Dark Caves.

You can find anything in here... even enemies...

Nathaniel looked around the cave and scoffed. He wasn't afraid of much, but enclosed spaces was up there on his don't go there list. He grinned and went in the cave anyway. Seth was speaking in his mind, saying, "Dude, seriously? Don't go in there!" Cross ignored him, of course. Cross went in, carrying a flashlight he bummed from one of the many students at the academy, and explored. The Cave was very deep, and seemed to go endlessly down, but again, he wanted to conquer his fear. He grinned, and said, "Shut up... I got this, dude.." And went about his business.

Eona wandered around the cave quietly. Her ears pricked at the sound of a voice and she remembered to stop so she wouldn't trip. It sounded as if the other person was talking to someone else but she wasn't sure. She crept closer to the entrance of the cave to investigate. As she walked she tripped and fell over a rock. As she fell she cried out and tried to grab on to something but failed. She hit the ground hard and whimpered softly curling up in a ball. Her tail wrapped around her legs as she sat there biting her lip trying not to cry from the pain. To keep herself from thinking about it she unwrapped her arms and created a fire orb. Once she had that made she began to play with it throwing it from one hand to the next.

Seth couldn't resist it, he took over. His hair turned brown, white robes replaced the black armor, and His blue sword appeared on his hip. He went toward the sound of the disturbance, and asked, "Are you alright, ma'am? I could help you up if you want."

Nathaniel did not like being controlled, so he took over again, saying, "Seth, it was not your turn! Do not ignore the rules of our deal." His hair was black, and his eyes a cold color of grey, he said to the female, "Get up and brush yourself off, I hate seeing weakness." But oddly, his voice was gentle, and he actually held his hand out to her.

Eona's head snapped around at the sound of a voice. She watched the man carefully for a moment. "I'll be ok. I tripped over a rock." she said softly while looking down. Her tail swished softly and she looked up again about to reply when the man shifted to look like a different person. She stared at him for a moment not knowing what this man was. His voice brought her back out of her thoughts. When he told her to get up she nodded her head softly. She took the hand that he held out to her and stood up slowly. She smiled softly at the man. "Um thanks." She said her voice a little stronger now.

"This will hurt a bit, but it helps." He dug in his backpack a bit, and pulled out an antiseptic packet, and rubbed it onto her knee. Wrapping her knee in cotton and an Ace bandage, he said, "Trips in here can be fatal. There are poisonous minerals in here. I'm surprised this place ain't radioactive." He chuckled, and yelled at himself saying, "Shut up Seth! I got this!"

Seth sat in the place in his mind where he could watch what was happening, and took over, flipping their appearance again, and said, "I know this seems odd, but... my alter ego's soul and mine are in the same body, and at the same time, our appearances flip when the other takes over... sorry."

Eona watched him as he fixed up her knee. "Thanks." She said with a smile. She continued to watch him as he finished with her knee. She listened to his voice so as not to focus on her knee. "Yeah there are." She said with a giggle. She rose an eye brow as the man said something about a guy named seth. She watched as once more his appearance shifted. She listened as he spoke. "Oh ok I guess that makes sense. I take it you are seth?" she replied. Eona brushed a piece of hair from her face which revealed her tattoo. Then she remembered that she had unwrapped her arms. She bent down and picked up the wrapping and began to re wrap her tattoos. She started with her right arm, wrapping it so that none of the mark showed.

"You don't have to do that. I have Angelic Runes adorning my arms." And he raised both his arms to show the hundred runes on either arm, "They keep our souls separate, and make sure we can communicate at the same time." He lifted his robes to reveal a tat of a wolf head on his chest, "Just because I wanted too." He chuckled at that, and smiled at her, she was rather pretty... for a cat.

Cross took over, and said, "Stop doing that, you effin' moron!" He looked at the girl and said, "You're bout to fall outta your shirt. I would fix that." He smirked a bit, and turned away. For all his gruff demeanor, he couldn't bring himself to be a womanizer.

She stopped mid way down her right arm and glanced up at Seth. She looked at his tattoos and grinned at him. "They're pretty cool. The reason I keep mine covered is because if they are uncovered I can do this." she said. She unwrapped her arm once again and lifted up her left arm. Suddenly an orb of fire appeared in her hand and she grinned at him. "That is really neat that you guys are able to do that." Her cheeks flushed pink when he lifted his robes to show her the wolf tattoo. "That one is neat. I like it." She said to him. She watched as they shifted again and the other man's features showed. She laughed at what he had said to Seth. Her cheeks flushed even darker when he told her she was about to fall out of her shirt. She quickly fixed her top as he turned away and moved her cloak some so it covered her arms and most of her chest. She looked at him once she had fixed her top. "So I know Seth's name but I don't know yours and you guys don't know mine. I'm Eona Dragonwing." she said with a grin.

Cross chuckled, and said, "Nathaniel Cross."

Seth took over again and said, "Sethanon Littlewolf."

