What Big Teeth You Have... Part 2

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A few moments earlier... from grandma's house

"H-hey! Ladies, please! You totally have the wrong idea!" the man, Free, pleaded even as he was strung up on the wall.

Temperance's first attack had incapacitated him-- using her cards like daggers to catch him and pin him in place against the wall. What she lacked in strong physical attacks, her accuracy made up for it. She had the marksmanship of a sniper if need be-- as she was raised by witches who more often than not used magic guns for their combat needs.

Medeia made no hesitation to start grilling the man as to why he was there, in grandma's bed and dressed in her clothing. It was bad no matter how you spun the tale, and even now, Temperance was embarrassed how she in the red cloak and her common attire, glasses and all, was before this situation. True, she didn't know Medeia that well, but she was growing to like her. Hex, also had grown attached to her as well, the two have a bit in common. Her words were brutal so she really was nailing into Free to the point Temperance felt a bit bad.

"I didn't do anything to Grandma, I swear!" the man shouted, still dressed in the pajamas and nightcap, stuck on the wall. "S-She was already out of the house when I arrived. I went to check on her but you showed up and... and... "

"You hid in her bed, put on her clothes and disguised your voice as some kind of creepy pervert?" Hex meowed from Medeia's shoulder.

Free had an embarrassed look on his face. "W-well it was better to be caught looking around an empty room of an old lady's room!" he retorted, which was half-true to hide rather than be 'caught red-handed'. Still...

"Forget him! I say we tie him to a tree and wait for crows to pick his liver out or something! " Hex meowed angrily at him.

Selina sighed as she heard her cat's radical ideas of punishment. "I think that is going a bit overboard, Hex..."

No doubt that Medeia had her own choice ideas of what she would do with him. Still, Temperance wanted to know where Grandma was as she still had her red cloak around her. "Okay, nighty sniffer... where is Grandma? If you're smart, you will tell us the truth or those cards I threw-- they will do more than just pin you to a surface."

"I told you, I don't know! She probably stepped out!" he whimpered, but it still didn't excuse his behavior.

WC:435

His whimpering was beginning to get on Medeia’s nerves and despite her previous comment about allowing Temperance to decide on Free’s fate, the angel was quickly deciding on her own course of action. What kind of person wandered into someone’s house and dressed up in their clothes? It was completely ridiculous and the angel did not believe a word that he said. It made no sense whatsoever and her deduction was that he was simply hiding something. Either that or he was just completely and utterly stupid. It was difficult to tell the difference and in the end, her irritation overcame her just a little too much. He needed to be taught a lesson and it seemed that it would fall to her to teach it to him.

Taking a step back from Free, she would utter a spell and release a burst of black magic from her hand which would surround the fool. It was an unusual spell of hers but a favourite and as the moments passed, his form would change. He would shrink in size to that of a rodent and his features would change to match. Where once stood an oddly strange looking man, now stood a medium sized rat, squeaking in fright and desperation as he realised what had happened to him. It was not a pretty sight to watch but it certainly was an effective spell.

Before he could make any attempt at escape, Medeia would quickly bend down and grasp him with one hand, catching him by the tail and lifting him up for her teammates to see. She thought that it was quite fitting for him to be in such a form. His squeaks of desperation were music to the angel’s ears and a chuckle escaped her lips. “Maybe if he spends a little time like this then he will be more willing to talk,” she said with a smile, curious as to what they would think of her magic. The raven haired witch assumed that they had probably seen such things before, given the covens broad knowledge of magic. Still, it always gave a Medeia a brief tingle of joy whenever she took control of her foes in such a way. To truly dominate someone was one of life's great pleasures.

Watching the rat, she would then speak to him, “I suggest that you stop squeaking and tell us the truth now. I cannot speak for my companions but I for one am getting a little tired of your games, Free. Tell Temperance what she wants to know or next time, it will be an insect. I can promise you that much.” She had a few polymorph spells in her arsenal and was more than willing to use another on him if necessary. He certainly made a batter rat than he did a human, that was for sure.

With a smirk, she would then look up to Hex, “Fancy a little playtime with him?” Her voice was filled with whimsy which was surprising given how moments ago it had been filled with scorn towards Free. Her spell would not last all that long but enough for her to hopefully prove her point to him. She was not to be trifled with and any more stupidity on his part would result in a more severe punishment. That was of course assuming that Hex did not eat him, of course.

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Temperance was wondering how they would deal with this strange odd-eyed man before Medeia jumped to the chase and did something Temperance didn't expect. She released a pulse of magic and Free was consumed by smoke. In his place and out of his grandma clothing-- he was suddenly transformed into a rodent. Temperance couldn't help but gasp at the look of the mouse-- and Hex's ears went up with alertness to hear his 'squeak'.

Medeia didn't miss a beat as she bragged about turning him into a mouse. Temperance soon cracked a smile, both appalled and amused by that. "Oh yeah. You are definitely teaching me that trick," she smiled to her new friend.

Hex didn't need to be asked as she saw the mouse and quickly pursuit. "And the graceful beast stalker her prey... MREOW!!" Hex purred as she jumped off Medeia's shoulder to chase Free.

The rat squeaked, showing his odd eye as well, as he fled from the bed and Hex followed. The cat gave chase as Free scampered off the bed, double backed and under the bed-- all the while with Hex chasing after him like a fire was set on her tail. The sounds of meows and squeaks filled the room as the two dashed all around, knocking over a small lamp and making a mess out of the sheets.

Hex was in the full feral mode as she gave chase, not for any desire to eat or torment but her cat-like instincts driving her to catcht he elusive smaller animal.

After about a minute of an amusing chase, Hex had him cornered-- but soon another puff of smoke came out around him-- and Free was back in his human form-- in his normal odd clothing including the weighted ball attached to his ankle.

"Ya crazy cat!" Free insulted, now back in human form. "DO I look like a big mac, two-bit allycat!"

A twitch came from Hex's eye as she peeked out from the bed. "What did you call me?!" she hissed.

"Oh no..." Temperance said as she took a step back, knowing it was an insult to her to call her an allycat. The only one who got away with that crap was Agil, and only cause they would bicker alot playfully.

Sprouting her wings, Hex flew upward, and a bewitching glow came from her and an orange sphere appeared before her paws. "Pum-pumpkin-pumpkin... HALLOWEEN CANNON!" she meowed and launched the blazing sphere-- transforming into a fiery jack-o-lantern of energy.

BOOM!!

The violent burst of dark magic and energy flashed in their eyes as Free was blasted with the energy, capable of blowing up things. Luckily, Hex did hold back just a bit-- so that they didn't destroy the whole room or themselves in the process.

"Hex! I told you!" Temperance sighed as she looked to her cat friend. "No explosive spells in the ---"

Her voice caught as she soon was shocked by something and Medeia might question her surprise.

The blast where Free had been left him toasty. Burns marked his clothing and limbs, his shirt tattered-- but what was odd as he stood there, barely on his feet and head low as if hunched... was he was still intact. Even more surprising, was slowly before their eyes-- the burns were slowly vanishing. The smoke that he gave off wasn't from the blast, but the 'closing wounds' on his body as if they would vanish and disappear before their eyes.

"...huh?" Hex meowed-- now a bitt frightened as the cat flew back to Temperance and Medeia.

A cough escaped Free as he cracked his neck to the side, as if to loosen a kink there. "Ugh... talk about cat-scratch fever. I'll admit I got a bit careless there... but lucky for me, I can afford to be a bit careless."

No longer in a mood to play around, Temperance drew her cards. This time, she threw them with the intent to strike. Her lash into the air sent 'Suit of Swords' cards flying forward and struck the man, several in his limbs and chest. Further, the impact set them off, releasing a blinding flash of lightning over him to electrify him.

He grunted and cried out at the shock, but once again, the man still stood as he took them head-on. He looked down, seeing the cards stuck into his bare chest like thorns. He soon reached and pulled them out, showing the wounds left as minor trail of blood dripped down. However, it was then the wounds began to close again, along with the electrical burns on him as well.

"Hey... I thought you were a nice girl," The odd-eyed man grumbled a bit, but then cracked a minor grin as his eyes gazed up in thought. "Though, I gotta admit, I do like it when the ladies get a bit rough with me. Fortunately, as you can tell, I can take a bit of abuse if you catch my meaning." He patted his shoulder as if to boast he was healthy and unharmed.

"What the hell..." Selina breathed, unsure what she just witnessed. "All his wounds healed."

A wolfish grin showed on his face as he looked to the ladies. "Of course it closed up. Why wouldn't it," he said as he took a defiant step towards them. "What else would it do? I'm Immortal."

An Immortal? A person beyond the reach of death. This was indeed a scary development.

