a shadow stalks [panic]

[Carmilla Karnstein]

Most of the recent arrivals in Trenale, homecomers and newcomers alike, were likely to avoid the forest in the city park right now. It was far too tangled, with different plantlife intertwining and making it almost impossible for a person, whether fully human or not, to make their way through. It would have been borderline suicidal, especially, if they had chosen to come around at night.

Yet one soul, one that was not quite human, as she walked through the city at night, took one look at what was once a delightful place for someone to walk in, perfectly safe to take a child, or an inexperienced hiker, and could practically feel her nails ache to sharpen, felt her dry throat almost whine to go in. If she had seen no more soldiers and wasn't sure if she wanted to hunt the innocent right now, perhaps some hapless animal trapped in there? Blood was blood, after all, and while she scoffed at what certain hack authors had called "vegetarianism in vampires", a squirrel would do in a pinch for Carmilla's thirst.

As she stepped forward towards the forest, she transformed, her hands finding their way to the ground as padded paws with those claws she had so craved, her black hair finding its way all over her body, and her brown eyes turning yellow, the only thing about her anyone could see clearly at this time of night. By the time she reached the mouth of it, she had become a panther, and was ready to stalk.


It still wasn't easy, even in this form, and there were some thorns that threatened to tear at her flesh, branches sticking out like broken bones that nearly beat her, but she managed to tear at some of them herself, and continued forward, listening and smelling for any creature foolish enough to make its presence known...

[Panic]

Panic had chosen the form of a black house cat. They were small a nimble and could see very well in the dark. This form meant easy navigation with excellent camouflage. Panic wasn't actually sure what he was doing wandering around anymore. he'd abandoned his journey to the portals in favor of helping a stranger and now he had no clear sense of what to do next. Every now and again he'd catch whispers of his master, but it was never enough for him to understand. He got the general idea "do as I say" and "cause destruction," but it was like listening to a radio from three rooms away. Panic was getting the idea that perhaps contacting him in the extremely magical realm was proving harder than he anticipated. This was good news, but Panic still had very little hope. His bronze wristband still burned and had caused him to go feral several times now. Luckily this second time he'd only been severely startled by a wild pig. The pig didn't make it. As he came down out of his vicious state all he could imagine is who that could have been.

For now, Panic was mostly just wandering aimlessly, trying to avoid anywhere there might be people. He was carefully avoiding the thorns now. He'd lost track of Nick long ago. That turned out to be for the best anyway since he'd had another episode since their meeting. Still the man wasn't around to help him remove thorns, so he thought it best to keep a wide birth. He was lost in heavy thought as he often was when he felt suddenly threatened.

He froze. He hadn't heard something so much as felt something. His blue eyes swiveled about, his ears perked up. Hi tail twitched nervously. He couldn't see anything. Whatever it was, it was good at hiding.

[Carmilla Karnstein]

She could hear another heart before it started beating faster...damn, she had been heard, she highly doubted there was anything else that could've spooked whatever this was. She would've heard it. She took a deep breath, and over the smell of the forest, she could smell...another cat, it seemed. A much smaller one, probably a house cat...no, she didn't think she was terribly interested in attacking that. Seemed a bit too akin to cannibalism. Nevermind the fact that she semiregularly fed on human blood while looking far more human than she looked like a house cat right now...but hey, her contradictions were hers to grapple with. Perhaps she just liked cats better than people.

She continued forward, and couldn't help but turn her head towards where she heard the heartbeat coming from. She could make out a pair of blue eyes, and sure enough, a little black house cat. She would have laughed if she still had the vocal cords for it, but instead she let out a low growl in acknowledgment...and then she heard another creature, sounded like an owl...that would do. Her eyes moving up towards the tree, she leaped up towards the sound, the other cat forgotten.

