Ascend from the Shadows (Junis)

Azrael was standing on top of the Astronomy tower, enjoying the peace and silence of the place which was usually void off students and teachers or other inhabitants of the castle. The dark night sky was illuminated by the full moon which stood hauntingly beautiful over the Black Lake, its light reflected by the dark water. He felt someone step closer to him and sighed, his eyes lingering on the pale moon. Azrael had been noticing the changes slowly over the past few weeks and not knowing how to stop his descent into madness made him feel vulnerable and helpless.

"Azrael?" Junis called after the older Ravenclaw, but he seemed to be far away again as he walked up the stairs to the Astronomy tower. Shaking her head, the young witch followed the boy she was slowly considering a friend till she reached the top of the tower. Azrael was already standing at the edge, staring at the sky and she decided to wait by the door, till he snapped out of whatever was bothering him again.
Something seemed to be bothering him and she could hear him sigh, a quiet and dejected sound which made her feel quite uncomfortable.

A warm and solid hand on his shoulder made him turn his head to the side slightly, just enough to be able to see the elderly man who was giving him a gentle, but sad smile. “I wish there was something I could do to help you, child.” Marius said calmly, his low voice almost got carried away by the wind, but Azrael did not have to strain his ears to hear him. “I know. If there would be something to be done, you would be the one to help me, father.” He answered just as calmly. In his voice was only the slightest hint of despair, as the Ravenclaw knew that he could hold on no longer.

Junis' eyes widened as she heard Azrael talk to seemingly no one. Father? What was going on with her friend? She was really unsettled to see the normally collected by like this and it made her want to go over to him for comfort, but she did not dare to approach him right now. Dozens of thoughs ran through her head about what might be bothering the older Ravenclaw, but no one seemed to fit quite right.

It seemed to be fate that the moon was to be at its brightest while he was slowly dragged into the deepest shadow imaginable; a shadow that even the brightest sunshine would not be able to penetrate. Another present could be felt at his other side and Azrael smiled slightly, knowing that he was not alone at this time. “Never alone…” Corvin’s promise was both comforting and frightening, but that’s how his life was; never alone, never quite sane.

From her position it was hard to see the Ravenclaw's face, but Junis thought that he was smiling a little at whatever he was thinking about at that moment. Still, somehow that smile looked very sad and haunted and it pulled on her heart, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it. "Damnit!" Junis hissed under her breath, angry with her own helplessness.

“Don’t be sad, Azrael. We will make sure that you’re not alone.” From behind him, Cyn slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back. He could almost smell the sweet scent of her perfume and her long blond hair tickling his neck. “I know…” he said again, remembering the last time this had happened. Not once had Azrael felt alone while being in the shadows and for that he was immensely grateful to his family.

He's talking to himself again!, Junis thought, creeping closer to the edge where the older Ravenclaw was standing, still looking towards the sky. Whom is he talking with? she wondered, feeling quite confused. Could it be ... it would explain why he always seemed to be so distracted everytime she wanted to talk to him. Could he be hearing voices?

A warm hand brushed over his hair in a soothing way and he smiled at Marius, the one father figure he ever had in his life. Sometimes, it was hard for him to bear not being part of a real family and it pained him to see his mother and father act loving around his siblings while he was always the odd one out, not accepted, not understood and definitely not loved. “You know that they are not your real parents. Deep down you know it, Azrael.”
He nodded and for once there was no blinding pain following such thoughts. Today, his mind was too much detached to be able to hurt and Azrael could think clearly for once about this subject. “They did something to your brain which caused you to forget where you come from and till you find your true family, we will continue taking that place.” Corvin said resolutely. His brother always was the one to think positive, keeping up their will to fight when everyone else was thinking about giving up.

Junis furrowed her brow, as she watched the other Ravenclaw with a worried expression on her face. He was tensing up and relaxing his body again and again and it made her feel uneasy. She had been standing here now for several minutes without something warm on and her fingers were freezing, but Junis really did not want to leaver her friend alone at this moment.

Azrael could feel the shadows approaching him from the periphery of his vision and once more looked back up at the night sky. The eerie white light of the moon was somehow comforting for him and it gave him the strength to not break down in tears right then and there. “I’m scared …” he whispered, barely audible and his hands tightened around the railing that kept him from tumbling down hundreds of meters to his certain death. Cyn’s grasp around his middle tightened as well and Marius and Corvin moved closer to him, so he was protected from all sides but his front.

