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Two figures traipsed their way across a desolate moor. A bleak landscape stretched out before them, lined with low stone walls, endless swathes of short-cropped grass and ramshackle farmhouses. Here a dark brook trickled mournfully along a rocky bed, there a stand of blasted trees swayed fitfully under a thin, whining wind. Save for the pair of wanderers, there wasn't another living thing in sight: not a cow, a sheep, or a bird, and least of all another person.
One of the figures was a human woman. She had bobbed, platinum blonde hair, and was dressed in fur-trimmed leather, with a long purple and black scarf wrapped around her neck. A whip hung coiled at her hips, clipped to her studded belt.
The other was a troll. She wore a gown of pure black, tied around the middle with a green sash, and no matter how much mud splashed up its skirt, or how many gorse bushes snagged its hem, it remained absolutely pristine. Orange horns poked through her pointed hat, the brim low and floppy, shielding her eyes. Long white fangs protruded from her black-painted lips.
They came to a gate, pushed it open, strolled down a barren farm road until they reached one of the aforementioned ramshackle house. There, the human knocked on the door. It opened a crack, and a wizened, weather-worn, worried face peered out.
"You the bounty hunters?" croaked the face's owner.
"Rose Lalonde," said the leather-clad one. "Beastmaster."
"Kanaya Maryam," the troll said. "Witch."
"Arr? Then ye can help, p'rhaps. There be a turrible curse 'pon this place, most turrible indeed."
The door opened all the way, and man as old and rickety as his house stepped out, blinking in the light.
"And what is the nature of this curse?" Rose asked, running a finger over a coil of her whip.
"'Tis turrible."
"Yes, so I gathered. But what does it actually do?"
"The howls! The howls in the night! As if the Divvil hisself were shrieking for his damnation."
"Howls?" said Kanaya. "In my experience, curses are generally quieter than that. I should know, I've made a few myself."
The farmer squinted at her, warded himself against the evil eye and continued:
"Not just howls. Come, come. Ye'll see."
He broke into a crabwise, bandy-legged trot, leading them across the farmyard to a field. Part of the fence around it was a splintered mass of wood, the broken planks scored as though they'd been slashed at by huge, powerful claws. The neat furrows within had been ruined, scattered this way and that, and the ground was littered with-
"Vegetables?" Rose said.
"Arr, vegetables! Moy carrots, moy courgettes, e'en moy aubergines. All dragged untimely from yon beds, crushed, and left besmirched wi' the fluids o' Beelzebub."
"Mmhmm." Kanaya lifted her skirts, stepped delicately over the smashed fence, and, covering her hand with a kerchief plucked from a hidden pocket, picked up a carrot. She raised it to her nose, sniffed, frowned, and dropped the unfortunate vegetable.
Meanwhile, Rose investigated the fence. She found a tuft of white fur clinging to a splinter, and held it up before the farmer.
"Do you know what this is from?"
"It comes from the foul pelt of the beast itself. Its own fur!"
"Beast? I thought we were dealing with a curse?"
"The beast is the curse! Sent, arr, sent for our sins, to-"
He broke off in a fit of coughing.
"Perhaps you should go back inside," Rose said, not unkindly. "We'll track down this beast you speak of."
"Arr, arr, p'rhaps ye be right," the farmer muttered, an staggered of. "'Tis the end of days, surely the end..."
"What an odd fellow," said Rose to Kanaya, as the latter returned from the field. "I believe we have a mystery on our hands. What kind of fell beast preys upon root vegetables."
"And what kind of beast doesn't eat said vegetables," Kanaya added, "and leaves 'the fluids of Beelzebub' on them?"
"You know what that is?"
"Oh yes. In fact, I smelled it just the other night, when I was licking your-"
"I see. The mystery deepens."
"Indeed. Almost as deep as my fingers were in-"
"Quite."
Rose and Kanaya spent the day following a trail of damaged fences and uprooted vegetables, finding yet more white fur, the odd, scuffed footprint, the occasional set of claw marks on a tree. As evening fell, they decamped in a handy bush, beside a muddy trail, the vague tracks along which suggested the beast frequented it. Quiet, still, and watchful, they waited.
