A man with black hair wandered about the city; his clothes a bloodied mess and holes ripped all throughout. It was as if he'd been run-through by various weapons, but the wounds themselves were nowhere to be found. As people stared at his odd attire, or the rags that had once passed for such, their gazes fell upon his eyes. Where there once was a combination of colors in each eye there was now solid colors; one gold and the other as crimson. Anyone that knew him long before might make some connection to the angel, but he was now but a man… Or so it would seem.

The kitsune had wandered here from the site of his ressurection, many of his once-powerful abilities were locked away while he adjusted to this new form. Despite the looks of fear, Vyse would nod and smile at everyone as he walked passed; the tune he was whistling an eerily upbeat one.


Vyse stopped in his tracks, the haunting tune ending abruptly as he lifted his face to the sky and began to sniff. A familiar scent filled his nose and a genuine grin spread across his face. "Is this where you've been hiding," he said aloud to no one, "I suppose it might be good to see a familiar face for a change." With that, he resumed his haunting whistling and followed the scent to a massive building. He entered without a care.

His haunting whistling brought swift attention to him; he'd been surrounded in moments by what he could only assume was his former… partner's vampire clan. A wry grin spread across Vyse's face as he spoke, "My, my. How warm a reception for someone so familiar with your leader. Out of my way, if you please." He made to step by a few of the glaring faces but was quickly stopped.

A devilish grin broke now, revealing longer canines than natural; canines much like that of a dog's fangs. He let out a roar that shook the very stone as his body shifted and changed, violently reshaping bones and flesh with sickening snaps. Within a moment there was a large, fiery kitsune snarling at those around him. The kitsune glanced about him, trying to keep as many of them in sight as possible. He would wait for Aary… Or he would fight, doing as little harm as possible.

She had been working hard and the love that she and Eirik had was flourishing every day. It did not mean that she had stopped and forgotten, again, where her dark heart had come from. She stopped herself and picked up her head as she had been writing long letters and giving each one her own wax seal. Something felt odd, nostalgic almost.

“What’s wrong Aaryona?” Lilith tilted her head and looked towards the young girl. Though she was hardly a girl anymore, hardly that girl anymore. It was a good thing that Eirik was out and about today. For when the crashes happened and the voices began to happen Lilith turned. “What the hell?”

That familiar scent hit her nose and Aaryona pushed herself up. “Please, tell everyone it is alright.” She was a lithe version of her mother. Her hair was long red curls now compared to the last time they had seen each other. Even longer since the last time they had loved each other. Her brown eyes were duller compared to the childlike flare that they had held. She was so much more hardened. It had after all been two decades since they had last seen each other.

She pushed her way out of the door and flung her arm out as if giving an unspoken command. The clan retreated to the shadows of the manor as she stared at the slowly warping man. “If you must be mad with anyone Vyse… be angry with me.” She was slow but there wasn’t an air of cautious. It was more like she was ashamed of herself. First, she brought her hands up and touched his face and before long she hugged him close.

“You must hurt a lot because of my actions. I was weak and I still am, but I did you wrong by asking my mother to make me forget.” Her amber eyes looked up at him and frowned. “I am so sorry. By the time the spell had lifted I was here and I was even more lost than what I was. I can understand if you are angry with me but please do not be angry with my clan. They haven’t done a thing wrong. It was my poor judgment and my inability to deal with heartbreak.”

Doors swung open, revealing a red haired woman; an older version of the woman as Vyse had last known her. With a wave of her arm, the vampires around him retreated and he grew quiet. Crimson and gold eyes remained steadfast, almost coldly analytical as he watched Aaryona approach. She spoke, approaching without hesitation or any sense of danger. There was no doubt that this was definitely the same woman Vyse had known so long ago.

The kitsune's flames didn't burn the woman as her hand set upon his face, not even when she brought her arms around him. After a lingering moment, the fox shook himself free and stepped back. The sickening pops and snapping began again as the bones violently shifted back into their original place, the flames fading into nothingness. Now, once more, stood the black haired young human, no more than 18 years spent upon this land. His blood-stained, hole-riddled clothes once more dressed him; most notably a hole where his chest was that seemed to have been run through by a lance before it was violently ripped out.

A smile spread across his face, though someone who'd known him as well as Aaryona would probably see through to the melancholy beneath. "Aaryona," he said in a tone matching his false smile, "Why it's been more than thirty or so years since all that passed between us; perhaps much longer, the decades have all blended together since coming here. However, I'm flattered that you remember me. After all, there's been a lot of time and a lot of… Foolish, reckless abandon between then and now. Reckless abandon along the lines of a certain Storm from another place, if you catch my meaning." Vyse's smile faded as his thoughts drifted back to less savory outcomes; literally painting a town'red,' for one such regrettable instance. Quickly, he replaced the masking smile and continued, "But of course it all was nothing a slumber in Fire couldn't cure, physically speaking. All said and done, though, even my trip here didn't quite compare to the pain of that day."

Vyse took a few steps closer to Aaryona, 'cheerful' eyes locking on hers. "I didn't come here for all that, though. It's been a long, lonely time since then; Frey's travels taking him away to never return, many other friends lost, Fire fallen… For the last few decades I was alone in that world; none but Karin for company. Though I guess even she's gone now, too. By some random chance I found you here, someone familiar. Someone that proves I'm not alone after all."

The young man paused a moment, gazing about the foyer. "Though I guess in a way I am still alone," he said with a sweeping gesture, "You seem to have made quite a life here, after all."

Aaryona’s brown eyes watched him as he turned back. The sickening pops no longer made her shudder or made her wince. She had grown so much that she hadn’t bothered her anymore due to others making such disgusting noises. It wasn’t good that he was hiding behind that wall he was creating for himself. For show purposes she let a gentle sigh leave her lips and she nodded to him. “A lot longer Vyse, I’m almost fifty now… Basically, an old crow at this point compared to you in that body.”

She reached a hand up and put her hand on to where the hole was. She frowned at it and looked up at him. “You should take better care of yourself. A human body is very, very fragile Vyse.” There was that concern she had always had for him. He knew that she didn’t like him being reckless. “I only remembered you after the world falling almost killed me. The spell that was on me broke and I was fully able to remember your face and how I knew you.” Her fingers moved up and she caressed the side of his cheek. “It reminded me how weak I was.”

Her hand fell as his cheerful eyes were on her. “I wouldn’t know my time here has been short but I was asleep for most of the fall. The world when it destroyed itself around us… My father just threw me and Lilith into the portal. I have no idea if the rest of the world met the same fate but here I am. Frey as far as I knew ended up here too… His daughter is here too.” She offered a bit. “I don’t know where he has gotten off to. I’ve only heard from my mother on the matter and it has been little.”

She waved her hand at him and beckoned him to follow her into the room that she had come from. After they were inside she got them some tea and closed the door. “You can drop your mask with me Vyse. I know better than to think you are happy to see me.” Still, she sounded more upset at herself. “It was a bad time for me… I was forced to kill my brother. I give you no excuse for my actions.”

Her eyes looked down at the floorboards. “So someone made me forget everything… and in turn, I said that I didn’t know you when you came back. I was able to run the clan without a problem until the day of the fall… I lost everything and it was just by chance that I found my clan here. It is not everything that I once had but it is something.” She offered a frown up to him with tired eyes on her face. “I regret what I have done to you. I know I have hurt you.”