And [reality] Begins to [fall]

[[red].Raven]

((Didn't want to ruin the title, but this thread is for Damon xD))

It was dark all throughout the graveyard, a heavy mist blanketing the silent landscape. The night was cold, leaving chilling moisture on anything it could touch. A lone, huddled figure sat as still as stone behind a rather elegant, though half-broken tombstone of a great looking bird; half of one spread wing was missing in its entirety. The figure was hugging its knees tightly to itself, hiding its face down amongst its arms. Was it sleeping? Was it simply part of the stone it sat behind? It's stillness gave nothing away, until, at last, there was movement. The figure shifted slowly as a rather cautious intake of breath could be seen, its body flinching slightly before exhaling.

This place... where she had all those months ago nearly destroyed the first friends she had ever made. A place full of stagnant air and death; a place where a god of such darkness may strive if given the opportunity.

The figure, a female, was clad in dark clothing. Long, dark brown khaki pants that obviously ran a few inches past her feet were faded and ripped in some places, a plain long-sleeved, black sweater encasing her torso. The sleeves, one may note, also appeared to run longer than necessary, stretching all the way down to cover at least half of her hands. She sat in silence; who knew how long she had been there, or how long she intended to stay? If not careful, the rotting corpses might think of her as one of their own and come to take her away.

[Creator]

No sound was made as a creature became present in the darkness, forming from the shadows themselves. Piercing red eyes opened and stared at Rei from a distance, then slithered closer. It was Berstunic, though what he wanted, no one could say. He let out a soft hiss as he watched Rei from the tombstone across from her, flapping up to rest on top of it. Then a familiar voice spoke from behind.

"Well well. I haven't seen you in a while."
He had changed considerably since they last met as well, though his change was more outward than inward. A long, sleeveless trench coat hung down, stopping about two inches from the ground, and he no longer went barefoot. No, now he had a pair of tall black boots that the ends of his pant legs tucked into. He knelt down on one knee, placing a fist on the ground for balance and leaning in to Rei's face. "That's right, I remember now. Last time you saw me, I died."

Berstunic leapt up and soared down to Damon's shoulder, still watching Rei. "I guess that means this is probably a bit of a surprise, but I'm back." As if to prove his point, he pulled his white t-shirt up and patted on his stomach where the spike had pierced him, now good as new. "Thank God for loopholes, huh?"

[[red].Raven]

((*tackles Damon* ))

As soon as Rei registered that she was no longer alone, her head snapped up to see who her company was. Of course, who she saw was the last person she ever expected to see... ever. Out of mere shock, the girl's entire body pressed back against the tombstone, arms unfolding to press against the ground and ribs moving painfully, causing her to wince. She stared, wide-eyed, at the all-too familiar face of the one she had for so long had nightmares about, but then who she had fought beside and seen the end to; or, what she thought was an end- Damon Smith. Rei could only stare, only one of her eyes, the right one, visible while the other hid behind manipulated strands of auburn hair. An odd ripple ran throughout her body once Damon finished speaking and she shook her head. "No... you... you're dead." Her eye briefly flickered to Berstunic but quickly found their way straight back to Damon. "You can't be here..."

Rei's skin, having obtained some color from who knows where, seemed pale again, but not as it naturally should be. This paleness was a sickly one, very drained in appearance making her seem very unwell. The girl blinked once, gaze suddenly becoming clouded and very distant but still focused on the hallucination in front of her. All at once, she scrambled to the side and somewhat frantically managed to get to her feet, standing rigidly now on the other side of the grave. "No, I saw you... watched you die."

[Creator]

Resisting the urge to act like a zombie, Damon tried to explain. "Okay, see, just before I died, I sent my soul out and Berstunic swooped down, so I spent a while stuck sharing his cramped little body. I sent someone on a mission to find Seger, a guy I heard could grant wishes. He wished for my body back, I jumped back in, and bam. Satisfied?"

Of course, he spoke so quickly that it wasn't likely to make much sense, and he soon realized that. After a moment of thought he sighed and clenched his fist, then leapt at Rei, aiming a blow for the cheek. If she still had any doubts that he was real, this would dispel them.

[[red].Raven]

In reality, Rei only heard about half of Damon's brief ramble. Her eyes had begun darting around, anxiety building up with her while she waited for the next horrible hallucination to make its appearance. So, because of her moment of extreme paranoia, she had no time to register a fist coming toward her, only enough time to close her eyes. Damon's blow hit its mark dead on, sending Rei stumbling sideways right into the tombstone. Of course, this one hit wouldn't have been such a big deal, if not for the fact that one, Damon should not be here, and two, her ribs took most of the damage from the grave. Jaw clenched, the girl hissed through her teeth, holding onto the stone tightly to stay standing.

