.^^ Female Ice Dragon ^^

— Diana —

Hunting across the America's with Seth and a random selection of other local members for the next month or so was the most fun I'd had in decades. Ever since becoming the Huntmaster, it had been more of a General's position, to sit on the sidelines, and give orders that others would follow. I hated being a human switchboard, constantly just making calls, directing hunters to hunts I could do myself.

But, the Horn had begun attempting to seize power in the America's in earnest, and Seth was still gathering evil Sorcerers to do the Summoning. About two weeks in, he left for two days, and came back... different. The drakes all gravitated around him, naturally, and Tempest was gone, apparently returned to the ethereal plane.

I was active in the Hunt again, though, finally, and that was worth celebrating. As such, I was currently cuddled up to Adelaide and Gale, with the Succubi whose attentions we'd casually stolen from Seth spread around us in a pile, mostly sleeping.

"Ahem?" I heard, and propped myself up against someone's ass.

"Hmm?" I asked.

Olivier sighed, rubbing his eyebrows. "I don't get paid enough for this."

"We're a volunteer organization." I shrugged.

He paused. "Right, fuck it. You've got a call, from Norway."

I sat up fully. "Norway?"

"That's what the area code says." He tossed me a phone, and left with a scathing glare at Seth, who I noticed in the corner, watching his map of demonic activity.

He didn't even glance that way, but hummed. "You're in my home, vampire. If you're just going to glare holes in my back, send a fucking apprentice. One scathing remark on your attitude, a month ago, does not warrant a lifetime of enmity. Suck it up, or I'll just stake you in the heart while you sleep, to be sure you won't do me in mine."

Olivier sneered, but my glare sent him out without a comment.

"I can handle the vampire, Diana." He grumbled.

"Yes, you can, and I prefer one of my Elders doesn't die pointlessly." I responded, and answered the ringing phone. "Hullo?"

"Ahh, Hullo? Is this Captain Diana LeFay? My name is Captain Dimitri Old Bear, a friend from Russia, Huntmaster of the Moscow Order of the Silver Cure... and we were told to call you if any dragons showed up?" He sighed.

"A dragon, you say? Where?" Gale popped straight up, smoothing his hair back and braiding it already.

"That's where it gets tricky... seems some idiot summoned it in Stalingrad, tried to contract it, but it killed 'im, -big surprise,- and then flew off north. Caused a big stink, but we managed to make people think it was a stunt of some sort. It went west-northwest, and we got multiple reports that ships were hitting ice, and going down in the White Sea. I tracked it down as best I could, and had to go all the way to Sweden-"

"Norway!" A different voice piped up.

"Eh, Fine. Norway, then, and now I'm staring at a mountain of ice that shouldn't exist, in the White Sea. Pretty sure the dragon is here, just judging by the wrecked boats and scent of brimstone. Now how quickly can you get me a Magick User? 'Cause I don't have one."

"Five minutes, tops." I nodded.

"Oh, good, here he comes. Sorry, did you say five minutes?" He growled.

"Less! Much less!" I threw on my pants and shoes, then grabbed Adelaide and Gale, leaping through a portal and throwing four swords into the air at high speeds.

The dragon, in the middle of its diving attack, hissed in pain, as one of the swords grazed it's wings, and pulled out of the dive.

"Need any help?" Seth sat on the railing, appearing out of the air and watching the beast casually.

"I've got it!" I grinned, and started running towards it as it landed on the island of ice, freezing the water under my feet as I went for footsteps. The dragon tried to freeze me with its breath, and I laughed off the cold, charging forward with a wild, rebellious shout.

It screeched at me, snapping ineffectually at the ground underneath it as I dove out of its immediate sight, and portalled on top of it, raising my sword, then plunging it down between two plates of scales, stabbing it through the spine and into the heart.

It shrieked again, slowly slumping to the ground, and turning to Ashe.

"Told you I could handle it!" I laughed.