[Panic]

Panic was shaking. He took a step back when the massive cat appeared, a massive clone of himself. He didn't dare run. The big cat might make chase and it would certainly catch him. His ears and nose twitched and his little heart raced. Then, something strange happened. It did not attack, it did not approach any further, it simply growled and began to move on. Panic did not respond. That was odd. Something wasn't right. He may have been in her territory, but then she certainly would have attacked. If he wasn't then that was fine, but something about the way she looked at him unsettled him. Panic had yet to meet any panthers around Tintagel, but it was a very odd school. Whatever was going on he did not want to be a part of it. Yet, where was she going? He'd heard the owl too...she wasn't thinking of.

Oh no...Panic liked owls. Panic liked most animals. He didn't want it to get eaten, but he didn't want to tangle with a panther. Perhaps if he just got in the way a little. Better him to get injured and heal than the owl be gone forever. Panic tried not to wail as his head raced with all the pain this large cat could cause him, but he'd never forgive himself if he let the owl die. He turned and scurried up the tree as fast as he could, where he had heard the owl. Being smaller he was hoping he was faster than the panther. His claws dug into the bark until he reached the owl and hissed at it, hoping to spook it off.

[Carmilla Karnstein]

By the time Carmilla latched onto the trunk of the tree, she realized the smaller cat had made its way up to the tree and...was it...hissing at the owl? She narrowed her eyes, losing focus on the hunt, which of course gave the owl ample time to take one look at the hissing cat and the pouncing panther and go flying away. Honestly, Carmilla should have been more frustrated but A) that was no great loss and B) what the actual hell was going on with this little cat? Although...as she was now closer to it, she got a better look at its face and...something in the eyes. She knew damn well cats were smart, and took her connection to them as a point of pride, almost, but this cat seemed smarter than average. It was something in the eyes...almost like...

...almost like what she had seen what few times she looked at her reflection in this form...another shapeshifter then?

Well, there was one easy way to find out. She curled her paws as much as she could in order to tighten her grip on the tree as she shifted her way back into the form of a young woman. She could feel herself slipping, but she managed to scurry her way up to the branch opposite the cat, her speed managing to beat gravity at its own game.

Once she was settled, she fixed her gaze onto the blue eyes of the cat. "You know...most cats I know would've tried to make a meal out of that owl, not try to scare it off."

[Panic]

Panic shivered as she shifted and rushed up the tree toward him. He knew something was strange about her, but he wouldn’t have guessed she was another shapeshifter. You’d think he’d be able to spot one of his own, but what he sensed more than a fellow animal changeling was a certain darkness. There was something about her that he knew only surrounded those veiled in something unholy. He was a demon, he could tell when he was near someone that belonged to the same realm. This was no panther hunt, but a vampire in search of a non human meal. It struck him as strange, but made him no less glad he scared the owl away. He liked animals more than most people.

She spoke and Panic debated running for cover. However, if she wanted to catch him she could. He thought about simply staying a cat and remaining silent, but what good would that do? She could hurt him just as easily as a cat as she could if he was human.

”Th-that owl didn’t deserve to die” Panic murmured daringly. He had taken his usual human form, although it looked dangerous thing nowadays and his clothes were tattered. He clung to the trunk of the tree, careful not to look in her eyes. He braced himself for whatever was to come. Whatever pain she had in mind. The bronze band on his wrist began to tingle.

[Carmilla Karnstein]

Her suspicions were confirmed as the cat turned into a rather scrawny and pale man, probably at least a decade older than her eighteen year old form, though she supposed it was hard to tell with their kind. He could easily be much younger or much older than he looked...although if it was the latter, then how in the world could he possibly care so much for an owl? It was almost laughable. Sure, she had heard the "The Star Thrower" story, as most had, especially if one studied as much as she did in her free time of the past three centuries, but really? She didn't think someone would use that philosophy to save an owl.

With a mirthless chuckle in her voice, she said, "Well you're lucky I can find a meal elsewhere or I'd be a lot angrier at your attempts at activism...I'm going to find something or someone to snack on no matter what you do, you realize that right? What you just did isn't going to change that."

She supposed she could have attacked him right then and there...but much like him, she got the sense he was more than a mere shapeshifter. Another "creature of the night" somehow, though she couldn't place where that instinct came from. Maybe it was just that he oh so subtly didn't smell human. She wasn't sure how such blood would taste...plus if he could only shift into a cat, there was that odd sense of guilt over killing a fellow.

