The Cat and the Demon Lord [Xin x SilverRain]

[Xin]

It had been a while since the Demon Lord had been without a body, ever since the 'heroes' managed to somehow defeat him, the Demon Lord had been forced to take quite a risk, separating from his body to ensure his survival. His body had been too damaged in the fight so until it had a chance to regenerate he had confined himself to a small jar, specifically designed to keep his mind intact for the time it was separate from his body. He had been in the somewhat capable hands on his subordinates for quite a while but then all of a sudden, he was all alone. He could feel that he was traveling somewhere yet there was no trace of sentient life involved with his transport. It really was annoying but it appeared that he was on a journey that could easily let him fall into the wrong hands, there was little guarantee of reuniting with his body now that he was separated form those who served him.

"Well, Fate certainly knows how to keep my life interesting," He scoffed ruefully while being jostled around occasionally inside the jar. With nothing he could do about the situation, the Demon Lord decided to enter into a deeper state of unconsciousness to pass the time. The jar, decorated with demonic looks handle horns, sailed down a river, taking the Demon Lord to who knew where.

Both friends and foes were desperately searching for the Demon Lord, but who would find him first?

[SilverRain]

Kita the catgirl with an orange ponytail and black kitty ears was at the edge of the river fishing for her lunch. She came out at a time when there would be few humans about. She had caught a fish or two already and was roasting them in the open fire.

She carried with her dual katana and a small crossbow. She was once the guardian of her catgirl village, but she had been captured by humans because they thought of her kind as demons. She was whisked away to these lands which she did not know. kita was eventually able to make her escape before they could burn her at the stake and now they were looking for her. Kita longed to return to her homeland.

As Kita scanned the river for fish, something caught her eye. It was bobbing down the river - a box of some sort? Kita rarely saw things like these floating down rivers... maybe someone had lost it. In any case, it looked odd... and interesting. Kita reached out with her hands to try and grab it, only to fall into the river herself with a big splash. She was washed down the rapid river, but at least she got the strange looking thing. The catgirl eventually came to an embankment and she pulled herself out of the water.

Kita shook away as much of the water as she could, but still felt a bit cold. She looked at the jar that was now in her hands and traced the patterns with her fingers. Her instincts told her that this was not a regular human object. Those demonic markings and patterns... were they what the humans feared?

"Meow?" went Kita to the jar as she gave it a little shake to see if there was anything inside. She also sniffed and tapped at it. Kita was a very curious catgirl. Finding a closed jar meant that she had to open it to see what was inside (surprises were fun). Maybe she could try to open it. Curiousity never killed the cat after all.

[Xin]

The Demon Lord was 'awakened' quite rudely as the jar was shaken, tapped, and generally abused as an unknown entity picked it up and started to mess with it. While he technically had to physical presence in the jar, when things clunked or messed with the jar, he was most certainly the first to know as whatever would ha happened to his 'prison' could have dire consequences for him. "I suppose you have a habit of waking residents up by knocking on their homes." The Demon Lord 'said' sarcastically. Of course having a body meant that his speech was in fact, a form of telepathy, with which he spoke directly to another's mind, this case the entity messing with the jar.

The only reason the Demon Lord decided to contact the creature was the fact that he could tell it was not human. If it had been a human it would have been best to keep quiet and hope his presence was never deduced. As it was a nonhuman, he felt he could risk a little first encounter, after, who knew how long. There was something he had to make sure of first, "No, if you were wondering I am not a talking jar, this is but a temporary vessel for me." The Demon Lord was committed to making the most out of this fated meeting.


In the Back Country, many miles away.

"What do you mean you lost the Demon Lord's vessel!" Roared an ogre into the face of a rather pale faced human.

"I don't know how sir, but I guess there was that time when we hit that huge ditch and nearly turned over, it must have rolled away." The human was most certainly in the deepest of trouble as the ogre squeezed his neck in a vice-grip, his face quickly turning blue from lack of oxygen.

"I cannot believe this, our great Lord is currently...rolling around out there without any protection! You know how integral it was to bring our Lord to his body. His great revival was to be soon upon us, his power would have radiated over the land and once more the nations would cower before his might!" The ogre finally let the hapless human slump to the ground, but then kicked him in the stomach. "Now we have no idea where he is and our chance to serve under him is ruined unless we find him again!" The ogre spat on the cowering human and was about to step on him again when something caught his eye.