WC: 913

An irritated sigh escaped the angel as Free mentioned being immortal. She had heard so many make that same claim and yet more often than not, Medeia had proven them well and truly wrong. Her father had claimed to be but she had proved him wrong through combat and his soul now resided in Hell, where it would be tormented endlessly. It was not hyperbole either, as she had seen it for herself when she had travelled there herself. Still, given how easily Free had recovered from both Temperance and Hex’s attacks, perhaps he was telling the truth. It was going to be a problem and the raven haired witch could already see where this was probably heading. A stalemate. The angel herself had lived for an incredibly long time and was certain of her own immortality. She would walk these lands for eternity, making a fight with Free rather pointless. Yet, Temperance and Hex did not have the same gift which Medeia was more than aware of.

With that last thought in mind, Medeia would step in front of her allies, blocking Free’s path and allowing her magical aura to start to surge from her. It was not an attack this time around, simply a demonstration of her own magical potency. “Immortality and magical power are two different things, Free and from what I have seen so far, you are certainly lacking when it comes to strength. I think that the reason why you open yourself up to abuse is because you lack the skill to do anything about it. You are the fool of the immortal race, a jester whose only job is to be mocked and attacked by his betters. There was a member of my heavenly sect who was a little like you. He was the bottom of the barrel and was little more than a footstool for the rest of us. I think you and he would be friends. Both completely hopeless.”

Her tone was as demeaning as it could be and the expression on her face was one of scorn. The idea of him following Temperance and Hex around constantly was not a pleasant one either but Medeia was uncertain if there was a solution to that. If his words were true then he could just do that and there was little that anyone could do about it, even someone as strong as the with herself. The only alternative was a form of imprisonment, similar to how Medeia’s father had dealt with her for so long but that was just as difficult. No, it honestly did seem that her first though, a stalemate, was the correct one and as she took a slight step back to allow him or her friends to respond, Medeia was at a slight loss as to how to proceed. If he wanted to fight then she would be more than willing to agree to that although a nagging part of her thought that they should be more focused on completing their mission.

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Hex now hid behind Temperance's shoulder as Medeia took the offensive and proceeded to intimidate Free with the sheer aura that Medeia had. Temperance's eyes widened behind her glasses. Between Free's sudden Immortality reveal and the raw Magic Power Medeia had as a fallen angel, this reminded her of her aunt's friend Rodin. A former fallen angel and now demon lord who was insanely powerful. She had to wonder if the two knew each other. But more concerned about what would happen if a REAL fight ensued in the middle of grandma's house.

As Medeia really laid her harsh words into Free, pretty much belittling the Immortal as a worm among others... he sort of cluelessly tilted his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ey... that's a bit harsh don't you think? Even for me. " he commented bashfully, not really that offended. However, he then flashed a grin. "Still, you don't know why I'm immortal, do you? So you may want to think about that before you make threats, sweetie pie." A lecherous lick of his lips crossed his face as if excited by this.

"He's an immortal pervert. Lovely..." Hex meowed.

Her senses back and sharp, Temperance leaned over Medeia's shoulder to whisper to her. "We can't risk a fight with an immortal in close quarters like this. Let's try to take all this outside." she whispered.

In the middle of Medeia's intimidation tactic-- Temperance drew another hand full of cards and threw them! However, they soon detonated halfway across the room-- releasing large clusters of ice magic that formed in the room! Free looked baffled as he saw the ice wall erect in his view, cutting off the conversation. "Let's go!" Temperance urged, and ran out the door.

Free looked dumbfounded as he saw her take off. "H-Hey wait! You can't just take off in the middle of a confrontation like that? I didn't even get your number!" he shouted. With a growl, he delivered a swinging kick towards the ice wall-- causing the ball and chain attached to his leg to crash into the ice and make a vicious crack in it. One more hit would make it crumble but it would buy them the chance to get outside.

As Selina exited the tree-house, she threw a few more cards-- this time around the frame of the doorway that entered the house. When he would catch up, the cards would trigger at her whim as they got outside into the open area.

WC: 419

Seeing the logic behind Temperance’s plan, Medeia would simply nod and follow her ally out of the room, leaving Free behind. His words had done little to calm her and the lecherous look that appeared on his face had sickened her. It was a look that had been described to her by her maid, when faced with the most depraved of her father's minions. They had treated Armina so poorly, just for being a close ally of Medeia and it had instilled a rage inside the raven haired woman that never seemed to leave her. It was the main reason why she despised males so much, lecherous ones even more so and why her tolerance was so low when facing them. Perhaps next time, she would bring Armina along with her, in order for her lovely maid to unleash some of her own anger too. The two were so close that they could almost read each other's mind. Closer than friends, closer than lovers. She knew that Armina would follow her anywhere, no matter how perilous the destination might be.

Rather than run, Medeia felt it was prudent to instead use her teleportation spell in order to exit, given how Temperance was throwing her cards about. The angel would spin in a circle and briefly turn to sand, before reemerging outside of Temperance’s trap cards. She had a sneaking suspicion that Free would no doubt find his way out or more likely just bull rush through the traps like the fool he was. He was certainly reckless enough to do such a thing and if his claims were true, there would not seem to be any real risk to him. The problem still remained about just what they were going to do about him though. The thought of having a deluded weirdo stalking them all the time was hardly a pleasant one. Medeia was one who did the stalking, not the other way around.

Approaching her allies, Medeia would then raise an eyebrow at Temperance, “Any suggestions on how we deal with this fool? Getting any information out of him seems to be like getting blood from a stone and I am starting to think that he does not actually have a clue where grandma is. Either he is just a wandering idiot or a test that we have to overcome, in my opinion anyway. I swear though that he is the most stupid imbecile that I have met in all my years.”

A smile crossed her features though as she glanced at Hex and added, scratching the flying cat affectionately, “It was certainly enjoyable watching you chase him around and blast him with your magic. You pack quite a punch, Hex.” She had been rather surprised by the Exceed’s display and made a mental note not to underestimate her flying friend in future. Perhaps she should not have been surprised though as the feline shared similar traits with the angel herself. They were different from their kin which had led them both to being referred to as fallen.

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Temperance's head was racing and she was fortunate that she got that far as they were now outdoors in the woods now. He would be after them any second. "Honestly, I haven't even gotten that far. I'm still reeling at the fact he is an Immortal of all things. How do you defeat something immortal? " she asked. A fair question.

For the brief break they had, Medeia was kind enough to offer praise to Hex who soon landed upon Medeia's shoulder. As she was praised, Hex meowed and purred as the fallen angel petted and scratched her in her pleasant places-- behind her ears and near her whiskers. "Why thank you...I am talented... purrrrrr..." she cooed and rubbed into her touch.

Meanwhile, Free had finally done another smash with the ball and chain and the ice block crumbled--dissolving into frost, dust, and shards of ice. A twinge of annoyance showed on his brow as he quickly ran out of the bedroom after the girls.

Temperance heard his running as he soon came and ran through the doorway--

Temperance snapped her fingers, and the cards on the doorway triggered. Another flash of lightning came from the cards, zapping Free with an alarmed shout of pain. The voltage was much stronger there, using her keen skill of Tarot magic to constantly strike surprising blows from different angles. As the zap ended, he slagged for a moment-- but it didn't do much good. The burns from the electrical attack slowly began to fade on his body, his immortality healing him significantly.

"Hey, ladies no need to be shy!" Free said with a goofy grin, as if the attack didn't even register to him. "We can take our time, right?"

"For crying out loud... what the hell is he?" Temperance grumbled, now starting to get annoyed by this guy. Hex, from her perch on Medeia cast a cat-like hiss in the man's direction.

With a rotation of his shoulders as if to stretch-- he stepped out from the building, the tarot cards Temperance used vanishing back to her 'deck'. "Oh, all you had to do was ask, Red," he said, nicknaming Temperance due to the Red cloak she still wore. "Maybe I should show you my 'true form'. "

A wicked grin showed as suddenly black energy began to crackle off his body. Like the lightning before, it was a powerful dark magic that began to swell up from his body. In that instance, his physique started to charge. As if he wasn't ripped already, he grew bigger, his body mass starting to grow. The tatters of his 'prison garb' began to stretch and tear in places, and his skin began to grow darker-- or rather show more hair. His face began to 'stretch', and his teeth showed-- growing far sharper with longer canines. His hands grew and claws grew from his nails. Even more so-- from his backside, a large bushy tail soon just sprouted up behind him. His stance also completely change, as if part-feral.  By the end of it-- the only identifiable part of him was the 'no future' tattoo over his odd-styled eye as he now fully turned from a man into a werewolf!

"Ehehe... LIke what you see ladies. This is my true for----!"

"MREOW! I KNEW IT!! I HATE DOGS!!" Hex meowed with another charge of orange magic. "HALLOWEEN CANNON!!"

