Aralyn stumbled up the wooden steps to the healing ladys farm. Her pale face was white as a sheet, dark circleswere beneath her eyes and the scent of whiskey wafted off of her. Her straight black hair was dull and in dissarray. She knocked on the door once, or was it twice? Her eyes were confused, the sleeves of her hooded sweatshirt pulled up revealing scars both new and old from the blade of a razor or a knife or whatever else she could find. A sob rose from the young woman as she crumpled, curling herself into a small ball with her knees to her chest. Tears streaked down her beautiful face and she whimpered softly I tried....I'm trying....I promise... Old wounds, old fears. Drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse. Being pushed to prostitution to stay alive, a boyfriend who said he loved her. A sharp word turns to a sharp slap across the face that soon turns to a kick in the ribs while she huddles on the kitchen floor. Her mother locking her in the closet and leaving her there all alone in the dark while her mother was upstairs entertaining another man besides her father. When daddy came home it was her turn, being taken upstairs and having her own father rape her. You're nothing but a whore, Angel. Just relax and dont fight your destiny. Why can't you be like your sister, Angel? Kodi is worth so much more then you are. Why arnt you dead yet Angel? No one will miss you if you die. Not even that pathetic mutt you call a dog. The voices of her parents melted into one. The dog that they had been speaking of was Verkleiden, which meant disguise in german. She had found the doberman/lab cross as a puppy hiding behind a dumpster.She had seen some mean red headed boy throwing rocks at the small pup earlier that day and she would have done something. She hadnt though. He was Kodi's boyfriend and she couldnt do anything against her pretty blonde sister. Some how she had convinced her parents to let her keep Lei but there had been a price to pay. The nights had been filled with screams of both fear and pain. A couple of years after that night, Aralyn came home to find her faithful dog dead on the front porch with her throat slashed, her black and tan coat soaked with blood. Carved into Lei's side were words that were forever burned into Aralyns memory: ROT IN HELL. Blood stained Aralyns hands as she held her only friend close to her body. She spent hours burying her dog in the backyard of her home. When she had told her parents about the death of Lei they had not consoled her as a parent should have. Instead her father had said Mutt got what it deserved. That had broken her last string to sanity. She didn't remember a whole lot about that last part. All she remembered was the feeling of her hand slamming into her fathers jaws. Sixteen years of unreleased fury let loose on a man that she hated more then anything. When Aralyn snapped out of her phase she was in Downtown, a bad place to be. Prostitutes glared at her in a way of hatred that only woman felt, and more then one man stopped to offer her a good time. She finally accepted one, knowing that she wasnt ever going to go home. She had had sex with the man, gotten paid. That was how she had survived for two months on the street. Then Damien had come and swept her off her feet. A broken rib? Ha, that wasn't all he had done to her. Emotions swamped Aralyn and she huddeled into a tighter ball on the lady's front porch trying so hard to silence her dark past. She wasnt Angel anymore, she was Aralyn. She had a life, a dog. No three dogs. And a horse couldnt forget the horse. A wry smile was plastered on Aralyns face as she lay there cursing her picture perfect sister. She cursed her mother for being the whore she was and cursed her father for being a pedofile. If only she had tried harder to be like Kodi. She had never been as beautiful or as smart as Kodi. White their father was raping Aralyn, Kodi sat in her room listening to music and pretending she lived in a picture perfect home, carefree of anything and everything that her sister was going through. Aralyns tears came faster now resentment filling her. Kodi had died two years ago in a car crash and for some reason Aralyn hadnt felt remorse. Instead she had felt release. Her sister was dead, maybe now her parents would love her. When she had called her parents house it had said that the phone was disconnected. She had gone to the house to find police tape covering the house. Her father had found out about her mothers cheating ways and had stabbed her then slashed his own throat.Aralyn shuddered, her eyes closed. So many voices inside of her head so many faces filled with hate burning in their eyes. Help me....I tried....I'm trying She whispered repeatedly. Malon was gone. He had left to go to the ranch and see his new friend. I want help She whispered. She had been to a psychiatrist who had told her to go to an insane asylum where they could drug her up and analyze the way her mind worked. Straight jackets with sleeves tied behind your back as they treated you like theives. She wouldnt be able to stand the screams in her head along with the screams of those who were crazier then her. She couldnt stand that or the looks that almost every mand gave her, as if they were undressing her with their eyes. Memories and dreams turned to fears and nightmares. As Aralyn lay where she was her eyes drifted closerd her breath shaky. She had been through a lot in her life and sometimes when life got to b to much and nothing was going their way, average americans drank. Aralyn was no different. She had started cutting herself and drinking heavily when she was younger. For awhile she had even done drugs. Not the life she had now. She had a friend now. Someone who cared about her. She wasnt entire sure the woman cared about her but she prayed it was so as she lay there on the porch, rain beginning to fall from the sky above.

