Mike and Snowy [private]

[SnowyCheetah]

Setting: temperate, green-grass hills region, around a medeival town

Plot: the queen of the land is captured in her own castle by two evil characters with wishes to overthrow her. They use her to create new laws, putting them in power. Once they've finished with her, they take her off to some unknown location to decide what to do with her. Eventually she will be rescued and order restored, but how and when is yet to be seen.

All characters are anthro unless stated otherwise.
Characters played by Snowy--

The Queen - Queen Ferria, a sweet, gentle, soft-spoken lioness good to all those who are good to her. She is a golden-brown all over with black pawpads and a dark tail tuft. She wears a pink satin gown and a somewhat modest amount of jewelry (necklace, bracelet, anklets, ring, earrings). As a young cub, she was raised by her mother and father who were then king and queen of the country. She spent her days studying, for she would someday become queen. That day came early when, at 15, she lost her parents to a plague and was suddenly queen. She had a whole country on her side, and her servants close by her, and did quite well despite her large and sudden loss.

The queen's Fetcher - miss Maggie, a small serval very loyal to Queen Ferria. She fetches food, drink, books, and whatever else the queen desires at a given time. She is in good relations with the queen. She wears a blue gown and little jewelry. She can't afford much, but must look her best for the queen. She was once a very poor mother of 3 cubs, struggling to find enough food and water to feed them. However, upon finding one of the queen's rings on the street, she returned it and was rewarded with a prosperous job as her wuren's servant. While she serves during the day, her cubs attend school. She is a very thankful and loyal servant to the queen.

One of the queen's captors - Haret, a gruff cheetah obsessed with power and getting his own way. He wears ratty brown pants and shirt, and doesn't think much farther ahead than the task at hand at a given moment. Orphaned as a small cub, he learned to survive on his own and get what he wanted or needed, regardless of the thoughts, needs or feelings of anyone else. He's a very traitorous cheetah and will do anything to get his way.

[Mike]

Shadaa is a lithe veteran tigress with a build to match her agility. She has a slender build and muscles as taut as a tightrope when working out or exerting herself. Shadaa was born into a family with both parents serving in the Queen's Guard. Her father died on duty, defending the queen and sacrificed his life to foil an assassination plot. He had taught his daughter well though, and though she was very saddened by the loss she knew that her father had given his life proudly and would not have regretted a thing. Shadaa inherited her father's sense of duty, loyalty, and honor, and tries to live by these values. She is sometimes short with those less competent than her, and expects a lot from her fellows.

Mike is a uneducated hired thug to Haret. He's incredibly arrogant, with the arrogance born of physical power. Despite his small brain, Mike is fond of throwing orders at anyone in the vicinity and expecting them to be followed. He has little consideration for anyone but himself, and delights in causing an enemy pain in battle.


I'll just leave this here

Shadaa sprinted through the lower levels of the castle, her heart pounding with the strain. In spite of her blurring speed, she made almost no sound. The only sign of her passing was a flutter of disturbed air caused by her long black hooded cloak. She headed for the upper levels of the castle, and the lonely turret where her Queen was shut away from her people. As she passed through the great hall, Shadaa's wild flight became a casual stroll without missing a beat. Her sharp eyes surveyed the hall without exposing enough of her face to be recognized. As usual there were several diners and servants milling around, but Shadaa was displeased to also catch sight of Haret at the head of one table. He was feasting away, apparently unconcerned that he was far and away the worst dressed diner in sight. Shadaa bared her sharp teeth in a soundless snarl and moved on.

Leaving the public areas behind, Shadaa returned to her subtle sprint, and before long she had arrived at the Queen's chamber. Shadaa took a brief moment to steady herself and control her breathing before opening the large double doors that lead to Ferria's main chamber. Ferria's room was much more sparsely furnished than it had been before the bandits had come and taken most everything of value to use in their own chambers, but Maggie still managed to give the place a sort of refined air befitting a queen with some clever decorative choices.