So instead she snarled, "Stay out of my way and I'll forget it." After all, he seemed easily spooked. She didn't even wait for his response before she started climbing back down, saving her shifting for when she was on a sturdier part of the branch.

[Panic]

Panic was feeling something odd and uncharacteristic. That flame that couldn’t be quelled grew hotter and bubbled his blood as she spoke. Panic had the very large misfortune of meeting most of the worst people to have ever lived in the Underworld. Everything about her reminded him of the terrible things the darkness could do. She was a feeder on those less powerful than her. She probably enjoyed it. He couldn’t know it, but he was relating her to another hellishly controlling being he had dealt with most of his life. But, she was not Hades. She did not have control over him. He had the power to do something here. He had the power to let that fire devour him and change him into something he was not: brave.

He morphed into a squirrel when she began to move. With every little step toward the ground, his heart thumped faster and his wrist began to burn. Emotions were not allowed, but the burning only made him angrier. She could starve for all he cared. He wasn’t going to let her hurt an innocent. Not when he could do something about it. Not when she was someone who was just as bad as him. Panic thought very little of himself so this was no light insult.

He made to cut her off at the bottom of the tree, reaching the ground and shifting into a large grey direwolf. He didn’t growl or raise his hackles, but poised himself ready to move in any direction she tried to run.

Panic had no words to define what he was feeling. It was like a new type of fear. A righteous fear. An inspirational fear. He was still terrified, utterly so. He could not hide his trembling, but the movement belong to more than just horror, but rather, rage being the cause of some of it as well. She had not done enough to inspire this all on her own, but years of bullying, concealed resentment, and an unfortunate residence in the darker part of the world left Panic full of contempt for the being. Why did she deserve to take the life of another? Who was she to decide?

[Carmilla Karnstein]

As she was climbing down the tree, she didn't bother taking very much notice of whatever the man was doing, and really, what did she care? He wanted to be self righteous that was his business, and she wasn't about to let it ruin her night. She couldn't imagine what was waiting for her down there, had even thought there was no way he could possibly get the response that he wanted out of her, if he thought the best idea was to turn into a smaller cat in order to just scare off the owl. There was no way she had anything to fear...

...but as she made it down the tree, and saw the direwolf that was about as tall as her human form. In the split second before she shifted back into a panther, she recognized the same blue eyes from the cat. So apparently he had a wider range of what he could change into, and was continuing to be a little bitch over a goddamn owl. And of course he wasn't even attacking, he was just trying to intimidate her with mere size, as though she had anything to be afraid of after everything she had gone through and everything that it made her capable of.

She let out a scoff, her fangs growing visible. "I was going to leave you alone, but now you're starting to piss me off, Stretch." As she spoke, once again her body stretched into the form of a panther, her voice turning into a low growl as she clawed at the ground, one last warning for the man who thought he could tell her what to do.

[Panic]

Panic stood his ground, but made no move to advance. Several voices inside of his head were screaming at him. One asked him why he was doing this, why he didn’t just run. It told him that she was certainly going to hurt him and that an owl wasn’t worth this. It told him she was just trying to survive same as him. He didn’t really know who she was or what she was capable of. Who was he to judge her based on the darkness of her soul. Panic was a demon, but he wouldn’t eat an owl. Yet the other voice rang out: he would if he was told to. He would do any number of things if he was instructed. He had killed and maimed countless times in service to the darkness, who was he to think she wasn’t just the same? The voice growing louder said she could be just as terrible as he was, and he knew full well that the world didn’t need even one of him, let alone two.

The pain in his wrist grew and spidered up his arm, feeding his anger rather than quelling it. She scratched the ground and he told himself to do nothing, perhaps she would simply back off. Yet the pain grew and so did his desire to hurt her, to stop her. His thoughts started to cloud, what was he even mad about anymore? He lowered his head and began to growl, eyes flashing wildly. If she wanted a fight, she would get one.