"Now, now what is this?" The ogre stooped down and ripped the ragged cloth that served as the man's cloak and stared at the object that had been hidden within the threads. It was very small, silver colored, in the shape of a small star, the ogre knew instantly what it was. "So you were a spy for the heroes, this tiny device has been tracking your movements, if we had arrived at our destination no doubt all that would have transpired is our death's." Without delay, the Ogre slew the human with a cruel looking cleaver, it was quick work and he was not one to let people get away.

Suddenly an arrow shot out from somewhere among the trees and almost hit him. Instantly the small entourage was on guard as followers of the heroes poured in from the direction they were heading. "Ironic that my Lord has managed to escape this fate through an accident. I may not live through this but at least I know my Lord is fated to rule once again." With a bellow, the ogre and the other members of the group charged into the midst of the enemy forces and the deadly battle began.

[SilverRain]

Kita's ears perked up and she became a little bit startled when she heard the voice in her head. Telepathy was usually a gift that was reserved for only the the Clan Leaders. She thought her Clan Leader was talking to her, but as she listened further, she realised it was coming from the jar. And yes, she did indeed think of it as a talking jar before it said it wasn't. Kita tried to discern what it was. It being a genie or ghost wasn't possible either because the voice said the jar was a vessel. Kita sneezed from being soaked. She tried to flick away more of the water and squeezed it out from her hair. Her clothes would have to dry naturally. Oh wells, at least cats had higher immunity to catching colds.

Kita gently set the jar down in front of her, perhaps a little tempted to open it and peek inside. Okay... very tempted. "So I guess this jar makes your home then? Do you want to be let out?" asked Kita. She knew how bad it felt to be trapped and yet the mention of home made her long for home herself. "My name is Kita and I'm a catgirl. What are you?"

Kita would probably have said more except that she wasn't sure what was inside. for all she knew it could be a cat eating demon. That and it felt a bit odd talking to the air like that because the telepathic connection was not opened both ways. Her kind usually only had one actual name, followed by the name of the clan. Catgirls usually had two forms - their humanoid and housecat forms. But there are some with an additional third form. The ones that made the humans call all of them demons.

[Xin]

"My name is Kita and I'm a catgirl. What are you?" From those simple words the Demon Lord was suddenly armed with a good deal of information about what had found him. Catgirls were a fairly seclusive breed, not too many of their kind had joined his army but at the same time they did not side with his enemies so he had been happy enough to leave them alone. The question was, should he reveal his true identity to this unknown catgirl named Kita? There was a low probability of her turning him in to the heroes and yet, he doubted she would feel any special obligation to help him. On the other hand, she might be inclined to assist his endeavours as his return to rule would put the heroes at bay, making rather a safe zone for her kind. If he did not reveal who he was, he might have a difficult time getting her to help him out, it was a tricky situation.

After mulling all of that over in his mind in less than a second he came to a snap decision, it was time to take a risk. "Fine, I will inform you of my esteemed position. I am the great Demon Lord, currently forced to reside in this rather spectacular magical vessel to keep my mind in tact." The cat was out of the bag, or jar, so to speak and the Demon Lord was in a foul mood. "I am just loving having to ask you of this but...I must request that you take me to a certain area." The Demon Lord knew he was in a precarious position; however, he was smart and as such he had the foresight to have some backup plans installed if he was ever in a position such as now. He had been on his way to his old body but due to some unknown circumstances he was stranded outdoors with this catgirl, Kita. Asking her to carry him all the way to his old body would be too much to ask, so the next best thing was to locate one of the many faux bodies he had secretly hidden across the land.

These faux bodies were designed as temporary vessels for the Demon Lord. They would severely hinder his powers but they would allow him the freedom of movement which was something he sorely needed at the moment. The other downside to the faux bodies was that by transferring to them, the jar would no longer be usable and the faux bodies had a limit to how long they could sustain him. The first body would last for perhaps three months, if he was lucky, the second one two, and each subsequent body even less time, this was the main reason he had stayed in the jar for as long as he did. It was undesirable to force such a time limit on himself, but his real body was ready to receive him back and he needed to get back to it as quickly as possible since he had been separated from his subordinates, using a faux body would be his best chance.

