Naptime

Kiran woke up from her nap and stretched her forelegs out on the wide branch in front of her. It hadn’t quite gotten dark yet, which meant she probably had an hour or two left to enjoy before she had to be back home to avoid suspicion. There were still a few places she had yet to explore in these woods; that should keep her occupied. Her lesson was over early today, and her roommate would never know where she had gone. It was frustrating that she couldn’t tell her friends where she was going, or about the incredible things she was learning and experiencing. She was currently learning to manipulate plant matter, and her developing abilities seemed to enhance her ability to move unseen in her jaguar form. This “druid” she was visiting seemed to legitimately have some understanding of her…oddities. She had known for some time that she could create light, but she assumed this power was a standalone ability passed down from her dead mother and couldn’t mean anything more, until she was contacted by this stranger. Despite her initial suspicions, no harm had come to her as of yet.

She headed off to the north, where she hadn’t explored until today, travelling through the treetops when she could. Not many knew she was a shapeshifter, so she couldn’t take her animal form often enough for her liking. Too many people were uncomfortable around shapeshifters, and with good reason. As a natural predator of the woods, her other form felt much more comfortable in the dense forest. The forest seemed to be thinning out the farther she travelled in this direction, though. At several times she considered turning back, but her curiosity overrode everything else, as usual. She leapt down from the trees, since they were failing her, and continued along the ground. What she found surprised her: while she had expected the woods to end, she hadn’t expected to find what looked to be a medieval European castle in the clearing—probably built by some man with more money than he knew what to do with. As bad of an idea as she knew it was, since she needed to be heading back home soon, her infinite curiosity dragged her onwards. She had to see the inside.

As she got closer, she saw that the stone seemed an odd, very dark shade of gray. Rather than the expected worn stone color, they seemed dark, almost as if they were made of jet. Seeing that the gate was closed, she decided to look around the back. There were some trees whose branches extended near the back wall…possibly near enough for her purposes. She quickly scaled the closest tree, and after a few running strides to the end of the branch, she leapt and managed to clamber onto the wall. She followed the stairway down clumsily; descending stairways was always awkward in her animal form. She skirted around some odd-looking tall hedges and a pool and made her way into the castle. The darkness of the walls and furnishings, while unusual, seemed comfortable, and she blended into them easily. Entering a large room, she stretched and dug her claws into the thick rug, then settled down in the corner to take another nap, all other responsibilities forgotten.

Arriving at his castle, Khaine grinned, looking up at the massive edifice. He'd been gone for far too long. It had been worth it though. An overseas operation that resulted in a catastrophic "accident" that leveled a city had paid very handsomely. He couldn't remember the name terribly well, though. Too much booze in his system. He chuckled quietly as a portcullis was raised to allow him entry. He didn't need his men to open the door, he could just fly. But it was good to remind the men that he existed, especially given his absence, though that sort of thing wasn't abnormal. Cracking his neck, he strode into his house, his mind filled with memories of the lovely romp he'd had. After a detour to his chambers to change into his more traditional cargo shorts, he hung his immaculate pinstripe suite in his closet, and headed to his bar on the East Wing. After a mission like that, it was definitely time to celebrate. Settling himself in a comfortable leather chair, he downed several half gallons of vodka on a tray he had his servants bring, while watching horror movies on his plasma television. Growing bored, he rose, very inebriated, gathered another gallon jug of vodka, and staggered through his castle. Reaching one of his many living areas, he looked over, and his jaw dropped. There was a....jaguar....in his castle. Who the hell let the thing in? Padding quietly over to the sleeping cat, he took a throwing axe out of his pocket and flipped it so he was holding it by the head. Reaching out he sharply poked the cat in the side. His staff would have to learn not to let strange animals into the house. Large cats were fun to have around, of course, but not to have dropped in unannounced.

Startled awake from her nap, Kiran was instantly on the other side of the room. Silently berating herself for falling asleep in a strange place, she turned to see what had woken her. The first thing she noticed about the man in the room was the axe in his hand. Thinking quickly, she remembered her lesson today and, with some concentration and effort, pulled vines through the floor to wrap around his legs. Surely he wouldn’t be expecting that from a cat.

