Folie à Deux [JT, NDE]

[Catty Noir ♦]

His entire body ached for the chance to rip this man apart. Every ounce of Amon's being told him to slice, tear, bite, and slash into Luke to the point where the Bount would be unrecognizable. Bright red eyes darted from corner to corner of the room they were in, taking in the surroundings as he evaluated where he was to the best of his ability. He hadn't been manifested for very long, yet he felt like he understood what his abilities were. He knew who he was, and that was fine, but perhaps his mother would need a chance to adapt to her new son. Unfortunately, he'd be acting on his own since she was still mostly unconscious.

It was so strange. Amon could feel every breath she took, and hear her thoughts as she watched animated nightmares play within her mind. She was imagining herself fighting this man and losing, just as she had been doing only a moment before. She was being drained of all her Reiatsu and Amon felt her fear as her life slipped away more quickly than she could have ever thought possible. Mother also had no idea that he had been born. Nowhere in her memories did he find anything about his summoning, meaning he realized quite suddenly that he really had brought himself into the living world. Interesting.

But before he could think on it any further, Amon's ears twitched at the sound of Luke's voice telling Mother to open her eyes. baring his teeth once again with a vicious growl, Amon was sure to cover her body with his own in order to guard her after the Bount snapped his fingers. The dragon responded immediately, rivaling Amon's fierce roar with its own, forcing the Doll to react with another great, thundering sound of his own once again. Two beasts were effectively peacocking, but this brought Amon forward by a few steps as he dipped his head, his gaze cutting straight to Luke as his eyes glowed a deadly red.

"Mère cannot hear you, for she sleeps against her will." Amon slammed his massive piloerected tail against the ground, then smoothed the spikes back down as his fur and scales shimmered briefly. "I will protect her."

Luke's dragon began its assault. The shimmering, though beautiful like glistening moonlight, only lasted for a short while before Amon's entire body disappeared. He had activated his passive ability Disparaître, which granted him invisibility under specific conditions. Only the bright red glow of his eyes would be seen despite his body being virtually undetectable, and even they would be incredibly challenging for anyone to find unless they were highly observant or analytical. Amon, having only been within a physical body for a short period of time, used this technique unknowingly as if through instinct alone. It was born from his desire to take out the dragon and cut the Bount's throat as swiftly as possible.

Unseen and unheard, Amon twisted his body around so that his back was facing the dragon. Now completely visible, he quickly launched himself into the air and used the momentum to flip himself over backward, slamming his massive tail into the body of the dragon. Should this hit, it was unlikely that the dragon would falter too much, but the surrounding damage would be undeniable. Though not quite as strong as his mother, Amon was still fearsome in his own right and even if his tail were to hit the ground, it would cause unforgivable demolition with cracked concrete beneath the limb. But just as suddenly as the Doll appeared, he disappeared once more, nothing more than two glowing eyes.

He was worried about leaving his mother's side. He feared that Luke would attack her while she was defenseless, so he wanted to become her shield. Turning himself back around, visible once again, Amon beat his massive, bladed wings and blew his slicing winds once again. He dug his rear feet into the ground and used his tail both as a balancing stand and a protective barrier surrounding his mother's body. He didn't want to risk either of these two getting close enough to her to do anything they'd regret, so his resolve was firm. He'd try to blow them away and use his winds continuously if he could.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Disparaître (Disappear)}

Amon has the ability to imitate air and become completely unheard and invisible aside from glowing red eyes. This technique is passive but automatically shuts off any time he attacks or defends outside of simply moving around. His Reiatsu signature also becomes obscured and cannot easily be detected. He is effectively non-existent, meaning he cannot be seen or sensed, by anyone who has less than 400 Energy Sensory unless his technique is inactive due to the specified reasons. He does have the ability to become visible whenever he chooses outside of the specified reasons, as well.

Drawbacks: Despite being passive, this technique has a cost. When Amon is summoned, he may choose one time when to activate this technique during the thread. Once activated, 150 Reiatsu is deducted from his pool and the technique will remain active throughout the remainder of the thread. Any time he is visible, he is also able to be sensed. The two cannot be activated separately. The only exception to this rule is for anyone with at least 400 Energy Sensory because even if they cannot see him, they can sense him.

Amon's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,600 (-150 for Disparaître)

[Luke Clyburn]

Luke’s eyes widened with a mixture of surprise and excitement. From his vision the Doll vanished. Actually it wasn’t even just from sight but the Doll vanished from Luke’s sixth sense as well. It had a stealth ability? Is it using wind to hide itself? But when Luke focused his eyes on the area that Amon should have been, he became aware of two glowing red spots that shifted and moved. Red lights that looked to be where Amon’s eyes had been. Partial invisibility? Did this Doll have an ability that hid its physical body and spiritual presence, but the tradeoff was that there was one part of the body that was still visible? Luke couldn’t keep himself from smirking with enjoyment. This was exciting, interesting, and fun.

The red orbs that had to have been Amon’s eyes suddenly vanished through with a sudden movement, causing Luke to wonder if his earlier assessment was off. As the dragon made from his technique charged forward, mouth wide, to meet with the Doll Luke had to wonder what was going through the summons head. He wasn’t trying to hide was he? Because right now he was the only thing standing between Luke’s dragon and Catherine. He’d get his answer though. He would watch as Amon remerged from hiding in the middle of a backflip, slamming his thick spined tail down onto Luke’s dragon.

The weight and force behind the tail strike slamming into the dragon caused the beast to be knocked onto its side. Amon’s tail cracked and damaged the flooring of the old fighting arena, blasting debris and dust all over the place. Luke waved a hand in front of his face to clear the air around him, never once losing his smirk. Between his hand waving though he watched Amon come back into view, and there the secret of the stealth became aware to him. It’s either cloaking himself with wind or becoming like air itself. Either or isn’t relevant. But the Doll can’t be detected or even sensed, save for its eyes, when it’s in that state. Completely undetectable… except for when-

With Amon’s wingbeats came gusts of wind hurtling themselves directly at Luke. Based on the sting on his cheek, Luke came to guess that the winds have to have some sort of slicing property to them. Raising his right hand forward Luke became enshrouded in a blueish energy field that repelled the winds that were sent at him. Martial Discipline Ken. It attacks. When the Doll attacked was when it came out of its hidden state. But when the attack ended the Doll was just as quickly undetectable again. A powerful ability. But before he did anything else, a thought came to his head when his eyes drifted onto Catherine. Reaching into his pocket Luke pulled out a smartphone and tapped the screen a few times, lifting it to his ear as he watched his dragon struggle to get up.

”It’s me. Send a trauma unit to this phone's location. Airborne and discreet. And prep a room at the usual hospital. No, not for me.”