"I'm scared." Hearing these words from the usually stoic Ravenclaw made Junis' heart clench painfully in her chest and she was about to run over to him and tell him that everything was going to be alright again, but something told her not to get close to him now or to interrupt whatever he was thinking about.

On the other side of the railing stood a dark-haired boy with a pale face and Azrael almost thought that he was back in his dormitory, looking into a mirror, had it not been for the strangely glinting red eyes in place of his own grey ones. “Brother.” He greeted his twin, resignation colouring his voice. Seth took a step closer and grasped Azrael’s arms in a gentle, but firm hold, his face directly in front of his brother’s. “The time is here, brother mine.” It was eerie how the normally insane voice could sound so calm and collected, but it was all the more terrifying for that.

Nodding, Azrael took a step closer till he was pressed against the railing. “I know. Just let me ask one more thing, Seth.” he requested, his troubled eyes begging for the other boy to hear him out. Azrael received a nod and swallowed. “Please do not kill anyone, please. I know that right now I’m not strong enough to fight you any longer and it is your time to move out of the shadows and into the light, but I will crawl all the way out of the darkness to stop you if you dare to try that. And then I will lock you away forever. Even if it means, killing myself, is that clear?”

Junis stood frozen to the spot, as Azrael started to speak again. To his brother obviously, or what he thought to be his brother at least. Was that one of the voices the Ravenclaw was so obviously hearing? It had to be! But why was he asking him not to kill anyone and why was Azrael talking as if he was going to leave? Junis was actually getting quite scared now.

The truth was shining in the boy’s eyes and Seth could feel that he meant it with all his heart. Azrael could hide nothing from him, nothing, that made this threat all the more real and Seth gave him the promising nod before stepping forward to embrace his twin.

Something was wrong! Junis could tell that from the way Azrael's body went all stiff for several seconds, as if he was frozen by a Petrificus Totalus. He wasn't even breathing, as far as she could tell. What the hell was going on with her friend? "Azrael?" she asked once more in a hushed voice, not daring to approach.

“Finally…” he took a deep breath, drawing in the clear air of the evening and his eyes reopened to look at the moon. It truly was a beautiful sight and Seth took a moment to treasure it before reached out with his hands to touch his face, hair and body, slowly getting used to the feeling of being in the light once again. It had been years, since Azrael had allowed him to leave the shadows. “Allowed? … I did not really have a choice, did I?” Seth chuckled, feeling amused. “Is that so? Don’t worry, brother mine, I will not disappoint you.” he commented and climbed up onto the railing of the tower, letting his sharp eyes glide over the grounds and sky, feeling a soft breeze in his hair.

Junis' breath caught in her throat, as she heard Azrael speak again. This time his normally soothing voice sounded so very wrong. Dark and sinister; it made the hairs on her body stand up and she backed away slightly. The way he was talking now was so completely different from the Azrael she knew that it made Junis wonder if it was still the same person or this "brother" he had been talking to. She did know about the split-personality disorder, but she had never heard of them talking to each other.

“Get down, Seth! Do you want to kill us, you moron?” Cyn shrieked at him, but Seth could see Azrael give him a knowing glance. He knew how it felt to come out of the shadows after such a long time and how desperately you wanted to feel alive again. “Calm down, Cyn…I’m not going to jump. I plan to enjoy the time I have to its fullest.” Seth said calmly.

It was odd for him not to feel angry and hysterical, but somehow for once being able to breath, taste and feel was taking those feelings from him; temporarily at least. “Just don’t get us in any trouble, son.” Marius admonished and Seth smiled slightly. No matter how often they fought with each other, Marius still would see him as a son, even if he wasn’t like Azrael, calm and collected.

What was he doing? Junis was about to leap forward when the Ravenclaw boy climbed onto the railing, thinking that he was about to jump. Right now, she would think him capable of doing everything. Luckily, just then she heard him speak again and say that he was not planning to hurt himself. But who was Cyn now? Another voice?
Slowly, Junis walked up to the older student. "Azrael?" she called out carefully, so she wouldn't make him trip.