This was immediately followed by a bright light in his face, which in such a dark room should momentarily blind him. Opening her eyes again, she bolted out a different door to the room, though she didn’t know the fastest way out from here. Even on her way out of the room, she could still clearly detect the overpowering odor of alcohol on him. He had clearly been drinking for quite some time. It seemed unlikely someone that drunk would find her if she found a quiet place to hide. He might not even remember she had been there in a few minutes. If she could just find a way outside the castle, she could disappear into the forest and never be found.

As the cat sprang to life, Khaine automatically took a step back, flipping the axe the right way round. Khaine went to stagger towards the cat, only to find that his legs were entangled by roots and vines that had burst through his floor. Swearing, he drew his scimitar and hacked his way free, glancing up in time to see as burst of painful, hated light lance at him. Roaring in anger, he released his power. Dropping both of his weapons, he called upon the shadow, forming a bladed whip out of it. Drunkenly lashing it around, nowhere nearly as graceful as his normal attacks, they were nevertheless effective, slicing deep gashes into the walls, obliterating furniture, and sending lashes of dark power rending through the air.

This was not simply a jaguar. His drunken mind muddled through the events. She had used nature magic before calling upon the cursed light. A druid, then. Though if it were a powerful one, they'd've done more than merely hinder him. He grinned wickedly. So, just a kitten. Poor little lost kitten, inside the monsters den. Breaking fully free of the vines, he swore quietly. That would probably be expensive to repair, especially since they were on the second floor. Cracking his neck and taking a mighty swig from his gallon jug, he tied it to himself and exploded into motion after the cat.

The inhuman roar that followed the flash of light set off some primal instinct inside her, and she ran faster, randomly turning through halls, hurtling past a startled group of strange creatures she didn’t recognize at one point. Hearing the sounds of destruction following her, she realized she may have bitten off more than she could chew. Finding a small dark room that seemed to be used for storage, she shifted into her transitional form, leapt to a sturdy-looking shelf high on the wall and hoped she wouldn’t be noticed. This form was her best for a fight, though she couldn’t run as quickly. Using her newfound abilities to enhance her natural camouflage, she steadied her breathing and hoped she wouldn’t be found. She had no more magical tricks up her sleeve if this didn’t work, and her life might hang in the balance. She had expected to only have to deal with a rich group of humans, at the most, not…whatever this thing was after her. It sounded like he was approaching the hallway outside, and Kiran held her breath. The longer she held still, the more her animal instincts warred with her human ones, and she had already forgotten why hiding was a good idea, why she was afraid of this. She was the top predator in these woods. Something kept her frozen to the spot, but everything inside her was telling her to fight. Why hide? Why run, even? She had killed enough deer to know how well running worked. This was only a human. A human was no threat. A human was only meat. Easily caught, more easily killed. Her hackles rose and she shifted her stance, ready to pounce when he came into the room.

At the sound of his roar, several human guards had charged up, and intercepted Khaine as he began his rampage, two of them being summarily dismembered by his flailing shadow chain before the rest managed to fall back and let their employer pass. Quickly though, Khaine realized the benefit this human meat could be in this situation. Slowing to allow the remainder to catch up; they’d left their fallen companions without a second thought; he sent them ahead. They were probably his best human guards, and while that didn’t say much for them, they were armed with expensive high powered rifles of a make he just couldn’t remember and armor of his own design that at least momentarily stopped them from being flayed by the supernatural world. Guiding them by her scent, they quickly homed in on her. Khaine ordered the men into the room, as he stood there and took another swig from his jug. Cat issues or no cat issues, he was still celebrating, damnit. Sounds of confusion emanated from the room. Khaine cocked his head to the side. They were reporting the room empty and clear. Swearing to himself, Khaine started to take a step into the room before his eyes narrowed. This was a trap. Better to let them spring it. Grinning, Khaine dematerialized into shadow, flooding into the room and into the darkest corner, which then became as impenetrably black as the void.

She almost leapt down as soon as the first guard entered, then thought better of it. Once all the guards were in the room, they called out, declaring the room clear. They continued, however, to search the room. Not one paid attention to the entrance to the room. She could easily escape, but she had no intention of running now. These humans would not survive. She had speed and surprise on her side, and she began with the one closest to the door. She pounced and sank her teeth his skull near his ears, piercing his brain. The one next to him turned and raised his weapon, but she already had her jaws closed around his throat, and his gun wouldn’t make a difference: he was suffocating already, and blood leaked into her mouth, the taste of victory, and a guarantee that she would live another day. Thrilled by how easy her first two human kills had been, and now confident she would live, she leapt towards the closest remaining one, knocking him down and slashing open his throat. Not stopping to celebrate yet, she took out the remaining two, who went down just as easily as the first three. Exhilarated and still acting on instinct, she tore away the strange material from the chest of the last one and dug into his chest, beginning to feed on the flesh just under one of his shoulders.

