Mystic Topaz | Reyna

[Reyna Crelos]

Backstory: A Wisp of a Shadow
The beginning of chaos.

• Reyna had never been a social creature, not even as a child. Part of it was her very nature, being a demon, the other part, well, was her charming disposition. She lived a simple life, and did her very best to remain doing just that -- living. It was easier said than done given her status as hunted. She hadn't time to question the why or how, she just knew that she was, and that if she wanted to continue living without manacles and chains about her wrists, she would keep to her quiet life. She would not create mischief. She would not allow herself to cave and steal the souls of mortals (no matter how badly she felt they deserved it). She would not show her true form.
  
  She sighed a bit wearily as she trekked her way down the streets of Durem. The cobblestone echoed quietly beneath the click of her steel-toed boots. She wished there was something more to her life, but with her memories shot, it was difficult for her to understand what it was she so desired. No, she did not suffer from some sort of incurable amnesia. She had suffered no accidents that she could readily speak of. She just.. didn't remember.
  
  The silver haired woman sat with a huff at the bus stop and idly ran a hand through the short, cropped strands. Whatever. It didn't matter. What she wanted more than anything at that moment was to not have to deal with people and their god awful design sense. She did free-lance work for kicks, and, well... spare change was always a good thing to have. It was especially handy when on the run, but the part where she had to cater to the whims of ignorant mortals displeased her deeply.
  
  Her one visible red eye filtered closed and she growled under her breath in frustration. Damn bus. It was always late. If it weren't for the fact that technology and her did not get along by any means, she'd buy her own damn car. Unfortunately, technology and her didn't just not get along... it flat out didn't work for her. She had fried more cell phones in a year than she could count on either hand. She flat out gave up. Another sigh escaped her as she idly fingered at the eye patch that covered her left eye. Damn inconvenience the lot of it!
  
  She visibly tensed when she heard a faint something in the background, all thoughts from before scattered to the wind. She didn't move save for one hand that smoothed down one thigh towards a pocket in her cargo pants. She was being followed, and she cursed herself internally for not having noticed it sooner. Whomever or whatever it was that was following was not quite human, which typically meant only one thing: hunters.
  
  The bus turned the corner and rolled down the seemingly empty street towards her stop. She exhaled a ragged breath and hurriedly jumped on and shoved fare for the ride at the driver. She clambered through the aisles and settled herself as close to the emergency exits as possible. Sure, she was on a bus and moving far away from the presence she felt, but that didn't mean the fun was over. It was never over.
  
  In her panic, she hardly noticed how quickly the time seemed to slip by until quite suddenly the bus had come to a still at the last stop of its route at Bass'ken Lake. She jumped up from her seat and skittered off quickly. This was going to be the tricky part. If she could make it past the lake and through the open field to the swamp where her home was, she would be safe. The swamp was heavily guarded with wards and spells and was a swamp for crying out loud.
  
  She smirked faintly. If they wanted to catch her, she was going to give them a run for their money. Literally.
  
  She took off at a sprint. The air was cool against her face and the moonlight so bright! Despite her unease it was exhilarating. She began to run faster with a sudden surge of adrenaline when that unease suddenly increased ten fold. She could feel it now. The presence cut through the darkness -- no, it was very much apart of it.
  
  Reyna hissed under her breath in irritation when she reached the edge of the swamp only to be stopped in her tracks. A figure stood there, leaning casually against a tree, waiting. His eyes were a vivid green that seemed to glow in the dark. It was so much the luminescent quality of a cat as it was as though there was some sort of glowing light within the man. At least she was going to assume it was a he. It was difficult to tell.
  
  He was elegantly tall and draped in black. Only his face and hands were visible, and even then only partially as a hood covered his hair and part of his face. His hands disguised in dark sleeves. He didn't look like a hunter, nor did he have the scent of one. Typically they wreaked of metallic copper, blood, and hushed whispers. This one reminded her of earth, plant, and shadow.
  
  She moved hesitantly and took a step forward as she kept her gaze trained on the man's face, watching for any hint of emotion, any flicker of thought that might give his intentions away, but there was nothing there. His face was unreadable, not even his eyes gave him away in that moment. The hair on her neck stood on end and she clenched her fists at her sides. She could feel the need to change forms. The rage in her blood was demanding to be set free from its bound state.
  
  It was then that she realized exactly what he was. They had sent a god damn mage after her. She snarled and withdrew the knife from her pocket in a smooth, lithe movement, ready to strike.
  
  "That won't be necessary, really." His voice was low, much to low for any woman, so her assumption of his gender was indeed correct. It had a mellow tone to it, quiet yet strong. "I'm not here to cause you harm, and I certainly do not wish you dead or bound as others may. I am here to make you an offer."
  
  Reyna's visible eye narrowed in suspicion. "I'm listenin'.."
  
  "I would first introduce myself, if I may," he replied smoothly, "And I must ask your forgiveness for following you this far. I did not mean to startle you, but you are a very difficult individual to contact by... normal means."
  
  Great, she thought to herself, I've got hunters after me, and a random stalker that wants to make nice. Fate, you're a real b***h. She huffed a bit irritably and slowly lowered her stance but did not put away her weapon. "Well hurry it up, won'tcha? I'm tired, I'm cranky, and I don't exactly have a whole lot of patience, if you catch my drift."
  
  The man smiled. It wasn't one of pleasure or happiness, it was merely an expression. It seemed ill suited him him altogether. He took a step forward and Reyna resisted the urge to skitter back. She was not going to back down. She did, however, frown. That b*****d was taller than her. She was distracted briefly by how his clothing, which appeared to be dark, lengthy robes, flowed around him. It was as though his very form emanated darkness that was somehow alive and flowed freely around him.
  
  He stopped a few feet away from her and inclined his head politely. "My name is Athan," he informed her, "And I come to you now with an offer."
  
  Reyna rolled her eyes. "Ya said that part already. Get with it or get the hell out of my way." Athan frowned, and it pleased her enough that a small smirk twitched at her lips.
  
  "I am in need of your services, and you of mine," he stated simply.
  
  "Sorry buddy, but I'm not in a position to make or break contracts and your soul already looks pretty jacked up to me. I don't know what you've done, but I don't want any part of it," she replied in a rush of syllables and moved to sidestep him but he caught at her arm. Her gaze immediately settled on his face and a look of utter rage washed over hers.
  
  "Not that sort of service."
  
  She snarled and reared back her free arm as though to strike him but stopped when she noticed something else within his shadow. She drew back and away from him and kept her gaze on the thing that skittered about his feet. She pointed at it with her knife and said quite bluntly, "What the <********> is that.."
  
  Athan chuckled quietly and reached out with one outstretched hand which seemed to beckon the small creature forth. It hovered just above his palm and appeared to be a bright, multifaceted gemstone at first glance. Tendrils and swirls of darkness surrounded it, constantly moving and shifting like some sort of strange fire. "It is a wisp."
  
  She edged forward slowly, a scowl still deep set on her delicate features. "What's it do?"
  
  "Nothing, currently. Perhaps you can aide me in changing that," he answered before adding, "If, of course, you will allow me to fully explain my intentions. I was and still am quite sincere in the fact that I am not here to harm you. I having nothing to gain from that."
  
  She regarded him for a long moment before stuffing her knife away in her pocket. "Fine, already. But I'm not doing it here in plain sight. Follow me." She took off past the initial grove of trees and followed a small, narrow path right through the swamp itself. She was rather peeved at how he seemed to follow, no glide, along effortlessly behind her. She was half hoping that the sorry b*****d would get lost and not be able to find his way back out again.
  
  TBC.

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Backstory: A Transformation
The wisp becomes a child.

• Reserved

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Backstory: A Mischievous Child
Of being bonded to a nightmare.

• Reserved

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Backstory: A Not So Typical Teenager
The end of chaos or simply the calm before the storm?

• Reserved

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Backstory: A Smokescreen Shop
In which Twilight Designs comes to life.

• Reserved

 

[Reyna Crelos]

An 'Old Friend' Meets 'Mr. Death'
Adapted from roleplay with Wren (azuredreams).

• Reyna grumbled irritably under her breath as she carried in a particularly heavy box into the shop and dropped it with a huff to the floor. The noise startled Mystic out of hiding briefly and she offered him a small, apologetic smile to him before she turned to glare at Athan.
  
  "What the hell was in that box? It weighs about a ton! Why don't you use your awe inspiring powers to help out, hm?" she complained loudly.
  
  "It weighs less than a ton, and you're a strong young woman," the shadowed man replied as he slowly came into view, arms folded across his chest. His face stayed shadowed save for the faint glow of his green eyes beneath his hooded cloak. He sometimes reminded Reyna of a depiction of a grim reaper of some sort the way shadows seemed to billow about him despite the fact that there was a distinct lack of wind or air moving around.
  
  "Either way," she snapped irritably, "There's still a lot to do, and you're certainly not much help. Why are you here anyway?"
  
  "Your friend.. Wren is it? He's coming over to help, correct?"
  
  "Yeah," she murmured after a moment of thought. She squinted over at him suspiciously before bending to pick up the box and carry it over towards one of the glass countertops to open it up and peer inside. Athan was up to something..
  
  The weather was cold. Wren wasn't that bothered by it as he trudged through the store Reyna was setting up. He had offered to help, after all, and he would do that. ( That it got him out of the house was just an additional bonus. ) Double checking the address he had scribbled down on a piece of paper, he glanced up to read it on the shop before him. "Same place," he muttered to himself, "so she must be here." Not that he knew all the specific details about the shop, but he was never one that would turn down a friend.
  
  ... since he didn't have that many that were really that. Or stayed around because he could scare them away. ( No, he wasn't that weird, really. ) Pocketing the piece of paper and adjusting his glasses, he went up to the front door and pulled it open. "Reyna?" he called out all most immediately, eyes not really having to adjust to see about the shop ( benefits of being a demon ), but he was peering about the place looking for people and -- er, okay. There were people. If Death over there was a person. He blinked, all ready inside, and the door closing behind him with a thud.
  
  "Hey! Found the place okay?" she smiled when she caught sight of her friend. Wren had impeccable timing as always -- she'd just finished tearing into Athan and warning him that if he did anything to alienate her friend from her that she'd find a way to make his life hell. She glanced over towards him before following his gaze towards the shadowed man standing a few feet away.
  
  "This," she sighed almost wearily as she ran a hand back through her short, silver hair, "Is Athan. He's the uh.. mm.. benefactor of the shop." She snickered faintly at that before bending to sift through the box she'd brought in and dug through it's contents. There were displays and small metal boxes full of what were most likely semi-precious gems.
  
  The shop was still mostly bare, and definately needed to be decorated some. The sight of plain white walls seemed to aggravate her senses, abrasive like sandpaper. "Anyway.. glad you came by. As you can see there's a LOT I've got to get done, and Mr. Shadow here isn't exactly helpful.."
  
  "Mr. Shadow?" Athan mocked in a low voice before rolling his eyes.
  
  "Well?" the silver haired girl retorted hotly, "Have you looked in a mirror here recently?"
  
  Wren could either end up at the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the right time. Then again, he ended up everywhere. Go figure. "I found it just fine. Your directions were great." The words were followed by a grin, though Wren still glanced at Athan out of the corner of his eye once he was focused on Reyna.
  
  Watching the exchange between the two of them, he raised an eyebrow. "Don't know, Mr. Shadow seems fitting. Athan's nice and all, but Mr. Shadow is so super hero sounding." Wren snickered, quickly, shifting on his feet and shrugging off his jacket to lay neatly on a counter out of the way. "... and there are worse things to be called." He smiled, easily enough, glancing about and taking in everything that probably needed to be worked on before focusing on Athan. "Nice meeting you at any rate, Athan. I'm Wren, but Reyna's probably told you about me."
  
  "Yes," he replied slowly, "She has. Old friends.." He trailed off for a brief moment as one hand came to rest at his chin, fingertips idly tapping there as though he were lost deep in thought. "I find that interesting. A girl who needs no one at all and locks herself away from the world has befriended.. a demon." His eyes focused on Reyna as he emphasized the last few words and she visibly tensed.
  
  She turned slowly to glare over at Athan. She knew very well what Wren was, and it didn't bother her in the very least for.. various reasons. She had her secrets, and she was not appreciative that the mysterious man had decided to pry into her life.
  
  "If you're not going to be any help you can just leave, you know," she pointed out as she motioned towards the door even though she knew very well Athan didn't exactly need a door to leave. He had the creepy tendency to simply fade from view and then teleport to wherever it was he went to.
  
  Well, well. Interesting Athan was, but it was kind of like he was prodding at Reyna -- and, well. She was a friend and that was that. If Wren had any issue with the fact he was a demon being stated, he didn't even seem phased. Particularly since that wasn't even scraping the surface of things.
  
  "Everyone needs friends, even if we all lock ourselves away." He replied, that grin still in place, but his eyes narrowed slightly. "Besides, demons make due for good ones. We've got connections like you would never believe."
  
  Moving over towards Reyna, ignoring Athan it seemed. "So, what do you need me to help out with? Since it looks like tall, dark, and attempting to be mysterious is just hear to talk." ... well, he'd say he'd help out, not that he'd play nice with people. Besides, he could be a little defensive of his friend.
  
  Athan's eyes narrowed and seemed to glow faintly, mouth parting as though to say something before he simply smiled in a way that made his eyes glitter eerily. "Rest assured.. I'm more than just talk," he replied after a few moments as he literally drifted past Wren and Reyna both to head on into the back room which had mostly been set up.
  
  The walls were dark, perfect for shadows to hide about in, and the ceiling was painted like the night sky. He spelled it to make it twirl and move as though it really were the stars shifting and moving about.
  
  Reyna rolled her eyes at him as she moved towards the room to show Wren what had already been finished. "The main part of the shop needs to be painted the same color as these walls in here," she replied, "And then we get to move in the rest of the boxes that are still in the moving van outside."
  
  Touchy was the thought that crossed Wren's mind, but he let it drift away as Athan drifted off towards the back room. Instead, he nodded his head and followed after Reyna. "All right, so then we get to have fun painting walls." He paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to go about it, but then again -- just jumping in might work. ( Really, he was a demon, damnit. Why wasn't there something that instantly lead to the walls being painted? )
  
  "And moving stuff in," he added in after a moment. "Looks like this will be a pretty cool place once it's all finished up." Though he hadn't seen the supplies for painting in the other room, but then again, he had been distracted by Athan.
  
  "Should be!" Reyna called over her shoulder as he disappeared further into the recesses of the second room to head into a small hallway to gather up the paint and brushes and other supplies they needed to get started on the main room.
  
  Athan drifted about silently. She could still feel him there like a gnawing presence in the back of her mind that simply served to irritate her. She'd warned him a couple of times about reading her thoughts and he'd acknowledged that for the most part, particularly after she'd given him a nasty headache. She snickered faintly at that as she cleaned up some brushes for them to use and went outside to fill up a few buckets of water.
  
  While she was gone the mysterious man in question watched as Wren quietly admired the paintings on the wall and the decor. "Has she told you anything about what this store is going to be? What it's really going to be.." he asked suddenly as he simply materialized somewhere near the demon.
  
  Wren jumped slightly, but as it was, it was a staged action of somebody who was obviously overdramatic. He shot Athan a dirty look, wondering just when Reyna was going to be getting back with the brushes and the paints so they could set to work. Instead, he gritted his teeth a little, and glared ( though it was ruined by him blowing hair out of his eyes ). "She asked for me to help, I came to help. I'm fairly sure she was going to explain things to me while we worked, since it's hardly easy to pack information onto a slip of paper or over the phone."
  
  Shrugging his shoulders lightly, Wren moved back to where he had seen the precious gems from earlier. Somehow, he doubted the conversation was going to be left that, Athan was bound to follow, but he'd be damned -- as if he wasn't, one way or another -- if he didn't get to look at them before work started in. If he focused enough, stretching what senses he had, he was pretty sure Reyna was still filling up the buckets.
  
  Athan followed just as Wren had suspected and smiled faintly when he caught the boy admiring the gems that were laid out in different trays. A few of them were wrapped up in oil cloths, seperate from the rest. Those were.. special. His smile widened slightly as he drifted forward and picked up one of the small sachets.
  
  "Hmm.. she hasn't even mentioned Mystic Topaz? I figured she'd surely mention him. He's become as dear a friend to her as yourself," he murmured as he gazed over at the demon before smirking faintly when he seemed to have caught his interest.
  
  "You're a real jackass, you know that?" Reyna retorted as she came into the room with two buckets of water and sat them down before disappearing briefly to retrieve the rest of the painting supplies. When she returned she stood there with her hands on her hips and scowled faintly at Athan. "Quit torturing my friend! That's my job and he's way more helpful than you're being."
  
  The mysterious man laughed faintly, a soft, rather unnerving noise. "Oh. I've hardly tortured him, dear Reyna.."
  
  "Well, she did mention something about a Mystic Topaz, but I didn't quite catch it all." Wren stopped himself from looking at the gems though, to instead peer at Athan. Just what was Death over there trying to get at? ( Note to self: explore gems further, too shiny to pass up. ) Nudging his glasses up, he shifted on his feet, glancing up at Athan just as Reyna came into the room.
  
  Actually, he watched them bicker for a moment, twitching at Athan's laughter slightly. The exchange between the two of them far too amusing. When there was more than one person around with rapier wit, it could get pretty messy. "Oi, look. I've got enough people to torture me at home, can't I get a little freedom here?" he asked, then paused for a moment sighing. "Well, no, if I wasn't, life wouldn't be the same." Moving past Athan, he waved a dismissing hand in the air and lowered himself down to look at the brushes and the paints, picking out one to start with and use. "Besides, I actually have a question for Athan."
  
  Reyna eyed her friend suspiciously but she couldn't help the smile that crept up onto her face despite her best efforts. He had a question for Athan? That'd certainly prove to be interesting. Athan had a way of avoiding and dodging questions though, which typically only lent to more questions. It infuriated her to no end, though she was curious to know what was on her friend's mind.
  
  "A question?" Athan asked in a sort of mocking tone of voice, "For me? How quaint." He drifted about the two of them, fading in and out of view as an invisible sort of wind fluttered about him.
  
  She turned briefly to scowl at the oh so benevelant 'benefactor' of her new shop. He still had something up his billowing sleeves and it was starting to get on her already frayed nerves.
  
  Before Wren even asked his question of Athan, Wren turned his attention to Reyna, an eyebrow raised in question. "Perhaps," he said in a staged quiet voice, "if we got a fan, it would blow him right on out of here?" Since Athan couldn't seem to stay in one place and the fact that he was moving about like wind -- well, hey. It was bound to come up. Particularly when he felt like he was at some sort of war with Athan.
  
  Coughing not so discreetly into his hand, Wren turned his attention to him, giving Reyna a quirky grin as he did so. "I mean, yes, I've got a question for you, Athan." There was a serious look on Wren's face, and his tone reflected it. "I was wondering, perhaps, if you ate souls?" Now, the question was if Wren was being serious or if he was taking a large jab at Athan. Probably the latter.
  
  Reyna burst out laughing at that and clutched at her sides in a fit of giggles at the fleeting look of irritation that fluttered across Athan's face. That was more emotion than she'd ever managed to work out of him despite her constantly trying to bug the other man enough so that he'd float away and leave. She had decided to make him regret ever choosing her for having to be caretaker for all of those shadows after she'd realized exactly what a large job he'd dropped off into her lap.
  
