Hiding from the world - Open

Shadow was curled up in a cave in the side of a mountain, alone, scared. Her violet eyes wouldn't stop flickering between their usual colour and the blood red of her demonic possession, although the red was certainly more dominant than the purple. She had her old black cloak wrapped tightly around her tightly curled body, trying to ward off the hill, even though it was the height of summer. She sobbed breathlessly, trying to get her emotions back under control. The walls of the cave she was lying in were blackened, as if scorched.

Near the dark entrance to the cave, from behind an asphalt gray rock, a bark brown haired boy popped out. He had eyes the same color as Shadow's flickering vision. He stepped out from behind the large stone, his dull purple shirt waving steadily in the calm breeze that shook the nearby nearly cremated plants. He eyed the vegetation suspiciously, before lifting his head, and noticing the girl curled up in the shadowy hole.
Bart took one step forwards, heading for the demoness. He slowly lifted one hand to Shadow.
"Shad..." he murmured.

Shadow was shivering slightly, and she curled into a tighter ball.
"Go away Bart." She said quietly. Her voice was hoarse, as if she'd been screaming, but it also had the growling shadow of a voice of her demonic possession. She pulled her cloak tighter around her, the chill still creeping over her. It felt so cold to her, even though it was a warm day.

"Not a chance," Bart snapped, stepping to the side of the entrance to the cave. He leaned on the cold, rock surface, his white shorts, turned grayish in the darkness, along with the imposing demonic aura that surged from Shadow's body and equipment. He grazed his piercing red stare over Shadow's tormented eyes, sighing gently. His clawed fingers tapped delicately on his forearm, as the faint breeze that flew behind him brushed his hair slightly.

Shadow curled up into a tighter ball. The sound of claw on silver seemed to be so loud for her, as if someone was hammering metal inside her very head. She desperately took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm herself down before she gave her demonic side anymore oppertunities to reinforce its hold on her.
"You have to go," She murmured.

"I've already fought your demonic side once," Bart replied coldly, remembering the time where he had gone demonic as well, "meaning I can do it again." Bart pushed himself off the side of the wall, using his hand. He stood up on his two feet, his tail quietly swishing along in the wind. His red gaze flicked as Bart blinked multiple times. He clenched his hands into fists, making his indexes snap.

Shadow shivered again before getting to her feet. She stood hunched, as if she had been curled up there for a long time, which she had actually. The scars that the Senate had carved into her skin glowed slightly with a red aura, giving her an air of menace. Her eyes had stopped flickering as much, staying red for longer. Her facial expression was one of desperation, of terror.

Bart let out a sigh full of hesitance and exasperation. His red stare locked onto Shadow's, and his silver bracelets glistened in the darkness of the cave, thanks to the few rays of light that managed to get to where he was at that moment. He took a deep breath, clenching his fists and tensing his body, and he took one step forwards, defying Shadow's air of scare.

Shadow didn't shift her gaze from Bart's. She looked scared, as if her father was right behind her. Although, in a way, he was. He was in her mind, trying to take over.
"You have to go," She repeated again.

Bart frowned intensely at the demoness, taking another step forwards. He had to admit it, he wasn't comfortable seeing Shadow react like this. He took a second step forward, silently lifting his hands, preparing himself. He let a low, cold breath escape his mouth, and his tail flicked at the air behind him, sensing ominous behavior in both of the beings' actions.

Shadow took one step backwards, turning her back on the Kraferr. She took a deep breath, trying to get her other side under control again. She was still shaking, from both shock and cold. Her own tail hung limply, half curled around her leg.

Bart glared at the demoness.
He didn't completely understand what had just happened to Shadow, but he knew it was something concerning the blood that ran through her veins. He took another step forwards, spreading his claws outwards, if ever he needed to use them. Since some time, he had been training his kraferric martial arts with Dominique. And he wasn't afraid to use them against a friend, even a close one if needed. But he would never do it to attack plainly. Only to try and shove reason into the aggressors' mind.

Shadow straightened her back, standing up properly. Her tail had become ridged. She had frozen in place. Her red eyes were wide in fear and pain, but also in realisation. She whipped round, her eyes now narrowed, glaring at Bart. She had sensed the movement behind her, and had guessed that it was hostile.

Bart marked his stance, and readied his pose. He glared fiercely back at the demon, both red eyes meeting. She's not Shadow anymore, he thought darkly, meaning I have no reason to hold back. Bart's foot slid along the graveled earth floor, halting at a degree of ninety degrees compared to his other foot, of which the leg was flexed forwards. Bart's right hand was outstretched forwards, and his left hand was just next to his cheek, claws pointed forwards, ready to strike.