Watching from his corner, had Khaine had corporeal form, his jaw may have dropped. The glamour in the corner dissipated, revealing not the jaguar he’d seen previously, but a humanoid feline that leaped down on the first of his unsuspecting soldiers. As his men fell like herded cattle, Khaine realized this being was much higher caliber than he’d first anticipated. This one could actually provide some fun. Gathering the shadows around him, he watched the cat shred the rest of his men, even going so far as to start eating the last one. Khaine had waited long enough. His insane, breathless chuckling emanated from his corner, and as the shadows began to roil fiercely, Khaine stepped out of them, eyes black as pitch. Willing his teeth to be sharpened, he bared them at the cat.

“You’ve invaded my home, killed my men, and interrupted my night of revelry. Now the dance truly begins. Prepare thyself, little lost kitten. Tonight you will fight harder than you ever have”

The shadows boiled further around the room, and Khaine drew them in as he took yet another mighty swig of vodka. Glancing at it, noting it was almost empty, Khaine grinned, flipped it over, and beamed it at the cat’s head. Reaching out to the shadows, they formed giant claws over his hands. Maniac laughter spilling from his throat, Khaine leaped, aiming a swipe at her ankles, the other attempting to dive into her abdomen.

Kiran had only just ripped out the heart of the guard when she heard mad laughter from the corner, where she was sure there hadn’t been anyone. She immediately dropped the heart, which landed on his shoulder and fell to the ground. Looking up, she saw the shadows take on the shape of the man who had first discovered her. How had she missed the reek of alcohol? He bared his teeth—odd looking teeth—at her, and she bared hers right back, snarling in response to his challenge. His words barely registered in the human part of her mind, but they must have been adding to the challenge. The shadows in the already dark room seemed to move and grow, and a half-empty bottle flew in her direction, which she dodged and then heard smash on the ground behind her. He had some kind of fake claws, but they surely couldn’t match hers, and with or without sharp teeth, he didn’t have the strength of a jaguar’s jaws. He didn’t seem to have the axe anymore, either. Remembering his prior reaction to it, she managed to call forth another burst of light as she leapt blindly towards his throat.

The cat had seemed unfazed by his appearance or words, which suited Khaine just fine. To see such a beast tremble in fear at a mere parlor trick would have been disappointing indeed. She dodged the bottle as he knew she would, and as he lunged she blinded him again, causing both his swipes to miss horribly, though the momentary sizzling of his flesh caused him to moan in pleasure even as he swore at her for the wretched, evil light. Stumbling back, he had just regained his sight in time to see teeth and claws blurring towards him. Then she hit him like a brick wall, teeth first, driving him back into the wall. He knew he had seconds before she broke his shell, and he immediately called on the shadows around him to tendril around her limbs in an attempt to drag her off him once he had unhinged her jaws. Quickly reaching up, one claw remained, and it raked savagely at the cat, while his other hand came up to punch the cat’s jaw with all his demonic strength. All the while maddened laughter poured from Khaine’s mouth, and the shadows never ceased their writhing all around the room.

He swore and moved backwards in the flash of light, but her teeth found their target anyway. When her jaws clamped around his throat, she encountered some resistance, which was unusual, but not problematic. Her jaws crushed skulls without issue. She dug in her canines, which easily pierced his throat. Something wrapped around her legs, trying to pull her away, and while she couldn't be pulled off him, she was pulled off balance. His fake claw tore through muscle and tendons in her shoulder, and she knew she wouldn't be using her left arm for a day or two. Thank god for accelerated healing or that would take a hefty hospital bill and weeks. From the other side, an inhumanly powerful punch hit her square in the jaw, sending her sliding across the room, her canines ripping large chunks of flesh out of either side of his neck as she was torn away from him. She rose to her full height, left arm hanging limp and useless at her side, waiting to see if that had been enough to keep him down. At this point, if she needed to run, she may be faster in her human form, which wouldn't rely on the injured foreleg.

