I could barely think in complete sentences; in fact, I could barely think at all. Everything felt numb and disconnected as I watched Krel's limp body slide to the ground after connecting with the lockers with a horrifying crash. Seamus loomed over him, grinning. Looking victorious.

Red-hot anger bubbled up from places I hadn't felt in a very long time. Liquid fire flooded my veins, scorching my insides and making my stomach turn. My heart pounded like I had run a marathon. My vision tunneled, and my breathing grew heavier. My skin tingled as my disguise burned away, forming a supernova of magenta particles floating around me. And as a small growl in my throat grew into a roar a dragon would cower from, my disguise was shattered.

The roar echoed all around the school, sending birds flying off into the sky and making the very foundations of the buildings tremble from the sheer volume. Everyone shouted in surprise and pain as they gripped their ears and stared in horror at my transformation. Seamus was frozen in shock, eyes widening as my hidden appendages burst from my body.

Hair flashed from fawn to magenta sheen in an instant, whipping around wildly in the frenzy of magic I conjured as the rest of my form changed. My ears pricked up with new sensitivity as they became wolf-like once more, and I felt something sharp poke against the inside of my lip; I snarled, revealing sharpened canines that glinted dangerously in the reflection of the magenta particles.

I felt my wings burst through human skin, weighing me down for a fraction of a second before a newly grown tail zipped out to keep me balanced. Nails went from neatly clipped to hanging like daggers at my side. My clothes had been shredded by the fierce whirlwind of magic, though I barely paid it notice as I stalked closer to the teenager trembling before me.

"L-l-lulu," Seamus stuttered, legs wobbling as he scrambled away from me, tripping over his own feet in his panic to get away from me; like a rabbit running from a fox. "W-what h-happened t-t-t-t-t-t--"
"A-a-are you going to stop stuttering like the spineless worm you are?" I snarled mockingly, growling as he fell and kept retreating on his hands and knees. "Only a creature as low and dirty as you would attack someone without proper incentive."

"He, he was a weirdo," Seamus protested, back now pressed against the lockers as he fought futilely to put more distance between us. "He d-didn't deserve somebody like you--gah!" Seamus gasped as a hidden force suddenly lifted him up and slammed him against the wall of lockers with inhuman force.

Lunalis, you must calm yourself, Eclipse ordered, and I thought I heard panic rise in her voice. Do not let your emotions take over again! I forced her words out of my thoughts so one thing could take hold; rage. Raising a hand, I chanted in an exotic trance, the words coming to me from places unknown, but they flooded me with power.

"Spiritus invoco antiquis solis ac lunae siderumque specie. Et ne audirent me! Da mihi potestatem puniendi sunt, ita ut hominem exstinguant illa flamma de contumacia hebescunt."

I heard a gasp of surprise from inside my mind, and without warning, a floodgate holding back incalculable amounts of magic burst open and flooded my veins. I screamed as magic--so, so much magic, in its rawest and truest form, filled my body to its breaking point.

It surged through my very being like an unstoppable tidal wave, and what my body couldn't hold inside spewed out from anywhere available. Beams of light in all colors imaginable spewed from my ears and nose. My jaw unhinged and magic in the shapes of runes floated out, whispering their meanings as they left my body. Concentrated magic flooded down my cheeks in the form of iridescent tears as the rest ripped through my circulatory system.

Lunalis, stop! Eclipse screamed, her voice barely audible over the pain of my body literally being torn apart by power. A Ventil's body is not meant to possess that much magic! Seamus and everyone else was frozen, watching the magic kill me in front of them.

"De Magia enim majores natu, viribus ego gratias ago tibi quoniam ministerium tuum," Eclipse suddenly shouted through me. "Potestate vestra erunt trans globe propagationem generis Ventil omnibus prodesse." In an instant, all the magic that had flooded through me a moment ago dispersed, leaving me feeling empty and weak, and I almost blacked out.

You stultus stulte dicturos, Eclipse shouted once the world stopped spinning. Ancient Magicks cannot be controlled by ordinary mortals! You would have been ripped to pieces and this entire city would have been reduced to ash had I not intervened!

Then...why didn't you help me, I asked, struggling to get my thoughts in order. Last time--

Last time was different! She screamed, making me wince. I heard Eclipse take a few deep breaths, before starting again. I did not intervene because what you did that day could not be avoided. One day, Scorpio would die by my hand, whether it was in an horae or many annos from then. And, one day, Ramos would pay for his actions.

But why would you help me control it then and not now? I asked. I didn't hear Eclipse's answer, as Seamus was scrambling to rise to his feet. Without thinking, I sent a tendril of magic to tie him up and he screamed again. Wings fanned, I strode over to him and lifted him up with a hand (and some levitation magic).

"If I could," I said slowly, voice dangerously low, "I would make you feel every kind of pain imaginable by magic. I would skin you alive, drown you, burn you, bury you alive. But, during my time here with humans, I've found there are more effective, simple ways to make you pay." And then, repeating what I had done to Mystere all those months ago, I punched him right in the face.

The force from the blow dented the lockers; that, combined with the terror and trauma I'd put him through today, made him collapse unconscious. I left him for the teachers to deal with, and rushed over to Krel's side. I had much more important matters to attend to.

His nose was bleeding profusely; probably from getting smashed against the metal wall. His pupils were blown wide, and the back of his head was bleeding a bit. A concussion, most likely from hitting the ground. His eyelids fluttered when he looked at me, and wheezed out a chuckle when I stooped to check his chest. One of his ribs was cracked, and when I put extra pressure on it, his eyes rolled up in his head and he passed out.

"Oh, Krel," I cooed sadly, stroking a lock of hair from his face. It was almost angelic, really; so peaceful. It was like he had fallen asleep, rather than being tossed around like a punching bag. Taking a deep breath, I readied a levitation spell—

Don't even think about it, Eclipse warned me before I could lift Krel off the ground. You're already weak as it is; doing this could kill you.

Well, what do you suggest I do, then? I grumbled, attempting to lift Krel onto his feet. He was surprisingly heavy; extremely, actually. It was like he was made of solid steel rather than flesh and bones.

You do not have the physical strength to lift him now, but perhaps you would in another form, Eclipse suggested. I sighed, pondering my options. I knew what Eclipse was suggesting was painful, and very time consuming to switch back and forth, but Krel was still in critical condition and I needed to get him home. Alright, I sighed, letting a little bit of magic pool back into my veins. Change me.

Eclipse's hold took over—I don't think she trusted me to do this myself from my little 'incident'. She moved carefully and quickly, changing my physical form to better accommodate carrying another human. My shoulders broadened, swelling to form a more muscular build for my body. My sternum broadened, and my bust slimmed down to make my chest flatter. I grew taller, towering over Krel and the other humans, even the teachers.

Feminine curves were replaced with masculine bulk, and I could feel my voice changing, dropping from a twittering soprano to a deep tenor. The seams of my clothes groaned as they fought to stay together, but a swirl of more magic and the fabric had adjusted to my new form; snug black t-shirt, skinny jeans and even my shoes had grown a few sizes larger.

Taking him in my large arms, I adjusted him around until I thought he would be comfortable and not afraid of falling. "Hold on, Krel," I whispered as soothingly as I could, pushing off the ground and soaring away to home.