With that taken care of and out of the way, Luke hung up and pocketed his phone. By this point his dragon had gotten back to its feet. ”Let’s see what you’ll do about this, then.” With a snap of his fingers, the dragon focused its gaze onto Amon and roared. This time, though, instead of simply charging in, the reiatsu creation reared back onto its hind legs and, with all its weight, leaned back forward. Intending to smash Amon and Catherine beneath its front claws. With the state that Catherine was in at the moment, Luke was confident that her Doll would recognize the danger. But he needed to keep up the pressure. This was an important moment for both Bount and Doll. Luke couldn’t just leave things half assed in this moment.

Remaining Reiatsu: 6200 / 8000
-200 for Ken

[Catty Noir ♦]

Amon's massive wings finally stopped fiercely beating as he slammed his claws back down against the ground, giving his body a chance to shimmer and disappear once again. Some odd ability was used by his opponent that made him glow this strange shade of blue and entirely avoid the slicing effects of the Doll's winds. It was an interesting tactic and perhaps something useful that he could only hope his mother would learn one day. But until then, he had to remain focused on protecting her. Bright red eyes glanced down towards the woman lying on the ground, her breath slow and unsteady, but fortunately constant enough to not warrant concern just yet.

The monstrous being that Luke somehow created began to rear itself up. Though Amon did not yet have the experience or capability to properly predict what was going to happen, the beast was too close for comfort regardless and that made the Doll apprehensive. His eyes widened as his glance went from the dragon back to his mother, whose face was now somewhat pinched as she started to stir. If he didn't act quickly, then the two of them were going to be sitting ducks and there was no way she'd be able to protect herself. Luke was untrustworthy, as well, since he was currently trying to kill them both... So Amon resolved to get moving.

The Doll blinked hard and rushed toward his mother as the dragon began to slam itself back against the ground. Since he was not actively attacking or defending, the invisibility remained intact. He gripped the back of Catty's tank top and jacket with his beaked muzzle enough to be able to carry her without nipping at her skin or hurting her. With a few beats of his wings, he hovered momentarily enough to simply move the two of them out of the way and attempt to move to the dragon's right side where he gently placed Catty back down on the ground. She moaned in pain at Amon's actions, and that made him wince with guilt. Nudging her with the tip of his beak, he silently apologized. She wouldn't have been able to see him, but at least he could try to help her feel a bit better.

Amon's movement did not call forth any of his slicing winds, but his goal at this point was simply to get her out of the way. He could tell that, at least at the moment, he was a touch quicker than Luke's beast. He might be able to use that to his advantage, but he wasn't yet sure how. Still, he couldn't believe this was happening. His mother, groaning due to the injuries she'd sustained, was finally beginning to stir after Amon had been forced to move her out of the way of an attack. He should have been there to protect her but couldn't figure out how to get out of her head. When he finally managed to escape, she'd already been too far gone. He'd failed.

And it enraged him. Amon's eyes glowed with a burning intensity as his hackles raised, now clearly visible with his tail spiking back up in the process. With another piercing roar at Luke and the dragon, he slammed his tail against the ground once again and realized the spikes felt fairly... loose. He took only a second to briefly inspect it as he waved the tail in the air a bit, then slung it upward in Luke's direction like a whip. Though it did not make contact with his opponents, what he did notice was five of his spikes detached themselves, shot up into the air, and then fell down in somewhat random areas within the room. If the dragon was not made to move, it would also have been stabbed in the back by one of the spikes. Another one would land about three feet away from Luke, and the remaining three were in other random spots close by but away from Amon and Catty. They were to the left, right, and behind the dragon.

Catty lifted her right hand and struggled to bring it to her face where she gently rested it upon her forehead. Her eyes, feeling as if it took much more effort than usual, opened so painfully slowly that it took an excessive amount of time for her focus to return properly. She took a moment to gauge her injuries and came to understand that she had several broken bones, all of which were aching and threatening to knock her out again. She fought the feeling, though, and instead blinked the pain away. When she was finally able to see the world around her and take in what was happening, she saw the strange, scaly underside of a creature standing over her body.

Amon throwing his spikes had locked him into an attack mode that made his body appear clear as day. The fur, a mix of silver, white, blue, and several other dark colors nearly took Catty by surprise if she hadn't seen the massive bladed wings. A gasp escaped her lips as fear suddenly possessed her, but Amon sensed it and twisted his head around to look at her. His eyes, still glowing red with rage, softened slightly when he looked at his mother, sharing an intimate moment within each other's minds. He looked at her, calming her inner self, and nodded as if to remind her that he belonged to her. Then, he took the deepest breath he could muster and roared so loudly that even Catty had to cover her ears, causing her to cry out in pain.

The sound was not the same as it had been before. This was not to intimidate so much as it was to be used for a purpose. Amon's roar was instead focused on the spikes that started their resonance cycle. They began vibrating, though their ability wouldn't see its full potency just yet. Instead, what was happening was that they were vibrating and reacting to the Doll. Even as his roar stopped, his body disappearing once again, the spikes vibrated. This would just turn out to be a somewhat quick waiting game as Amon tried to see what this ability could do. He had originally roared in response to the dragon since he was acting on his desire to protect Catty and intimidate his opponent, but he learned extremely suddenly that it could serve another purpose.

Meanwhile, Catty was panicking. She understood that this Doll somehow belonged to her, and she could feel his breath as if she were breathing. She could hear his thoughts as if they were her own. Her heartbeat was matched to his almost perfectly. But despite all of this, especially after what she'd experienced moments before with Luke, she was afraid. Something told her that the Doll could tell she was afraid, and he was trying to do what he could to make her feel better. Whatever link existed between the two of them was being played with in respect to whatever effort he could make to calm her down. As it was, she wasn't in a position to control any bit of this situation, so he was working on making sure she understood that he was taking care of this on his own. He just didn't want her getting hurt any more than she already was.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Résonance Aérienne (Air Resonance)}

This technique utilizes the relationship that air has with sound to create a resonating effect. The spikes that Amon has on the tip of his tail can be launched up into the sky or at a target at 800 Speed, but once they hit anything, they stick and cannot easily be removed. If they get removed, Amon can choose to detonate these spikes at a cost of 25 Reiatsu and they will instantly explode into tiny pieces of shrapnel that cut into whatever they pierced. The explosion has no blast capabilities but instead acts similarly to an airbag being deployed, so while heat is generated, flames are not. While the spikes are able to cause piercing damage, their primary purpose is to create resonance within the air when Amon roars. As he roars, the spikes vibrate so intensely that the properties are imbued into whatever the spike pierced, causing it to resonate, as well. This vibration happens at such a high rate that the pierced object will ultimately lose structural integrity and crumble or disintegrate. Any person who is pierced will experience extreme discomfort and disorientation as their body is subjected to the resonance's vibration properties, making it difficult for them to react unless the spike is removed.

Résonance Aérienne costs 100 Reiatsu to use and only five spikes can be launched at once. As mentioned, detonating the spikes costs 25 Reiatsu each. Amon can either choose to launch the spikes straight up in the air or specifically at a target, but they land somewhat randomly, making them decently easy to dodge for anyone who moves faster than them. Once the spikes land, the resonance will not reach full power until the beginning of the following post. The area of effect is also only a radius of about 50 feet in any direction, but this does mean that the ground will start to disintegrate if that is what the spikes are attached to. If an opponent is pierced, they can simply remove the spike but must be careful since the spike they touch can still be detonated by Amon.

