As the Tide Turns

She studied her features in the mirror before she reached down with her hands and splashed water on her face… She was tired.. it has been a long testing week for her mind, patience and body. As she looked back up to the mirror she saw the darkness in her eyes and was still adjusting to the new color. Formally a bright vibrant purple her eyes were now darker with barely a hint of purple, if one did not know her former eye color, she assumed no one would recognize it. She closed her eyes and focused her concentration… as she did she could feel her eyes shift, when she opened them slowly she saw a flash of the bright purple before fading back into the dark. A smile actually spread across her lips.. as she grew closer and closer with the darkness, her body adapted and she finally started to open up and allow her true self to come out.

Her sister Devi had tapped into the Wiccan side of the family a long time ago.. she avoided the darkness like the plague as it had consumed most of her family, she knew that her family was destined for the dark side, but she feared it. As she turned and walked away from the mirror several thoughts ran through her mind as she eased herself into one of the comfortable chairs in the hotel room.. One flashing over was on how to manipulate her sister to the dark side. As she idly thought about it she held her palm out.. a small shadow ball started to form and began to dance and swirl around.

Her mind wandered from thoughts of her sister and focused on the ball… She tilted her head studying it lightly. This wasn’t at all unfamiliar to her now.. as she rotated her hand around playing with the little shadow she couldn’t help but smile.. She remembered the night that she made the bond that now enabled her to do this…

She looked across the bar at Jozua as he leaned and rapped his knuckles on the bar, “You don’t have any human blood, do you?” She tilted her head and snarled as she heard him ask for the human blood.. she tried to focus her attention back to Alzreal but was obviously irritated. Jozua sniffed at the air and grinned at her, she knew from experience he was smelling her. She let her eyes watch him as she lightly held Alzreal’s hand… she wanted to taunt Jozua and she was going to use Alzreal to do it.. she lifted up his hand and licked his finger as her eyes looked down to the end of the bar before she spoke loudly “Oh look, something tasty other than a HUMAN.” She set his hand back down hoping she proved a point and crossed her arms. Jozua’s eyes flickered softly while he looked straight ahead, his lips slightly parted and his fangs exposed themselves as they glinted in the low light.

She growled slightly as she walked away ignoring whatever words Alzreal was uttering and came to a stop in front of Jozua. Jozua’s eyes fell down as he looked her up and down dully. She stood there hiding all emotions as she spoke “Problem?” Jozua gave a somber laugh “Is there?” She wanted to snap but she remained calm “I don’t know..you tell me.” Jozua’s eyes glinted as she whispered “I remember you, you know.” She tilted her head with curiosity ”you remember me? Explain to me why I don’t remember you.” He laughed darkly “i will explain nothing.” She stepped forward and looked him up and down her mind searching for familiarities “Apparently, you weren’t important enough for me to remember then, is that it?” Jozua drew one of his pistols with lightening speed bringing the barrel to her own temple as his eyes glowed warmer as he whispered “Now, do we have a problem or are you going to scurry back to the end of the bar before you get hurt?” She was unimpressed as she brought up a hand and stifled a yawn, with sarcasm she uttered “Wooooow.” He grinned “or perhaps you care to step outside.” She lifted her hand casually moving the pistol down “Can’t use your words to talk? Are you all bulk that you have to pick on a poor little human like myself? Hmmm?” He chuckled “So you admit your inferiority, that’s a start.”

She stepped forward immediately closing the gap “Correction, I admit that I have a higher level of intelligence then you, that I can actually do more then play with silly guns, unlike yourself.” Jozua laughed “Your intellect drove you to take my liver when I was once weak and battered. I didn’t see you wanting to talk then. You think your sins forgot you?” She smirked “Back before I was even a shadow, I remember now….” she chuckled lightly ” I was intelligent enough to take your liver and make sure I left your other organs in tact was I not…besides I took what I wanted, why would I need to talk to you about that?” He licked his fangs before he spoke “perhaps the need does not exist for you, but I must tell you that ever since that day you were, for all intents, as dead as I am. I like to hold grudges.” She smiled “So it took you this long to admit that or even remotely mention that you still hold a grudge?” Jozua chuckled once again “You are but a name on a list.” She tilted her head as she smiled “Awwww, what a shame, I was rather curious on what you planned to do with me after you killed me?”

