The scream trailed off almost as quickly as it had started though, and Kei began to tremble, sagging against the wall. Hawk scrambled out from underneath him, using the wall to push himself to his feet. He stood, feathers standing on end, staring down at Kei.

"Fuck you," he heard himself say. And then, much louder, "FUCK you!!"

Kei sank to the ground, whining deep in his throat, his claws splayed against the floor and the wall as though the axe weighed so much that he could not lift his head. Hawk suddenly realized that something was hissing from the spot that the axe had entered Kei's skull--a plume of pale smoke. As Kei finally collapsed and went still, more smoke began to issue from his nose and eyes and mouth.

Hawk watched the smoke wind upward in front of him, and then, quite casually, reached out a taloned hand. He took hold of the smoke as easily as if it were a solid object, and as he did, the hissing condensed into a loud, steady ring. He pulled the plume of smoke closer to himself, inspecting it.

"Fuck you," he whispered, and gave the smoke a slight squeeze.

With a metallic sound, the smoke blew apart into livid purple-white droplets, seeming to suck the color out of everything around Hawk as they evaporated.