Amon's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,500 (-100 for Résonance Aérienne)

[Luke Clyburn]

All of this was just so exciting. It always felt good to watch an investment pay off. Everything that Luke had done to this girl today had been leading up to this moment. Ditching her, annoying her, frustrating her, getting her right to the edge of popping until; bam. And now look at where we were. She had her Doll. The thing that the two of them set out to do had been accomplished. Catty was now a full-fledged Bount with a rather impressive Doll to boot. There was probably some meta-level introspection that could have been made about a woman like Catherine summoning a dragon-like monster, but Luke wasn’t even sure where he would begin with that. Instead, all the man did was smirk as he watched Amon maneuver Catherine’s stunned form to safety from his reiatsu Dragon.

The Doll was mad. That much Luke could tell from being roared at again by it. At least, it seemed, that the roars themselves didn’t produce any of the cutting winds displayed so far. Maybe the activation trigger was some sort of gust-creating movement? Like a swing or a backflip? Luke would figure it out as time went on. But, right now, the Doll was lifting its tail into the air and rattling it around a bit, kind of like a rattlesnake. Luke blinked, curious. With a flick of its limb a series of spikes would get dislodged from its tail and arc through the air. One of which managed to stab directly into the Dragons back, causing it to let out a roar. Not that it felt pain. Not true pain anyway. It was just aware that something was wrong.

A few more of the spikes landed nearby, one of them near Luke, surrounding the dragon slightly with spikes. Are these just a weapon? Luke wondered to himself as he eyed the one that landed closest to him. Did the Doll just have some kind of natural weapon it could utilize besides the bladed wings and its claws? His attention was pulled away from the spikes when he realized that Amon was still visible. Why? It was just standing there so why wasn’t it invisible anymore? Amon released yet another shrieking roar though, this time, Luke noticed movement from Catherine. Was she conscious? Well that was good. But besides noticing movement from the French woman Luke also noticed that the spike closest to him was vibrating. Odd. Why?

Why was being asked a lot here. The Doll had powers that Luke wasn’t aware of. He wanted to know what it could do, but also help it and its master figure that out as well. Luke’s attention shifted to his dragon when he noticed something that only he could detect. The reiatsu stabilizing its form was beginning to come undone. His dragon didn’t have much time left. ”Tch.” Clicking his tongue with frustration, Luke decided that now was the time to push the envelope with the dragon while he still had it. ”Let’s try this again. The show ain’t over yet.” as if following a soundless cue, the dragon lowered its head towards its serpentine neck. Toothy maw only held slightly open as black and purple crackling energy began leaking out from between those teeth.

”These flames or your wind. Let’s see what’s fiercer.”

Luke would challenge with a snap of his fingers, prompting his dragon to raise its head upwards again. Its throat was glowing as well as it charged up its fire attack. Like before, Luke had lowered the reiatsu output of the technique to a level that shouldn’t seriously harm Catherine or her Doll. He had to take the woman's condition into account. She was undoubtedly roughed up from that tail whip earlier. Any further could risk disk or her Doll thinking she was weak and turning against her. But, for some reason, Luke wasn’t terribly worried about that happening. Amon’s behavior was remarkably protective. It was like Luke thought before, the foundation of the relationship seemed incredibly strong. He was certain this Doll would die to protect Catherine. But Luke didn’t want that to happen. So, before his Dragon dissipated, Luke commanded it to release those black stormy flames at the pair.

[Catty Noir ♦]

By now, the spikes that Amon had unleashed were vibrating so intensely that the ground they were lodged in started to crumble away. They resonated with the structures perfectly in such a way that they started to break down at an atomic level. That was the dangerous part about Amon's technique. Though such a thing didn't work exactly the same way on living spiritual beings, but the dragon wasn't technically living. It was also a technique as Luke had made so clear earlier in their fight when he created it. That thing may last longer than inanimate objects, but it would still become too difficult to hold together until it eventually broke, as well. Before it even had a chance of getting to that point, on the other hand, Amon realized the charged attack that was inevitably headed towards him and Catty, and rushed to get to her to move her out of the way.

His beaked snout light grabbed on to his mother's shirt as he lifted her, feeling guilty after hearing all of her pained groans. Catty wouldn't be conscious of this fact, but she had broken over a third of the bones in her body throughout the fight, including several ribs. She wasn't capable of moving very well and any movements Amon forced on her were horrendously uncomfortable. In fact, it was so bad that even him bringing her up to a remaining slab of where the second floor used to be before Catty destroyed it was almost too much for her, causing tears to form in her eyes as she struggled to keep herself comfortable. Amon beat his massive wings to take the two of them up to a single safe space where he gently laid Catty on the ground, then leapt back down before the dragon had finished charging its attack. He had to act quickly, and especially while he couldn't be seen.

Reappearing once again, Amon leaped out of the way as much as he could from the blast that the dragon had unleashed, but disappeared just as quickly. During the second he was visible, he forced the spikes to detonate, shooting hundreds of tiny pieces of shrapnel into the air. The spike that was in the dragon, though it was not lodged long enough to complete the beast's disintegration, would lodge this shrapnel inside of it with hopes that the force from the detonation would cause it to stagger. The same thing would happen to all four of the other spikes, though the vast majority of the ground had turned to nothing but dust by this point. Amon became visible once again and beat his wings so hard that his slicing winds were aimed for the staggered dragon and the Bount man who had been close to it, assuming he was still in his place. At the very least, the Doll was going to destroy this fake.

Still visible, Amon launched himself toward the dragon with his wing blade poised for attack. He slashed from his right side across to his left side right at the center of the dragon's neck, hoping to decapitate the beast. He landed a bit behind the dragon's right side and disappeared once more, nothing but glowing red eyes showing. Then his body became clear as day as he flipped himself again, slamming his huge tail against the beast whether he had decapitated it or not. Following up on his plan to blitz the two enemies, Amon turned his attention towards Luke as he rushed the man, wing blade out and ready to slash at him, instead. But rather than finish the slicing attack, Amon would go to bite at Luke's shirt, picking him up in the process and flinging him as hard as possible at a wall just as the dragon had done to Catty not long before. His intention was to fake the man out if he succeeded.

Catty, too weak to do anything but turn her head, groaned in pain once again as she looked to see what was going on. She couldn't see much, especially since she was a good many feet above the bottom level where Luke and Amon were, but she did see that massive bat-like panther doing its best to save her. She had felt him move her out of the way of the dragon's blast somehow, but her eyes were too harshly shut for her to watch it all happen due to reacting to her own pain. She didn't understand any of this. She had been beaten and was succumbing to her injuries, moments away from passing out entirely. Yet something deep within her told her that this wasn't over. Now, here she was, spectating what was the most insane thing she'd ever witnessed in her life - kaiju fighting. Tears dropped down the sides of her face every time she tried to get a better look at what was going on as sharp pangs threatened to knock her out again. This was awful.