The clouds cleared, and a bright full moon cast a ghostly silver light over the moors. The air grew chill, and a low mist began to cover the ground, swirling itself into dread, fantastic shapes. And yet as the hours rolled on there were no howls, no hideous creatures leaping from the shadows.
"Well this is a bust," Rose said. She curled her arm around Kanaya's waist, sliding her hand up to cup her breast. "And coincidentally, so is this. Shall we pass the time some other way?"
"Far be it for me to critique your choice of love nest, my darling, but I would much prefer to get back to our tent before - wait! Do you hear that?"
On the edge of hearing, there was a howl. Silence, then, closer, another, louder. A blood-curdling sound, redolent of atavistic fears, of things that ruled the night before the first shambling ape decided that this fire business sounded like a good idea. But Rose was unfazed. She'd heard plenty worse. As for Kanaya, trolls were the things that had ruled the night.
The howl echoed from the hills, closer, closer. Whatever was making it must have been moving at a pretty good clip. Louder, again, almost deafening, and from down the trail Rose heard a snuffling and snorting. The beast rounded a copse of trees, and Rose and Kanaya saw it in all its glory.
It was half as high again as Rose, and covered in shaggy white fur, while a long black mane spilled down its back. Two huge, paw-like hands hung from gangrel arms, and wicked claws curved from the ends of its fingers. As it stalked down the road on pair of long, digitigrade legs, it sniffed the air, raised its head and howled again. Rose caught a glint of moonlight in its blazing green eyes.
A werewolf. A foe worthy of any good monster hunter. Rose unhooked her whip from her belt, while Kanaya let a nimbus of purple magery coruscate around her hands. Rose was right on the point of leaping from their hide when Kanaya flung out an arm, barring her way. A moment later, Rose saw exactly why.
In all her practical experience and studies of obscure bestiaries, Rose had never seen a werewolf that stopped every few paces to masturbate. Whimpering, it held its paw between its thighs and humped its fingers, careful to avoid its claws, before it took another few tottering steps forward. Now Rose looked closer, she saw the creature had a shapely pair of boobs hanging from its chest, nipples pink and stiff in the cool night air, and wetness streaked the fur down its inner thighs. Both Rose and Kanaya gaped, blindsided by this development. But the werewolf was getting closer, and if they wanted to surprise it, the time to strike was now.
They leapt.
"Hold, beast!" Rose commanded, while Kanaya let her magic surge into a crackling arc between her hands. "Come quietly, or we'll be forced to take you down."
What happened next was totally unexpected. The werewolf threw one arm across its breasts and covered its crotch with the hand of the other.
"Waitwaitwait," it said, in a sweet, if rather deep voice. "Don't hurt me! I can explain."
"Please do," Rose said, goggling. She glanced at Kanaya, who looked equally nonplussed.
"My name's Jade," the werewolf said. "I'm...well, it's pretty obvious what I am, isn't it?"
Rose nodded.
"So my clan, we stay, uh, coherent, when we transform. Normally I just run around the hills, chase things, mark trees - you know, wolf stuff. It's fun! I never bother people."
"The farmers around here might disagree," said Kanaya, still keeping her spell charged.
"Right. That. So the problem here is that the full moon - it's embarrassing - it coincided with my...heat cycle."
Rose must have been imagining it, but she could have sworn she saw a blush on Jade's lupine cheeks.
"Normally there's a herb that helps, but I've sort of strayed. It doesn't grow around here."
"Hmm." Rose put her whip back. "Interesting. This is something of a dilemma for us. You're clearly not dangerous, except to carrots and fences, but you've terrified the people round here. They've hired us to make you go away. One way or another."
"I will! I promise! Just a few more days 'til the moon wanes and my heat goes, and then I can head straight back home."
"We can make it go a little faster than that," Kanaya said.
"We can?" Rose wasn't at all sure what Kanaya was talking about.
"There's a technique I've read about, employed by sapient creatures who have to deal with breeding cycles. I think we can use it on her."
"Really?" said Jade. "That'd be great. I mean, if it's no trouble."