Now I lay here down to sleep
Waiting for someone to care about me
I thought just once
Things would go my way
But now Im left ehre Without a Say
I'm sorry for the way I am
Daddy why dont you love me?
Mommy why dont you Care?
Sister theres no love here

They say that eyes are the portal to your soul.
They say in your eyes lie the secrets of ages, waiting to be discovered.
They never tell you eyes can be a mirror,
And that some secrets are ones you never want to learn...

A short, stocky girl had been sneaking about, watching carefully. Her knee length hair was worn back in a mass of tiny braids pulled tightly away from a bronze face, two loose locks framing eyes of a deep chocolate.
She was huddling in the trees, trying not to be seen, until she spotted a huddled mass laying on the porch. Realizing suddenly that it was a human, she sighed and left her small shelter of bracken, coming up to her side carefully. Reaching the young woman who looked so much like herself, she spoke softly. Ii en kempet, khenemset. Come out of that rain. No use in mourning what cannot be changed. It only makes the heart heavy. Come now, friend. Out of the rain. And she reached down a bronze hand, an offer. She outweighed Aralyn by a good bit, being as chubby and solid as she was. She would help the woman to her small shelter, should she choose to accept her help.

Bound at every limb by my shackles of fear
Sealed with lies through so many tears
Lost from within, pursuing the end
I fight for the chance to be lied to again

Aralyn looked up at the girl and said softly "Tier." Animal She wanted Malon, someone. But this girl, this girl who didnt even know her was here to help.Tears over flowed Aralyns cheek and she sniffed trying to stem the overflow but knowing that it was to no avail. She took the girls hand and stood unsteadily, her alcohol consumption altering her normally quiet and sweet behavior. Now she was scared, and beyond recognition of many. Her pale skin contrasted to Freya's tan but Aralyn smiled waveringly trying her best to appease the girl.

You will never be strong enough
You will never be good enough
You were never conceived in love
You will not rise above

Freya smiled slowly back, a flash of white teeth against dark skin. Placing an arm around Aralyn, she began to move slowly forward, heading toward her little shelter. It was only a little lean to, but it was dry, and would hold them both until the rain stopped. There now, that is better. Come along with me, and we'll see about that animal of yours. Her voice was soft and a touch deep, a low alto that matched her stocky figure. Coming to the shelter, she pointed, indicating that Aralyn should go first.

Unkown had been healing from her own set of wounds and mistrust. The sharp smell of something, the whiskey, brought her to her legs the deep grey woft with silver eyes to match hobbled around the house. Her leg was still in its cast and the wounds were beginning to heal. SHe whimpered slightly it was so cold. But she wasn't sure about the humans.

Opening her heart to everyone
And loving without a doubt

Embracing friends and
embarrassing foes,
And those who were unjust

One true to her heart
Without fear or misgivings
With insecurity tattooed across her body

Starlit Eyes came padded briskly from the back yard, head up and eyes alert as she took a quick scan of her territory. The scent of Aralyn told her who must of knocked on the door, but there were other odors that alarmed the wolf/black lab mix. A strange human for one; and alcohol. Although she hadn't scented alcohol too much, she associated it with bad things. Druken teenagers had paid a 'visit' to the Farm more than once in the past, and Starlit had encountered the wrath of drunkards as a young pup. The scent of it made her hackles rise.