“I will always see you as my child, Seth, just like Azrael, Corvin and Cyn.” Marius told him once more and he could see the older man’s gentle smile behind his eyes. It was a bit confusing not to see the rest of his family right next to him and it probably would take him a while to get used to it after so many years of being locked in with them. “You could let me out again…” he could hear Azrael’s careful voice, much closer to him than the other three voices had been. His brother sounded upset, even a bit scared and Seth knew that he would never hold out in the Shadows as long as he himself had done.

That meant, either letting Azrael die and taking over for good or stepping back after having his fun to let his brother breath again. “Seth…” the strangled sound from his twin made him focus inwards again. He looked straight into the pleading grey eyes of Azrael who knew that right now Seth had the power to never let him see the light again. It was tempting, to finally be a real person, not just one of the voices in an insane head, but even Seth was not able to let his own twin brother face such a cruel fate. “You have always been the stronger one of us, brother.” Azrael said and Seth pulled him into a brotherly hug. “And you have always been the one to better keep all of us in check. That’s why each of us has their place, but sometimes, I just need a bit of freedom. I promise to let you take over again before you start fading, alright?” It was a rare sight, but Seth smiled protectively at his other half. Nothing would ever come between them, not even his desire for freedom. “Thank you, brother, thank you.” Azrael whispered against shoulder and then removed himself again.

A voice that was not part of himself, let Seth focus on the real world again and his eyes met the concerned blue ones of a young Ravenclaw, he had seen through Azrael’s eyes before. “Junis…”

He promised to let him take over again? So this was not Azrael, at least not the one she thought she knew. When the older Ravenclaw turned to look at her, Junis always ran away in fear, as his normally calm grey eyes were now a deep, blazing red colour that were reflecting a madness she had never seen before.
Gather all the courage she had in her, Junis kept looking into his eyes, trying to appear confident. "So you are Seth? Azrael's brother?" she asked him, her voice slightly unstable.

“NO!” An evil glint appeared in Seth’s eyes and his mouth stretched into a sinister smile, as he looked at the girl in front of him. Inside of his head, Azrael started to become agitated; with good reason for sure. Knowing that he did not have forever to enjoy this freedom made Seth’s desire for blood and death rise in him to an extend that even he could barely control himself, much less the others. “Leave her alone, Seth, please! She is one of the only friends I have found so far.” His brother begged, having to watch helplessly as Seth jumped down from the railing to stand in front of the other Ravenclaw.

He could almost smell her fear and it only drove him on, his eyes dilating in excitement about being on the hunt again. “That would be me. Though I fear my dear brother is not reachable for you at the present time.” Seth commented, almost kindly, though the way he prowled closer to Junis till he had her backed against the wall told a completely different story. During the past few months, he had got to know the girl a bit better, through Azrael of course, and he had to admit that the girl was a great improvement to all those hysterical bitches they usually encountered.

Still, just because she was his brother’s friend and not as bad as most other people, was not good enough a reason for Seth not to destroy her. “You promised, Seth!” Azrael warned him, dangerously close at that moment, so Seth quickly pulled his desire back a few notches. “She’s still going to suffer for following us, brother mine, whether you like her or not.” He stated coldly, still staring at the scared girl.

A shudder went through Junis, as she listened to the older Ravenclaw's words. So it was Seth, the mysterious brother from her friend. Had he done something to Azrael? Or had they just switched places for a while? Could it be that he was possessed, or under the imperious? Junis had never seen anyone under this curse, but she had read about it a lot. It did not appear to be the case, not at all. "Maybe I should just leave you then if I can't talk to Azrael.." she said, trying to sound confident, but when he backed her into the wall, Junis started shivering in fear. the insane expression in the red eyes were truly terrifying.

Seth chuckled darkly at the girl’s words, but did not even bother shaking his head to let her know that she was not going anywhere till or if he allowed her to. “Seth! Just let her go! We can find you something else to play with, alright?” he could hear his brother trying to bargain with him, but he was having none of it. Before Junis or Azrael could utter another word, Seth had back-handed the younger Ravenclaw across the cheek with enough force to send her crashing into the wall. “Be silent, brother. I promised only not to kill her which I won’t. But I have every right to do this.” Seth said, smirking evilly before striking out again, this time his closed fist hit the girl’s jaw and he heard the tell-tale sound of bone snapping under his punch.