"Oh, I think it might actually be quite fun." Kanaya smirked, raised her hand. Purple energy wrapped around Jade's wrists and snapped them together.
"Follow us," Kanaya said. "No funny business."
"None from me."
Jade followed Kanaya, and Rose followed Jade, keeping her in the middle just in case there was any sort of trickery going on. There didn't seem to be; Jade was very amiable and open for a werewolf, notwithstanding her heat. Rose imagined she'd quite like to meet this clan she spoke of.
There was a small clearing between the trees at the end of the track. Kanaya led them into its shelter.
"Lie down," she commanded Jade. "On your back."
Jade duly did so, and Kanaya inscribed a complex sigil in the air. A blazing circle of magelight, inscribed with arcane runes, formed around Jade's body. Her wrists and ankles flew to its edges, stretching her across it, and magical manacles flashed briefly around her extremities. They faded, leaving a faint glow, and Jade found herself fixed immovably to the ground.
"Uhh, this technique, it's not dangerous, is it?" she asked, wriggling, testing her new constraints.
"Not at all," said Kanaya. "Though you may find it frustrating."
"What is this 'technique', exactly?" Rose murmured.
"Simple," Kanaya replied, her voice just as low. "We give her exactly what she wants. But not all of it."
Only slightly less mystified, but beginning to get the basic idea, Rose followed Kanaya over to their captive. There, she squatted between Jade's legs, while Kanaya crouched over her stomach.
"Hi," said Jade. "You're just gonna sit right there, huh?"
"I am. I must say, it's a rare treat to see a live werewolf this close up. And such a pretty one, too."
"Thanks?"
Rose, leaning to the side, watched Kanaya reach out, her hand hovering over Jade's breast.
"May I?"
"Go ahead!" said Jade, rather too quickly.
Kanaya laid her hand on Jade's boob, silky white fur ruffling as she dragged her fingers through it. She squeezed a little tighter, and Rose saw Jade's pliant flesh mould itself to Kanaya's grip.
"I - oh, that's niiiiice," Jade crooned, rocking against her invisible restraints. "More please."
Taking both of Jade's tits in her hands, Kanaya began an aggressive massage, rolling them under her palms, up and down, out to the sides, in together, squishing them tight. She leaned right over, resting her weight on them, pressing down, squeezing Jade's stiff nipples back into their surrounds. Her dress reshaped itself on the fly. The hem rose, exposing long black boots, shapely calves, her luscious thighs, while the neckline plunged, her own cleavage heaving into view before Jade's fascinated eyes.
Rose suspected she was meant to be doing something, too, and took a peek down at Jade's crotch. The effects of her heat were evident: her petals huge and fat, with a thick, erect clit protruding from the point where they joined together at the top. Her hole was just visible, contracting powerfully every time Kanaya gave her breasts another rub.
Ignoring the obvious clitoral target, Rose took to stroking Jade's lips, her fingertips whispering over the faint fuzz of slicked-down fur that lined them. Jade whined at her touch, bucking up against her hand, clearly desperate for more stimulation, but Rose kept her touch feather-light, only gradually piling on more pressure.
"Please, please," Jade begged.
Rose was inclined to be merciful. She slid her fingers between those dripping lips and rode them up and down Jade's slit, gathering a thick coating of her wetness. The heat came off her in waves; her skin almost burned to the touch. Rose couldn't wait to find out how hot she was inside, but there was a little more teasing to be done first. She split Jade's lips wide open, as far as they'd go before she actually had to start stretching them, gazing down at all that glistening pink. Jade whimper, the cold air infiltrating her privates. Rose bit the inside of her lip, and squeezed her thighs together, her trousers creaking. The leather felt more constricting than it usually did.
Without further hesitation, Rose drove her fingers deep into Jade, her pussy enveloping them in an instant. Jade yipped in surprise, then a gasp of pleasure escaped her. Her walls clamped down around Rose's digits, and it was only with difficulty that Rose was able to start moving them. Jade's inner muscles were phenomenally powerful, much like, Rose guessed, the rest of her. Pumping her fingers against such fierce resistance soon had her wrist and arm screaming for rest, so she switched to the other hand, swapping between them as necessary. Jade's juices flowed thick and fast, and soon both her hands were smothered in them.