"Ugh... wh-what... what is going on...?" Catty struggled, not knowing how to escape. This was a mistake.



Amon's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,375 (-125 for spike detonation)

[Luke Clyburn]

Something was wrong. Luke realized it rather quickly. Despite the excitement he was feeling for this fight and its turn of events, his insane battle IQ was telling him that he was missing something. He was looking at an incomplete puzzle and trying to put in the piece that would make the picture clear. When the vibrations reached his feet, Luke would turn his attention to one of the spikes that Amon dislodged earlier. It was vibrating. And as Luke watched he would see the ground the spike was lodged in becoming nothing but dust. What?? This Dolls ability wasn’t wind manipulation. It was air manipulation! Luke realized a second too late that the spike's true ability was to resonate with the vibrations released by Amon’s roar.

If the ground was being atomized down to literal dust then what would happen if those spikes were embedded in flesh or energy? Luke’s dragon let out a baleful howl as that question answered itself. The space where Amon’s spike struck the dragon’s backside was suddenly disintegrating. Breaking apart and being reduced down to general reishi. The dragon howled out in its own version of pain. It was experiencing its entire reiatsu structural integrity breaking down. This caused the flames that it was jutting from its mouth to instead shoot upwards into the ceiling, umbrellaing outwards from the collision and painting the ceiling in black and purple fire.

With its neck so exposed Amon wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity. As though it were a kama itachi itself, the Doll sprung forward with speed and precision. The detonation of the spike stuck fast into its back left the dragon stunned. Even Luke was forced to move away. Ascending to the air due to the ground itself becoming a sand trap, Luke was forced to protect himself from the shrapnel released by the exploding spikes. Hot blood streaked down his forehead where one piece managed to knick him. What a nasty ability. So the spikes didn’t just atomize what they were embedded in. They were also shrapnel bombs. A two for one special. Luke’s attention returned to Amon, now visible again, who released a gust of slicing winds at both the Bount and the Dragon.

Luke maneuvered behind his Dragon, letting the reiatsu beast take the brunt of the damage and causing it to be more sliced up than before. It wont last much longer. Not only were its injuries heavy, but the reiatsu used to maintain the technique was deteriorating. Its time was almost up. Luke would at least let it serve as a shield before it expired. Luke then watched Amon slice open the left side of his Dragon’s neck. The Dolls wings were not yet large enough to cut all the way through the reiatsu beasts neckline. Amon didn’t realize it, while Luke did, that what he had done had been enough. With its back utterly obliterating, form sliced open by Amon’s wings, and now its neck torn open? The technique was dead. But one last tail slam for the road.

Sent crashing to its side, the dragon began to glow. Amon would undoubtedly think that this meant the dragon was about to dissipate. But Luke knew better than that. The second effect of the Dragon technique; when the dragon died it would explode. One last hoorah. Extending his left hand outwards, Luke already accounted for this happening and knew how to handle the explosion. Ken. A light blue aura coated Luke’s form before suddenly appearing around the steadily brighter glowing dragon. With Luke’s mastery over the Martial Discipline he was not only able to apply the effects of Ken to other parties, but could also flip it. The technique typically worked something like a repulsion field. A defensive barrier that repelled anything too weak to breach it. But because Luke was a practicied genius who worked on finding ways to improve his abilities, he had figured out how to flip Ken. So instead of repulsing outwards, this one was repulsing inwards.

The dragon lit up like the night sky on the Fourth of July. Everything began shaking as the dragon detonated but the explosion was contained within the field of Ken Luke created. The Bount frowned, strained his brow, and focused completely on containing the explosion. Done for both Catherine and her Dolls sake. He knew neither would survive this if it were to go off. But Amon was stupid. Just like Luke was. The Bount became aware that as he focused on Ken, the Doll had become detectable again. Luke turned to look over his left shoulder, amber eyes widened, as he looked at the Doll charging him. He didn’t have time to call out. Couldn’t stop Ken at the moment. He was locked into a committed action to protect both Bount and Master. Amon didn’t even realize that if he managed to grab Luke and throw him, it was possible for the Bount to lose focus on the technique and let the explosion out.

Luke’s lips moved to form two words and three syllables. There was a flash of light from his waistline.

Fast didn’t even describe it. The sound of a heavy impact against stone rang out across the destroyed fighting ring. A smokescreen of dust and debris had been kicked up, obscuring all from sight save for the dwindling glow of the exploding dragon. Amon would notice it first. How couldn’t he? One moment, yes moment, he had been lunging at Luke. And now in this exact next moment he would find himself somewhere else. Pinned to one of the subterranean fighting rings walls. Slammed into it by something so hard, so fast, that the trademark sound of a sonic boom had rang out. Amon was pinned. Something was pinning the Doll to the wall with the strength of an industrial vice grip.

As the dust cleared Amon, held so tightly he could only move his head and tail, would see what was holding him. The arms, hands, and fingers were all colored green with scales. Massive and muscular. Four blue lights were visible through the dust that suddenly lurched forward to reveal a featureless face, save for those eyes, glaring right at Amon. Electricity like energy fired out from those eyes for a moment before the creature leaned back, pulling Amon from the wall, and hoisted the Doll high into the air. Then down he came. Slammed right into the floor so hard that the dust was blown away by the impact to reveal the monster in its entirety.

It was massive but slender. Standing 25 feet tall over Amon. A vaguely humanoid shape, save for the long whip-like tail, and with a series of fins running along its back and sprouting from its forearms. The Dolls facial structure was the oddest of all. An asymmetrical series of eyes. Three, smaller, eyes on one side and one larger than the three on the other side of its face. The creature looked wet as well, as if it had just been swimming. After slamming Amon to the ground, the creature lifted its right foot and pressed down onto the Doll. Pinning it to place. Its tail swung about, accidentally slapping some debris and sending it hurtling through the air.

”It is a few hundred years too soon for you to be bearing your fangs, pup.”

A deep, gravely, monstrous voice would say. Applying a bit more pressure to his foot to further drive home his point, the ground under Amon would crack and shatter. This thing. This thing radiated malice and bloodlust. Like an embodiment of violence it stood over Amon, enjoying the pain and domination it was causing to the other Doll. It didn’t hide it either. ”I told you to be gentle.” The Doll would pause, ceasing the increasing pressure it was putting on Amon, before turning to look over its shoulder at the Bount who spoke to him. Luke, having lifted Catherine up into his arms, was glaring at his own Doll with a seriousness that hadn’t been put on display to now.

”Keh. It growled at me. I am just defending myself.”

