3-6 Mountain Valley

Keywords: Reminiscing, Mountainous, Alive, Plains, Green
 
The hills are alive with the sounds of green things growing. The hills roll with sharp inclines and semi-dry riverbeds awaiting the next spring. What isn’t a sparse grove of tiny trees is covered in plains full of cows grazing softly amongst the green.

Even the air smells of trampled grass, moist fields and the crisp clean of a mountain peak, topped with snow. It’s a relaxing atmosphere for the most part. 



It's odd, but for some reason the entire area is covered in a suspiciously dense fog...

Komali stepped into the area looking at the list distractedly. A light breeze ruffled her fur and the air was a little chilly with a crisp smell but she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings as she made notes on the little piece of paper in her paw.  

“Ok,” she said, “Tree, you can grab the…” she looked up as she spoke, trailing off as she realized that there was no one else around. The portal glimmered a little behind her but no one else came through.

“Tree? Rourou? …Illium?” she asked, each name getting a little more of a desperate tone attached to it.

The fear in her voice was more than a little evident as she started to really take a look at her surroundings. If there were any features in this area they were invisible, nothing but mist in all directions that swirled around so all Komali could see were the landmarks immediately near her, which for the time being was dead grass and a few rocks. Aside from the wind, there was no sound and no smell either and Komali was keenly aware that she was being watched.
Immediately she grabbed at her bow as the feeling of dread started to rise in her gut, nearly choking her as her fur puffed out in all directions and her eyes widened a little, frantically searching in the mist for whatever was keeping an eye on her.

N-No… This wasn’t supposed to happen! I am not supposed to have a struggle! Cats are not scared of things! Where the fuck are the others!


“If this is a joke it is NOT funny!!” she cried, her voice cracking a little as she started to wander a little. Her widened eyes were useless in the mist and after a moment of nervous shuffling she stepped out into open space and tumbled head over heels down a ravine, some of the mist swirling around her as she landed on her belly on moss with a pained thud. The riverbed was little more than a couple trickles of muddy water feeding the rampant moss around the misty outline of boulders.

“Careful there,” came a voice ahead of her.

Komali groaned and started to lift her head, “Illium?”


Feral laughter responded, “oh please. We don’t sound anything like that bushy tailed rat.”


“W-We…?” Komali asked, stunned as she started to get to her hands and knees, looking up as the figure came and squatted in front of her.

Komali gasped and staggered back, getting to her feet quickly and reaching for her bow but it was already in the other cat’s hand.

“Talk about an overreaction,” the woman said.

She was nearly identical to Komali in everyway though more… feral. The Alternate!Komali lacked the curly hair between her ears, her fur was sleek and clearly well groomed though she walked a little different with a more predatory gaze. She was completely naked which didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest and her tail flicked lazy, having no more personality than as a tool for the body.

“You! You’re me!” Komali gasped.

The Alt!Komali twirled the bow before tossing it out of sight into the mist, over the ravine wall, before saying, “Not quite. I am everything you COULD be, or rather everything you SHOULD be. If you weren’t so desperate to be human. There’s nothing good about two-leg ideals. There is a reason being human is so much more painful after all. I wish you would just finish giving it up and be a full cat at heart again. You were doing so good this past week too.”


Komali’s head was spinning and honestly she wasn’t sure it would be wise to entertain what was clearly a figment of her imagination. That’s it, no more alcohol and no more rotten fruit before going out gathering.

The Alt!Komali stared at the original with a sly, cruel look.

“Don’t tell me you LIKE all the pain,” she continued, “I mean really what could possibly be worth all of this?”


“Having friends,” Komali snapped, caving and talking to the apparition, “coming home and having someone there waiting for you? Getting attention and feeling that energy and that warm feeling from helping someone? It’s all part of being human!”


