Log; Completed

[queenoftraitors.livejournal.com]

When; Friday, October 10
Rating; PG-13 for violence
Characters; Jadis the White Witch (queenoftraitors) and Youko Kurama (banditfox)
Summary; Another traitor meets his fate at the hands of the emperor's hangman
Log;

Some sacrifices made the work easy for you, and some had to be cautiously lured to their fates. Jadis mused on this, as she wove a trap of ice and magic designed to tickle the curiosity of a more elusive prey than she had dispatched that morning. The simple, straightforward executions had a certain majesty to them, but there was pleasure in exercising one's subtler skills.

"Now, little fox," she whispered, waiting for the scent of her magic to draw in her next victim. "Come and look, come and see."

Comments

[banditfox.livejournal.com]

Restlessness plagued Kurama with a frequency that was becoming distracting. Faced with the City's environs day after day, always playing one role or another and never entirely himself, he found himself struck with a need to be away from the streets and had ventured into the Wild in his fox form for the day. There was something there, amongst the trees, that troubled him. Today, as he drew closer to it, he felt the perversion of nature and eased forward under the cover of the undergrowth. His hackles rose as the foreign energy touched his senses. Mindful of the danger, he crept forward, his white fur rendering him almost invisible as he stepped into the artificial winter.

[queenoftraitors.livejournal.com]

Jadis hoped that the camouflage would give her guest a sense of security as she waited for him to venture into her trap. She had been careful to seal every entrance to her 'fortress' -- though it was hardly enough to deserve such a name -- except one. Flush with the ground there was an opening, large enough for an animal to slip through, small enough that it could be overlooked by those who went on two feet.

And within, the ice-covered room where she had performed her latest rituals, reeking of magic.

[banditfox.livejournal.com]

A swift examination revealed the entrance through which Jadis intended Kurama to pass. He circled the fortress twice, considering. His seeds were still secure in the ruff of fur at his neck. If he needed them, he could call on them despite the cold and the ice, feed them with his own power. Just one quick look, he thought. Reconnaissance. Moving with speed and silence denied even to his mortal cousins, he entered the odd structure.

[queenoftraitors.livejournal.com]

It was not fair that Jadis had all the advantage, knowing her victim and what might intrigue him, when he knew nothing of her at all. But the white witch cared nothing for fairness, and everything for advantage.

The floor was covered in a thick layer of snow, powdery enough that the fox's feet sank slightly into it. Enough to allow a whispered word from Jadis to alter the snow into icy tendrils, creeping up Kurama's legs to hold him fast.

[banditfox.livejournal.com]

Her power wasn't a demon's power, and the subtle change went unnoticed until it was too late. What had simply been snow caught in the fine fur covering the kitsune's legs became unyielding restraints. Kurama's youki poured into his plants in a reaction that was so practiced it had almost become instinct, but the strange magic within the fortress smothered the seeds, robbing them of potential. Even as he worked to waken them, he struggled in the grip of the ice, a low growl building in his throat.

[queenoftraitors.livejournal.com]

It was enough, it would do. Jadis recognized that her captive had magic of his own, and moved quickly before he freed himself or managed to awaken what her winter had made dormant.

From her robe she drew a blade that still carried the dried blood of previous victims. The snow swirled around Kurama, an extra precaution to disguise the witch, and again she struck from behind, this time drawing the knife's keen edge across the kitsune's throat.

[banditfox.livejournal.com]

Kurama fought, drawing his strength back into him, but there was no stemming the flow of blood from the deep wound. He collapsed in a matter of moments. Bit by bit, his body failed him, until he gave a final shudder and went still.

[queenoftraitors.livejournal.com]

With a grim smile, Jadis watched the blood stain the ice beneath Kurama's body. When life finally faded from it, she released the bonds and picked up the furred form, carrying it from her dwelling to discard it in the wilderness.