Kierra

I don't bother closing my door all the way since I won't take long. Pulling it over my head and tossing it onto my bed, I go for my dresser. Regular shirts are hung up, nightshirts are folded and put in a drawer. I get out a darker colored blank one, fitting it over and just getting it pulled down when I hear padding across my floor.

From scent, I can tell it's Xavier, which has my mind working. A pair of socks are nabbed, then after a moment, I grab for a bra. Looking over, tan eyes watch me intently, unhappy with my earlier given answer.

Clearing my throat, I motion for him to turn. He does so and plops his rear down. Meanwhile, I equip myself quickly in the confining piece of hell and pull my shirt back on.

Sitting on my bed to pull on my socks, he turns back around and eyes me again. Sighing with a slight glare, I explain a little more, even though there really is no reason for me to need to.

"He could smell my wounds and wanted to help. Personally, I'm glad he ripped a corner of my shirt instead of trying to take it off me."

I whisper it in his head so the others don't hear me. Socks pulled on, I go to the mirror on my closet door and pull aside the collar on this one to bare my shoulder. The maned wolf comes up next to me, so I kneel down to show him while again whispering into his mind.

"The scar tissue is less. Vamp saliva comes in handy, it just can't be their blood. I kept him from trying to heal the one on my side. If I hadn't, I more than likely wouldn't be here right now."

The fact that it didn't put up more than a twinge when I took off my shirt is telling. Standing back up, I lift the material to bare my bruised side. All sorts of colorful, but fading pretty quickly compared to what it should be.

Xavier touching his cold nose to bared skin makes me jump. He pulls back but his eyes are still on the almost sealed opening. If the bandage hadn't been taken off already, I'd need to make sure I had it off by now.

Don't need soiled gauze pad trying to fuse with my body. Pulling my shirt back down, a hand goes to his head to calm his rising emotions. I scared him apparently with my close brush with death.

Before when he had brought up the notebook and knowing what it was, he had been upset and I berated him for not knowing me long or well enough to be all sad-faced. Can't call him out on that this time. He's fought and bled for me as well as my sister.

I rub at his very tall ears. The appendages are only a few inches short of adding another foot to his height. The tall canine pushes into my hand, enjoying the attention immensely.

I pet at him for another minute before tapping his nose and heading back out to the living room. My couch is overflowing as a wolf, coyote, a young boy, and my sister are all piled on it. The thing never looked so small before. Benjamin is looking over the way it's arranged with the T.V. behind it, confusion clear on his face. I chuckle.

"I moved it that way so it was facing the kitchen. Television hasn't been turned on for quite a while, so there was no point for the couch to be facing it. Moving the couch further in and facing out gives more room for a large central area between it and the kitchen table."

Looking over and back, he nods, accepting my logic, he then walks along my bookshelves, looking at the titles. Ignoring him for the moment, I start pacing from the front door to the beginning of the hallway.

My mind bounces from what Benji has found to what my sister has seen and it being involved with the supernatural world. If this Frank character knows a wolf was the last one with Bastion, that could put other wolves in danger. I may not want anything to do with them, but it's me he's looking for.

"Faline, what all did you see in that man's head?"

With one hand petting down Maii, she looks up towards me while going through her head.

"Not too much, so far I'm only able to get recent memories and surface thoughts. At the time he, who was a lawyer, had gotten through to areas he wasn't supposed to be in, found Danica, and tried dragging her to a room when I caught him. His thoughts were to have her then go back to pay for another."

She stops and looks at me. Already know my eyes have changed, but what she's looking at are my elongated fingers that are tipped in thick claws. I continue moving and motion her to continue.

Sharing a look with Bastion before she continues, the boy grips hold of the midnight wolf whose head is in his lap. Xavier is laying down in front of the couch, right where my sister's legs would be if she had them going over the edge, watching me pace.

The Vampire perusing the books keeps doing so but is aware of what's going on. Sending me quick looks every now and then from under long lashes. His crew cut is the shortest here, just making the fringes seem all the longer.

"His job was to go there and look over who was available, then send word to someone else who would come and buy them. He didn't know too much of what happened to them after that, just knowing they probably wouldn't last long. If he was killed, he would be missed. Not just by this ring, but also in the human circles. He was a pretty prominent defense lawyer, taking cases of child molesters, murderers, and drug dealers."

Benjamin, having made the circuit around the room's shelves, makes his way to the kitchen where he snags a chair and brings it out. Setting it off to the side of the couch, he spins it around to straddle it as he sits. The look on his face letting me know he has something to share.

"What was this man's name?"

"Steven Meyers."

He nods and looks to me.

"Remember my mentioning people Frank was seen or friends with? Seems your sister has dispatched one of them."

Nodding, I can feel my face close down.

"Which means just about every other person he has close contact with is more than likely involved as well."

He nods, fingers rubbing at his temple as if it were pounding. I know the feeling.

"Did you pick up any names of some of the others that he knew to be in this ring?"

I ask her, so she closes her eyes, concentration on her face.