Jozua removed a severed lycan ear from his back pocket as his eyes flashed as he started to turn the ear over in his fingers, “By the way, I believe you delivered my liver to Quillis?” She raised a hand and shook it back and forth lightly “Nope… Quiet ate it… I’m sure she rather enjoyed it.. hell I think that was the one I was even convinced to try” her eyes drifted down as she noticed the ear in his hand “oohhh you have cookies!” He chuckled once again as he flung the ear in the air and caught it before returning it to his pocket “I killed that bitch Quiet too.” She couldn’t help but ask next… “Awww, so I am the one left then, the prize in the cookie jar?” Jozua grinned “It appears so.” She toyed with her thoughts lightly before she continued and then realizing she could not remember the mans name… “So once again I ask you, uhhh whats your name again?” He smirked “you do not need to know my name, I’m sure you will know it soon enough, if you life that long.” She started to act as if she was excited ”I doubt you could honestly do anything that I have not already seen or done myself..it would be hard to impress me.” His brow raised “Your own actions don’t impress you?” She sighed lightly as she reached up and a hand and with her finger brushed his nose lightly “Nope, I doubt that YOU could” He looked at her completely unaffected by her touch “Well..your doubts won’t be confirmed until you lay at my feet… I have two sisters that are hungry for souls.. I doubt you have ever taken one of those.” She stifled another yawn and stretched “Well I can tell you right now, my soul is mine to keep, but if you want your revenge for me stealing your liver…” she cut off mid sentence to think before changing the direction of her sentence “Anyways, this beef you wanted settled, how long are you planning to hold this grudge?” Jozua smiled removing his glasses, “Until you step outside” She shrugged lightly and turned toward the door looking over her shoulder watching him stand up and follow.

Jozua faced her in the straight as he drew his guns grinning, she closed her eyes as she focused quickly pulling her guns from the shadows snapping the clips into place as she gripped them tightly in her hands. He lifted his guns immediately aiming them directly at her whispering “Any last words?” The adrenaline pumped through her veins as she couldn’t help but smile and make a joke her guns lowered and ready”Actually… I would like fries with that” Jozua chuckled, his eyes were blazing as he softly squeezed the trigger and started firing at her.

Jozua chuckled as he holstered his guns as she fell onto the ground breathing heavily her wounds overcoming her mental strength. At that exact moment Dante arrived looking from her to Jozua and immediately started hissing. Jozua looked down at her whispering “I don’t know what you thought I was planning but your death is enough,” his eyes moved to Dante “I would stay out of this if I were you.” Dante snarled falling to all fours while his tentacles ran wild. She tried to control her pain as she let out a soft whimper. Jozua kept his eyes to Dante “Well? I don’t mind killing Shadows.” Dante stepped in between her and Jozua shoving him away from her as Jozua simply chuckled. Dante snarled again his eyes started to narrow into small darkened slits his tentacles whipping at Jozua’s legs gesturing for him to back away.

Jozua drew his guns once again as Dante followed suit. Her eyes strained to watch the match…her heart dropped when she saw Dante fall to Jozua. She knew there was no pain for Dante as she heard him gurgle loudly in a laughter type fit. By this time more had started to gather, Trey, Jozua’s brother approached. Jozua acknowledge him “Hello brother” Trey looked around and grinned “What have we here?” Jozua and Trey casually conversed back and forth as she saw Jozua kick at Dante. Dante slowly crawled back to his feet and snarled at Jozua once more before flipping him off and making his way back to her. As Dante approached Jozua kicked him away “this bitch… took my liver a long time ago when I was downed…now she bleeds.” Dante lashed out and whipped his tentacles at Jozua as he dissipates and allowed the kick to phase threw him. As Jozua’s frustration grew from the growing crowd gathering around, he pulled his leg back and kicked her in the head when he noticed her struggling and starting to get up. It was at that exact moment that everything went black…

