Kierra

I respond internally, not feeling like talking aloud, but keep it directed to him.

"Going to go open those doors at the house, hopefully get the place airing out. Doubt I'll be able to enter anytime soon. Only thing I'm worried about is the smell going everywhere. I can contain myself, but not that."

His ocean eyes open, ears perking forward as his head lifts.

"Are you going to tell the boy?"

"Which one?"

Can feel his smirk and laugh, but I know which one he's referring to. I probably should, just so he knows where I am. I switch to speaking out loud.

"Hey kiddo, I'll be going to the neighbor's place today. You know about the cellar-basement thing, right?"

He nods his head, focus on me but twirling puzzle pieces in his hand.

"I want to try and let it air out before anything else, but I know that smell is going to travel. No idea what it will attract."

Xavier comes in at this point, but I know he'd heard it all.

"You need to air out your neighbor's cellar?"

He looks confused, and I get a wicked idea. I can't hide it fast enough, feeling Asher's amusement.

"You know what? You can come with and help. I'll explain about the couple on the way there."

He looks over the pile of stuff and raises an eyebrow.

"I'm not gonna like this, am I?"

I just give him a sweet innocent smile, which causes him to snort. Chuckling, I hand him a pair of gloves. They'd come in a two-pack, very helpful. He moves up close, so I push him away with a fingertip and scowl.

"Tall people irk me when they get that close, and you are really tall. Chihuahuas have nothing on me when it comes to the whole attitude thing. My sister and I get along as well as we do because she is shorter than I."

That's not really true, but it sounded good in my head. He smirks at me but goes around the counter. I grab my boots and tug them on, Xavier does the same.

"Asher you up for staying with Bastion?"

"Of course. You be careful."

"I'm always careful, it's everything around me that makes me a liar."

He scoffs, but I feel his willingness in my head to come if needed. I let him know that if something goes wrong, I'm sure he'll hear it.

"Bastion, after we leave can you go through the house and make sure all the windows are closed? I don't want that smell in here. You can go out at any point as long as Asher is with you and you have layers on."

"No problem."

With that, I gather half the items and give the maned wolf the plastic sheeting after he puts his biker jacket on. I stop as I think about something. Setting things down and going to my room, I come back out with one of my stronger cologne bottles. Xavier lifts a brow.

"I like men's cologne better than women's perfume."

He just shakes his head and grins. I stick the bottle in my pocket with my phone and keys. Grabbing the stuff up once more I walk out the door, no coat for me thanks.

True to my word, once we get to the road I start explaining to him about what was found. He doesn't believe me about the smell, so I tell him he can lift the door first. He readily agrees. Now this is going to prove to be highly amusing.

Halfway there he breaks the silence that had ensued by asking about Asher.

"Does he not want to take human form?"

"That's really something you should ask him yourself. Some things I can explain, others are personal."

He nods and continues.

"Is he your lover?"

I stumble before my feet stop abruptly to look at him. He isn't joking and doesn't have a judgmental look, just honestly curious. I'm starting to figure out that most animals have no sense of 'personal'. I shake my head and continue walking.

"No, he is not my lover. He's my friend and someone I look up to. If it weren't for Asher, I'd be dead right now, several times over. He teaches me what he can, helps me when I need it, can be a royal pain in my ass, and I'm very grateful to him."

I look up and let my mind wander as my mouth goes on.

"I've asked much of him, and I know it's too much, but he's the only one I've been able to trust aside from Ava. I know I depend on him too much. As soon as my sister is found and returned home, I'm sure he'll leave. He has his own path that he has to follow, and it doesn't include taking up my couch."

Xavier listens intently, then circles around.

"You said 'several times over', what do you mean exactly?"

I have to think for a moment to call up all the times my midnight shadow has saved my ass.

"Well, the first time was when he bit me."

He blinks and looks very confused, I chuckle.

"Asher has some abilities of his own, and he's used them to help me. Sort of. Before we even met, he foresaw events that would happen, so he'd bitten me, hoping to start the process of my Changing along. It provided me the endurance to survive and fight back against Anthony, who'd tried to kill me in the very beginning."

I'd tick things off with my fingers, but my hands are a bit full at the moment.

"Second time was when he found me at the house I was kept in when I first shifted. That was also where I found Bastion. Third time, I'll count as saving my life as he'd prepared me for what would happen on the full moon. Fourth time was when he helped me with that Werewolf, which was on the second night of the full moon."

I stop walking as we come up on the neighbor's property and look at him as I finish.

"Fifth time was with the Vamp that was sent to kill me. Just as I had ripped out the man's insides, he got a hold of my neck and was bleeding me. Sixth time I don't really recall because my wolf had taken over, but there was a car involved."

Speaking of which, injuries from that whole mess are all healed, even my hands and feet. Still amazes me. My companion is nodding his head slowly as he thinks over things, so I start walking again towards the back of the house.

The snow on the ground surrounding the area is only disturbed by animal prints. Several rabbits, a deer, even a fox. I can smell traces of them, the scent of the fox is the same scent I was catching the last time I was here.

