In the back of her head she had begun to hope another girl would show up to take the familiars out, she had already begun expending energy taking out the two that she did and had gotten herself injured in the process. The girl began to curse her recklessness. She could feel that the witches barrier was nearing, if she let the familiars lead the people inside the only hope for them would be to deal with the witch. Unless it was a weakling being able to deal with it on her own in her current state was little more then a slim chance.

The magical girl had to bite back her hesitation, those people had no chance if she chose to wait to take action. Her weapon formed in her hand once more and she broke into a run, closing distance on the familiar. When she was just close enough she threw her sickle and it span through the air, the chain materializing from the hilt and wrapping around her left arm. The limb was still aching but her magic had begun to mend it as she perused the enemies. It was just barely strong enough to get a grip on the chain. The weapon tore through two of the familiars before they noticed her and her weapon snapped back to her right hand.

When they became aware the area shifted into the false field of the familiars pseudo-barrier. The four remaining hounds were on guard immediately and charged, leaving their dazed captives to mingle around aimlessly in the background. Gwen flung her weapon out as they charged taking out one more of the enemies but was blind sided by yet another that had circled around to flank. Its claws raked against her side before she could blink behind it and drive her blade into its back. ”Tss, they have some semblance of pack tactics” She thought quikly while the remaining two looked around after losing sight of her Gwen blinked just above one of them, allowing her knee to slam hard against its back as she fell. She hooked the sickle around its neck and yanked it through before the final familiar could react. Unfortunately said familiar's jaws were gunning to tear into her shoulder a moment later. The girl lurched forward ramming her shoulder into its jaw, causing the thing to let out a strange yelp but not before its sharp shadowy fangs dragged over her flesh. The chain of her weapon wrapped around its neck while it was stunned and quickly yanked tight, snuffing the life out of it.

The barrier quickly dissipated with the familiars gone and their would be victims collapsed onto the cold snowy ground. Gwen let out a heavy sigh, her own legs feeling weak as she grasped at the harsh scratches at her side. A flash of light shone from her body and her puella magi outfit was replaced with her regular clothes, which were always fortunately unaffected by a battle. The girl drifted back into an alleyway and then blinked up to a roof top to watch as the people now freed of the witches kiss began to drift back to their homes. She felt a bit of weight lifted off her as she brought out her soul gem, the sight of which would be replaced with a new weight. Its normal blue color was being encroached upon by a black taint. ”Used too much energy... I'll have to deal with you tommorow. Even if its just for my own sake.” She spoke to herself while looking northwards towards the witches barrier.

---

”You can try but it won't do much without an enchanted weapon.” Kyuubey 'spoke' once more into the girls mind before turning tail and heading further down the alleyway and climbing atop a lamp-post to wait for her. The lunging familiar luckily enough did stick itself on the outstretched blade as it continued its rabid charge. The beast let out a rumbling snarl before leaping back and falling clumsily to the ground. It was hurt for a moment but the wound healed itself quickly.
”You should hurry now if you want to get away, or you could form a contract with me and fight back!” Kyuubey called once more, its voice as innocent as ever while it waited for the girl, tail swishing back and forth while watching the scene.

”I can grant your wish right here and you'll be safe you know. I don't know if another girl will show up to deal with the familiar if it catches up.” The little white plush continued matter of factually, not like it was trying to push the girl into a contract but simply like it was the only real answer. It was after all the safest thing to do, at least in the immediate sense.
”Theres at least one near by but she might not agree to even come in her shape” Kyuubey tacked on at the end like it was a simple casual conversation, he had nothing to worry about at the moment after all.

---

”Is that really important right now?” Kyuubey replied casually to the blonde, his perfectly round red eyes and feline mouth looking up to her happily. The girl seemed entirely baffled, they always did for one reason or another, even if the little white plush didn't quite get why. ”I can bring you home so you avoid them but I can't fight them myself.” Kyuubey continued, then paused as he quickly hopped up onto the girls shoulder. ”Its you girls that can fight them, or rather girls like the one who was just here that can fight them.” He spoke cryptically for a moment, looking back to where Gwen had stood not long ago.

”But you could fight them, all you have to do is form a contract with me and become a magical girl.” He spoke without a hint of irony, like it was a fact as natural as water being wet. ”Its not a one sided deal either, in exchange I can grant you any one wish.” Kyuubey finally finished the brief lecture, it was quick and practiced, one he had given countless times one way or another. He didn't need to say anything more about it for the moment, the girls answer would determine his next words. Some choose immediately, some declined, others lingered before finally taking the plunge. Either way watching over the prospective candidates was all in a days work.

”You don't have to worry though, I can sense the familiars at least. So we can talk on the way.” He spoke once more, seemingly to put the girl at ease. But that too was merely another fact.

[Reialgo]

A wave of euphoria, despite her current situation, washed over Emilia as he "Plan" worked. It was unclear is she had really managed to damage it, as the slice felt strangely devoid of resistance and no sound could be heard of metal cutting into flesh. Thankfully it did something as it let out a weak snarly, causing the girl to draw her knife back in a twitch like motion, but her attacker leaped away from her seemingly caught off guard by her stab as it slipped upon landing. Wasting no time Emilia swiveled on her heels the moment the dog gave her breathing space and rushed towards the only visible exit from the alley.

Kyuubey's voice entered her mind again, prompting a swift snarl of her own at he conclusion it had came to. "You almost sound as if you had hoped this happened!" she called back, glaring towards the etherial white animal further ahead. Emilia heard another suppressed sound come from it, fully expecting it to burst back into a sprint, she clumsily reached out for anything she could knock over, pushing over a bin which clattered to the ground with an unnervingly loud sound. "I told you...it's not happening!" though her reaction was partly because that thought had already sprung into her mind, and was rapidly becoming more likely.

Perhaps she was going insane, but there mere thought that she could fight back set her thoughts in motion, the knife probably wouldn't work again, at least not in a direct fashion, and she had no means of causing any impressive damage. From the surface it seemed she was hopeless, but she realized there was one way that could really hurt it. "The get her attention, do whatever it is you do there is some point for fighting these things right?" She shouted as she rounded the exit, bringing her into another open street. At almost the same time she heard a loud bark and the scratching of claws scraping the ground. She immediately ran to the first door she could see, murmuring "excuse the entry" before kicking it in several times and darting inside. Since the buildings around the old district were just that, ancient, she was banking on a way up to the rooftops, since they were made before everyone realized how stupid an idea it was.