"Raven."
A voice pierced through the veil of darkness that had engulfed her brain. Although the reality of pain was not masked so easily by subtle consciousness, it immediately brought her into the world, a sore rebirth of sorts.
Creaking her heavy eyes open, a blaring glare of white light shot into her retinas, blinding her, swaying her sight into confusion. Vomit began to rise in her throat. It was too much too fast- the throbbing of her skull and the blotches of random coloration provided a corrupted kaleidoscope as she desperately tried to see her surroundings and numb the ache of her bones
This bewilderment finally usurped all other feelings, and the day-old food exited her in a surge of bitterness. The wretched sound of retching echoed in her mind until she could not even decipher what her thoughts and instincts were telling her.
Yet, she did not need her mind or full awareness to control her powers. The black wings stretched from her back and cradled her into them; a desperate pang of terror achieved a response of a feathery-night shield protecting the shell.
In a moment of silence, after she had mindlessly wiped the thick drool from her lips:
"Raven," this phantasmal voice repeated.
Frustrated dumbly, she shouted:
"What?!"
The savageness of her own voice came as a perfect shock, a bucket of bitter ice water flung into her veins until a sense of clarity was accomplished. The snarl of her sound again rippled all around her, chiming loudly like cathedral bells.
Quickly, she smacked her hands against her ears, and curled into a ball, trying to block out the noise. Unknown tears and mucus secreted from the open pores of her skin, the terror beginning to finally sink in.
Yet, this did not mean she was weak, or simply laying in wait. Her animal compulsions still pushed for her to survive, even if it meant killing anything that got close enough. The senseless chimes ceased, only an unnerving silence kept her body on edge.
"Raven," this frustrating ghost moaned. "Please. I can imagine your ears are starting to sting."
To her surprise, the chords that came from this speech did not shake her silly, it just annoyed her. Unfolding her wings from her body, she took a peek, dipped a toe into the strange new place. A simple, undecorated but large area greeted her, its heavy shadows suggested underground.
Leaping quickly to the balls of her feet, she crouched, her elongated nails digging into the thick ground. Humid, the rock that lay beneath her was not rough and brittle like asphalt, but something smoother and more natural.
Suddenly, as her slowly-jaundicing retinas flicked from left to right and back again, the lights glared on.
Swearing with surprise, she threw her head back into her chest, and wrapped her arms back around her, trying to achieve a faux sense of darkness.
"Come now," it continued. "You can't hide forever. You're rather pathetic at it."'
Growling lowly as footsteps approached, she snuck a glance through her hand. A figure clothed in black shielded any flow of luminosity. The back of her mind recognized the metal on the shins, the massive boots that recalled a feeling of intimidation and anger.
Enemy is what her body told her, and she took no chances. Swiping with a black claw, she struck, her nails glowing with magic. Taken off guard by the brutishness of her manner, he narrowly avoided being shredded.
It came with a price, for the beam of lights blinded her left side as she relinquished an arm. Howling with rage, she withdrew, cradling her head once more.
"My, what an animal you've become. Dear girl it's only been a couple of days."
The vernacular he used was peculiar, unique. The answer was obvious, but she retained her aloof personality, opting to make this conversation as simple as possible.
"Leave me alone!" she barked, the deformed voice that escaped her lips, wretched.
"Now we both know I can't do that. But I will come back later, if you look at me."
It took a great deal of effort, but she pried her shoulders back into correct posture, more or less, and lifted her proud chin up, her eyes remained closed.
"That's it," he encouraged.
Squinting one lid open, she quickly shut it again, the glare flaring through. The discomfort made her shift away, crawling back into darkness.
"Turn them off…" she choked out. "I can't see."
"Just once is all I need."
Huffing out an annoyed grunt, she nodded and breathed in. In a flush of anger she willed them open, betraying her sparkling blues to the pain of radiance. It hurt, but not as much as she thought it would. A couple times she pounded curled fists into her sockets, hoping that rubbing them would provide relief.
Unfortunately, she was left blind, barely able to make out his darkened outline approaching, a sunspot.
"Just a little longer."
Grinding her teeth, she allowed him to get closer until his icy hand was on her shoulder, holding her steady. But it wasn't just keeping her stable, it was pushing her down. Before her roars of protest could escape her lips, a heavy weight sagged against her limbs.
"What're you doing?!" she yelped, her lashes blinking furiously. "I thought I just had to…"
"If you keep squirming, it will be all the more painful, child," he cautioned. "Hold still."
She didn't have much of a choice, for the crushing burden rendered her thrashing muscles useless; however, she still rolled her eyes everywhere, desperate for a sighting, batting the lids in darkness and into light.
"Stop it," the stranger ordered. "Unless you want your skin to dissolve, keep your eyes still."
"Why?" she panicked. "What are you going to do?"
A hesitation passed.
"Make it easier for you to see."
Curling her lip, she snapped her teeth.
"Liar!" she accused, flaying around against the unseen load.
"Well, you don't have much of a choice do you?" he countered. "I won't leave until this is done, Raven."
The reminder that she had a name caused her to stop. Squinting as best she could, she tried to make out the features of the black blob that danced behind the glare, but to no avail.
"Who are you?"
"I'll be happy to answer that question if you do what I say."
Perplexed, annoyed, but thoroughly intrigued, she nodded and spat a hair out of her mouth.
"Charming," his strong but strangely high voice judged. "Now open your eyes wide."
Against all her instincts, she did as he asked, stretching her lids to the furthest position possible. As seconds flicked by, his presence sank in closer, and for a moment she almost thought he was made of water, his black ink threatening to drown her.
"Steady, steady," he murmured, noticing the wriggle of fear hitching her body.
Clawing her nails into the floor, she squeezed and became stone, hardened to anything coming her way, preparing for some sort of catastrophe. A droplet of navy blue grew closer to her eye until it touched. The cool liquid splurged into the corner, sinking to the back of her skull.
But, she kept her eyes open, until another drip stabbed her, and she flinched. The crushing weight eased away, and she quickly sat up and jumped away, landing back on all fours.
"What is this?!"
"Calm down, girl," the voice came from above her, closer than she thought. "Blink a few times."
Obeying listlessly, the sting came a few seconds later.
"Ow, it hurts…" she whimpered, raising a hand to rub it out.
Something stopped her, it shifted and moved- a hand?
"I wouldn't do that just yet, let it sink in."
The hurt did not stop, however, it just intensified until pained tears poured out, thick and salty. Sucking in sharp breaths, it became a burn, cauterizing her insides. Unreal, she had to crouch to the ground. He released her, and she immediately placed her palms to her eyes, wiping away the tears and covering the infected throbbing of her face.
"W-wha-?" she began to question frantically, rocking on her heels, clenching her canines.
What stopped her was the definite sound of an iron door closing far away.