"There was a Frank, Frank Mallory. He was called by a different term. Banker; as he handles much of the profits for this area. He likes small boys, also called a 'trainer'."

She scowls, probably hearing Bastion's heart pound, just as I and every other person here can. Asher's head raises and nuzzles into the boy's cheek, the maned wolf moves closer to set his head on his knee. Maii, who also picks up on the distress coming from the child, moves closer to sit next to him, pressing close.

That right there is a support group of champions. Meanwhile, she keeps going.

"Steven acted as a recruiter. He would recruit the people who he represented in court that he knew were guilty. There was knowledge of two other lawyers, a judge, several cops, and even a... A priest."

Can't even say I'm surprised really, about the priest or any of the others for that matter. I'd wager at least one of the lawyers and judge are the ones who went through my case. Judge and priest have to be up there in years, so they'll be easy enough to take down. Looking over at her, my claws retract.

"That's enough. That's much more information than what we had to go on before."

"It's not enough."

Walking over, I crouch down in front of her. Face looking drawn and paler than what's safe right now.

"It's enough for now. Take a break, we'll figure out the rest later. There's no need to be swimming around in that filth right now."

She rubs at her temples, keeping her head down to try and hide the bloody nose from me. I see and smell it, but I move away so she can deal with it how she wants. Getting up, she goes to the bathroom, hand held over her nose, avoiding looking at anyone as she leaves, stepping over the maned wolf.

I hunker down in front of Bastion, his eyes almost panicked as he grabs for my hand. Capturing both of his, I hold them within mine. Having been with me for almost two weeks now in a, relatively, safe environment with food available and restful sleep, he's starting to look different. Filling out so he's much less on the bony side while gaining at least another half inch. Hair, skin, and eyes are brighter and he isn't so skittish. Granted he was nowhere near as bad as Maii is, but it was close. His blue eyes are wide as his heart pounds. Cupping his face and making him look at me, he slowly settles.

He'd been shaky when Frank was brought up last time, but not this bad. Think my near-death has really shaken his foundations. I give him a smile as both my hands move to his face and cradle it.

"Hey, Imp, it's okay. Nothing can harm you here, there are too many here for anyone to try to make a grab for you, and I will kill anyone who tries. You know that, don't you?"

Staring into my eyes, he slowly nods. My complete willingness to kill should probably worry me, but it isn't like I'm going around killing people wantonly.

"Do you trust me to protect you?"

His head bobs right away, so no question there.

"Do you trust Asher and Xavier?"

Again he bobs his head, so I give him a smile. Looking over and drawing Maii close, I include him as well.

"While you are here, I will not allow anything to harm either of you. Bastion has seen me after multiple fights. I may get knocked down a lot and injured quite a bit, but I come back up swinging. No one living here will allow either of you to come to harm."

I say it fiercely, both adult canines to either side of me nod in agreement. Have to tuck the thought deep that Asher more than likely won't be sticking around much longer, he accomplished what he set out to do, stuck around by my request, but he has his own demons. Holding or keeping him from finishing what he had originally been doing would just be selfish of me. He loves his wife and has every right to go after those who led to her death. It will be hard and heartbreaking to see him go, no question about that.

Have a feeling Bastion knows that too, just maybe not as consciously as I do. My thoughts fly back to when he and I first crossed paths, that I am aware of anyway. Brings a wider smile to my face as I stand and turn away.

Two weeks and a couple of days. That's all the time it's been. Feels like a lifetime ago that I had gone out to meet up with Tristan and met what turned out to be a cursed Werewolf instead. One whose first words to me were that he was sorry. I had thought it was Tristan that had said it when I first heard the words in my head.

Eyebrows draw together as something is missing. Looking back to the dogpile on the boy, I look the black wolf over. The first time I had seen him, then the second time with my sister, he had a silver chain around his neck, would catch glimpses of it a few times over the next few days, but then it up and disappeared.

Closing my eyes to focus better, I think back to the last time I'd seen it. Around the full moon was the last that I recall. He had it before those three days, afterward, he didn't.

Turning to face the kitchen, I slip into his head tentatively. Get the feeling of eyes directing themselves towards me in question. I send him a remembered picture of it with an inquiry to if he'd lost it somewhere.

I get an image back of his burying it in a park area with the knowledge of it having been his wife's necklace. My breath catches as a denial of his being rid of it like that starts forming. He sends warmth to fill me, letting me know the park was one of her favorites to go to and it was his way of giving her some kind of peace. I frown, not understanding, but I withdraw.

Going to the fridge and reaching in without really even looking, I grab the first thing I touch, open it, and start chugging. Almost naze the liquid through my nose and about drop the bottle. I grabbed alcohol. Not rubbing alcohol yet not beer either. Beer is gross. What I grabbed was a Smirnoff.

Holding the back of my hand to my nose, I set the bottle down on the island counter and glare at it. Turning back to the fridge and opening it again, I look inside. The only drinkage left in there is milk and Bastion's nasty V8 crap. No more juice. Dammit.