Kierra

I motion her to the chairs on the porch, taking one myself. One leg folds underneath me while my hands fold in my lap, my demeanor turning grim.

"There's also other stuff going on, but I'd like to keep as many out of it as possible."

My brow furrows, looking out over the scenery before speaking again.

"Not now, but later on I'd like to hear more of the house and people you were with. Seeing as how events and things are going now, I'm curious if they're related. If they are, that makes a few less for me to worry about."

I glance back at her. Blue eyes are directed towards her lap where Diego still sits.

"I'm not trying to pry, it isn't that at all. You can keep what happened to yourselves, but talking to someone will actually help. Won't seem so at first, but after a while, you'll see it's like a burden has been lessened from you. Trust me, I know."

Have to block out events of my childhood that get pulled out of the dark depths of my mind. A forgotten memory surfacing that I want nothing to do with. Events that had transpired to cause my first outburst to my family about what was really going on.

I push harder, the tears trying to form has me looking away from them totally. Ever notice that it’s when you try to push thoughts away, that it becomes almost impossible to do so? You wrestle and fight it, yet it gets bigger, filling in more gaps to make it a mini-movie instead of glimmers and still-pictures.

I move to focus on the walls of my mind, making sure nothing leaks through to Faline. The memory floating in my head occurred when she was still really young, and if she doesn't remember it, I don't want her to. Strengthening them helps it fade a little, enough to where I can manage to think of something else and don't dwell.

"The information I'm after is on the people who had you. I was told there was the Werewolf who was killed and my sister killed two others. Was that everyone?"

My voice sounds a little strained as I force it out, swallowing not helping any.

"There were five main people. From what I put together from the others when we talked at the...brothel, a clearer picture was made out."

She stops a moment before continuing. I look back towards them, but not at either, keeping my eyes on their reflections in the window.

"Eddie was the boss. He had a woman, Tabitha, who was just as messed up as he was. His friend Bruce acted like a bodyguard and liked to...participate. The Werewolf was another one of his friends. There was another there who acted as a guard, but he avoided us as much as possible. Could tell from his face that he didn't want to be there either."

I nod, brow furrowing. Too much I need to know to pry for right now. Also want to be in a position where I can write it down and figure a map of these people. Benjamin also, since he has most of the info from money trails and such.

I shake my head before thrusting my hands through my hair.

"You can tell me the rest later when we get back home. For now though I will tell you that your group of people were not the only ones snatched up. There are many more and it interconnects with several other fucked up subjects."

"Now now, language around the kids."

A smile forms on my face as I look over to Ava, who'd just come out. She’s dyed her hair again since yesterday; today's color is a mix of blues and greens. Heard her call it ‘Mermaid’ once, when she was talking about doing it on someone else.

"Rika, Diego, this is Ava."

She nods to them, brown eyes lingering on the tiny fox with wrapped-up limbs.

"Kani mentioned that you'd taken in a couple more. You really need to talk to Gabriel now."

Her smirk has me growling at her, but she's completely unfazed as she walks over to pat my head. She better be glad I love her.

"I'm aware. Is he coming here or?"

She shakes her head, moving closer to the others. If you didn't know she had a very large predator inside her, you'd never see it. She comes off as soft and squishy.

"No, when I called him after getting your message, he said for you to meet him at the house. Alone."

Good thing I'm not drinking anything, otherwise I would have nazed it right there. My glowering at her is unseen as she crouches in front of the younger girl, intent on the tiny animal. She reaches out, gently touching on his nose before moving up to his head and ears, fingering the red tips.

"Interesting. You've shown me images of foxes with unusual patterns, but I don't recall this one. He's a red fox, right?"

I nod, amused at her curiosity. Little guy doesn't seem to mind too much either.

"He's so small...I don't think Lily was ever this small even as a younger kitten."

My snort is swallowed down at that misconception. Lily was tiny as hell, granted I didn't see her in feline form then though, so I'm not actually sure. The boy within the fox though has just reached his teens.

"He's thirteen, and with as small as he is, I don't think he'll get very big even when fully grown. You'd almost think fennec, but look and shape are clearly red fox. Kani has different coloring to him too, as does Maii. Hell, I do. I don't think you guys run on the normal animal color spectrum."

I smile as I say it. Mother nature has many quirks and she clearly tweaks a bit with the 'normal' things, so adding magic to her humor just spices it up that much more. It can either be very helpful or a major hindrance. Take the king cheetah for example.

"I'd say by the time he's full-grown the spattering of white and red hairs on his chest will be gone."

I think aloud, pondering his coloring. It's not matte black by any means, there are several shades that make up his overall 'darkness'. If it had been a mix with brown, I'd say he still had his kits coat, but nope.

Blood-red instead of the normal ruddy or orange marking his tail and ear tips, socks on all legs. Anywhere where white would be the norm, he's red, and where normally ruddy, he's black. Aside from his underbelly, neck, and chin, which are also black, he's completely inverted.

Dark green eyes look all the darker thanks to it, becoming like a dark 'forest green'. Shaking my head once more, I stand, Ava following suit.

"We're over here so much you're going to get tired of seeing us before we even move in."

I laugh, as does she, but as always, she denies it.

"I'll look after these two. Xavier and Bastion went to the practice area while Kani and Maii are hanging out in my ink room. Where're the others?"

Telling her that they're working as I move closer to the stairs, I look back to the new kids on the block. They still look a little nervous but are trying to hide it. Ava shoos me off.

"Go on, I'll get some food made up for them. The ATV is where it usually is if you want it."

My steps are slow, procrastinating. Using the wheels would get me there faster, and I'm not sure if I'm wanting that. Inhaling deeply, I blow out a puff of air and head for it.