She picked up the pace, and ended up panting. Frigging a werewolf, it seemed, was a real workout. Part of it, though, might have been her own lust. The moon, the cold night, a hairy, grunting beast totally at her mercy, why, she was feeling rather wolfish herself. And then there was the fact that Kanaya had transmogrified her dress to the point where it barely covered anything at all. From behind, Rose go a lovely view of her tight booty, the strap of her thong disappearing between those pert cheeks. She held back a growl of frustration, and sublimated it into a renewed burst of energy, fingerfucking Jade until her wetness splashed up her forearms.
"Yes, yes! Mooooore!" Jade's body rose and fell like a storm-tossed ship, Kanaya clinging to the fluffy tuft at the top of her chest to maintain her position.
"More, bitch?" said Rose.
"Please!"
Fuck it, Rose thought, and threw herself down to the leaf-littered floor, shoving her face between those furry thighs. Jade's twat smelled incredible: a musky, earthy, potent scent that had Rose clamping her mouth to her hole and shoving her tongue into her almost before she realised what she was doing. Swirling her tongue round Jade's walls, slurping up her delicious, slippery juices, Rose reached back and undid the laces that held her trousers shut, pushing her hand into her panties, into the sticky, sweaty warmth there. She moaned against Jade as she rubbed herself, huffing desperately for breath.
"Goodness," she heard Kanaya say. "I didn't expect you to get into it quite so fast, dearest. Mind you, I suppose I'm no better."
Rose looked up to see Kanaya's naked arse thrusting back and forth. Her skirt had magically shrunk some more, and her thong had - presumably non-magically - fallen down around her thighs. Peering around her, Rose saw a flash of green. Kanaya’s bulge was wrapped up in Jade's tits, her hands squeezing them together, and she was humping away, staining Jade's fur green with her tentacock's natural lube. With each stroke of her hips, the tip of her tendril popped out from the top of Jade's bust, writhing just below her muzzle. Jade's was enraptured, staring fixedly at Kanaya's prick, her tongue lolling from her mouth as she panted.
"Don't be jealous, darling," Kanaya said, "but I wish to all the gods you had furry tits."
Well, that was fair. Rutting against something so silken soft must have felt heavenly. At least one of them was getting off. Rose, on the basis that the sooner she sorted Jade out the sooner she could have some fun, returned to Jade's quim and set to lashing it with her tongue, moving aggressively towards her clit, giving it a few quick flicks, each one of which made Jade yelp, spasming in her bondage. While she licked, she pounded her fingers into Jade's opening, harder, harder, until even her formidable tightness gave out and she turned loose and sloppy. Rose added a third finger, then a fourth, and was all but considering jamming her entire fist in there when an idea struck her. She snatched her whip off her belt, unrolled it, pressed the handle to Jade's hole and pushed. It was wrapped in rough leather and wouldn't have been her first choice for a makeshift dildo, but she figured Jade could take it. And a moment later, she was proven right, as the handle sank deep, right up to the handguard.
Jade's howl was earsplitting, interspersed with cries of "Yes!" and "Fuck me!" Over it, Rose just made out Kanaya saying:
"I think we'd better quiet you down."
Rose peeked up again, to see Kanaya take a ribbon from some hidden inner pocket, loop it round Jade's muzzle and cinch it tight.
"Awp?" Jade said.
"That's an unbreakable ribbon, just so you know. Sorry, but if you keep howling like that we'll have every farmer in the shire bursting in on us with pitchforks and torches.
"Mrrrf." Jade sounded like she agreed.
Kanaya got back to fucking Jade's tits, and Rose got back to reaming her with the whip handle. With her voice silenced, Rose had to rely on Jade's body language to see how she was doing. And what body language; she shook, strained, the muscles in her mighty legs standing out like ropes, even under the fur.
"You like that?" Rose said, the handle slopping and slishing, shining with Jade's wetness as she hammered it into her. "You want to cum, don't you?"