The Doll responded sarcastically. If it had lips it would be smirking, smugly, at Luke. The two glared back and forth at one another for a moment longer before the Doll would scoff and ease up on Amon, but didn’t let the Doll up. Luke sighed. ”You’ll never not be the problem child will you?” he asked, rhetorically, before looking at the barely conscious Catty. She was in bad shape. Luke was no doctor but even he could tell the girl was in a rough state. ”Catherine. Look at me.” he’d say to the woman he held bridal style. He’d repeat that until she finally did look at him. When their eyes made contact his would glow with power as he cast Verteiten on her. ”Go to sleep. Everything is fine now.” he would say to her, casting the spell on her to put her to sleep.

”Creepy.”

”Shut up.”

Luke would walk over to Amon now. Making eye contact with the Doll as well, Luke would begin casting the spell on it as well. ”Everything will be fine now. She’s safe and going to be taken care of. I promise. So go to sleep.” Luke would say to the Doll, casting a higher strength version of the technique on the Doll to order it to reseal itself. ”Hmmph. I wanted to play with it more.” Springflut would complain as he moved his foot to a more comfortable position. ”Yeah well I didn’t need you killing them. Besides, I wasn’t planning to summon you.” Luke would express, turning his attention to the sleeping Catty.

”Maybe you shouldn’t have used that fake then if it was going to explode when it was killed. You got what you wanted at the end of it, though. She has her Doll. Proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

It was true. While these methods had been extreme and dangerous, the end results were all that mattered. Catherine was now a full fledged Bount. Luke didn’t have any magic words he could have given her to make this happen. He had to put her through the exact same things he had gone through to awaken his Dolls. The only difference was that he wouldn’t have let things go too far. If he was genuinely worried that she was going to lose her life, like he had when the floor gave out under them, he would have stopped this exercise. Luke blinked. ”Y’know, I didn’t notice before. She’s very pretty.” Springflut let out an annoyed groan.

”Your water.”

”Hmm?”

”You didn’t activate your water echo. I didn’t order you to do that.”

Doll and Bount stared at one another for a few seconds before Springflut let out another groan. ”The excitement is over and I want a nap. I’m going back now.” the Doll would glow before becoming nothing more than light that returned to Luke’s pocket. The familiar size and weight of the flask that was Springflut’s sealed form was returned to Luke’s pocket. The man sighed. There was a helicopter waiting outside to take Catty to the hospital Luke had set up, so now he just needed to get her up there. But as he began to move to take a step, Luke noticed something on the ground.

”Oh? That’s cute.”

SPOILER: Click to show

{Springflut's Stats}
Springflut | Brave


Strength - 400 - 1200 Points

Speed - 400 - 800 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 400 - 200 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 100 - 50 Points

Light Aura - 20 Points

Dark Aura - 80 Points

Instinct - 350 Points

Senses - 150 Points

Energy sensory - 0 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points


Total SP: 1800 Points

[Catty Noir ♦]

Confidence flooded the Doll like a tsunami over Japan. He smirked to himself when he realized his assault was working. He was going to grab Luke, tear him apart, and present the body to his mother as a gift. It might even earn him some praise. Amon felt as if he could take on the world as he worked at cutting away this fake Doll that Luke used, acknowledging how shameful it must be to rely on something like this when he, too, was a Bount. Still, the relentless attacks were getting the best of this man, and Amon was ready to deliver his finishing blow before grabbing his mother and stealing her away to somewhere safe so he could nurse her back to health somehow. He wasn't too sure what would work best for someone like her, but there had to be somebody who knew what to do. To get to that point, Amon fought on, relentless with his anger and rage.

Catty watched from above where she was still stuck on the ledge. Tears filled her eyes as she did her best to ignore the pain and failed. She didn't know how she was going to make it out alive, and she felt like such an idiot for ever asking for help. She just kept thinking about this over and over and over, punishing herself for a mistake she'd made when she hadn't even lived here that long. She was searching for the strongest Bount, but she found a killer. And she was his next victim. Groaning with occasionally chirped cries, she moved her head a bit more to try to get a better view. The creature who had been protecting her was still at it, throwing himself at Luke and the dragon as much as physically possible. It even appeared that he was winning, which was crazy to think about considering the events that led up to this.

The dragon, stumbling and staggering, eventually started to glow once the blade-winged Doll's barrage had ended. Between long blinks as she tried to fight through the torture of her injuries, she watched as Luke raised his hand. No doubt planning on landing a killing blow, and something deep inside Catty told her that if he chose to do something like that, it would mean death for her, too. Yet despite her assumptions, she was wrong. Luke's body had this strange aura to it, something she'd never seen before, and it transferred to the dragon as if he wanted to trap it. Wrapping around the creature's form, it held firm despite the other Doll's tirade, and Catty's eyes widened as soon as she realized what was happening. Luke was trying to contain something - something big, and extremely dangerous.

The Doll had charged at Luke, eyes glowing red, body fully visible. Instinctively, Catty somehow knew that meant he was going to attack. She tried calling out to him to tell him to stop, but she couldn't make her voice work. She couldn't move her arms. Her legs wouldn't operate, either. Her head was pounding in accordance with her heartbeat. She was still alive - barely. Catty had no idea how to recover from any of this, and she feared something horrible would happen if the Doll got too close. And just when she thought that, she felt the building shake with such intensity that she almost couldn't believe it. The structure beneath her threatened to give way, causing her to scream out. The Doll only glanced in her direction for a brief second before continuing on, and she found herself praying that she wouldn't fall.

Until she heard it.

Something she couldn't understand yet knew the meaning of all too well. Followed by a flash of light, the ground shook again as the remaining portions of the fighting ring were obliterated in an instant. Using what strength she had, Catty found herself gripping the ledge beneath her in any way possible. She just couldn't allow herself to move. The Doll she'd been watching was also out of view, replaced by a massive... monster. A creature so large that it towered over the winged beast who had been fighting the dragon before. It was hard to see, but the dust soon settled as the rest of the flash belonging to the dragon dissipated along with it. So Luke had contained it. That dragon of his wasn't just for show. It was going to be the end of both of them had Luke not used whatever it was to trap the blast inside. Was he helping?

A roar escaped Amon's maw, but he soon regretted it. He couldn't breathe, couldn't act, couldn't move, couldn't defend. The dust began to settle around them as he came face to face with what could only be described as someone's worst nightmare personified - a beast of epic proportions pinning him to the wall with such strength that there was nothing Amon could do but remain there at its mercy. Even if he wanted to have visual of Luke, there was nothing he could do. The beast blocked his view with its immense size, enraged eyes staring back at Amon's as the latter's red glow began to soften and fade. This was bad. Wincing and whining, Amon started to struggle to get away, his efforts ending up fruitless. Then, all too soon, he was removed from the wall while still within the monster's grip and lifted into the air. When he thought he had a chance to break free, he was slammed down against the ground.

The impact forced the remaining dust and debris to shoot out of the way quickly, revealing the assailant in its entirety. Amon's breath was knocked out as he coughed once violently, looking around frantically for any chance to escape. This was too much for him. He couldn't move and this thing was crushing him with its massive weight. And everything else. This was a lizard-like beast with horrific eyes and an unusually wet body. All Amon could think of was that he was going to die here. A gigantic foot lifted into the air before being pressed down against Amon's back, crushing him further. This wasn't good. He was trapped and continued to panic. He looked around frantically, trying to figure out if his mother was in danger. He clawed at the ground continuously, doing anything he could to get free, roaring and whimpering as he looked for Catty so he could run to her and protect her.

