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Kane hadn't moved much in her slumber nor did she now. Breathing in easily and heavily she shifted slightly as Gabriel moved behind her, letting out some manner of a groggy moan when he spoke. So deep was her sleep and so reluctant was she to leave this restful state that her mind drifted along the endless dark chasm, oblivious to the fact she had vocally replied.

"Mnnngh?" was her eloquent response. It was like trying to rouse a giant sloth with only the softest touch; it garnered a little attention but no real reaction. Her eyes did not so much as twitch in response, her facial features relaxed into an innocent expression that was so unlike her waking demeanor. If she was having a nightmare it was so self-contained that it wasn't reflecting on her visage or in her musculature at all. Her body sagged into the mattress, not one tense fiber in her being.

As the blood trickled on her neck she had an involuntary, unintentional reaction: she reached up with a hand and brushed at it. The bright red liquid smeared on her fingers that started to fall back down towards the sheets, satisfied. It wasn't as if these sheets hadn't been soiled from wounds before, but she would likely be irritated at the inconvenience of having someone come to clean them.

Dancing.

She was dancing? Another dancer bumped into her, his back bristling against hers abrasively. In her dream she turned around to glance at the offender, but in reality she rolled over, her arms tangling themselves in his feathery limbs. It was hard to tell if it was an ill-fated attempt to grab at his back and side for comfort or her subconscious merely was trying to splay out on room it did not realize was occupied. Fingers twisted into his hair, silky silver slipping between her digits.

"Rei?" The dancer behind her was a slender woman with rippling snow-white curls that gleamed like pearls in the light. A silky dress was draped over her shoulders and floated down to the floor, dwarfed by the four seraphim wings. Despite their size they folded deftly and gingerly behind her back, gracefully kept out of the way. Pale hands reached forward and touched Kane's, eyes rising to the dark angel's. Purity glowed, radiating, pulsing light demurely and dripping from every word and gesture flawlessly, effortlessly. Her irises were what drew the most attention, though: bursts of a sunset, a saturated, rich red at the center and spreading into a warm golden yellow at the outer ring.

"My dear, you can't let him...." Sickening sounds emanated from the bright angel's torso, ripping and shrieking consuming the figure. Malik was not more powerful than Rei, but he was better at manipulating dreams and Kane was more prone to his twisted darkness. The seraphim might have had a chance were she more knowledgeable about the dark angel, but as things stood she knew Ashley's every quirk and not the one before her. Ebony ripped out of the crumpling and dissipating female, twirling as is rapturing depths produced the elegant and evil consort Kane once had.

"I'll give you a day, my dear," he said, drawing close and pulling up her hand to plant a kiss on it. Kane remained frozen, staring at him in intermixed bewilderment and horror. An arm snaked around her waist and she was too startled at the abrupt change to protest. "One day before I arrive, one day before the slaughter, one day to make a choice. Come back to me and please me, make this simple, and I'll spare him." It was a lie, but she had never been able to spot one of his before. Mercy's betrayal was proof of that.

Kane's eyes narrowed slightly. With those last words she had caught herself and her breath, no longer merely enthralled with the changes and whims of the two opposing beings that called to her. Giggling and laughing dancing belles were drowned out by a howling wind that ripped through the hall. A landscape ate through the glamorous tapestries, polished marble, and embellished dresses. Men's figures were consumed by large, twisted trees whose crimson leaves were produces from snarls. A rich, earthly loam was underfoot and the smell of dying flames was slipping through the treacherous woods.

It was this tenacity, this refusal that drew Malik to Kane. It was the fight, the resistance, the ability to hold on so tightly to a sense of self that captured his attention. Other women might beg, cower, or plead, but Kane was the sort of woman that would stare death in the eye and flick it off. Perhaps that was what she did now; neither of them were certain how much the other had grown in power. Years ago he had the upper hand, but she had vast potential she had left unexplored. It was hard to say who would best who even were they even in abilities for they could both injure the other: she was susceptible to his dark magic now and he to the light magic she could newly call upon.

"Uh!" she grunted, startling herself awake. Eyes flew open and started to slide shut in drowsiness when she realized that they had fallen upon liquid silver poured over her hand. Silver? What was silver? Narrowing her eyes and trying to focus them, the blurriness receding to the edges of her vision, she saw black and white feathers beyond the strands. Black and white? White? What?

