Rubrec DeBheil
Rubrec's legs twitched, as Thomas pounced at Riley, but he remained standing where he was, eyes closed and arms raised in a defensive stance.
"We may share a parent. We may both be spawn of the Void, but I don't want to see this world end. I will not come with you. I will not leave this place, now, with you. To go to some hot zone in the world and escalate the hot tempers. Those days are in the past. I'm not sure what my purpose is, anymore. I know what it isn't, though."
He spoke calmly and patiently, as if explaining things to a child. As he spoke, he moved his arms and hands in small gestures. They weren't quite matching his words, though, and if they had been meant to underline what he was saying, they failed.
Their purpose was a different one, anyway. On the ground beside him, his own shadow rippled and twisted. On his scalp, the lumps in his hair grew into small horns or spikes. On the ground around Thomas' feet, dark pseudo-matter rose up and held him fast.
Thomas Currie
When he landed, a little behind where Riley had been standing, Thomas was no longer humanoid. A creature with canine features and somewhat larger, than the human body it had been, wheeled about and the barbed tail cracked like a whip.
The maw opened and dark saliva covered the three rows of scissor-teeth. The sunglasses were gone, revealing the solid black eyes behind the nostril-less snout. A full mane of coarse black hairs encircled the neck and framed the head. The hair followed the spine down to the middle of the back. Every inch or so, from the neck and all the way to where the tail began, rust red spikes jutted out from the spine, through the dark gray scaled and fur-covered skin. Each paw sported three forward curving claws, each the size of a steak knife, and two spurs digging into the ground, like a hot knife into butter.
It tugged at the shadowstuff holding its four legs in place. Looking down, the creature snarled, and pulled one of the legs free with a roar that made the windows of the castle rattle. The shadowstuff broke like a chain. The busted links faded from existance before they hit the ground, however.
"Will, or won't, I will bring you back in line, Brother!" There wasn't a hint of human left in the voice.
Rubrec DeBheil
"Don't fight him out of hate or anger," Rubrec muttered, though whether to himself or any of the others, wasn't clear.
Then he opened his eyes. Their colour was slowly cycling through the dark shades of gray, green, brown and blue. Some could find that mesmerizing to look at.