BOOOM!!

The pumpkin-shaped magic exploded on Free, scorching the ground with more force and left a bigger impact oppose to the one in the house. While it did indeed look painful and made a 'pumpkin-shaped' dustcloud, Free stood there-- now fully wolfed out with a shocked look on his face.

"Grrr... Hey! That's just rude!" Free gasped, wafting the smoke away from him. Naturally, the attack only just singed his clothing. If he was strong-looking before, he was now built like a tank. "You can't just blast a guy in the middle of a transformation like that . That's bad taste--"

"I KNEW IT-I KNEW IT!" Hex meowed, pointing her paw-glove at Free with accusation. "You big, pervy werewolf!"

That took the werewolf back at the accusation from the cat, almost making his transformation now seem more comical than terrifying. "Gah! P-Pervy?! No no... you got it all wrong..." He said, though began to ramble once more. "Though I gotta admit, you all are hot young ladies. I'd definitely show you a good time if you gave me the chance. Don't worry. I don't bite! Well, not hard, if you know what I mean."

Temperance was once again dumbfounded, her face plastered with a look of embarrassment than fear now behind her glasses. This guy was a werewolf but was just as stupid as before. For a guy trying to protest being 'pervy', he wasn't doing a good job defending his case. He would be just digging his own grave... if he wasn't immortal.

WC: 818

“I have no interest in having a steroid abusing dog sniffing around my crotch, thank you,” Medeia replied in the most deadpan tone that she could conjure up. At this point, the angel was well and truly sick of Free and the reveal that he was a werewolf did little to brighten her mood. She knew a fair bit about the species as a whole although she’d never had the displeasure of facing one in battle before. Still, she was hardly worried as they were simply brutes who lashed out with their teeth and claws, hardly a match for either her or her allies. He was simply embarrassing himself even more and the look she gave him was one of scorn, more than anything else. “I am sure though that there must be a whorehouse somewhere where you can satisfy your desires.” She had not exactly been holding back her insults but with her patience completely frayed, Medeia did not make any effort at all to hold back at this stage.

At that moment, Medeia would briefly glance at Temperance, before returning her gaze to Free, a smile forming across her lips. “Besides, I can think of someone far more attractive who I would rather spend my time with.” It was precisely what it sounded like and the angel made no effort to hide her own flirty instincts. Her companion was awfully attractive after all and it had not gone unnoticed by the angel, she was lovely on the eyes and the red cloak seemed to make her even more so. She meant every word and it was meant as both a compliment to Temperance and a jab at Free at the same time. The moronic wolf was going to have to go somewhere else in order to satisfy his own desires, preferably a million miles away from wherever Medeia was. That was her hope anyway.

The topic of who was the perv of the group was quite amusing to the witch in honesty, as it was a term that was used an awful lot to describe her. She was after all an angel of lust and it was an emotion that Medeia always loved delving into. Over her long lifespan, she had been with many beings, both angelic and human although the one most important note was that she had always only been with other women. There were many among the heavens who had looked down upon her for that and was just one factor into her being cast out from her sect. The holy stories had always spoken of Adam and Eve, not Alice and Eve, after all. Still, that was all in the past now and she was free of their rules and regulations. All those who disagreed with her would receive a severe punishment and anyone stupid enough to question her life choices would receive the severest of all. A first class ticket to hell, where they could spend the rest of eternity regretting their decision.

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Temperance regarded Medeia's words well, though didn't understand the last part as her eyes were on the werewolf and for good reason. Perhaps it was due to her clear humanity compared to the fallen angel, but despite the werewolf's pervy and goofy demeanor... he was not a force to take lightly. Even the lowliest of werewolves were deadly if given an inch. From behind her glasses, still wearing that ridiculous 'red riding hood' cloak, she now was losing her patience with the wolf Free as well. From behind her glasses, she had a frustrated look.

"Alright... so that is how it is then?" she said, her voice soft but stern. Even Hex turned at the sound of her voice since she been quiet for a bit.

It was then now, a flow of magic could be seen around her. Below her, a magic circle appeared and a Tarot card fluttered in front of her. She soon reached and grasped the hem of her cloak, fed up with the garment. "Alright, doggy. No more games then. Time to show you who you been messing with..." she said.

She threw off her cloak-- and the tarot card shattered around her in a glow of light. She arched her back as her form was covered in multi-colored light and the cards obscuring parts of her body.

Visions of cards fluttered around her as her body vanished-- but after a few seconds, a new silhouette took shape. The wind faded, causing her black hair to calm down-- and she now was in a new outfit entirely. She requip-- now dressed in her TRUE attire as an Umbra Witch-- an elegant cut of a dark sorceress' robe with a top, long fingerless gloves, a skirt that led down her back like a cloak-- and knee-high boots. IN truth, her attire was black with orange accents, a style of a mix of a sorceress attire, and that of a thief or rogues. Arcane but mainstream to allow maximum mobility. She had discarded her glasses, revealing her steely and resolved green eyes.

A mere hand ran through her hair in a final gesture, revealing her true appearance to the wolf. "Time to discipline him," she said directly.

"WHOOOOOOOOO!!!" The sudden sound from Free was a shock as even from their distance-- they could see the goofy hearts now bursting out of his eyes. His mouth was open as he watched Selina requipt into her more usual clothing as an Umbra Witch. "That was so awesome! WOOOO!!" he went on, his leg banging into the ground with excitement.

Hex the cat felt her witch's hat tilt that hid half of her face at the expression of dumbfounded embarrassment. "Oh please, spare me..." she meowed in grief.

"YOU-- baby, are just my type! I mean I really dug the red on you and glasses were cute-- but turning from nerdy to dark and sexy like that is REALLY hot! I like you, sweetie! You're the dog's bark!"

"IT'S 'CAT'S MEOW', YOU LUNAR DOOFUS! IF YOU'RE GONNA HIT ON MY FRIEND LIKE A LETCH, AT LEAST GET THE PHRASES RIGHT!" Hex cried.

Not even about to retort further, Temperance made the first move. Once more, she drew out a hand full of cards. The mere 'flash ' of them tinted of red color on the front, known as the suit of wands. With a strong flick forward, she threw a sereis of cards to strike at Free.

some struck in his chest and shoulders--- but others struck the ground below him. The wolf, let them hit. He didn't even dodge, but he just grinned. "Nice try, but I told you. I'm Immor--"

KA-BOOM!!

The Suit of Wands cards all suddenly exploded at once with a fiery blast, causing a huge burst of fire to jump upward and consume him. His form was unseeable through the flames, but they raged with her magical strength.

The glow of the flames illuminated the smirk on Temperance's face. If Medeia wanted to cut in to attack too, the battle was now underway...

WC: 679

As much as she despised the idiotic fool, Free was rather accurate in his description of Temperance’s new look or at least Medeia thought so. To see the true attire of her fellow witch was rather eye opening for the purple haired angel and it was difficult not to gaze at her for longer than was necessary. She approved of the more assertive twist to her companions persona as well and Medeia had no issue joining in when it came to fighting the dog. However, the fact still remained that death seemed to be a state that he could permanently hide away from and as such, a fight to the death was pointless. It would simply go on until both Free and herself were out of magical energy and that would also put her allies at risk. She was uncertain as to whether the coven’s members had achieved immortality and if not, that would simply paint a bullseye right on top of Temperance and Hex’s foreheads. There was an alternative perhaps but one that would not be easy for while immortals could not be killed, they could be contained, as Medeia knew better than most.

As Temperance’s flaming attack captured Free’s attention, Medeia would briefly turn her gaze towards her allies. “Perhaps we can find a way to ensnare him, if he truly is what he says he is?” There was no guarantee that it was possible but the angel was frankly so sick of him that she would be willing to go to any lengths to get away from him. “That is how immortal beings are generally dealt with from my experiences. A perfect punishment for a wretch like him.”

Once Medeia had finished speaking, she would tap into her own magic and cause a coffin of darkness to rise around the area that Free was standing in. It was large in scale and would rob him of all of his senses if she casted it correctly. Once it was in place, it would then skewer him with jet black spikes, leaving him a world of pain and silence. It would unfortunately not last forever but perhaps give her allies the chance to prepare their next attack. It was one of the angel’s more potent abilities and one that she tended to use on those who annoyed enough. It was meant to show just how weak her foes were compared to her although she doubted that Free was intelligent enough to understand. A part of her kind of expected him to just shrug it off but it was worth a try anyway. At the very least, it would give them a few moments of peace from his endless ranting and raving which the fallen angel for one certainly appreciated.

As she watched her spell take effect, she would briefly utter to her ally, “As much as I hate to admit it, my dear but he is right in one respect. You do truly look lovely in that new form of yours.”