“Being human,” she scoffed, “waiting for what? To demand more out of you? To hurt you? Look at all this wasted potential!” she motioned to herself. “You should be RUNNING that camp! THAT would get their attention! None of these stupid connections, none of this selfless, “save the camp” feel good shit. I swear the longer you spend with them the less of a cat you become! You were doing so well too! I loved how you used that bush-tailed rat and now you have him bound to you through some human ceremony.”


Komali snarled at her counterpart, “I did NOT manipulate him! Illium and I are married because we love each other!”


The copy laughed and laughed, “You don’t even realize what you did, do you? Oh this is just too rich, you were trying so hard to be human that you completely forgot that you aren’t one of them. You’re a cat, manipulative, selfish, and uncaring. Granted you haven’t been taking it NEARLY far enough. Every cat knows you only keep a tom around for the heat and you haven’t even been doing that! You just kind of fell for the mark instead.” She held up a paw as Komali started to argue. “Save it. You’ve been using all of them and I know why!” The copy leaned in to whisper in Komali’s ear. “I know what you’re afraid of.”


Komali’s eyes widened in sheer terror, her attempt at being strong effectively crushed as she whispered, “H-How?”


“Because I’m you dumbass. Besides, sitting here it should be obvious. You’re not afraid of me, you’re afraid of the truth, they figured you out and left you here. Treelite, Routier, and especially Illium, finally realized that you have been using them this whole time to sate your human need for companionship.”

Komali backed up a little, bumping into the wall of dirt behind her that she fell from earlier all her control gone.

“I have not!” she argued, her voice wavering.

“Yes you have, even if you didn’t realize it. It didn’t work of course. They still found out that you were a manipulative Queen. Why else didn’t they come?”


“Maybe the portal is broken…”


“Has it ever broken before?” the copycat asked, with a knowing smirk.

Komali shook her head a little fearfully.

“They didn’t come because they are already moving on. They probably dumped you here to get rid of you.” The cat slinked over to a rock and sat down, pulling a knee up to rest her arm on while she watched Komali try to grasp things.

Komali’s heart and mind were racing as she started to realize the terror that had haunted her since she arrived, influenced her behavior, and kept her from being human without her cat mind clawing at her progress. All those sour memories, that she was seeing from a human perspective that were gnawing at her insides and making her miserable with fear… she was terrified of being left behind, forgotten, and alone, and now she was trapped in her worst nightmare.

“Th-this can’t be happening,” she mumbled, covering her ears and clawing at her head to try and hide from the situation, praying to the goddess that Tsuzune believed could help, the god that Lionel tried to convince her was real, even Trace who was supposed to be a goddess herself, that she could just wake up and have this all be just another bad dream, chased away by the morning sun and Illium’s companionship.

“Don’t look so surprised,” the copycat said, “they have been pushing away from you for awhile now. Tree only helps you out because he wants someone to teach, you saw how excited he got when he said it was finally his turn to be a teacher and he physically abuses you in the name of training. Routier wants you as a little sister but only if you don’t step on her toes. Do you REALLY think she’s teaching you smithing so you can spent time together? Please. She pities you and her priorities are never gonna include you. She shows her hand everytime she gets upset; pointing her pork sticker and raising her paw to you. Then you have Illium.”


“Please stop!” Komali cried, falling to her knees in the mud with a squelch, the toy mouse falling out of her pocket. “This is a dream! You’re not real!”


The copycat got up and walked over to Komali squatting down to pick up the toy and talk a little quieter, closer to Komali’s ear, “Illium figured out what you’ve been doing. It was clever really, Komali, keeping him around is actually proof to me that there is still hope in bringing you back to your potential.” She gently stroked Komali’s hair as she continued, making contact with Komali despite her ghostlike attributes. 


