[M] For Fox Sake (Holeypaladin & Megilwen)

[Holeypaladin]

"P... please don't kill me!" The bandit was begging for his life. "I... I'll tell you anything! Anything you want to know, just spare my life!"

The twisted corpses of his fellow bandits littered the caravan. The little scoundrels were masquerading as a merchant caravan, but what they carried was not any sort of legit cargo. Stolen goods, pilfered from unsuspecting travelers.. the bandits themselves would wait for people to get close, thinking them a harmless caravan, before brutally attacking and plundering their belongings, after killing them of course.

"Oh, you will, will you?" The knight carried a bloodied sword, a weapon which had cut down several of the other bandits. He pointed the weapon at the surviving bandit's throat. "And why should I believe a word you say? You're a liar and a thief."

"I-i'll tell the truth! I swear!" The bandit was pleading, "J-just let me live!"

"Alright then," said the armored warrior. "Tell me where they're holding the slave auction."

"J-johnsonville! It's gonna be in Johnsonville in three days time! Now have mercy, good sir!"

"Like you had mercy on your victims?" The knight scoffed. "I think not. Thanks for the information, you've earned yourself a swift death."

With a swipe of his sword, he sent the thug's head rolling. Swift, indeed... but there was no chance he would be letting this man-wolf roam free after all he had done. Those who preyed on the weak deserved no such mercy or remorse... he had done the world a favor in eliminating this brute.

Cleaning off his sword and armor, the knight known as Sir Heinrich Wilhelm began to make his way to Johnsonville. He had a slave auction to crash, and some slaving bandits to kill. And only three days in which to make it in order to have maximum impact and make a glorious entrance. He picked up his pace in order to arrive on time.

[Megilwen]

Naomi groaned as she came too. Her head throbbed. She didn't ever drink, but this sounded like what a hang over would feel like. The girl shivered. Had she left the window open? She reached one hand up to rub at her face, only for her hand to catch with a clinking sound. Opening her eyes she looked down only to find her hands chained down to the floor under her. She also realized the reason why she'd been shivering. Her clothes were gone, save for her undergarments. Where was she?

"HELP!" She cried out loudly only for hissing whispers answer her.

"Shut up!" "They'll hear you!" "Stop!"

But it was too late and thudding footsteps came from down another hallway and then the door opened. The bright light shown around the room revealing cages lining the walls. All filled with other girls like her. What was this place?

"Ay. She's awake." An ugly, crooked smile graced the dirty face that looked down at her. "Never taken a kitsune before. Thought they were all just a myth. Ye'll catch a nice price tomorrow at the auction." Another ugly grin before the door closed.

Auction. Price....Slavers She felt her stomach drop. One night. One mistake. She'd just tried to help the young man with his pregnant wife. Now her life was over. To be sold....for who knows what. She shivered at the thought. Her tails, visible now without the normal skirts of her dress hiding them, wrapped themselves around her in some kind of comfort. Chained to the floor, she fell asleep into a fitful sleep wondering what tomorrow would bring.

[Holeypaladin]

Johnsonville. A cesspool of crime and burglary. It had seen better days... in fact, just about all of its days had been better days. Now, it was currently occupied by a crime syndicate that relied on banditry, contraband, and slave trading. Rather than the peaceful village of the past, it was rotten to the core... any semblance of civilized existence having long since been eradicated when the bandits moved in to claim it as their home.

Why the king's army hadn't razed the village was beyond Heinrich's comprehension. It was proof of a neglectful ruler, who cared not for the plight of his people nor the growing crime syndicate within his lands. That, and his preoccupation with a neighboring kingdom, which saw this land as easy pickings with its weak king. And they were right... this kingdom would soon be no more, but before that... Someone had to cleanse this Johnsonville.

Wearing a cloak to conceal his armor, Heinrich made his way through the town. A crowd of smelly, stinky men and prostitutes had gathered around the auction block. Apparently, he had made it in time... the auction was just beginning. As he made his way to where he could see it, the bandit auctioneer had a young woman... no, not a woman... a kitsune... tied in chains, nearly naked, with her tails clearly visible. Five tails in all... a kitsune of moderately high power. A very pretty one... Heinrich was suddenly thankful that he had arrived in time to prevent her auction.