”It is a few hundred years too soon for you to be bearing your fangs, pup.”

A panther-like cry was the only response this thing would get, cut off soon after as more pressure was applied from the foot pressing even more. The fear he felt was unrivaled, dwarfed only by the fact that this opponent was clearly enjoying every moment of torture he delivered unto Amon. The pain was immense. The Doll continued to claw at the ground, knowing that his efforts were futile, but just so desperate to reach his mother and save her. He wanted to leave this place, take her to get healed from someone - anyone - and go home. He wanted to wrap himself around her and act as a shield, stopping any harm from coming her way. He was so focused on his desire to do all of this that the pain had subsided for only a moment before he was forced to remember what was happening to him, tears streaming down either side of his snout.

”I told you to be gentle.”

Amon's eyes lit up again, flaring a bright, murderous red as he eyed Luke, putting the puzzle pieces together on his own. The creature who was crushing the Doll was also a Doll, and he belonged to this Bount. So Luke had finally summoned his own being after retiring the fake. Amazing! Had Amon not been pinned to the ground against his will, he would have grabbed Luke and eaten him in as painful a way as possible. Realizing now that all of this was because of that man brought Amon to such fiery emotions that he wasn't sure he would be able to control himself if he were ever let free. And what made matters worse was that it took him entirely too long to see that Luke was holding his mother. Her cheeks were wet. She'd been crying. Was she crying because of him? Was she okay? Was she conscious? She wasn't moving.

"MÉRE!"

He couldn't get up. Couldn't help. He felt the Doll above him let up a bit on the pressure but it wasn't enough. There was still nothing he could do but watch Luke approach and growl at him. The male Bount kept calling to the Doll's mother, asking her to look at him, and she opened her eyes briefly after the third or fourth time Luke requested for her to. She groaned, but his face was somehow soft as he looked at her, almost as if the two were lovers in a past life who had found each other again. It made Amon's eyes narrow with confusion, but he soon realized that this must have been some strange power that the male Bount had because she soon fell asleep in his arms. She didn't even try to resist, likely because she was too weak to do anything and chose to succumb to her fate. He hadn't given her much of a choice.

Not too much later did Luke decide to lessen the distance between himself and Amon, as well. He stared at the Doll's eyes and Amon returned the favor, unable to act otherwise save for baring his fanged teeth. A kind whisper of words informed Amon that everything was okay, making him feel sleepy as he gave in to the technique's effects. He felt his body go limp before everything felt heavy, exhaustion waving over him like an endless ocean. He didn't get a chance to feel the fact that the other Doll had removed his foot before everything went completely black, the reality of the world around him washing away, turning into a distant memory as he floated within a world of his own that he was familiar with from before he'd been summoned. Before too long, he fell asleep, leaving nothing but a small black headband with some lacy cat ears attached to it in the place where he once was.

None of the conversation between Luke and Springflut was heard by either Amon or Catty after that.

---

Fighting for her life wasn't working. She was throwing everything she had at the monster she faced, and it still wasn't enough. Broken and battered, she limped away to hide behind a wall, avoiding an onslaught of attacks that would end her life if any of them connected in any way. There was nothing she could do but try to run, and even then she felt that her legs wouldn't work. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't move faster. Her punches were weak, she couldn't scream, nothing was working the way she needed it to. It felt as if she was drowning in a lake, too dark to see clearly and too viscous to make her body operate properly. No amount of effort was enough, and the beast she was fighting started closing in on her. He approached too quickly, amber eyes glowing as he closed the distance between the two in seconds-

"He did a number on you, huh? You must be having some kind of nightmare if your body is still reacting like that."

Shizuka, having been informed of the request to bring in a medical helicopter on Xcution's dime, decided to accompany Luke to the hospital. When she'd arrived at the scene, it was only him carrying this poor girl who was too exhausted to even react to anything. They loaded her up as quickly as possible and rushed her to the facility where the best spiritual doctors worked. Something in her gut told her that this might have been Luke's plan all along, and it didn't necessarily sit right with her. Truthfully, Shizuka didn't know Catty very well at all. She was a tenant, and that was it. But this girl was a Bount, just like Luke was. She must have done something pretty horrendous to deserve a beating so bad that it left her writhing in her sleep because of her nightmares. Shizuka had been there when she was younger. She felt a lot of empathy for this girl.

Hearing a sound at the door to the recovery room, the blonde stood up and brushed off her light pink blouse, making sure it was still tucked neatly into her white dress pants. The neckline plunged into a deep V that reached to the middle of her cleavage. She'd come from work, after all. She had to make sure her facilities were being used for proper reasons and not because someone stupidly decided to take a helicopter out for a joy ride. She didn't think Luke would ever do that, but the informant failed to tell her who had made the call when it happened, which prompted her sudden rush to the scene. Everything was fine now, of course, but Catty was still sleeping. She was covered in bruises and wrapped with bandages around virtually every part of her body, showing only her face and pieces of her torso. As Shizuka pivoted on her heels to leave, she spotted who it was at the door.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Clyburn."

She placed her left hand on Luke's left shoulder and looked into his eyes only for a moment before giving him an affectionate squeeze. She looked over her left shoulder to see Catty starting to stir, giving her all that she needed to know to hint towards the fact that it was her time to leave. Removing her hand from Luke, she refrained from kissing him, though she certainly wanted to. Still, it wasn't the best time to do that, and he likely had a bit of unfinished business here if he was wanting to stick around. He was good like that. He'd done it for her before, too. But she also meant what she'd said. He was going to have to tell her all about this and explain why he charged the company card for everything. These kinds of trips weren't cheap! He didn't even call the private copter that Shizuka had bought! He called the company helicopter!

As the Fullbringer went to leave, Catty's eyes opened before she'd even get a chance to know Shizuka was there. She didn't know where she was, but she was thankful that she wasn't in that fighting ring anymore. Everything hurt, too. She didn't realize how much it hurt because of the adrenaline pumping through her body at the time, but whatever pain killers they had tried giving her started to wear off. That was part of why she woke up, too. Her legs started to hurt and she realized they were casted. She was in rough shape and didn't know how it got this bad. She also didn't know how long it had been since all of that happened. It was still day outside, so was she asleep for only a few hours? Was it longer? She had no idea. All she knew was that when she looked the other way to investigate why she felt as if someone was watching her, she flinched immediately, her heart picking up its pace as she started to panic. The monitor she was hooked up to would beep in time with it, making such a reaction abundantly clear.

"I do not wish to fight. I cannot. You must leave here."