If Jade's whimpers hadn't told her 'yes', the way she threw her hips up certainly did. Rose seized the base of her clit and jerked it like a cock, heard Jade scream-whine, whistling through her nose. She leaned to the side, looked around Kanaya, saw Jade with her eyes tight shut and her lips peeled away from her wicked teeth.
Two things happened at that point. The first was that Kanaya came, blowing her copious, bright green load right across Jade's face with a lady-like sigh. The second was that she raised her hand and shaped it into a complex sigil. Something like pink glass shimmered across Jade's mound, then sunk into it and faded. And though Jade thrashed and moaned and acted like she should be climaxing her brains out, the final moment never came.
"Keep going, Rose," Kanaya said. "Let her feel it."
So Rose kept on pumping the whip handle, tormenting Jade's throbbing clit, and Jade stayed shuddering on the edge, desperate to cum but never quite getting there.
"We'll get rid of that heat," Kanaya said, low and hypnotic, "by burning it out of you. But to do that, we have to bank the fires. You'll think you're going crazy. You'll ache for release, but you won't get it until the very last moment. Can you handle it?"
Jade looked like she was ready to burst, but she nodded all the same.
"Good."
Kanaya swung herself off Jade, turned to face Rose, who pulled her whip from Jade's pussy, wiped it on the leaves and hung it back on her belt.
"Interesting plan," Rose murmured to Kanaya. "Let's just hope it works before your magic runs out, or we'll have a pissed off horny werewolf to deal with."
"It'll work. I'll take over here. Why don't you find some way to entertain yourself? You look like you need it."
Apparently, 'taking over' meant 'fucking Jade.' Rose watched as Kanaya positioned herself. Her bulge had already recovered from her previous orgasm, and, thick and feisty, it squiggled against Jade's crotch, searching for something hot, wet and tight to bury itself in. Kanaya held it back long enough to flatten herself out across Jade's belly, her hat’s point just reaching the bottoms of Jade's breasts. Yanking down her dress, bra and all, Kanaya bared her own, clearly enjoying the soft fur tickling her nipples as she shifted into place. A wriggle of her hips, a "mmph!" from Jade, and Kanaya had her bulge embedded in her. She thrust, working up a quick, sharp pace, Jade's solid body rocking beneath her.
Rose had her hands down her pants the moment she realised what Kanaya was up to, and she'd already given herself a few good rubs before she realised there was another source of pleasure available to her. Turning to Jade, she loosened the ribbon around her muzzle, just enough that she was able to poke her tongue out and pant. Just what Rose needed. She dropped her trousers and panties to her ankles and, facing Kanaya, crouched over Jade's face. Jade, to her credit, knew exactly what was expected of her, and eagerly dragged her huge tongue over Rose's twat.
"Yes!" Rose cried, not quite believing that a simple lick should feel so good. Kanaya smirked, and she blushed. She covered her embarrassment by shoving her crotch hard against Jade's muzzle, grinding her scent into her nose. Jade huffed, hot breath gusting over Rose's privates, and began to lick with a will, each of her exhalations accompanied by a little whimper of excitement.
Rose groaned, leaning back, one hand on the ground and another on her breast, clawing at herself through her jerkin. When that wasn't enough, she unlaced it, tore it open, dove under under her bra and squeezed, crushing her nipple until the point of pain. She practically fucked herself on Jade's snout, smearing her juices over that lupine nose, the coldness of it an exhilarating jolt: a counterpart to the heat of Jade's tongue slopping over and between her folds. The tip of it slapped against her clit, and she shrieked, leaping up and stiffening, before she drove herself back down against Jade's maw.
All the while, she stared down at Kanaya, watching a look of ecstasy slowly appear on her face. She nursed the sweet jealousy she felt whenever she saw her partner fucking another person, and played up her own pleasure, letting Kanaya know that Jade's mouth was as good as her cunt. Not that she needed to act much. Finally, she was cresting her peak: limbs trembling, pussy twitching, her head thrown back and little squeaks escaping from her wide open mouth.
With one long, firm, slow lick over her pearl, Jade brought Rose off. Bliss burst within her, and a rush of her juices flooded out over Jade's snout, causing her to snort and splutter. Rose screamed, almost toppling from her perch on Jade's face, and clamped her thighs around her head until the ecstasy passed and she was mostly herself again.