After a moment of recovery, one hand slowly reached up to touch the place on her cheek where Damon had hit her. She stared at said ninja with the same expression she wore the very first time they ever encountered each other; wariness, unexplainable fear, and caution. But, as reality sunk in, the look in her visible eye changed faster than the amount of time it took to blink. Her eye glistened and in one smooth movement, Rei pushed away from the tombstone and wrapped her arms around Damon in a frantic embrace. At this point, she didn't care how it happened, or even if this was a very real hallucination, the only thing that mattered was that, right now, Damon wasn't dead. Despite their history, the last time she had seen him, Rei had lost her hate for him; he wasn't evil then. Seeing him die was just like watching a friend die, so seeing him here was just like having a friend come back. "I'm sorry..." she murmured quietly.

[Creator]

"Hey now, don't start up with all this sentimental rubbish," he said, squirming slightly. "It's nice to see you too." He hugged back reluctantly, then eased out of her grip. "Jesus, the punch wasn't enough proof?" He glanced at her side for a moment, hoping he hadn't hit too hard. He let himself fall back and sat down against a tombstone, heaving a sigh of relief. "Glad I didn't tell you when I was in Berstunic's body. That would've crushed me."

Berstunic was now circling in the sky, keeping an eye on the surrounding area. The undead had been known to pop in for a visit now and then, after all. "How've you been? To be honest, I don't know exactly how long I was gone. Couldn't have been less than a month, could it? Time passes slowly when you've got nothing to do."

[[red].Raven]

What sounded like the ghost of a dry laugh escaped Rei after releasing Damon. Her gaze drifted downward, arms folding loosely in front of her after one hand ran back through her hair; she seemed to be very careful about making sure her left eye was not uncovered. And, after her senses seemed to return to some level of normality, she continuously tugged her sleeves further down to cover more of her hands as though they were always going too far up. "I've been fine..." Okay, you know what? Screw lying. "Well... I've been better, actually, but never mind that." Her gaze was lifted to meet Damon's once again. "I really couldn't tell you how long it's been; time seems to escaping me these days." Sighing quietly, Rei stepped back until she felt stone behind her and leaned against the cool stone. "How long have you been... alive?"

[Creator]

Damon ran his fingers through his hair, thinking as well as trying to stall, for he knew as soon as he told her she'd kill him for not letting her know he was alive sooner. "Erm, about five weeks, maybe a bit more. You know, I've been so busy and all..." He laughed nervously and changed the subject. "Is anything wrong? I mean, your demon isn't... because if it is, my offer still stands." He shrugged, trying not to bring up old memories. "But then, I don't want to end up making another evil me. Maybe we should wait a bit on that." He was silent for a moment, piecing her behavior together. Then, without the slightest attempt to be subtle, he reached up to move the hair away from her eye.

[[red].Raven]

"I-" Once again still very unaware, Rei wasn't able to react in time to stop Damon from doing as he intended, she only had time to stiffen as her hair was moved away. Well, it quickly became obvious that there was a good reason for styling her hair in such a way. Her left eye was not her natural light blue color. This eye seemed stained. The iris was a deep red in color with an odd tendril of black ink running from the pupil to the eye's corner nearest her temple. The blackness even exited her eye, making a sharp-styled swirl design just beneath her eye. Rei stammered, stood rigid for a moment, and then turned her head away quickly to let her hair fall back into place; she would have backed up if not for the stone behind her.

She was silent for a good few moments before turned her head just enough to look at Damon form the corner of her apparently untainted eye. "A lot has been happening... and I don't know why..." Her voice faltered, but it was fixed quickly with a simple intake of breath. The last of her words came out in a distant sigh. "I think I'm beginning to lose the fight, Damon."

[Creator]

Damon stared in silence, his face not betraying the slightest hint of caring or concern. The mask didn't help either, hiding most of his face as it was. "Liar." He stared coldly down at her, hair blowing gently in the breeze. "I don't buy it. You're too stubborn to lose to that thing. You're just not trying hard enough." He glanced up at Berstunic, apparently sending some sort of signal, as the winged snake flew off in a random direction and didn't turn back. Damon cast his trench coat into the air and assumed a loose stance, staring at Rei. "Alright, bring it out."

[[red].Raven]

"Fifteen years is a long time..." she murmured to herself, snapping her gaze fully onto Damon as his final words registered in her mind. She blinked once, as if not believing what she had just heard. Things were obviously going very wrong right now, the darkness within her apparently seeping out on its own time and of its own will; her Mark hadn't even panged for quite some time now, and yet, all these changes... The girl shook her head in an exasperated fashion. "Damon... you know as well as I do that this is probably the worst thing to do right now. Especially considering we're in a graveyard..." Rei's voice was different than before, however, a noticeable portion of her defiance having faded away. Tugging her sleeves down in some sort of new habit, Rei tilted her head back to lean it against the large stone behind her and stare at the dark sky. "What if I can't come back? Things just don't feel right..." She groaned quietly and placed her hands over her eyes as though suddenly terribly exhausted. "Everything is just so wrong now, maybe it really is time for me to just stop fighting for a lost cause." There was a soft red glow behind her hands. It would seem that, despite her words, Rei was at such a loss that she was willing to try anything; even Damon's crazy idea. According to what he'd said, it was kind of her fault he had been evil in the first place, so she supposed she would have to trust him this time. Trust him not to completely screw things up for himself, her, and all of society.

