When Raven finally woke up she was surrounded by black, for a moment she remembered those otherwordly moments when she had been dragged by that uncanny spirit Undine, but this was different, she noticed almost instantly.
"!!!"
She wasn't bound or restricted in any way, it was just a strap of cloth that covered her eyes. It was dark and so thick that she couldn't see anything with it on her face. For a moment she sighed with relief, but when she tried to remove it she had the surprise of her life, the goddamn thing wasn't able to be removed at all.
"What!?" She asked filled with surprise "This thing!!" She said trying to remove it with all her might passing to be infuriated, but then "Please!" She started panicking.
Her heartbeat quickened as Raven struggled in vain, and her breaths grew sharp. She clawed at the cloth, gritting her teeth as her frustration built up into anger. But it was all futile, after all the cloth didn't budge.
"Get this off me! Who did this?! Show yourself!" she yelled into the darkness, her voice echoing around her. She strained her ears, trying to catch any hint of sound, a footstep, a whisper, anything. Her tail swished in agitation, and her claws instinctively extended.
Then, she heard a faint chuckle, a voice soft and mocking.
"Poor little kitten, struggling so bravely" the voice whispered, seeming to dance around her from every direction "Isn't it frustrating? So helpless, so... alone"
"Who are you?" Raven demanded, fury and fear mixing in her voice "Take this off me!"
Then Raven had a realization, she had heard that annoying voice before, it was the voice of the enemy that had attacked the town early that day... but that was impossible.. that meant she got abducted just like that...
'Why me!?' Raven thought panicking.
"Oho it seems you noticed! I'm so happy!" Said the girl chuckling at the cat's misery.
"What do you want with me!" Said Raven clawing at the air while growling, all the hair in her tail showed her hostility towards her enemy, at the beginning she didn't give a crap about them, but now that she was attacked directly she felt anger... but then she froze, she remembered that strange moment before where she felt her heart being crushed by her and Raven's hand began to tremble.
"Oh I just want to play" She said as if nothing had happened "I think you are pretty interesting, you see, few have the quality of being artists and fighters at the same time!" Then she heard a loud clap behind her and Raven clawed in that direction "Still you are too slow!" She could hear her in all directions, it was so frustrating "You seem similar to me, but different at the same time..."
Raven gritted her teeth, her hands clenching as she felt the mocking words echo around her, their taunting weight pressing down on her mind.
"What does that even mean, 'similar'?!" Raven spat, trying to catch even the faintest hint of her enemy's position but it was futile"If you know me so well, then you should know how fast I can rip you to shreds if you stop hiding like a coward!"
"Oh I doubt you can, not now at least~" She said, for a moment Raven felt as if she was just right behind her and that gave her the creeps "But don't worry my pussy cat, I have plans for you~"
Raven froze again, an icy shiver running down her spine. Every instinct screamed that this girl was toying with her, and Raven despised it. But she forced herself to breathe deeply, to ignore the rising panic. She wasn't going to let this creep win... there had to be a way to fight back.
"What plans?" she demanded, steadying her voice, though her heart raced "You think you know me, but you don't know a thing. Just wait until I find a way out of here."
"Oh, but I know exactly what drives you, little cat. I can hear it in the way you breathe, the way you tremble" the voice cooed, feigning sweetness. "Such anger, such fear. And all that energy wasted on someone like her."
The mention of "her" made Raven's blood run cold, her thoughts flashing to Fuwa. Her teeth ground together in fury.
"If you so much as touch her..."
"Relax, relax. I don't hurt people who haven't done me any wrong unless my master commands it, then that's too bad" The voice turned sharp and cold "But you, Raven… I think you and I are going to be close. Very close."
With that, Raven felt a sudden warmth creeping up her wrists, tendrils of something cold and unnatural wrapping around them. She clawed at it, but her strikes landed on nothing. Her mind raced... she had to think, had to stay calm.
"What do you mean, 'close'?" she growled, her voice dark.
"Oh, you'll see, dear" the voice whispered, almost lovingly "After all, you belong to me now"
Raven couldn't see anything, but she physically felt the smile dedicated to her, but none of this made sense. Why did she get obsessed with her in the first place? She heard some footsteps near her, at that moment she was so furious that she turned around to strike, but stopped in the middle of the sequence, her body, her body knew, it stopped mid-turn, her instincts told her she couldn't turn to see what was behind her.
"Oooh we have guests, Emi?" Asked a girl's voice, whatever was causing that strong impact on her asked without any worry in the world, but those words weren't directed toward her.
"Oh boss!" Said Emi, the voice that had been plaguing Raven this entire time now had a name, but before she could question anything she felt the hand of Emi gently grabbing her hair in the back of her head before pummeling her head against the ground, the impact was so strong that she felt that she would die, but it wasn't the case "Oh don't worry about her, she is just my new plaything?" Asked the trickster.
"Mmmm... Is that so?" Asked Iren "And why did you bring it here to play?" She said with a hint of curiosity.
"Oh oh oh!" Exclaimed the trickster very proudly of herself "I want to have fun with her! And also see how good she can get! My lady, maybe she is the one that manage to finally kill you!" Said Emi gleefully.
"She looks weak" Said Iren looking at Raven who was still with her head kissing the floor.
"Ah but she is good! And if not I will find another!" Emi jumped from one side to another, dragging the cat girl who had been defiant before.
"Poor thing, just kill it already" Said the demoness.
"This one will be different, I know it" Emi purred, almost whispering into Raven's ear "I can feel her spirit thrumming like a snared animal, fighting even when she knows it's hopeless. Isn't it exhilarating?"
Raven's growl came low and feral, her instincts screaming at her to bite, claw, tear her way out of this... anything to get back at her captor. But before she could act, she felt Iren's voice, cool and silken, wrap around her like a strangling vine.
"Prove it" Iren said, her tone almost bored "Otherwise, she's just another pawn. And I have no use for more pawns"
Emi grinned, releasing her grip on Raven's hair but not before pressing her head down one last time. The trickster then stepped back, her voice dripping with excitement.
"Oh, she'll prove it, alright" Emi taunted, her footsteps light as she circled Raven, who could do little more than listen, bracing for whatever torment lay ahead "Soon enough, she'll be clawing her way to the top of the ladder, desperate to survive"
"While you are at it, you can deliver this message to the one they call demon king, can you?" Asked Iren handing a card to Emi "You can take your pet and do whatever you want with it on the way"
"Oh, with pleasure" Emi purred, accepting the card with a mocking bow. She turned back to Raven, a gleeful glint in her eyes "Did you hear that, kitty? We have a mission. And you're going to help me deliver it... whether you want to or not"
Raven's claws scraped the ground as she struggled to rise, her body aching from the beating. She fought back the fear clawing at her insides, forcing herself to breathe evenly, to think.
"Enjoy your games, Emi" Iren's cool voice called out as she faded back into the darkness "But don't get too attached. If she fails, she dies"
Emi's grin widened, and she knelt beside Raven, her fingers brushing against Raven's bruised cheek, mockingly gentle "Well, kitty, it looks like your life is on the line. And I'm just dying to see what you're capable of" She grabbed Raven's arm and yanked her to her feet, leaning in close "If you survive this... maybe, just maybe, you'll be more than a toy"