“Illium only tolerated you at first until you made him pity you. You threw a couple crying fits, which was genius manipulation by the way, and you gradually talked him into maybe, MAYBE believing that he might love you. That tiny little hook to keep him around. Your only mistake was that you fell for him and erred on the side of caution, becoming more timid and obsessed with pleasing him. You lied to him about your past and you lied about the real reason you kept him around but it doesn’t matter anymore. Even if you did decide to be yourself, and take the risk of his reaction to your past, he figured you out and started playing you right back. Taking advantage of your human handicap. He doesn’t care where you came from, who you are, or the things you’ve done. He stole your own con and uses you for no other reason than the occasional fuck when HE decides. Illium has never even really loved you from the beginning. Think about it. When was the last time he actually farmed with you, when you specifically learned all of that to spend extra time by his side? I mean, he’s already started looking at another girl! You have been learning to play music all this time and Illium chose to learn from Bey instead. You know why?”


“STOP!” she ordered, starting to cry.

“Because he’s already forgetting about you and moving on! He’s a better cat than you are!”


“You’re lying! I talked to Illium! He said he’d be there for me and the others too! He can have other friends, other interests! That’s part of being married and being friends which a CAT can’t understand!! They will always be there for me no matter what,” Komali snarled, keeping her eyes closed and her paws over her ears, despite how useless it was to do so.

“He also told you to do what you gotta do, which means you should stop wearing this human mask and stop lying to yourself. Even that puked on dog agrees that you should be yourself. They WANT you to stop being so timid and take charge like the queen you are, to accept that they don’t want you and that you don’t need them!”


“They’re coming,” she mumbled to herself, trying to keep her spirits up. “They were right behind me! They would never just leave me here to forget me!”


The copycat smiled softly and said slowly, “Then where are they right now?”


Komali screamed as the tears ran down her nose to drip into the muddy water.

"H-Hey where did Komali go? I'm pretty sure she was with us when we went through the portal!"

She nervously looks around hoping to find her.

Hotaru landed in, and blinked, wondering what's going on, considering his sight is very limited in this fog. when he heard Routier's voice, he looked over "I dont know, but--" he heard the faintest part of Komali's scream "We need to move, fall in behind me!" he said, letting his step be heavy as he ran towards the source of Komali's scream, hoping Routier and Illium could follow

Illium walked through the portal, unable to see quite so well through the mist as he follows after Hotaru, hearing the last bit about following him as he panics slightly, not quite sure where Komali is in all of this.
"You mean you guys didn't see her at all?!"

The copycat’s ear twitched ever so slightly at the distant sound of footsteps in the gloom and her grin switched to a frown. Her jaws parted ever so slightly to drink in their scents before she quickly moved the wind around them, forcing the air to shift directions to put the Komalis upwind. Even if it led them here faster, the copycat needed more time to convince Komali she was alone.

“I heard your thoughts when you arrived, Komali,” the copycat said. “Deep down you still want to be a cat, it would be so much less painful, you wouldn’t need to be afraid of these things.” She hands Komali the toy mouse. “After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened to you and you took charge then. You can be strong again, Komali, just give up this stupid desire to be human, this selflessness and desire for caring companionship… it’s paralyzing. They’re holding you back and making you no more than a bitch to serve their needs. Cats were never meant to have friends, companions, or consistent toms. We were designed to be fearless of such a human thing. There is a reason the female cat is called a Queen.”
Komali quivered a little but was listening with mild interest.

Hotaru closed his eyes, trying to get a feel for the land in his mind as he runs, and he sniffs the air, before flicking his ear a little to feel the wind, and changing course just a bit "The wind shifted, she wont be as easily trackable like this... if we leave Routier behind, I can go locate her in a minute, if we have her keep pace with us, it'll take 2 and a half. She's your wife Illium, make the call"

Illium takes a look at Routier before nodding and picking up his pace slight, keeping up with Hotaru. "Let's go, she'll catch up eventually..." He still looks a little panicked and worried, hoping to did Komali safe.

"H-Hey that's not nice!"

She lugs behind, running as fast as she can after them.

"I have to save her, she'll be ok right!?"


She thinks to herself while running

He nods and his footsteps get alot quieter as he darts off at his top speed, eventually running like an animal, by using his arms with his legs to boost his speed. Every 15 seconds he gives a loud Fox-alarm bark, so that Routier can hear them, and perhaps Komali could also run back to them

The group was getting too close. 