Shadaa quickly stripped off her long black robe, revealing a tight-fitting sleeveless white training tunic that cut off midway down her thighs and allowed for the full range of movement needed in combat. She wrapped up her robe and tossed it into her own small bedroom. Maggie also had a small room that shared the main chamber with Shadaa and Ferria, and naturally the Queen herself had the largest and best furnished room that also lead to the chamber. At the moment, Ferria was being tended to by Maggie in her bedroom, the door to the main chamber hanging open. Shadaa quickly approached and dropped to her knees beside her queen's chair.

"My Queen." She said, her normally even voice giving away some of the frustration and anger that she felt. "I've failed. Mike has the entrances to the castle locked and guarded. I wasn't able to escape or deliver a message to your subjects. He may have seen me in my disguise, we should be ready in case he comes up here to check on us."

[Mike]

And let the games begin =)



Shadaa circled her target, both arms raised in a combat pose. She was simultaneously taut as a spring and as relaxed as a yoga master, equally ready to explode into action or cross her legs and meditate. She was content to hold back, waiting for her opponent to make the first move. The young warrior across from her stepped in, smoothly feinting to her left side before pulling back for a powerful roundhouse kick. Shadaa did not react to the feint, and simply leaned away from the kick, her back coming almost parallel to the ground and showcasing the tigresse's incredible flexibility and grace.

She grabbed her opponent's leg as it passed over her face and twisted sharply down and to the side, dropping the young lion into a crumpled heap in the dusty ground. She held her pose over the fallen warrior for a moment, before relaxing and offering him her hand. "Good, but predictable." she said. "Every trainee that passes through a combat class learns those moves. You've trained hard, but battle is more than learning a few moves by repetition and regurgitating them at your enemy. You need to improvise."

"I will do better." The warrior replied somewhat breathlessly, a touch of awe detectable in his tone. Shadaa smiled inwardly. As the Queen's personal bodyguard she was one of the finest warriors in the land; the poor young guardsman had never really stood a chance. "Again." She invited, flicking one paw in a baiting gesture.

An hour later, having fought the majority of the castle's guards one by one and come away with nothing more than a few bruises, Shadaa called an end to the exercise. She thanked the warriors for their time, and answered the questions from a few of the more dedicated guardsmen. Eventually even these hangers on left, and Shadaa was free to return to her duties as Ferria's bodyguard. After quickly washing up, she made her way from the training grounds into the castle, and through the many corridors that lead to the Queen's chambers. She relieved the replacement guard, who had been protecting the queen in Shadaa's absence, and knocked on the door.

[SnowyCheetah]

At that moment, Queen Ferria was sitting in her rocking chair, dressed in he pink satin gown and Reading her favorite book as her servant filed her claws and groomed her paws. After all, the paws of royalty must always be perfect. This was the time of every day when she usually relaxed while her paws were tended to, and lost herself in whatever story was brought to her by the most popular fiction book at the time. She was quite annoyed that her paws had to be tended to, especially her handpaws, since light pokes and scratches and whatnot on ones paws did not help with the reading of a good book. But she learned to tune it out. Hearing the knock at the large wooden door, she was eager to send the tiny serval to answer it, thereby forcing her to leave her paws alone for a bit. The serval complied and quickly padded off to open the door. Seeing it was the Queen's personal guard, she bowed, being sure only to look at her feet out of respect, and said "come in," motioning toward the inside of the room with her paw, then quickly returning to her business of grooming the Queen's paws.

Hello, Shadaa. the Queen said softly, laying her book on the small table next to her and crossing her legs, partially to get her footpaws away from the annoying grooming for a split second. What brings you here?

[Mike]

"What better place for a bodyguard m'lady?" Shadaa answered simply, crossing the room to stand at her queen's shoulder. "I spent some time today at the training grounds." She continued, moving on to the day-to-day affairs of her position. "Some of the guards training there are fine young men. I'll have a warrior yet to replace me when it's finally time for me to retire." As usual, Shadaa blocked the possibility that she would not survive to retirement out of her mind. She knew that she had a dangerous job, and that the odds were high that she'd be killed or crippled before she chose to end her life as a warrior, but she also knew that such worries could not help her do her job, and so she put them aside.