Kanaya, too, couldn't hold back; she actually cried out this time, hips slapping feverishly against Jade's crotch as she filled her with emerald seed. And Jade, no matter how hard she chased it, no matter her growls and grumbles and desperate strainings of her body, still couldn't cum.
The hours slid by. The moon rose to its zenith, and began its gradual descent. Rose and Kanaya teased, tormented, and tantalised Jade, lavishing her with pleasure upon pleasure, none of which did her the slightest bit of good. Her struggles became so intense that the invisible shackles holding her glowed pink as she tugged on them, reinforcing themselves with ambient mana against her incredible strength. Likewise, the seal on her pussy glowed eye-searingly bright, blazing with the effort of constraining all that carnal tension.
Rose and Kanaya drove their fingers into Jade's cunt, pumping her until their arms were sore. Rose employed the handle of her whip again and again, rough leather grinding against Jade's muscular walls, then Kanaya would replace it with the firm suppleness of her bulge, fucking her until she was bloating with genefluid. It leaked from her in a constant stream, and they had to strip naked to avoid ruining their clothes. Kanaya was insatiable, even considering her usual trollish virility, and Rose knew she was using magic to replenish her reservoirs. Jade's fur was stained green in a multitude of places, sometimes from Kanaya misdirecting a cumshot, other times from her just rubbing herself against her pelt for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Jade, despite her constant frustration, was as giving as she could be, and licked pussy and nook with unwavering enthusiasm. Rose and Kanaya rode her muzzle multiple times that night, and Kanaya was even brave enough to loosen the ribbon binding it enough to push her bulge into that toothy maw, shoving her long, thick tentacle deep into Jade's throat. Kissing her was quite an experience too; when Rose first pressed her lips to her snout she got a shock as Jade's tongue flicked straight to the back of her mouth.
Anything Rose and Kanaya could think of, they tried. They fucked atop Jade, Rose using her sturdy body as her bed, her tits as her pillows. She played up her bliss, moaning like a wild thing, while Kanaya's bulge sawed and slithered into her pussy, driving her to an orgasm Jade couldn't have. Rose, grinding her arse against Jade's stomach, made sure she knew exactly when she was coming. All the while, Kanaya leaned back, her hand on Jade's twat, rubbing hard, bringing her right to the edge, so that while Rose was in ecstasy Jade was thrashing and gnashing her teeth in agonising denial. Rose smirked as Kanaya's cum filled her, and when they were done Jade's tongue was right there to clean her out. She made sure to treat herself to another climax, while the mingled evidence of her and Kanaya's pleasure drooled over Jade's nose and into her mouth.
At long last, when dawn was creeping over the horizon, when Jade had fallen quiet and still from exhaustion and sheer helplessness, drooling, twitching, Rose and Kanaya granted her mercy. They were both down by her pussy, Rose gobbling up the latest dose of jizz Kanaya had left in there, scooping out great globs of it with her fingers and incidentally grinding hard against Jade's g-spot. Kanaya, meanwhile, hunched over Jade's thigh, her attention focussed to a needle-sharp point on her fat clit. She held it between her fingers, thumb circling the base, index finger tapping against its tip in a maddeningly regular pattern. Jade must have been able to predict the impact to the second, and her whole body jerked the instant before Kanaya made contact, a faint yelp echoing from her muzzled mouth.
"Poor darling," Kanaya crooned to her. "You're so close, aren't you? You need it so badly."
Jade whimpered, fervent agreement in her voice.
To Rose, Kanaya muttered: "She's almost there. Get ready for one last push."
Rose nodded. She drew her fingers from Jade's pussy, took hold of her whip's handle.
"Now!" Kanaya dived down, took Jade's whole clit into her mouth, sucking hard, her tongue working it over, and as she drew frantic screams from Jade her hand flew through the air, weaving a masterpiece of a spell.