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Temperance explosive blast made Hex fly upward, to get a bit clear from the intense blaze and any risk of the battle, as Temperance watched as Free was consumed by the blaze. It didn't take long as soon a shadow of the werewolf could be seen. As the fire died down, Free emerged with a semi-chared arm, chest and half a face-- but it soon began to heal up. His face returned to normal-- around his odd-looking pentagram eye. His arm, which most would have seen as tattered and burned to a crisp-- began to heal up as if his muscles were knitting itself back. It was both fascinating and gross at the same time.

Once fully healed, he patted his newly formed restored arm, as strong as ever. "Oooh, thanks! I had a terrible kink in my shoulder, but now it's great. You ever think about being a masseuse. "

Medeia had the right idea, however, if you couldn't kill a target to incapacitate it. The odd formation of the strange spiked coffin soon appeared. Seemingly dumb-- she soon dropped it down and he was snapped in with a shout as the spiked coffin caught him...

Temperance soon overhead the comment of her outfit-- which made her show a surprised look on her face now that she was free of her glasses. she gave a soft smile to Medeia-- realizing her interest but could only smile sheepishly at the comment. It didn't last long though--

The case began to rattle and thump. Suddenly, a spike of ice shot out from the box, one by one. More and more showed up till eventually, the entire casket was shattered to pieces, the metal spikes mixed with the ice ones from inside.

It soon showed as the werewolf emerged-- ice spikes sticking out from his body, as if his immortal body produced them as well. "He's a mage too?!" Temperance gasped, but still annoyed and ready to fight.

"Aww, ladies, please..." the werewolf said, his tone a bit darker as he chuckled. "I like your initiative, but isn't my job to do the nailing here. But I gotta admit, that was fun. What next? You wanna drop something heavy on me? " he said.

Hex felt as if she could cough up a hairball. "He's an immortal... magic...masochist... werewolf..." the cat commented as if she had swallowed a lemon.

Despite his rather pervy and simplistic mind, he was actually quite sharp to not let himself be caught off guard. Even now, his puncture wounds from the box were rapidly healing. Temperance got herself ready as she readied more cards.

"Well, this has been fun, but now its my turn to play. Ready or not... HERE I COME!!" Free bellowed and sprinted forward, lunging towards them. Despite his disposition to not seem like he would really kill them, his claws were extended to indicate a threat.

Temperance had her cards as she soon saw Free on top of her-- claws drawn about to strike. Whether or not he intended to do a fatal strike, she wouldn't allow it.

"Magician..."

The moment his claws came down-- Temperance was gone. The mere flicker of arcane light was the only show of where she was, leaving a single card in her place that fluttered to the ground. "Huh?! What the--" he gasped, finding his claws striking nothing but thin air.

Between the crater where the fire and ice had clustered, back near the tree house of grandma-- Temperance had re-appeared, landing near the cluster of cards left on the ground there. She stood there without breaking a sweat.

While Medeia was nearby, Free soon caught sight of Temperance in the corner of his eye. "Ooohh, I see now. You ladies like playing hard to get. Well, I can play that game." he commented.

All the while, Hex flew overhead of the fight to stand clear from the wolf and the dangerous battle. She did comment for Medeia to hear. "That, is Temperance's specialty. Using her cards, she change her immediate fate by using cards to tie her 'threads' together. Whenever she is a tight spot, she changes it to wherever her cards land. It's like teleporting but a bit more complicated. Clever, right?" the cat meowed proudly about her partner.

WC: 715

“A useful skill,” Medeia replied simply although she did not spend long dwelling on how Temperance’s spell was all that different when compared to other teleportation spells. Still, the ability to change fate was certainly interesting and the angel wondered to herself if there was a spell to alter Free’s fate so he had never been born. It was unlikely but Medeia could dream and as she surveyed the battlefield, she was becoming just a little, well, almost uninterested. There was no real sense of danger for the raven haired woman and even though she was irritated with the idiot, that was not enough to keep her motivated. Beating on him constantly would be a waste of her magical energy and she quietly longed for the fight to be over with so that her allies and herself could get back on the road. Unfortunately, that would have to wait and so she once more returned her attention to the fight at hand.

Focusing her defensive powers for a moment, she would utter a few words in an ancient language and surround herself with blood for a moment. Once it faded away, Medeia would be left with an almost spirit like creature surrounding her form, a female wearing a long and elegant red and yellow cloak, her ears and canine teeth incredibly sharp. A denizen from another realm and one whose gaze was firmly on Medeia. The creatures chuckled, her arms wrapped around the witch’s shoulders as though she was embracing her from behind. “I was wondering when you would decide to use me again, my dearest Mistress. Are you looking for a little fun or do we have work to do?”

A chuckle escaped the angel as she briefly glanced at her spell, “I am afraid that as much as I would like to play with you, my dear, we have some business to attend to. We have a filthy mutt that needs to be dealt with. It seems that he is able to shake off all of our attacks.”

“How boring is that?” The vampiric woman replied, rolling her eyes at Free, “I would not mind if it was a woman but sheesh, just look at it.” After a moment, the blonde haired spell would then talk to the wolf directly, “You are by far the ugliest thing that I have ever seen in my life. Do you have nothing better to do than to stalk pretty women?” Her attention returning to Medeia, she would then utter, “Can we not just find a pound somewhere and leave him there? I am sure that he would find an owner eventually. Pfft, who I am kidding.”

“You are very talkative today,” Medeia replied, amused by her spell's attitude.

Tapping into her magical powers once more, the angel would then briefly inhale, before unleashing a powerful mixture of her slayer elements, forming one large blast of magical energy towards the wolf. Due to her vampire spirit being active, Medeia’s potent magical power would only increase, as would her defences.

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Between Temperance's fast-moving teleports and the conjuring of Medeia's vampire spirit ally that came from the veil of blood, Free glanced around at both. "Whoh, nice. Now this is a party. Do you just got women tucked away somewhere?" he asked dumbly.

Temperance finally showed a look of distaste on her face for all the wolf's pervy talk. "Alright, now I am really starting to get pissed off by your talk. " she said as she took out more cards.

At the question to the blonde vampire, he almost gave a sheepish smile to her. "Sorry, sweetheart-- when you're immortal, you have a lot of time to kill."

Annoyed, Temperance threw more cards forward in combination with the odd breath attack that Medeia deployed. At first, Free responded to the cards thrown-- which were laced with a powerful wind enchantment to make them fly faster and sharper!  Free barely dodged the breath attack, it scathing just the bit of his fur-- but took the brunt of the sharp card attack, which slashed into his arms and body. While the cards were sharp and left gashes on his body, they soon healed up without issue. It was almost unrealistic.

Whether it was because Free knew that Medeia's vampire creature was clearly bad news-- or perhaps it  was he found Temperance an easier target-- or simply cause he really was into her transformations, Free set his sights on Temperance again! He dashed back to try and grab her...

... but once again, Temperance didn't allow herself to be caught. With a mere thought, her form flickered and she vanished right before he made contact.

Medeia would hear the rustle of the tree behind her-- and there Temperance stood. She was now perched on the branch of a tree, one of her recently thrown cards having struck the tree, which she pulled free from the bark.

"Come on, Tempy!" Hex meowed. The cat had flew off the ground and now was perched on the tree-like roof of Grandma's house to stay out of the way. "Quit playing around and use the big guns like the Death-Dark-Birdie!" the cat meowed.

"--And level Grandma's house and half the forest with him, if that could even kill him--" she retorted to the cat but soon saw Free now airborne-- jumping towards her. She didn't have time to teleport, but did the next best thing-- she stepped off the branch. Just as the werewolf wanted to run after her, she grabbed hold to the edge of the branch.

Like an acrobat-- she swing herself up and over the branch-- delivering a kick into Free's back to send him staggering forward. While her skill was in cards, she was so much more than that, displaying her flexible and acrobatic body. As a thief, she had to be able to bend and flex uniquely.

With another flip, she landed to the ground with an elegant crouch, and saw how Free landed flat on his back. The werewolf pulled himself up, but had a mixed look of irritation and surprise. "Oooh, your flexible. Honey, your just my taste. " he said with more lame sweet-talk.

"Yeah, well taste this--" Temperance declared and snapped her fingers.

In the midsts of her kick to his back-- she had landed a hit as on his back was now another card-- The Empress. All of sudden from his back and below his feet-- magic glowed. Vines-- rose vines, to be specific began to grow around him. A little surprised, he tried to claw them away, but they grew fast, entwining around his arms, legs, torso-- pricking him due to rose throns as they dug into the ground below and tieing him up.

WC: 618

“Well, that seemed to work pretty well,” Medeia mused as her gaze fell upon the bound wolf, “A perfect punishment for such a dirty minded wolf.”

