Ch 5: The Bird And The Beasts

After a while, Dove slowly sat up, her face scrunched in distaste as the feeling of how much grime was coating her skin but she knew that Wendie had gotten angry just from Loki's proximity scent on her so this should be exactly what she needed to get the task done. She groaned, slowly standing and fixing her clothing as Loki stretched on the floor, smirking at her. Loki curled and laughed with a grunt as Dove kicked her side with a frown, "Shut your mouth. I feel so gross."

Loki rolled to sit up, rubbing her side, "I mean it was your idea Babe."

Dove rolled her eyes and stepped over enough to glance out the window, pulling on her gear as her blood ran cold, "And I am pretty sure it's working."

Outside, Wendie still sat, breath visible in slow rhythm in the cold air right at the edge of the barrier. She had not moved an inch since she decided to wait for the magic to fade, red eyes locked on the window catching sight of Dove and making eye contact easily as claws reached up, running along the barrier to give the surface another test as it sparked and rippled weakly, the beast's monstrous tongue running along stained boney teeth hungrily.

Loki got to her feet and fixed her own clothing and gear, looking over Dove's shoulder as she cocked open Ragnarok to load several shells, "it isn't gonna hold much longer that's for sure."

When Wendie saw Loki come into view, she snorted out a burst of air, the cold making the breath easily visible, as the claws curled into the barrier surface and cut through, tugging roughly to rip the surface though it was a very unyielding and slow process. Dove saw Reaper come into view next to her as Loki held her weapon out to her, taking it with a deep breath, "Ready Babe?"

Dove sighed, "Nope. But it looks like we don't have much choice. Time is up."

Loki stepped to the door. They had their half baked game plan, one she hated but it was all they had. She felt Dove's hand slide under her coat to her neck, lips brushing the shell of her ear as she saw the flashes of the barrier cracking down outside the windows, "Loki my love?"

When pink eyes tilted back just enough that Dove could see them, the icy feeling of her semblance could be felt on Loki's skin as she placed a heavily amplifying glyph on her, watching those eyes radiate with the boost as the woman kicked down the door just in time to watch the beast break down the rest of the protective barrier, "Wear her out for me."

Loki smirked widely, throwing up her weapon, eyes wild and teeth gleaming as the beast growled and charged at her, waiting for just the right moment to fire off a powerful blast at close range into Wendie's chest with the fire dust round. She could feel the power being intensely ramped up from the glyph coursing through her, "Thought you'd never ask."

Dove slipped out while Wendie was distracted with Loki, the fire burning her thin skin and making the monster shriek in pain, rearing up and swinging strong claws at Loki, who easily dodged now that her body was moving with such increased vitality, stamina and strength. She could see all the movements Wendie was making as if slowed down a bit. Not perfect by any means but it was definitely helping immensely.

Dove had gotten herself out into the trees without Wendie noticing while the beast was busy trying to overpower Loki. She just needed to gain as much distance as Loki could buy her until Wendie noticed she was gone. She was worried of course, with no one there to help Loki should the glyph not be enough and should this attempt completely backfire, but she had to do her best to believe Loki could do this, "come on you gorgeous idiot. You got this."

The blade of her weapon swung down, catching into Wendie's leg and ripping it from under the beast as it growled in anger, toppling awkwardly to one side. On the way down, Wendie grasped hold of Loki's ax and yanked the woman, slinging her across the snow before getting to her feet, all four limbs carrying the creature at lightning speeds at Loki who was able to stand just in time to reach out and lock her hands into the two clawed ones swinging down on her, feet sinking rapidly into the snow as weight beared down onto her.

Loki's arms were shaking, the glyph on her body shimmering as Dove got further and further away, losing potence. Grit teeth grinded with strained breaths as Wendie leaned in close, snorting air onto Loki with a clicking, growling arrogance, intense strength shoving harder down on the woman until Loki was forced to take a knee, trying her best to keep those hands held back in her own so she wouldn't be crushed under the sheer weight and power of the monster looming over her.

When Wendie took a breath in at such close range, fury flashed in her eyes, the smell of Dove thick on Loki's breath and skin. Loki chuckled through agonizing pain in her limbs and straining body, "took ya long enough huh? Did you even notice yet? She's probably almost to town by now. If you don't hurry, she'll escape you. What's it gonna be bonehead? Kill me… or catch her?"

Loki could see and hear the breathing begin to rush as Wendie grew annoyed and frantic, breath smelling of rotten blood rapidly puffing against her face was sickening as the beast struggled to decide, head glancing from Loki to up in the air to sniff Dove out than back to Loki. At first, Wendie was very confused, only able to smell the barbaric woman she was smashing in her grasp, causing more and more of her patience to waver. But eventually the faintest scent of Dove on the wind mixed with the woman before her smelling too far to be the pink haired gremlin caught her nostrils and she shrieked up towards the sky and trees.

Loki let out a painful shout at the noise but was lucky to not be in the direct path of it, falling over dizzy and vision blurry when Wendie tossed her aside like a ragdoll, taking off so fast after Dove Loki couldn't even see her. As a human, there was no way she could track them by scent, Dove couldn't either but hopefully the massive figure wouldn't get the jump on her too quickly.