Was she awake or was this just a continuation of the nightmare?

She stared at him blankly while her mind whirred, silver hair and gradient-hued wings burned into her memory. Was it all an illusion? Clearly he was back to his 'normal' fallen self. A hand still clasped a single locket of hair that twisted over his shoulder and into her palm. Eyebrows pulled together and pressed downward as tactile senses reaffirmed that is was there and visual senses assured it was ebony once more. Perhaps it was a mirage; something caught between the worlds of dreaming and waking.

It could also have been Malik's last manipulation of her dream, a scathing reminder of her influence and what he might be capable of without it.

In disgust she let go of the strand and pushed herself up, trying to brush off her concerns along with the blanket. Worry just heaped itself on her shoulders, though, unable to escape in a state of unconscious ignorance. Lips pursed together in a frown. Giving into Malik's demands weren't really an option she liked to consider, but further endangering this man wasn't one she exactly relished. Kane didn't mind blood on her hands as long as it wasn't innocent and as long as it was on her terms.

"Agh," she muttered. The room was spinning slightly from the jerk into a sitting position. The dark angel wasn't sick or injured, just jarred and disorientated. She had never been particularly good at transitioning from sleeping to waking. Holding her head as if to steady it she was suddenly overcome with frustration at her situation and rubbed her hair violently. The whole scene, as well as the disheveled look she was now sporting, had to be an odd thing to watch.

"You should probably train by yourself or something today," she said avoiding eye contact. "I tend to have a bad effect on you and I don't know that I could stand to lose more clothes." That wasn't the whole answer, though. She was less concerned with affecting him and more concerned about strengthening whatever relationship they were building. Not only was she confused as to how she felt, she was confused as to how he felt (as his actions seemed contradictory at times)- and the jealousy and rage it would spark in Malik would only be trouble.

It could all only be trouble. Yes. Still, her heart twisted and churned as if the logic she told herself was inherently wrong. Damn this former grey wings. Damn him.

The compliment caused an inadvertent and totally unnoticed (on her part) facial spasm. It was relatively small and controlled, something that someone unfamiliar with her demeanor might ascribe to normal movements. The right corner of her mouth twitched inward three times and her eyebrow quivered slightly, furrowing in brief and relatively discreet jerks. Cute?

Kane didn't particularly like being insulted, but she knew the way to deal with it. Violence was a second nature, easily explained and a quick solution to some more socially tacky situations. One or two well-placed insults might land a bloke in a hospital or a morgue and that was just fine with the dark angel. Compliments were much more foreign and therefore harder for to accept, benign and well-intended as they may be. She didn't think poorly of herself; Kane was hardly the sort to wallow in despair and self-pity. There was some notable self-loathing on the topic of Mercy, but she was more likely to throttle someone, anyone, for feeling insecure than sympathize. No, she was a take charge woman.

In her word, flattery meant one thing: he wanted something. No one simply praised another for fun. Well, not unless they were some saint or angel that actually walked a very forgiving path. Kane stood there skeptically eying Gabriel, pondering what a fallen would want out of her. He was staying in her apartment, comfortably in her bed she might add, had food and clothing, and she had offered to assist him in training and keeping his once-pacifist self alive (despite horrific odds). The awkward, hesitant reactions to the kisses (both of them) had her convinced he did not want or desire to get in her pants. Her mind was set on that and no evidence to the otherwise right now would make it through the rigid, behemoth wall that was usually called her "bullheaded steak."

"Yes, I am just like a puppy or kitten," she retorted a bit sourly before addressing the day's anticipated events. "I am sure if you can learn to sew yourself clothes that you hadn't washed for what seemed like years before I chased you down, you can train by yourself. I'm hardly needed for that and, as I said, I am having a negative effect on you-"

She went to gesture to his wings and hair and continue, but two things stopped her mid-diatribe. First, she considered once more that Malik was not merely spouting off worthless and meaningless words in her dreams. If she was affecting him, telling him how he changed when he woke might make him conscientious of it and stop whatever positive and bizarre change was occurring. The gods only knew what was doing that strange twist in aura and coloration. Secondly, and most importantly, she noticed dried and smeared blood on her hand. This wasn't as disconcerting as it could be for she assumed it was her own blood and now every inch of her was capable of regeneration. It was merely a new place to direct her vexation.

