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Lenore let's the punch hit. Because, somewhere, in the back of her mind, she still cares about Krista. Even if she betrayed her, offered Damien up for bait.

Killed Melantha.

"I'd like to see you try," Lenore says, through clenched teeth, as she wipes the blood trailing from her lip. The cut is healing already. "Come on, Krista," she says, throwing her arms out to the side, and glaring at her with her crimson eyes. "Kill me, if you can!"

Lenore falls back, grunting.

And then, the claws enter her. The wounds heal even as another is inflicted.

But, she refuses to let herself cry out in pain.

Shifting, she intends to switch positions with Krista, if she does, she will swipe at her with her talons again, though not with as much rage.

If you look closely, blood-tears are welling in her eyes, and they have nothing to do with the physical pain she is feeling.

Lenore winces at the punch, and slides off of Krista.

She looks at her bloodied, battered friend, and the tears overflow. She covers her face with her hands, and curls up.

A strangled sob comes from her throat, and she pushes her aching body up to stand. She runs back to the manor, only stopping to instruct Faene to get Rinon.

She hurries to one of her rooms in the manor. The shelves are full of bottles. She sifts through them, angrily knocking some to the stone floor, creating nauxious fumes.

She doesn't care, she only waves her wand at the spilt potions, and continues searching.

She finds the salve, and asks Emme to go and leave it in Krista's room.

A hasty note is written, as she has torn the label off of the bottle so Krista does not know it is from her. She discuises her handwriting. She hands the completed not to Emme, and tells her to wait until Rinon gets Krista back to the room.

Then, hollow inside, she walks like a zombie up the stairs, and toward her own room. She wants only to get Krista's blood off of her. . . .

Two eyes flare a fierce green in the darkness, piercing the shadows for a brief moment before receding into nothing. It had taken every ounce of control she had not to leap into the fray. Her fingers had twitched as she watched the fight, her teeth clenched and her blood racing. All that spared her scent from being cast out into the wind was the fact that she was watching the fight from another plane entirely. She needed not the details of color or form to tell who was who in the tussle. She'd know Lenore if she was struck dumb, deaf, or blind. Now it was over, and the killer in her urges her forward, to strike the final blow. Her eyes narrow as she pushes the thought back, losing a sliver more of her control in the locking of it securely away in the depths of her mind. She would deal with it later.

Her vision clears as Krista slumps to the earth, and her protective nature surges to the fore. Quietly she creeps out from behind the hazy form of her tree, soon met by the equally silent Alimus a few feet away from the sound of Krista's labored breathing. A long moment passes as shadowdancer and shadowkin regard one another. Eirnae is the first to break visual contact, and nods in Krista's direction before heading back towards the house to slip through a wall as if it weren't even there. Alimus watches her go, then turns back around to pad around the downed woman to step out of the Shadow Plane behind her. His movements are quick, with no scent and no sound to provide detection, as he darts forward to swipe at her unprotected shoulder with his strength sapping claws.

Krista watches though cloudy eyes, with the lost of blood she couldn't move. She knew the look in Eirnae's eye though, she knew it very clear. Closing her eyes slightly she reopens them in time see Alimus swipe come toward her, she gave out what was like a cry expecting it to be the end for her. But only it ended up knocking her out.

From the shadow glowing emerald green eyes watched, it had seen the whole battle. But it couldn't hold back any longer, a huge white panther leap forward from the shadows in the trees landing just above Krista's body like a protecting mother. It growls low its fur standing on edge as it watched Alimus it's claws retracting ready to strike the other if it tried to attack again. The panther snarled its lips moving back showing it sharp canine teeth. It couch low over Krista's body, close enough where it made sure the body couldn't get hit.

To anyone who seen the eyes before they would know who the person was behind the panther skin, but to someone who never met the person this would just seem to be a panther protecting a fallen companion in there eyes.

Rinon races ahead. He stops when he sees the white panther. Slowing down, he cautiously inches closer.

When he is close enough to see the feline's eyes, he stops. He looks down at Krista, and his eyes water. The sight of her leaves him no choice but to look away.

When he composes himself a little more, which only takes a second or two, and he kneels down.

He looks in the panther's familiar eyes. "You are as such for a reason," he says, his voice even and soft. "But, I need your help. . . . Please, come back to the house with me. Just stay as you are, and I will say you were just one of the animals in the forest that Krista has become attatched to."

He doesn't wait for a response, merely grabs up Krista, and races back to the house.

Lenore is still rubbing at her hands, which are rapidly becoming raw. She sits there, amidst the steam rising from the water, rocking slightly. She is humming something, softly. Just two hmmm-hmmmmmm's, over and over, and sounds like a school-yard bully's taunts.

In her head, a voice is taunting her. 'Monster,' it is saying over and over again.

Lenore blinks, and seems to waken. Just enough so that she stops the humming and the rocking.

She drops the wash cloth, as though it is on fire. It sinks to the bottom of the tub, after an initial soft thunk as it hits the water.

She turns her eyes to her left hand, where her engagement ring glistens. Her eyes move to her wrist, then up further to the inside forearm. She just stares down at it, as though she can see the now-faded mark on her skin.