  "No," Athan gritted out between clenched teeth, "I do not eat souls. Nor will a fan blow me away." He folded his arms over his chest and glanced away from the two others in the room that were giggling at his expense. He did not appreciate being made fun of.
  
  His eyes narrowed as they fell onto one of the oil cloth satchets that had one of the more.. unique gems wrapped up into it. He stepped towards it and snatched it up before carefully untying it to allow the gem to show. "Now I have a question for you," Athan replied as he eyed the demon almost warily, "Do you know what sort of stone this is?" He held out a small blue stone in the palm of his hand. It was about an inch and half in diameter and had an odd holographic look to it.
  
  Wren was holding onto the side of a counter edge, leaning over as he laughed, simply because of the expression on Athan's face -- never mind that Reyna's laughter fueled his own and he couldn't stop it then. Athan's answer just made it all that much better and he continued laughing, grinning widely at Reyna until he managed to pull himself together with a few last chuckles.
  
  "Come on," he muttered to Reyna, "got to stop laughing, least he do something." Since she had yet to stop laughing either, but the chuckles were dying down. Clutching his side, he straightened back up and peered at Athan and the gemstone he was presenting. "... actually, it reminds me of Tiger's Eye, but it's not the right color to be that," he responded slowly, a questioning glance shot to Reyna. Not that he thought she knew what was up either, but ... hey. Stepping forward, he moved to get a better look at the gem.
  
  "Very close. It's a stone that's closely related to that one, but yes.. the coloring is wrong," he answered, "Well.. not wrong per say. It's called hawk's eye. Lovely color isn't it?" He smiled faintly before dropping it into the demon's palm. "Keep it. I think you'll enjoy having it," he smirked broadly before stepping away from the man.
  
  Reyna arched a brow as he drifted towards the door and her jaw all but dropped open when he actually left through the door. Since when did Mr. high and mighty Athan pretend to even be somewhat normal?
  
  She dropped her paintbrush and skittered over towards Wren to peer at the gem in his hand. "Well.. I have absolutely no idea what that was all about but it's pretty?" she replied as she ran a hand back through her hair in a sort of nervous gesture.
  
  Wren liked shiny things as much as the next person, but the fact that it came from somebody he had just poked fun at? That made him a little wary. Still, he liked the stone, and by the time he really let himself get away from the fact it was now his and ohsoshiny -- a stone from nature, which easily distracted -- Athan was already leaving through the door. Right, and what had just happened? "... it is a good color, yeah," he murmured to himself, looking up at Reyna.
  
  "Sure, it's pretty, just didn't expect it." He turned the gem over in his fingers a lot, inspecting it, before lifting up his glasses with a single hand and rubbing his eyes. "Probably about nothing, though." He hoped, at least. "But how about we get going with the painting and all that?" Ignore the burning questions in his mind, and get to the painting instead of playing around, yes.
  
  "Sounds like a plan to me," Reyna quipped with a smile as she got back to work and quietly went to painting. Mystic appeared a little while later and she formally introduced her 'shadow' to Wren. He helped, too, and managed to get the edges up around the top of the ceiling since he could float.
  
  It didn't occur to her that the gem that was hidden somewhere in Wren's pocket could be a Shadow Fiend as well. She'd only seen Mystic in his wisp form and not prior to that, though the way Athan had left and how he had acted did leave a sort of unsettling feeling deep in her gut. She frowned at that thought before brushing it aside as she focused on their work.
  
  With having someone else there to help her time seemed to slip past quickly and the job was definately finished a lot quicker than it had been when she'd been painting the other room. That had taken the longest, especially what with the painting on the ceiling. That had been quite a challenge, to say the least.

 

[Reyna Crelos]

A Dire Plot Revealed
Adapted from Roleplay with AthanShade, Chandra (Kamtrouble), & TarnishedHalo.

• Athan appeared quite literally out of nowhere in the shop. He seemed to pace for a moment before calling out for Reyna. He knew she was there since he could feel her presence but he was in too irritable a mood to go and fetch her.
  
  He smiled faintly when the silver haired girl in question poked her head around the corner and arched a brow, no doubt wondering what it was he wanted.
  
  "Just came to see... how things are going.." he murmured faintly as his eyes darted about the room almost as though he were nervous about something or suspected that something else might be there.
  
  Driven to take another nighttime stroll by a fight with her younger "sister", Chandra stumbled into the shop. She raised one eyebrow silently when she noted the man who had explained the black pearl to her. The man who she assumed had somehow shackled her with this depressing shadow.
  
  "Greetings." She said calmly, attempting to draw his attention.
  
  "Ah.. Nice to see you again, Chandra," Athan replied in that same smooth, almost elegant tone of voice he typically took with just about everyone, "I'm sure you and Pearl have gotten along well?" He smiled briefly before he frowned and his eyes darted about the room again.
  
  Something had unsettled him and left him tense and nervous -- something that was quite unlike his typical calm, cool, reserved demeanor.
  
  Reyna made her way into the main part of the shop after she put away whatever project she'd been working on away. She frowned quietly as she poked her head outside the doorway again to peer curiously at Athan.
  
  Normally he just appeared near her side in an effort to make her jump at his sudden presence. She hated that, but it was strange for him to not do it. "Wonder what he's up to now," she mused faintly before shaking her head and heading on into the main part of the shop to quietly busy herself while Athan spoke to the girl that she recognized faintly from a description he'd given her of a new Guardian.
  
  "I am not sure we have." Chandra said, noting Athan's odd behavior. He seemed nervous about something. Wrapping her arms over her chest, Chandra decided to pry. "Are you alright?"
  
  "Ah.. I'm just fine," he replied with a charming smile as his eyes darted briefly towards Reyna before focusing intently on the girl before him. "A bit.. anxious, I suppose," he murmured slowly as his eyes drifted faintly about the room as though he were looking for something or someone.
  
  His eyes narrowed and he focused intently on a shadow moving in the corner before breathing a slow, steady exhale when he realized it was only Mystic, Reyna's Shadow, that had been lurking about, no doubt curious as to what the sudden ruccus and sound of people in the shop was all about.
  
  "Tell me," he began as his gaze fell upon Chandra once more, "Have you noticed anything.. strange as of late? Another shadow perhaps that isn't your own?"
  
  Athan paled visibly as though frightened that the girl might come in contact with what he was looking for. "Should you see it, contact me or Reyna immediately," he replied as he cast a look in the silver haired girl's direction. "Though I'd hope that such a thing doesn't happen."
  
  He fell silent for an awkward moment before muttering a quiet excuse, "If you'll excuse me, Chandra. I need to discuss something urgent with Ms. Crelos. Though do feel free to roam about the shop. All Guardians are more than welcome here."
  
  He drifted away and caught the other girl by the arm before visibly dragging her into the other room.
  
  "Athan! The hell is wrong with you?" Reyna demanded in a low hissed breath as she pulled her arm free and glared balefully up at the man. She fell quiet and frowned when that strange sense of something being terribly wrong came back and hit her with full force. Since when had she been empathic.
  
  Something is coming, isn't it?, Mystic asked as he floated towards them both after emerging from a nearby wall that had been shadowed in darkness, I can feel it coming. What is it Athan?
  
  So that was the source of that feeling. It was her bond with Mystic, but what had him and Athan so antsy? "Who's coming?" she asked before scowling darkly when the man she was demanding answers from remained quiet. "What's going on? Tell me!"
  
  With a shrug, Chandra drifted back out into the night. Athan's behavior and abrupt departure had vaguely disturbed her, but she had other matters more pressing on her mind. No doubt she would have to answer to both Kam and Kiran when she returned for having been gone.
  
  Athan fell silent and seemingly refused to meet the girl's gaze before he glanced up, green eyes glowing faintly there in the darkness of the room. "There is.. another, like me, that is coming and I fear that he may.. cause us some trouble," he admitted before glancing away as he scowled darkly. He hated admitting fear or that he might need her help. It wasn't something his pride usually allowed for, but this was urgent -- everything was at stake.
  
  "W-what? Someone else like you?" Reyna gasped before visibly paling at the implications of that. Athan, despite his attitude and her generally not getting along with him, was utterly benign and could be downright generous when he wanted to be. To think that there could be someone else with powers similar to his was a bit like having a bucket of ice water dumped over your head.
  
  Another.. Athan! Athan I can feel them coming, too! Why is that?, Mystic whispered, his projected voice taking on a slightly frantic edge to it that sent shivers down Reyna's spine. In the several months that she'd been bonded to the Fiend she'd never heard such a strong hint of fear and emotion of that sort in his voice that whispered against her mind. He was always slightly shy when he spoke, as though afraid he'd truly intrude on her thoughts.
  
  "I'm going to jump out on a limb here and assume that this isn't a good thing? That this.. other person is coming here?" she murmured before her eyes narrowed and she stared over at Athan pointedly. "I've only got one question -- Why? Why would such a person be coming here with such malicious intent as you've suggested?"
  
  He took in a shuddery breath and paced back and forth across the room. Normally when he walked it appeared more like he was gliding or floating midair, but all the bravado and mystery he typically held about himself seemed to have vanished save for the glow of his green eyes.
  
  "I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this," he muttered as he walked about the room, "I didn't want to have to explain all of this so soon!"
  
  "Cut the crap, Athan! Get to the point and tell me why the hell this.. person or thing or whoever is coming this way?!" the silver haired woman demanded as she threw her hands up in the air in an exasperated fashion. She hated playing games with him, and if something bad was about to happen by this other person's presence they didn't have time to do such a thing.
  
  He stopped midstep and gazed levelly at the girl for a long moment before he folded his arms over his chest. He frowned briefly before seemingly coming to some internal decision.
  
  "An old.. friend, I guess you could say, is on their way here to stop me from releasing any more Shadow Fiends," he replied before exhaling slowly as though to keep his composure. He held up a hand as though to ward off any more comments from Reyna when she opened her mouth to speak. "The situation is far more complicated than I could ever explain to you in one sitting."
  
  He began pacing nervously again, muttering faintly under his breath as he resisted the urge to tear his fingers back through his hair that was hidden by his ever present cloak. "I know you want to know why.. but the timing is just so off.. I can't explain everything," he grumbled before sighing as he pressed a hand to his face.
  
  "But.. I suppose I must tell you this -- I am undoing what has been done by my former colleague. I'm releasing the souls that have been trapped within the stones you see within the Shadow Fiends," he replied after a moment. His voice had gone soft and his face shone with more emotion than Reyna had ever seen.
  
  Athan ended up explaining to Reyna, in great detail, more than she ever wanted to know, about his little creations called 'Shadow Fiends.' She learned what they had originally been: trapped souls within precious stones. They could be reborn to take on a shadow form, a shadow of what they once had been, but would have no memory whatsoever of who they were.
  
  They would never be able to regain that consciousness of their former selves, but they would be allowed to live again. It was a sad story he had told her. He and another had simply been mages who occasionally dabbled in darker arts, but his companion fell in too deep -- so much so that it twisted his soul into something sinister and purely evil.
  
  He trapped at first his enemies and those who opposed him inside the stones before his mind went completely mad and he moved on to more easy prey -- innocents. Reyna was hardly an innocent, something she knew for a fact, but it didn't stop the shudder that raked down her spine at the thought as she gazed over at Mystic, idly wondering who he had once been.
  
  Had he been one of his enemies? Or had he simply been a bystander in the way of a psychopath? It was hard for her to tell. Athan didn't even know when she had asked. It was a mystery, but one that chilled her to the core.
  
  She now sat in her shop the next day, moving about in a sort of mechanical way as her mind worried over the situation. Athan had disappeared the evening before, claiming only that he needed to find answers and perhaps warn others. It was a dire situation, and she hardly knew where to begin or how to explain to the other Guardians that the creatures they had become bonded to, and even themselves, were now potentially in grave danger if a way to stop the force that was coming wasn't found.
  
  Halo had decided to swing by the shop for no other reason than.. well she felt she needed to. This weirdass thing was left on her doorstep and now it was following her around. And Wren was annoyed, not at her, but this Athan guy.
  
  She'd been told all about it and she knew Reyna only slightly through her husband. But she thought maybe it would be nice to come around.. instead of hiding in the house all the time and causing trouble.
  
  Reyna was lounging quietly in an over plush chair, gazing silently over at the cases full of sparkling jewels. They weren't the 'special' ones that Athan used to create his shadows. Those were stored in the back in a safe place, but it still left her with a sort of unsettling feeling at the sight of them.
  
  She was dragged out of her thoughts when someone entered the shop. She smiled when she recognized the girl as someone familiar -- Wren's wife. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as a small wisp trailed in behind her in her shadow. She hadn't known that Athan had gifted her with one as well.
  
  Halo looked at Reyna and smiled before she followed the other's gaze back to Bloodstone hugging her shadow. She was thankful that this stone was not as troublesome as Wren's.
  
  "Hey Reyna.." She waved a bit and walked further in. "So I found this on my step and figured I'd stop by." Fairly nonchalant way of saying it.
  
  "So I see," she chuckled faintly before shaking her head and pressing a hand to her face as though imagining Wren's reaction at discovering that Athan had bestowed his wife with a little 'gift' as well. The tension in her shoulders and overall appearence seemed to bleed away at that thought, distracting her from her ominous thoughts from moments ago.
  
  "How are you taking to being.. well... stalked by your own Shadow?" she snickered, "It took me a good while to get used to Mystic." At the mention of the Fiend's name he appeared, fading in through one of the walls as he clinged to the shadows that were scattered there.
  
  His jewel tinted eyes immediately flickered towards the small wisp just as Reyna's had, and a sort of child-like curiosity replaced the almost worried expression that had been on his face. Another one.. I thought there was another. I felt it awaken, he murmured in a soft voice, that brushed against their minds.
  
  She honestly wasn't sure if it was Mystic's demeanor that made his telepathic speech so soft and almost hesitant, or if it was just the way it was with his kind. They wouldn't know, of course, until another Fiend aged as he had.
  
  Halo blinked when she saw the other. "Oh it's not so bad. Sort of.. calms me down a bit. I think it's giving me more motherly instinct than is natural." She chuckled slightly and fluffed her mohawk.
  
  "So.. is that what it'll grow to eventually?" She peered at Mystic. Bloodstone peeked out form her leg at the other fiend and shimmered a bit in recognition but that was all.
  
  "Mine is Bloodstone. I call it Bloo. Because.. well I'm odd like that."
  
  She turned slightly eye Mystic as he hovered in place, head tilted to the side as he watched the small wisp skitter about it's bonded's legs. "As far as I know, yes.. he's kind of a teenager right now, though his age doesn't nessecarily reflect it so much as his physical form does," she replied slowly.
  
  "He's Mystic Topaz.. I just call him Mystic. Whatever works," she went on as she crossed her arms and glanced towards the floor as her thoughts from earlier came back to her. She and her Shadow had become so close. He was dear to her almost as though he were her child, and to possibly lose him .. -- She didn't like the thought of that, even if when she'd first 'aquired' him she hadn't been too happy about the situation.
  
  "Hi Mystic.." Halo waved a little but was really unsure how you greeted a fiend.
  
  Her attention was back on Reyna though as the woman seemed to be very troubled. Halo wasn't good at comfort but there was a wave of sympathy emanating from Bloo that seemed to absorb into her. She was getting used to that feeling.
  
  "Hey Reyna.. you ok?" She took a step forward and set a hand on the other's shoulder tentatively. It was somehting she probably wouldn't normally do without a shadow fiend nudging her on.
  
  Mystic waved and blinked as his gaze settled on her before shifting towards his Guardian. He felt the same feeling that Bloo did, only it was stronger since he was directly bonded to Reyna.
  
  "I.. well, no," she began before laughing faintly as she admitted it out loud. She wasn't one to admit her own fears and worries, though she was in a sort of position to share what was wrong with Halo since technically she was involved as well. Damn, Athan.. getting us all in over our heads.. , she thought to herself. Really she was more irritated that because of his little rivalry with her bestfriend that she'd managed to drag said friend's significant other into the mess as well. If things ended badly...
  
  She sighed before glancing up to meet the other woman's eyes for a moment. "I'm afraid that we've all been unknowingly dragged into.. a very, very complicated situation," she murmured slowly as she motioned towards Bloodstone.
  
  Halo lifted her eyebrow at Reyna's admittance but just sort of smirked a bit, "That happened to me once before.. I married Wren." She smirked a bit at her stupid joke (even if it was true) and just shook her head. "What do you mean though?"
  
  "Well," she began after laughing quietly at Halo's joke, "Long story short? There's a guy somewhere out there that's.. kind of like Athan. Only evil and he wants to destroy all the Shadows that have been created." She sighed and leaned back in the chair as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
  
  "There's.. also a chance that if it destroyed them we, as Guardians, could go down with them since we're bonded to them," she went on, though honestly she wasn't all that concerned with her own well-being. She'd lived longer than most, though it wasn't something she boasted about.
  
  "Athan is out running around right now trying to figure out how to stop him," she explained, "So if your Shadow starts getting a little antsy, it's because Bloo can feel the other person's presence, and if you happen to see a shadow other than your own or anything strange.. well.. contact me if you can."
  
  Halo listened and frowned. No that wasn't good. She didn't need to be dying off anytime soon.
  
  "Yeah.. I'll let you know.." She felt something from Bloo that made her want to pound this mysterious evil person's face in. In the name of.. righteousness or something?
  
  Halo swatted her hand at the fiend behind her who sunk back and hid again. "I think Bloo wants us to fight him.." She chuckled a bit.
  
  "Oh," Reyna began with a dark smirk that seemed to twist at her lips, "There will most definitely be a fight to be had if it comes to that. I have absolutely no intention of letting Mystic or any of the others, Guardians included, come to harm."
  
  She fell quiet as she scowled down at the floor angrily. There was no way in hell she'd back down and give in without a fight, even if it meant using a bit of magic herself that she hadn't dared try in many years.

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Trecherous Shadows Indeed
Adapted from Roleplay with azuredreams (Wren).

• It was later than normal, but Reyna was closing the shop late as it was. Not that it mattered what time it was; the only thing that mattered was getting what it needed to get done, done.
  
  Loose ends were never to remain loose ends forever, not with him. Doran was hidden completely, no way to see him at all. Any light that shined in his direction, even the light of the moon above, was devoured by the shadows and darkness around him. It was as if his entire being was nothing but shadows for the time being, his body nothing but darkness.
  
  And now he was observing, only observing. The woman who Athan had chosen to look after those that had been locked away. After all, it was best to know what there was to deal with and he was ready to make his move. Throw down his cards, so to speak.
  
  So Doran was there, outside in the shadows that surrounded the shop. If he had been more than just darkness, he might have smirked, but instead, he seemed to radiate dark amusement. How easy it would be to make a move against the woman closing this shop, as well as her 'shadow', but for now?
  
  For now he was waiting. He was patient.
  
  The silver haired woman cursed under her breath as she fumbled with the keys to the shop. She'd gotten so caught up in one of her paintings that she didn't notice what time it was until Mystic pointed it out to her.
  
  "And you do know that the buses don't run this late right?" she grumbled in her Shadow's direction, "Luckily for you, you can just float." She scowled darkly as she shut the door to the shop behind her and then locked it after searching for the right key.
  