Alternate!Komali got to her feet, offering a paw to help her counterpart up which Komali warily took, getting to her feet with the mouse in her paw, and looking at it with dread and loathing. She was distracted enough that she didn’t see her feral cat copy, swirling her paw behind her back, forcing the wind around them to become more dense, muffling distant sounds and creating a weak, physical barrier that would hopefully by her more time despite their voices being tossed around the mist in the area.


“I remember what happened,” Komali said softly, stroking the toy with her thumb. “I remember watching her walk away, remember watching them leave me alone and I felt nothing, but now that I have these human experiences and I look back on those things that I saw, feeling them fresh as though she was leaving me behind all over again… I realize I was so much stronger then!”


“Of course you were,” Alt!Komali confirmed, “because cats have no use for silly things. We take life as we please, lead a life controlling those around us with no concern of their well-being and it makes us stronger. You don’t NEED to be liked to be happy. Ignore all these human ideals, give in completely to that feline personality that wants to come forth and all these fears will be gone! You won’t need to fear them leaving you because you won’t care! You don’t even have a reason to care! They don’t love you so why are you working so hard to keep them around?”

Komali had stopped crying, taking on a deadpan expression as she genuinely considered that.

As Hotaru closed the distance, he took out two potions, before jumping through the barrier, into the area with the 2 Komali's and rolling to stop his momentum, taking out his Chakram in his left, and loading the two tonics during the roll, and swapping his chakram back to his main hand when he's back on his feet, and he looks at the real Komali, than the Alt Komali, before giving off an aggressive, animistic fox growl, like he's ready to attack the 'Alt' Komali

She pants as she tries to catch up, at least a mile behind at this point, following the barks that Hotaru made.

"Th-They're so fast, but I have to reach her!"

Illium runs right behind him before he jumps through the barrier behind Hotaru, his knife already drawn while he pulls out his boomerang, ready to attack as well after looking between the two komalis and focusing on the Alternate in a similar fashion. He looks a little confused, but still concerned. "What I the hell is this?"

Komali’s eyes widened and she turned to look at them with geniune surprise. She had lingered on her copycat’s words, taking them to heart in her realization that they were probably right. Any hope of rescue had sapped from her body with the water that trickled around her feet but seeing them there, weapons ready to defend her, kindled the tiniest flame that just maybe, they really hadn’t left her behind.
The copy was less than pleased. She reached up to run her fingers through Komali’s hair before returning to the boulder behind her and taking a seat with a thoughtful frown.

“Come to retrieve your bitch?” she asked. “Surely she has entertained you enough in her broken state.”

Illium's eyes narrow, letting out a more animalistic growl that definitely doesn't match a squirrel, though demonstrating his anger through the statement along with the shaking of his hands. "Who the fuck are you?!"

She finally catches up almost out of breath, but immediately notices what the other two are staring at.

"Wh-What the hell!? K-Komali why does she look like you? What is she saying!?"

His fingers twitched, and his tails stood straight out, as he narrows his eyes, and he just threw his Chakram straight at the copycat without an extra moment's hesitation, before sprinting and pouncing at it, the way his fur are, and his claws and teeth are showing, it seems his feral side is fully at the surface.

The copy didn’t even flinch. Hotaru’s weapon and then Hotaru went sailing through the ghost. She just stared at him with a bored expression before she got down and strolled over to the group, with her paws clasped behind her back.
“The tom, the dog, and the cow,” she said, pointing to each of them in turn, before looking over her shoulder at Komali with a wild grin. “I guess they weren’t through with you after all.”
Komali looked over at them hopefully.

“Y-You didn’t leave me?” she asked, genuine surprise in her voice.

"Komali of course we didn't leave you! We were just separated is all! I would never leave you! Don't let her fill you with lies!"

She sincerely yells at Komali.

