When the Army's On Its Knees...

(Feb. 13th, wHO'S READY FOR THIS BAD BITCH TO ROCK THEIR WORLD?!
Including a danger warning on this thread. Rita has magic. Rita has bad thoughts. Challenge her abilities to make your insides into outsides at your own risk)

Looks like the place finally went to hell... How fitting.

A trio of lights bobbed in a slow rhythm as a lone figure stepped lightly over the Outlands' border. Emerald light pooled over the slim contours of her body, highlighting her in the lands' darkness as the light spilled from her eyes and chest. The source of most of the light peeked through her fur with the smallest of shines, emanating from a solid green stone that remained fixed against her flesh, nestled like a robin's egg in the female's fluffy chest. Once the gem had been part of an ebony collar, a constricting mark of slavery that had been forcibly wrapped around the saluki's slender throat by the fae-witch Maleficent. Time had passed, accidents had occurred...

The witch now thought her former slave dead, the spell holding her shattered. It had indeed broken by Rita's near-death... But not entirely. That damned collar had long since fallen, but splinters of Maleficent's power had remained. With time those splinters had reformed into something new, something big and shiny and wonderful and all hers.

These days, magic flowed through Rita's veins and oh, how she planned to use it...

Rita's smirk was mostly lost in the darkness, only the barest of glints as her glow caught against her teeth and cast them with a sickly green shine. Oh yes, the girl had plans. Great plans of vengeance, of power, of chaos, all whispered into her ear like the sweetest lullabies by the wonderful gem in her breast. Too many had wronged her since this damned war had begun. For their crimes against her they were going to bleed, great rivers of blood to wash over her paws and warm her cold heart. But first...

I suppose I should make myself known first, The slim dog thought with the barest tilt of her head. Dark splotches along her fur, black and slightly raised from her skin, glinted in the light at the movement. Scales. An odd addition to a canine face, though luckily the dark seemed to conceal them well enough. A keen eye might notice that they gleamed every now and then when the light caught them just right, but oh well. It wasn't as though Rita was going to hide her new enhancements.

A glimmer enveloped the air around the shadow-garbed canine for the briefest of moments, lingering and clinging to her curves like an overfond lover before shooting up into the air. Up and up the glimmer climbed, exploding into a burst of sound and green fire as she set off her own little magical firework.

Nothing like a little light in the dark...

"What in TARNATION is that light?!"

Dixie's voice penetrated the darkness almost as much as Rita's glow. Her head lifted, eyes narrowing towards the green. Her pups lifted up as well but groggily fell back to sleep. She counted them, making sure that one hadn't wandered off again, before she rose and headed towards the green glimmer that had exploded near her. Her head lowered softly, paws taking her towards an evil, dark, dank scent. Yet it held that familiarity to it...magic and friends. She was suddenly taken back to a sister-wife who'd disappeared long ago. A girl she missed almost as much as the Grand Ol'Oprey.

She turned towards the fireworks and shuddered. "What in the hay..." She padded closer. Her eyes widened. Beyond the black scales and green glow was someone she hadn't thought about in a long while. But someone she had to see. Someone who's presence made her eyes flow with tears. Her best friend.

"...Rita...?"

The first voice to greet the returned saluki was more than welcome. Emerald eyes narrowed to a pleased squint as Rita allowed a slow, genuine smile to stretch across her muzzle. This was what she'd hoped for, coming back here. Prepared as she'd been to meet Zira's unhappy claws at her sudden return, it was this dog she'd looked forward to seeing again the most. A flicker of nervous unease crept through her heart as Rita took a hesitant step forward, smile wavering ever so slightly. Would Dixie be happy to see her? Would she be upset still do to the way Rita had departed?

A crooked smile took its place on Rita's slender muzzle, removing the confident magic-user and replacing her image with that of Rita herself, au natural.

"Hey, Dix. Miss me...?"

Dixie had to stop herself from rushing the girl in a strange, awkward, canine hug. A smile crept up her slender golden muzzle as she let out a nervous laugh. It looked as if the old girl had returned. The girl she hadn't seen in so long. "Hell yeah," her breathy voice echoed, "Everyday." A friend had returned. An actual friend. Copper was SUPPOSED to be a friend but she'd screwed that relationship right up.

This was someone who shared her struggles.

"Where you been, girl?" She asked softly, moving closer to Rita, still too proud to close the gap between them and embrace her best friend like she wanted. "And what...what were th'lights?"

Gone was the weight from Rita's shoulders as Dixie spoke, allowing the Saluki to relax and offer a much more at-ease smile. Closing her eyes for a moment Rita lifted a single shoulder in a half-shrug. "Oh, here and there. Went home. Got the kids all settled with families." She'd been truly fortunate to have such a simple life for a while, even if had only been temporary.

As for the lights... Rita offered a sudden grin, her expression just screaming out the fact that her troublemaking nature hadn't been quelled in the slightest by motherhood. "You remember how much Her Royal Bitchiness just loves it when I'm around?" The pair had never really gotten on. Betrayal and actively hunting down a girl had a lot of help with destroying any and all warm feelings between folk. Rita could still remember the furious expression on Zira's face when she'd returned as Roscoe's magic-wielding mate. It was a petty thing to enjoy, but that certainly didn't stop the red-furred female from absolutely relishing it.

"I just wanted to make a little show of me being back. Just in case some of the kittens around here forgot what kind of power I have."

He had been heading over to where there were bones in the distance, following the musky scent that hyenas often brought with them to where he would doubt find his kin. Of course, that was before the shimmering beam of whirling light ascended sharply into the sky and exploded into clouds of diamond like green shimmers that descended slowly to their darkened world. How interesting, Banshee hadn't seen anything quite like that in his milestones. Not always a curious thing, but this was quite intriguing. How could he be expected not to go investigate, to find some answers to the source.

He arched his neck forward, head lowering to the ground as he trotted towards the base of where the shining spectacle had cracked. As he grew closer those cupped radars shifted and caught some noise. Voices, though over his own movements he couldn't make out the words at the present. Only once he'd gotten more in range did he catch the end.

I just wanted to make a little show of me being back. Just in case some of the kittens around here forgot what kind of power I have.

Power. And what kind of power did that extend to, he wondered.

"Quite a show indeed." he announced himself as pleasantly as he could. To be quite frank most weren't overly pleased to see a hyena jaunting over to them, and even the mild introduction wouldn't exactly demolish any ideas of ill intent. He stopped a fair distance away, though not uncomfortably so. Merely offering the space it'd take to settle inquiries. Although they'd hardly be surprised to see a hyena in the outlands, Banshee's eyes held an unnerving green glow in the night. Not much to rival the lights this one was putting off though.

It was clear who it'd come from once he was actually looking at them though. The honey eyed one, or the tall slender one with the gem protruding from her chest. Yes what a mystery. Banshee straightened his neck up, the full height of his breed looking down noticeably even upon the taller glowing one. He was larger, bulkier than these canines which made him feel a little more at ease simply because the females of his kind were always so much larger. It was a change of pace to not be the tiny one.

"Forgive me if I've intruded." he spoke again to the pair, inclining his head a moment before raising it again to meet their gazes.

"The lights drew me in as you can imagine. I wonder if all the locals on this side of the plains bare such notable gifts?" he wondered, allowing them the information that he wasn't from around here. Surely the hyena's began to blend in their minds as they usually frequented in such high numbers. For a brief moment he fell to silence, maw set ajar just slightly as he eyed curiously at the glowing rock upon Rita's chest. Though it was done as civilly as it could be, passive and curious.