Shadow readied her own pose, at ease, her feet shoulder width apart, her shoulders squared. Her eyes flickered to a confused violet for a brief moment before returning to red. She growled low in the back of her throat, wolflike.

Bart stood straight, tensed, not moving. His breath was slow, and his chest barely moved as he did so. His eyebrows were frowned, and his fingers were placed. He wasn't going to move unless Shadow attacked first. If she did, it would mean- and make Bart sure at the same time- that Shadow was under control of something that was inside her, and if Bart's assumptions were correct, it was something she had to put up with every time something emotionally effective happened.

"Stand back Bart!" Ordered a voice from the mouth of the cave. Three figures were silhouetted against the light, but it was fairly obvious who they were. Raven, Shaeman and Vrael, all armed and ready to take down the person they had previously considered to be their sister.

Bart didn't turn his head, as it may give Shadow an opportunity to attack him. He recognized the voice of the man he had recently grown to secretly hate within. But he had to admit to himself that this situation was going to get ugly if he didn't do anything. He swiftly took one step back, still facing the demoness.

The three demons moved forwards, moving in an inversed triangle to prevent the other demon from escaping.
"Watch out guys," Raven said in a low arning voice. "She looks close to the Change." Vrael and Shaeman took stronger grips on their weapons, aiming for Shadow.

Bart silently growled, but not at Shadow. Even though he wasn't looking at Vrael, Shaeman or Raven, he knew that he had no way to escape from the imminent chaos. His tail was furiously slashing at the wind. He knew he couldn't use kraferric magic, as he was not able to the many times he had tried with Dominique. He steadied his stance, and waited for the first blow.

Shadow backed away from the three demons, snarling in a feral way, very unlike the normal Shadow.
"She's too close, we have to let her go through the Change, and pray that she can get back..." Raven said, lowering her weapon slightly. As she spoke, Shadow's snarl changed. Instead of one of anger, it seemed to be one of pain. Shadow fell to one knee, changing into something, something black and red.

Bart didn't ease his status, but he tensed even tighter instead, keeping his eyes on the demoness. His red glare lowered as Shadow fell on one knee, and it widened as he saw what she was doing. A 'thing' as dark as the cave, and as red as Bart's look seemed to cover Shadow. Bart pulled his hands closer together, slowly taking the strings of the silver bracelets apart. They fell onto the ground, making a loud, long metallic noise resonate in the cave. Bart took his position back, trying to keep his own demonic side under control.

"Vrael? You got that rope on you still?" Raven asked, watching the transformation carefully. Vrael quickly unwound two lengths of rope from his waist, throwing one to Shaeman. Both demons quickly tied lasso-like slip knots onto the ropes, readying themselves as thing stopped changing, lying still in its side for a moment.

Suddenly, the thing got to its feet, flames sprouting from several places on its body. Shaeman and Vrael threw the ropes, managing to loop them around the creature's neck and then using their weight to keep the creature immobilised on its feet. It was a wolf, but it looked demonic. It was the size of a horse, with four blood red eyes in its pitch black fur. A white streak reached from its nose to the crest of its head before turning into a bloor red dorsal stripe. The fur on its legs was red up to the knee, and the tip of the feathered tail and ears were also red. From each patch of red fur, flames erupted, giving it an air of being even more fierce.

Bart frowned slowly, recognizing the creature in the darkness. He somehow managed to detect every single trait that the being had. It wasn't Shadow any more. It was... SomeTHING else. Bart noticed his fur slowly fade to dark purple. His tail flicked at the air, turning violet also. Bart's hair went the same color, and his canines and claws elongated. Four crimson eyes appeared on Bart's face. A loud crunch was heard, followed by a shredding sound, as spiked bones shot out of Bart's back. He fell to the ground in pain, on his two hands and feet, but not taking his look off the demon. Bart's breath was cracking and slow. Faint, long black electric sparks twisted around his wrists and palms, as he pushed off them to stand up again, looking down at the creature, snarling fiercely.
"Who... What is this?" Bart asked quietly.

Raven looked at Bart, her face somewhat grim.
"This is the person you formerly knew as Shadow." She said simply before sighing, looking away. "The thing is, Shadow was under Karthragan's influence so much more than any of the rest of us were, because of the prophecy. Because of that, we always knew that this was going to come, she gained another morph. Ths is her full demonic form. The problem is, no one knows if she's going to be able to change back."

As if to punctuate Raven's explination, the creature gave a cry. It sounded like a mix between a wolf's howl and a human's scream.