  She turned and walked down the street a ways before pausing mid-step. Mystic faded into view and she felt brief waves of curiosity and then worry that mirrored her own. She could have sworn she felt something. It was like a brief, familiar tingle of magic that thrilled down her spine.
  
  This one, this shadow of the woman's was bound to be the eldest one around. If she was the first guardian and this one the first released, he had to be. Doran maintained a good distance from her and Mystic, never coming too close.
  
  He was just observing, studying them and somehow amused at how the bond between them was. With certain spells it was far to easy to see the lines of a bond between her and the shadow. Though Doran couldn't remember, or even know, who this one might have once been, he was amused by a single thought.
  
  If these shadows knew what they rightly were, some would not like the fact that they were bonded as they were to these people. However, Doran was sure of himself, and as it was? These released creatures would never live long enough to even understand themselves and what they could become.
  
  Moving closer, but still unseen, Doran slipped from shadow to shadow, watching this woman. How intriguing she must be, to have been chosen by Athan. But honestly, to him, she didn't look like much. Athan's choices had never been good ones anyway, not to him.
  
  Athan had chosen her for very good reasons -- reasons that Reyna didn't want exposed for various reasons. He had once told her that she had an affinity for darkness. Shadows were simply drawn to her as was dark magic.
  
  She neglected to inform him why that was so, and she'd be damned if she ever truly revealed himself to him. "******** b*****d," she muttered darkly as she tightened her arms about herself and kept walking at a faster pace. She was eager to get home. Her one visible eye ached from the strain of staying up too late and from squinting at a half finished canvas painting.
  
  Mystic hovered closely to her and fidgeted nervously as he skitter from shadow to shadow before simply clinging to her own as though he were simply a small wisp. She didn't have to ask or pry at their bond to know what was up. He'd been acting weird ever since Athan had sprung the news that his old comrade was lurking about in the shadows biding his time.
  
  She glowered darkly at that thought before shivering again as the feeling from before returned. It was stronger this time and with it came the scent of old, very dark magic. Her red eye narrowed and she idly scanned the area, but there was nothing there to be seen and it left her feeling greatly disturbed.
  
  It was brief, maybe even hardly noticed, but for a moment as Reyna passed by a street light, there was the hint of a figure in the shadows that surrounded it. Something similar to a pair of eyes might have even been visible, a deep silvery color, all most grey, and glowing faintly.
  
  But as fast as Doran had let himself be there, barely visible, he was gone from that spot and moving to the next. There was something about this woman, something that told him that she may be more than he realized. Darkness was called to her, it seemed. He could all most feel the tug of it and it was fascinating by it.
  
  Something to think about later on, when his thoughts turned inward and the plans unraveled themselves in his mind. Lingering for a bit longer, though only watching the pair slip farther away from him, Doran amused himself by watching the other shadow.
  
  The way it was so nervous and clinging to the woman's shadow as if it could make him feel better. Mentally chuckling to himself, Doran was only amused. When the time came, there wouldn't be any shadow that would offer solace to any of these 'shadow fiends'.
  
  But for right now, he'd let them think they were safe.

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Something Wicked
The end of the 'Something Wicked' plot arc.

• Over a series of several long weeks, Reyna continued to feel as something or someone were watching her when she left the shop late in the evenings. It was frustrating as hell. Whenever she looked for someone there, all she saw was shadow -- and not even the suspicious kind.
  
  Mystic hovered nervously at her side almost constantly. Rare was the occasion he wasn't there by her side. It was almost as though he were a tiny wisp again who was afraid to leave her shadow. She couldn't offer him any comfort though. She was just as antsy as he was. The feeling of foreboding she felt and the feelings of anxiety that fairly radiated off Mystic was rather difficult to stomach after a while.
  
  Things seemed to only get worse when Athan decided it was a good idea to lurk around the shop more often. He typically peppered her with questions she didn't know or simply couldn't answer. Those questions would lead to more questions and then he'd fall quiet. He'd pace restlessly after that before finally disappearing in that eerie way he did, only to return hours or sometimes even minutes later to begin the entire process all over again...
  
  
  --
  
  Reyna sighed irritably as she rubbed the back of her neck. It had gone stiff what with how she'd been hunched over her latest masterpiece. It was then that she remembered why she preferred to work with acrylic paints rather than watercolor. Watercolors were best done flat and taped down to a solid surface which of course meant she was bent over the paper in a rather uncomfortable position.
  
  Already she could feel the beginnings of a headache pulsate at her temples. The pain seemed to reverberate inside her skull and she grumbled under her breath as she pushed away from the desk to stretch her lanky limbs out. She idly glanced towards Mystic's direction who had busied himself with a small drawing of his own.
  
  He'd pestered her enough that she'd finally broken down and bought him his own little sketchbook and some rather nice pencils that were perfect for beginners. She had to hand it to him, he really was quite good, even for a beginner. She had a sneaky suspicion though that it was a talent he'd simply sucked up somehow from her through their bond. He seemed to carry quite a few of her traits sometimes. It was almost eerie.
  
  What was more eerie was the nagging feeling in the back of her head that seemed to worsen her headache. She sighed again and pressed her fingertips against her temples before running her hands back through her cropped, silver hair.
  
  "Mm.. I think we should close up shop early today, Mystic. Business is slow, and I'm feeling sort of cranky," she informed him. Really, she wanted to be home before dark. At night that twisting, gnawing feeling in her gut worsened to the point that she almost felt sick. It wasn't so bad in the daylight. It was ironic really -- she usually preferred night to day.
  
  She moved to clean up the mess she made and wash out her paintbrushes before frowning when she heard the bell to the front door ring signaling that someone had come inside. She peeked through the door to the adjoining room where she'd been washing the brushes to see who it was.
  
  "Reyna! I think I've found a solution!" Athan declared, surprising her with both the fact that he was there, and by the fact that he'd come through the door like a normal person.
  
  "To what?" she asked dryly, even though she knew the answer all too well. It was almost a reflex that she reply with something snide or catty when it came to Athan.
  
  "I found an old spell that I think might work on Doran and rid him of us for good.. I think," he replied as he plopped down a dusty old book that was several inches thick on top of her desk that she'd just finished cleaning off. Dust rose around it in little plumes before finally settling as he opened the volume and flipped through the pages and stopped at a certain chapter. "We can trap him with his very own magic.. he won't see that coming," Athan smirked, looking rather pleased with himself.
  
  It wasn't quite dusk yet and Wren knew that the shop Reyna and Athan controlled didn't close until sometime after dark. There was just small fact about that: Wren didn't want to be caught alone after dark. Not when Hawk's Eye was barely visible in his shadow, the only sign he was even there a glint of his gem from his chest.
  
  The fiend was as shaken up as he was and showing it far more. But what could the demon expect? He had laid down to take an afternoon nap and soon found himself trapped in a vision apparently Hawk's Eye was having. It had been disturbing and destructive. Even now he could still remember the sight that he and the fiend had come across in the vision. The blood that he had seen, the slow pull of energy slipping out of his own body that was Hawk's Eye.
  
  And then it hadn't stopped as Hawk's Eye was screaming and disappearing from his mind, but it went on as he had slowly collapsed to the ground and his own energy giving. There had been others, he was sure, going through it but the only one around him was Reyna. He had now idea where his wife was or what had happened to her, only a sickening feeling that she couldn't have lasted as long as he was. Reyna and him had been left, slowly slipping as even two demons couldn't last forever as their life was being eventually sucked out of them.
  
  Athan, he could remember, had fallen far too easily under the power of Doran ... Was that the name Wren and Hawk's Eye remembered from the vision? The man, if he could be called that, was hardly anything like it. Doran had been nothing but shadows and glinting eyes in darkness that he controlled.
  
  He had enjoyed their fall too much in the vision.
  
  Wren shook his head, blowing a streak of black hair from his eyes. When he had come to earlier, he could remember the faint voice of Hawk's Eye in his mind. Didn't mean too ...
  
  The mischievous young fiend hadn't meant to show the vision to him, but he seemed too shaken up to share much beyond that. That was the final straw. Hawk's Eye had been having numerous visions of late. The weeks had passed and Wren was sure whatever had decided to stalk and play games with Athan and the guardians, along with their Shadow Fiends, couldn't have been done away with. Not with Hawk's Eye still acting as he was.
  
  It was wearing on him, the consistent sense of stress and fatigue from Hawk. The feeling of fear he couldn't block out. Going to the shop was the only thing he could think of, since Reyna couldn't be home. Yet, he hoped. He had to tell her what Hawk had let him see and then see if they could do anything -- if Athan had done anything yet.
  
  The door to the shop opened up easily and Wren stepped in, trying to shake off the chill that went down his spine. Even if he was hiding it, the way his posture was gave away his mood. The fact that Hawk's Eye looked like he had his arms wrapped around Wren's shoulders and was hiding his face against the back of the demon's neck said something else entirely.
  
  Wasn't a good thing either.
  
  Reyna glanced up from the passage she'd been reading from the massive book Athan had brought in with him. She smiled faintly at the sight of Wren and Hawk. She hadn't seen him since he'd grown! He was turning out to be quite a handsome little.. shadow. If she hadn't been so worried over figuring out how to help Athan work the spell she would have laughed at that and probably teased the little Fiend about it as well. Unfortunately they had more pressing matters at hand.
  
  "Hey, Wren," she murmured faintly before falling quiet for a brief moment when she took in her friend's appearance as though seeing him for the first time since he walked in through the door. Those worried lines on his face weren't supposed to be there, nor was Hawk supposed to be hiding behind his shoulders. He was a child Fiend -- he should have been poking through all the gems in the cases and causing mass chaos not slinking around as though afraid of -- Oh.
  
  "I'd ask you what you're doing over here in my neck of the woods but I've got an eerie feeling I already know," Reyna replied slowly before glancing towards Athan who turned to face the two with a look that was equally grave as Wren's.
  
  Normally there would be snide remarks exchanged between the two, most of it was playful banter and only half-serious, but this time Athan greeted Wren with a loud, echoing sort of silence that weighed heavy in the room. "What has he Seen?" he asked simply. He was bonded to all the Shadows to at least some extent, and he knew of the stones powers. It had to be what had brought them there.
  
  "It's good that you're here, though," Athan went on as he turned back towards the book, "You can help Reyna and I with a spell. It's rather complicated and two such people with your uh.. talents, would be incredibly helpful. The general idea is to trap Doran with one of his own spells. Specifically, the one he used to lock up souls in stones. Here's hoping he still has some semblance of one."
  
  Reyna sighed faintly and stared down worriedly at the book as Mystic floated over towards her side and took in the sight of Hawk for the first time. It was a shame that their first meeting would be under such strained circumstances, especially after he'd heard so much about the Fiend that had caused her long time friend so much trouble. He'd been looking forward to meeting Hawk.
  
  Wren just snorted lightly at Reyna and what she said, though he raised his hand to greet her and let the door drift shut behind him. If anything, it looked like his friend wasn't in much better shape than he was. "Ah, well. If you know, you know. Kind of hard not too at this point." His words sounded cheerful, but there was a sharp edge to them. This particular demon concerned and edgy was one that had to hold on hard to playing nicely with people. These moments it was easy to see that he really was the demon he claimed to be.
  
  He felt mildly better, however, that the others didn't look any better. Reyna looked tired and most likely not just from her work. Probably from the never ending feeling of something not quite right with the world at large -- their portion of it at least. The demon finally moved closer to the small group, eyes locked with Athan.
  
  A grim little smile on his face as he briefly glanced at Hawk who was peering around his neck towards the other briefly. "Usually he delights in sharing what he Sees with me, at least if it's potentially chaotic for me. Not lately though. He's not sharing a thing." The demon paused, watching Athan and the way the other seemed devoid of his typical arrogant flare, the one that he saw there sometimes. It was what made him poke at the other, exchange retorts and barbed words back and forth. Just right now he couldn't play that game. No one could.
  
  "This time, he didn't have a choice in the matter. From what I can gather, it was like everything had gone wrong in a fight. Let's just say that I don't believe any of us made it through." The demon paused, running a hand through his hair and shaking his shoulders some as if he was trying to dislodge Hawk's Eye. The fiend wasn't moving however, keen on attaining some sort of comfort by attaching himself to his guardian.
  
  "Doran?" Wren asked after listening to Athan, snorting at his comment about his 'talents'. "Doran was, well. He's who Hawk Saw. Not that it matters now, but I suppose if you believe this spell might work I might as well lend my support. How's it work?" Curiosity of both fiend and guardian seemed to kick in and as Wren moved closer to Athan, he was trying to get a good look at the book he was turned towards. It looked old to him, ancient, and the writing that he could see looked vaguely familiar.
  
  Hawk only spared a brief glance at the other fiend, a brief flicker of recognition in his eyes at the other. If he could've, there might've been a slight smile in greeting. As it was, he only nodded his head slightly. Silence was his friend at the moment and he felt none too interested in seeing what he could do with Mystic. Or do to him.
  
  "Doran is much to my dismay, an old colleague of mine I believed to be long since dead. The stones that the Fiends come from are actually his creations. The both of us occasionally dabbled in the darker arts. There's never anything wrong with learning to attain more knowledge in my book, and that's what it started out as," Athan confessed as he turned the page and continued scanning the book at the same time as though searching for something in particular, "I didn't mind when he began going after his enemies, either. Surely, I thought, they had done things just as hideous to him. Though when he began going after innocents and trapping their souls for sport.. well.. that's where I drew the line."
  
  He sighed as he continued to flip through pages and scan the paragraphs. He looked disturbingly human at that moment rather than the foreboding, arrogant man Reyna and Wren both knew him to be. The wind that seemed to be constantly flowing in changing directions about him had ceased, and he looked paler than usual. His eyes still glowed an eerie green, lending to the fact that maybe he really wasn't entirely human. "My own moral misgivings aside," he went on, "Doran has managed to survive being killed once by more conventional means and now he is after us because well.. your guess is as good as mine. I'm going to assume he's not happy about my releasing the souls he's trapped."
  
  Reyna had heard Athan's little story once before when he'd first ran into the shop in a flurry of upset and had dragged her aside from her customers to explain in a hushed tone that something was coming. Mystic had actually said the words first. He'd panicked and flown to her shadow to cling to her side and he had been doing just that ever since.
  
  "So.. what do we need to stir this particular spell?" she asked to get an idea of what they were dealing with.
  
  "I'm looking for the list of ingredients.. yes.. right here," Athan murmured as his finger stopped on one particular paragraph that held a detailed list of ingredients. "I know we'll need a stone for sure. I'm thinking quartz. It'll handle all of his negative energy well," he replied with a sort of bemused smile, but quite truly it was merely a ghost of an expression.
  
  He paled suddenly as he glanced through the list. Most of the things on there he knew he already had in his possession but there was one such item that he definitely didn't have. "Not good," he stated quietly as he ran a hand idly back through his hair, disrupting the hood to his cloak slightly, "This spell calls for dragon's breath. I'll be damned. I haven't so much as seen a dragon in centuries."
  
  "..."
  
  Athan glanced up, unnerved at the sudden amount of attention that was being focused on him. Four sets of eyes settled on him intently before Reyna seemed to fairly erupt, cursing up a storm and flinging every insult she could muster (in a couple of different languages) at Athan. He'd claimed to have found a solution. An old spell he didn't know that even worked with ingredients that hadn't existed in ages was not a solution to their problem! It meant they were doomed, that's what it meant!
  
  "You have to be ******** kidding me!" she all but shrieked, "Athan.. I swear I will kill you if Doran doesn't get either of us first!"
  
  Hawk's Eye was slowly starting to slip forward. Ignoring Wren, though keeping close to his guardian. If anything, he could count on the fact that despite it all, Wren wouldn't actually do true harm to him, though he couldn't say the same about himself. Besides, he was getting a closer look at Athan. Something was tickling his mind in the back of it, a picture in his mind he couldn't quite grasp yet. There was something he should've realized, but ... well, he just let the thought drift away.
  
  The talk of magic and spells was something that interested Hawk's Eye, so he turned his attention to that, unobtrusively poking at Wren's mind to see if the other had anything he was willing to share with him. Hawk's Eye was not like the feien bonded to his caretaker. Not all knowledge instantly came to him as he came to be as he was, but he was quick to learn and quicker to use what he had learned.
  
  Letting out a small snort, eyes glancing to Hawk, Wren let him share some of what he knew. "It's not truly a Dark Art unless you apply it to a dark means. Magic's more of a grey area until you apply the intent of the person." The demon paused, studying Athan and rolling his eyes a bit. It was all too believable that Athan and his friend Doran could get caught up in something like this -- and he could remember all too well the information he had heard about the story. And then again? Wren really had no room to talk about dark things, considering that everything about him was truly dark in nature -- he just acted otherwise.
  
  Listening in and noting some of the things mentioned, eyes cutting to Reyna briefly then to Athan as he finally spoke again, he arched an eyebrow and just stared. Really stared. It was a rare actual glare from the demon. ( And, briefly, his mind did decide to take note how normal Athan looked. It would've been creepy and worth noting, but this wasn't the time. ) He was silent, through Reyna's cursing, his blue eyes seemingly turning icy and there was a faint glow for a moment. A small sign of irritation.
  
  Their solution was potentially nothing but a dud and they'd all end up dead. What a lovely, ohsolovely, thought.
  
  "Just a small thought," he said idly, the words sounding far too sweet too cover his vexation, "but we are in a place where potentially a dragon can be found." The demon paused, lifting up his glasses and rubbing his eyes for a moment. "But dragon's breath doesn't necessarily mean dragon's breath, right? Wasn't there a plant or something called that?" His glasses were put back into place and the smile on his face none too pleasant despite appearances.
  
  "Exactly right," Athan replied, "But the plant that this spell calls for is obscure to begin with and hasn't existed in.. well.. a very long time. We don't have the time to go searching through this entire realm to find out if it does still exist in some remote area." He sighed faintly and pressed a hand to his face, inwardly cursing himself and the fact that he'd ever associated himself with Doran. If it had been only his life that was in danger, it wouldn't been such a problem, but he had the lives of all the Guardians he'd bonded the Fiends to and the Shadows themselves.
  
  Needless to say it was a horribly messy sort of situation that he'd found himself in, and he knew it was up to him to remedy their little problem.
  
  Reyna fell quiet as she contemplated her friend's words and Athan's own silence before she felt Mystic rustle near her side to peer down at the book over her shoulder. His dark hands drifted towards the pages to read the list of ingredients. Maybe it can be done. There are many strange plants in our gardens at home. Might it be there? I know some of these things are in the house..
  
  The silver haired woman arched a brow at her Shadow's knowledge of the more secret things she kept in their home. She figured he'd poked through the gardens but that little admission led her to believe that maybe he'd found a way around some of the locked, sealed doors within their house. Either way, there was no time to sit and question him about such things. They had more pressing matters to attend to.
  
  "Well," Athan replied slowly, "That'd certainly be helpful but starting a spell without all the proper ingredients would be as wise as trying to reason diplomatically with Doran." His voice took on a sort of dry, bitter tone to it as he spoke. He looked weary and tired, and Reyna couldn't help but wonder when was the last time he'd slept... if indeed he did such a thing.
  