“You are a fine one to talk, Mistress,” The vampire interrupted, “I bet you are just imagining that it was…”

“Hush!” Medeia snapped although it was difficult for her to hide a slight smile from her face as she silenced her spell.

It seemed that Temperance had come to the same conclusion that the angel had in regards to how to deal with him, a fact that the raven haired woman was rather pleased with. In truth, Medeia had come to realise that it was perhaps best if she took a step back in terms of the situation. This was supposed to be a test after all and Free did seem awfully focused on her beautiful ally, so why not let the girl show what she could do? An immortal opponent was a fine opponent after all, even if Free was completely clueless. It seemed that Medeia had been right to do so, given how effective Temperance had been with capturing the fool. Still, it did leave the question of what happened next. A question that the purple eyed woman pondered intensely. Approaching the trio, she would glance down at the wolf, before delivering a rather powerful magically enhanced kick. She might not have been able to do any permanent damage but it did at least help to alleviate her frustrations.

“Filthy beast,” The crimson eyed spell shouted, looking down at Free, her arms wrapping a little tighter around Medeia’s shoulders, “You are just lucky that my Mistress is taking it easy on you otherwise you would be in a while world of pain right now. If I had my way, she would cut off something important and feed it to you. Maybe then you would stop flouting it about for the world to see. She has done it before, you know, to a guy who had been bullying her girlfriend.”

“Thank you,” Medeia replied, once more cutting off her spell before she went into too much detail, “You are just as bad as Armina, you know that?”

“Just as bad?! That is an insult! I am much worse!” The vampire huffed, before falling silent.

The elder witch just chuckled and turned her gaze towards her allies, “I apologise for my blood loving friend here. She has this annoying habit of never knowing when to keep her mouth shut. A little like this idiot here.”

Deciding to add a little more to the hounds restraints, Medeia would unleash a purple coloured net from her fingertips, surrounding Free and causing Temperance’s bindings to cause him even more discomfort. Medeia could not help but grin in a slightly sadistic manner, taking just a little pleasure out of seeing him in pain. The vampire certainly appreciated it, as her smile became a mirror image of the angel’s.

“So, what should we do with him?” She then asked her companions, “Should we just leave him here or perhaps we should pump him for information first?”

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The method was effective as Temperance had tied him up with the Empress' Rose Vines spell, and Medeia soon joined in casting another spell to reinforce the tie-up. The werewolf struggled angrily as his claws extended, but his limbs tied up.

Temperance overheard the talk from Medeia and her vampire, causing her to give a nervous smirk at her as if things would turn that way. She had her own fantasies, no doubt about it but tying her up was not something she was very into easily. Even with her fellow Umbra Witches being a bit of the more sexually open types of women at that. Let alone Aunt Cereza being particularly sensual in her combat arts.

"Oh brother..." Temperance said lightly, having taken a step back from the bound werewolf. Medeia and her vampire familiar seemed to be in a discussion who was the 'badder' one than the other, and it just was starting to make her blush. From her opinion, she and Free had some 'traits' in common.

Despite the threat from both women and vampire spirit, Free just grunted as he struggled against the net. "L-ladies. No need for all t his. If you wanted to put a collar on me, all you had to do was ask." he replied, despite the threats.

"He really is a masochist..." Selina sighed.

"Should have had mussel his mouth instead..." Hex meowed from her perch on the treehouse.

However, at the topic of Medeia's options to interrogate Free, and Temperance likely to agree-- the wolf let out a chuckle. "Oh come on, ladies. I still got a bit more life in me. After all..." It was then that Free growled-- and his muscle mass began to grow a bit more again. Perhaps his physical build or his magical power to increase his body, he was fighting against the restraints of both spells.

"You've got to be kidding me--!" Temperance said as she quickly backed up.

With that, Free flexed his claws and drew them as hard as he could. Vicious slashes crossed the air around him, and with it, he soon was standing. The slashes of his claws had struck-- slicing up the rose vines and the violet magic energy that Medeia had left upon to further restrain him. "... I'M IMMORTAL!!" he howled aloud.

To make matters worse, as he was free, his demeanor and physique were now more feral. His teeth showed more and his eyes were wilder as oppose to lustful. Perhaps they even had pushed him further to a stronger state.

"Okay this is verging from comically horrendous to the disasterly absurd, " Temperance warned.

Despite his wilder look in his eye, he spoke up again as he now stood there free from all restraint. "I'm gonna huff..." he growled, his eyes on both of them.

From well back to the house, Hex's fur stood on end as did her ears at the sound of his voice.

"... and gonna puff..."

Temperance's eyes widened as she heard the words and saw his breathing drastically increase, like that of Medeia's breath attack. "Shit--!!" she shouted and quickly got beside Medeia. The way they were facing-- Free aimed at them, and the house behind them if she didn't act fast. With a quick flick of her arm, Temperance produced another card-- a golden light card with two scales and a sword on it as the artwork led to reveal "The Justice" card. With a toss into the air, the card spun before her as she fed her magic into it.

"... and gonna blow you all down!! HOOOWWWWLLLL!!" he roared, and with his final word, he released a massive swirl of wind magic from his mouth. The spiraling wind was like a twister, and if directly hit, it would no doubt blow them away or tear them apart. Them, and the house behind them.

"The Justice!!" Temperance cried, causing the card to activate.

Right before her, taking shape was a massive pyramid of light that quickly surrounded Temperance and Medeia on all sides. The light was a powerful defensive barrier, capable to hold up against powerful attacks. One of Temperance's last-ditch defense spells she often kept just in case.

The shield rattled as the wind blew against the barrier-- luckily absorbing the mass of it from reaching towards the tree. However, wind still lashed at the surrounding area, causing Hex on the rooftop to cling on to it for dear life with her claws.

Temperance felt the strength of the attack in her outstretched arm, the shield holding but the impact was strong to rattle a magic barrier like that. The direct impact was like a powerful hurricane gale.

Now the werewolf was showing off his true strength, despite his foolish behavior. Add that to his immortality, how were they going to stop him?!

WC: 806

The magical power behind his attack was decent and Medeia was slightly surprised by the ferocity. It again left her with the question of how she should handle the situation. Should she negate his attack using the vampire or her sickle? Either option would have probably handled things but that would not help Temperance to grow as a mage. Her card throwing friend needed to develop through her own experiences and being carried by Medeia would not aid with that. Still, there was something else that perhaps the witch could do to help and after a brief few moments of thought, she would turn to Temperance and suddenly lean forwards, her lips briefly making contact with her allies cheek. It might have seemed like a rather odd action in the middle of a fight but it was in fact an ability, one that would double Temperance’s magical power for a fair amount of time, as well as cause her defences and health to increase. It was a fairly strong spell although not as powerful as the vampire one.

“Mistress! Now is hardly the time for smooching!” The vampire joked, a chuckle escaping her lips and a grin flashing across her features.

“Honestly, you are relentless,” Medeia quipped in response, amused, “You know as well as I do that it was a spell.”

She would briefly turn to Temperance and explain what she had just done and as she did so, she finally began to understand the reason for them being sent on the mission in the first place or at least what she would like to believe. “I suppose you can call that kiss a good luck one if you like. For as long as that spell is in effect, you should find that your spells have a lot more kick to them and you should be able to take hits better as well. It is obvious that Free is far more interested in you than me, my dear, so I am going to simply focus on support and allow you the pleasure of beating him. Consider it a test if you like, as that was the reason that we were sent here, no? One that is more than just a test of magical power but about how we cope in the face of an enemy who cannot be killed. A test of character.”

Medeia did not truly believe in a no win scenario and she was certain that there was a solution to their predicament. It was just finding it. If killing or imprisoning was not an option then what else could they attempt? As she pondered, she would briefly glance down at her hand, pulsing with magical energy and it caused an eyebrow to rise. Free had been using a lot of energy in order to escape their various attacks but was it an endless source? An interesting theory and one that the angel could not help but ponder about. Medeia had great reserves of energy and was unkillable just like Free but even she had limits, was that the same for him?

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Temperance felt a bit more exhausted now, having chained together so many card spells. Her cards, allowed a great deal of magical storage but it still required magic from her all the same to trigger them or augment their strength. While she got the jump on him a few times, it wasn't doing the good it would on a normal adversary. Even angels would of been torn apart, but even so-- fighting an immortal was something different.

The kiss on her cheek made her feel a bit embarrassed as she went red from it. As the wind died, and so did her shield drop, she looked to Medeia. Despite the rush of renewed energy to make her stronger and felt the surge of power, she looked flustered far more than Free had made her. "Seriously? Now of all time?" she gasped, not used to women hitting on her on that regard to... not that she didn't welcome the kiss or the boon that came with it.

