[One-Shot, Crossover] Caster's Soft Spot?

[casterofcolchis]

Vanilla Ice stomped into the mansion, grumbling and badly bleeding – though his wounds didn’t seem to bother him. There was true fury in his expression, though Hol Horse couldn’t quite make out what the other Stand user was mumbling under his breath. But it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was something unpleasant. The cowboy continued on his way out the same direction Vanilla Ice had come in, and stepped out onto the back patio. On the beautifully-tiled patio near the in-ground wading pool knelt the lavender-haired Caster, Medea. But rather than being clad in her usual black and purple cloak and dress, she wore a dark purple sarong over a black one-piece bathing suit; clearly enjoying some time in the sun.

Or she had been, at least.

Hol Horse spotted the spattered blood on the patio, and upon closer examination, Medea was holding something in her lap. He approached slowly, keeping his energy focused to summon Emperor at any given point if need be.

“Caster…? What’s goin' on out here?” he asked cautiously.

When he was close enough it was easier to see that what she had in her lap was a small black and white dog. The small creature whined in Medea’s gentle grasp and twitched in an unnatural manner – clearly some of its bones had been broken.

“Vanilla Ice got carried away,” Medea answered the question before Hol Horse even had a chance to ask it at all. She didn’t look up from the dog as she carefully ran her fingers over its back.

“…but…you got back at him, I saw…” Hol Horse replied as he stood closer to her, relaxing a bit as he realized that she had control over the situation.

“I did,” she replied simply. “The dog got the better of him, and he lost his temper. So I taught him a little lesson in sportsmanship.”

A flick of her wrist, and the Caster summoned a small purple vial to her hand out of thin air. That was something Hol Horse just could not get used to; how easily she summoned what she needed out of nowhere. Carefully she worked the dog’s mouth open and opened the vile to put a few drops of its liquid into its mouth. The dog growled, but clearly did not have the strength to resist her. Another flick of the wrist, and the vial was gone. Medea held her hand over the dog and a soft pink glow emanated around her fingers. The dog whimpered and there was the distinct sound of cracking bones; an unsettling sound indeed. Hol Horse didn’t like it one bit.

But before his very eyes, the dog was recovering from the injuries inflicted by Vanilla Ice. The blood was disappearing and the body was puffing back up to its normal shape. After a few minutes of this, Medea lowered her hand and the dog began to stir. It looked up at Medea and growled.

“Oh, none of that, now.” Medea flicked the dog between the eyes, and Hol Horse saw ripples of pink magic roll against the dog’s head from the point of impact. “You will be more docile than that with me.”

The dog shook its head rapidly, and looked to Medea again. This time, it was indeed less aggressive and even nuzzled against her hand. Medea smiled and stroked the dog’s ears. After a moment she fluttered her fingers before the dog’s face and the dog immediately fell asleep.

“Another spell?” Hol Horse tilted his head.

“This next bit will be painful for him – better that he should sleep through it,” Medea replied as she held her hand up and summoned a wickedly-curved knife. The metal glinted purple and pink and blue as she held it aloft. Before Hol Horse could react, she plunged the knife into the dog’s back.

Hol Horse cried out and dropped back a few steps. “W-What the hell, woman!? Are you out of your mind!? Why would you go and do something like that!?”

But even as Hol Horse yelled, he saw more of her magic at work. A swirling energy surrounded the knife and the shadow of something appeared from within the dog. It had a similar canine shape, but was significantly larger and seemed to be made of some sort of sand. As she drew the blade out, there was no blood, but the shadow moved with it and away from the dog.

A Stand.

“…the dog…was a Stand user?” Hol Horse stared in disbelief.

“Indeed. Which could prove problematic for Master Dio. So I removed it with my Rule Breaker,” she replied.

Hol Horse stepped closer and carefully picked up the dog from Medea’s lap. He held the dog up and examined it. “Hell, never heard of a dog havin’ a Stand before…but I saw it myself. Who would figure such a little runt would have a Stand backing him up?”

He had hardly finished the sentence when the dog slowly opened his eyes. After a brief moment, the dog realized that it was not Medea who held him anymore, and growled. Immediately the dog bit into Hol Horse’s hair and began to tear it out at the root. Hol Horse yelled aloud and tried to pull the dog off of him, but the instant he did, he felt the dog’s belly rumble and soon the dog let out a loud fart, the stench of which immediately flooded his nostrils. Hol Horse gagged and stumbled backwards.

Through it all, he heard Medea laughing.

“Iggy! It is Iggy, isn’t it? Stop that now, come here!” She called out to the dog, but she was still laughing uncontrollably.

The dog, Iggy, pulled out one last chunk of blonde hair from Hol Horse, then kicked off of the cowboy to land on the ground and run to Medea. He hopped into her lap and wagged his tail, barking happily. Medea, as if understanding his canine language, nodded and waved her hand. A package of coffee-flavored chewing gum appeared in her hand and she popped a piece into Iggy’s mouth. Hol Horse pulled his hat down lower on his brow to cover the missing patches of hair, and glared at the dog.

“I see why Vanilla Ice got so riled up!” he snapped. Medea glared at him.

“Shall I teach you the same lesson I taught Vanilla Ice?” She tilted a brow.

Hol Horse swallowed hard and stepped back a single step. “N…no ma’am.”

“I thought not,” she replied as she stroked Iggy’s head. After a moment she smiled. “I am sorry Hol Horse, I should have warned you he was a feisty little thing. I couldn’t just let Vanilla Ice keep beating him like he was. The poor thing was clearly done and could not fight anymore, such brutality was overkill.”

“Dio’s not a fan of dogs, that’s probably what set him off,” Hol Horse pointed out.

“He said as much,” Medea nodded as she lifted Iggy with both hands. The dog continued chewing his gum happily. “But in my opinion that did not excuse his actions.”

Medea stood up slowly with the dog in her arms. Hol Horse stiffened, ready to spring out of the way if the dog made a move to attack him again. But for the moment, Iggy seemed happy chewing his gum. Medea stroked the dog almost lovingly, a soft smile on her painted lips.

"How did you know his name was Iggy?" he asked.

"He told me," she replied, reaching one hand to gently scratch behind one of Iggy's ears. The dog let out a contented groan and tilted his head more into Medea's touch. "In his mind, very clearly he said his name was Iggy."

Now she could talk to animals. This woman was a marvel, and she was also beyond creepy.

“…So you healed him because you felt sorry for him,” Hol Horse surmised.

“I healed him because he’s strong and his opponent was a sore loser,” she replied. “He's of no threat now, with his Stand removed, so there will be no reason for retaliation to be leveled upon him. So if Vanilla Ice wants to attack him again, he’ll have me to deal with.”

“You mean you’re gonna’ keep the mutt around?” Hol Horse exclaimed.

Medea just smiled and turned to walk into the mansion. Hol Horse watched as she disappeared into the shadows. He couldn't help chuckling. Who would have figured the witch who served Lord Dio had a soft spot?