  Hawk was ignoring the others, focusing on his bonded guardian who seemed to be thinking of something. There was one mental image that the demon of his seemed to be focused on. A flower, a strikingly beautiful flower, in moonlight. What's that? Hawk's voice flitted softly across Wren's mind, distracting him from his thoughts and the demon looked up from the point on the book he had been staring at.
  
  A solution to a potential problem, if anything. Nice to see you're so interested in what I know about spells and protection. That was enough to send Hawk into a small fume, the shadow sharply turning and giving Wren a piercing stare. The demon merely smiled widely, turning to look at Athan and Reyna now that he wasn't stuck in his own thoughts.
  
  "Nah, I'm sure Doran would love to sit down with us over a spot of tea and discuss a treaty." He snorted. "Actually, no. I'm sure he'd like to destroy us all while drinking a cup himself, but he doesn't seem friendly enough to share. Damn shame too." Rolling his eyes, trying to lighten the mood some, but probably poorly, Wren moved forward and looked closer at the book and the necessary items needed.
  
  "Is dragon's breath the only one that's seems to be giving you an issue with locating, or is there something else?"
  
  "That would be the only problem at the moment. Everything else I have on hand, though Reyna, do you truly have all of these things that Mystic believes you to have? It would save me the trouble of going home and retrieving all the items we need.. which could waist precious time since your home is closer," Athan replied as he glanced over towards the silver haired woman who was fidgeting with the edges of her eye patch.
  
  "Mmhm.. I do. Though any quartz I have is probably tainted," she replied before smiling at that last bit. Her own skills with magic and other.. talents she kept hidden remarkably well, though the magic that had ruined her left eye had the tendency to warp all the spell making ingredients that had to be kept completely pure and untouched. The seals and locks on many of the rooms in her home weren't entirely for the sake of privacy and keeping prying eyes out.
  
  "You might want to get your own stone then," she went on as she tilted her head to the side as though in deep thought. "Yes.. go fetch your own quartz and I can purify the rest and start the spell. You'll have to finish it though. I lack the talent to truly complete a spell like that," she murmured as she tapped at the pages of the book. It was a lie. She could complete a spell as complicated as that, but there was a chance it wouldn't turn out quite the way they all hoped it would.
  
  "So.. where to get the dragon's breath.." she spoke aloud as her gaze slowly drifted over towards Wren who seemed not at all upset by their 'problem' of having a missing ingredient. Then again, she knew her old friend always seemed to have something up his sleeve, and like most demons, he had connections. It was a shame she had to sever all of her own..
  
  "Ah, I'd offer some quartz, but I doubt any I've got around the house at home is any of the caliber you really need." Wren snorted, lifting his head to study the other two. The seemingly young looking demon did have his connections. He had more than his fair share, but he really didn't enjoy the fact that he'd have to risk a run in with people he didn't want to deal with. Though, his back itched idly, an urge to ditch hiding his wings and let them free. He could do that if he had to go where he thought he would.
  
  "If you need any assistance with spells or the like, just tell me what needs to be done and I'll do it. Though from what looks of the spell, I may be able to help out with some parts of it." It was a rarity that Wren actually admitted to having any sort of ability or power, preferring to seem harmless as opposed to a danger. Except, in times like these he didn't play around, and he just shot Hawk another look. His shadow had come back to his own and was just quietly contemplating something that was on his mind.
  
  "Just won't be able to help out for a bit." There was a wide grin on his face, fangs visible and the look present down right evil. "Because I'm going to go get the dragon's breath for us and we can do this spell and get Doran out of our hair."
  
  "I knew there was a reason why I've always been friends with you," Reyna declared with a sort of fierce looking grin. "That's settled then. You get the dragon's breath, I'll get the spell started, and Athan can go get the quartz," she went on, grin still in place as things seemed to slip into place. It made the entire situation easier to deal with.
  
  "We'll meet at Reyna's house, then," Athan spoke up, "It shouldn't take more than a few hours for me to acquire the stone, though the spell will take up quite a bit of our time. No need to waste a moment more." He smiled faintly and left Reyna with the book as he walked towards the door and seemingly disappeared as he stepped through it.
  
  She still couldn't help but feel that it was terribly eerie when Athan walked through doors like a normal person. She shook her head and ran one hand back through her short hair before snatching up the book. She coughed briefly when it sent a plume of dust up into the air when she shut it. "Let's get moving then," she murmured as she headed towards the door as well.
  
  She locked the door behind Wren and offered him a small smile before he left. "Be careful, and try not to do things I would do," she teased, though her heart wasn't really in it. She knew all too well that her friend could handle himself. Really she was more worried about the spell somehow going wrong and Hawk's visions of destruction coming true.
  
  Reyna.. Mystic whispered against her mind in a sort of weak, slightly frightened voice. She glanced up to meet his jeweled gaze and paled visibly at the sudden overwhelming amount of fear that rushed through their bond. Doran.. I.. I think he knows.. he feels closer..
  
  Her visible eye widened slightly at that admission before she reached for the Shadow's hand to twine her fingers in his. "Then it's best we hurry," she breathed in a low voice before simply taking off towards their home, moving far faster than the average human could ever dream of.
  
  "All ways thought it was my charming personality that won you as a friend," Wren said, winking at Reyna, before stretching his arms out above his head and mentally preparing himself for the trip he was about to make. He wasn't going to like it one bit, but he'd manage it all the same. The demon only gave Athan a small nod, holding back the urge to tell him to keep safe.
  
  Lost in his thoughts for a moment, Wren moved to head out after Athan did, only turning to look at Reyna and murmur a brief bless you, and then open the door to head out. "Oh, don't worry, I'll do things I do -- which may actually be worse." And the glint in his eyes said that the statement would be very well true in this case. "You be safe, though. Hawk's still feeling uneasy, and with the things he's probably seen ..." Wren trailed off, waving good bye to his friend. She'd be all right, he was sure, but still.
  
  Sighing, Wren turned his attention to Hawk's Eye as Reyna moved on, biting back at the groan as Hawk's panic seemed to heighten for several moments. It made his own pulse pick up and he let out a steady breath. Now was the time to put all those skills of his to use and he calmed himself, detaching from the panic that Hawk's Eye was feeling. Calm down, Hawk, even if Doran was around, in a bit he won't be able to follow us.
  
  Seen too much. Was all Hawk offered in reply and Wren shook his head, walking along the path that would take him back to his own house. His mind was all ready running over the words in his mind he needed to use to get where he was going to. His hands were out in front of him moving in a pattern, a swirl of darkness appearing in front of him as he opened up into a shimmering portal. "In any case, Pierce, you may want to hide yourself very well within my shadow. The company we're about to be in could probably make the Morningstar himself look like a saint."
  
  And once the portal was opened enough, and Wren was sure it was one of the checkpoints he needed to pass through, he took a breath and went through. After that the portal promptly winked out of existence, all traces of him and Hawk's Eye gone.

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Something Wicked
The end of the 'Something Wicked' plot arc.

• Reyna remembered why it was she didn't like using spells -- they were a royal pain in the a**. Particularly so if they were written in the older languages, which the one they needed was. Typically the original authors of such old volumes were wise asses and left quite a bit open to interpretation. They were all just damned lucky that she knew what she was doing, otherwise they would have all been doomed even without Doran hot on their trails.
  
  She had neatly scrawled a circle and various markings out on the slate floor and was careful not to smudge any of the lines. They entire room was composed of panels of slate, all for drawing up spells like she was doing. Mystic floated over head to read verses to her while she worked, something she found to be infinitely helpful. The room seemed to calm him some and she knew it had to be because of the wards that had been placed on it. It was a safe place, but she knew all too well that no place would be truly safe if Doran was as powerful as Athan hinted at.
  
  "Speak of the devil," she murmured softly without looking up when the man in question appeared in the doorway. She paused for a brief moment when she glanced up and realized that his customary dark robes were strangely missing. He looked.. so very human. It truly was disturbing, more so than his using a door like a normal person.
  
  "And he shall appear," he replied as he sidestepped inside the doorway to avoid smudging any of the lines that Reyna had so neatly scrawled out on the floor. He wore dark pants and a sleeveless shirt that was just as dark. His hair was long, far longer than she thought it would have been and ended at the middle of his back in what appeared to be dreds.
  
  Had she not been preoccupied with what she was working on she probably would have taken the time to tease him about his appearance, but that brief moment that she paused in her work was more than she cared to waste. "Got the stone?" she asked simply.
  
  "Yes.. is Wren back yet?" he asked as he slowly walked around the circle as though double-checking her work. It irked her slightly, but then again she knew he was more adept at magic and mistakes, even small ones, weren't something they could risk. Her ego would simply have to be shoved aside.
  
  "No.. he still has plenty of time though before it comes time to use the dragon's breath," she informed him before standing slowly. She stretched her arms up over her head and sighed when her spine popped in a few places. She'd been kneeling over the floor for far too long.
  
  It would be a bit longer before Wren would return, but he did eventually. Hawk's Eye once again let himself be completely visible as they came through the portal that he opened in front of Reyna's home and knocked once before heading in. ( Damned if he'd actually break down a friend's wards to just transport in entirely, but clear areas were better as it was. )
  
  "Reyna? Athan?" he called out loudly, to announce his presence. In his arms, carefully being carried was a beautiful flower. It was encased in a glass, though part of it could be moved and lifted off as a top, and the base was filled with dirt. It obviously looked like it might've been a well loved and taken care of plant.
  
  Except it hadn't been. Not in the slightest. It had been a part of plants kept as a means of bartering by a pair of demons. A pair of demons that Wren had not wanted to deal with and because of it he was in a particularly foul mood. His face was set in a scowl and even Hawk's Eye wasn't willing to poke at him at this point, but the shadow fiend was still dealing with the ill feeling and the fear of what Doran could potentially do. Wren's appearance had changed since he left and was different as he made his way through the house. His horns were longer, curling towards the back of his head, his hair was all most pitch black, and his skin looked an unearthly pale and glimmered faintly in the lighting, sometimes looking like scales that reflected an endless amount of colors. There was a tail that was briefly curled around his ankle and it lashed out in irritation as reflection of his mood. The scales were black, but reflected just as the scales else where did, and there was a tuft of fur at the tip.
  
  The benefits of traveling dimensions and other factors lead to Wren being unable to maintain his human guise, particularly because of who he met. He felt too drawn on from it and he still needed energy to help out with the spell. He'd be able to, but it was easier to do so and let go of the guise -- somewhat, some of it was still there. Certain aspects were best left not seen.
  
  Scowling and rubbing at a marking on his cheek without realizing, Wren stared at the plant he had gotten. "Damn thing. If Doran didn't seem like a ******** pain in the a** to get rid of without this spell, I'd get rid of him my self just because of the s**t I had to go through to get this. I hate torture demons." The tirade didn't get much better as Wren hoped he was getting closer to where the two were preparing and his language was colorful. If one language didn't do it, another was spoken.
  
  ... and Hawk really could only enjoy the foul mood Wren was in. He'd have to take lessons from the two they seen, even if they had been intimidating to him.
  
  Hopefully Athan, Reyna, and Mystic were all most ready for the dragon's breath and Wren wasn't running too late. He suspected he wasn't, or as much as Hawk's Eye was willing to admit he wasn't.
  
  "My you have good timing," Reyna remarked when she felt more than she saw Wren enter the room. Her one visible eye looked slightly glazed over as though she weren't truly seeing what was in front of her and her voice was softer than it normally was. Her mind was focused elsewhere on the glowing lines that pulsated a faint red color.
  
  In a moment she was going to have to break away from the circle and let Athan take over. She just hoped that she didn't do something stupid like stumble and ruin everything. It was unlikely that she'd do such a thing, but that brief worry was there gnawing in the back of her mind.
  
  She took one step backwards, carefully following the path that she'd marked out specifically for that purpose as Athan entered the circle from the opposite direction. Once she was completely out of the circle she blinked a couple of times and allowed her vision to clear. She hated working with circles. They always gave her such a headache!
  
  Nothing seemed to have gone wrong, though. The red lines had faded to green. It was a good sign since that was Athan's color. Her magical abilities typically were more well suited for fire, Athan's for earth. It was strangely fitting for him considering that he often worked with stones and the like.
  
  She smiled faintly and glanced towards Wren, not at all disturbed or taken aback by his appearance, though it had been a very long time since she'd seen another of her kind in anything that even remotely resemble their true selves. "Give the flower to Hawk or Mystic.. they can give it to Athan without having to truly enter the circle since they are derived from his magic.."
  
  "Eh, my associates," and that word came out dryly sarcastic, "understood the need to be fast and got me what I needed." Wren eyes fell to the circle, eyes studying the power that was flowing within the room and noting the way Reyna looked. She must have been working part of the spell. Watching briefly as Athan and Reyna exchanged control he resisted the urge to comment on Athan's appearance, now not the time for barbs or witty commentary.
  
  Instead, Wren was carefully tugging on his own energy, wrapping it around himself just in case. Personal protection wards were a must in this situation, he felt, though he was careful to keep his energy away from anything near the circle. He stood towards where Reyna had marked out, his tail once more carefully wrapped around his ankle, and not lashing about in tune with his mood. Everything, from his perspective, looked good. Though, honestly, Athan didn't strike him as being suited as aligned with earth -- but it fit him nonetheless.
  
  Giving Reyna a fanged grin, he nodded a bit. He'd regain his guise as soon as this was over, though Halo probably wouldn't mind if he came home looking like he did. "All right," he responded, eyes going to Mystic. "Here, you take it." The demon held it out for the other shadow to take. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hawk's Eye, but it was that Hawk seemed too shaken up to him to really carry the plant without risking it.
  
  Besides, he too felt the ill feeling that Hawk was giving off and he wasn't truly sure what was wrong besides the obvious.
  
  Mystic took the plant from Wren carefully and hovered in front of Athan who had the same glassy-eyed look on his face that Reyna had had only moments ago. The man swayed slightly as he held on hand out, palm outstretched to take the bloom from the Shadow. The flower never actually touched his hand, instead it floated midair amongst a small glow of green as it seemed to grow slightly until the petals were glistening at the edges in a strange sort of way.
  
  He whispered something low under his breath in an ancient language that Reyna just barely recognized. She squinted over at him and noted faintly that he now looked as though he were glowing and his feet were no longer touching the floor. He hovered there above the circle about an inch or so.
  
  Moments later the large quartz stone that he'd acquired was hovering there as well. There was a blindingly white flash of light that made her flinch back and press against the wall. Mystic mimicked the motion and made a sort of keening noise inside his head. He was afraid. Of the light? Shadow Fiends hated bright lights..
  
  No. It was something else. Her eye snapped open and she glanced almost frantically towards Athan. She felt it now as well -- that overwhelming sense of foreboding, of something coming nearer. Though what she felt wasn't through her bond with Mystic.
  
  "He's close! He's approaching the lake Athan! He knows!" she all but yelled before visibly growling as her appearance altered slightly as her human guise seemed to fade about the edges. Her eye glowed an eerie red and a strange wisp of black radiated and pulsated away from her eye patch that covered her left eye. She could sense the man's magic. It left a sort of tingling sensation rippling about the air that made the hair on her neck stand up.
  
  "I know.. the spell is nearly complete," Athan murmured in a soft voice as the glow about him receded and the chalked lines on the slate floor faded away as though they'd never even been drawn out in the first place. "It'll take a few moments for the stone to set," he continued in a more normal tone of voice.
  
  "I don't think we have a few moments," Reyna muttered as she stalked out of the room before pausing midstep. She reeled back at the sudden nauseating feeling of magic everywhere. The room had a seal on it and a barrier to foreign magic. It was no wonder she hadn't felt the strange presence sooner.
  
  "Deities be damned, arse can't learn to wait until people are properly ready for him." Wren bit down on the swell of panic that rose up in Hawk's Eye and bled over into his own mind. It wouldn't do for him to be blind-sided by an emotion that wasn't his own. He was worried himself, but it wasn't a raging feeling like within Hawk. Shielding his eyes from the bright light, grumbling under his breath, he watched as Hawk shimmered in and out of shadows that both he and other things created. The young fiend seemed frantic, all most, and then he went still suddenly.
  
  And Hawk's emotions went blank within his mind, as if he was actually putting a cap on them. It was all coolness where there had been panic and fear of something nasty approaching. Hawk's Eye was expecting the man now and in the fiend's mind he could see him all but approaching and breaching the wards of the building and getting in.
  
  Leaving Hawk be, Wren's eyes trailed to the circle and to Athan and the stone that was said to not be set and ready. "Whatever, it doesn't matter at this point! Just finish five seconds ago," the words came out in a near hiss and Wren turned and followed Reyna out the door and let out a small growl. Doran's presence was hard to mistake once one realized it was that presence that had been lurking behind everything.
  
  "... think we try to stall him to give Athan a bit of time or what?" Wren reached with a hand to touch Reyna's shoulder, actually trying to extend a ward of protection over her as well as make sure she was all right. If anything, the ward he was trying to weave around her would lessen the magic around herself. So far as he had all ways known, Reyna practically attracted magic like a glowing beacon. It wasn't a good thing and his own were strong enough to fight off the ill feeling, but he felt the crackle of a power he didn't like at the edge of his senses and the sensation it caused wasn't pleasant.
  
  Doran just snorted, barely visible in the darkness and shadows that he hid himself in. There was no picking him out from the shadows that he called to his aid to hurry him along. The only thing visible was the glint of his eyes as he made his way to the house that Reyna lived in.
  
  "Mm, these have made it easy for me to do away with them. All here at once." A sinister smile was on his lip and Doran stretched his hand out at once to start breaking down whatever protections would attempt to keep him from getting into the house as he didn't even bother to come in the front door.
  
  ... not like he was suppose to knock or anything. Heaven forbid be a little polite about invasion and come through the front door to kill them.
  
  "Yes!" she hissed, "I don't want him tearing up my <********> house.." It wasn't so much anger that made her voice slightly raspy and lisped as it was that her teeth had sharpened and she had become more accustomed to her flatter, more 'human' teeth. "Let's try to hold him off.. we don't want him to break into the circle that is cast in that room," she went on, "If he breaks through we're as good as dead!"
  
  Mystic hovered anxiously about her. His panic was just as strong as Hawk's was but he seemed to have a slightly better grip on it. He was no child, and he'd absorbed enough knowledge of magic from Reyna to know what he ought to do -- stay out of the way.
  
  She paused for a brief split second to press her hand over the gem in the center of Mystic's chest that always seemed to radiate a sort of warmth. It was comforting and she smiled a toothy sort of grin. "Guard that door," she ordered him before taking off towards the front door at a dead run when she felt Doran's presence begin to tear into the protective shields that fortified her home.
  
  She appeared outside in a swirl of shadow that seemed to seep out of her very skin. It was the darkest near her left eye and she smirked faintly as she felt out where Doran was since he was so well hidden in his own shadows. "I know you're there," she growled out between clenched teeth, "I can feel you there.."
  
  Reyna tensed when she felt a faint shift in the air and suddenly the beast of a man was there. He didn't at all resemble a human the way Athan did. He was almost entirely composed of shadow. At the center of that mass of swirling darkness was a man, she knew, but it was still eerie to gaze into darkness and see only the whites of eyes staring back at her and the faint curve of a smirk.
  
  Wren arched an eyebrow, eyes turning towards Reyna who seemed to be going feral. It wasn't every day he could remember her getting that agitated, but his own irritation rising. "Let's go. If the two of us can't hold off something like this, it's damn pitiful." Particularly considering all the training that was coming to his mind at the moment.
  