After the explanation, Temperance calmed down and regained her composure to face the foe before them. "Um, sure. Thank you..." she said and shook her focus back to Free. However...

"Whoooo!" he howled again, once again enthralled by the two women's interactions and words. "Now I REALLY want you two to be my bit-- I mean girlfriends. Come on, I'll treat you real nice! You two are really my type, even if you are into each other."

Apparantly, that open-approach to sexual orientation and attractions was throwing Temperance off a bit. She was seductive in battle true, but it was another matter to be declared into one preference or another... not that she would of oppose to anything. Still, it was embarrassing. "N-n-no... that's not I mean-- God damnit, what the hell are we even doing anymore?!" Temperance shouted, frustrated between the deadly fight and the wolf's 'outing them out of the closet' talk. "That's it, doggy! Time for some discipline! "

Hex frowned from her perch on the roof. "I think at this point he may just enjoy whatever you do to him. Stupid mutt..." the cat meowed.

"Fee-Fi-Fo-Fom! Ready or Not-- HERE I COME!!" The wolf howled and took off for Temperance, interested to get up close to her and possibly even something more inappropriate. Temperance didn't move as she realized she had to push things up.

Tarot card magic wasn't doing the trick, so she needed to change tactics. It was then a single card floated before her, shining with magic energy. The picture of the card was with a woman restraining or coddling a lion. The Strength. With a swift gesture, she slashed the card with her hand-- causing a sudden flash of magic.

Her clothing began to disappear, for the briefest of moments revealing her naked body before it was showered with magic light and cards. If either Free or Medeia had the time to gawk, they probably would have had a 'reaction' from the show.

"No running, sweetie! I'm about to make you my bitc--" He continued with drawn claws but soon it was stopped.

CLANG!!

The light faded, revealing Temperance now transformed again! Instead of her sleek black witch's outfit-- she was now in a crimson red getup. She looked like a magical fenseer, complete with thigh-high boots, a scarlet blouse and jacket, fenser gloves, and a stylish red hat that screamed 'musketeer'. She tiped the hat to look up with a defying look to the werewolf as she had stopped his advance-- using a rapier she had conjured as well. The thin metal blade had stopped his outstretched claw with accurate precision.

"That's WITCH to you!" she retorted and struck.

The power of the Strength Vestament gave her renewed physical abilities. HOlding the rapier, she quickly angled it and struck, now resorting to close-quarter combat! With a mere sidestep, her sword angled and soon was stabbed right into Free, the blade piercing his fuzzy chest with a sick skeweringg sound.

"Gugh... hey!" Free gasped, not seeing the sword strike coming.

However, Temperance had only just begun. WIth a pull free of the sword, she quickly entered a rapid thrust of her sword-- the speed so fast it looked like a barrage of sword strikes stabbing into him. The wolf let out a howl of pain as the blade slashed at his body, leaving several holes. Despite his high healing factor, it still stung to t he wolf. Perhaps it was the new tactic or the new power used by Medeia's kiss. But she felt now she could go toe to toe with the werewolf!

"D-damnit... These chicks are tough. Guess I will have to get a little rough with them. I'm sure they wouldn't mind. Heheh..." he spoke aloud even as he was getting attacked. He backed up a bit, trying to avoid the variety of sword strikes. "Wolf-Wolves-Wolf-Wolves-Wolf-Wolves... ICE FANG!!"

The wolf stabbed his claws into the ground and the air suddenly began to grow colder. In a vicious eruption, icicles shot out from the ground like spikes, skewering through the ground in a large wave. The wave of ice stalagmites moved towards both Temperance and Medeia if she didn't act to defend herself. Temperance quickly jumped back, trying to avoid the direct hit from the ice, but it was moving far faster for her to evade-- not in her current form.

"So wind and ice magic... that is annoying," Temperance growled, trying to slash through an incoming ice spike with her sword.

WC: 919

“Would you be so kind as to get rid of this ice?” Medeia asked her vampire, briefly gazing over her shoulder to where the blonde bombshell was still wrapped around her with not even the slightest hint of distress in the angel’s voice despite the potency of Free’s attack. He was certainly beginning to show more aptitude now although Medeia just wished that he had acted like this from the start and avoided the initial daftness. It seemed that was just a part of who he was though and something that both her friends and herself were just going to have to keep having to put up with.

“Sure thing, Mistress,” the spell replied happily, swatting away the ice as it reached them, negating the spell with just a swipe of her long nailed hand. “Hmm, that was not a bad effort, mutt but you still need more training if you want to do any real damage,” she then taunted Free, before rubbing her hands together to regain circulation in her hands. The vampire truly did appear to be human in both appearance and personality although the truth behind her origins was a slight mystery. She was not an ordinary summon and did not require a key, instead simply appearing almost out of her Mistresses mind. Not that the blonde cared all that much. To be useful to her Mistress was all that she truly cared about and it was enough to satisfy her. Especially since she was sometimes allowed to let her hands wander when Medeia was in a good mood.

Medeia’s eyes would then be drawn towards her mentee, flourishing her rapier and fighting close quarters with the wolf. She looked lovely in her new outfit and both herself and the vampire were smiling in a very similar way. Clearly, the girl was not exactly comfortable with the sudden outpouring of affection but was that going to stop the angel? Not in the slightest. The elder witch had never been one to hold back when it came to such things and she was most definitely fond of Temperance. Armina, her maid, had been very similar when Medeia had first met her and now? The purple haired was probably more dirty minded than the angel was or at least close. It was only to be expected though, Medeia was a being of lust after all and such thoughts were perfectly natural to her.

She could have joined the fray at any moment but the longer that she watched Temperance fight for, the more convinced she became that staying back was the right move. Her fellow witch was blossoming right in front of her eyes and she was certain now that getting involved would only get in the way of that. That being said, Medeia did not remain inactive and instead continued to tap into her supportive magic in order to bolster her students powers. Since the girl was fighting physically, the angel would cast a spell that was focused upon that aspect of combat. Turning to her vampire, she would then prick a single finger on her surprised spells razor sharp nails, allowing a few crimson coloured droplets of blood to start to appear. Her gaze would then turn towards her mentee and she would flick her bloody finger, causing a crimson stream of magical power to travel towards Temperance, surrounding her with its energy, boosting her physical strength greatly, as well as restoring some health and mana. It was not often that she was able to practice with her non damaging magic and Medeia planned to make the most of the opportunity.

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Temperance had moved out of the way of the incoming ice attack, causing her to retreat. However she felt the surge of her new friend's magic. At the moment of it, she couldn't be sure if it was her, or perhaps the power of the Strength Vestament kicking in stronger than before. However, it wasn't enough as she was backed up and saw the grin on the wolf's face.

SHRIK!!

Her movement had been slowed a bit by surprise and Temperance felt ice form behind her. In a quick show of placement, the ice spikes quickly surrounded her-- pinning her much like her own cards did to Free a few minutes ago. In an instant, her arms were jutted up-- forcing her Rapier to be tossed into the air.

Temperance pulled but despite her enhanced physical strength, she couldn't budge out of the ice.

"That's for being nailed to the wall sweetie. " he said as he made his stride towards her. "Now, I am digging the red on you. Though I wonder how you look without that outfit, hm." he teased.

Temperance was aware how the rapier flew through the air, flipping towards his general direction. She merely grinned as she saw it towards him. With a mere flick of her wrist-- she blinked out of view, the ice left in her place.

"What?! Where did she go--" Free was soon interrupted as the flying rapier was caught-- by Temperance, now closer to him once more. In that moment the sword went flying out of her grasp, it allowed her to use her magic much like her cards. She teleported right towards the sword, catching it in mid-air with grace.

"Haaaaaaah!!" She cried as she brught the sword down in a wide sweep, having been able to strike in time, catching and cutting off the wolf's tail.

"GREWOO!" Free cried, feeling the tail cut off. "Hey! I'm IMMORTAL BUT COME ON! Do you know how long it takes to regrow my tail--" He complained.

The sword swipe was but a mere diversion as Temperance moved in for the kill. She could of let this drag down, but at this point, she had enough. The Strength Vestaments gave her all the strength she needed, indeed aided by Medeia. With her elegant acrobatics and fighting style, she jumped up and delivered a spinning kick right into the jaw of the werewolf-- causing a loud crack and wet sound as he took the hit in the head.

The sheer might of the empowered witch caused Free to go flying! The werewolf shot across the forest clearing, past Medeia, and went smack into the treehouse of grandma's. Hex's body jolted as did the rest of the house as Free crashed into it, causing a large cloud of dust and made the house rattle a little.

There was a sudden calm as Temperance walked closer to the house and cloud. She felt satisfied with the damage she did, not only cutting off his tail, but also delivering a vicious kick that would make a gaint think twice. In truth, the Strength Vestament increased her strength several times over.

