Eeva rode back to the Woodland Farm and dismounted her horse. She hoped she could get a job, and possibly a home here. "Hello?" She called as she walked up to the door.

Kate and Greg absolutely loved being out in the country and surrounded by the animals, but Matt wasn't so in to it. On a good note, he felt a bit safer, and hoped that the Akatsuki didn't discover where he was living now, and hoped he wouldn't get beat up again.

"Hang on - I'll be right there!" He called out, just as he was tripping over a bundle of clothing scattered on the floor. His room was not quite as clean as the others. Matt finally made it to the door, brushing a length of dark hair from his eyes as he opened it, "Hi, can I help you with something?"

The dark eyes raised to the hail of two strangers, and the steel-capped staff was raised defensively as she came stalking toward Matt and Eeva, a scowl on her whip-marked face for Matt. What are you doing in our home? The sting of the whip still burned on her tan cheeks, and the fact that someone had invaded the Farm during her absence did nothing to improve her mood, especially considering that everyone else was missing. She did not attack, but her eyes were hard on them both as she awaited a response.

Raised eyes drifted from Eeva to Freya, as a look of 'oh crap, how am I gonig to explain this?' lit up his expression. He turned his head back a moment, "Um, Kate? ...we have some visitors..." He then turned back to Freya, offering one of his abundant smiles, though it was tinged with uncertainty, "The house was up for sale, so my friends and I pitched in together to buy it... who are you?"

Our home? Matt wondered just how many people she was talking about! He knew that an old lady use to live here, but had always thought she was a hermit and lived with no one else.

Eeva looked at Matt, smiling. "I heard that there's still some space in this house for sale." She replied, quickly looking to Freya. She'd stay out of this one for now.

The chocolate eyes widened ever so slightly, and the change to her face was so subtle that he'd miss it if he hadn't been paying close attention. For sale? She gave Matt another hard look, analyzing his face. His complete amazement at her appearance was genuine, and the words rang true despite the fact that she tried not to believe them. So she closed her eyes to compose herself, wiping the scowl away and placing her indifferent mask in its place. When the process was complete, she opened the eyes again and spoke oh-so-calmly to Matt, not allowing even a hint of concern to show. What happened to the Lady, Aralyn, Conan? That other girl... was it Sanuye? Where are they?

They don't know...? Matt let his breath escape in a low whistle as he shuffled his foot apprehnsively against the ground. This wouldn't be a fun one to explain. "The old lady, um... Charlene, that was her name - she, uh-" His big brown eyes traveled from the floor, then hesitantly back up to Freya's face, "...died, in a car crash. It was sabotaged, or something like that."

His brows furrowed in troubled thought as he looked back to the ground again. This was certainly akward, "That Conan kid has been hanging out with a guy named Ben. And Arayln has been missing for a while. Not sure about that last name." Again, he looked back up, a very forced and very apprehensive half-smile adorning his face. Greg's friend, Ryan, had told them to be very careful and keep to themselves for a while until he had 'sorted' things out. Which made Matt feel all the more guilty since he had been forced to set up surveilence for the Akatsuki.

Again, the hard eyes weighed him, watching his face with a frightening intensity... But it seemed that Matt was definitely telling the truth. There didn't seem to be a dishonest bone in his body. For a moment, the ghost of a smile rested on her face, knowing that it would make Matt wonder, but not caring.

But then her gaze switched to concern, though it was visible only through the darkening of the eyes and the tremor to the voice. Grief was not present but... she hadn't known Charlene at all. She'd seen her about, yes... but never even spoken to her. It was Aralyn, Conan, and Sanuye that she was worried about. I do not know this Ben... I shall have him researched. I was also unaware that Aralyn is missing. That is troublesome... I left her with Nadeem, with his promise to take care of her. And her face creased in thought, pondering the possibilities.

It was only then that she looked up to meet Matt's gaze, voice carefully cold and level to keep herself from losing complete control while a shimmer was visible in her eyes. And... have you seen a collie? All white, with lavender colored eyes? You can't miss her. She doesn't bark because she only has half a tongue. She answers to Prashantii. Cold, cool, level... of all of them, Shantii was the most important to her, but she wouldn't let Matt know that...

Growing more uneasy under her relentless gaze, Matt was almost prompted to say something about it. Then he caught the glimmer of a brief smile, which did much to throw him off guard and quell the remark he had been preparing to make. Who in the world was this girl, anyway?

With the last question, Matt tilted his head, eyes roving to the side as he thought about it. There were a lot of animals here, but he hadn't made any special note of them. Computers were more his thing. "That's a good question for Greg. He should be back soon, I think; he's the one that knows all the animals around here. In fact, I could give him a call if you want." Matt suggested, looking back to Freya. Not being the best as disguising his own emotions, the subtle look of suspicion was evident in his dark eyes. Most of it stemmed from fear of the gangs that seemed to like to beat him up, but he was also just naturally wary around strangers.