[Luke Clyburn]

Seeing Shizuka waiting for him alongside the medical team outside the helicopter had been a shock so big that it had to have been bad for Luke’s heart. The look of surprise and sheepishness he made when he came walking out of that old prison carrying a broken, and to Shizuka, a strange woman had to have been a sight. Not that Luke had done anything that he needed to hide or anything. No, thoughts like that never occurred to the man. But she was right that he had explaining to do. So when Luke stepped through the door of the hospital, the plastic bag in his hand rustling, Luke wasn’t surprised at all to see Shizuka sitting by Catherine’s side. The blond approached him and grabbed him by the shoulder. Giving it an affectionate squeeze instead of crushing it into dust.

”I know. I will, promise.”

Luke replied in a hushed tone to her statement. Explaining to do was an understatement. Luke had nothing to hide from Shizuka. But the look she gave him back before they boarded the helicopter and even now told Luke that there was a lot the woman didn’t understand. Watching her leave, Luke turned his attention to why he was here. The battle high he was experiencing had long since passed and now Luke was left with uncertainty. He had played his part perfectly. Come off as a complete asshole who wanted to torment and torture Catherine. ”Yeah, no kidding. You look like you got hit by a truck.” Luke would rather inappropriately joke when the woman opened her mouth and spoke to him.

The fear was obvious. Luke didn’t need the heart rate monitor going off to tell him that. Her body language alone was more than enough. Looking at the parts of her body bound in a cast, Luke once again wondered if he had made the right decision. Had he gone too far? If he had taken more time to think about his course of actions could he have found a way to get the same positive results that wouldn’t have left her in this condition? Luke wasn’t sure. Reaching his hand out and grabbing the guest chair, Luke sat himself down but maintained some distance from Catty. His expression had softened tremendously.

”Don’t worry, it’s all over. You’re in the hospital. After you passed out I brought you here. Everything’s gonna be alright. You’re just a little dinged up is all.” Luke explained with a half-certain chuckle as he scratched his cheek. ”Oh! I brought you something.” He turned his attention to one of two things he brought. A plastic grocery bag and a black and gold-colored gift bag. Reaching into the plastic bag Luke pulled out a container of something. ”Fatty tuna!” It was sushi. He placed it on the small table beside her bed and smiled like he had done her a favor that made everything better. Though he knew it didn’t.

”I’m sorry.”

Leaning back in the seat and pulling out a second container of sushi, placing it atop the first, Luke’s expression lost the smile he was forcing. ”There aren’t any magic words that could have gotten you what you wanted. And I’m no teacher. Not a real one anyhow. The only thing I could do was put you through the same scenario I went through when I first came to this city. But I think I might have gone a little overboard. Getting you angry, frustrated, and then afraid for your life was the goal. I needed to get you into the same emotional state I had been in when my Doll first appeared. For that, and for putting you in the hospital, I’m sorry.”

[Catty Noir ♦]

The insensitive comment Luke made to Catty in her time of healing was hardly appreciated. Her brows furrowed as she stared at the man, hoping her gaze would burn a hole through him like a branding iron. It was true that she was in rough shape, but to say something so obvious had the woman feeling extremely insecure. The fierce look she had in her eyes softened as Luke sat down by her hospital bed, instead refocusing on her hands as she twiddled her fingers. These hands were so weak, and she knew it. She was afraid of Luke because of the damage he'd done, but she was also afraid to face him because of her own failures.

Despite his more reassuring words after the insult she'd suffered only a few moments prior, it took a lot of effort for her to look at Luke at all. Still gazing downward, Catty glanced to the side where she really only had a good view of the man's waist and below. He was fumbling around with a plastic convenience store bag of some sort that she'd recognized somehow, meaning she also spent some time in the same store. That made sense given their general location in Karakura, but it humored her nonetheless. Luke's excitement grew rather rapidly and she could hear it in his tone, making her curious as to what he could possibly be offering.

”Fatty tuna!”

Making a quick, yet quiet, sound that could only be described as a cat's mreow, Catty snatched the small box of tuna sushi and broke it open, mouth drooling absent-mindedly since she had no clue how hungry she actually was. Forgoing using any chopsticks because of the casts, the woman picked up each piece with her right hand and threw them into her mouth, borderline purring if she ever figured out how to make the sound. This tuna was fresh, too. He may have just bought it, which made her wonder why he was being so nice when he had just tried to kill her. Pausing from chewing like a crazy person, she looked at Luke again.

”I’m sorry.”

He spoke before she could get a word out. ”There aren’t any magic words that could have gotten you what you wanted. And I’m no teacher. Not a real one anyhow. The only thing I could do was put you through the same scenario I went through when I first came to this city. But I think I might have gone a little overboard. Getting you angry, frustrated, and then afraid for your life was the goal. I needed to get you into the same emotional state I had been in when my Doll first appeared. For that, and for putting you in the hospital, I’m sorry.”

She didn't know what to say. She didn't expect an apology, honestly, so this was catching her off-guard. Realizing her sushi was done, she had placed it back on the table before Luke had a chance to put his box on top of her empty one. As he spoke, she watched his arms once he placed the box down and noted how completely unharmed he was. All of the effort she put in meant absolutely nothing, and she knew that. She didn't know what to do. Catty was just weaker than he was, and this whole experience was a slap to her face. Plus, maybe her Doll did get summoned somehow, but she had nothing to show for it.

"I understand why you did it, Lucas. I do not wish for you to feel guilty over my..." She clenched her hands into fists. "My weaknesses. I will get stronger. I will train more. I will do everything I can to figure out my abilities."

She'd come all this way for a reason, and Luke was meant to help her. He succeeded, but it ended with her in the hospital and him being completely okay. Part of her was relieved it didn't get any worse for him, but the other part of her was just angry about it. The difference in their power was too great. She wanted to do whatever it took to lessen the gap, and that was going to take time. If there was anything she could to do lessen that amount of time, she'd do it. She didn't care what it meant. She didn't care who she'd have to mow down in the process to get where she needed to. She ultimately came to the resolve that...

"Once I do, I want us to have a rematch. And I will take you down."

[Luke Clyburn]

Luke felt a wave of slight relief as he watched Catty dig into the tuna he brought her. She just immediately started scarfing it down like a starving animal. Wow. She was either starving or just really, really, liked fish. Actually, it could have been both. They were both possible answers. Watching her eat, shoving sushi roll after roll into her mouth, Luke thought back to what happened in the fighting arena. The awakening of her Doll. Now that her powers had manifested this appetite she had was normal. Reiatsu was another energy source the body, or in this case the soul, produced. Catherine would need to intake more calories to maintain that energy. But, besides that it looked like some old advice his grandfather had given him was true. If a woman was angry at you just buy her food and it’ll all be alright.

”Nobody calls me Lucas. Not even my family. That’s not even my name.” Luke shot back with a sneer. Leaning back in his seat and crossing one leg across the others knee, Luke leaned his head to the side of his shoulder and listened to what she had to say. She was pretty upset after all. But was it with him or herself? She was upset that she was so weak. Luke had a prideful little shit on his hands now. That wasn’t a bad thing though. Listening to her words clued him in that her wounded pride was what was compelling her to push forward. Even if she tasted defeat this time she wasn’t going to let it be some wall that kept her from progressing. What that meant, though, was that she wanted to keep training and getting stronger. Interesting. Luke smirked a little though it was only for a moment.