"That had to do it..." Temperance breathed, now feeling exhausted from the physical effort she put into her movements up till now.

The smoke began to part and it soon showed Free starting to stand up. He was a bit wobbily, but his head was a bit-- off kilter. He raised a hand and gave it a firm twist-- realligning his neck. He let out a crack and gasp. "Ohhh-- Yeah, I'll be feeling that tomorrow. Nice kick... and legs, baby. I think I'm falling for you." he replied.

"Oh come on..." she grumbled, her voice towards Medeia. "Can he really not die at all? " she asked.

However, it was then she saw it-- a wobble to his legs. Fatigue. His breath was ragged too, as he seemed to have taken damage or something else...

"Come on, let's keep playing.... I can... go all night, sweeties!" he growled, taking a step forward.

It was then that another person had an idea as a certain black and witch's hat-wearing feline was above him from one of the windowsills to the treehouse. The cat soon saw nearby a bowl of flowers near her, and looked below to see Free directly there. The cat soon showed a grin as she softly pawed her way to the potted plant. "Oh, I see. The ol geranium to the cranium," she meowed playfully as she pawed the pot closer to the edge. With one last push, the pot tipped over and fell. "Whoopse!"

CRASH!!

The pot landed squarely on Free's head, causing another crack that bent the wolf's neck in an awkward position. The wolf staggered, as if he had lost his balance. He soon let out a growl and sigh-- before he fell forward face first into the dirt. The once intimidating and annoyingly invisible werewolf was now down and unconscious. Temperance blinked at this and then slowly looked up to see her exceed companion smirking at them.

"And this is why cats rule and dogs drool, " Hex meowed happily before she hopped off the windowsill and using her wings, flew towards Medeia and Selina happily. The cat purred as she fluttered around them.

The werewolf was down and out. They would have to tie him up again, but at least this way, they could make sure he didn't get away or break out this time.

WC: 916

“I could not have put it better myself, Hex,” Medeia replied, her hand reaching out and scratching the flying cat as she fluttered around them.

It was such a relief to finally be spared from the wolf’s stupidity and a smile crossed the angel’s face as she looked down upon the unconscious fool. It appeared that in the end, his immortality had counted for nothing and that her earlier musings had been accurate. He had expanded too much energy in such a short space of time that he had worn himself out. A fitting end to the fight as far as she was concerned although what to do with him now was the next thought to penetrate her mind. They could not just leave him here, lest they have to put up with him following them again and so the angel did what came naturally to her. She directed a hand towards his form and caused another net of magical energy to fly towards him, wrapping around his body, far tighter than before. It would feel rather unpleasant when he did awaken and as the raven haired woman expertly manipulated her bindings, she took more pleasure from the task than she had expected. Yes, she was fond of this kind of play but never with a male.

“I figured that you would be the first to start...,” the vampire began.

“Not. Another. Word,” Medeia cut in, silencing her spell with just a few words although keeping a straight face was a rather difficult job for the elder witch.

“Oh, come on. They have figured it out by now,” the blonde countered, flashing a grin at Temperance before falling quiet again.

This time, a chuckle did escape from the witch, unable to help herself. “A topic for another time, I think,” she answered simply.

Her mood was probably the lightest that it had been during the entire mission and she was still smiling when her gaze turned towards Temperance. “You did well, my dear. You successfully managed to not only fight toe to toe with an immortal being but defeat it as well. There are not many who can make such a claim, let alone someone so young. I am sure that your aunt would have taken a great amount of joy and pride in watching you triumph, I certainly did. I suppose now we are left with the same old question. What should we do with him? Now that he is defeated. This is your mission and so I leave his fate to you.”

“How about we just gag him and leave him here?” The vampire suggested, “I for one cannot take much more of his verbal diarrhoea.”

“Thank you for that,” Medeia answered with a grin, before turning her gaze towards Temperance to see what she thought. It was not as if the angel disagreed with her spell and if it was just her, she probably would have taken that option. As it was, it was only right that her fellow witch have her say.

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The werewolf was prone and out cold on the ground. Temperance could almost imagine stars in his eyes or whimsical animals and objects floating around his head. As he laid there-- his body began to steam-- but soon his body began to change, reverting back to his humanoid form. ONly difference from before was his shirt was lone gone leaving him half-naked in this case.

The witch sighed as Medeia and her vampire bickered and discussed pervy things. Despite it, Hex welcomed the loving scratches and petting under her chin and made her purr more.

Temperance, not ignorant of what they were talking about, just calmly composed herself. The mention of what to do with Free was on her mind now. "Now hold on a minute," she said, her tone now more firmer and in control, as she had been up till now. "Let's not forget about grandma. We need to know where she is and if she is okay. We aren't going to do anything to him till he spills the beans."

It didn't take long to restrain him. Temperance conjured some ropes and vines via magic and quickly tied him up. If Medeia was willing, she could help restrain him again. He was tied with his arms firmly tied to his body, his wrists tied behind him, and his ankles bound too. Fully secured, he wouldn't be able to break free as his joints were immovable in that position. About five minutes passed till the werewolf began to stir, his eyes slowly opening-- to realize he was tied up. He soon looked up to see the two women and the Exceed cat nearby. "Oh darn it... looks like you caught me. You didn't do anything uncivil to me while I was asleep, did you?" he said with a light-hearted chuckle.

"In your dreams, doggy!" Hex meowed with a paw pointed at him.

"So... this is your dirty little secret , hm?" Temperance mused aloud as Free woke up. "You're body might be immortal, but you require stamina and magical energy just like anyone else. Even you have your limits."

"Ooooh!" Hex purred with mischievous intent as she hid her mouth with her paw. "Do I detect that the big bad wolf has performance issues? Mre-he-hehe!"

That got Free a bit rattled as his eyes went wide and he leaned forward despite his bindings. "H-hey! My performance is not an issue here. I swear! I can proove it to if you wanted me to... " he stopped, and soon saw the ropes. "Er, hey! I know I went a bit far, but hey I only meant to play around a bit. "

"Just stop," Temperance said, giving him a dull expression as she brushed a lock of her black hair away. "Now talk-- what have you done with Grandmother. If you hurt her or done something horrible to her, things will get ugly. Don't think just because your immortal that we can't make you talk."

A dark gleam was in Temperance's eye. Perhaps a fib, or something more-- she would never tell. "There are worser fates than death..."

Free gulped at the dark look on Temperance's face. A look of sternness that meant to not test or doubt. "Er-- I told you before. I haven't done a thing to her! She was out of the house when I arrived and her door was unlocked. "

"Mreow! I don't believe you!" Hex meowed, and fluttered next to Temperance as her black wings flapped lazily. Her paws were folded against her arms, impatient. "Let's neuter him, then maybe he would be more willing to talk!"

"Whoh-whoh! You're joking right?!" he shouted, now looking genuinely scared at the idea of THAT. For the first time in all of this lunacy, he actually looked genuinely shocked and remorseful. Come on-- I really am not into that kind of stuff!"

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“Have you considered the fact that we might not care about whether you are into it or not?” Medeia answered, her expression giving nothing away as to just how serious she was.

The vampire seemed to cotton on as well, “You see, my Mistress has performed such procedures before and I am certain that after all of the trouble that you have caused us today, I doubt she will take much convincing. I am sure that it will grow back eventually but it might take a while. I bet it will be a painful experience too.” The blonde spell looked a little too into it and with a smile, she would undo the straps attaching Medeia’s weapon to her back and then hand the angel her sickle. “Your tool, Doctor.”

“Thank you, Nurse,” the raven haired woman replied, taking the sickle in hand and holding it up for their prisoner to see. “If you have been lying to us in regards to knowing about Grandma’s whereabouts, then you had better come clean now because I am getting tired of this. You are not going to get out of our restraints any time soon and I am more than willing to go through with Hex and my lovely vampire’s suggestion. Start talking Free or I will make you wish that you had never been born, let alone be incapable of death.”

“You know, Mistress,” the spell added, the smile on her face widening to reveal her fangs once more, “If he cannot die then that means we could torture him forever. Maybe haul him back to the castle and leave him in the dungeon permanently. Maybe we could use him as a testing dummy for all of the up and coming guild members to test their magic on? Sounds like a good time to me.”

“An interesting proposal,” Medeia mused, her gaze turning rather dark, “I am sure that the Queen would gladly approve of such a thing and there are so many twisted members in our group who would just love to take out their anger and rage upon you. I wonder how long it will take for you to lose your mind from the endless torture. A day? A week? A year? I admit that I am curious to find out which. Perhaps Armina could start a betting pool and we can profit from it that way too.”

