With keratin-tipped fingers idly strumming the pommel of her sword, Ashen slowly slid down the outcroppings of the Wailing Mountains. The steel blue of her coat rippled under the moonlight and her tightly-braided mane bounced against her neck while her eyes darted from her hoofsteps to the faint glimmering in the distance, the light emanating from the den where the artifact was rumored to be held. Muscles corded in anticipation, the battle-storied mare knew this had to be it, the headquarters of the Sibilant Brotherhood.
Her long ears twitched at the sound of a branch snapping under her hoof, but she never was one for subtlety anyway. The scales on her armored bikini clinked together with each step, announcing her presence and attesting to the stoic confidence that led her to bare so much of her fur, despite the dangers she often met on her adventures. A slow strut and a flick of her tail belied her capacity for violence on her path to the roughly-hewn stones marking the entrance.
Ashen had come to retrieve an artifact. It was a matter of utmost importance, the kind that could change the course of history. She couldn't say what it was or why she needed it, only that her God, Kethar, had revealed it to her in his fiery divinations, crackling from the light of her campfire. The horse knew better than to question his divine guidance, and so she had put herself to work, following rumors and bloodying informants until she journeyed into these mountains, where the gathering of thieves supposedly held the artifact captive.
Voices sounded, loud and carefree, as she drew near the thieves' lair. A quiet nicker flowed from her muzzle as she stepped into the torchlight, casually flexing the arm holding fast to her blade. It wasn't long before the trio of guards, poised around a barrel bedecked with trinkets and gold pieces, turned towards her, startled by the sudden appearance of the scantily-clad mare. They chuckled nervously, openly ogling her furred cleavage and toned abs, while Ashen favored them with a cruel smile of her own. She had dealt with these kinds of males before and knew how to use their lust against them.
Employing seductive grace, Ashen prowled into the midst of the thieves, swishing her tail against the front of their breeches with a coy grin. She tilted her head to the side, gazing up at them with lustrous blue eyes and batting her thick lashes. The guards stuttered and blustered, the scalemail bikini barely containing her curves and leaving nothing to the imagination as it glittered in the firelight.
"O-Oi horsie, what chew doin' here?" A thin weasel with scars crisscrossing his face asked, visibly taken by the mare's beauty. Ashen snickered throatily, knowing how to play her part.
"Why hello there, boys. I was just passing through and thought I'd stop by to see what all the fuss is about." Ashen replied, her husky voice carrying a hint of flirtation. She stepped even closer to the trio, running her fingers along the coins and jewelry scattered atop the barrel. "What is it that you've got in this… cave? Anything valuable?" She asked, her voice low and suggestive.
The guards exchanged a look before the burliest of them, a snarling wolf with graying fur, stepped up to Ashen with his crooked teeth bared in a lecherous grin. "Hrrr, we've certainly got some things for you to gander at, little filly," he rumbled, reaching out to brush a finger through her mane.
Ashen allowed herself a breathy laugh, but inwardly she cringed at the thought of his greasy paws touching her. Still, she was nothing if not resourceful, and so she leaned into his touch with a shallow dip of her head. "Oh, do tell." She breathed, her voice honeyed with feigned naivete.
Licking his chops, the wolf allowed a paw to roam down the underdressed mare's back. "We've got something special back there, precious enough to buy half the kingdom. And it's all ours." He smirked, his hand reaching the top of Ashen's exposed buttock. "But, maybe we can make a deal. You give us a little something, and we'll let you take a peek."
Her heart raced at the thought of the artifact being so close. She knew it would be foolish to jeopardize her mission now, and so she played her part, pretending to entertain the idea. "Well, what do you want?" she asked with a shy dart of her eyes, letting her digits trace patterns along his chest.
Just as the wolf's paw squeezed the mare's round ass cheek, the third guard, a fox with bushy red fur that looked like it had been combed with a rake, spoke up. "Make her take off that getup. Ain't covering much noneways," he suggested, his fingers twitching as if he wanted to run them through her shiny coat.
Letting her head tilt back, Ashen laughed softly, as if the thought amused her. "Oh, is that all? Well, let me think about it," she said, flashing the guards a small smile. "But before we bargain any further, can I at least see what you have back there? I promise I won't touch anything."
A flash of unease ran across the wolf's face, but he quickly replaced it with a cocky grin. "Sure thing, sugar. Just… ah… don't piss off the boss. She's… unique, to say the least."
Ashen nodded agreeably, a grimace sneaking onto her face as the lupine lead her on with his paw firmly ensconced on her butt. She was guided up to what seemed to be a simple shock of cloth bolted to the stone, but she knew better. She could feel the subtle difference in temperature, the faint hum of magic that echoed between the fibers. It was a clever trick, invisible to the naked eye but well within the spectrum of the magecraft Ashen had encountered previously. Pushing the cloth to one side, the wolf thief nudged Ashen forward, his paw lingering on the curve of her hip as she emerged into the hidden passage, allowing the scent of musty air and old secrets to fill her nostrils.