She studied the controls, the demon's touch still lingering as she took control. "Kiri! You're ok! You scared me, passing out like that." She glanced around before bundling him into a little cave. "I was possessed by a demon."

Kiri shivered, his body quaking slightly. "I'm cold... My.... Whatever she is. The other entity. She's hurt... My mind isn't right."

Swift clawed at the earth, shoving handfuls towards the entrance. "Isn't right?"

His eyes were cloudy, almost blank. "She's not responding, even with my shields down."

"What?" Bladen vanished, leaving the mind feeling rather empty.

Kiri growled, slamming a mental barrier up automatically. "No! No more demons. That one needs to stay out."

"Kiri. He's not staying. He's my headmate." 

He sank to his belly, "You promise?"

Her head dipped down just slightly but it was enough. His barriers fell, letting Bladen slip in. 

"SWIFT!" 

She went still, every muscle tensing up. "Bladen?"

"Here. Now. I need you." His voice wavered, cracking with fear.

Her eyes met Kiri's, "I need in your mind, Can I please?" She doesn't wait for permission, stepping back from her controls. Her body crumpled at his feet.

Shadows boiled, tearing apart the walls and fabrics of his mind. Great gashes wept, bleeding across the floor. Bladen stood in the center, a piece of void splashed against the shades of  darkness. "I was right."

Swift took each step with caution, skirting sucking holes that tugged at her fur. "Bladen?"

"He..." He drew a steadying breath. "D'vala may not be coming back to him." He leaned down , touching his nose to the lithe fox at his feet. "It's bad Swift. Really bad. And if we die in here or in the real world without access back to our center mind... We don't come back." He closed his eyes, his tongue running across the jagged tears in her soul.

"Bladen." Her eyes narrowed as the shadowed figure began to twitch. She shot forward, her claws sinking in as her back feet paddled, tearing chunks from the demon who dared move in her friend's head.

He spun, his flattened ears slowly raising. She tore into the beast in a manner that left it screaming and wailing before finally falling silent. Bladen stepped up to her, gently nudging her until she released with a whine. 

She stepped away from him, her chin tilted up. She gave him a half smile as she moved to kneel by D'vala. "You will live, you hear me? We are a pack now. A proper one, not what Kiri thinks of one as. We need all our members D'vala, not just Kiri." She ran her tongue across the injuries, nodding to herself as they began to knit closed. "Please. He may not realize it yet, but he needs you like I need Bladen."

Her energy radiated from her, an ancient power passed down from generation to generation. Each step taken with purpose, with confidence. 

Bladen hesitated, "Will you be ok if I watch over her for a bit?"

She tilted her head, one lip coiling back in a half smile. "Kiri won't be happy." She pulls herself back to control. 

The body unfolded carefully from it's crumpled puddle, eyeing Kiri cautiously.  "She's not dead, so that's a bonus." 

Kiri laughed, "And so now, what, I have 2 crazy voices in my head?" 

She smacked him with her tail, "No! D'vala is not a demon, and she killed the demon that tried to take you, which almost killed her! Bladen asked to stay and wait with her until she woke up, just to make sure she's doing alright. You are a true alpha Dukari Kiri, like me. So the voices are just par for course. Not a sign of demons."

Kiri stared at her skeptically

"Concentrate on holding this form, or any other form you want to shift into for a moment please." Bladen requests, slipping back into her mind.

"Same way I focused before?" She asked.

He nods. A thick trail of smoke evaporates away from Swift's body, coiling itself into a wraith like form of a large black panther. He spoke with a deep gravelly purr. "Kiri, you should know better than to doubt her when you are the same."

Kiri's eyes widened, whites showing, "No, I try to keep mine away, like Alpha demands. I'm no different than my family."

Bladen snorts, his form quickly vanishing away again. "Why bother, look where they dumped you."

"Sorry, usually he's a bit nicer." Swift apologizes. She focuses on the wall, her ears twitching. "Why do you block her still if it's really just the word of your dad?"

Kiri glanced between Bladen's empty location and Swift, "Uh. Well. I just don't talk to her.... Why does it matter? It's my head isn't it?" He snaps defensively

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry Kiri." Swift stepped back, ears flat.

"Give him a few minutes to adjust. He's only ever heard about how evil the voices were and how he must keep them out at all costs. Bladen settled next to Swift in her mind. "When all you ever know of something is the bad side and tall tales then that's all you have to believe in, even if you know deep down they are wrong."

"Why would someone tell lies about you, or creatures like you. Like us. Why can't they just respect them to be themselves? Am I weird for having this with you? Is Kiri's view the right one?"

"No, your mother is like us. Though she has more than just one, like you will eventually. Kiri lives here, with another type of view. And just because we don't agree with a view does not make it wrong. The only time a view is wrong is when it actively hurts others for its own gain."

"Why would you follow something that actively hurts others? That seems silly. Wait, does Kiri's view hurt him?"

"Not yet, but it definitely could in the future. If he doesn't learn things that I plan to teach you then he could hurt himself in the future by accident. With his abilities and his shifting."

"Is there a way I can help him at all?" Swift asks

"Swift, did me blocking her cause her to get hurt?" Kiri asked sadly, "Why would my pack ask that of me if it was just going to hurt me?"

Swift jumps slightly, startled out of her mental conversation with Bladen, "I-what? Oh, I am not really sure."

"Yes." Bladen replies to them both. "You are a threat to your Alpha with the power you hold and they only know the mainlanders through the demons."

Kiri shook his head, "But I am not demon. I am pack. They don't have to worry about me leaving or bringing the mainland demons to the pack like the legends say." He meets Swift's eyes for a moment before glancing guiltily away. "Like they think you will."