The air is very crisp and cold as I inhale deeply. Not much of a breeze, but enough to move the air. I don't recall Xavier grabbing a shirt. Looking over, he is indeed bare under his partially opened jacket.

"That's one way to get accustomed to the cold I guess."

He looks at me as I motion to his lack of clothing and shrugs, eyeing our surroundings.

"To be honest, the cold doesn't bother me too much, I've been in it before, it's just been a while. It also saves on shirts if I have to shift fast."

I grunt in response, stopping a couple yards from the doors. No prints go anywhere near it. Now that I really focus on things, there's a sense of something here.

"Can you feel that?"

I ask, and he concentrates for only a moment before he nods. Blowing out a gust of air, I set stuff down and open the face masks.

"Okay, I can't let you go in blind. The doors have a rubber sealing, so nothing gets out, when I first opened it, it was like getting punched in the face. I know you think you can handle it, but please take a mask. I don't know how well they'll work, but that's why I brought the cologne."

He nods, holding a hand out for one. Handing it over with a pair of gloves, Xavier just looks at them, but I tell him to trust me. I'm sure he's thinking I'm being super girly here, but he'll learn soon enough.

"I've debated on just burning the whole thing down, but that won't solve anything. Plus, I need to know what's in there. When you think of an old couple, that smell is not something that attributes one with the other."

Dipping a tiny drop of cologne onto my mask, I put it on, then the gloves. Just that little bit over my face is hurting my nose, making my eyes water. I'll have to remove it soon, but till then, I'll deal.

We both get closer, mask getting pulled over his face as we stop at the doors.

"I figure open them both and just get it over with."

He dips his head as he grabs the right side's handle. I move around and get in position with the left. On the count of three, we lift. They stick for only a moment before giving way.

Even with the mask on with the strong ass men's perfume, it invades my nose. I back up quickly and turn away. Xavier practically leaps backwards.

I warned him.

I can hear him gagging before he gets a hold of himself. Backing up at least twenty feet, it's still strong. Manageable though, as I have to get the mask off.

I don't point out that I told him, yet I still feel a pang of guilt. The cologne is beginning to mix with the horrid stench and making me toss away the mask. The smell is thick, cloying. Lingering. Probably going to ruin that brand for me.

The combination of a slaughterhouse in mid-summer, an outhouse soaking in the desert sun, and rotting fridge experiments that were once a type of meat. Xavier walks up to my side as I put the back of my hand against my mouth and nose. When backing up, I made sure I wasn't moving downwind, which helps immensely.

"I've only smelled things like this when I was overseas, on battlefields and missions that were really, really bad."

"I can't tell if it's animal or human."

"It's neither, now."

Lowering my head, I wonder again what the fuck these people were into. Should have asked Asher if he ever got any scent from them.

"I need some hardcore bleach for my shower after this."

He bobs his head in agreement. Alright, I have it open. Now what? Keeping a gloved hand over my mouth and nose, I get closer, thanking everything in the skies above that I didn't find this in the summertime.

My steps are heavy, but I eventually get there. Standing right outside the doors, breathing as shallowly as I can, I look in. Wide wooden stairs lead down. Looking around the doors, they're indeed rubber sealed.

Wood retains smell, it soaks it in, so even if this place were cleaned out, those stairs would have to go. Even cleaned out, I'm sure this place will retain the echoes of what happened here.

With no heat below, there are no flying insects that I can see. Hard to see anything, aside from a black pit with stairs. Staring into it for a few minutes starts revealing details that my brain can follow. It goes down at least twelve feet, leading to a dark-colored cement floor. From here I catch glimpses of wooden pillars.

The smell of old blood is strong, the thickness of it coats the back of your tongue, yet still has a dryness to it. The disturbing part is some of it still smells wet. Coagulated, but hasn't hardened.

I reach back for Xavier, grabbing his coat as I lean forward. He grips the back of my shirt. Even better, considering the circumstances.

"Of course whatever is causing the smell can't be right up front and easy to see. Everyone has to make everything difficult. The rude thoughtlessness is astounding."

Steeling myself with humor whispered under my breath, I let go of the jacket lifeline and take a step down. Attempt to, anyway, as the male at my back still has a hold of my shirt and won't let go, even tries pulling me back. I turn to look at him and find him shaking his head.

"Should let me go down first."

"I can do it, don't need a he-man to save me. I'm just as capable as you. If it's too much, I promise, I will swoon into your arms. Deal?"

He seems to be caught in between being annoyed, exasperated, and amused, but he slowly lets go of my shirt. Keeping one hand to my face, damn near stuffing the glove's leather up my nose, the other goes out to my side to steady me as I step down. Hovering my foot over the step for a minute, I think better about it and reach back for his coat again.

I get a hand, but that works just as well, gripping hold of him as I test first the top step then the next. His very large and very hot hand makes mine sweat, it's pretty much engulfed by his. I really hate being made to feel small, but now isn't the time to complain. The strong odor feels oppressive, like walking through cotton. For safety's sake, I keep a hold of his hand.

That is indeed the reason, hush.