"Never seen a hot Woman kill a Dragon shirtless. Tick That one off the bucket list, eh?" Seth shrugged, then paused. "You might want to turn around, though."

I looked over my shoulder, and frowned at the seven dragons stalking towards me, these without wings. That made them males, as opposed to female Ice Dragons, who can fly. "Uuuugh. You didn't say she had a Harem!" I yelled at the ship, and braced myself for the coming Dragons.

Gale dropped out of the sky onto the back of one of them, laughing like a madman, and dug his ice picks into its throat, under the edges of the armored plates of scale, then yanked, slitting its throat.

"Wow... who needs magic, right?" The other Captain laughed, and docked the boat quickly, almost beaching it, then sprinted at another of the seven, shifting into a massive silver-furred polar bear, with silver claws and fangs, and tackling the beast that was almost twice his size.

I grinned and charged the remaining five, before screeching to a halt, as bolts of fire began to rain down, and Adelaide made her entrance.

Everyone scattered as spears of Hellfire began to stab through the dragons, pinning their wings and then stabbing beneath their skulls to end their lives humanely.

She scoffed at us, pulling her robe tighter around her, as they all dissolved. "Savages." She snapped, and stepped back through a portal huffily.

"Eeeesh! Someone's cranky! How'd you manage to get a Sorcerer like that?!?" The bear asked, not bothering to turn human yet, instead scratching an itch on his back, with Gale's axe's help.

I chuckled. "She showed up on my doorstep! Anyway, handle this Ice-Island, will you, Seth? Adelaide went away before I could ask her."

He looked up from the giant piece of ice he was suddenly carving with a sculpting knife. "Awwww, do I have to?"

I sighed. "If you want to move it out of the middle of the White Sea, where people are crashing into it, you may do so. If, you can prove to me you can move it."

He snorted. "Really? It's just an island, Diana." He suddenly shifted into his massive Primordial form, which looked much more like a normal dragon than before, I did notice, but easily half the size of the island itself. The golden eyes were still present, but the plated armor was smoother now, with the spine, joints, and face being still covered in spikes, but the rest a smooth platinum exterior.

"Show off." I muttered.

He chuckled, and gripped the edges of the island, then began flapping his wings. After a few flaps, he was entirely airborne, and heading northward and up into the clouds.

I gathered everyone and gave us some breathable air, curious as to where we were going, until a portal opened under each of us, and we were dropped into the boat, amongst the waves of the island suddenly leaving.

Dimitri glanced at me, and slowly turned human again, his expression just as stupidly confused. "What the fuck was he?"

I grinned. "That's Seth, the Greedy One... He's our Big Gun."

He laughed, clapping his belly. "Oh I don't fuckin' doubt it!!! Listen, do you guys want to get something to eat? I'm hungry, and we're in Norway. Might as well try some Viking food."

"Ahem! Actually, Captain, ze Viking was a Profession, not a people! Zey are only called ze Northmen, or Norse." A small man that was currently steering the boat towards shore piped up.

"Hmph. Right. Oh, introductions! This is my second, Heinrich, and I am Dimitri Old Bear." He nodded.

"I am Diana, and this is my third, Gale... my second was Adelaide, the pissy fire-witch." I grinned.

He laughed. "Yes, I can see she would be useful! Heinrich is Not a fighter, but he knows things, about demons, and this is very useful. He is also German, and I like his accent."

"I find you very annoying, but unfortunately lovable." Heinrich sighed, and pulled into shore next to a dock, waving to the denizens. "Ahh, Hello, citizens!-"

—

I sighed as I was sat down at my desk by Lady Genevieve. "What needs doing?" I asked, annoyed but unable to say no to my responsibilities.

"You have several Hunt requests to put through! I do my part, and sometimes Sun-Hang's but I cannot handle yours and Olivier's too! He follows you every time you leave, and doesn't do a scrap of work! I've had enough!" She snapped.

"Why do you do Sun-Hang's?" I asked.

