Jericho's POV:
"Now, to business," Fell smirked, his eyes flashing. I just barely repressed the urge to claw those stupid snake eyes out. He chuckled, letting me know he heard my violent thought. I pulled my arm back one last time, and for whatever reason, he let me go. I retreated a couple yards, rubbing my sore wrist as Fell held out another hand in front of his face. He conjured a small strand of golden shadow that weaved and darted its way through his fingers with a mesmerizing sort of grace. I avoided looking at them directly. He examined them absently as he spoke.
"As you know," he began, "you and Anjali became two independent beings. You're welcome, by the way," he said with playful wink. I scowled.
"In that respect, at least, I succeeded. But there were some rather unexpected outcomes to our little... game."
My body grew tense at his words. My brain completely flat lined with sheer disbelief at his flippant words that I knew were meant to hurt me.
A game. A game.
I looked at my feet, gritting my teeth and clenching my fists.
My chest heated as blood began to roar in my ears. I shook with adrenaline. Pure, unadulterated rage filled the empty spaces in my head until all I could see was red. I tried to breath, slow and deep, tried to calm myself down as the visions that Fell put me through just a little over a week before came back full force.
Agony. Terror. Blood. Grief. Helplessness and hopelessness and complete and utter despair. Every horrible second of the time I spent in that hell rose to the surface of my mind, the scars as raw and bloody as if they'd just happened.
It was a game, All a game to him. A game that would haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. And I hated him for it.
I heard some vague, muffled words through the veil of my anger before a pair of feet stepped into my view. A finger lifted my chin gently as I struggled to regain control of my emotions, tilting my face upward to meet Fell's eyes, his face less than half a foot away from my own.
He tilted his head as he examined me with an expression of vague curiosity. I trembled at the images that his face conjured, feeling helpless against the fear that assaulted me. I had to get away, I had to get away, I had to-
"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!" I screamed, knocking his arm away from me and stumbling back as he watched me expressionlessly, "YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TOUCH ME!!"
I was practically hyperventilating now, standing in a half crouch like a wounded animal that didn't know whether to run or fight.
I had the fleeting thought that these emotions at this intensity were extremely dangerous for an empath like a Druid, but that quickly fled my mind when Fell began to approach slowly, a predatory glint in his cold eyes. I backed away, matching him step for step as anger and terror warred within me, trying to decide whether or not to attack.
Then he was suddenly gone. I whirled around quickly, aiming a punch at the monster behind me. He grunted as he caught my fist, and I was surprised to hear a slight crunching sound. He laughed and winced before regaining control enough to use his other hand to summon a ball of shadow that rammed into my chest, knocking me back a couple yards. I pushed myself to my feet with a snarl, ignoring the pain.
"Ah," Fell cringed with a little growling laugh as his shattered hand crackled, the bones and veins undulating and shifting visibly beneath his skin as it repaired itself. He sighed when the process was finally over, opening and closing his fist as his amused eyes turned to me.
"Well well well... that actually stung a bit, Jericho," he smirked, "be still, my poor black heart."
I didn't respond to his teasing with more than a glower. I had calmed myself down enough by then to know that charging him again would be very stupid.
"I'm not going to disagree with you there," Fell murmured into the shell of my ear as his arms snaked around me to hold my back against him. I cried out in shock and began struggling. Shit!! When did he get behind me?!
"Please. Child's play," Fell scoffed. I fought valiently for three minutes before I realized I wasn't getting out of this any time soon. He wasn't playing with his food anymore, and I didn't have Anjali's power to protect me. After I stopped moving, he spoke.
"Are we done already? Such a shame," he crooned mockingly. I let out a gasp that quickly turned into a growl when he nipped at my earlobe and pulled me even tighter against him, pressing his hips forward. My face heated in humiliation when he chuckled at my reaction. I was too disgusted for words.
"Now now, let's not be nasty," Fell laughed at my thought.
"Don't you have another Druid to play with?" I snarled before freezing. The atmosphere changed, got colder.
"Anjali? Oh, love..." he buried his face in my neck so I could feel his grin.
"She's dead."