"Son of a b***h!" she exclaimed, checking all over for any stains on her already barely-held-together crispy clothes. Everything appeared to be in order, but she wasn't able to see where blood had trickled down her neck and dried. Really, she shouldn't be upset- her outfit was well past ruined and she felt fine. Still, she was irritated, still a touch sleepy, hungry, and in desperate need of a shower apparently.

The sudden silence and touching of his mouth piqued her interest. The tasting of the blood was a bizarre but not completely startling; his subsequent stare and somewhat vacant lost-in-thought expression was disconcerting. Kane inched closer with shuffled steps, her bare feet brushing under the blankets that spilled over the bed as she stood before him. Lowering her head, her face was inches from his, but her eyes were clearly focused on the mouth in question. While it was certainly an awkward position, mild concern for any wounds he might have had put such things out of mind. After all, if he was injured he didn't seem able to heal things himself. Yet.

Eyebrows furrowed as she considered. He wasn't hurt when Daz cleansed her- not that she remembered anyway and fire wasn't the sort of thing that caused punctures. No, had he been injured from that it'd be a large charred region of flesh, not something relatively small and bloody.

"Are you all right or are you going to collapse or go catatonic if I take a shower?" Charming, as usual. Was this somehow connected to the silver hair and gradient-hued wings earlier? Was there something going on in his dreams that changed him, if only temporarily? What would make him bleed and take on angelic aspects? It seemed one had to do with violence and anger and the other with composure and tranquility.

"You really do odd things when you sleep," she muttered, not realizing that it was impossible for him to NOT hear her at such a close proximity.

Kane veritably jerked back when Gabriel nuzzled her nose. She was quite easy to read when she wasn't purposefully lying with both facial features and tone. A certain casual trust had been established, enough that the woman felt no reason to conceal emotions or honest feelings- although sometimes she did the same for her enemies. Alarm and confusion clouded her eyes, mirroring the turbulence inside. Not only were his intentions perplexing, but the gesture itself- no one had ever done that strangely intimate move to her before.

It took a long moment for her body to respond. After her head was flung backwards, so moved her body with a jolt, aligning itself under the curtain of hair. It did not linger in that position for long, though; the dark angel had no desire to dally any longer. These games were not something she was sure she was comfortable with nor ones that she wanted to settle. There wasn't a winning side to it. He could be toying or he could be serious; one would only fuel her dark side and give her a thrust in a direction she no longer wanted to go and the other would only end in another tragedy for him.

Yes, yes, that was it. She was retreating to the shower because she was trying to save him and not herself. "I told you, being around me isn't in your best interest," she said gruffly with her back turned. The shoulders hunched slightly in a tell-tale sign that she was thinking of something troubling, although she was not naive enough to think he wouldn't guess her intentions. It was absolutely ridiculous that she had gone crusading in his affairs like a warrior princess only to have her demons come along and threaten his livelihood as well. Ridiculous. Not only that, his entire was being kept changing in all sorts of odd and note entirely desired ways in her presence.

With that she scuttled into the bathroom, leaving the door open a crack as she turned on the hot water. What remained of her clothes were ripped off with little ceremony as bare feet shuffled on tile, the sound drowned out by running water. Kane slipped under the pellets, infinitely glad for the escape and cleanliness.

The seraphim would have arrived in a more subdued, appropriate way if she knew of one and was capable of it. A burst of light swallowed shadows on the walkway, the brilliant rays stretching out from the blinding center and kissing nearby buildings. The orb hovered a few feet off the ground but slowly fell, the top half elongating a little over five feet off the earth as she rest seemed absorbed in the stone beneath. It darkened to a deep, fiery warm red before dissipating and leaving behind the angel, her long white hair dancing with the remnants of her spectacular vehicle of radiance.

If her aura was not nearly as blinding as her arrival, one could tell her rank from the four feathered wings that folded on her back delicately, the higher pair nearly enveloping the lower except for the last foot before it brushed the ground. Thought they were as pure as snow, they shimmered a golden in the sun, a true reflection of the god whose nature they symbolized. A humble gown was draped across her shoulders, slightly dirtied. Pearly hair that tumbled down in waves and curled at the end seemed slightly disheveled from the travel.

"Angels?" asked the demure voice as lids opened. Her eyes reflected the sun itself, a rich crimson around the pupil and extending into pale ring of yellow around the iris. Much like those of her kind in this realm, her features were flawless and her voice as sweet as tinkling bells and sweetly sung melodies. Rei had been praised once by a priest of her faith as the paradigm of how a celestial should be.

