Keeping the Faith

Transformation

Srae wondered around the dense forest, trying to control the raging fear that rolled in the pit of her stomach. She worried so intensely, that she could feel herself starting to go mad.

Going... going...

"No." she whimpered in defeat. Her knees crumpled beneath her. She rolled herself into a ball on the ground, hugging her legs to her chest as burning tears ran down her pale and tired face. She felt her hands begin to burn, her hair lifting away as it rose like flames. She choked on a sob as her eyes lit with a pale yellow glow.

"Sreana!" She heard a voice calling in the distance.

"No...no..." she mumbled to herself as she struggled to get up. Soon the trees around her began to sway, bending to the will of her power. "No..." she hummed again, fighting with all she had left.

"Sreana?" A soft voice said. She turned toward a skinny boy, but it was too late.

Srae's fight ran out. Koryn ran up behind Eren, "She's gone, we have to get to safety and let her have some space."

"No! Are you crazy?! We can't just leave her by herself! We are her protectors for God's sake!" Eren stepped closer to Srae, his tough dragon scales begining to burn and itch from the magic she was producing.

"Eren! Get back!" Koryn pleaded, attempting to sound firm.

"No." Eren mumbled, taking a step closer to Srae.

A low over-tone voice laughed. Srae's body had lifted off the ground and floated in the air. Her blood-red hair swished upward, the markings on her hands burned through her leather gloves. Wind was raging around, tossing debris about as if it was nothing. Fire ate at her cloak, exposing her tight clothing. Srae watched Eren as he stood in confidence before her. His scent became masculine and fresh. The scent of bravery.

"Srae, I know you can hear me. Don't hold back anymore. This power will eat you up. If you hold it anymore there won't be any stopping it because you won't be here to do it. Please, I know you're scared, I know you don't understand why this happened to you, but I can guarentee that it was for a good reason. Please, just let go." Eren's confident pleas reached Srae, however far away she had gotten. Her face smirked, but her heart cried out as she let go of the last bit of control she had.

Her smirk fell and her head rolled back, and in a glorious explosion of light her magic swept across the land for miles. Every creature, human or not, felt it. To the humans it was like an earthquake, but to those whom are not so human; it was a call. They all knew what it meant.

Srae's body crumpled to the ground harshly, the wind dead and the fires gone. Koryn got up from the tree he was hiding behind and ran to Srae's side. "Srae!" He cried. "Srae you did it!" He cheered, picking up her limp body in his arms. He stepped away from the scorched ground, white ashes floating down from the sky to cover the ground.

Koryn walked Srae back to her cottage, forgetting completely about his couragous younger brother that had saved them all.

Eren lay still on the hard ground, his slim and weak body barely breathing as the ashes came to rest upon his skin.

* * *

Srae awoke gasping and sobbing. Her lungs begged for air. Her eyes burned and her hands stung. Her body was stiff, but strong. Her cloak was gone, leaving her in her dark red wrapped leather shirt, and black leather pants. Her boots were gone, exposing her black-marked feet.

She glanced around the small cottage, no one was around. She checked the grandfather clock; just passed eight. She shifted on the bed, swinging her legs to the floor. She wiped her face with her hands, moving off the bed to go to the sink for a glace of water. She grabbed a glass and quickly filled and emptied it. She gasped for breath, setting down the glace and looing up in the mirror. She yelped at the sight. Her once forest-green eyes were now a vibrant yellow. Her blood red hair now had a thick black stripe above her left eyebrow. Her hair had also grown from a choppy, unhealthy looking mess that only went to her mid-back, to a glossy one-length where the waves fell gently down to her hips. Her face had also slightly changed. Instead of having rounded cheeks and childish eyes, her now yellow eyes shown with wisdom and superioity, framed by long, thick black lashes. Her cheeks sunk in to create a sharp jaw bone and obvious cheek bones.

She touched her face with tender fingers, running them through her blackened hair. She couldn't believe her eyes, her yellow eyes. She stepped back from the mirror, finding herself more graceful as her hips swayed. She shook her head and stepped away from the mirror. Srae stepped into the next room, easily crossing it to get to the door. She opened the door, stepping through to find Koryn and a small crowd in her front yard.

"Srae!" Koryn grinned. Srae stood stunned. She stayed in the shadows her cottage provided. The crowed consisted of a couple of the Wolfe brothers, three vampire guys that looked like they thought they were the most important thing on the planet, a fairy that stood tall with a sheild strapped to his back, and a couple of Koryn's friends without their shirts, and their wings folded against their backs. "Srae?" Koryn questioned taking a step toward her.

She followed his movements, her back touching the wall of her cottage. "What's going on?" Her voice was rough and comanding. She was taken aback slightly by her own voice.

Koryn didn't react the same way. "They wanted to see you." He grinned again.

"Why?" She demanded.

Koryn's face fell slightly, but he quickly recovered. "Because they heard the call."

"The what?" Srae demanded.

"The call, when you released your power, the energy caused us to be drawn to you." One of the vampires smiled slyly.

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't care. Get off my lawn and go home." Srae turned and walked into her cottage, slaming the door shut behind her.

"Srae!" Koryn complained, running into the house after her.

"Did they leave?" She didn't face him as she asked this.

"Yes, but why did you make them?" He walked closer to her, putting his hand on her arm.

She spun around, wretching her arm from his grasp. "Because I'm not some road side show, Kor! I just want to be normal, and you inviting them to my home isn't helping anything!" She scolded.

"I was just trying to help-"

"Help? How was that helping?"

"So that you would feel like people actually want you the way you are! So that you don't feel like a freak all the time!" Koryn shouted, his skin slightly steaming from anger.

"Freak?" She hissed. "Yesterday I was something weak and sad, now I'm just a freak? Yesterday I tried to run, but you chased me down! Yesterday I was fine on my own! I'll be fine now!" Srae stood with her feet apart, her body humming from her growing anger.

"Yesterday? Srae you've been unconcious for three weeks." Koryn leveled his voice.

"What? No, I just...three?" She looked down at her bare feet.

"Yeah. So, I'm sorry if I just wanted you to wake up feeling needed. You screamed and cried out in agony. You writhed in your sleep. You were in pain."

Srae snapped her gaze back to Koryn. "You know what. I'm going to school. This conversation is over. Goodbye, Koryn." Srae turned and went to find her boots and cloak. In frustration she kicked a small wooden chair, causing it to crash against the wall, splintering on contact.

"Never mind." She mumbled. She clenched her fists and felt her body hum as yellow lines swirled around her body. In a moment her body went from her cottage to the front of the school.

"Today is gonna be like Hell." She grunted as she walked past all the creatures staring at her, into the school.