Cross growled, taking over yet again and said, "Oi! Ye bleedin' moron! What do ye not get about its my effin' turn!?" His voice had acquired a tiny bit of a British accent when he got irritated, whereas Seth's was more of a southern drawl. They had their quirks, but in truth, they were brothers trapped in the same body. They hated it. "Well, Eona, I take it you're a Were-Cat, due to the tail, I am an Angel." And he spread his black wings, and grinned, "Flying is a lot more fun than walking.

Eona grinned as they told her their names. "Awesome! It's nice to meet you guys!" She said happily. She watched their appearances shift back and forth and giggled as she noted Nathaniel's accent. She watched him a soft smile on her face. They were both so nice to her, though Nathaniel seemed a bit more mean then seth they were both really cool. Her ears pricked at the sound of her name. "Yes I am." she said swishing her tail some. She watched as he spread black wings out and grinned. "Awesome wings." she said. She listened as he said that flying was more fun then walking. "I wouldn't know because I have never flown." she said to him.

Cross nodded, and said, "If you want... I can take you flying some time... You'd... you'd like it. Its freedom, like driving... So... Yeah..." His voice sounded a lot like a normal nervous teenage boy at that point, and he knew it, he couldn't help it. Here was a girl saying she had never flown, and he could fly, and he figured it didn't sound like he wanted to go on a date, but he knew to her, it probably did.

Seth chuckled inside, and said to Nathaniel alone, "Cross, could it be we have a crush on this girl.

Cross turned around, and said, "Shu'up ye bloody moron! I don't need your comments each time I say somethin'!" He turned back to Eona, and said, "I know it is weird, me yelling randomly for no reason, but like Seth said, we can communicate with each other when the other has control of the body, so... sorry." His voice had regained a slightly gruff timbre, but it was more like a mask than him actually being mean. He still sounded slightly nervous.

Eona listened to Nathaniel and giggled at the fact that he sounded like a nervous boy. "That would be nice." She said softly. She brushed yet another strand of hair from her face smiling at him. She watched Nathaniel trying not to giggle and wondering what Seth had said. She watched as he turned around and then once he had finished yelling at Seth turn back around to look at her. She listened as he said sorry for his yelling at seth. "It's fine, don't worry about it. It's probably not as weird as um talking to animals." she said. Her tail continued to swish behind her. She hummed softly to her self still watching Nathaniel.

"Thats actually a neat ability. Wish I had it." He smiled at her, wondering why he was feeling like this. Nervousness was not something he was used too, he was normally bold, and daring with people.

Seth sighed within, and took over, Nathaniel allowing it. Their features were physically the same, they were like reverse images, one light, the other dark. He smiled at her, and said, "So, what do you like to do, Eona Dragonwing?" His voice was deep and kind, with only the slightest hint of a southern accent to it, "I like to read, but I really don't get a chance."

Eona listened as Nathaniel commented on her talking to animals. "Thanks." she said with a soft smile at him. She thought for a moment about how the first actual person that she had met on this island had two souls. It was pretty cool to her. She watched as Seth took over. She smiled at him. She listened as he asked her what she liked to do and she thought for a moment. She listened as he told her what he liked to do and she smiled. "I like to read, listen to music, sing, and talk to the animals." she said happily.

"I tried talking to animals one time, but they didn't understand me... English don't work with animals." He chuckled, and twitched his wings. Re-arranging them so that he could sit on a rock, he grinned, and pulled out a laptop, turning it on and getting online, "I love having Angelnet. I can get online anywhere." He grinned, and poked her arm, letting Nathaniel take over again.

Cross sighed, and said, "Please don't let my other trick you. Angelnet don't exist, he just managed to hack into the Wireless Internet grid by accident. He was messing around in something he shouldn't have, and got himself a changing algorithm of IP addresses, now he don't have to pay for internet, and he can't get caught." He smiled at Eona, and said, "Its getting dark, I should make camp here tonight. Can you handle the fire, please?" And he began pitching a tent, piece by piece.

Eona laughed. "We do understand English it's just that some chose to ignore it." she said still giggling. She watched as he pulled out a laptop. She shook her head when he said something about angelnet and tried not to laugh at him. When he poked her arm she reached over and poked him back laughing. "Your weird Seth." she said in between giggles. She listened as Nathaniel took over again and told her what Seth did. She laughed and smiled at Nathaniel, "Wow that's pretty cool." she said still giggling some. "It is getting dark isn't it? Ya I'll take care of the fire." she said happily. She looked around the cave and found some large branches laying near the entrance to the cave. She picked them up and brought them to the center of the cave. She set them up in a nice neat pile before lighting it. The glow from the fire lit up the whole area.

Nathaniel chuckled, and began to sing in an Irish voice, "In Banbridge Town in the County Down
One morning last July,
From a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair.
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.

Chorus:
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head,
And I looked with a feelin' rare,
And I says, says I, to a passer-by,
"Who's the maid with the nut brown hair?"
He smiled at me and he says, says he,
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the star of the County Down."

Chorus:
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down.