  Hawk wasn't so much controlling his panic as that the child was briefly locked in a vision, and as he came out of it, he let out yell to Wren's mind that caused the demon to pause and rapidly turn around. "Stay with Mystic!" he said in a harsh breath and Hawk ignored him to push forward before Wren stopped him with a hand. "Stay." This time it was an order and Wren just turned his back around. Mentally, he was sending Hawk's Eye a reassuring feeling. Things would work out.
  
  ... careful ..., came Hawk's quiet voice in Wren's mind, even if he was following rapidly behind Reyna and outside just as fast. His eyes were glowing brightly, all most icy in appearance. "Smirking b*****d," he hissed, fingers flexing in and out and trying to ignore the itch to just lunge forward and see if he buried his claws where he saw those eyes and that glint of a smirk if he'd hit pay dirt.
  
  Doran wasn't playing around though and these two weren't worth messing with, but he let them see a hint of what he really looked like. While they were potentially worthy opponents, the work it would take to get rid of them would take away from his energy and that should be saved for Athan. Destroy Athan and they would all crumble without any effort at all.
  
  "I am here, but you're not who I'm here to see." The shadows around Doran increased, stretching out and breaking the wards and protections thread by thread, but also growing around Wren and Reyna -- meaning to envelop them in absolute darkness so that they wouldn't be able to navigate their way from any perspective. He was pressing forward, just as careful to not trigger one of the two demons attacks, but at the same time speeding up the shadows. Shadows that seemed to come alive and curl around the ankles of those in front of him.
  
  Reyna's eye narrowed in a visible tic of irritation as Doran seemed to mock them. She was so close to spilling over that edge and completely losing herself to her true form -- something that was potentially dangerous for Doran and herself. "You will not go anywhere near Athan!" she yelled as her appearance seemed to visibly sharpen. Her nails lengthened slightly as did her hair in messy tendrils that drifted down her back in an eerie sort of way. "This is my home.. you will not go any further!"
  
  "Now, now, Reyna.. no need to lose your temper," came a calm, collected sort of voice that all too familiar. Her gaze flickered briefly over her shoulder to see Athan there, though he looked much different than he had when she'd last seen him completing the spell they'd been working on. She didn't have long to study him before she had to dodge away from more shadows that tugged and pulled at her.
  
  She managed to absorb some of it, but she knew if she took too much she could pose just as much threat to her friends as Doran did. No.. Athan was there. He'd fix things. He had to. They had the spelled stone. She blocked out as much of the darkness that seemed to try and consume her as she could and gave a silent prayer for her friend who had placed a ward on her. If he hadn't she would have had an even harder time repelling Doran's shadows.
  
  "Athan," Doran's voice growled somewhere amongst the thicket of shadows he surrounded himself in. "Old friend.. it's been a long time.. a long.. long time," his voice rasped and took on a strange tonal quality before he launched his attack against his old comrade, all but forgetting about the demons that were waiting for the right opportunity to attack.
  
  Athan countered the attack smoothly, and the two of them seemed to fly into action midair. It was morbidly fascinating to watch as the shadows from both men seemed to swirl together, battling each other and boiling over like angry storm clouds. Athan's human form was barely even visible. He was all shadow, a writhing mass just like Doran, and she realized with increasing alarm as she watched the two that it was difficult to discern between the two of them.
  
  Wren's tail twitched in irritation, as well as lashing about to avoid being caught by the shadows. "Damnit, I hate being taunted, and I loathe shadows acting like they're eating me." Still able to see in the shadows, the demon let go of his guise a bit more, though it only increased the appearance of markings and scales on his skin. Slicing at the shadows with his claws as well as moving about, he let out a sharp hiss and looking towards Reyna to see if she was okay only to see Athan come out.
  
  Withholding a scathing comment, Wren pulled back some as Athan seemed to go forward and finally closed his eyes. "Fine," he muttered to the shadows that seemed to devour a good majority of what he could see around him, "let's see how you like a bit of light in your diet." Holding out his hand, murmuring quietly in a language too melodic to be anything human. After a second, light appeared in front of his hand and he pressed it forward -- using it to push back the shadows.
  
  Where there was light, there could be no darkness and he'd be damned if he let it get snuffed out. He had to admit though, as he thought he picked up the sound of fighting, that he could barely make out everything. When he did it was too hard to tell the difference between Athan and Doran, but he was slowly increasing the light that had an all most holy glow, at least enough so that the shadows were only licking at him and not consuming him. Where was Reyna?
  
  It was too dangerous to risk an attack and not know where she was or which one of the shadows fighting was Athan, they looked too similar at this moment.
  
  "Nothing to say, Athan?" Doran spoke again as he used another attack to shove Athan back where he wanted him. To push the other around and exude his stronger power over the shadows -- proof the other didn't even have half the strength he did. He was slowly going to take over the shadows that Athan was controlling and turn them right back on the other as energy to destroy him entirely.
  
  "Then again you all ways were the silent type." And Doran the type to gloat and taunt, just like he was doing now as he pressed forward again, pushing for an advantage. He was preparing for a one major strike to make the other fall.
  
  Reyna felt as though she were suffocating within the grasp of Doran's shadows. It was like a thick, black cloud of ink that she couldn't quite make her way through. It was infuriating! She growled and clawed through the shadows and managed to catch sight of a brief glimpse of light. It wasn't a natural light either. Must be Wren..
  
  "And why didn't I think of conjuring a light to drive away the darkness!" she hissed under her breath before smirking faintly. She knew the answer to that -- it was because she was losing her temper and she greatly disliked being at a disadvantage. It muddled her thoughts and made it hard to focus, but now with the help of her friend, she'd discovered a way to combat the shadows that tugged and pulled at her skin.
  
  She whispered a few chosen words under her breath as her eye slitted half closed. She pushed out her hand before outstretching her palm to send fire swirling up amongst the shadows that fought against them, effectively creating her own light to repel the darkness that surrounded her. She caught sight of Wren and smiled before the expression faded when she caught sight of Athan and Doran.
  
  Her little spell seemed to burn away most of the shadows except the ones that were directly around them. Faintly she could make out Athan battling against Doran. He seemed to be holding back, and then as she briefly caught a glimpse of a bright shimmer that she knew was the quartz stone they'd spelled, she knew why.
  
  He was biding his time. He was waiting for the perfect moment to use the stone to trap Doran. It would be best if the man, if he could even be called that, were coming directly at him as though to attack when he tried to absorb him and his powers into the stone, otherwise there was a chance that Doran would see what he was doing and deflect it somehow. It all boiled down to timing, and she just hoped that Athan managed to get the timing right.
  
  "Because it's hard enough to think clearly when your leg is being eaten by shadows." Wren yelled at Reyna, hissing under his breath. This was beyond being on his nerves. If everything worked out in this, he was so totally sleeping in the light for several days, Halo could just live with it or make him sleep on the couch. At this point, he didn't care.
  
  At least content to see his friend had found a way to combat the shadows, he smiled at her and increased the glow of the light in his hand to push the shadows further back. This wasn't good to him, that the fight was dragging on like this, and when he saw the smile fade on Reyna's lips he turned his attention back to the fighters he could finally see. What Reyna's fire wasn't burning away, Wren's light was pushing back to a point it couldn't get close. The demon couldn't see the quartz, but Athan had to have it ...
  
  He let out a small growl, not even realizing that even as him and Reyna were pushing back shadows, Hawk's Eye was slipping along the edges of them. The child knew something wasn't right, knew that he needed to be out there. So he slipped along the edges of the shadows, unbothered by them as much as he was one of them. There was a vision there, clearly in his mind, and that was what was guiding him. He had to do this or else.
  
  Doran was patient, but there were limits to his patience, and the fact that he was merely exchanging pitiful blows back and forth with Athan was beginning to rake his nerves. Where was the power he knew Athan had? It was pitiful honestly. "This ends, Athan. You should've stayed in hiding." The words were still in that odd tone of voice that seemed to over come Doran and the creature, no longer even something really a man, suddenly pulled on all the power of the shadows he commanded. He was siphoning even the shadows around Athan and pulling them into his own attack.
  
  A black force seemed to grow and crackle around Doran until it finally shaped into a single form that was Doran's eerie eyes could be seen behind. For once, there was a hint of the man he may have once been, devoid of the shadows and bending them to his will. With one final sneer towards Athan, Doran let loose the energy and fired it at him.
  
  There was no avoiding it and Athan would not be able to move out of the way at the rate it moved. He was caught dead in the path of an attack he didn't think Doran would actually use.
  
  But just before the fatal blow could be struck, Hawk's Eye was there with Athan, in front of him. His back was to the other, his hand going to touch Athan's outstretched wrist.
  
  I've Seen this, his voice was quiet, serious, all most devoid of the inflections of fear from earlier. Needs to be done ... The child's voice stopped, but he was trying to do what came to him.
  
  The energy hit Hawk's Eye completely, some of it spilling over him and to Athan, but most of it was taken by Hawk. The child was using his connection to Athan, taking the blow that he had Seen as a killing strike, and filtering only some of the energy back to Athan.
  
  He was taking the power into himself and attempting to nullify it as best he could. There was a fleeting thought of his guardian and the child suddenly clamped down on all the energy, stopping it from going along his connection to Wren. Hawk was a part of the shadows, there was no way that he'd let the dark energy reach out along his connection and harm. This could be done with just one, he knew it.
  
  Athan was sent tumbling backwards slightly at the sheer force of the magic that hit him even with Hawk suddenly there shielding him from the attack. He drew in a shuddery breath and somehow found the will to stay upright. He realized the only reason why he was still alive and standing was because Hawk had intervened.
  
  He didn't have much time to revel in it, though. He had to work fast before all the dark energy that Hawk absorbed completely destroyed him. He sent the quartz hovering midair between his outstretched arms the way he had done when he'd first spelled it. It glowed faintly and swirled with both a familiar green and a bit of blue mixed in with a darker hue.
  
  He glanced briefly towards the ground and he realized that Mystic was there as well. They were aiding him, guiding him, though he knew quite well that Hawk was the one who had Seen what needed to be done.
  
  The stone pulsated and glowed and slowly the darkness that surrounded Doran began to fade and then rush towards the stone as though being sucked in by a vacuum. It began pulling in the shadows faster and faster until he felt the stone heat up from the friction of so much energy being pulled into it at once. He cursed under his breath and hoped like hell that the stone didn't fracture.
  
  Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to hold onto it any longer it all stopped. Doran was nowhere to be seen, and the pure, crystalline quartz he once had was now a smoky brown. "It's.. done," he whispered faintly before his eyes closed and he simply fell midair, unable to maintain his own powers any longer.
  
  Mystic dashed upwards in a swift move to catch the falling man before he hit the ground and truly met his end. He was severely weakened, but he was alive. He could feel the sheer lack of energy about him. It was like the shadows Doran had launched at him had sucked away everything and left him with very little at all.
  
  Reyna rushed towards him, her appearance seemingly normal again aside from the fact that her hair was a bit ruffled in places. "Take him in the house.. he needs to rest," she murmured softly. She felt that drain as well. It had been a long, long time since she had been forced to use her powers.
  
  Hawk was barely holding it together towards the end, but held on long enough for Athan was to do what was necessary. His eyes burned and there was a crackle of energy around him. There was nothing but darkness in his sight and he continued staying where he was.
  
  He could barely tell that what was going on, his body over whelmed by the energy absorbed, until he thought he heard Athan's voice. The utter darkness was still there, his body feeling like it was on fire. His eyes were burning still and as he blinked he couldn't stop him. It was hurting and he felt tired and weak and over energized at the same time.
  
  ... but he could let go and he did and was barely there as Wren caught a him. Hawk's form was extremely wispy, barely there, and the demon let out a small yelp as the crackle of energy leapt up from the shadow fiend child and shocked him. "Bugger, at least it's this done." He let out a quiet sigh, letting the weariness he felt show for a change. He did his best to ignore the little shocks of magic that kept coming from Hawk's Eye.
  
  "They both look like hell, but it's over." Wren said to Reyna, giving her a half-smile and glancing down at Hawk. He should've been experienced some sort of aftershock from his own connection to the fiend but hadn't. The damnable thing had spared him of that. Maybe he did have a conscience.
  
  "Just got to recover now." The demon murmured, form shimmering and shifting to his more human appearance as he joined went with the others into the house for now.
  
  He'd call Halo and see about a ride home anyway, not like she wouldn't know of the chaos that just happened but he didn't feel particularly up to walking home and after his not so little trip and the chaos, he was too damn tired.

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Preparation and Confrontation
Aftermath continuing after the ending of the 'Something Wicked' plot.

• "Athan.. lay back down in that bed or I'm going to kick your a**," Reyna hissed from where she sat in an overstuffed arm chair a few feet away from the bed Athan was trying to escape from, "You're in no condition to even be alive much less trying to get up and pretend you can easily walk amongst the rest of the living."
  
  The room was pitch black, something she knew that the man lying in bed would likely be appreciative of since he most likely had one hell of a headache. Truly, he was lucky the damage he'd been dealth hadn't been far worse. Hawk was one hell of a kid. She smirked faintly at that before slowly stretching as she stood from her seat and moved to sit on the edge of the bed near Athan.
  
  "Wh..what happened?" he asked in a low, raspy sort of voice that sounded horribly strained with fatigue and a hint of pain that he seemed to be desperately trying to hide. His eyes glowed dimly in the darkness, something that was a little reassuring to her. He sounded so weak. It was almost saddening to see someone that always seemed so strong, so sure of himself sound like that.
  
  "The spell worked if that's what you're wondering. If it hadn't you wouldn't be here. None of us would still be in existance," she replied simply as she pressed a hand against the man's forehead. He was still overly warm to the touch, though she knew it wasn't really a fever. The symptoms of being exposed to a spell of magic was often times hard to treat even with more magic. "You shouldn't be awake," she whispered in a soft, almost melodic voice, "You need to sleep.."
  
  She grinned as she stood after gently pulling the covers up over the man. It was easy to pull an aura on someone who was already as horribly weakened the way that Athan was -- not that she had plans of exploiting that little ability, but it came in handy when he was trying to resist getting the rest he needed.
  
  She moved back to her chair and continued to keep watch to make sure he didn't die in his sleep. It would be a shame for something like that to happen even after they'd gotten rid of Doran. If he did there was still a chance that some of the younger, weaker Fiends could follow him into death. She frowned at that thought and began to worry, but that worry was pushed aside when Mystic appeared near her side.
  
  He was nearly invisible and impossible to see except for the faint glow of his gem and his jewel tinted eyes. 'He's in no danger of dying now, Reyna. I can promise you that. You are weak as well. Perhaps you should rest. I can keep watch for you.'
  
  Reyna scowled faintly at the mention of being weak, but she didn't bother arguing with him. She knew that he was right. He was bonded directly to her, there was no way he couldn't be wrong. What's more, she felt that steady drain of her energy. She'd expended more than she was used to. "Mm.. alright. Let me know when he wakes again," she murmured as she stood wearily and trudged off towards her own room to sleep off the exhaustion that was weighing her down.
  
  The moment her head hit her pillow she fell into a deep sleep. The strain from the past several weeks had finally come to an end and it left her feeling horribly lethargic. She slept well into the next day until Mystic, true to his word, woke her to inform her that Athan was awake once more.
  
  She padded bleary-eyed into the guest room and sighed wearily as she watched Mystic try to pin the man down to the bed. The fact that he seemed to have enough energy to struggle against the Shadow even a little was impressive considering what he'd gone through not even twenty-four hours ago.
  
  Mystic pulled away from the man who'd gone still at the sight of Reyna standing their in the doorway. The Fiend shot Athan an exasperated sort of look before glancing imploringly towards his Guardian. 'He insists that he's fine. I know better.'
  
  "Yeah? So do I," Reyna gritted out irritably as she moved to sit on the edge of the man's bed the way she had done before she'd gone to bed. "I'm going to assume you're feeling better," she murmured faintly as her hand pressed against his forehead once more. He was still too warm, though. "Mystic," she began quietly as her visible eye narrowed in thought, "Go get him a glass of water, please."
  
  The Shadow disappeared, drifting through one of the walls towards the kitchen to retrieve the water for Athan. He reappeared in the doorway holding a small tray in his dark hands. His shadowed form took on normal human-looking feet as well as he carried the tray into the room and sat it on the bedstand closest to Reyna.
  
  "Here," she murmured as she heled the glass up for Athan who choked on the first swallow he took on his own. He sputtered and pushed the glass away with a pained look on his face before collapsing back down against the mattress.
  
  "Where's the stone?" he grated out in a strained voice, though it didn't sound nearly so weak as it had the first time he'd woken up.
  
  Reyna paled visibly as she realized she hadn't thought much about the stone that they'd used to trap Doran into. She frowned before Mystic spoke up for her, and reassured them that he'd put the stone in a safe place. "Where exactly did you put it?" she asked curiously, a question Athan would no doubt also want an answer to.
  
  'In the drawing room,' he replied as he sent them both an image of the slate tiled room they'd all been in the evening before drawing out the circle that spelled the stone. Clever little Shadow. He'd put the stone in the one place its corrosive magic couldn't possibly manage to escape.
  
  "Good.. it still needs to be sealed. The sooner it's done --"
  
  "It's fine in that room. I'll go check on it later, but you are still much too weak to be up and about! You ought to worry more about your health. You couldn't cast a spell right now if you wanted to, nevermind one strong enough to seal that stone," she informed him briskly even as he glared at her balefully. It wasn't a very threatening look considering his condition. It was more like being hissed at by a kitten who had just discovered its claws.
  
  It only took a few more moments of arguing to tire Athan out. His excuses about needing to get up and cast spells faded away to barely coherent mumbles as he drifted back to sleep. She had a sinking feeling that she was going to have to fight him the entire time that he recovered. Lucky her. He just happened to be in her house. It wasn't like she knew where he lived or anything, not even Mystic knew that.
  
  She sighed and pressed a hand wearily to her face before leaving the man to sleep in peace as she headed towards the kitchen to make something to eat. She ended up cutting a few pieces of fruit and cheese up for Athan. She knew from experience that suffering from an attack via a powerful blow of magic that even the thought of eating something was nauseating.
  
  She idly toyed with the edge of her eyepatch at that thought before setting the food inside the fridge to keep while he slept. At least the fruit and cheese would be lighter and easier on his stomach. "Here's hoping he doesn't throw it up," she grumbled before deciding to go check on the stone in the drawing room.
  
  Reyna stood outside the door for a long moment as though hesitant to venture inside. Fear knotted up in her stomach and she exhaled raggedly before nearly jumping when Mystic appeared at her side. "You scared me!" she accused before drawing in a steadying breath. Her initial fear and tension was probably what drew him there in the first place..
  
  Another deep breath and she opened the door. The stone was sitting there innocently in the middle of the room, pulsating with a dark internal light. She could almost taste the darkness around it in the air. It was like going into a deep, dark cellar. She stood transfixed for a moment before she heard Mystic all but shrieking inside her head trying to get her attention.
  
  "What? What happened?" she asked suddenly as she blinked and drew away from the door to have Mystic slam the door shut behind her.
  