"Me! I would never-" Swift exclaims, looking rather indignant with the thought

"Ask him more about the legends rather then focusing on their thoughts about you please, child." Bladen interrupts with amused exasperation

"I-fine." Swift mutters grumpily, "What legends are you talking about, no one has told me any stories yet. Not like they even bother speaking to me between stealing my food and attacking me."

Kiri laughs, "No, why would they. They don't trust you yet, especially since Alpha got shot as soon as he found you and he is only getting sicker since then. Why would they tell you about legends that state you or one of your people would kill us?" Kiri sighed and settled himself down, "But if you'd like I will tell you at least the basics."

Swift quickly copies him, "Yes please! If I know some of this stuff them maybe I can avoid upsetting them more." She flattens her ears, "I really do want to fit in here, at least until I can get off the island or you take the pack."

Kiri shook his head sharply, "First off before I begin, don't mention going anywhere. That is a bad thing. Especially if you want them to like you." He twisted his ears back as breaking trees echo in the distance, "They fear the ones like you, like us, for what we can do, or what we supposedly can do. It's ones like us, except red eyed, who once stepped foot on our home. They came, great slavering beasts with little whim except to consume and destroy everything. It is said that a feline with fur tinted silver like mine came in to save us. He was a great beast and he stayed here with us for years but one day the impossible came true. it is said that the feline had shed his fur lined coat and donned his red eyes once more, heading off towards the next island with another pack of savage beasts racing ahead."

Swift tilted her head, "So.... you guys are afraid because the only good creature from the mainland caused the destruction in the first place? That doesn't make sense...."

"Legends and such don't have to make sense, otherwise nothing ever would make sense." Bladen huffed with laughter inside her mind.

"Why are you laughing," she groused, "It's not funny. How can I learn anything cool when I am apparently some horrid evil beasty."

"Prove you aren't. That's all. You've already removed the reason you'd go crazy like that." He gestures to the soul cage, "The demon having control is why you would go crazy and attack people like that. As long as you don't let the demon control you or lock you away then you will never go insane like that."

"I guess. It's to warn us against trusting those from there. The other islands all have similar tales."

"Other islands?" Swift asks, Bladen sharing the controls beside her in her mind, "Are they all like here? With packs like you?"

Kiri snorts, "Nah, most of them have been stolen by the 2 legged beasts who shot at Alpha when we first found you. They have been steadily hunting us until we are gone. Heck some have even hunted on the mainland. Though those boats never actually came back here."

"Why has no one ever tried to fight them before?" Swift tilts her head, "I could probably kill one and I haven't even had any training. They are all soft, no real shields, flesh or metal."

Kiri shakes his head rapidly, "No but they will bring in numbers. There is only so many that you can dodge or kill at once. Eventually they overpower us and we all die." He shivers, "It is not a good time."

Swift glances away from him, an odd edge in her tone, "Kiri, why do you talk about these things like you fought in them?"

Kiri blinks rapidly, a slight haze moving away from his eyes, hardly noticeable until it was gone. "No reason." He states, falsely innocent.

"I do believe you were speaking to D'vala instead of him. Reach out to him, mentally, do you feel it?"

"The weirdness of his energy? Like it's out of tune with each other? Is that what you mean Bladen?"

"Yes but more than that. Feel the way they are moving. What does it feel like they are doing."

Swift concentrates closely on the energy coming off Kiri, "Are they fighting?"

"I believe they are, or at least Kiri is. I doubt his first soul wants to be fighting him. It is painful to harm yourself." He flexes a paw rhythmically

Swift watches his actions, "Bladen, why would you know what it is like to hurt yourself?"

He shakes his head. "Not a question for right now, your friend needs you to help him. go on." He gives her a gentle nudge towards the controls.

Swift gives herself a quick shake, "Kiri, hey, you can't do that. It hurts if you beat up your mental partner."

Kiri snaps his gaze to her, "How do you know what I was doing? No one can ever tell."

Swift shakes her head, a small smirk playing across her features. "Your energy fails you. It is a rolling mess when you fight. Seriously not fun to read." She watches the uncertainty, fear, and disgust play across his features, "Though you knew that didn't you?"

Kiri sighs heavily, "Yeah.... I try to hide it but I am not good enough to hide it yet. She's been trying to teach me, but I can't quite hide it yet."

"Oh so you are friends then." Swift asks skeptically, "And not just trying to kill each other for fun."

Kiri giggles nervously, "Yes?"

"Liar. He was squealing in joy that she was ok and tackling her."

"Really?" She giggles, "Is D'vala ok?"

"As ok as the situation allows, but yes." He sighs, "We are not going back there."

"Was it really as dangerous to you as you said? Could you really die?  Please don't die! You are not allowed, ok? Not without me! Promise me. Please."

"I won't die permanently without you," Bladen agrees, "Though I doubt either one of us are going to be dying soon."

"Promise me Bladen." She stares at him, eyes serious, "I want you to promise me. No dying without me."

"Swift, kitten, I can't do that. If I did die then it would kill you and I don't want to do that to you. Not when I could die any day by some weird accident and your life would be gone in an instant."

"I don't care." She comes back to the physical world, "Kiri, is there a way to bond yourself to someone so that if they die you die too?"

Kiri shook his head, "I mean yeah, but it isn't really done. Who wants to die when someone else does?"

"I do. If Bladen ever dies I don't want to live alone in my head. Not for a minute." Swift huffs, "I don't like that thought. At all. Makes my skin crawl."

Kiri flinched as something screamed it's final cry nearby, "Er, are we on pack lands?"

"The biped's lands, not where they venture but yes." 

He shook his head. "6 more days before we can walk back in. however shall we survive?" He bared his teeth in a growl. "However indeed."