Her hands dropped to her sides, revealing her glowing crimson eyes. She stepped away from the tombstone and sighed, spreading her arms out just slightly. "Come on then, I'm going to need some help." Though it was obviously still very present, the Shinigami has felt numb to Rei for quite some time. She hasn't been fighting against it, because she couldn't feel it anymore. It's like it's found away around her mind. This meant she also couldn't call it own by herself. "And don't you dare hold back, Damon." Rei stated firmly, voice stronger, like a command. "You can't afford not to use as much as you have."

[Creator]

Damon kept a stern face as she spoke, watching as her eyes changed for the second time, kicking his boots back next to his coat. He stood, barefoot, trying to fight the grin that had started to take over his face. "Don't worry, Rei. I know what I'm doing, and I have several new tricks that are extremely useful for situations just like this." His eyes blurred, shifting into his Tamashigan. When fighting a demon, it was rather helpful to be able to see any other nearby spirits. He finally gave up and let his excitement show.

"I know you don't think it's possible, but you've had to live with this for years. It's just like anything else about a person. Growing up with your body, you can find countless things wrong with your appearance that nobody else would ever notice. Growing up with a demon, you'd naturally feel more helpless against it than others. But I'll separate this demon from you, and kill it. Mark my words. Want to know how I know?"

A purple jolt shot between his arm and the ground and his hair stood on end, frazzled with static. He held out his left hand and a few bolts streaked to it, then jumped around it like mad. The plasma forced itself into his palm, popping randomly here and there but remaining overall under control. He lunged forward, bringing his palm toward Rei's stomach. "Because last time, this thing really pissed me off!"

[[red].Raven]

Jaw clenched, Rei had to force her body not to try to deflect or evade the direct attack from Damon. His use of plasma immediately reminded her of back then, when he had been darker... Natural instincts combined with stale fear made staying still very difficult, but the girl managed. As soon as Damon's palm made contact with her stomach, she cried out in a very animal-like fashion and jolted as the plasma coursed through her as though she had stuck a fork into an outlet. and she stumbled backward, hitting the tombstone painfully. Rei doubled over, arms wrapped tightly around her stomach. It seemed that the plasma had done the trick. With labored breathing, Rei hissed out through gritted teeth "Good aim..." The change was almost immediate.

Another perfectly decent outfit of Rei's was ruined, the sweater having a nice hole torn in the back where the dark dragon wings burst through and a burned out area around her stomach; Damon's blow had seared the material, revealing the Mark through a neat little window. The Mark itself had seemed to changed as well. The outer edges looked like very raw flesh, while the design had become more fierce, no longer a simplified silhouette. It had begun to resemble a more realistic beast, more detail added from god knows where. The dark tendrils, like from around her eye, where most heavily placed closest to the Mark.

When the shift had completed, the Shinigami, if at all possible, seemed to have taken on a much darker appearance; much more demonic looking from times before. With its jet black eyes it stared up at Damon from its hunched over position on the ground before a satanic grin broke out across its 'muzzle'. "A face such as yours is familiar to me."[/color]

((*really didn't feel like describing the change for the umpteenth time because she's assuming you get the gist of it by now* xD))

[Creator]

Damon grinned as she changed, noting the differences between the last time and what he stood before now. 'Hopefully it's gotten stronger, too.' He took a minute to decide on how to start, and figured it was less risky to go with the Kunai Claws, seeing has he had little to no skill with a sword yet. Really, he needed to take a lesson or something. The claws formed around his hands, black metal with red lines running along every edge just to give it some definition. Now stripped down to the most comfortable fighting outfit he had, save for the extra distraction of the ever-useful mask over the lower half of his face, Damon grinned back at the Shinigami, arms at his sides.

"You might remember me as the guy who smacked you around before," he started, obviously enjoying this. "The name's Damon, awfully close to demon, and rightfully so. Let's not waste time getting started, then. I'm curious to see how far you can push me." Dashing forward, he brought his claws together in a flaming clap of sorts, aimed to catch the Shinigami's head in the middle.

[[red].Raven]

While Damon contemplated, and even while he spoke, the Shinigami appeared to be ignoring him, studying the clothes it was constricted within. 'Stupid girl' Inverted legs did not fit well in long pants, and that was quickly taken care of; hey, look, shorts! It then studied its arms, and just as Damon finished speaking, Rei's black sweater had been converted into a sleeveless shirt. The demon's black eyes flickered back to Damon just as his hands were coming together around its head. It what looked like an impossible amount of time and speed, the Shinigami's forearms came up on either side of it just the instant before Damon hit, easily keeping his arms away from its body. Dark laughter-like growls escaped the creature's chest. "I thought you said no wasting time?"

In a flash of white light that faded in mere seconds, the Shinigami went through a final change. Starting from its exposed abdomen, any of the black marks that had been spreading out along Rei's body ignited with white energy. The whiteness spread over the demon's charcoal flesh; down, ending at its calves, out, ending at its fingertips, and then up, ending after infecting the Shinigami's black eyes. It was suddenly very clear just how much Rei was hiding beneath her concealing clothing. Without a word, the demon performed a simple, straight-forward kick to Damon's chest, meaning only to knock him away.