On with the Nightmare

[[red].Raven]

((Because I is EVILEH and CRUEL >3))

A lone figure stood on the pavilion in the late afternoon. She hasn't been out after dark since... well, since things happened. A soft breeze blew by, as if reassuring her, but it did quite the opposite. On every breeze, there could be a mist; and with the mist, there might be... well, let's just say a crap load of terror. Rei's hands grasped the railing in front of her as she leaned slightly forward to look out over the Divine Hills. Her sky blue eyes had seemed paler recently, drained and almost unseeing. Sleep has been minimal and full of horrible dreams she couldn't seem to be rid of. A small sigh escaped her. How had things become so complicated so quickly?

[Creator]

Invisible gas drifted into the area, spread far too thin to be visible to the naked eye. It washed around her feet, bringing a slight chill to the air atop the pavilion. Laughter seemed to ride in with the wind, though it wasn't the slightest bit audible. 'So. I've found you,' the boy thought, swirling into a very familiar solid form seconds later. He turned, facing Rei from behind, and laughed softly. "You know, I mean you no harm. I'm simply doing a bit of research, and you happen to interest me." He stepped forward. "What do you say we... put all this nasty business behind us?"

[[red].Raven]

At the sound of his voice, his laughter, Rei's spine felt like is froze over with a layer of ice, cracked, and then froze again. Her grip on the railing turned white-knuckled and painful. Breathing became limited and difficult. 'I'm dreaming... I fell asleep, and this is another nightmare...' But she knew it wasn't. She could feel him, he was there, and he was very real. It was a good thing she didn't have to worry about keeping relaxed anymore, that was for sure. Rei couldn't bring herself to turn around; she was frozen in place like a statue. "Why..." Had that even been a word? Barely.

[Creator]

"Why?" he repeated, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well, you have a supernatural being taking residence within you. That's reason enough for me. But you also seem to exhibit a profound fear of... well, me," he said, laughing once more simply to creep her out. "I tend to get curious, you see, and you're not lessening that one bit." He leaned down to her ear, grinning widely. "Turn around for me."

[[red].Raven]

Any breathing she had been doing stopped abruptly when Rei felt Damon's hand on her shoulder. Her eyes closed tightly. A very short, sharp exhale released any stored air she had held, which meant she had to breathe again... somewhat. Very slowly, doubting she had much of a choice anyway, Rei turned to face Damon, her eyes open once again. One hand stayed latched onto the railing while the other went around her stomach; the scars there from Damon's claws were still very fresh. Wonderful. If anything, this situation was worse than before. Rei couldn't even back up if she had to... stupid railing. She stared at Damon, her mind unable to form any sort of speech at the moment.

[Creator]

Damon let go, taking a step back and holding up his hand. Mist swirled around it faster than it used to, forming into a new clawed glove that was mostly metal, rather than mostly glove. "Like it?" he asked, clicking together the red bladetips that went so well with the rest of the black metal. Another formed on his other hand, and he lowered them to his sides. "I still need to break them in," he hissed as they ignited, flames licking up around them without burning them. "I'm here to kill that demon of yours, if you don't mind." He held a hand up at her face-level, his face seemingly darkened by the light of the fire. "Of course, you're free to resist. Hell, you can even choose: burning, or cutting?"

[[red].Raven]

And of course, should Rei have expected anything else? Gasping, Rei's body seemed to react without her mind's consent. Something visibly shifted within her arm for only a moment, and in another instant, the railing behind Rei had been broken. "No!" She yelped, spinning and exiting the pavilion via broken railing. When she felt grass beneath her, she didn't even turn to look back at Damon. In another instant, Rei had changed. It looked like a much more innocent version of the Shinigami. She had the wings, the tail, the talons, the inverted hind legs, but her skin wasn't black, just slightly tanned. And her eyes were a bright crimson, not coal. This was the only thing she knew how to shift into, but it worked. It made her already heightened reflexes and agility even more advanced, along with physical strength and speed. "I told you, you can't kill it! Just leave me alone!"

Pushing from the ground, Rei took to the air, now trying to orient her sense of direction to get back to the Academy.

((*tsktsk* Rei, I told you running was rude))

[Creator]

Damon looked at the destroyed railing, then up at her as she took to the skies. 'Closer,' he thought, shifting into smoke and zipping after her. He was able to catch up, having less wind resistance, and a moment later a solid hand was clutching her by the tail. He smirked up at her, letting himself hang as dead weight.
"Not bad," he said, "but you're carrying a bit of excess weight." Purple stone began to form around his feet, adding more and more weight as it grew.

