PA 3.5: End of a Tail

Chapter VIII Part VII

Sparky's eyes went wide as he saw two dogs - no, a dog and a cat - rustling through the brush. As they got closer, it quickly became apparent through the Hachiko uniform's bluish hues and the Kemono High uniform's stark whites that something was wrong. Sparky's eyes went wide as he saw Dell's muddy brown and off-white fur alongside Mitt's telltale, pastel pink hair and brownish face. A broken cry of disbelief escaped from his lips, barely audible as he looked on, seeing the knife around Mitt's neck.

With eyes wide, Sparky screamed, "Mitt! No!!"

Patches didn't need to turn his head around to know what was happening. "Oh! Good. Let's get this over with then!"

Sparky raised his hockey stick, ready to run forward and attack despite Brownie. "You- You're trying to summon Bapawmet again, you bastard!"

Dell got closer, now within a few meters of Patches. Mitt was struggling relentlessly, desperately trying to break free, and they were succeeding; something about seeing Patches there made them disregard the blade and gain focus on something more vital. They struck Dell with an elbow, face contorting with grit, cracking her in the stomach and loosening her grip. Mitt spun around and began to grapple with Dell for control of their wand, both grunting as they tested the other's endurance.

"Get off, you bitch!" Dell yelled, swiping at the air with her knife and losing the grip on the wand as they both tipped over and fell to the ground. The blade struck Mitt, hitting them in the shoulder with a swipe, making them grunt in pain at the light wound.

As the two fell, Mitt fumbled for the wand as they sustained injuries from Dell swiping at them with claws and knife. Due to Dell's ineptitude with the weapon, none of the attacks did much more than cut fur and cloth, leaving Mitt hurt more by the attempt than the result.

The events were like a flurry. Pure pandemonium was let loose as emotions, knowledge, logical assumptions, and preparations were made by absolutely everyone there.

Patches could only keep his eyes tracked on Sparky as the lighter's flame dwindled. A slight grin crept upon his face as the lighter made contact with her fur, instantly igniting a small fire that climbed to encompass her outfit.

The corgi let loose a muffled scream of terror as the soaked uniform quickly ignited the alcohol-coated fur atop her body and head. Although the substance was potent, it burnt far too fast to deal damage itself. Almost as soon as the flare of heat had appeared on Brownie, it had faded, replaced by the burning of fur and cloth.

The dogs couldn't see her face as the flames washed over it, but they could hear her yells becoming clearer as the tape weakened and curdled in the fire.

Patches shoved the corgi forward as Olive and Rover screamed; he could see Sparky dashing forward with his stick at the ready, letting loose a battle cry as he closed the 8-meter distance. Patches still had that smile on his face, especially as he ran for the wand.

Mitt grabbed the wand, then brought their other paw against the flailing terrier, keeping her as far away as possible while they cast nondescript magic to knock her away. The cat took a fur-deep knife swing to the gut, chest, cheek, and a number to her paws and arms, but Dell didn't seem to realize how ineffective her swings were.

With a small swipe, a magical explosion of wind appeared out of Mitt's wand. Dellanor was bashed point-blank towards the dirt, knocking her whole body against it and concussing her with a meaty thwack. Mitt didn't spend time de-entangling themselves from the dog and simply leaned on their arm as they swung the wand back, gritted their teeth in effort, looked to the right-

-And the front of Patches' foot meatily smacked into Mitt's forehead, instantly knocking the siamese unconscious as the wand went tumbling through the air away from Patches. He dove for the rod - or rather, tripped over Dell in its direction - trying to clear the half-dozen meter distance the weapon would land near.