"Manning, you touch that bag, and I swear-!"
Kit stopped when her throat protested, but her glare seemed to have a great effect.
"Alright, but you need to get ready."
Blowing a raspberry, she grabbed her bag, filled with clothes and weapons, and holstered it on her shoulder.
Kit was steadily getting better, but she was pale, and her body would shake if she exerted herself too much.
Her throat often hurt her if she forced too many words out, and she was given medicine for the pain.
In case of emergencies, she even got some 'berserker pills', as she called them.
They gave her a boost in energy, like caffeine, but took longer to wear off.
Shoving Manning out the door with one hand, she grabbed a piece of chicken with the other.
"Ya sure yer ready for this, kid?"
Nodding, she munched on her poultry.
Playing with the hilts of her 'Sakura Heika', Kit managed to walk around people easily.
"Are you SURE you're okay?"
Innocent-looking blue eyes turned to Liz, and she tilted her head, nodding.
"…Throat hurts?"
Nodding, Kit put on a 'Duh!' expression.
Hellboy rolled his eyes.
"SORRY…what? Are ya PMSing?"
She punched his arm, and he rubbed it dejectedly.
"Rule one: Don't talk about PMSing." Abe stated.
Hellboy gave him a weird look.
"What? She wanted me to tell you that."
"Ha-Ha…VERY funny, smartass…"
Kit just smirked.
"She knew you'd say that."
"Right now I don't care."
"Alright, everyone. They said the source came from Antarctica, so you'll be going there by plane."
Kit's jaw dropped.
"…She doesn't like the cold…"
"Well, then tell Kitrian to deal with it."
With a glare and a huff, she puffed out her chest and pushed past Manning and onto the plane.
Settling down, she grabbed a piece of paper, made a wall of pillows, and put the paper on the front. Hellboy paused to read it.
'No boys allowed'.
Smirking, his tail 'accidentally' made the pillows fall on the cat-girl sitting behind them.
There was a yelp, and an angry half-demon glared at him through the mountain of fluff.
"…Red, I don't think you should go near her for a while…" Abe advised, sitting down and opening a book.
"Why?"
The demon reached out, and recoiled at a sharp pain.
"She BIT me!"
"I told you not to go near her…"
"Get yer tail o'er here, Kit!"
"EEP!"
The cat-girl managed to scramble away, using her flexibility to get under Hellboy and hide behind Liz.
Even an angry Hellboy wouldn't move Liz around, no matter how much she loved him.
Sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry, Kit curled up like a cat and start drowsing as sunlight slanted in through the window on her.
Her dreams were peaceful enough, some bringing out purrs from her chests, until everything seemed to do a one-eighty.
The bright blue sky turned black as pitch, and the warm sunlight turned into cold moonlight.
A harsh wind picked up, making her shin-length silver hair fly behind her.
It whipped her face, making her close her eyes.
A large shadow, with huge shoulders and arms and a massive, canine-like head, lumbered out of the trees.
The plants died, wood splintering and leaves withering, and Kit flinched back as if she could feel their dying screams.
"What are you?"
"I already told you, princess…I'm your executioner…"
Sharp teeth and curved claws made her back up, a chill racing up her spine as a warning.
She reached for her familiar katana, but they were gone.
Kit felt vulnerable, empty-handed, without her katana close at hand, and her ears laid back.
"Scared? You should be…"
Her eyes hardened, and she unsheathed her claws.
"I'm not scared of you."
A black force wrapped around her throat, and she clawed it wildly.
Gasping for air and flailing, she closed her eyes in pain.
"Unleash your power, your pain…It will draw you to me…"
"Let me go…" She managed, feeling something hot boil through her veins.
"Let your demon out…"
"No!"
Fear, terror, filled her as she felt her fangs sharpen.
"Let me go!"
Something grabbed her arm, almost ghost-like, and she panicked.
Pink energy lashed out from her skin, breaking the black force and causing her to fall back.
"Kit!"
The voices seemed so faint…
"Kid, wake up!"
Where were they coming from…?
"Kit, you have to calm down!"
Her friends…?
Something grabbed her shoulders, shaking her soundly.
Opening her eyes, she blearily saw her red-skinned friend, a cut across his cheek.