Despite her stature and flashy 'fireworks', the seraphim did not expect someone to come running. It was more a check to see if any were around to notice her- ones to warn perhaps or ones to avoid so she could make her way to Kane's. After all, despite dire circumstances, it would be a bit rude and intrusive to simply appear in one's abode. After all, there was a man there that Kane had not seen to kick out yet which likely meant some sort of relationship, as strange as she predicted it might be.

Rei looked towards the sky and saw a lone, dark figure grow from a speck in the distance to a tall man. It became quickly clear to her that the wings were not the ivory color of an angel, but the ebony of a darker being. She was neither surprised nor alarmed. In her many years, beings of both sides had sought her out, some for advice and others to try to bring about her destruction. Despite the likelihood of the latter, she would not judge him to be hostile- after all, her husband was a full-blooded demon and Ashley had been much the same when they had met initially. It would do her no good to jump to baseless assumptions.

Both wings unfurled, carefully curling themselves. The upper wings lifted, the arch of their joint above her head and the tips of the wings only extending a few feet to each side. The lower wings did the same, extending slightly more than the ones above, and making it apparent that there were two pairs of the feathery limbs. Rei was very purposeful; if she spread all four fully to each side it could be seen as an act of aggression, especially considering their large size according to her rank.

As Gabriel grew close enough she could see his hair and basic facial features, her eyes sparkled in recognition. An infectious smile spread across her lips, the quiet and demure disposition overcome by joy. The recognition was not due to Kane having any sort of eloquent, detailed description but her perception of his aura. There were few people, she wagered, that tread somewhere between a demon brimming with evil energies and an angel of coalesced light. Rei also surmised that the dark angel would not omit if there was another besides the one she took in nearby. Sometimes the raven-haired twin was terse or contrite depending on the mood she was in when she penned the letter, but seldom did she neglect to inform Ashley of major persons or events.

"Gabriel? I hope I have not come at an inappropriate time." Hopefully the creeping black that was tainting him would not cloud his judgment. Rei was a pacifist; she had no inclination to fight and did not particularly like having to defend herself. The absence of Kane did worry her- had she left Gabriel or him her? Were they too far apart in alignment now?

"Oh, please forgive me," she said, a light laugh escaping her lips. The tinkling song of laughter was not at him, but at herself and how strange this situation must have seemed due to her ignorance. For all her divine elegance, she was still humble and had a sense of humor about herself. "I am afraid I forgot momentarily the circumstances surrounding you. I was in such a hurry to get here that it simply left my mind that the angels of your world were hostile. You see, where I come from and where my dear Kane comes from she is revered by the celestials with her sister, even if she is a touch darker than some might like."

She took a step forward, the silky shimmering cloth making a slight shuffling noise as it rustled on the ground. Despite the dirt and debris from the road it remained unmarred, gleaming in the light as if it too were a part of her being, unable to be blemished by worldly stain. Lifting her palms and showing to them as a sign she meant no harm, she continued as her sparkling laughter left her lips.

"My name is Rei. It is true I am a Seraph, of the highest order of angels on my world and perhaps yours, but I think you will find that is where I may differ from other Seraphim. My god of the sun and light does not call upon me to lord over other angels or to be his sword; rather, I am his soothing voice, a guiding beacon for those adrift and needing assistance. Some of my brothers and sisters are aloof beings, fearful and angry towards the darkness that the material world and humans have, but I do not share their sentiments."

"To answer your earliest question, I have come to see your room mate. I am the mentor of her sister, Ashley, and as such I hear quite a bit from the letters they send back and forth. I feel a great tendril from the depths of hell encircling her heart and I have come so I might help. If you wish to consult her and make sure that I am welcome, I will wait, but you have nothing to fear from me yourself. I have no desire to judge or change those who do not wish my assistance."

Her eyes swirled as she spoke, the rising sun surrounding her pupil not betraying her. Snow white curls spilled over her shoulder as she took breath and feathers swayed in the slight breeze. Rei was incapable of lying as much as she was incapable of being hateful or violent. A warmth pervaded the air around them, the fragrance of vanilla and flowers emanating from her being. Another, intangible warmth was also felt- everything around her seemed to calm as if the serenity she radiated was reflected on and felt by everything that the golden aura touched.