"Let's start this auction off with something amazing!" the man was saying. "Here we have a genuine kitsune! Five tails, pretty little thing... just begging to be defiled, isn't she?" The men were leering at her, howling with excitement. "This one is a certified virgin, too... but not for long! You see, just before we brought her out, we gave her a certain herb... pretty soon, this foxy little thing is going to go into heat, and our lucky winner of this auction will be the one to see what an animal she can be! Let's start the bidding at 10,000!"

Immediately some of the more wealthy bandits began bidding, but Heinrich had already heard enough. He couldn't let this innocent girl be turned into a sex slave for the whims of these brutes. His voice lost in the crowd, he was able to use some of his longer incantations. Soon, a small spherical shield of energy surrounded the kitsune, barely noticeable, but strong enough to last what would follow.

Then, incanting a longer spell, a rain of small meteorites descended without warning. Impacting the ground all around, the exploded in fire, suddenly turning the auction house into a war zone and turning the frantic bidding into a sudden panic, as the criminals began to scan the area for the signs of whatever was attacking them.

It was then that Heinrich threw off the cape, revealing his armor. Incanting more, several blades appeared around him... suspended and hovering in the air. With a wave of his hand, the blades swept out into the crowd, striking down everything without mercy, cutting in to the bodies of these bandits and splattering their innards all over the town square, making it look like the cesspool it truly was.

A few of the bandits rallied to attack the knight who had suddenly turned their auction into a small war zone, but Heinrich was one step ahead of them. A sword appeared in his hand, summoned seemingly from nowhere, and he deflected the swing of a bandit while impaling him through the eyeball with the same motion. With a twist and a flourish, he sent the head of another flying, and soon he was face to face with the apparent leader of the bandits.

"I don't know who you are," said the bandit leader, "But you'll die for interfering with my auction."

"The name's Heinrich," said the knight, lifting the bandits into the air with a telekinetic force, choking at his throat as he suspended the brute in mid air. "Sir Heinrich Wilhelm. And you... will die first." He quickly impaled the bandit through the heart before stepping onto the auction block.

Some of the everdancing swords he had summoned were still slicing some remaining bandits to ribbons, but Heinrich ignored them for the time being, focusing on the kitsune. With a wave of his hand, he dispelled the shield that had kept her safe from the meteor swarm, severing her chains with a slice of his sword. "Are you alright?" he asked the girl. "Looks like I made it in time..."

[Megilwen]

The next morning, Naomi was awaken as a hand gripped hard into her hair as she was yanked to her feet. The girl let out a cry and scrambled to get her feet underneath her.

"It's time girlly." The man from early laughed as he unlocked the chains from the ground. All around her there were other men roughly picking up the other women and dragging them from the room.

"Let me go!" She gasped out and pulled against his hand, only to earn a slap.

"Ye'll shut your whore mouth." The man snapped as he began to pull her from the room and into the group.

"Owy! Where's that fox!?" Another voice shouted out from admist the sobbing women and the bandits.

"That's you girl." The man proceeded to drag her through the crowd and toward the front. "Looks like you're first."

"Noooo!" Noami pulled at the man's grasp.

"STOP FIGHTING!" The man yelled in her face.

"I'll never stop fighting." She hissed back her eyes narrowing.

"Stop fighting with the whore Thomas." Said another voice as a second man walked up to grab her jaw. He pried her mouth opened and forced something into her mouth before snapping her mouth closed and forcing her to swallow whatever it was. "She won't be fighting for much longer." He gave her a sneer.

It wasn't long before she started to feel a little dizzy. Her head swimming and a strange feeling pooling in her body. More compliant as the drug went it's way, Noami was dragged up onto the stage and in front of dozens of cat calling men. She could hear the bidding start and shifted on her feet slightly as she tried to relieve this strange feeling that was building. Her heart was speeding up and the woman started panting. What had they given her?

She was so focused on whatever was happening to her that she barely noticed it when a fight broke out and the screaming started. A shiver ran through her body and she slowly lowered herself to the ground, still panting. Focus. Focus. You can beat this. Just breathe.

It was here that the knight found her. "I......fine..." She managed out though her panting. She felt the chains fall from her wrists as she sat there shaking.

