Hunting a Hunter

You'd been walking for about twenty minutes when Evelynn silently holds a hand up, and you freeze mid-step as Ahri's enhanced senses tell you why. Several soldiers of the Eclipse order - no one that you recognize, unfortunately - are sitting by a campfire about a hundred feet ahead of you, and they don't appear to have noticed the two of you yet. Immediately, you see Evelynn's posture shift as her Demon Shade envelops her in a cloud of smoke, and you similarly crouch down to start making your way closer to the camp, letting Ahri's instincts guide you.

Internally, you're a bit nervous, but also excited, eager to actually put your new magic to the test - and with Evelynn here too, also bound to your will, you were covered if you made any mistakes. "Not that I'm expecting to, thanks to Ahri's memories," you smirk, already starting to channel some magic into creating an orb in your palm. You can feel Evelynn's eyes on you, cloaked though she may be, and cast a glance in the direction you feel her presence. "Ready when you are, love," you whisper, and hear the faintest chuckle in response.

"Not just yet, darling... these boys here aren't our prey tonight - they're the bait," Eve replies, and you furrow your brow in confusion, before suddenly hearing a scream from the direction of the camp. When you turn to look, however, you see not the light of the soldiers' campfire, but instead a cloud of dark purple smoke covering the camp. Briefly, you see a flash of bright light, and only then does Ahri's memory recognize what, or rather who you're looking at, and you turn back to Evelynn with an unimpressed glare.

"Really, Eve? Akali?" you mutter, the sounds of the soldiers being eviscerated by the deadly blade witch tough to ignore. Evelynn reforms herself leaning against a tree, and throws her head back in laughter, causing you to roll your eyes in annoyance.

"You didn't think we were going to test these incredible powers of yours on nobodies like them, did you?" Eve says, wiping a tear from her eye from laughing. "The weaklings can barely stand up to our magic, we would learn nothing from them. Akali, on the other hand... well, let's just say I wasn't quite in a position to observe the effects when you last used your powers."

You pout (which you're sure looks cute as all hell on Ahri's face), but can't deny she's right - you'd much rather test your abilities on someone you knew rather than literal NPCs. Finally, you hear the sounds of **** fade out, and turn back to see Akali striding towards you from the dissipating cloud of smoke, badly attempting to mask a look of annoyance. As she approaches the two of you, you watch as her kunais magically twinkle out of existence, while she give her larger kama a good twirl before it too disappears into nothing.

"Dear sisters," she says, voice dripping with sarcasm. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Surely my elders of the Coven would not come all this way just to disrupt my hunt. I had been tracking those men for quite some time, you know."

"Watch your tone, darling," Evelynn replies unfazed, though you do notice Akali's mouth quickly clamp shut - she might be powerful and deadly, but she was still not quite as adept as Ahri and Evelynn were. "Is it so hard to believe that we would come all this way just for you?" As she speaks, Evelynn starts to strut slowly towards Akali - catching on, you curl your lips into a sultry smile and also start to approach her, watching the shorter girl tense up. From Ahri's memories, as well as the emotions you're feeling off of Akali at this very moment, she's long harbored an attraction towards Evelynn and Ahri, though never dared act on it, for fear of being improper with her fellow Coven members. The two of you, however, obviously sensed it from the start, and it had long been a running joke between them.

Reaching Akali, you watch as Evelynn gently cups her chin, tracing a claw down the side of her sharp jawline, while you yourself brushed past her, running your finger along her bare shoulder and across her toned back. "Dearest Akali," you say, doing your best impression of Ahri's natural charm, "kindly help us to settle a debate - who among the Coven would you say is the fairest?"

"I- uh," Akali stammers, and you can practically see the shiver run down her spine. "Surely 'twould be Lady Morgana, of course?"

You and Evelynn both laugh, which only makes the poor girl even more nervous. "Akali, dearest, despite what your generation may believe, Morgana doesn't actually listen to our every word," Evelynn says, "She couldn't care less about what we get up to in our own time, she has far more 'important' things to worry about. Right now, it's just us three here, so... answer honestly this time."

Akali audibly gulps, and you gently drape your long fingers over her shoulders. "Calm thyself, child," you whisper into her ear, and start to trace a hand up to the back of her neck. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Evelynn lean in imperceptibly. "You see... Evelynn and I were just having some... fun together, and we were just curious if you might be interested in... joining us?"

"Y...yes," Akali finally manages, and you smile triumphantly... right before thrusting your hand out of Ahri's flesh and into Akali's skull. Her body stiffens up as her amethyst eyes roll back in their sockets, and you make sure to keep a firm grip on her shoulder with your other hand while you work to rewrite her thoughts. Evelynn, meanwhile, keeps her gaze fixed on the two of you, and you can feel the subtle wave of magic from her as she tries to get a read on how your powers work in real-time.

Finally, you're satisfied with the changes to Akali's mind, and gently pull your hand back out, sliding it right back into Ahri's limp arm. As soon as you release her, Akali's head slumps down, and it's thanks to Ahri's quick reflexes that you catch her and turn her around, pulling your newest 'friend' into a soft embrace. "That's it, dear..." you whisper, stroking your claws through her hair as you listen to her steady breathing against your chest. "Everything's going to be alright, now..."

After a moment, you feel Akali stir, and pull away to see her open her eyes. "Ugh..." she groans, raising a hand to cradle her head. As she blinks the confusion away, she glances up at you, then over to Evelynn, before looking back to you, her expression unreadable. After a few seconds, though they felt like hours, she finally speaks. "So... you're not Ahri, then?"

"I am right now," you say, a glimmer of foxlike mischief in your tone. "But I wasn't always, and probably won't be forever."

"Hmm," she grunts, and you're almost starting to get nervous at how little emotion you can read from her, before she turns to Evelynn. "And she... they... already did this to you too, Evelynn?"

"Yes she did, dear - though I'm afraid I must apologize," Eve replies, in about the most sincere tone you've heard her use all night. "Bringing you into the fold was actually my idea."

"It's alright," Akali says, turning back to you. "Or I mean... I guess now it is. Still just... scary. I never would've guessed it - you were acting exactly like her. And you can do this to... anyone?"

"So far," you reply with a shrug, "Only just got this power, so still learning how it works."

"I must say, observing it in action was... fascinating," Evelynn chimes in. "Your ability is definitely not of this world, that's certain - even I in all my power can't even begin to fathom how our magic might counter such a raw ****..." She trails off at the end, before her crimson eyes look back up at you. "Whatever granted you this power, it's not something I'm eager to cross paths with anytime soon."

You can only reply with an affirmative hum, before turning back to Akali, who seems to be getting increasingly horrified at the prospect of someone like you. "Relax, darling," you say with a smile, patting her on the shoulder. "If it scares you that badly, I'll make sure to warn you when I switch into another body... unless it's yours, of course," you finish with a laugh, watching Akali's eyes widen in apparent horror.

"Ugh..." she stammers, visibly cringing at the thought of someone else walking around in her body. "I mean... I literally can't say no, but... just know that I don't love that idea."

"Duly noted," you chuckle, leaning forward to kiss her on the forehead, before stepping back to face both your new companions. "Now then, Eve... I do believe we had made a certain promise to Akali?"

Evelynn smiles, finally letting her tension over the scale and source of your powers melt away. "That we did, jackal, that we did," she remarks, reaching out and gently taking Akali's hand, before turning to start heading back once more towards the Coven's temple. "This way, darlings - if we hurry, the bed might even still be warm." You smirk as you follow behind, not missing the way Akali's heartrate had quickened at the mention of 'bed'. "I suppose I could get used to this life..."