"Red…?" She managed, throat still feeling sore.
Looking around a bit, she saw seats thrown about, along with papers, and Abe and Liz were looking at her worriedly.
"Wha…What happened?" She forced out, rubbing her eyes.
"Ya just freaked in yer sleep, kid. What happened?"
"Nightmare…"
Abe came forward, touching her neck.
He recoiled when she winced.
"You have a bruise…"
Liz came forward, looking confused.
"It looks like a…"
"Hand." Hellboy growled.
Abe sighed, hand still outstretched.
"They are trying to hurt us as they lure her somewhere…If she didn't have such control over her energy, she would've been killed by now."
"…Yeah…that's comforting…" The cat-girl ground out, sitting up.
"Why is…it always…when I'm…sleeping?"
"Your mind is more vulnerable when you sleep."
"But…I'm tired…"
"No way!" Hellboy nearly shouted, shaking her out of her sleepy daze.
"If ya do that again, the plane'll crash!"
"B-But…"
She used her patented Kitty Eyes, lip quivering.
"I-I'm tired…"
"Not this time, kid…"
"…Darn it…" She huffed.
For the rest of the LONG plane ride, Kit was kept awake with shouts, shakes, yells, and shocks.
By the time the massive machine landed, Kit was one MAD kitty…
"Touch me again, and you're a dead man." She snarled, her voice growing stronger the longer she used it.
Hellboy moved back, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture.
"Whoa there! Don't try killing anyone!"
She growled, marching through the snow, her thick jacket still unzipped.
"The next asshole to piss me off will sign his will 'dumbass', do you hear me?!"
Abe shook his head, since Hellboy was the main cause for Kit's angry distress, and followed the cat-girl as she zipped up snugly.
Liz shook her head in amusement, taking hold of Hellboy's hand and following the rest of the group.
Tail wrapped around her waist and ears back, Kit stomped through the snowy village they'd landed near.
"Hey, sweetie! Want a good time?"
Stopping, icy blue eyes landed in a glare on the man.
"Excuse me?"
Abe smacked his forehead as Hellboy covered his smirk, chuckling.
Liz knew this wouldn't end well for the poor man.
Kit was normally more subtle when letting guys down, but she was an age-old feminist that didn't like demeaning men.
With her temper already fraying, this guy would feel like a mountain had landed on him.
"Come on, hottie. You know you want some."
'BAD choice of words…' Liz thought worriedly.
"…That's it!"
Kit grabbed the hilts of her swords, but Hellboy restrained her.
"Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!"
Liz apologized to the startled man, and the group, Kit slung over Hellboy's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, headed deeper in.
Huffing and growling deep in her chest, she just bounced along with his footsteps.
They stopped in front of a strange tent, and Abe seemed to 'knock' before an aged voice told them to enter.
Kit was put down on a blanket, and she didn't fidget as the old, leather-wrinkled woman came closer to her.
"You say she was attacked in her dreams?"
Abe nodded.
The woman inspected Kit's neck, and sighed.
"A great evil is trying to destroy her…I believe I know what creature it is."
The ancient woman walked to a shelf, taking out a book with yellowed pages.
"They're called Ookami. They are much like your 'werewolves', but are much larger and more intelligent."
Showing them an ink drawing of demonic-looking, muscular wolf-human hybrids, the old woman closed her eyes.
"They are very intimate with the powers of darkness, and have learned black magic."
The old woman turned to Kit.
"You, on the other hand, have learned white magic. There is a rumor that the Ookami are going to war against the cat demons of the deep forest. You are part cat demon, are you not?"
Nodding slightly, Kit flinched.
"You are their greatest enemy at this point, the worst threat, so they're trying to get rid of you beforehand."
"…NICE…" The cat-girl muttered.
Hellboy smirked, nudging the smaller demon.
"Well, ya always seem to threaten everyone."
"Don't make me bite you…"
"You will need to go into the forest. The cat demons will find you, especially if this young lady is with you. Then you can settle things between them."
Liz nodded, and Hellboy lifted Kit off the ground again.
"Fine. This should be easy."
Kit snorted.
"Whenever you say that, things are always hard."
