*Max sets in front of the large mirror he'd brought into his haven. He wasn't one usually concerned with his appearance, the most he could make out most of the time was a blurred image of himself. Or, at least he could until perhaps a month ago. Ever since his actions to transform his blood into the ancient bloodline of his Sire; Max had noticed certain... side effects.


His image, always blurred, had taken on an even more indistinct appearance. Where once he could make out the color of his clothes and hair, now it had all began to run together as one blur of black; as if the lines of his body were melting together. And it wasn't just his reflection, other little things had perked his attention. Calling on the darkness inherent in his blood was easier, slipping in and out of sight was noticeably less difficult.


He spends a long while, studying the slowly shifting swirls of darkness that make up his blurred reflection; watching as the shadows swirl and play in the glass pane. He closes his eyes, imagining he's reaching out, taking those strands of darkness and wrapping them tighter around him; like a blanket pulled around to keep him warm from the cold.


Max feels the darkness that had flowed forth after his change rise once again, washing over him like a gentle wave before sinking back down; back into his skin, his soul. When he opens his eyes, Max can only smile. What had once been the indistinct outline of a man had blurred into a roughly man sized blob of grays and blacks in the mirror.*