Still laughing, even as his throat was torn into, Khaine was almost twitching in pleasure. The pain of teeth ripping into his vitals was simply exquisite. It was almost a shame when his punch drove the beast back. The force of the cats teeth leaving drove Khaine to his knees, and he continued to gurgle out a laugh as his shell died. He was drunk enough at this point to not notice it dying until he tried to speak, and nothing came out but bubbles of blood. Gurgling a swear to himself, he ripped himself out of his shell, which was less than half his true mass. Rising from a crouch, Khaine now towered over the cat. True claws, glistening and black adorned his hands and feet, great bat wings half again as wide as he was extended, framing him. Spines ran down from his shoulders and back, down his muscular tail, which culminated in a wicked barb. His flesh was pitch black and leathery, like shadows made to take a body. Teeth just a fearsome as the cat’s now occupied his gash of a mouth, and a snakelike tongue briefly protruded to scoop up the heart the cat had kindly gouged out for him. His eyes, which were even blacker than before, yet seemed to somehow glow, never left the kitten. Swallowing the heart, He grinned widely, and his voice rolled forth like poisonous, unholy thunder.

“Well done, little lost kitten. Few have broken my shell, and none in recent memory. That deserves praise. But what will you do now? You are not fighting a mere human. Little cat, I am the Night incarnate. The Darkness given shape and form. Little one, you have wandered into the dragon’s lair.”

Satisfied that she had killed him when blood bubbled out of his mouth and the laughter died, Kiran relaxed and shifted back to her full jaguar form. She could feed on some of these dead guards, hide here to recover her strength tonight, and go home in the morning. She started towards the guard whose heart she had already torn out, limping, only to have it stolen away before she could get there. Looking in the direction her meal had disappeared to, she saw a horrifying creature where the man she had just killed used to be. The monster towered above her. His broad wings could barely spread in the small storage room. The claws didn’t seem fake anymore. Was this even the same thing she had killed? Nothing should have gotten up from that. This was wrong. It shouldn’t exist. It spoke, but she caught few of his words, only the odd tonal quality of his voice. Something about shells and darkness and dragons. He didn’t look like a dragon. Was there a dragon in the castle? Maybe he was a baby dragon? He had the wings and spikes down his back, even a tail. If it was a baby dragon, she had to kill it before a real dragon arrived. If it wasn’t a baby dragon, something like this had no right to exist anyway. Bristling, she darted around him and gathered her weight on her haunches to pounce. He was much too tall for her to reach his head with an injured leg, but if she could get behind him and reach his spine, she could disable him.

Khaine could hardly believe his eyes as he made the transition to his True Form. The cat made the transition to full jaguar form, and then IGNORED him. Then it didn’t seem to really understand what he was saying. He sighed. Very well, he’d have to damage the beast severely enough to make it fully revert. As the cat began attempting to run around him, he rolled his eyes, and the shadows sealed off all the exits to the room, including the windows. His tail lashed out towards her with lightning speed, and several tendrils of shadow attempted to impale her as well. Roaring, Khaine began to bleed madness into the air around him, even as he himself lunged for the cat, one hand attempting to grab a leg, the other going to rake over her back. The cat successfully dodged both his tail and the shadows, but his claws grazed over her back, and his other arm caught one of her good legs. Finishing his lunge with a roll, he was careful to hold the still flailing cat away from himself, before chuckling down at it.

“You’ve lost, little kitten”

Willing the shadows away from a portion of the wall, Khaine, wound up his arm and hurled the jaguar through it, deeper into the house. Cracking his neck, Khaine stepped through the rubble to determine if he still had a foe. He suspected her arrival had been accidental, however, and that originally she meant him no ill will. Perhaps she could be recruited. That was the only other option at this point.

Before she even reached him, the already dark room lost every light source, and even her eyes, designed to see in the dark, couldn’t see through pitch black. She felt something coming towards her quickly, and jumped, barely missing his tail. Somehow he found her in the darkness, claws digging into her back, and he picked her up by one leg. He called her a kitten. Maybe that’s all she was if she couldn’t escape from just a baby dragon. Soon she was flying backwards towards the wall, hitting it with her back and feeling bones break.

She landed on the floor on the other side and slid another few feet across the hallway. She lost hold of the jaguar form and screamed in agony as shattered bones changed shape inside her. Not having any other choice, she lay naked and broken on the floor in her human form again. She couldn’t even curl up to make a smaller target of herself, as if that would have done any good anyway. Now she remembered the roar that had set her running to begin with, and why she should have kept running when she had the chance. Wasn’t this monster just a drunk man an hour ago?