His uneasiness couldn't have been more obvious to her if he'd shouted it to the skies, and her face finally softened, losing the calculating weight, though her voice was tired and wistful as she spoke to him. I lived here once... not in this building, but in this area, with these people... this place holds many memories... for me...

And she trailed off, mentally scolding herself for letting the mask slip. She never showed anything but cold arrogance to almost anyone, and now she was letting this absolute stranger see part of her inner self. Her eyes fell from his as she let out a low call.

A raven came to alight on her raised arm, and she murmured softly to it in her native tongue. The fine bird shifted on her arm, revealing a blue-and green-based black back, and a whitened scar across the beak. He was smaller than average for his species, but still impressive. When the bird clicked his beak, she lifted her head again, and spoke this time to Matt. I must be going... I have to find the others. But... if you see my Shantii... set the raven free using the word zetos. Tikipak will find me. Remember... the word is zetos. The second time she used the word, Tikipak flew through the air toward Matt, coming to rest on the roof above the young man, looking down on him with those dark eyes.

Now he felt rather guilty, "Oh..." A hand went to the back of his head, musing absently through his mop of semi-long dark hair. It was a nervous habit of his. "..I didn't realize this use to be your home..." Matt was usually a quick talker, but he was lost for what he should say in this situation. Sorry, maybe? But then Freya went on.

His brown eyes focused on the bird, with one of his thick eyebrows raised. Greg had told him how smart the ravens and crows were, though Matt had generally ignored his friend on these random topics. "A pet raven? That's pretty cool." Focus, Matt! He scolded himself, but it was another habit of him to speak what was on his mind without thinking on it first.

When the raven alighted above him, Matt scooted to the side a little, so that Tikipak wasn't directly overhead. "Uh... sure, I can do that..." He replied distractedly, looking up at the ebony bird, "..I'm pretty sure that's a sign of bad luck, but whatever..." He then said, mumbling under his breath, speaking on all the superstitions of ravens and bad luck.

Bad luck?Only in your country. Her voice was dry, dry as a bone, and now the accent began to come through as she gave it permission. She hadn't known if Matt was dangerous, and she'd adopted a Native American tone, for she could easily pass for one. But now that she could see he was perfectly honest, she let that thick brouque accent come out a little, speaking of something that wasn't quite Africa, and wasn't quite Russia, but something a little in between. My thanks for your assistance. May Tikipak bring blessing to your home as he roosts on it. That said, she gave him a last, almost sardonic smile, and turned to go.

A flush of embarrassment crept to his cheeks as she responded. He hadn't meant for her to hear that, but then this wasn't the first time that such a thing had happened. In fact, that's what led him to trouble with Itachi, and eventually getting harrassed into setting up their survailence system. He knew he should learn to keep his comments to himself, but he couldn't help it.

"What I meant was- well, nevermind." He said, looking down for a second, as if trying to hide the fact that his cheeks were a little pinker than before. Matthew was harmless in most aspects. He had never handled a gun or knife before, and had never gotten into a fight. He could wreak total havic with any electronic, but that was about it.

"No prob'." He replied, a bit akwardly. "And uh, same to you." Matt added, not sure how to handle her last sentence. Greg could have found something more meaningful to say, but he wasn't here at the moment.

The dark eyes of the raven watched Freya disappear through the trees, giving her a departing squawk before turning down to look at Matt. On a sudden impulse, he fluttered down to rest on the boy's shoulder, firing off some basic phrases. Tikipak! Tikipak! Why you look so sad? Third bell, rise for swabbing! He was an excellent imitator, and took great pleasure in mimicking all those around him, particularly Freya, whose accent he had down to a fine art. Breith tar vets, khenemset. He whispered into Matt's ear.

For a moment, Matt just stood there and watched as Freya left, wondering what all that was about. Of course, he felt guilty that they had taken the home of quite a few people, but he hadn't had prior knowledge of it.

The flutter of wings made the kid jump, while his dark eyes flared wide in surprise as the raven alighted on his shoulder. "Ahhh! Hey - what?" He exclaimed sharply in a ramble of words. Now Matt stood perfectly still, as if afraid that Tiki might stab his eye out or some other gruesome act if he made the wrong move, "Tiki? What...?"

The whisper more than was enough for Matt, who shook his shoulders and flung a hand at the ebony bird, "That's just creepy! Get off!"

He gave an insulted squawk and dodged Matt's hand, flying in a tight circle before coming back to rest on his shoulder again, his high-pitched voice breaking across the morning. Why'd you DO that? Loose the sheets! Stupid kaq.