Her tone never changed and she always spoke about such things as though she was simply talking about the weather. Free was simply a rat, one who had finally been caught and after pausing for a few moments, she would then add. “So, are you going to talk or are things going to take a far more unpleasant turn for you? We want to know every last detail of this stupid plan of yours, as well as the whereabouts of Grandma. This is the last chance that you are going to get to come clean and if I detect even the slightest hint of a lie then you are going to become intimately familiar with this weapon of mine.”

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"H-hey wait a minute! COme on, I wouldn't do anything like that. Seriously, I haven't done a thing to her. She's a friend, and I would never hurt a friend!" Free shouted, now trying to pull at his restraints a bit to get away. "Let's just talk about this, ladies!"

Temperance didn't add any more words of torment or threats. She made her point, and Medeia made it far more gruesome. Hex, of course, continued to tease him. "Well... immortal or not, he can still live without THAT or a tongue." she meowed teasingly. Even Temperance was a little frightened of how 'dark' the cat could be when she was in a bad mood.

"Oh, my goodness," A voice spoke from the forest. "What happening here? "

Temperance turned to the elderly sound and soon saw her. A few meters away stood an elderly woman, with a basket hung on her arm. She was dressed in a forest green cloak to cover her body and a modest skirt. Her hair was short and grey but despite her older features on her face, she had a kind smile as she approached. "Dear me... I didn't expect so many visitors today, but what is going on here? "

Selina had a confused look on her face as she "Um... are you Grandma? Or rather, the Elder Umbra Witch who lives here?" she asked.

"Yes, indeed," she said sweetly as she approached them, and soon saw Free tied up. "Oh, you must be a fellow witch. Sorry to not have left a note or something. I went up to gather some herbs from the fields north from here. Don't tell me I left the door unlocked again, did I? My memory has been a little soft these past few years."

Temperance felt a bit ashamed now as she had feared Free had done something like tie her up, or eat her-- but it turns out he was telling the truth. The soft whimpers of Free, much like a dog's, could be heard as he looked pleadingly to the elder witch. She soon smiled to them all. "I am sure you had your reasons, but... would you be a dear and untie that young man? I know he is a bit of a handful, but he is a sweet young man. "

"Uuuuh..." Selina softly spoke but was speechless. Even Hex was floating there silently, looking back and forth between Free and the elderly woman. Further, Free seemed to have been honest how he knew Grandma. She felt somewhat foolish to have gone this far. With a sigh, Temperance realized they had made a big mistake, or half-mistake at least. Since the Grandmother was the one asking to release him, how could she refuse. "Okay... fine," she said.

With a flick of her wrist, she produced a few cards-- including "The Temperance" card. With it, she threw a few of them whimsically towards Free. At first, one would think they would hit him-- but her expert aim allowed her to slice right through the ropes and vines-- including Medeia's magical restraints using the Temperance card to negate the enchantment as well.

Once the ropes were snipped, Free easily tugged himself out and stood up. He patted his body, being sure he wasn't cut or further tied. All in all, he was quiet as he listened to grandmother.

"Thank you, dearies. I am sorry for whatever misunderstanding has happened here," she said as she softly walked over to her house. "Why don't you all come inside and I'll make us some tea." With a wave of her hand, she invited them to follow her.

Unable to come up with any reason to refuse, Temperance followed her back into the house, as did Hex after a confused look shared with Medeia.

WC: 636

The angel remained where she was for a few moments or two, somewhat frustrated by the turn of events. She had quite enjoyed the look of fear and dread that had appeared on Free’s face as both she and Temperance had threatened him and to have had all of that hard work thrown away was annoying. In honesty, she was rather irritated by the sudden revelations as well and to discover that the whole mess had been a misunderstanding caused her to feel a little hot under the collar. It was just a momentary sensation of anger though and as she thought deeper, Medeia began to see the positives. Misunderstanding or not, Temperance had proven herself against Free and had certainly impressed the angel with her skills, against a surprisingly dangerous foe. The angel felt no guilt or remorse over what she and Temperance had done to Free and still believed that he had more than deserved what had happened. If he had not been such a fool and untoward then none of it would have happened.

“I suppose it is time for me to go then,” the vampire uttered sadly, resting her chin momentarily on Medeia’s shoulder, “A shame, as I was enjoying myself there.”

“As was I,” Medeia replied, gazing over her shoulder at her spell, “It was wonderful to see you again though, my dear. I will make sure to call upon you, the next time that I find myself in a fun situation.”

“You had better, Mistress,” the blonde answered with a chuckle, “Make sure that it is a pretty opponent though next time. No more mutts like Free.”

“I will remember that. Farewell, my beautiful vampire,” The angel responded with a smile.

“So long, Mistress!” The crimson eyed spell laughed, before becoming one with Medeia and vanishing into nothing.

Somewhat in a lighter mood once more, the angel would re strap her sickle to her back, before following the others inside Grandma’s house. There was a great deal for her to ponder regarding the situation as a whole and Medeia did briefly wonder just what on Earthland she had signed herself up for by asking to become a member of the Umbra Witches. It had been an unusual encounter to say the last although the angel would be lying if she said that her curiosity had diminished at all. There was much to be gained from joining the clan and although she was unsure as to how her methods would go down with the members of the coven, she had been around long enough to know that she would thrive regardless. What was for certain though was that despite all of the faffing around with Free, Temperance and herself had managed to finally get around to the task at hand, which was all that truly mattered in the end.

It did make her ponder though. What had they actually been carrying anyway? After all this time, she still did not have the foggiest idea as to what they were supposed to be delivering.

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With Medeia dismissing her summon creature, and things calmed down, they all went inside Grandma's house. Temperance was quick to help fix up some of the furniture that was damaged or tipped over from the fight. Needless to say, Grandma was surprised to find her bedroom a bit messed up, but Temperance apologized, as did Free-- but of course no one spoke of what transpired there . As much as she got a kick of embarrassing Free, it was enough for now.

Things calmed down as as they cleaned up things and set the table. The food and supplies Temperance had brought with them , had long been scattered but she recovered them and placed them on the table.

"Oh, I see. So you were sent by our sisters to deliver me these goodies since my previous deliveries were driven off? Why, thank you. The woods can be such a scary place sometimes," Grandma said as she brought a tea kettle from the nearby kitchen.

"It most certainly IS," Hex the cat meowed, giving a knowing glare at Free who sat across from her and the werewolf/man just grumbled.

All the old woman did was laugh as she saw Hex's reaction. "Oh, please do not blame Free too much. He is an old friend. He may get in over his head sometimes, but he is loyal , I can tell you that. Either way, I hope now he won't be so eager to those who pass on the road. "

They could see Free blush now, but remained quiet. It seemed despite her advanced age, she had a way of taming the werewolf.

Temperance was quiet for a bit but polite as she was once more dressed in her traditional Umbra Witch outfit. She was curious as she saw the elderly lady interact with them, seeming indeed like a regular sweet woman. "Um, Elder Umbra Witch, I --" she started.

"Oh, please, child," she correted, "There is no need for such formalities. Call me Grandma."

Perhaps it was just as much a nickname as to her appearance as well. She didn't mind it though and was told to address her as such anyway. "Okay, Grandma..." Temperance asked, being polite as she asked this. "You really are a former member to the Umbra Witches? I been wanting to ask you something."

"Please do, child," she replied sweetly as she sat herself down and lifted up her tea.

"I um, I hope I am not being rude, but... Umbra witches, earn the Umbra heart-- the locket watch they wear that halts the aging process. It allows one who wears it infinitely longevity. So, I guess, i want to ask, why do you not use yours anymore? Did you loose it or something?" she asked.

The elderly woman finished sipping her tea as she looked back with a smile. "Oh, no sweetie. The simple truth was, I willingly stopped using it. When you live as long as I have, sometimes you simply wish to allow your long, winding journey to reach its end. "

Curious, Hex tilted her head to the older witch. "How long?" she asked.

"Oh, about a thousand years or so." she replied casually.

That was a surprise. It was one thing to know she was that old, but more so she was willing to stop and allow herself to age now. Who knew how long her natural life would allow. The Umbra Heart, or many names the watch was called, was a mark of proof of an Umbra Witch. It was given to those who completed the Witch Trials to earn their prestiege but also prevented them from aging-- allowing them to live indefinitely in terms of lifespan. So she was surprised one wished for it to end.

"But... If you formed a contract with the demons, you'll just go down to inferno! I mean, you must know this." Temperance asked, genuine concern showing on her face.

However, the woman didn't miss a beat as she sipped her tea. "Oh, you need not worry, my dear. My soul is in the clear. I never made any pacts with the demons. None that cost me my soul."

Temperance looked surprise-- it was the same as her. Temperance too, had forgone the option to form a pact with the demons of Inferno, as many Umbra Witches had done.

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