Illium growls a little louder hearing both Routier and the Alternate speaking before looking at Komali, attempting to speak calmly. "Komali, I told you I'd always be here for you, regardless of what this piece of shit is telling you. Are you really going to start believing it over me? This thing that isn't even real?"

he panted a bit, standing up normally, and calming down as his Chakram returns to him, and he walks back to Komali, through the image, and sits down japanese style, between Komali and the phantom facing the phantom, feeling that he doesnt need to say anything.

The copycat laughed at Illium before moving to stand behind Komali entwining tails with her original.


“ALWAYS there for us?” she mocked, before turning back to Komali, “you are welcome to believe him. Though I wonder for a just a moment who you are going to believe. When was the last time you REALLY talked to your tom, Komali? Does he even know what you’re capable of?” Her attention shifted to Illium though she continued to speak to Komali. “He’s lying to you more than I have with grand promises of loyalty when he’s always been there for himself.”


Komali looked at the ground clearly distraught. Her fist clenched around the mouse in her paw.


“He doesn’t care. I wasn’t lying about that. You should trust your instincts Komali, oh wait, that’s me.”

Illium growls a little more, clenching his fists around his weapons, obviously even more aggravated by the alternates words. "If I didn't care then I wouldn't be standing here right now, I wouldn't have bothered getting along with Lionel, I wouldn't have talked a little bit with Treelite here..." He tightens his grip a little more before pointing his knife at the alternat. "You can go rot in hell, the real Konali knows I love her, and your sorry ass ain't gonna change that!"

Hotaru nodded wisely at Illium's words, and finally decides to question the Alt version "Do you wish to have her listen to you because you are the embodiment of her instincts? or do you truly believe instincts are always correct, or creditable? Because if you honestly believe living purely instinctual, and alone is the best path, you've deluded yourself into thinking too simply of a very very complex world."

“Oh but the world is not complex at all,” the Alternate drawled. “Not from the point of view of a cat. All the complexity came from human ideals along with the pain, fears, and the sorrow of a human life.” It turned to Komali again, taking her free paw and squeezing it encouragingly. “It all goes away when choose to be fully cat again. A feral mind in a human body, no more fears, or sorrows. No more waiting on hand and foot, desperate for attention from people who know nothing about you.”



Komali’s ear twitched a little bit at how appealing that sounded to not have to worry about things. 

It gently took the mouse from her and held it up. 
"Remember how easy it was the first time." 

He just looked at the Alt, and starting laughing, into a rolling laugh, like it just said the stupidest and funniest thing he has ever heard, but after taking a moment, he calmed himself "Oh, I remember my first time, if I'm allowed to have stories here~" he said, looking at the mouse "though my target was a bit bigger, a squirrel to be precise~ at the time, it felt so simple, I was like 4, and killing small animals in my small fox form felt so free from complexities~ it was it's own little bliss, but, then something happened: I grew a brain~ and realized I could be alot more than a mindless little hunter without feelings, and actually enjoy things outside of 'haha, I killed you, now you're dinner~' " he explained with a chuckle "And that's all instincts are, they're a set of alarm bells and behaviors that point towards only survival in its purest form~ Though, you forget, Miss Instincts, as of entering this world, lil Komali is part Person too, which means even if she devoids and rejects humanity, the calls of humanity will come back to haunt her, and even if she can enjoy being ontop of her own little world like you are, in the end, your little world has nothing~ absolutely nothing~ and when that finally dawns, what will you have her do then?" he just smirked lightly

"Komaili...I thought we talked about how great being a human was...don't let her fool you into thinking something else! Just like Hotaru said there's so much more you can do as a human, you even have a husband and friends who care about you!


She says with care in her voice.

The copycat gave Hotaru a bored look.

“Cute story, but I wasn’t talking to you. Besides this little toy has nothing to do with Komali’s first kill. No. That came AFTER she gained this filthy little bauble when-“


Komali snarled at the copy, actually getting frustrated, “STOP. That is not your story to tell.”