  'Don't go in there again, Reyna. It's magic was calling to you. I felt it pull you away. Let it be until Athan has healed enough to seal it so it cannot harm anyone,' Mystic replied, his tone soft and soothing in a way that eased away the sudden headache that was brought on by his yelling moments ago.
  
  The silver-haired woman paled at the Shadow's words and then frowned darkly. The expression shifted and she smiled faintly as she gazed up at the shadow who was hovering midair looking tense and worried. "Since when have you become so knowledgeable about magic?" she asked with a sort of bemused expression.
  
  A faint flush of color stole across the Shadows cheeks as he drifted down to the ground and stood on his human feet that were as dark as his hands. 'I read all your books. The ones in the library and I.. found the ones in your study.'
  
  "Did you now?" she smiled as she walked away from the room and felt the tension in her neck and shoulders ease the farther away she was from that room and the crystal lurking within. "Perhaps I should see about teaching you a little magic." She smiled again, something bright and fleetingly rare that lit up her face at the waves of excitement and joy that radiated through her bond to the Fiend.
  
  'I'd like that,' Mystic replied as he followed along after his Guardian, excited at the prospect of learning something new.

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Fever Pitch Dreams
A nightmare or simply resurfaced memories? A small insight into Athan's mind.

• Blue skies. Warm sunshine. Merely a memory? I can't ever remember. All I know is that I'm sitting on a hillside near my home waiting. I kick my feet as I roll onto my back and watch the clouds drift by with my hands propping my head up slightly. A smile flutters across my face when a shadow drifts across my vision and I see my bestfriend standing there over me with a huge grin plastered on his face.
  
  "Athan! You lazy bum.. bet I can beat you to the bottom of the hill!" Doran smirks broadly.
  
  I roll my eyes before darting up on a quiet peal of laughter when the other boy takes off running without warning. "Cheater! We're supposed to start at the same time!" I call after him as I run down the hill after him, but he's running far too quickly for me to catch up. I frown as I reach the bottom of the hill and Doran is nowhere to be found.
  
  "Where are you hiding?" I call before my frown darkens into lines of worry when I notice the sky darken and swell with rumbling black clouds. Lightening strikes nearby and I jump as flames lick up the side of one tree and before I know it the entire forest before me is engulfed in flames.
  
  Someone laughs behind me and I turn on my heel, startled. Doran is there sitting on a boulder with one knee pulled up to his chest and that same broad smirk on his face. He looks different now -- older, but still familiar. His hair has grown down to his shoulders and his eyes seem so dark. Weren't they blue once?
  
  "We could rule this world together, Athan, just you and I," a voice breathes near my ear. I shiver at the prospect and feel slightly tempted by his words. It sounds so promising. So perfect..
  
  I gasp and shove him away and draw in a shakey breath at the hurt look he gives me. I didn't mean to hurt him. "Doran.. I.."
  
  "I'm sorry it has to be this way, but you've left me no choice, old friend," he says sadly before all but disappearing into a swirl of shadows. Those dark tendrils reach out towards me and I run as fast as I can, but he's always been swifter than me. I gasp for air as he catches up with me and I feel as though I'm suffocating in the darkness that suddenly engulfs me.
  
  "No! Doran, let me go! I'm sorry.. please..!" I gasp before I feel my vision blacken about the edges. He frees me at the last moment and I lay gasping against the cold ground, coughing and sputtering as I try to breathe again...
  
  "I'm sorry," Athan whispered faintly as he tossed restlessly in the bed, tangling the sheets and all but throwing the blankets to the floor to land in a messy heap. "I'm sorry.."
  
  "No need to apologize to me," a familiar voice replied moments later full of amusement and a bit of sarcasm, "I'm not the one haunting your dreams."
  
  His green eyes flickered open, glowing in the darkness of the room. Athan swallowed thickly as he tried to fight off the panic that was still thrilling through him. He could still see the shadows moving about the room, though really he knew it was only Mystic. He tugged faintly at the bond that connected them and he smiled faintly in return when he felt a hesitant nudge back.
  
  Reyna leaned over him after switching on the small lamp near the bedside. "Your fever is breaking I think," she replied softly as she touched his forehead. Her hands were cool and oddly comforting. He was able to hold his glass up on his own this time when she offered him water, something his horribly bruised ego was thankful of.
  
  "Get some sleep, it's late. No more nightmares," she smiled before whispering a few choice words under his breath to send him reeling back into the realm of dreams only this time they were infinately more pleasant and his bright skies never faded to darkness, though when he woke to the darkness of his room he still felt that now familiar pang of panic twist in his chest.
  
  When the silver-haired woman returned to check on him sometime the next day she'd find him propped up in bed with Mystic sitting near his side. He'd convinced the Shadow to allow him at least to sit up on his own after coaxing him into bringing him a few sheets of loose paper to write on and an ink well and pen. He would have settled to have a ball-point pen, but he found his writing was neater when he used traditional ink.
  
  "If you spill that ink I'll kill you," Reyna drawled out in a sleep-fogged voice as she moved to slump in the armchair that she'd seemingly taken up residence in since Athan's little 'mishap' with Doran.
  
  "What? Can't spell out simple ink stains," Athan replied in a sort of dry, sarcastic voice, "For someone so adept at magic, I'd wager a task like that would be easy for you."
  
  "Considering that your buddy decided to rip down half of my wards, I'd rather not risk using unnessecary magic until I have the time and patience to fix them, thank you," she grumbled in irritation. At least his arguing with her meant he was feeling better, even if he had woken in a rather foul mood.
  
  They sat in silence as he continued to write in neatly scrawled out letters on the paper Mystic had brought him. The Fiend sat quietly near his side and watched him write curiously. His words weren't in any language he recognized and he scowled faintly when Athan merely smirked over at him without offering any sort of explanation as to what he was writing in the first place.
  
  'I'm going to go make breakfast,' the Shadow announced upon realizing that his Guardian was contemplating doing that very thing. He was rather proud of the fact that he could cook, even if he didn't eat and couldn't really taste things. He 'borrowed' Reyna's senses when such things became nessecary. It was easy to see how things should be through her gaze.
  
  Athan made no comment to Mystic's sudden desire to leave. He was in no mood for company as it was, and he wished that Reyna would leave him alone as well. He knew he was too weak to teleport to his own home -- which was the only way to reach it. He sighed faintly at that before glancing idly in the girl's direction when he realized she was staring. Her gaze was rather unnerving considering the color of her visible eye. You'd think a demon in a human guise would at least hide a rather unnatural eye color such as that..
  
  "What are you staring at?" he hissed after a few moments more before visibly bristling when Reyna simply smiled.
  
  "You're rather handsome without all the gloom and shadows hiding your face," she replied simply before moving to sit at his bedside. She reached out with one hand to feel along his forehead to gauge his temperature. She growled when the man ducked away from her hands and nearly upset the bottle of ink that was sitting on the tray in his lap.
  
  She grabbed it up and screwed the cap back on before setting it and the rest of his writing supplies on the bedside table. "Hold -still- or I will bind you to this bed," she managed to spit out between clenched teeth.
  
  "But wouldn't that be unnessecary magic?" he replied smoothly in a mocking sort of voice.
  
  She said nothing to that sarcastic remark before reaching towards him again and all but hissing like a cat when he batted her hands away. "Hold still! Or would you rather rot in bed forever? I can make your fever worse you know," she growled. When she touched his forehead she hadn't just been checking for a fever, she also had been casting a small healing spell on him though she'd never admit to it.
  
  "Who'd have thought you'd make such a good bedside nurse," he teased with a broad smirk that reminded her almost too much of the man, if you could have called him such, they had battled not but a couple nights ago.
  
  "Don't call me that," she warned as her visible eye narrowed in irritation and she tensed slightly as though waiting to spring upon him to tear him to shreds. "I've done my best to take care of you despite how unruly you are. You're like a spiteful child!" she admonished, anger still evident in her voice.
  
  "Yes, nurse.."
  
  Without any warning at all the silver-haired woman hauled back and backhanded him sharp enough to send him clutching at his head and wincing at the sudden flare of pain that thrilled through him. "Alright.. alright," he grumbled from where he was leaned over on his side with his hands pressed to his temples, "I might have deserved that.."
  
  "Damn right you did!" Reyna retorted defensively just as Mystic reappeared in the doorway carrying a tray of food for the both of them. She glared stonily at the man before handing him his food on his tray before moving to sit in her chair.
  
  Tension laid heavy in the air, but for the rest of the morning, though Athan avoided testing the woman's patience more than nessecary. She was trying to help him afterall. He ought to be grateful, really. He couldn't explain his actions or his harsh words. He just felt angry, though most of it was self-directed. Doran was gone. He'd put his own life at risk as well as others, and now he was lying in a bed that wasn't his own, and he simply felt.. utterly useless.
  
  'He doesn't truly mean to anger you, Reyna,' called a soothing voice inside her head as she stalked towards the library in an effort to find a book or something to distract her. 'He's hurting,' Mystic went on before falling quiet as he appeared at her side. His eyes fluttered closed and he hovered in front of her for a moment. He looked as though he were listening to something, some unheard conversation that only he could hear. 'Doran was his friend once...'
  
  "Some friend," Reyna replied coldly as she crossed her arms over her chest. Really, she understood what he was going through all too well, but it didn't mean she enjoyed dealing with his attitude. It was like tending to a petulant child. She felt, more than heard, another soothing murmur from her Shadow who trailed after her towards the library.
  
  'His wounds will heal, soon. He will be well again.'

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Gilded Cages and a Cheshire Cat
Introducing Isabella Tuuli into the chaos.

• "Damn you!" Reyna yelled out as she threw a pillow, the closest inanimate object on hand, at Athan who was still residing in her guest bedroom recovering from his injuries that Doran had inflicted upon him. If it weren't for the fact that whenever he got up and actually moved around some he got dizzy and would all but collapse back into the bed, wheezing as he tried to catch his breath should would have thrown his sorry a** out of her house already.
  
  "Woman! I can take care of myself. Leave me be!" he hissed irritably from where he lay haphazardly on his side. He'd tried sneaking past her towards the drawing room where quartz gem was still lying in wait. He'd gotten close enough to open the door but recoiled away from the door and would have fallen if Mystic hadn't caught him.
  
  The fierce amount of magic it radiated infiltrated his senses sharply. He knew how sensitive he truly was to magic, which lent to his strength in the use of magic, but he hadn't realized just how weak he really was still.
  
  Reyna was utterly furious that he'd even stepped one foot out of the room he'd been staying in. If he hadn't been so out of breath after fighting with Mystic to try and enter the drawing room reguardless of how it made him feel sick inside, he would have argued a little more with the woman, but as it was he barely had enough energy to keep his eyes open.
  
  "Do not leave from this room again without one of us to help you!" she growled out between clenched teeth as she fled the room and slammed the door behind her. She stood a few feet away from the door and raised both hands up towards the air, palms facing the direction of the door as she whispered a few choice words to seal the door with a bit of magic. It was a very simple spell she had derived herself to lock the doors of her home -- including the hidden ones that only she, and apparently Mystic since he had rummaged through her study, could see.
  
  'You know he'll be just as angry as you when he realizes you sealed the door, right?' came a horribly amused voice in the back of her head as Mystic materialized next to her floating midair with his legs crossed indian style in front of him.
  
  "Yeah, but he totally deserves it for being an a**," Reyna insisted with a saucy smirk before heading over towards the kitchen to fix herself something to eat for lunch. She hummed under her breath, something that also amused Mystic as he trailed after her as he always did, while she passed through the livingroom before pausing midstep as she caught sight of a cat lounging quite contentedly on her leather couch.
  
  "Oh by the Gods, what are you doing here?" the silverhaired woman groaned as she pressed a hand to her face. "Better yet.. how did you find me..? Wait.. no.. I know.. I know.." she lamented as she ran her hands back through her hair almost frantically. Her wards were horribly damaged. Doran had ripped through them as though they had been constructed by a mere child rather than a knowlegeable practicioner of magic -- and not just a human mage either, one who was born of magic.
  
  'Why are you talking to a cat?' Mystic asked curiously before his multi-colored eyes widened considerably when the cat shuddered and seemingly shed it's fur in favor of human skin. Golden eyes dancing with mirth met his and he felt himself flush under the scrutiny of her gaze.
  
  "My, my, my, Reyna.. you've aquired an interesting pet," the woman all but purred as she tossed her glossy black curls over her shoulder as she stood and stretched her arms over her head as she yawned, tongue curling in a very feline way as she did so. "Mmm.. pretty, too," she smiled brightly as she sauntered past Mystic and laughed when her fingers phased right through him when she reached to ruffle his hair.
  
  "Izzy," Reyna gritted out as she repeated her question from before, "What.. are you doing here?!"
  
  "Oh come on now, sweets, is that any way to talk to an old friend of yours?" Isabella replied with one of those oh so charming smiles of hers. She wrapped an arm about Reyna's shoulders as continued with her on towards the kitchen as though to have a more private conversation with her without Mystic hovering so close. The silverhaired woman decided that she simply wouldn't inform the changeling that she and her Shadow were bonded.
  
  "Well then, here's a better question," Reyna began as she leaned back against the cool metal of her fridge while Izzy hopped up onto the counter opposite her by the sink, "What do you want?"
  
  "Little ol' me? Why I only wanted to come and see you," she teased as she flashed her another one of her toothy grins. She paused as though waiting for another remark from Reyna before pouting when she realized that she wasn't going to get a rise out of the other woman with that remark. What's more, Reyna didn't look all that convinced that's why she was there.
  
  Izzy sighed faintly as she idly ran a hand back through her hair and her demeanor seemed to change completely like flipping to a new page in a book. "I haven't seen you in several decades, girl. I had looked a time or two, but you got me worried when I actually found you. I know you know how to keep a low profile, but I'll have you know you alerted pretty much everyone to kingdom come about your whereabouts, dear heart," she replied smoothly as she hopped off the counter and leaned over against the demon's side.
  
  "You know why that's dangerous, dont'cha?" she purred against Reyna's ear despite how she jerked and flinched away from her touch. Some things never really changed. Not really. "Fix those wards back up quick, darlin."
  
  "I'm aware of the fact that they need fixing and why.. I've just had more pressing matters to attend to. If that's all you came here to say, you can leave now," the silverhaired woman hissed in response as she fisted her hands at her side and resisted the urge to haul off and hit Izzy. The last time that had happened.. well.. things hadn't turned out pretty. Both of them had been a mess of bruises, cuts, and black eyes by the time it was all done and over with.
  
  "Mmm.. c'mon.. let me stay for a couple days. I came all the way to this little backwater world to find you. Let me sleep in your guest room for a few days, and I'll be back on my merry way never to speak a word of your whereabouts," Isabella pleaded sweetly as she absently toyed with a few short locks of hair on the back of Reyna's neck in a way that she knew irritated the demon.
  
  "No. I already have... a guest," she answered curtly as her visible eye narrowed in irritation as she gazed levelly at the changeling that had invaded her home and currently, her personal space, something she was clearly not thrilled about.
  
  "Well fine then! Put me outside like I'm some alleycat rather than your friend," she said innocently as she pulled away from Reyna to admire her red polished nails that looked almost wickedly sharp glinting in the flourescent lights of her modern kitchen. "I can always go runnin' back to tell --"
  
  "You can stay on the couch for a couple of days, but if you go anywhere near the guest room or the drawing room, I swear I will reduce you to a bloody smear, got it?!" Reyna growled as her temper flared. Her red eye fairly glowed, as she glowered over at the other woman who looked all too smug and pleased with herself. She looked like.. well.. a cat.

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Curiosity Killed the Cat
Athan gets to meet Miss Isabella.

• The problem with someone like Isabella Tuuli, was that she occasionally took on the mentality of a child. That didn't necessarily mean she acted child-like and immature -- it meant that when you told her not to do something she couldn't help but desperately want to do it.
  
  She hovered anxiously outside the guest bedroom that she normally stayed in when she came to visit. One hand pressed against the wood of the door before her eyes widened slightly when she realized it was slightly warm and tingled beneath her fingertips. She smirked broadly as she examined the door a little closer. It was spelled, and Reyna's spells were always tainted by heat and fire.
  
  "Mmm.. who are you hiding away," she purred under her breath as she paused and listened for any signs of Reyna lurking about nearby. She smiled wickedly as she squinted over at the spell through slitted eyes. It was a talent of hers. She could see magic as though it were a tangible thing if she focused on it.
  
  She reached out carefully and with the expertise of a well practiced thief she picked the spell carefully apart but left most of it intact so she could put it back together. Her magic would taint what was there with her own marks, but if she was careful enough Reyna wouldn't notice until she was long gone.
  
  She smiled at that thought before the expression changed to that of shock when the door flew open and she suddenly found herself pinned down against the floor. She gazed up at a rather handsome man with black dreaded hair and glowing green eyes. She could honestly say the only other person she'd ever seen look that angry was Reyna..
  
  Athan blinked and backed away from the girl and stood to his feet when he realized that the woman he'd all but tackled wasn't the one who deserved his anger. "Sorry.. thought you were someone else," he replied smoothly as he helped the girl to her feet.
  
  "Apparently," Izzy replied as she laughed a bit breathlessly before her eyes widened when Reyna came darting around the corner, no doubt alerted by the sudden commotion. The look on her face mirrored the on that had been on Athan's face only moments ago.
  
  "I thought I told you to stay away from this room!" the silver haired woman growled, visibly bristling as she stalked towards Isabella.
  
  "Oh come on Reyna!" Izzy smiled as she reached towards the girl and wrapped her arms about her shoulders despite how the other woman seemed so very close to losing her temper, "I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to see who it was you were hiding away.. and I gotta say he's pretty cute. I can understand why you're keeping him all to yourself."
  
  "You," Reyna spat as she pried Izzy off of her and shoved her away, "Are a moron." She simply glared when Izzy pouted at her and tried to act cute as though that would simply smooth things over. That wouldn't work on her, and she wasn't falling for it. She opened her mouth to say something else insulting before she realized that Athan was no longer with them.
  
  "That b*****d!" she hissed before taking off running towards the drawing room where she knew he would likely be. She felt Mystic materialized near her side at having sensed the feelings of growing worry inside his Guardian's mind.
  
  She skidded to a stop in front of the room before reeling back at the overwhelming stench of magic that seemed to thicken the air all over the place. She coughed and pressed a hand over her face before swallowing thickly to keep from losing her stomach. Typically she never had any problems with magic, but the gem that had been locked in that room had been so corrosive and Athan's magic was so.. old. That was the only way she could describe it. It was intense and stung at her accute senses and reverbated through her chest in a strange sort of way that she'd only felt a couple of times in her life.
  
  She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision before staggering into the room after taking a couple of deep breaths. "Athan?" she murmured before moving to kneel next to him.
  
  He was sitting there in the middle of the room with the gem clasped in it's hands with familiar looking wisps of shadows surrounded it. The shadows surged and billowed out of his hands as though the gem was trying desperately to free itself from Athan's hands. He sighed and released it into the air to watch it glitter and spin dizzily midair.
  
  Reyna's visible eye widened when she realized exactly what it was he had done. He'd turned the stone that had locked away Doran into a Shadow Fiend! She squinted at the stone curiously and noted that it was a bit darker in color before her gazed turned towards Athan who was staring unblinkingly at the stone.
  