"Aw, shut up…"
SMACK!!
Hellboy nearly fell forward at the sudden smack to the back of his head, and a black tail smacked him harshly in the nose.
"Okay-Okay! I get it! JEEZE!"
Liz laughed softly, covering her mouth as Abe chuckled.
Kit settled as the village scenery change to snow, then to pine trees.
Hellboy finally put her down, and nudged her with his stone hand.
With a slight glare and a 'I'm going-I'm going!', she started walking through the foliage.
Her ears perked when she heard something rustle, and she sniffed the air.
"Guys…"
They were surrounded by figures much like Kit, with humanoid bodies but cat-like additions like ears and a tail.
"Yo! Back off!" Kit hissed, claws unsheathed and tail stiff.
The figures stiffened, then seemed to back down, almost bowing.
Confused, Kit stood up slightly from her crouch.
"Who are you guys?"
One moved forward, probably the leader of this little group.
He looked a bit older than her, with dark red hair and black eyes, along with black cat ears and tail.
"We are the scouts of our borders. What is your name?"
Quirking an eyebrow, Kit sheathed her claws slightly.
"Kitrian. My sensei named me."
Looking confused, he moved closer, and Liz had to hold Hellboy back from threatening the young demon.
"May I see your wrist?"
Still looking confused, she did so.
His fingers seemed to bring up a pink, glowing symbol.
"…I see…You really ARE her…"
"Who?"
Black met with blue, and Kit felt a spark.
"Assarishita…"
Looking confused and dazed all at once, Kit was surprised when he lowered his eyes.
"You are our princess…You were taken when you were still young, and we hadn't been able to find you…"
Her heart seemed to ache, as if it remembered the pain of separation.
"The king and queen are waiting for you and your friends…"
Still dazed, she looked at him in surprise.
"Wait, did you just say I was a princess?"
"Yes."
Hellboy nearly fell over in laughter, and Kit glared.
"Ya can't be serious!"
"Oh, shut up, Red…"
She was being led by her wrist into the trees, and the three friends looked at each other before following.
The trees soon parted, showing an ice mountain, with a stone castle built into the side.
"…Whoa…"
Ice-built houses were scattered about, with forms huddling behind the glass, watching as the group walked through the streets.
Kit's ears were perked, hearing the snow fall, and pulled lightly when she realized the man was still holding her wrist.
Large walls seemed to rise out of the stone as they got closer, and the large metal gate opened creakily.
"…That's usually a bad sign…" Kit muttered, ears back.
"Hey, EVERYTHING'S a bad sign." Hellboy joked.
"…That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"Why? Doesn't it?"
At the blank look, Hellboy shrugged.
"Sorry that yer so pessimistic…"
"I'm not pessimistic!"
Abe and Liz coughed, but looked off to the sides when Kit glared at them.
'Darn little-!'
"This is as far as I can go."
Noticing her wrist was free, Kit stepped through the front door.
"Well, come on!" She urged, grabbing Hellboy and Liz and pulling them through, Abe following behind.
Using her heightened sense of hearing, she soon found a large door.
"I think this is it."
"How can ya be sure?"
"…Just…trust me…"
Using her energy, Kit pushed the door open and stepped in warily.
The room was monstrous, with a long red carpet that led up to two mighty thrones.
The man was well-muscled, though not particularly large, with dark blonde hair and blue eyes on a tanned, strong face.
He even had cat ears and a tail, the same black as Kit's.
The woman was slender, with pale, moonlight skin, long silver hair, almost white eyes, and two large snowy wings folded behind her.
Bright blue eyes widened, then shimmered with tears as old images flashed through her head…
"Mommy…daddy…"
Now, Hellboy had lived with the half-demon for nearly two years.
He'd known she'd never really known her parents, and the only person she'd seen as a father figure had died.
But he'd never seen her anywhere near tears except when his own father had died.
She was a capable, strong-willed, iron-skinned warrior that never even showed she was in pain, but it was obvious now why.
It was a wall, though it was thinner with her friends, that seemed to hold back her pain.
Liz touched the cat-girl's arm, and Kit nearly jumped back into reality as the angel stood before them.
"My daughter…I've missed you so…"