Alt!Komali looked genuinely surprised and stayed quiet for a moment before saying, “You can only choose one. Do as I say and you can have the simple life. Those human feelings are weaknesses and I can SHOW you how to crush them. Or you can go back to your life as it is. Fearing your tom, suffering abuse, and catering to them so they won’t leave you like the others did.”


Komali wanted so badly to listen to them but her thoughts kept drifting to some of the things that the alternate!Komali had said. She stepped away from her copy, shoving aside her timidness.



“Do you though?” she asked Routier, “Do you REALLY care enough to not raise your weapon against me?” She turned to Hotaru, “Do you actually care about ME or am I just another student to train?” She turned finally to Illium, getting nervous and holding her paws to her chest. “Do you actually love me? Love me enough to care about all of me and not just the little things you think you know?”

Illium gives her a bit of a slightly softer look, obviously full of thought as he begins to speak, his words pretty light compared to his normal voice. "Would it be fair for me not to still love you when you have loved me for all I have told you?"

"Komali I..."

She's a little shocked she would ask her something like that.

"I would never raise my weapon against my best friend, I will use my lance and shield to protect you, just like I'll protect Reiko, Val, and all the others!" She puts a lot of heart into her words, feeling a bit knightly at muttering those words. "I won't let anything in this world hurt you, especially this thing!"

She points to the other Komali.

He looks at her and sighs "Komali, maybe when we were still teacher and student, I only taught you for your potential, and my amusement, but even then, a teacher must always care for the needs of their students, and protect them till they're ready. Now, I have declared you my friend, and I have been a loyal dog for longer than 2 average human lifetimes. You're stuck with me now, and thus the shadows will forever be your friend" he stated epicly, like he practiced that last line specificly

The relief on Komali’s face was plain as day despite the gloom. She could hear the genuine feeling behind their words but the copycat was clearly annoyed.

“GAH you are all so SAPPY and emotional and it’s disgusting!” It stood up and turned on Komali when it noticed her expression. “You listen to them but you should be trusting me the way you always have! I'm the reason you survived in life and got what you wanted. I am the reason you are strong today!” it snarled, finally losing its composure in its frustration.

“Why SHOULD I trust you?” Komali snarled back, turning on it. “You have lied from the moment you appeared!”


“You geniunely believe that EVERYTHING I said was a lie?” the copy snapped. She strolled forward and leaned in to say a little quieter, “deep down you know that there was truth in my words. Besides, why would I lie to myself? I CAN’T lie to myself!” She spun and went back to sit on the rock, one knee up.

Komali was calm now, gradually shedding her childish, erratic demeanor, empowered by the words of her friends, drawing strength from their presence. To some degree it even seemed more honest, more right to see her in a calm light.

“And that’s the biggest lie of all. In the end I am my own worst enemy,” she admitted to herself. Though she seemed resolved about it. It was as though Komali had known that all along and was voicing it solely to stick it to her copycat.

The feral version grinned, sharpened fangs glistening in the misty, dim light as Komali started to surrender herself over to the feral’s desires. What was more fitting as proof of success than Komali giving in to the calm cold of her former self? It clearly wasn’t making the distinction between peace and cold.

Komali walked slowly and gracefully over to where her bow was thrown, bending to retrive it before turning back on her counterpart. Her expression was a little more bored now, her pupils dilating and her fur puffing out like any cat before a hunt.

“You have spent all of our time together telling me all the reasons why I should stop learning to be human. You did speak truth before. I DID use them to some degree to achieve an objective but you also lied. They stand here as proof that you were trying to decieve me by playing on my human fears, but you can’t know that I HAVE learned there is magic in being human. I have experienced the worst of pains and the greatest of happinesses and you are unwise to stand unafraid of the consequences of your lies.”


The air around Komali started to thicken and even darken until the wind itself was visible as it rustled her hair and fur and tugged at the feathers on her arrows.

“What better punishment than to give you exactly what you wanted? You want me to be the cat I was? Let me indulge you.”