  "He was my friend," he said simply as he reached out towards the wisp before allowing his hand to fall away limply. "I had to let him live again.. but.." he trailed off on a faint chuckle that welled up in his throat into half-dilirious laughter. "He's not himself anymore.. no.. he's someone else now..," he managed between giggles as his shoulders shook with mirth, "He's a she.. fitting really. He was always a melodramatic b***h.."
  
  The silver haired woman gazed over at Athan quizzically before deciding not to press the issue. Athan was clearly not completely lucid. He seemed, drunk and disoriented and it was a bit disturbing to see him as such. She helped him stagger to his feet and sent him back to bed with Mystic's help.
  
  The little wisp followed along and trailed after Athan of its own accord, though seeing it floating about unnerved Reyna like nothing else. The thing had been.. it was.. She let out a shakey breath when she felt a cool hand on her shoulder. She didn't need to turn and see that it was Mystic, nor did she need to turn around to know that Izzy was hovering in the doorway with a stormy sort of expression on her face.
  
  'It's harmless now.. as harmless as.. well.. any Shadow,' Mystic whispered against her mind in a soothing sort of way that made her relax somewhat. The amusement in his voice made her smile. Shadow Fiends harmless. They were living terrors most of the time.
  
  'I resent that remark,' her Shadow teased, making her smile as he tugged her away from Athan's bedside and urged her to go lay down and get some rest. He left her to herself once she had curled down into her bed with a tired yawn. Reyna had been pushing herself much too hard, and Athan's mere presence in her home was wearing on her heavily.
  
  He hovered there in the doorway of her room before turning to find himself staring into golden, feline eyes. He blinked and gazed at her steadily, rather proud that he didn't glance away nervously the way he had done before. 'She's resting,' he whispered to her, something that took her aback for a a brief moment. Reyna hadn't revealed to her that he was capable of speech, even if it was only through telepathic means.
  
  "Right," Izzy replied slowly as she eyed the Shadow curiously, "When she wakes let her know I'm gone. I'm sure she'll be pleased to be rid of one of her house guests. Take care of her."
  
  Mystic merely nodded before finally giving in to his own self-consciousness and glancing away from the changeling. He faded out of view and followed her towards the door to make sure she was indeed leaving.
  
  "I really am leaving!" she called over her shoulder when she paused outside, "Just need to cast a quick spell -- don't worry! It's for protection." She smirked faintly when Mystic faded into view with a rather startled look. He was composed of all sorts of magic. He was easy for her to see. Plus, he carried Reyna's scent on him, something she found to be rather interesting. It wasn't surprising though, considering that they were bonded together and living in the same home.
  
  The Fiend hovered a while longer as though to make sure she wasn't doing anything but exactly what she had claimed to be doing before returning inside. Izzy was strange, and his bonded seemed to dislike her some, but she didn't seem completely untrustworthy. Still, that didn't stop him from going outside to check her little spell once he was certain she was gone.

 

[Reyna Crelos]

Wren Visits Athan
Wren drops by to check up on everyone.

• Athan laid on his side, hugging a pillow while he slept in the cool darkness of Reyna's guest bedroom. He'd done a good job at exhausting himself after completing the spell to seal Doran inside the stone entirely. There was no way he could possibly rest and recover if he knew it still needed to be treated. He was paranoid that somehow it might find a way to escape and he'd be too weak to do anything to stop it.
  
  There was no need for him to worry at the moment. The large piece of quartz was now a Fiend. The wisp flittered about his head upon sensing him slowly awakening. He swatted at it half-heartedly before glowing green eyes opened to peer at the gem curiously. He reached out towards it and smiled a bit sadly as it floated just above his palm.
  
  The door opened, sending light cascading into the room and shadows dancing along the walls. The wisp skittered away to hide under the bed where it was still completely dark. "Hey.. you still alive in here?" Reyna asked with a sleepy yawn. She'd all but passed out once her head had hit her pillow the evening before when Mystic had urged her to rest.
  
  ".. yeah," Athan answered in a soft, almost raspy voice as he squinted over at the demon. He glanced at the clock on the far wall and then back over towards Reyna. It seemed as though both of them had slept all day.
  
  "Good," she murmured as she stretched and yawned again before grumbling about going to go make something for them to eat.
  
  Wren was probably something akin to a wreck, but that was only because it seemed one event after another was landed upon him. ... except that he hardly looked it when he left the house and he likely wouldn't look it at all for a while. Not until it was night and he needed to sleep once more.
  
  Hawk, however, did look like he felt horrible. The only reason he had even been permitted to come along was that Wren didn't feel up to cleaning up the room he was likely to destroy while trying to pierce wards and get out and back to his bonded. It wouldn't do to have to fix broken things all over again and Wren was tired of counting, but somewhat pleased Hawk was feeling bettter enough to tear a room to pieces.
  
  Still, he let out a scowl at the fiend as he touched his shoulder and they approached Reyna's place. He felt the shock of magic spread out from his shoulder to his spine and do a nice little jig. "Pierce." He grumbled out, only to see Hawk's Eye there for a moment and then completely hidden within his shadow once more. The fiend's eyes were the last thing he saw, a frown on Wren's face afterwards.
  
  ... Hawk wouldn't be the same, not after this. Not with those luminescent pale blue eyes that stared at him as if they could see into his soul. Sighing, and raking a hand through his hair, Wren finally reached Reyna's door and knocked on it. His purpose of visiting was really to check up and make sure they were doing fine.
  
  Reyna scowled down at the frying pan of scrambled eggs when she heard the door knock. Mystic materialized next to her and announced that he would go answer the door. She snickered faintly at that, and hoped that if it wasn't someone she knew (and liked), that seeing a ghost-like creature at the door would scare them into leaving.
  
  Mystic actually drifted halfway through the door to see who it was rather than opening it or peeking through the peep hole. 'It's Wren and Hawk,' he whispered against his bonded's mind before letting them inside once he knew Reyna wouldn't mind having their company. He wanted to see them, too -- Hawk especially. He hadn't met him but once and after what'd he'd done during the battle against Doran he was curious as to how he was doing.
  
  "I'm in the kitchen!" Reyna called as she poked her head around the corner briefly to catch sight of her friend and the barest glimpse of Hawk who was hiding in his shadow. "I'm making breakfast for dinner. Slept all damn day," she grumbled as she portioned off all the food she'd made onto two plates, one for her and one for Athan.
  
  "Mystic, could you not do that?" Wren said, after doing his best to NOT jump at the sudden appearance of a fiend half-way through the doorway. Hawk just snickered at him briefly, but kept out of sight once they were inside.
  
  "Would think I would get use to that sort of thing ..." Except he was really just jumpy from the excess energy he was putting into helping Hawk heal some and the fact that some of the energy Hawk was trying to burn off was seeping over to him. With a polite nod towards Mystic, a faint glare over his shoulder towards Hawk, Wren made his way to the kitchen and chuckled when he heard Reyna.
  
  "Breakfast is good for any time of the day ... And dinner is good for breakfast, while I think about it." He arched an eyebrow at Reyna, the expression on his face asking if she wanted him to carry one of the plates. For a moment, be briefly forgot to ask how things were going since ... the battle.
  
  Hawk's Eye might as well been a wisp again, for all that he was clinging to Wren's shadow. At least, Wren thought he was, but really Hawk was poking about the kitchen keeping to the shadows. Though the sudden crackle and pop of the skillet gave away his location, particularly when he took on a more solid form and the crackle jolted right back to him -- more of the energy he still contained.
  
  'Sorry,' was Mystic's reply, though his jeweled eyes glittered with amusement. He peeked over at Hawk who was doing his best to cling to his Guardian's back. Unlike the other two, he could see him just fine. He was a creature of shadow as well, after all. He trailed after him when he went into the kitchen, and his eyes widened in surprised at the visible crackle of energy that went from him to the metal skillet on the stove.
  
  He looked as though he wanted to say something about that or pester him with questions, but he didn't know quite what to say. He hadn't ever really been around any other Fiends. At least not when they were old enough to be able to communicate with him rather than through simple empathy. He often found that form of communication a bit confusing unless it were through his connection with Reyna.
  
  "Mmm.. breakfast is also easy to make," the silver haired woman spoke up as she walked along the hallway with Wren after handing one of the plates to him to carry. "And it's the one meal that Athan never complains about," she told him as she gritted her teeth. She was quite ready for him to be healed and out of her hair. He was driving her up the wall!
  
  The man in question glanced up when he heard voices outside his door. He resisted the urge to grimace when Wren trailed in alongside his 'caretaker.' He decided to not throw any immediate barbs since they were there with food and he was quite hungry.
  
  'He accepts the apology, by the way,' Hawk shared that tidbit of information with Mystic as they headed towards Athan's room, since Wren never said anything back besides a 'hmph'. He turned around, floating backwards as he followed after the two guardians, to lock eye with Mystic. It was oddly eerie how he knew where the other fiend was at, regardless of being blind. For a moment, his gaze falling on Mystic, was critical, as if he was trying to pierce into his very soul to figure something out.
  
  After a moment, he turned back around, fingers brushing along Wren's shoulder. The demon let out a tiny growl at the small static shock and glared towards where he thought Hawk was. "I'm sure Athan could find something to complain about if he wanted to," Wren murmured, following in after Reyna. He was, actually, nice enough to carry the plate over to Athan.
  
  "Just for you, not poisoned or anything," he said lightly, as if teasing.
  
  Actually, it was somewhat interesting how the urge to play around fled from him once Hawk saw Athan in the bed recovering. There was something ... at the edge ofh is mind that he knew he should've recalled, but couldn't ...
  
  For now, his attention was on Athan, no longer letting his gaze drift to Mystic.
  
  Athan scowled darkly over at Wren but accepted his food gratefully despite the stormy look on his face. He was paler than he usually was, though it would've been difficult to know that his skin was normally a little tan what with how he was usually draped head to toe in black material and shadows. "How nice of you to not poison me," he smiled after a taking a couple bites as he stabbed at his food with his fork.
  
  He resisted the urge to add in that he was surprised Reyna hadn't done so already, but he'd been pushing his limits with her as it was. He needed to lay off of her. He could feel Mystic's anxiety and worry for her when he was too tired to keep his guard up. He briefly glanced towards Mystic before his gaze shifted to follow what he was staring at so interestedly.
  
  He hadn't noticed Hawk there immediately. The child Fiend was doing a good job hiding in his Guardian's shadow, though when he met his gaze he felt an odd pang of.. something. He couldn't put a name to it, and in his current state he was too tired to try to. "How are you fairing, Hawk?" he asked after a moment or so. His skin crackled with energy and he could practically see it spilling off of him and into every available source in the room.
  
  He felt as though he owed the boy quite a bit. He'd done more than just saved his life. He'd saved all of those around him that were bonded to Shadow Fiends. It was impressive that a child as young as he had successfully pulled something like that off. Then again, he had likely Seen it coming.
  
  Wren merely smiled at Athan, taking a step back to really get a look at the man while he was healing up. He looked ... so different without the shadows and the never ending black clothing. Then again, Death was suppose to look good, wasn't it? He snickered a bit at the thought, but turned his attention briefly to Hawk who seemed more interested in speaking with Athan than he ever really did with him.
  
  'Charged,' Hawk replied, creeping out of Wren's shadow and a bit more visible than he had been previously. It was easy to see the crackle of energy once he was truly visible. It looked like there were little cracks along his skin, but it was really just excess energy. '... but all things heal with time,' he murmured as an after thought that crossed his mind. Honestly, with him doing what he did, he didn't consider it doing much, just that he had done what was necessary and that was that.
  
  Hawk moved forward, until he it looked like he was partially sitting on the foot of the bed Athan rested in. It was easy to see, for someone trained, that there was a line of healing energy being fed to him from his guardian. Except that at the same time, Hawk was sneaking bits of the excess energy to his bonded. It was one of the few ways he could expend the energy and it not bother him so much.
  
  His head tilted just slightly, himself phasing in and out of a solid form to a more wispy state, and looked towards Athan. More like, he was using Wren's eyes to look at Athan briefly, to see what the other truly looked like after the battle.
  
  Athan didn't look too different than he normally did. His dreaded hair was a bit messy and wasn't tied back neatly the way it normally was, and he was a bit paler than normal. His eyes still glowed the way they had for.. well.. for as long as he could remember. Physically he appeared fine, but when he tried to get up or move around he experienced dizzy spells and usually collapsed just in time for Mystic to catch him before he hit the floor.
  
  He frowned at that thought as he picked at what was left of his food before his eyes widened slightly when Mystic snatched the plate out of his hands and carried it and Reyna's back towards the kitchen. He sighed and leaned back against the pillows that were propping him up as he gazed towards the little Fiend that was setting at the edge of his bed.
  
  "When I manage to get myself home I'm going to find a piece of quartz for you," he told Hawk, "It'll help drain all that extra energy. Unfortunately my largest piece is hiding under the bed." He chuckled quietly when the little wisp fluttered briefly into view as though sensing it was being talked about before skittering back underneath the bed skirt to continue clinging to the shadows there.
  
  "That thing is just creepy," Reyna hissed as she idly toed at the edge of the bed from her chair next to Athan's bedisde. She refrained from commenting further or asking him why he felt it was nessecary to turn it into a Fiend. She already knew why and deep down she knew she couldn't really blame him for wanting to bring his friend back.
  
  'All right,' Hawk replied again, nodding his head slightly, before he sensed the presence of another wisp coming out from hiding. Hawk's attention turned quickly towards it, his hand lifting up and energy dancing between his finger tips as he reached for the wisp, before he just let his hand drop.
  
  It wasn't worth it. The wisp wasn't even the same person it had been, so he couldn't hold it accountable for it's actions in a previous life. As much as ... as he did not like Doran at all. Not with the memories that had surfaced in his mind. '... it'd be helpful,' Hawk finally spoke again, 'but you seem to be doing well yourself.' From what Hawk could sense in Athan's aura, even if the other was still drained and recovering.
  
  "Creepy is an understatement. Got to ... pity whoever gets a hold of that wisp." Wren paused briefly, rolling his eyes at the thought of being pitied for getting Hawk -- but he couldn't imagine things without Hawk as it were. "At least it seems particularly adept at keeping itself hidden."
  
  "I'd be better if I had enough strength to go home," he murmured idly as his eyes slid shut and he leaned his head back before pressing his hands against his temples. His eyes were rather sensitive to the bright light of the room and with so many people in the room, three of which he was bonded to, it was rather taxing to deal with. "You'll have to talk Wren into visiting the shop when I'm well so I can give you the quartz. I have a pendant that was actually mine once that I think would suit your.. condition," he went on as his eyes creaked open just slightly to peer over at the Fiend.
  
  "You'd have more strength if you didn't insist fighting me tooth and nail over everything," Reyna hissed from her chair before folding her arms over her chest as she scowled over at Athan. He wasn't the only one who was feeling drained and irritable. She was not appreciative of having uninvited house guests. Few people could get away with such a thing. Luckily Wren was one of those individuals.
  
  Mystic drifted back into the room through the far wall rather than the door. He caught sight of the wisp briefly peeking out from underneath the bed once more as though it were scared to come out and face all the people that were obviously talking about it. His gaze travelled once again towards Hawk. He was.. interesting.
  
  '... well, besides being stuck somewhere you don't want to be, you seem fine.' There was a faint tinge of amusement to Hawk's words and if he had lips, he might've smiled lightly at Athan. 'It won't be too hard to convince him to take me somewhere, so long as I stop ... shocking him for a bit.' And there might've been a smirk to his words, as he said them. It was ironic, really, the way that he looked like a child and could act like one, but there was a maturity around him now that hadn't been there before.
  
  The battle had changed him.
  
  "Ah, but if he didn't fight tooth and nail, it wouldn't be the same thing." Wren chuckled, leaning back against the wall and trying to not pay attention to Mystic who was passing between them. "Still, got to admit Death over there doesn't look half bad minus all the doom and gloom." The demon let out a low wolf-whistle, winking at Athan slightly.
  
  Hawk's attention immediately went to Wren and he rolled his eyes. 'Grow up,' he muttered, and Wren just stuck his tongue out at the young fiend. After a few more seconds, Hawk turned his attention towards Mystic, feeling the other fiends heavy gaze on him. An eyebrow arched slightly, as if questioning what was on his mind.
  
  Athan scowled darkly at Wren when he commented on his looks. He flushed visibly and ducked his head before crossing his arms over his chest. He was not appreciative of having him comment on his looks. He'd make a mental note to always wear his robes around the demon. He'd rather be called Mr. Death than have Wren of all people flirt with him. It wasn't that he was another guy that bothered him -- it was that it was Wren.
  
  Mystic glanced away nervously from the other Fiend. He wanted to talk to him but he didn't know what to say, really. It was odd being around another of his kind -- one that wasn't a wisp, anyway. It was a new experience for him. He kind of wished he'd gotten to know him before everything had gone down with Doran. Perhaps then, he'd feel more at ease with him. Then again, his tension could very well be due to Athan's presence. He always felt antsy around the man, even when he was a wisp.
  
  'It's nothing. Just curious, I guess,' he finally answered when the other Fiend continued to squint over at him as though trying to see down inside of his very soul. It was a little unnerving, but he'd never voice that out loud.
  
  'Curiousity killed the cat,' Hawk replied easily enough ( the words a phrase he had heard Wren use often enough ), unseeing eyes glinting and the expression on his face changing to where there was a hint of amusement on it. After a moment, taking pity on Mystic for the fact that he likely was unnerving him more than necessary, he tilted his head slightly and asked a question: 'What are you curious about?'
  
  Besides, it distracted him from wanting to shock Wren. Hawk's fingers trailed across the bed covers, the charge causing them to sometimes lift up to meet his fingers, but otherwise that was it. It was an unconscious gesture to eliminate some of the energy, but most of it he was keeping contained. It wouldn't do to let out what he had within him, at all.
  
  "Aw, poor thing. Does Mister Death not like being complimented on his good looks?" Wren smirked, eyes glinting deviously. He likely wouldn't go farther than that, but the mere fact that Athan seemed to be bothered by his commentary was enough to keep him goining.
  
  He'd let up, eventually, or ... well. Hawk would make him, but he didn't know that.
  
  "'Mister Death' wants to be left alone so he can sleep," Athan hissed irritably. He sounded almost like Reyna when she was in a grumpy mood. The girl seemed to be more amused by the antics going on between her friend and the man that was curled up in bed trying to block all of them out. He rolled over onto his side and tugged the blankets up over his head. "Go. Away," came a muffled voice when Reyna joined in on the teasing.
  
  They were his own personal torture demons. It was awful, really. At least the Fiends seemed to behaving themselves for the most part. Though Mystic was inching forward towards the bed and eventually sat near the edge a foot or so away from Hawk. He was a little wary of the other Shadow, but curiosity always got the best of him.
  
  It was something that no Fiend could easily resist. It was a temptation they all faced and usually caved in to when they were young. He was a teenager, though. He shouldn't have been so fascinated by Hawk. Then again, he did sort of long for the company of others like himself. He loved Reyna to death, but he wanted friends, too.
  
  Wren merely snickered, enjoying picking on Athan more than he should've, but it couldn't be helped. Particularly when Reyna joined in and they were both teaming up on him. "Reyna," he sniffed dramatically, "I don't think Athan likes us anymore."
  
