[center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjEwNi4wNjhjOGUuVEdsc1lTQkNiR0ZqYTNkdmIyUSwuMA,,/gritluefdemo.regular.webp[/img][/center]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/MyKmatB.png[/img][/center]
[center][b]Interactions:[/b] [i][b]Auri[/b][/i]
[code] My dear Lila, it will get so much worse.[/code][/center][hr]

In an instant the illusion melted away from Lila, and she was left in the middle of the rain soaked grass almost entirely alone.  Lila’s eyes flashed to the ground in an instant, half expecting to see the corpses there once more but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw there was none.  Lila looked across the battlefield and saw the burning ruins of the house still smoldering, she saw Amara nearby, and she saw a small group forming around someone in the distance.  A moment later Sully was there and feeding someone the healing waters from the chalice.  Someone was hurt.  Someone was hurt, because Emily Reed was a monster.  This time anger did not rush to her mind, this time Lila realized that all of this mess, the ruined house, the injuries, the hallucinations, and everything else was because she punched Emily.  She could not let Emily Reed win today.  Emily did this, all of this, to get back at her.  If Lila was to show any sadness, any regret, that would mean that Emily Reed won.  And Lila could not allow that.  She needed to be strong, defiant, and a beacon for the sycamore tree coven in the bullshit to come.  

“Is everybody okay?  I need an immediate headcount!  Everyone! Shout your name if you can hear me!”

Lila knew that she needed to let the others know she was okay.  Britney and Lila were the targets, after all, so it made sense for her to make sure she was okay.  Lila took a deep breathe, forcing back a tear that had begun to well in the corner of her eye.  She could do this, now they’ll know this.  Especially now while there was still a lot of struggles to be won.  Lila would not let the coven down, never again would she let the coven down like she did when she tried to play nice with Emily Reed.  She truly believed that things would look up from here.

Until she took her first step towards the rest of the coven.

In an instant a pain unlike anything she had felt made itself known as something terrible revealed itself to her conscious mind.  Her eyes slowly, slowly, ever so slowly crossed the distance and her foot and she gasped. Between her left  and right two most toes long, sharp claws had erupted forth from her skin.  She did not remember that happening during the fight but they were there all the same.  Circular pieces of skin were still wrapped around the end of the claws, and a steady and consistent trickle of blood began to mix with the wet marsh beneath her feet.  As her eyes slowly moved upwards she could see that her entire leg up to the mid point of her calf was completely covered in feathers.  She slowly moved her hands into her field of view, which quickly shifted back to her normal vision, and saw that the line between what was the maiden and what was Lila was gone.  Sure, there were spots where bits of her skin could be found trapped beneath the dense layer of feathers but the meeting point between that and her normal skin had completely melted together.  Her fingers were turned completely into claws, her once smooth skin texture now tough, coarse, and almost leather like.

And then she caught the sight of the wings in her peripheral view.

They were gorgeous, large, and the feathers were as black as a night sky without stars.  Each one looked more vivid and pretty than the next.  Yet she could feel each one like it was apart of her.  She could feel the way the wind hit it, and she felt the muscles connected to it move.  It was almost like controlling her arms, and she moved the wings too and fro to confirm that she truly was in charge of them, and to confirm that they truly were attached to her back.  That realization made her acutely aware of the pain that expanded outward from their rupture point.  Her whole body was in pain, and as she felt less and less of the maiden she felt more and more of this pain.

[color=FFE4E1]“That future felt ravishing, my dear Lila,”[/color] The maiden whispered in a sultry tone, [color=FFE4E1]“finally able to spread my wings as I have always wanted”[/color]

[color=DA70D6]“Please take your gifts back,”[/color] Lila muttered in response as she finally noticed just how naked she was.  She crossed her arms over her feathered chest as she looked around.  [color=DA70D6]“I…I don’t want this, I don’t want that, I just want to-,”[/color] 

[color=FFE4E1]“Oh my dear Lila you did want this,”[/color] The maiden chuckled a devious chuckle, [color=FFE4E1]“why would you invite me in otherwise?”[/color]

[color=DA70D6]“No I- no, I was trying to get rid of you,”[/color] Lila responded weakly as she wrapped her chest inside the embrace of her wings.  

[color=FFE4E1]“Oh so you say.  But, thanks to Britney, we both share the same vessel now.  And I can feel what you feel,”[/color] the maiden laughed again, and her mind was filled with the sound of all the crows chuckling in turn, [color=FFE4E1]“that vision sated much of my desire, for now, and as my thank you,”[/color] The maiden paused.  

Lila lurched forward as the worst pain yet filled her body as the claws on her feet began to slowly, ever so slowly, began to retreat back inside her body.  She wanted to scream, she wanted to shout for help, but the sound seemingly refused to leave her body.

[color=FFE4E1]“Now now child, you have to at least try to put on a brave face for the others,”[/color] The Maiden teased, [color=FFE4E1]“Not all gifts can be taken back, some can be hidden but you’ll figure it out.  Now, I must be going.  I have much to think about and much to plan.”[/color]

As The Maiden finished taking the claws completely retracted back into her body somewhere.  The holes that they made coming out of her feet were still there, and were still leaking blood, but her feet were at least her own.  Her hands were still clawed, the feathers remained across her body, and the wings still adorned her back, but at least her feet were her own once more.

Lila took a step forward and the pain once again radiated upward from her feet.  She then limped into another, and then another, and soon enough Lila was consistently walking forward towards the group.  She could ask Amara for help, or shout for Sully to run over and heal her, or she could just wait for someone to come find her but that’s not what Lila needed right now.  She needed to be strong, strong for the coven and most importantly herself.  No matter what The Maiden, Emily, or any other transphobic asshole threw her way she needed to take the hit in the chin and keep pushing forward.  Eventually she could see she was almost with the others, they all had their attention on Sloane who looked terrible.  She was alive, but she knew those markings well.  Sloane had been rotted.  She looked over and spotted Luca who was beside himself, and that confirmed her suspicion.  Lila felt the tears welling once more and it took every ounce of strength she had left to stop herself from sobbing hysterically.  This was all her fault.  She nearly killed Sloane, she nearly made Luca kill his friend, and she nearly killed the coven.

Lila shuffled a few more steps forward before the pain finally forced her to stop.  She spent a solid second composing herself before she dared to speak.  She looked towards Auri.  [color=DA70D6]“Lila,”[/color] she whispered before she looked at Sully, but she could not speak another word.  Instead, she began to softly whimper as the weight of everything finally came crashing down.  She could not hold back the tears now.  Her clawed hands gripped tighter onto her sides, accidentally gouging herself as she did, and she brought her wings in even tighter. She knew that she had to at least say something more than just her name. [color=DA70D6]“Can someone fix me?”[/color]