Komali drew her bow and fired faster than the eye could track the arrow sinking into the Alternate!Komali’s paw up to the middle of the shaft and forcing her to stagger backwards with widened eyes. Komali’s own eyes were shining a bright blue, lit by complete disregard for life, and a bloodthirsty desire to see the red run.

Light colored smoke started to drift from the copy’s paw as it laughed a little.

“You are punishing me with a reward!?” it laughed. “You are giving me EXACTLY what I wanted by doing this, caving to that inner feline!”

Komali was walking towards the copy slowly, putting two more arrows in the other cat’s thighs with a cold resolve before saying, “Despite the pain that comes from learning from him, Tree has taught me one important thing: to learn from every teacher, even myself. There is no need for absolutes now when I can take the best of what I have heard. There are advantages to being human and advantages to being a cat. My feelings are not weakness but I will grant you this wish, to die by the hand of the cat you wanted me to be.” Komali spun another arrow in her paw, the wind swirling around her as she notched it before saying coldly, “It’s not a bookshelf but it will do.”

The Alternate!Komali squinted, not immediately understanding what Komali was referring to but the realization hit her hard and she actually start to fear for a moment, her eyes widening as Komali let the arrow go. It whistled a little as it sunk into the alternate’s left eye earning a yowling scream as it staggered back against the boulder, clawing at the injury that would have undoubtedly killed it had it been alive.


Komali didn’t seem to care. She just put the bow on her back in a slow, deliberate manner, her arm shaking a little bit from fatigue but she was unwilling to rush this. After all what kind of cat would she be if she didn’t play with her food?

The screams died down to whimpery mewlings before Komali finally closed the distance, stretching her paws out, the claws appearing and disappearing as she flexed. It glared up at her from it’s remaining eye.

“This isn’t over,” it hissed quietly around the sobs.

Komali watched it coldly before bending down and grabbing it by the throat, hoisting it up to hiss back, “I dare you to try this shit again.”


Her claws snapped out and Komali twisted her paw, tearing deep into the copy’s throat as smoke gushed from the open wound, dissolving into Komali arm, as the body faded away and vanished. 

She hissed once for good measure before letting her arm fall to her side. Komali looked over at her friends curiously, somewhat ashamed that they saw her cruelty, and unsure of their reactions. She swayed a little, the stress sapping her energy.

Illium just stared for a moment, realizing how fucked her be if he pissed her off, before jumping forward to support her a bit. "Hey, easy now, killer, we don't need you passing out just yet."

He got up silently "did you enjoy it~?" he asked simply, as he stretched a bit

"Komali are you all ok?! That was so brave of you~!"

She runs over to Komali after the whole ordeal to make sure she didn't push herself too hard.

"It's good to see you enjoy being human."

Komali stuck her tongue out a little and leaned into Illium a bit, her bow falling from her paw. 
"I am very tired. I am sorry you had to see that but I don't think she would have left if I did not do what I did... and I did like it. It reminded me of what I was like before. There is some incredible pleasure in being a cat... Is that bad?"

Illium sighs a little and holds her for a moment before picking her up and her bow.its fine, it was bound to happen anyway, I'm sure. You do what you need to do, isn't that what I always tell you?

"not at all~ I told Illium the quote already: if you dont enjoy what you're killing, you're doing it wrong~" he said, with a chuckle

"G-Geez guys she's not an assassin, but I believe what you did was right Komali, and I'm proud of you~"

She says with a warm smile on her face.

Komali held the little mouse up, looking it over before pocketing it and smiling, incredibly content that things worked out for the best.
"Thanks for coming for me," she says sincerely. "...Can we go home now? I am not sure I want to be here anymore and I am like, REALLY hungry."

Illium chuckles before carrying her to the portal. "Yeah, let's get going guys, it's been a long day."

"yea~ we can have Maid-Girl cook us something delicious~ you deserve something delicious after all that~" he said, with his usual playful grin

Hotaru cartwheels into the area, chuckling a bit as he waits for the others