The Demon Lord had been searching for a nearby fuax body and as luck would have it, it appeared that they were indeed fairly close to one of the hidden temporary vessels as he could sense his distinct magical signal that marked the location, that was attuned to only himself and a few trusted underlings. "If you would be so kind, I have need of your services Kita. Not too far from her I do believe there is a cave, hidden quite well behind a mass of tangled ivy. If you would take be there, I can assure you by utmost gratitude." At this point the Demon Lord was not quite sure how he would express his gratitude, or even if he would, but he needed to get that fuax body as soon as possible.

[SilverRain]

Kita was a little bit suprised when she heard that the soul inside the vessel was that of the great Demon Lord. He was a symbol of power and destruction - the human's worst enemy. Her kind were mostly a peaceful race, but they would all silently cheer when the humans were pushed back by the Demon Lord. The humans' aims were similar to that of the Demon Lord - seeking world domination, rule over other races and endless power. The cat people did not want to get involved in bloodshed so they remained hidden. But on that day, the humans started to come for her village, armed with spells and weapons that they could not run from. And for that unprovoked attack, Kita believed the Demon Lord's actions were right.

"Utmost gratitude?" wondered Kita with a hint of excitement. Most seeked power and money, but for Kita it would be slightly different. She hoped her he would be able to make her wish come true. "...Repayment? Then I would like to be returned home. My home is the Whispering Winds clan village, but it seems that I am now very far from it. I could not see my clan's stars in the sky, nor is the wind the same. I am not sure if they have moved to a safer place" said Kita. The Felinians (as her kind were officially known as) navigated by the stars because they could always be seen. Some believe that the stars are of the great Clan Leaders and they call out to their kind to return home at night. But the clans can move and change locations - which is why some star constellations move. Kita wondered if they left without her, which was why she relied on the wind. They believed that the wind carries the souls of those passed away. The wind's scent tells of things happening in the far distance, and carries with it the whispering of Mother Nature. The wind can sing about life or warn about dangers. And yet, in this place the wind was there, but it was silent.

Kita had been travelling for a while and there was no one she could rely on. If the humans knew, they would try to capture her and more of her kind. The animals here - Kita had talked to them, offering food in exchange for information. From the town cats to the knowledgable foxes to the birds of migration... none saw or heard of her clan's constellation. She felt that she was very far away from home and she hoped that the Demon Lord's power could see what none of them could.


"Great Demon Lord, would you be able to take me back to my clan no matter where they have moved?"

[Xin]

The Demon Lord was certainly not expecting such a simple request from the catgirl and could not help but say sarcastically, "Well you certainly drive a hard bargain there." The simple request almost seemed laughable, how easy it would be, then again though, as long as he was stuck in the jar even such a simple task would prove to be hard to accomplish. "A simple enough task girl, as soon as you can take me to that faux body I should have more than enough power to locate your clan."

Admittedly the Demon Lord did not know too much about the Whispering Winds clan, he would require the clan's constellation in order to divine the location of the clan. While he had let the Felinians do pretty much whatever they willed he had still kept a close eye on them during his reign, like any other potential ally or foe and so knew how to locate them. "Due to my particular condition, I cannot exercise enough of my powers in order to help you to any great extent, the sooner I can transfer to the faux body the better. From what I can sense, we must travel due South, which should take you away from this river I was swept away by. It may take a little time looking once we get near the cave since it is so covered in ivy, or at least should be. When we are getting close I'll cause the handles of the jar to glow like so." The Demon Lord extended his influence and the handles glowed with a faint, red light, then he stopped.

"I trust you can safely carry me the short distance required to get to our location." He said matter of fact, no hint of a question in his telepathic voice.

[SilverRain]

"Right on it!" said Kita happily as she now had the possibility to return home. Who would have thought that she was lucky enough to meet such a powerful Demon Lord who was willing to help her back? Kita hugged the jar and then looked around before she started to head off. Her fish lunch was in the distance, but that was now comparatively negliable. "Demon Lord, can I ask how I can identify your followers and enemies? Just so that I know how to respond when I do run into them" asked Kita.

She traveled towards the South and noticed the foliage becoming denser. It became darker too due to the little sunlight that flowed through. She continued to make her way through the twisting paths of the forest following the warm red glow emitted by the Demon Lord. Eventually she came to what seemed to be a cave covered by ivy.

Kita was alert the whole time, listening for sounds and clues of those that ruled this territory. Back at her home, the Felinians lived in harmony with most of the other forest animals. Each had their own territory and rules. Kita bent down and pinched a small bit of dirt. She lifted it up to her nose and meowed softly before she sniffed it. "This is the land of the bears and wolves" said Kita more to herself.