Cracking his demonic neck, Khaine sighed happily as the wall splintered to bits in a satisfying manner, covering the shifter in a layer of small debris. Walking over to a cabinet that had mysteriously not been destroyed, the giant demon, opened it and pulled another gallon jug of vodka from it, the receptacle seeming like a toy in his massive claw. Taking an even mightier swig than previously, he wiped his mouth on his free arm and forced his way through the too-small-hole in his wall to stand before the now human (and naked, he noted) woman. He grinned down at her, his voice roiling from his mouth in a fog of unholy power as he crouched beside her, a claw gently tracing her leg.

“Allow me to be crystal clear with you. You have broken into my house, and I am a demon of considerable power. There are two choices laid before you. Subject yourself to my not inconsiderable appetites, and die over the course of weeks or months, depending on how bored I get. Or, join me in taking this world from the puny, wretched humans. I have quite the organization, as I’m sure my castle and men have demonstrated.”

Glancing over at the remains of his men, Khaine grimaced.

“My agents aren’t all that terrible, mind you. Just the humans. But I digress. Little cat, now is the time to choose, and I will only offer this once. Enter into a contract with me, and I will elevate you to a level of power previously beyond your imagination. Or….”

His claw dug slightly deeper, drawing a line down her thigh to her ankle, which began weeping blood.

The adrenaline was finally leaving Kiran’s system, and exhaustion ate at her, slowly sapping her remaining strength. She fought to cling to her vision as he approached, still drinking. A twitch was the only attempt at evasion she could manage when an ice-cold claw touched her leg. She turned to look at him when he began to speak, but immediately regretted it as shifting her head rekindled the pain in her back and shoulders, and her whimpered cry drowned out his initial words. She did hear her choices, though why she was even being offered a choice was beyond her. Of course she would choose life over a slow painful death, but she might die anyway from these injuries if she couldn’t get home. Her roommate would panic, of course, but she would take care of Kiran in the weeks it may take her body to regenerate. His claw cut into her leg and slid down, but she could hardly feel it with the pain receptors in her brain already overwhelmed.

“I’ll join,” she managed to get out. Who in their right mind wouldn’t when put in this position? “But if you don’t want visitors in the future, you should keep your back door locked.” Why did she say that? Now she was sure to die. She never had been good at holding her tongue, but she never thought it would literally be the death of her. With each breath, it grew more difficult to hold onto her vision, and she couldn’t even tell if he was upset by her comment.

Despite her ready agreement, Khaine didn’t think she’d really heard him, which was annoying. He’d have to work on her listening skills in the future. Thankfully, she didn’t have to understand to sell her soul to him. Taking another swig from the comparably tiny jug, he called upon the shadows to begin the ritual. A pentagram, seemingly formed of blood, oozed from the cracks in the ground with the cat at its epicenter. The debris around her vaporized to reveal the symbol in all its glory as it began to glow devilishly. Due to her at least half agreement already, the symbol oozed demonic power into her slowly, just enough to heal her to an at least semi-mobile state. Instead of the traditional flames, however, only shadows boiled up from the symbol. A parchment of unidentifiable, yet concerning material and quill also floated up from seemingly nowhere.

“The terms are thusly. From now until the end of time, I will have sole possession of your soul. In return you will be granted a degree of my power. You will be compelled to complete my every wish until you die. In short, you will become my personal little kitten. Any attempt or thought of betrayal will be very painful for you, and will likely result in your death, for multiple reasons. Now kneel before me and sign, or I will see to it that every one of my guards has a “turn” with you. And trust me, you wouldn’t want that. There’s this one guy with spines….Nevermind. Just sign, and let your new life begin. A better life. One where the shadows aren’t something people run to to hide in. The Night itself will be at your beck and call. Come now, moonlight is burning. All you need to do is dip the quill into you once, and sign with that blood.”

He held out his hand, and the quill and parchment drifted to her, hovering inches away from her hand. Khaine slowly stood and backed out of the circle. This was far from his first contract, and he knew how….destructive they could be. Most beings couldn’t handle the sudden influx of power and temporarily lost their minds and surrendered to the demonic impulses, usually killing several random people. That more than likely wouldn’t happen in his castle, though if any more human guards happened to be around….Khaine chuckled at the thought. Worthless humans. Even infused with his power they were little more than meat.