  'Of course he doesn't,' Hawk shot at Wren, a sneer visible in his eyes. The demon wondered just when Hawk became so expressive, but he had expressed more in coming here than he had in the past few days. Hawk, however, had turned his attention towards Mystic. One of his hands, he had absently stretched out on the bed and rested against one of Athan's ankles that was under the covers, thus protecting it somewhat from the energy charge.
  
  With his other hand, Hawk was reaching out for Mystic. His hand came into contact with his shoulder, a sudden shock surely hitting the fiend. Hawk didn't care at that moment, his attention focused entirely on something that only he could see. '... you have darkness within you,' the words came out as a quiet whisper against Mystic's mind and he suddenly pulled his hand back, blind eyes staring at the elder shadow.
  
  Mystic was startled by the sudden charge of energy that zapped him and he scooted away from Hawk some before stilling when he felt him whisper against his mind. His eyes widened visibly and he looked sort of stricken. Darkness within him..? His brow furrowed in a sort of uneasy, worried expression. He didn't know what to say to that. All he knew was that it stirred strange feelings within him and he didn't like it at all.
  
  Reyna squinted towards Mystic when his anxious feelings bubbled over to her through their bond. What was wrong with him? She glanced towards Hawk and figured he was just upset over being jolted with energy or something of the like. She brushed her concerned thoughts aside as she moved to stand. "Best let Death sleep so he can heal," she murmured as she trailed out of the room.
  
  "Besides," she went on, "You need to see what that thing did to my drawing room." She led the other demon towards the room where they had all gathered not but a week or so ago. In the middle of the floor where the stone had been was a dark scorch mark on the slate floor that had actually had small fissure line cracks in it as well. "I'm just glad that Mystic thought to put that hunk of quartz in here..."
  
  Hawk's head tilted slightly, his eyelids closing and luminescent eyes no longer visible. 'You'll learn,' he added after a moment, a faint frown on his lips before he shifted on the bed and turned his head towards where he believed Athan to be resting.
  
  He had the oddest urge flicker to the front of his mind, but it was pushed away from his mind as he ignored the tap from Wren to check in on him. He was fine, just ... over charged, really. A mental shock sent at Wren reinforced the statement.
  
  "... damnit," Wren muttered under his breath, rubbing his forehead briefly, before surveying the damaged room. "Hell, that ... s**t. I would be glad to, it looked like it contained it quite a bit." Leaning down, the demon pressed his fingers to the floor.
  
  Athan sighed when the other's left the room. His green eyes seeped open slowly and he peeled back the comforter he'd thrown over his head in a half-hearted attempt to block all the other's out. Hawk was still there. "Tired of stalking your Guardian?" he asked teasingly as he sprawled out on his side before pressing a hand to his face when he noticed that the Smokey Quartz wisp was hovering near his pillow. He wasn't entirely sure he should've turned the thing into a Fiend. Then again, he wasn't sure about a lot of things.
  
  The slate in Reyna's drawing room was brittle and blackened, charred really. It flaked up in spots, particularly in the center where the stone had been sitting. Reyna avoided stepping too close to the spot or touching it. She still vividly remembered the strange pull she had felt from the stone when she'd opened the door. If Mystic hadn't intervened... She shuddered at that thought and brushed it aside. She didn't want to think about what would've happened if he hadn't, nor did she want to risk absorbing any residual magic left over.
  
  "I'm either going to have to find a way to purify that and fix it, or replace the entire floor," she frowned as she hovered near the doorway as though not entirely comfortable passing through the threshold to the room. "Damn.. I should've pestered Izzy about that while she was still here," she murmured absently.
  
  Wren was slightly distracted at moment, merely nodding his head in agreement with Reyna though he really wasn't listening to her. His fingers were still pressed to the floor, and his eyes slid shut for a moment. It was easy to sense the dark energy that still existed in the room and while Wren could feel it pulsating as if to lure one in, he was able to ignore it.
  
  It was just residual, anyway, not so much left now that the stone itself had been contained. "... um," he finally started, shaking his head and blinking his eyes to clear the haze from them, "sorry, was having a look, got a bit caught up." The grin on his face was sheepish. He usually did get caught up when looking into things like that, it was why he only did it places he knew he'd be safe.
  
  "I think, though, I can purify it a bit and put a lid on what I don't." Wren himself was darkly aligned and chaotic, despite a few things about his past. There was only so much he could do, before it hindered rather than help.
  
  '... you'd think he's stalking me,' Hawk replied back to Athan, before nodding his head slightly in agreement. The only reason he had said that was because of the watch Wren was keeping on him. He had to wonder if he would've been able to come along if it wasn't for the healing Wren was slowly pouring through their connection. In a way, he was greatful, in another it meant that he'd be able to pay Wren back in his own way sooner rather than later.
  
  For the most part, Hawk was ignoring the Smokey Quartz. It was better, in the long run, to do so. Least ... Well, least he wrap his fingers around it and see how much of a charge it could take before it would crack. He didn't like it, but all the same he'd leave it be.
  
  Reyna idly ran a hand back through her short cropped hair as she watched her friend lose himself briefly as he looked into the magic that had essentially contaminated her floor. "Yeah.. that'd be helpful. I'd do it myself, but I'd only make things worse," she stated as she squinted irritably over at the black burn mark. With her luck she'd end up making the residual magic that was left over spread rather than containing it if she were to attempt to purify it.
  
  Mystic appeared near her side and remained partially hidden within her shadow. She arched a brow at him curiously and idly reached back to thread her fingers through a lock of his hair until he went transparent and her fingertips simply went right through him. "Heh.. that upset over Hawk zapping you?" she teased with a small smile. Her expression faded a bit around the edges when he simply remained quiet and that uneasy, tense feeling from him sifted over through their bond.
  
  "Mm.. demons are just that way," Athan mumbled tiredly as he batted away the wisp to send it skittering back beneath the bed. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he peered over at Hawk curiously. His presence was oddly comforting in a weird way, though he didn't think much on it. He was too drained to examine such feelings.
  
  "Might want to take a step back then, just in case," Wren spoke a bit louder to Reyna and to Mystic, once he felt the presence of the other in the room as well. His fingers were once again pressed against the floor and he started tracing runes with them slowly. There was a faint blue glow to the runes he was marking, black at the edges of it though it was only the taint of his own magic. Not what he was trying to purify and contain.
  
  He was, for the moment, just warming up and putting up containment wards just in case.
  
  'Irritating? Bothersome?' Hawk offered, the barest hints of amusement in his voice. His eyes slid shut entirely and he stretched out his senses to brush against Athan's. It was reassuring all most to do that, to check on the other and make sure he was healing well. 'You should rest,' he spoke again, softer this time, 'I'll stay for a bit -- keep the demons out of your hair.'
  
  And Smokey as well, which eyed as it disappeared back under the bed. It was better off staying there.
  
  "Okay," Athan breathed as his eyes sifted closed. Within moments he was snoring softly against his pillow he had clutched to his chest. He looked oddly human curled like that as he slept, though the few times Reyna had come in while he was sleeping to make sure he was still alive, she hadn't made a comment about it. She'd determined rather quickly that she'd rather not prod him too much -- at least not while she was stuck alone with him. With Wren around he was fair game.
  
  Currently she was more interested in watching Wren contain the residual magic in her slate floor from a relatively safe distance. She'd edged away almost towards the end of the dark little hallway that led to the room. She could still see him just fine, though she did have to scold Mystic a couple of times when he tried to sneak closer. "You ought to know better," she teased, "Somehow I think you'd be about as appreciative of being zapped by Wren's magic as you were when Hawk got a hold of you."
  
  Hawk might have smiled if he had lips to smile with, instead, there was a faint feel of happiness to his presence, a glint in his eyes that said he was pleased. The young fiend took a more solid form, sitting on the edge of Athan's bed, watching him with unseeing eyes. There was nothing that he could tell of that would cause misfortune for the other, not for a while yet.
  
  It just felt good to sit and stand guard while Athan rested. Hawk could keep the two demons out of his hair, really.
  
  Though Wren couldn't be bothered at the moment to mess with Athan or deal with Hawk. The demon snorted, when he heard his friend commenting on Mystic getting to close. He could contain everything, to make sure the other wouldn't be 'zapped', but as it was, he was trying to focus on the task at hand.
  
  Eventually it looked like there was a pale blue bubble over the area he was trying to purify. It was a matter of drawing in the 'negative energy' and releasing it back pure. The runes that he etched glowed on the ground faintly as he continued the process. His appearance slipped some as he worked on the purification, true features showing through briefly. For a moment, it did look like dark and delicate wings on his back, but they flickered away quickly.
  
  Reyna watched with interest as she caught sight of a brief flash of wings at her friend's back. She resisted the urge to tease him about that. He was indeed her friend, and he was doing her quite a favor by containing and purifying the left over magic that had ruined her floor. Besides, she hardly had room to talk when it came down to true forms. She had wings, too.
  
  That thought made her reach back and scratch as best she could between her shoulder blades as suddenly the skin itched there. She hadn't so much as seen her own wings in.. well.. a really long time. She frowned idly at that before brushing that thought aside once Wren had finished what he was doing and closed off the circle.
  
  "You!" she declared, "Are the best!"
  
  Wren nudged his glasses up, once he was finished and pressed his hand back to the ground. There wasn't much negative force left in the room after he had purified it, but there was a bit left -- the parts of it he couldn't get to. It wasn't much though and through the process he wasn't even aware of letting his seeming slip through.
  
  "... thanks," he responded, with a distracted chuckle. Palm now pressed flat to the ground, he murmured the words to another spell, to contain and bind in what was left. A circle stretched it's way across the ruined floor, lit up briefly once, and then faded away.
  
  "That should do it for you. Whatever's left should be contained, though there isn't much." He tilted his head, looking over his shoulder towards Reyna with a faint smirk. "Nothing that will attract your attention through my warding, at least." He knew the habit of magic and other things being attracted to her and it was better she was protected from the residual magic present. Didn't need to get sucked in or anything of the like.
  
  "You don't perhaps have a spell to get rid of grouchy magic-users that are bumming around in your guest room, would you?" she snickered. She sighed faintly and pressed a hand wearily to her face, fingertips idly tracing around the edge of her eyepatch. "You should have seen him..." she murmured faintly as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorway, "Believe it or not I'm a little worried about him despite the headache his presence in my home gives me.."
  
  She frowned and scowled down at the floor before glancing up when Mystic resumed hiding about in her Shadow. His presence was calm and cool, something she found to be rather comforting. "I'm still a little shocked he turned that thing into a Fiend," she grumbled.
  
  Dusting himself off, Wren pushed himself up off of the ground and stretched a little, before turning his attention to Reyna. "Well I don't think Athan would appreciate if I put a spell on this place that would ... make him not want to be here." The demon smirked, carefully closing off his mind towards Hawk -- if only so he didn't have to hear it from the young fiend when he was poking fun at Athan.
  
  "... but I think I can understand the worry. He looks like he's still recovering, him and Hawk both." Frowning, Wren shook his head and turned around to survey the rest of the room. He ignored the curious poke at his mind from Hawk, letting the fiend think what he would. "More unnerving, I think, would be that it could potentially go to someone in the future. I mean, it was Doran ... and I saw some of the things Hawk let slip." He repressed a shudder. "It's just not a pleasant thought that Doran could come back and cause more problems, if somehow bits of the past resurface.
  
  "And never mind I think Hawk will be less than tolerable towards it's presence, if it bothers him."
  
  Reyna nodded in agreement with a slight frown on her face before turning to head back towards the main part of the house and into the living room. "The entire situation is rather disturbing," she grumbled, "My nerves are shot and I've just about had it."
  
  She plopped herself down on the couch before offering Wren a faint smile. "Sorry I'm not better company," she snickered faintly, "I'm exhausted and you know me and my temper." She idly rubbed at her temples in an attempt to ease the tension that was building there that would undoubtedly manifest itself into a serious headache later on.
  
  Wren followed a short distance behind Reyna, wiping off the palms of his hands against his jeans. "I think ... I'm just faking it." The demon chuckled, raking a hand through his hair and then shaking his head. "I'd rather be sleeping than handling things, but ... no rest for the wicked." His reserves were running on low, particularly since the run in with Doran and the 'torture' demons before that.
  
  "It's all right," he said, waving a hand dismissively at her and claiming a seat across from her. "You probably need rest as much as Athan or Hawk does, but ... things to do and all that." The petite man practically sank into the chair he was in, letting out a sigh. "I'd throw you a line or something, but ... Hawk's got me tapped out." And he meant a little of what healing power he did, as rare as it was. "We can just pick a later date to harass Athan. You know, when he's able to stand up to it," he said with a chuckle, making light of the situation.
  
  "Hehe.. yeah," she snickered as she leaned heavily against one of the pillows that was strewn across the arm of the couch, "He's more fun to torture when he's able to fight back. It's not nearly so fun when he just passes out rather than coming back with a snide comment of his own." She laughed quietly at that and shook her head.
  
  "You'd think he'd know better and just ignore us or something. I think he's secretly an okay guy.. he's just doing a good job at presenting himself as a complete a**," she murmured as she tried to suppress a yawn. She'd just barely woken up when Wren had initially come over. Technically she shouldn't be so tired, but she had to admit that despite her sleeping off and on she hadn't actually rested well.
  
  "You should probably get back to bed, you know," he said with a small chuckle at her sleepy behavior. Granted, even if he was tired himself, he wouldn't let it show at the moment. "But, ... well. You're probably right, but it'd be a cold day in the abyss before I admit openly that Athan could, possibly, be a nice guy." The small demon smirked widely, arms stretching out along the back of his chair.
  
  "I can live with him ignoring us at the moment. If only because I know he likely needs his rest." And Hawk would probably try and zap him if he even showed the slightest sign of being about to latch onto and bother Athan.
  
  "Probably," she replied with a faint smile, visible eye sifting half closed as she stifled a yawn behind one hand. "And I may have said he's alright, but I'll be damned if I ever tell him that," she snickered, "He's too much of a pain in the a** for me to willingly admit that to him."
  
  She fell quiet and idly tugged on her bond to Mystic to see what it was he was up to. The Shadow appeared in the hallway, fidgeting nervously. Hawk had unsettled him, and Athan's presence was wearing on his nerves the same as it was Reyna's.
  
  "Exactly the point," Wren chuckled, reclining back in the chair to get comfortable for a little bit. "I don't think we'd hear the end of it if we let him know we can tolerate him for long periods of time. Need to ... uphold intolerance for Mr. Death." He smirked widely, blue eyes glinting mischievously.
  
  His head tilted to the side, silently sending a wordless question to Hawk's Eye. He didn't get much of a response beside that he was busy guarding Athan from people like himself. Or that was the impression he got. He snickered a bit, shaking his head, before looking back at Reyna. "About how much longer is Athan going to be staying here?" Rather, how much longer was it going to be until he was healed enough he'd head out on his own?
  
  Reyna groaned and pressed her hands to her face. "I don't know," she lamented with a half-hearted chuckle. She sighed as she moved to sit up and gazed tiredly down at the floor as she rested her palms flat on her knees. "He's supposed to be out of here once he's healed entirely. He was doing fine until he went and sealed off the stone and then.. brought it back," she grumbled, "He was at least conscious today. That's.. a step in the right direction... which would eventually lead him out of my house."
  
  "Oh, no, I bet he has a secret plan to only appear out of sorts so he can stay here longer and unnerve you and Mystic until the two of you snap." Wren snorted, rolling his eyes lightly. Not that he truly believed it, no, he knew Athan was in need of healing -- it didn't mean he couldn't say otherwise.
  
  And get a jab from Hawk mentally who caught what he said. "Though, yeah, him conscious is a good thing. So happy he was conscious while I was here to visit, otherwise I'd have been ... ever so sad." There was a brief pout on his face, before it turned into a half-smile. "But bringing that fiend back, it probably took it out of him, what he gained back ..." The demon paused for a moment, picking up on what Hawk's Eye was willingly letting him know. "Think he's asleep right now actually, or so Hawk's Eye is saying."
  
  "Yeah.. it totally sapped his energy. He couldn't even walk afterwards," Reyna replied with a faint scowl. The expression faded somewhat as Mystic tugged affectionately on their bond and murmured something softly about going to make some tea for her. "I think Athan knows his boundaries with me though.. to some extent," she snickered, "I already smacked him upside the head for being an insolent brat.."
  
  She giggled quietly at the memory of that. "You would've been amused by that if you'd been there, I think.."
  
  "Most definitely," he snickered. Even the ... visuals he had of Reyna smacking Athan upside the head were amusing. There was just something enthralling about envisioning his friend thump Athan for acting like a brat. "Still, boundaries are good. I get the feeling though, when he's at his low points, he doesn't hold himself back too well. You know, low tolerance."
  
  His eyes glinted for a moment and he smiled widely. "And mix that with you being the same way and I'm sure it's a volatile mix."
  
  ... Hawk could've cared less what his guardian was chatting about with Reyna. He was, for the most part, ignoring his guardian and merely watching Athan. The man looked far more peaceful in sleep, but still troubled even then. Carefully, so as to not accidently zap the man with his excess energy, he lifted up the covers some more to make sure he was properly under them.
  
  "Pretty much," she admitted quietly as she idly ran a hand back through her hair, leaving it in messy spikes, "Our personalities definately clash. I prefer him in small doses."
  
  She fell quiet briefly when Mystic walked back into the room and handed her a cup of tea before eyeing Wren nervously with a faint flush as though he'd just realized he hadn't offered him anything to drink. 'Uhm.. would you like some?' he asked, hoping he didn't seem too rude. He knew that the other demon was one of the few people his bonded was friends with.
  
  "No, actually, I wouldn't," Wren said, with a small smile at Mystic. "Thanks for asking though, but I think I should probably get going. There's things that need to be done." Shaking his head, the demon pushed himself up and walked over to Reyna, resting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it lightly.
  
  "I'm sure Athan will recover soon enough and be out of your hair. Besides, you can all ways just call me and I'll come over to make sure he ... behaves himself." There was a mischievous smirk on his lips and after another slight comforting squeeze to Reyna's shoulder, he let go. "Just get some rest yourself, and you too Mystic. I'm sure playing caretaker is taking it's toll on you too." With another smile on his lips, the demon nodded his head at the Fiend, before wordlessly calling towards his own.
  
  Hawk merely brushed him off. 'Go ahead. I'll follow along eventually,' came the quiet response. The blind Fiend was still sitting on the bed with Athan, still watching the man as he slept, and still intent on staying for a bit longer. It wouldn't hurt for him to stay behind and look after Athan. After all, he knew most wouldn't want to put up behavior while weak like this and ... Hawk knew he could.
  
  ... and he wanted to stay, but he knew not why.
  
  Mystic fidgeted quietly in a nervous fashion when Wren declined the offer for tea. He glanced towards the floor before fading out of view and floating through the nearest wall to head towards his own room to hide for a while. Social situations of any sort made him terribly uncomfortable.
  
  Reyna glanced towards where her Shadow had retreated before meeting her friend's gaze with a small smile of her own. "Thanks," she murmured faintly, "You take care, too." She stood to walk him to the door before heading off to her own room. Wren was right. She needed rest, as did Mystic. She could almost feel the tension that was bubbling off of him whenever he was near. It certainly didn't help with her own strain she felt but there wasn't much she could do about it at the moment.
  
  The only thing she could do at the moment was hope that Athan healed up soon and left her be.