A warning growl was heard from behind her and Kita stood up before she turned around. She was faced with the leader of the gray wolves and his pack. Her ears swiveled around and she could hear others encircling her in the distance. The wolf leader and Kita spoke through their eyes.

"What brings you here cat? This is our territory. You have entered far enough"

"I have come to search for a cave. I do not intend to steal your prey"

"Leave this land. Your kind will do nothing but bring the humans here as well. That is nothing but trouble for this forest"

Kita looked towards the ivy covered cave. She didn't want to leave. She had to convince the wolves to let her stay. But they were right. The humans hunted her kind to no end. Who knows if any of them followed. Kita could fight these wolves yes - even the whole pack. But that might attract other wolves or even worse the bears. If she used her power to fight them, she would not be able to move and she would be prone to attacks from behind. She would have to make this quick. Did the Demon Lord have to stay long for the soul transfer magic to work?

"Well?" stated the wolf again. His patience was running thin.

"I offer your pack a new home. Depending on how things go that is. I can remove the ivy covering that nice warm cave and your pack can use it as a den. The bears have already taken over the prime spots am I correct? I have the ability to open up that cave for you. All I ask is that I be able to enter it first to check a few matters"

"Fine then. But no tricks!" said the wolf leader. He flicked his head and uttered a command that only the other wolves would understand. The others went away with only the wolf leader remaining. The wolf leader saw Kita holding something in her hands, but didn't care about it nor any other of those human contraptions.

Kita set the Demon Lord's jar on the ground and approached the ivy covering the cave. She started by trying to tried to pull away at the stringy things. The ivy had been there for many years and it was hard and resiliant, not wanting to be removed. So instead Kita used one of her katana to cut and slice away at it. She did this using wide and swift swings here and there to loosen up the ivy. The ivy was pretty thick and dense, and there was a lot to cut through. After a bit more cutting and slicing it was still quite a tangled mess although a noticeable slit could be seen. Kita was hoping to be able to simply stab through the messy thing, but it seemed that she would have to use another tactic.

The catgirl stepped back a bit as her hands glowed a soft blue. She concentrated as she moved her hands in a pulling motion. Snaps and cracks could be heard as the ivy was starting to be pulled away from the wall. Using her telekinesis to do this part of the job was much faster than yanking them all out bit by bit. Her telekinesis... it was probably a reason why she was hunted. There were humans who believed that if they drank the 'purified' blood of a demon they would be able to gain their powers.

Eventually the majority of the ivy was gone. Kita peered at the spot which she revealed, wondering if it was a hole she could enter or if there was something blocking the cave. She picked up the Demon Lord's jar "I've removed the ivy. In exchange, I have promised the wolves a new den. Do we need to stay in the cave long?" asked Kita. She wondered if they had to negotiate a longer stay.

The wolf leader tilted his head when he saw Kita talking to the jar. He didn't understand what was happening, but guessed it was just a 'cat thing'.

Edit: I hope you don't mind me taking a bit of liberty with the ivy thing. Let me know I should edit.

[Xin]

It was interesting seeing the a feline and canines coming to an understanding with each other. The Demon Lord could not understand what was being said between them but negotiations had at least gone well. Soon the Ivy had been cleared but what appeared before them appeared to be nothing but solid rock. "The process of transferring my essence into the faux body is a simple one and should be of no trouble at all. As for allowing the wolves a new den, once I have retrieved the faux body the cave will be nothing more than an empty shell, all magic gone without a trace as its purpose will have been fulfilled. Now as for this entrance," The Demon Lord sensed the magical seal that had been placed there and soon found the key to unlocking it. With minimal effort, the Demon Lord triggered the seal, the rock face shone brightly like a star for a brief moment and then vanished, revealing a fairly large entrance.

"Now then we just have to move inside and I can begin the transfer." The cave looked as if it was completely empty, but the faux body was most certainly in there, the Demon Lord could sense it. Once inside, the Demon Lord concentrated on the ground, the handles of the jar glowed, this time with a black light, and a rumbling could be heard coming from the earth in front of them. The ground broke apart as a hand burst from the earth, soon a second hand, then a head, torso, and so on until the faux body had emerged from the ground. The body looked like the basic shape of man but had no real features, at least not yet.