All Loki could do now was try to regain her senses and wish Dove the best of luck, eyes staring at the doubled vision of trees in the direction she thought they went before she blacked out into the snow, "Kill that fucking bitch Babe…"

—-

The harsh pounding of Wendie's feet against twigs and ice and logs was creating terrifying echoes through the trees, her howling growls not even trying to hide bellowing out, Dove able to hear them even with her head start. It was enough to tell her Loki was either dead or lost, either way, it was up to herself now and Wendie was coming in hot.

When the sound was getting so close Dove could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, she quickly turned as she jumped over a large fallen tree, throwing up her hands in time to see the red eyes and claws coming swinging from the darkness towards her as it leapt after her through the air, her own hands grasping onto the wrist after avoiding the claws just barely. She placed a large glyph on the wrist, trying to see if one that would drain Wendie's aura would do any good here.

Even if it did nothing in the way of weakening the beast or slowing it down, she hoped it would at least dampen all her otherworldly perks. With a swift flick of the wrist, Dove was sent flying with a yelp into the ground, the beast landing over her on all fours from its leap with an ear numbing loud growl into her face. Frustrated breaths blew Dove's hair over and over as Wendie reached and grasped at Dove roughly, tossing her head around and growling at the destroyed marking.

Dove was yanking at Wendie's grip, nails digging in as she pulled, grunting, "Release me!"

Wendie growled in response, leaning in, teeth bared ready to latch onto her again. Dove lifted her feet up between them and kicked back hard, knocking the boned jaw closed and away from her desperate to keep Wendie from marking her again. She couldn't let it happen, not again. Forget the fact she said she wouldn't let it happen, her mind couldn't handle letting it happen again. The thrust of her feet allowed her to rip from Wendie's grasp enough to push herself backwards, flipping back and over in a roll to her feet, pulling Reaper from her back in the process and letting it unfold as she slid to a crouched stop.

The faunus shook its head angrily, staring at Dove confused, approaching quickly with a roar, grabbing her by the arms quickly before Dove could swing the weapon fully, pinning the shaft between them and slamming Dove back into a tree. Wendie reared up on hind legs and towered high over Dove, watching her squirm and thrash around in her grasp, Reaper's shaft digging into her chest, ribs threatening to crack under the pressure painfully as Dove gasped. Weak eyes stared into those raging reds, "Wendie stop this! This is crazy! AHH!"

Sharp cracks filled the air as Dove's ribs snapped beneath the weapon being pressed hard into her chest with Wendie's impressive weight for such and slender being being applied fully into it to pin her down, the clicking growl filling the air between them as the long, sticky tongue slid out and along Dove's neck and face slowly, trying to find skin that was untouched by any of Loki's secretions painted on Dove's body.

Dove coughed and thrashed her legs and head, trying to avoid any advance the beast made, blood dribbling from the corner of her lip as bone punctured a lung, her eyes squeezing tight and chest shuttering with wheezing breaths and gasps, the faunus still ever pressing against her. Her nerves were on fire from the pain, fighting not to pass out as her spine in the tree began to scream at her.

She snapped her face away when Wendie licked at the blood coming from her mouth and tried weakly to kick the faunus away again, gasping for air between words, "Ple…please… you have…to stop… I… let me go… please…please…let me…go…I won't…run… I'll stay…with you…"

In a rumbled angry growl, a sudden harsh thrust forward made Dove jerk and lurch, coughing out blood and losing feeling in her lower body as Wendie yanked her forward then slammed her back again even harder. The beast leaned forward and pressed its face against Dove's as it gently as she let Dove slide down to the base of the tree and nuzzled her face.

Dove could hardly breathe, every in hale felt like a searing fire in her chest. Her vision was fighting to focus on anything, the world was spinning nauseatingly. Her legs felt like pins and needles and her arms felt heavy around Reaper that had fallen into her lap. Her head hung as she kept her mind on the goal, willing herself to ignore every ache and pain, every screaming injury and all of Wendie as the faunus leaned close over her.

Wendie was nuzzling her skin with whimpers that sounded like cries of pain, emotional pain. Something so heart wrenching Dove had to really focus to block how it tugged at her, though it got easier as that cold tongue ran along her neck to her bloody lips, trying to enter her mouth. Dove forced herself to take a deep painful breath, tears running down her face, ' Forgive me Loki,' she thought as she reached with one hand, grasping the boney face and pulled Wendie in close, kissing along the bone and welcoming the tongue into her mouth, keeping Wendie in that intimate kiss as tears left her eyes faster, her other hand trembling on Reaper.

As Wendie reached and wrapped Dove's weak body into her lean arms, dragging the damaged woman close, Dove kept a grip on her weapon as best she could, tilting her head back, exposing her neck with saddened eyes glazed over, blood smeared on her lips and mixed in the drool running weakly down her chin as she grew dizzy from her lack of air. The moment Wendie moved her teeth to Dove's neck, the sharp points already drawing blood droplets on pale skin, hot breath fog rolling along her skin in the cold air, the sound of a metal latch release trigger and sliced air filled the silence, red and blue eyes staring off blankly at the softly falling snow in the quiet sky.