”Don’t worry. I don’t feel bad about you being as weak as you are. Because we all start at level one. Like I said, I was in your shoes before too.” Luke replied, crossing his arms across his chest as he spoke. Looking at her, then at the edges of the bed, Luke decided to work on his own personal issues a bit instead of just giving that honor to Shizuka all the time. He decided to come forward about himself a bit. ”I came here years ago trying to find some clue about who my mother was. She wound up abandoning me with my fathers parents after he died. But I got a letter in the mail a few years later, from her I thought at the time, telling me to come to Karakura and look for someone she knew. I didn’t realize that I was stepping into someone elses personal business doing that though.” Luke explained, dredging up old and unpleasant memories.

”I was an angry, frustrated, emotional little shit just five years ago. A real asshole. You’d have hated me. Or punched my lights out. But one night some other Bounts that had beef with the person I had come here to look for attacked me and my coworkers at work. That’s when my Doll first appeared. You’re stronger than I was at that level, though, Catty. I was no different than any other person when it happened for me. That is, to say, you have potential. Your parents sheltered you, and I don’t blame them for doing that. This world is dangerous for us. In more ways than you realize. But you're like a sapling that’ll grow into a massive tree if you just had the water and right soil.”

Luke picked up one piece of sushi before Catty could grab it and plopped it into his mouth. After a few moments of chewing, and swallowing, Luke spoke again. ”You sound committed to this. If you’re fine with it, I’ll continue training you. It won’t be as bad as what we just did though. Not at first. But I learned everything I did through instinct and experience. Some real shitty experiences that I hope you never have to go through.” Luke looked downcast when he mentioned that. Quite a few bad memories came to his mind. Standing up and pushing the chair back against the wall, Luke stretched his arms out and looked her over once more. His eyes traced the casts. ”You’ll be out of here in no time. And no I’m not just saying that. You’re a Bount. Remember what I did after you broke my arm? Thanks for that by the way it fucking hurt. But now that you’ve awakened to your abilities, some of the other perks of being what we are are gonna start waking up. Quicker healing is one of them. I give it like two weeks.” So long as she ate her three square meals of the day and slept, her unnatural body would repair all the injuries done to her. She might even be like him and have a ridiculously powerful healing ability while she slept.

”Oh by the way. I think this is yours.” Finally he’d hand her the other bag he had been holding onto. A black and gold giftbag that looked like he had bought at an everyday convenience store. Luke smiled warmly when he gave it to her and turned to leave, heading towards the door. ”I’m looking forward to that day then, Catty. By the way-” he’d stop and turn to look back at her from over his shoulder. ”-you looked really cool charging my dragon the way you did.” with that he’d leave. He was gonna give her some alone time so that he could rest, heal, and talk to her new headmate. Now he had to go talk to someone else about what had just happened.

[Catty Noir ♦]

A sly snicker was the only response Catty could give Luke when he rejected her name for him. Despite how apprehensive she was when he entered the room, she still couldn't help but give him a hard time. It made her laugh, which enticed her even more given how he reacted. If he was going to torture her physically and assume fatty tuna made it all better, even if it did, then she deserved a chance or two to tease him in return. He wasn't like other people that she'd met in life. A huge factor for that could have been because he was a Bount and the only others she knew of were her own parents, but she couldn't ignore the kind of person he was. After everything he put her through, he really was trying to be nice.

The longer he sat there talking to Catty, the more comfortable she began to feel. Not everything melted away as quickly as she would have liked, but his openness and vulnerability made her feel safer. She figured not everyone would share such things unless they also felt safe, so what would be the harm in letting her guard down? Besides, she knew very well that he could kill her if he wanted to. She learned that the hard way and acknowledged it even if she resented it. Still, hearing about how he had been abandoned and what he went through to discover his own powers suddenly made quite a few things make sense.

He also said her name for the first time.

Yes, he had been saying her name the entire time they'd been together so far, but she realized that he called her Catty. Not 'Catherine,' not 'Brat,' but her actual preferred name. The tension she had been feeling in her heart started to relax and ease up, freeing her body and mind from the anxiety she felt when he was around. Mostly. She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to completely shake the paranoia until she felt that she was strong enough to defeat him one day, but this was a start. At least Catty understood her life wasn't in any immediate danger. It's odd how Luke saying her name was enough to help.

So she'd allow him to train her. She didn't feel like she had much of a choice in the matter, anyway. Luke was the strongest Bount, and Catty had a feeling it was going to stay that way for a while. Why not learn from the best, right? That was going to be her goal. Once she finally felt like she measured up, then they could both see how far she'd come after all that time. Maybe then she won't need to live a repeat of Luke's life, especially since it sounded quite difficult. She couldn't imagine everything he would have had to deal with along the way. She didn't understand how someone who experienced all of that could be sane.

After being lost in thought for a brief minute or so, Luke mentioned that Catty should be healed in no time due to her being a Bount. It was true that she was already feeling better despite only being in the hospital a short while, but she didn't think she could heal any faster than anybody else. She never had any reason to. But if he was telling the truth, then it wouldn't be very long now before she'd be back on her feet and doing what she could to learn everything there was to learn. With a light nod, Catty returned to twiddling her thumbs together awkwardly. She didn't know what to say to him now.

"Oh by the way. I think this is yours."

Luke had gotten up to leave without Catty noticing since she was already in her own little world, but turned around and handed her a black and gold gift bag. Confused, Catty tilted her head to the side and stared at it before gently taking it from his hands, appreciating how soft it was. He took care to pick this out pretty modestly. The bag was pretty light and the item inside felt like it had a strange curved shape. She went to open the bag a bit slowly and try to peek in, but didn't get the chance because Luke had decided to share one more goodbye piece before he left to let her rest.

"I’m looking forward to that day then, Catty." He said her name again, catching her attention as he turned back to face her one more time. "By the way, you looked really cool charging my dragon the way you did."

Catty's cheeks immediately flushed as her eyes widened, watching Luke leave the room. He thinks I'm cool... A smile forced its way onto the Bount's face without her consent. She was unable to stop it and tried to distract herself by fiddling with the bag he'd given her. Once the top of it was opened, she slid her fingers inside the bag and grabbed the headband that was so delicately stored within it. Once she pulled it out, she saw the black lace cat ears attached to the curved band, rubbing her thumb over it to embrace the rough-but-soft texture. She didn't remember dropping such a thing, so was this also a gift? Did he buy this for her just for her namesake, or was it something else-

C'est bon d'être à la maison, Mère.

Catty grinned with watery eyes. Je suis content de t'avoir, mon petit chaton.



END

[Kitai Yoru]

Ugh. The counting. 40 posts, 2,000 TP, 107 extra paragraphs, 535 TP, for a total of 2,535 TP awarded