"This will only take a moment." The Demon Lord spoke his last telepathic message and a green light glowed from inside the jar, it pushed open the lip with a slight 'pop' and streaked over to the faux body, entering its chest. Instantly a magnificent change took place over the faux body, it grew jet black hair, strong features were chiseled into the formless shape, details grew distinct, simple clothes formed over the body and before long a young man was in front of Kita.

The Demon Lord flexed in his new body, testing its limits and produced a small ball of dark energy in one of his hands. "A crude body to be sure but it will at least serve my purposes for a time." With a small grunt, the Demon Lord smashed the jar that had housed him for so long with his dark energy, as it had become completely useless as soon as he left the vessel. The wolves glared at the stranger suspiciously, to which the Demon Lord glared back in kind. "They seem especially friendly, I would hate it if they decided to attack."

[SilverRain]

Kita turned around and covered herself and thus the jar from the bright explosion of light. When the light subsided, she carefully inched her way to the cave, somewhat expecting a doom and gloom appearance, traps or anything else that could be considered dangerous. She was surprised when the cave was empty. The rumbling of the ground and sudden shooting up of the hand startled Kita and she took a few steps back. She had initially thought it was a monster which ate humans. The other body parts appeared and Kita hugged the jar very tightly. After it stood up and just remained there she understood it to be the faux body of the Demon Lord.

When the jar started to glow green, Kita set it on the ground and watched as the Demon Lord possessed the body. Was this only one of his many appearances or was it what he truly looked like? She sniffed the air a little to memorise his scent. He smelt... demony? Kita blushed a little as she just realised she saw him without clothes just before. At least she just focused on his broad chest. Otherwise it would be really awkward. Did the Demon Lord have a pulse now? Did he have to eat? Many questions flooded the curious catgirl's mind.

When Kita saw the glare in the Demon Lord's eyes, she turned to face the wolf leader. She scowled as she recognised the eyes of a predator on a hunt. Kita let out a low and and extended 'yeowl' which echoed around the cave. Her ears pointed up and the tail stiffened in the air. The signs were to tell the wolf to back off. It was something recongised across all species. Another animal conversation took place with Kita speaking first.

"What? You're not going to let us out?"

"Naaaw. My pack needs to feed. And you two make quite a feast. You may not be human, but that's close enough. Our deal still stands cat. I let you in, you did your business, and now its our turn to do ours. A warm feast befitting for a new den!!!" said the wolf through his eyes. He bared his fangs and lifted up his tail. His ears pointed forward as he lets out a howl that summoned the rest of the pack. He took the lead and entered the cave as five followed behind. The others waited outside.

Kita hissed loudly as she drew both her katana. "Attacking the us in our current forms? What a foolish way to die. We reign above you in the food chain. And the Demon Lord here with me will make your life hell!"

"Demon Lord, it seems they want to make into dinner. Like the stupid wolves they are" said Kita with gritted teeth in human-speak. The wolves did not understand human, but they could hear from the tones in the voice. Kita did not look back at the Demon Lord as she spoke and instead just kept her eyes trained on the wolves that encircled them. She watched their movements, differentiating between the stronger and weaker ones by their muscles and thickness of their fur. She could start to distinguish between the front, and side attackers by the positions they took.

The wolves encircled both Kita and the Demon Lord. "Hah! Demon Lord? He's just a human now! We Wolves of the Grey do not fear his little displays of light and colour!" And with that the wolf leader hunched his back and bristled his fur - a signal for the attack to begin. The wolves won through their numbers. As long as they could knock a prey down, it would die, no matter how formidable it was when it was still standing.

Kita gripped her swords tight - she would need one to attack and one to defend. She guessed that the Demon Lord had his dark (and destructive) magic. She would be able to take these wolves out with her telekinesis, but she could not use it in the cave because she didn't want it to cave in whilst she and the Demon Lord were still inside. Her katana were useful against prey of human height and admittedly it would be hard to use them against the knee height wolves. But they can still slash downwards. Kita let out her clan's very loud cat call - a battle war cry that sadly could only be understood by one cat - herself. It was used to scare the enemies into disarray, but the wolves were unfazed.

One tried to leap onto her from behind and she twisted around to slice it across it's underside. Using the momentum, she kicked dust into the eyes of the second wolf before slicing her katana completely through it. However, more wolves entered the cave, leading to a total of eight fighting wolves and the wolf leader.

(OOC: The wolf packs are NPCs - please feel free to control them)