She blushed delicately. "Well! I-it's Just That English letters are hard for him to... sometimes his dyslexia is very bad, and-... oh shush you! I'm cross with you, and now you're going to catch up on your work!" She slapped a pile of papers on my desk, and then stomped out, blushing furiously.

I smirked, and called after her swinging hips. "Just walk away from him like that, you'll snag him in no time!" She paused, and then huffed, continuing on in a calmer demeanor. I sighed. "Damn... ah well... paperwork..."

I pulled a piece of paper towards me, and hummed. "Demon Deal in West Virginia... Lesser crossroads demon... apprentice. Lich in DC, Five-man team... Tadricorn in Canada, nonviolent, capture and release into Realm of Storms, twelve-man-four-Sorcerer team..." I began working through the orders for the hunts, and slipped back into the rhythm that got work done. Monotonous, robotic, logical... everything I hated about my work could be found here.

"Goooooods! Isn't this what assistants are for?!?" I growled, banging my head against the desk.

"You don't have any assistants." Addy shrugged, sitting on my lap.

"I want one of the scribes, then... give them a guideline or something, and then let them do the boring stuff! I'm the strongest Hunter in this branch of the Order! That's why I'm the Huntmaster! Why then stick me behind a desk?!? Why not find the smartest to do the paperwork?!?" I groaned.

She smiled, massaging my shoulders. "I know, darling, it's very stressful, isn't it?"

"You're trying to be subtle, but I could use the distraction, love." I sighed, and buried my face in her breasts, nudging the robe out of the way.

She giggled and pet my hair gently, massaging my back and shoulders. "Well don't mind if I do, darling!"

—

Fresh from my session, with Adelaide laying across my lap,-her reddened ass up in the air to prevent contact with anything, the poor dear,- I began drafting a guideline for demon attacks, and settling them into levels of danger, with special circumstances only requiring the executive decision of the Huntmaster or an Elder. The rest was carefully designed, thinking of every type of demon, Sorcerer, and every type of collaboration between the two.

I nodded, and whistled, calling someone into my office. Olivier sighed, and stuck his head in. "Yes?"

"Bring me the smartest scribes we have, who like paperwork and don't want to do field work?" I grinned.

He hummed, and nodded, disappearing into the rest of the library, away from my little hidden alcove. The bookshelves in the library were placed in threes, creating walls that cordoned off a small hidden section, each. My office was one, the Portals were another, and the first two were the alchemy and sorcery classrooms.

I dressed myself, and Addy, laying her on my couch, then covering her with a soft blanket. "Get some sleep, lovely." I kissed her cheek, and sat down on the edge of my desk, waiting.

Olivier came back with four scribes, and I nodded. "Hello! Wonderful! As of today, each of you will be doing paperwork for 4-hour shifts! The Elders receive reports, and deliver them to this room, my office! You will use these guidelines I've set out, and categorize those reports, while another checks your work, and the third rechecks, and the fourth runs the papers to Elder Olivier for his final check and signatures! Understood?" I asked, and stood up, handing the stack of papers to the first in the line.

She blinked slowly, and examined the sheet I'd given her. "Oh... alright... well, that's better than cleaning duty."

"Definitely is, Yes, I'll have someone else assigned to that." I nodded, and ushered her over to my chair, then pulled three more from the library, setting them on all four sides of the desk. "There! Now, once the paperwork is done for the day, you're free to return to your studies or mess around, whatever you like. If at any time you feel you don't want this job, you can ask Lady Genevieve or Elder Olivier to give you something else! Easy enough, yes?"

They nodded, and immediately began separating the pile into four, then memorized my guide with a glance, marking several of them quickly, finishing the pile in just under five minutes, while I stood there, confused and impressed. They exchanged the stacks, after they all finished, and went through them again each initialing the pages that passed, and placing only two in the center of the desk.

"What are these?" I asked, picking them up. "Oh! A group of four Lich in New York... ouch. See, that's the sort of thing we give Seth." I nodded, and looked at the other one, finding it was the same report, from two hours after the first one, more urgent. "I'll take these, quickly, but large groupings of Lich are to be sent to me, Adelaide, or Seth, for handling. Understood?"