Dante kneeled close to her emitting shadows to harbour them both in, as she felt the shadows wrap around her she let out a soft moan. Jozua took his attention away from the crowd as he removed his blade looking towards Dante grinning. The shadows started to weaken and break as Dante falls limp beside her trying to regain his energy as Jozua softly uttered words “It is an honor to dies by a KA member, not a favor.” The scene was blurry as Jozua bent down over her grabbing ahold of her right hand raising it up lifting her body by her arm as he eyes her fingers. He grinned to himself, as he quickly severed her index finger from her hand slipping it into her pocked. He flung her arm to Dante nodding to him “Aid her if you must…” Dante laid beside her as her arm flopped over him, he slowly returned to all fours wrapping his tentacles around her, keeping to his left side for his own support, and begins to slowly move them both to the hospital.

Dante shuffled her onto one of the beds slowly sliding his tentacles around her making sure we was at ease before crawling under the curtain and crawling onto a bed for himself. Suddenly she was fully awake as the pain overwhelmed her, she screamed and started to look around in panic. Dante instantly outstretched two tentacles through the curtain making contact with her leg sending short bursts of shadow energy into her. Her body instantly reacted to it, feeling at comfort with the shadows melding into her but her mind was not ready.. she reached out and around looking for Dante suddenly noticing her missing index finger as she started to cry holding up her hand in front of her trying to understand why it was gone.. Dante’s body lets out a faint gurgle, his body jumped sending a large burst of shadows along her body , his body now laid completely still with his tentacles draped over the edges of his bed.

Finally it hit her.. she instantly felt the influx of energy as her concentration from her finger broke.. she felt Dante’s presence through the shadows and started to look around for him, her only focus now on the shadows and then energy to find where Dante was. She didn’t even here the Bradley walk in… she curled up into a little ball as Dante’s body laid still feeling as tho her connection with him was breaking.. she extended her hand from her body trying to reach out for Dante to make contact with him as the shadows over his body began to fade, she could feel him growing dangerously weak..she whispered “Dante” Dante continued to lay deathly still as the lights above his bed began to flicker slowly.. she repeated in a whisper “Dante” as the feeling of the shadows within her stirred and slowly opened.. she focused all her her concentration on using what she felt inside of her to try and reach out to Dante.. her left hand opened and closed as she kept her focus as a small shadow ball started to form.. her eyes fluttered open as she realized what she had done and tossed it slightly into the air towards Dante. Dante’s bed lights finally spark from the violent flickering and blow leaving a minor shadow over his bed. Her attention was finally driven away from Dante as Fareabell and Alzreal came in .. Alzreal standing over her demanding status reports she groaned as she slowly tried to sit up holding her head still.. she opened her eyes wider and looked around still asking for Dante. Alzreal was demanding from her to know what was going on as he laid a hand on her shoulder trying to lay her back down. She rubbed her head slightly as she finally answered him “I’ll be fine Alz, I just got the shit kicked out of me and took a wicked blow to the head.” She let out a sigh as she caught a glimpse of her 4 fingered right hand.

After she had finally gotten Alzreal to calm down and do what he wanted to help her she grew quiet as she felts the shadows dance around the room , feeling Dante’s strength return, she closed her eyes as if she wanted to say something and then looked back over to Dante whispering his name once again. His body jerked in response it was at that moment that she was now connected with him.

She smiled as she let the shadow ball dance around her hand some more.. as the months have passed it took less effort to form the balls. She laughed to herself as it had become a way of almost like texting on a phone between her and Dante. She whispered softly “Dear Dante, its time to play, lets hunt” she lowered her hand letting the small ball disappear into the shadows knowing that within moments it will have traveled to where ever Dante is and she will have her response. She slowly stood from her chair as she stretched noticing a small shadow already bouncing back towards her.. it danced up her leg before blending into her. She had her answered and she smiled as she slowly walked out of the room.