At the Harvest Fair she'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes,
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked right
For a smile from my nut brown rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Till my plough turns rust coloured brown.
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down." He liked that song, and hoped he had done it justice. He turned to Eona and said, "I only had enough materials for one Tent... I wasn't expecting company, you know. If your not alright with that, I could sleep outside, or... I could sleep outside. No other options." He chuckled at his playfully commanding voice, and began to sing the song again, under his breath. The song helped him calm down when he was nervous, and he was really nervous right now. He had not come this close to a girl ever before, and she knew his most guarded secret thanks to his idiot alter ego.

Eona sat down by the fire and smiled listening as he sang. She listened as he went on about the tent. "No it's fine don't worry about it. Besides I have a feeling it's going to rain and it would suck if you got sick." She said. While she sat there by the fire she shifted to her cat form. "Aw man....That was not supposed to happen." she said in a weird voice. She laid by the fire and waited to see what Nathaniel's reaction would be to her cat form. She got up and walked around the cave hating how close to the ground she was now. As she walked she spotted a mouse and pounced on it. She didn't kill it but she batted it around the cave for a little bit before letting it go again.

Nathaniel looked at Eona, and shrugged, saying, "That's interesting." And in his head, he was reciting a scrap of doggerel he had written long ago,
Forgetting me,
Losing the sea,
I'm a flicker of light.
I've lost my might,
Lost the fight,
don't want to keep moving.
Oh, to become a tiny fish,
to make a tiny wish,
to heal my broken heart disease.
My job to ease,
my job to please,
to pull your hurt into me,
I can feel you,
every single one,
all of you on the run,
I tell you what I can do,
I tell you, then we're through,
I scare you away, ne'er to speak,
again...
I heal your heart,
heal your hurt,
and yet you despise,
what you don't recognize,
and you shun the one,
the only one that helps...
Nathaniel looked at her, and said, "Who am I to make fun of someone's form. I have two souls occupying one body, and you have one soul that occupies two bodies. It is not to much different from my situation. Don't worry." He smiled, and said, "I don't think the mouse deserved that. I think he was looking for food peacefully before you assaulted him needlessly." But the tone of his voice made light of the bad joke.

Eona watched him still in her cat form. He seemed to be dep in thought and she wondered what it was he was thinking about. She got up and walked over to where he was sitting and climbed onto his lap. She looked up at him when he spoke again. She listened to his voice and nodded her fluffy white head. "Hm...Ok." she said her voice sounding a little bit funny. She laughed as he said he didn't think the mouse deserved being batted around the cave and she smiled up at him. she thought to herself for a little bit wondering when she would shift back to her normal form. She continued to look up at him with her big blue eyes full of curiosity. She still hadn't figure much out about Nathaniel and Seth and she wondered about what they were like.

Seth took over, and smiled at her, saying, "I know this is weird, Eona, but honestly, we don't really do much to hurt people, and we stay mostly to ourselves, and I hate to admit this, but your like, the only person besides our family that knows of our curse. This ain't natural, not for our kind... We are the peacekeepers, normally, but, how can we keep the peace, if our very souls are fighting each other for control?" Seth sighed, and reached out to Eona, saying, "If you'll have me, I will be your most loyal friend. I don't hurt my friends. We don't hurt our friends."

Aiyana looked down, having been circling her brothers and the female for a few hours now, she lowered herself down to their level, perching on the tent Nathaniel had just erected and said to Eona, "He is an idiot. Trust me. No one believes in this crap anymore." Her bird-form had been her home for a few days now. It was just convenient to someone who didn't have a home. Her tone was cold, and almost lifeless, but with just enough a spark to let you know she wasn't what she seemed.

She shifted to her Normal form, her Brown/Green wings folding up on her back, and she said, "I am Yana. I am sorry for intruding, but there is a storm approaching, and I didn't want to be caught in it." You could tell from her tone that she was withholding some minute amount of important information, but she wouldn't give it up unless absolutely necessary.

Eona smiled at Seth as he took over and began to talk to her. She nodded her furry head occasionally showing that she was still listening. When he said he would be her most loyal friend she grinned. "That would be awesome!!" she said excitedly. She nuzzled Seth's hand as he reached out to her. Eona purred happily as she sat on his leg. Just then she spotted the big bird that had come to land on the tent Nathaniel had put up. When she heard it speak the fur on her back rose and her tail fluffed out. She watched it wondering if she should pounce on it or not. She watched as it shifted forms and looked almost normal. Just then her paws began to tingle and she jumped off of Seth's lap. In mid jump her forms shifted and she was normal again. Well at least as normal as was possible for her. She stood up her tail swishing from side to side. "Hello Yana. It's perfectly fine I totally understand. I would much rather be in here then out in the storm. I am Eona Dragonwing. It's nice to meet you!" she said her voice becoming more enthusiastic when she introduced herself.

Seth looked at the girl, alarmed. She looked just like his mother, but... younger, angrier, and alone. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling he should know this girl. She was... part of him somehow. He couldn't place it, and it was annoying Nathaniel that Seth was taking up this much of the brain to think on a petty matter. Seth looked at the girl, and spoke in the language of the Celestial, Angels and Daemons alike understanding it, "Who are you? I know you are an Angel, but... Who are you to... me?" He took Eona into his arms, wrapping them around her protectively.