The large patio was strung with lights and decoration, and demons in suits and gowns covered the dance floor.
Hellboy stood off by the railing, wearing a very modified tux.
Liz was wearing an elegant black floor-length dress, and sipping wine boredly.
"Have you seen Kit yet, HB?"
"Nope…"
Abe, also in a suit, shrugged.
"She'll be here shortly."
Seeing someone walking out of the large doors onto the patio, the three friends turned to see who it was…
"…WHOA…"
It was Kit, but there was a BIG difference.
She was wearing a floor-length silver, sleeveless, and almost form-fitting dress.
Her long hair was half up in a complicated bun, the rest falling over her shoulders.
She looked around, ears cocked, until she spotted them.
She smiled, walking over them quickly.
"Hey, guys."
Noticing the stares, she quirked an eyebrow.
"What?"
"…We've just never seen you in a dress before…" Abe explained.
"You look great, though." Liz assured.
"Yeah…but it feels weird…"
Kit fidgeted a bit.
"If anything happens, it'll be hard for me to move around."
"Nothing's gonna happen." Hellboy assured.
"…No jibes? No teasing? No jokes?"
She put a 'paw' on his forehead.
"Are you feeling okay?"
He swatted her hand gently.
"Yer having a bad day already. No need to make it worse."
She gave him a weird look.
"Consideration for my feelings? Lack of enthusiasm for joking? That's it…You've snapped."
Hellboy chuckled, pushing on her uninjured shoulder.
"Ha-Ha…VERY funny…"
She smiled.
"I know…"
"Assarishita."
Kit turned to see Kasai, and a small smile spread across her face.
"Hello, Kasai. You sure look formal tonight."
It was true, for he was wearing a formal tuxedo tinted a dark red.
"It's good to see you were feeling well enough to come."
"I've been through worse and walked away." She assured.
He kissed her 'paw' in greeting, and she blushed lightly before retrieving the appendage.
"Would you care for a dance?"
Looking uncertain, her eyes flickered to her friends before they locked with his moonlight eyes.
"…Sure…"
Kit was gently pulled onto the dance floor, and blushed deeper when his hand settled on her hip.
He guided her own to his shoulder, and she tried not to make eye contact as the music started.
It was slow and deep, and she heard her high heels click on the floor.
It was like a spell was winding around her mind, fogging it.
Her eyelids drooped, eyes misting over.
Something chilled her skin, and her brain started kicking in again.
Stopping abruptly, her ears cocked.
"Assarishita?"
Something crashed, and she pulled back to see what was wrong.
The crowd was moving away from a figure near the railing, and she unconsciously unsheathed her claws.
"Where is the princess?"
She stepped forward, face serious.
"I'm right here. What do you want?"
The figure was an older man, with long black hair and deep gold eyes.
A smirk came onto his face, and she bristled when his eyes moved down to look at the rest of her.
"You know, my face is up here."
"You're more beautiful than I heard you'd be…"
She snorted, looking unimpressed.
"Enough of the stalling. What are you here for?"
"I'm here for you."
She quirked an eyebrow.
"Oh, really? I'd have to wonder why."
Hellboy stood behind her, looking intimidating.
"And ya'd better start wondering if ya can get her."
Kit felt something in her cringe as the man's smirk grew.
"Actually, I've already marked her."
The half-demon's eyes widened before her shoulder started to burn.
Hissing in pain, she used her 'paw' to cover it.
"Kid-!"
Hellboy reached her shoulder, and saw her newly-scarred cuts glowing darkly.
"Kid…"
The man was suddenly in front of her, and she didn't have a chance to back up before his claws were on her throat.
Hellboy raised his stone fist, but seeing the claws threaten to tear open the pulsing vein in her neck, he froze.
"You don't realize what you can do. You're the key to the coming war."
Her ears lay back, and her claws flexed.
"…And why should you care?" She asked warily.
"You're not an Ookami…"
"I may not be, but your little boyfriend over there…"
He gestured to Kasai, and Kit thought she saw guilt on his face.
"IS an Ookami…"
Surprise crossed her face, and Kasai lowered his head.
"He's been following MY orders all along…And lowering your defenses…"
Feeling increasingly stupid for having fallen for such a trick, Kit growled deep in her chest.
"Get off of me…"
"And if I decide not to?"
Her eyes turned darker, like the daylight sky bleeding to night.
"Let go."
Her 'paws' glowed pink, and she blasted him in the chest with a sphere of energy.
He flew back, nicking her neck slightly, and she backed up into Hellboy's chest.
He wrapped a protective arm around her with his stone hand, and growled as the man stood up.
"It seems Kasai hasn't drained you of your fighting spirit yet…"
"No one can."
He smirked, standing up.
"Well, maybe my other pawn can…"
'Other pawn?'
Kasai appeared beside the man, not willing to make eye contact.
Setting her jaw and glaring, she tried not to sound hurt.
"How could you?"
He didn't look up or answer, and she growled.
"Why would you do this?!"
He turned away, and she thought she saw SOMETHING in his eyes…
A spark in the moonlit depths that showed her there was hope…
Then the two were gone, and tears built up in her eyes.
Frustrated at not knowing what the liquid meant, she closed her eyes as Hellboy lifted her up.
"Ya okay, kid?"
"I-If I could stop crying, I would be…" She sniffled, rubbing her eyes.
Holding her up as comfortably as he could, Hellboy turned to Liz and Abe.
"…It isn't safe here anymore, is it?" Liz asked.
"Nope…We're gonna have to leave tomorrow."
But Kit felt it wasn't going to be as simple as that…