Shadowraven: Ascension

Difficulties

Shadowraven walked out of the shower, drying his hair. He had put on the pair of boxers and pants that Tigerblaze had set him in the bathroom, thrown the socks and shirt over the towel rack, then gazed at his torso. It was covered in scars, some pale and ghastly while others were almost gone. He didn't remember any of these, but his gaze wandered over them. He stood and gazed at his reflection, seeing a grown man who looked so tired. He sighed, grabbing the socks and shirt and then throwing the towel on the rack. He gazed at himself, wondering when he had gained muscle and gotten more athletic looking. He cocked his head to the side as he noticed the scar on his left bicep, the one over his heart. The memories came flooding back, Midnight Fang impaling him and he ripping out her heart. She was still alive, Shadowraven knew this deep down, since they had both suffered fatal blows that should have ended them. Here he was though, gazing at himself in the mirror. "That shouldn't have healed... Not unless Curse was active of someone used magic..." He muttered, feeling the scar.

It was still tender, but the pain was bearable. It was nothing like the pain he felt in the Void. He looked at his arms, seeing no scars but feeling where he had cut them to stay awake. He slid the shirt on, then the socks, then walked out. Charmcaster ran into him and both of them fell to the floor, Charmcaster yelping in surprise and Shadowraven simply widening his eyes. "Oh, dammit, sorry Shadowraven." She quickly said. "Charm, it's fine. What's up?" He asked. The mage shook her head, slowly standing up. She dusted herself off, then looked at Shadowraven. He was now standing, looking at her with a worried expression. He looked so... Different. In casual wear, it was almost like he was human, not some magical being of darkness and fear. Charmcaster sighed. "Shadowraven, I need to speak with you. In private." She said. "Alright. Lead the way." He said. Charmcaster walked past him and into a room. Shadowraven followed, stepping into the pure white, almost empty, guest room. Charmcaster sat on the bed then patted next to her. Shadowraven walked over to the mage and sat next to her.

"What are we?" Charmcaster asked. Shadowraven shrugged. "So it's complicated?" She asked. Shadowraven shrugged again, focusing on the floor. "Azriel, tell me what's going on. Please Azriel." She pleaded. Shadowraven tensed, then opened his mouth, then closed it again. Charmcaster sighed. "Azriel, do you even feel anything?" She asked. Shadowraven didn't know what to say. He always did have difficulty expressing emotion. Rage was so easy, along with sadness, but romance and happiness and anything else seemed to just be a difficulty. "I don't know. I know I felt a small flicker when I got to know you, but then you..." His voice faltered. The memories were so clear, even though that past had been so long ago. Charmcaster hugged him. "I'm sorry..." She whispered, tightening the hug. Shadowraven didn't know what to do. He was being torn apart inside, whatever emotions he never knew causing his mind to be plunged into a darkening and maddening confusion. "No, I'm sorry Sammy. I don't know what to do, I never know what I'm doing. I'm just going with instinct and I have no idea what to feel or say and I'm so, so sorry." He replied. Charmcaster shook her head.

"Just be careful, okay? If you ever feel lost or confused, talk to me. Got it?" Charmcaster asked. Shadowraven nodded, then stood up. "Well, we have to head downstairs. Tigerblaze wanted to finish talking to me about some stupid mistake I made." He said finally, pulling away from the embrace. Charmcaster stared at him, then sighed. "Shadowraven, you almost died. You could've died. You were all dark and covered in shadows and were healed but you still had lost a ton of blood." Charmcaster scolded. Shadowraven winced slightly. "Let's go." Charmcaster muttered, walking out of the room. Shadowraven followed her downstairs, where an angry Tigerblaze waited. "Listen up, bird brain. We get it, life sucks. You can't go around trying to get yourself killed though! Sheesh, you gave poor Charm a heart attack! She was crying and screaming nonstop and we was trying to save ya but you lost too much blood! Seriously, how did you survive getting impaled like that? It ain't magic, I know that much, but whoever healed ya did a damn good job. All you have is a small scar. Thank your lucky stars that whoever healed ya gave a small blood transfusion too! They didn't exactly give enough to keep ya alive, but it was enough to plunge you into stasis! So consider yourself lucky, bird brain!" Tigerblaze shouted. She kept shouting at him and Shadowraven stood there, taking all the abuse with a serious face.

After several minutes of shouting and scolding, Tigerblaze walked away. Shadowraven sat down on a sofa, clearly stunned at Tigerblaze's sudden outbreak. "Well... That was interesting." He said.