[Carmilla Karnstein]

So he wasn't backing down...Carmilla would admit, the wolf was far larger than her, and unlike him, she couldn't shift into anything much bigger than this...but whatever. She could hardly back down now, she turned her back and he would definitely maul her, and she'd definitely need more blood on the off chance he got her in the undead heart. She was just going to have to fight him.

With a louder growl that echoed through the trees, she lunged forward, attempting to swipe her claws across his face, confuse his senses enough that she could get away unscathed...although she supposed she wouldn't object to actually harming him enough that he'd simply replace that owl, should that not work. Perhaps demon blood wouldn't be so bad...

[Panic]

When Panic saw her claw reaching for him, his heart jolted and he shifted into something smaller and out of the way. It was less of a fighting tactic and more of a reflex. It was in this moment that Panic realized he had made a massive error. He was not suited for fighting. He hadn't been much use in a fight his whole life unless Hades was controlling him. Speaking of, the wristband began to burn as if he was bitter Panic hadn't been caught in the blow. He was a coyote now and the new jolt of pain urged him on in his efforts.

Yipping in pain, he bit at the band then lunged forward to try and bite her leg. He growled angrily, feeling more like a wild animal than ever. The fire fed and burned off his anger. This was more than just the band. This thought raced with all the pain and resentment Hades had caused him and all the things he might have done if only he'd been brave enough. This girl was not Hades, but she may be as close as he'll ever get to fighting him.

[Carmilla Karnstein]

If Carm still had her vocal chords, she would have laughed at the fact that he literally shrank away, turning into a much smaller canine. So much for his morals, he was clearly too scared to stand up and actually fight her. He could have turned into anything else, an advantage that he unfortunately had over her, and he chose a coyote? And he was starting to back away too, oh this was too good. She had half a mind to lunge forward, make like she was going to pounce on him...in fact, why not? Again, she was seriously considering having him make up for her troubles...

Before she could make that decision properly, however, she felt teeth digging into her front leg, and she let out a screaming roar. Oh you little--! but she didn't allow herself the time to come up with a creative insult, she simply lifted her paw off the ground, strong enough to lift the little twerp as well, and attempted to throw him off of her, and if that didn't work, well, she had teeth too.

[Panic]

Latched on tight, Panic'd front legs were suddenly lifted into the air by the strength of her paw. She was trying to throw him off and this made Panic clench down harder for fear he might go flying. He could feel the warmth of blood spreading through his mouth and it alarmed him. He'd tasted his own blood many times in life, but never someone else's. He didn't like it. He wanted to release and never taste it again, but he was afraid of being thrown and injured.

Her roar rung in his ears, seeming to never end despite certainly having done moments before. He was causing her pain. This creature he barely knew he was causing her pain in the name of preventing someone or something else's. What had possessed him to suddenly become the judge of who deserved pain and who did not. As his front half swung through the air, sense was knocked back into him. He was hurting people now without even Hades demanding he do so. This was a new kind of low.

Ignoring the burning in his leg, he released his clenched jaw and was thrown to one side, transforming back into a human as he did. There was dark blood glistening on his lips as he swung his face around to address his opponent. If she wanted to continue the attack, he wouldn't stop her, but he made no move to attack again.

[Carmilla Karnstein]

Her attempts to throw him off finally worked, and she barely took notice of him at the moment because she was looking down at her paw, that was now bleeding like a bastard. Though her vocal chords didn't work that way, you could practically hear the dammit in her growl...as much valuable energy it was going to take, it was a lot easier to heal in human form than it was as a panther...so moments later, she was sitting down, hissing in pain as a long gash formed on her now pale arm as she pressed her free hand against it. She was going to need more blood, and fast so she could actually heal like she was supposed to.

She shot a glare towards where she had thrown the coyote...now young man again. Her blood was still in his mouth. You'd almost think he was the vampire between them, she thought grimly, and would have probably made a joke about it were she not in this kind of pain.

"You feel better now?" she snapped. "Feel like a man?" She let out a scoff, pulling herself up on her feet, even though she was already feeling dizzy. "Not that it's going to do any good, I'm going to need to hunt even more now..."