Not wanting to bore her queen with details of her day, and respecting Ferria's prerogative in starting a casual conversation with her servant, Shadaa let her mind begin to wander, even as her eyes and body remained alert, and part of her attention was constantly fixed on the sights and sounds of the castle, always watchful for trouble. With the naturally suspicious mind of a trained bodyguard, Shadaa's idle attention honed in on the sight of two odd men that she had noticed earlier in the village. They were dressed simply, but their no-nonsense attitude belied their disguises. They were also heavily armed. Whoever these strangers were, there was more to them than met the eye.

[SnowyCheetah]

Good, good. It is a great sorrow that falls upon me when I think of you leaving us, but unfortunately it must happen eventually. You'll be duely honored when your services are through. Queen Ferria stood up. Now... Anything unusual lately which you believe is worth bringing to my attention? Ferria asked. In order to he a good queen, she made an effort to always be keyed into recent pertinent events, and to listen to and trust in the opinons of her associates. Walking over to the wooden shutters on the wall across the room, she opened them and looked outside through the smallish window provided. She could see almost the entire town from that window, minus a dark, run-down, crime-infested part of town which was out of view. In fact, its location out of view of the castle contributed greatly to its condition. Those with bad intentions knew they would be safe there, out of view of the watchful eye of Queen Ferria.

The queen sighed as she breathed in the fresh air, her fur being blown a bit in the wind. Her tail flicked happily as she purred and awaited the reply from her loyal bodyguard.

[Mike]

Shadaa smiled, pleased that her queen would ask such a question of her bodyguard, who by the nature of her job was rarely far away from her qheen or in a position to see anything that Ferria's own eyes could miss. It was a testament to Ferria's trust and admiration of Shadaa's skills. "Well m'lady," She said, considering the question, "as I passed through the town today I witnessed a petty theft in Undertown, not that such things are unusual in such a neglected quarter. The rat-faced thief vanished before I could give chase." Shadaa debated for a moment whether to mention her strange feelings for the pair of odd travlers she had been considering just moments ago. In the end she decided to trust her instincts and bring the duo up, though she was at a loss for what her Queen might be able to do with the information.

"I also noticed two strange travelers." she said. "They are dressed simply, but they do not wear the disguise well. They are also well armed. Probably deserters from an army, or mercenaries passing through town." Shadaa stopped there, aware that she had given her queen precious little to go on and concerned that she'd overstepped her area of expertise. "I'm sure your intelligence men could give you more detailed reports about strange goings on." She concluded.

[SnowyCheetah]

So you're concerned as well... Ferria said as her tail stopped flicking and her purrs ceased. I and several others have seen them as well. I don't expect they're here on good business. the queen turned to face Shadaa, a worried expression on her face. She began to slowly walk toward her. our beautiful kingdom has gone undisturbed for quite some time. I don't intend to let misfortune occur but sometimes it can't be helped. Take some of your guards and have them be like shadows to these newcomers. They musn't be seen! If anything out of the ordinary should occur such suggests a threat to our kingdom, I am to be notified immediately. Ferria put her paw on Shadaa's shoulder. You've always been loyal to me. A couple of strangers won't be able to bring down our kingdom with you at my side. Ferria walked toward the door. We shall assign them together. Come, quickly, before these strangers go too far with whatever illdoing they've planned.

[Mike]

"Your majesty please," Shadaa said, moving to her queen's side, but hanging back slightly as Ferria began to exit the room. "I must object. Why would you get yourself mixed up with two of the dozens of visitors to your realm? If you insist that we keep an eye on these men so be it, but your time is valuable to the kingdom, and it can be much better spent."

Shadaa knew that Ferria could be a very strong willed queen when she wished to be, but she hoped that her words would penetrate and convince her queen not to trouble herself. She eased her way past Maggie to keep at the Queen's side. "Our spies and warriors know their job better than either of us." she said as they reached the door together "It would be wise to trust their judgment."

[SnowyCheetah]

Ferria hesitated for a moment and smiled slightly as her intentions changed according to Shadaa's opinion. 'You're right, Shadaa. I'll keep to my own business... I'll leave this to you and your spies and warriors to handle. Just keep a very close eye on them, please." Ferria walked back to her chair and sat down again as her servant waited for Shadaa to leave. She had to return to tending to the Queen's paws, but never dared to forget to shut the door after a visitor.