"You don't look so well..." said the knight, stroking her hair and feeling her skin. "That drug is really doing a number on you, isn't it?" Taking her hand, he tried to help her to her feet. "Umm...." he said, but it didn't seem like she was paying much attention to his words at this point. "You sure you're alright?"

"Fi...n....e..." She managed out as she stood shakily with his help. His hand sent spikes of feeling through her body and she gave a softly, barely audible groan. It was like her senses were overwhelming. The light was brighter. The sounds louder. She could HEAR her heart beating. His touch shocked her down to her core. And his smell....it was intoxicating. She didn't understand what she was feeling...but her focus was slipping into a more animalistic state.

Heinrich felt the girl's racing pulse, seeing her body shake and her entire attitude changing in front of him. "You're..." he gulped. "You're... not fine..." he said. "Your thighs... are soaked. You're not wearing enough to conceal it... can you walk?" He tugged in her hand somewhat, trying to nudge her towards him.

She found herself pulled toward the man by her wrist, only to stumble into his strong body. Noami leaned heavily against him, unconciously rubbing her body up against him. "I....I can...." She nodded and tried to push herself up and away from him. He felt so good, she just wanted to stay there. To not move...maybe to move.

The girl was saying one thing, but her actions spoke something completely different. It didn't look like she would be in any condition to travel anytime soon. She felt... good, pressed against him. There was no way his body wasn't going to react to this, of course. It looked like she was trying hard to resist it... but it wasn't helping much.

"Do you need... help? Is there anything I can do for you, miss...?"

"Fiiinnnneee...." She moaned out softly as she pressed her face against the knights side. She was fine...couldn't he tell? She wanted this, wanted him. ... Wait no she didn't. This wasn't her. This isn't what she wanted. "Noooo." She pushed herself away from the knight and stumbled her way down the two steps from the crude stage that she'd been on only to trip and fall face first into the blood stained dirt.

[Holeypaladin]

Heinrich held the unconscious body of the kitsune, stroking her hair and gripping her. Hopefully, by the time she woke up, the affects of the drug these bandits had given her would be gone, and she'd be back to her normal self. And hopefully she wouldn't hate him too much, either... he only wanted to help, after all.

He carried the kitsune down where the other female prisoners were being kept. Thankfully, it didn't seem like any of them had been drugged... yet. One of the everdancing swords was roaming nearby, searching for more bandits to kill. Heinrich grabbed it out of the air and laid Naomi down nearby before cutting the ropes and caged that bound the women together.

As the grateful women hugged and praised him for rescuing them for the bandits, Heinrich's eyes fell back on the prettiest of them all. Offering up a few hugs and kisses on the cheeks of the women, he slowly say down near the kitsune, stroking her hair. "You alright there?" he said to the girl, wondering if she'd wake up anytime soon.

[Megilwen]

Naomi could hear a voice echoing in her mind. Almost like a dream. She wasn't sure if it was a dream really. All one horrible dream. The slavers, the auction, the drugging...the...no it couldn't have been real. She'd just fallen in the Tavern kitchen and it was her boss and friend Peter waking her up caring for her.

Her eyes opened slowly to see a man standing above her...not Peter. Who...

The knight, the knight from before. The one who...

It hadn't been a dream.

"NO!" She scurried away from the knight. "Don't....stay away..." As she looked at the sword baring knight in a terrified way. "Please...just let me go..." From the slave auction to this man's personal play thing. It didn't seem to much of a difference in emotional states. The other women were all scurrying out of the pens, dodging the swords. Terrified at the magic. "Plleeasseee." She begged tears in her eyes.

[Holeypaladin]

With a wave of his hand, the summoned swords began to dissolve out of existence. Sir Heinrich turned to the sobbing sound of the kitsune's plea. Let her go? Hadn't he just freed her? Or did she think he was one of the bandits he had just slaughtered?

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, trying to speak in a soothing tone to the fox. "So calm down. Relax. Breathe. If it's not obvious from the carnage," he gestured around, "I'm here to help. You're free to go, of course, but before you run off, I want you to think it through. Where will you go? Where are you right now? Do you even know?"

"We're still in bandit country, after all," he said with a shrug. "I'm going to escort these women to the nearest city so that they don't travel alone and get re-captured by more bandits. I think it'd be a wise idea to stick with me for awhile, don't you? Like I said, I'm not going to hurt you."