[[red].Raven]

Rei bit back a yelp of surprise, which then came out sounding more like an annoyed growl. "Let me go!" Damon's original weight was easily handled, just awkward, but when the stone began to grow, it was obviously becoming too much. She tried to kick out at him with her legs, but the positioning was too off and she couldn't manage it. Using the first thought that came to mind, Rei stopped trying to gain altitude and instead aimed a swift downward dive back for the pavilion, hoping Damon might hit something on the way and have to release her.

[Creator]

"No," he growled, releasing the weights into the air - which, as it turned out, gave them a speed boost. He flung his hand out, and even as he did so it seemed to meld into three knives, shooting down toward the ground. A second later one erupted into smoke, switching places with Damon, and he brought his other claw up in an attempt to use Rei's own momentum against her.
'If you don't have a lot of power, make up for it in strategy,' he thought. That was almost becoming his motto these days.

[[red].Raven]

The sudden speed caught Rei off guard, and it took her a minute to process what was going on. 'He switched places again...' To avoid being injured by the claws, Rei tilted her wings steeply to swerve away. But of course, at the rate of speed she was traveling she couldn't stop moving until, you know, the pavilion got in the way. She slammed into the structure back first, went through the first railing, and then skid all the way to the other side and shattered the second railing. The ground was unforgiving when she finally landed on it. Dazed, but overall okay, Rei crouched on all fours and tried to fold her wings, but found she couldn't. A railing post had gone straight through one of them. 'Flying won't be so easy anymore...' Wincing, Rei pulled out the spike and tossed it to the side.

'He's on the other side... he probably can't see me yet...' As quickly and quietly as she could, Rei took a different approach to escape. Sticking to the land, Rei sprinted in the direction she thought the Academy was in.

[Creator]

Damon waited a moment, expecting her to come back, but soon realized what a foolish thought that was. He whisked into the demolished scene, only to find the she was gone, and cursed under his breath. His kunai knives swirled into mist, whipping around his hand and forming into his other claw. He faded into smoke and rose into the sky, getting an aerial view of the area. A flicker of movement caught his eye, and while it turned out to be a mere rabbit, it had led his eyes in the right direction.
He was solid once more, leaping through the treetops to catch up with her. "You're bothersome," he said simply, coming down to skid along the ground in front of her, finally stopping himself.

[[red].Raven]

((wow, my typing gets worse late at night o.O *goes back to fix some ridiculous typos*))

'It won't take him too long to reali-' Rei's thoughts were cut short and all of her attention became focused on the noise of Damon, closing the gap between them. She hadn't caught it soon enough, he'd catch her soon... again. 'I have to move faster...' Just when Rei thought she could get ahead again, Damon was in front of her. Gasping, Rei pivoted into a sideways skid along the ground. Her arms automatically reached out and the claws dug deep gashes into the ground, almost as though she were being dragged somewhere. When she finally stopped, she was set almost perfectly before Damon, as though it had been choreographed. She allowed herself to glance at him once before she pushed form the ground and landed about seven feet away.

Instead of running, Rei turned to face her pursuer, crouched on all fours and very low to the ground. She couldn't fold her wings properly because of the injured one, so they splayed out at her sides. Her voice was pleading and she was very slowly backing away as she spoke. "Damon, you've tried this before... you won't be able to get the demon out this time, or any other time... I'll keep the seal strong... Just leave..."

((leeeeeength))

[Creator]

"You're already halfway there," he said, advancing on her. Of course, he had no idea of her shapeshifting abilities, and thus assumed she was struggling to hold the demon back. "The seal is obviously no stronger than it was last time. And if you don't let the demon out... well, I'd say you're outclassed, but I may just be too arrogant for my own good." He grinned, revealing that the change induced by the demon's negative energy from last time had mildly sharpened his teeth. His forearms performed a few movements, and he erupted in a puff of smoke, transforming into the very same demon that resided inside her. (Though, of course, he had none of its actual power. Only appearance.) He grinned, taking another step forward. "Or... are you more afraid... of this?"

[[red].Raven]

Rei's eyes took on a look of confusion alongside her fear. 'Halfway...?' The girl visibly cringed at Damon's smile and used her uninjured wing as a shield in front of her when he... poofed. She lowered it carefully when nothing seemed to be coming at her and had a look of pure shock. A few blinks made Rei realize that she wasn't hallucinating. 'That's... me...' It was then that Rei seemed to put things together and recall how similar the two forms must look. 'Halfway...' But, contrary to what Damon was going for, the fear in Rei's eyes seemed less than before he changed. What stood before her now was something she had faced before, and had been mentally facing all of her life. But, with a slightly clearer mind, Rei quickly acted just as frightened as before, if not more so. She scrambled away from Damon and used both wings to encase herself as best she could, as though trying to hide. "No! Stop it!"