"Yes Huntmaster." They nodded, and one of them made the note on my guide, and they all memorized it again.

I nodded and took the pages out, signing them myself and finding Seth in his room, which was subzero, and filled with ice sculptures... of himself. I shook off the urge to tell him how narcissistic that was, and waved the papers. "Seth! Group of four Lich's terrorizing New York, you coming?"

He grinned, looking up from the chunk of ice he was carving into a sculpture of his horns, currently. "Oh! Sounds fun! You ready?" He drew a portal, and put a foot through.

I grinned and jumped through as well, then looked around. "Times Square?" I asked.

"You didn't give me an exact location." He shrugged.

"Oh, the Bronx, actually. Your stomping ground." I nodded.

He frowned, and opened another portal, pulling me through, and walking through the interior of a strip club.

"Ooh-la-la!" I smirked.

He growled softly, and kicked open a door, revealing a small boy Sorcerer, surrounded by four Lich, who were either protecting or entrapping him, it was hard to tell. "Hello, Vinny! Who are your friends, from the Horn Camp?"

"They're not! They're trying to take over-mmf!!!" One of them covered his mouth, hissing.

"None of your business, meddler!"

"Hehehe... See, I beg to disagree... my name is Seth, the Greedy One, and also Briar, Lord of the Realms of Ice and Fire, and do I have to list all my titles? It gets boring after a while. My point is, ladies, that that boy is one of my chosen, and if you touch him again, I will sunder your soul from existence. In fact, I might do so anyway, if you're attempting to take over MY territory. What say you, ladies? Painful Death? Or REALLY painful Death? Your choice." He sighed, and drew his sword slowly.

I conjured a few, right behind their heads, and held them, waiting to attack.

"So it's true, then? That the Briar has claimed the Thorn's territory?" One of them asked.

"After EATING him, yes." They flinched, and he nodded. "Good, fear is Good... soothes the beast inside me a bit. Now spread the word, and tell your boss I said 'Final Warning, Bitch'. Shoo." He flapped his fingers casually.

They darted out, and I let them pass me, before looking at the boy, and approaching. "Are you alright, child?" I asked, petting his hair into place, smoothing it out of his face.

He nodded. "I'm fine... sorry, Master. I couldn't do much... my Summoning abilities are not up to par. I'm not even a First Level Summoner."

Seth grinned. "And? Did I choose you because of your magical ability? No. Having whoever is the best at something in a position of authority never goes well. Either way, they were trying to use you as a puppet, yes? They didn't actually take over yet?"

"A few hundred Sorcerers followed their orders, because of them saying they could hunt good people again." He sighed.

"A few hundred, you say? We can't have that... have them delivered to my tattoo Parlor... it's time the Horn and I had a little CHAT." He growled.

I hummed, and sat with the boy, petting his hair. "He's intense, huh?" I chuckled softly, as Seth sat on the throne, muttering to himself.

He grinned. "Better than the stories, though. I mean, he still eats people, which is kinda gross, but at least it's only evil people."

I paused. "You... don't? All Sorcerers need Ashe to do magic. You can get it from monsters, if you like."

He blinked. "Wait, for real? Grandpa always said you had to kill people to use real magic!"

I snorted. "Hence why Seth ate him."

He nodded slowly. "So He was lying... that figures."

I nodded and held out a hand, Summoning a salamander, and crushing it, showing him the Ashe. "Just breath it in, child, and it will feed you."

He nodded, and stuck his face in it, making me snort, before he jolted back, and sneezed Hellfire, a fifth Level Spell, directly into my face.

Seth laughed once, at my singed eyebrows, then hummed at the lack of actual damage, due to my natural immunity to most magical attacks. "Well, we know why he was offered to you, now." I sighed.

"Indeed..." he nodded, and bowed out, exiting through a portal.