Rose thrust her whip into Jade's cunt, fucking her with all the vigour left to her, sending splashes of juice and genefluid everywhere, her hole gaping wide open every time Rose drew back a little too far and popped the whip out of her. Jade shook from head to toe, her bonds incandescent with the strain she put on them, and her voice was a fierce, feral roar. The chastity seal made itself known: a purple-pink sheen. It burned with ethereal fire as Kanaya's magic progressed. It spread across Jade's body, blazing like a bonfire, and Rose felt its heat. Lust, not warmth. The heat Jade had been suffering from. She hadn't expected the process of burning it off to be quite so literal. She dropped a hand to her pussy and frigged herself until it hurt, overwhelmed with desire, her voice rising with Jade's and Kanaya's. Kanaya, too, had her bulge in her fist, pumping it like a piston. She came as Rose watched, spurting green across Jade's thigh, and just kept on jerking herself and casting the spell.
The magic reached its peak, Rose reached hers, Kanaya, the greedy witch, hit hers yet again, and Jade, finally, magnificently, got what had been denied her all these hours. Her body heaved. Her pussy clenched around Rose's whip, a spray of juices squirting from her, splashing hot over Rose's skin. And the supposedly unbreakable ribbon broke.
Jade's howl left Rose's ears ringing. It bounced off the trees, sent sleeping birds for miles around rocketing into the air in panic. Far-off dogs began barking. Rose clamped her hands over her ears and waited for what seemed like an age, until Jade's mouth fell shut and she slumped back to the earth.
Rose pulled her whip free, and Kanaya drew back from Jade's clit, panting. She looked drained. Her magic failed her, and the binding circle fizzled out in a shower of sparks, taking the restraints with it. Which was fortunate, because a moment later, Jade began to shrink.
The transformation was far smoother and more natural than one might have expected. There were no screams, no cracking bones. Jade's paws shortened, her claws becoming nails. Her limbs, likewise, approached more human proportions; her legs regained a plantigrade stance, her arms lost their gangly length. True, her face did look a bit bizarre as it flattened itself, and it was somewhat disconcerting watching fur grow in reverse, but that was about the only thing that even approached disturbing.
And when it was all over, there lay a naked human, with long black hair, buck teeth, and green eyes. She was still spattered with miscellaneous fluids, but other than that, she seemed perfectly okay.
"Welcome back to the land of the bare-skinned," Rose said, offering her a hand. Jade smiled, took it, and Rose hauled her to her unsteady feet.
"Thanks." Jade made an attempt to wipe herself off: a fruitless effort under the circumstances. "Wow, that was something, huh? You guys were incredible. You didn't have to go to that much trouble just for me."
"No trouble," Kanaya said, standing. She stumbled, and Rose reached out to grab her, holding her upright. "Okay, maybe a little trouble. I didn't expect your heat to be that resilient. I must have burned a week's worth of mana there."
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. Is there anything-"
Kanaya waved her off. "Don't worry about it. Oh, and take this." She conjured a simple black cloak, and wrapped it around Jade's shoulders. "I can still perform a simple summoning spell, at least."
She could also restore her dress to its usual length, once she'd put it back on. Rose dragged on her own clothes, hung her whip - which was badly in need of a cleaning - on her belt.
"We should get back to camp," she said. "If the good villagers think that howl was - you know - you being slain, they might come out and investigate. Best if they don't find a mysterious new person and a distinct lack of dead werewolf, hmm?"
"Right, right," Jade said. Kanaya nodded.
Together, they left the copse, and traipsed over hill and dale back to their camp. There, just as the sun crested the horizon, they crawled into the tent and fell asleep together.
They awoke late next morning, packed up, and headed into the village. It was market day, and there Rose and Kanaya announced that the werewolf would no longer trouble the root vegetables and fences of the shires. They collected the various parts of their bounty, purchased a few supplies, and headed out into the wilds.
The villagers were preoccupied, for the most part, and few commented on the fact that they were pointed west, out into the unknown lands where, it was said, all manner of strange beasts roamed. A few more commented on the odd green-eyed, black-haired woman travelling with them, who certainly hadn't been around when they'd arrived. But as the nights passed, and no more howls resounded from the moors, and all slept untroubled, everyone decided that the bounty hunters had done what they'd been paid to do. Soon, they passed from memory.