It took some time for her to notice that the black and red symbol appearing around her seemed to be accelerating her already impressive shapeshifter healing, and though her shoulder and back had stopped bleeding long before, her left arm was regaining its mobility, and before too long, she was even able to sit up. Thinking it more appropriate given the agreement she was about to sign, she didn't rise completely, but stayed on her knees in the center of the symbol, even before he told her to kneel. Her lack of clothing seemed trivial when her life was at stake, and she didn't bother trying to hide anything.

The life he promised her didn't sound much different from her own life; the night was where she was most comfortable already. She didn't fully understand what it meant for her soul to belong to someone else; it must have something to do with her fate after death. Being granted a degree of his power? That seemed a significant improvement over her current state, especially considering just how powerful he obviously was. Maybe he would allow her to continue lessons with the druid she had been learning from? It would be beneficial to him to have her trained in the use of her abilities. As for leaving behind her normal life for one of servitude, that didn't bother her. She had always been something of an outsider, being a shapeshifter, and as she had only recently discovered, a magic user, among humans. Her only family was her father, and he had never been close to her. Her roommate was kind, but more attached to Kiran than Kiran was to her. This new life would be more interesting, to be sure, than any mundane job she would spend her boring life among humans doing, and unlike those bosses she would work for, at least this one had proven his status as her superior.

She took the floating parchment and quill. Signing the contract in blood was easy: the gash on her leg hadn't yet closed. Stabilizing it on the floor, she signed the contract on the bottom line. Kiran Acarudo. Her new life was about to begin.

As soon Kiran finished signing and held the contract out as if to offer it to him, it vanished. The shadows flickering across the pentagram around her erupted from the ground, spiralling into the air around her. She felt a portion of herself being ripped away from her body, and for a brief moment she was horribly empty. She screamed into the void that was all she could feel, but the sound didn’t even reach her ears. Her chest felt like it would collapse in on itself to fill the gaping hole inside her. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime of experiencing things no mortal was meant to bear, shadows, true, real darkness, rather than that horrifying absence of anything, crashed down onto her, rushing through her body, filling her with blessed pain. The pain that had been so unpleasant minutes ago now gave her nothing but relief in the knowledge that she existed. Surrounded by the same darkness that now filled the void where her soul once was, she couldn't see anything, but she didn't need to. Caught in this maelstrom of unholy power, she knew instinctively that nothing could touch her, not even the demon that had set this in motion. She was unstoppable. Reaching out with her mind to the shadows, she pushed them away, and they shot out violently in every direction. One caught a human, apparently looking to investigate the noise, and tore him in two. Other blades of shadow flew in the demon's direction. Even with the shadows cleared from her vision, though, she felt power continue to surge into her from the pentagram. Limitless power, and it was hers. Nothing would stand up to her. She would bring down this pitiful world, starting right here. Concentrating in the same way she had learned to create blasts of light, she focused the unholy power into a single blast.

Khaine’s smile widened as the cat dipped the quill into her leg and began to write. As she finished he languidly closed his eyes and raised his arms, preparing for the influx of power he was about to receive. As it reached him he sighed, sucking it all up into himself. Cracking his neck he looked back to where the cat had been. Instead he found a dark God. Swearing violently as tendrils…no, actual blades of shadow erupted from her in every direction, seven or eight impaled him, and he shivered in ecstatic pain as they lifted him off the ground, then cut through him. Falling to the ground he had just enough time to moan in pleasure before he looked up to see a massive orb of Darkness form above her head. Had he been capable of it, he would have turned pale as the snow. As he watched, the orb began to shrink, compressing itself. Khaine shakily stood, and started running. He made it three steps closer to the window he had planned on diving through before the orb exploded. The icy waves of force crashed into him, and hurled him screaming into the Night.

Awakening maybe an hour later, still in his True Form, a few feet from his giant pool, Khaine groaned and stood up. Cracking his neck, he collected his thoughts. Slowly his drunk and injured brain made sense of what had happened that night. Shaking his head, he walked over to a bar by his pool and grabbed more vodka. He needed a drink.

Upon his re-arrival upon the scene, he found a myriad of corpses. Presumably his guards were far overpayed. Also, there was the fact that most of the East Wing was gone. Just….gone. Upon finding the cat, he grabbed her by her hair and dragged her unconscious form to his quarters, where he threw her casually on the bed, reformed his shell, killed that bottle of vodka, and passed the fuck out. It had been a long night for Khaine. Time to rest.