As she rounded the corner and spotted Aralyn with some stranger, Starlit gave a faint growl and approached with a high-held tail. But it quickl became clear that Aralyn was the drunk one, by her movements. "What has happened, young one?" Starlit questioned softly, knowing that neither of the girls could understand her. Her words were only a soft whimpering to them as she hesitantly nuzzled Aralyn's hand.

The lady took longer to arrive, having been in the middle of feeding a young turkey vulture. After getting the restless creature back in her cage, the elderly woman opened the door and peered out. "Aralyn!" She exclaimed, immediately scented the alcohol, and even more, seeing the state that the girl was in. Slipping on her shoes, she hurried over to Aralyn and flashed a questioning look to Freya, "What's going on? Here, you two should come inside." The old lady coaxed, nodding to the door.

Starlit Eyes took a moment to look to Unknown, "How are your wounds coming?" She was pleased that the wolf wasn't harrassing her master or these two girls, nor the other Farm residence.

The first to accept, the last to disappoint
She understood all and expected nothing

Now you are free
Free to roam in the skies
Now and then visit me
With your Starlit Eyes

Her own wounds had healed rather nicely, although she still had a little ways to go before everything was one-hundered percent. It was the loss of members that would be the hardest wounds of all to heal, and it made the alphess particularly worried about Unknown, for she was rather sickly that last time she saw her.

As she entered the yard, Hydras snarled quietly at the sight of three humans and the pet. She knew better than to start trouble with the two-leggers, but she couldn't help but voice her displeasure with them as she stalked quickly along the timber line, keeping thick vegetation between her and them so that she seemed like a shadow slipping through the forest. Then her eyes laid upon Unknown, and she was glad to see the fae walking. Tail cricked, the alpha exited the safety of the woods and stalked stiff-legged into the yard, casting the humans more wary looks as she headed to Unknown.

"How are you feeling? You should come back to the Aegis Den now, if you can manage the walk there." Hydras said, looking from Unknown to the two-leggers again. She wasn't going to force Unknown in this situation, because she didn't want to wear her out if she still needed time here to recover. But being around the humans made Hydras very uneasy, and she never liked to keep her members here for longer than was needed.

As the pet spoke Unknown smiled she was about to reply when her leader came in her head tipped in respect but not too much afraid of tipping herself over wouldn't have be a sit. Her silver gems were beginning to sparkle again she wanted to go home. Speaking to them both she replied.

|Much better I cannot be more grateful. Oh I hope the human girl is well she didn't look like it. I would love to come home Hybras but this wrap hinders me from walking fast so it could take me a little while.|

"Good to hear. I will accompany you back at your pace; no hurry." Hydras assured, "I'm leading the pack on a hunt soon, so you will have some fresh meat as well." She added, trying to make Unknown feel better about the voyage back to the Den. Taking slow steps so that Unknown could keep pace, Hydras headed back to the Aegis Den.

Freya jumped a mile as the Lady spoke, and would have done more had she not been supporting Aralyn. Her generous, warm eyes closed immediately, mirroring everything without giving anything away. Her voice was dry and emotionless as she spoke, eyes never leaving the Lady. Your friend here is full of the drink. Nothing a good sleep will not cure, mostly. And the mirror slipped for a moment as she thought Sleep will cure the drink, but not the heart... But soon those mirrors were in place again, and she spoke again. Have you better shelter?

She could hear the voices. The screams. Your worthless Aralyn. No one will ever love you Her body shook with silent sobs and she turned her anguished eyes to the lady. She was intoxicated, yes, but she was not stupid. She knew whoe the lady was. "They didnt love me. I tried to make them lvoe me and they wouldnt." She sniffed and wiped away her tears uncertain as to why she was crying. I want to die Her words were kept to herself but they could be seen in her eyes. She was miserable.

The words caught at the stocky girl, and those mirrors slipped down again for just a moment, her words soft. I am young, and do not know much... but I do know this. You cannot make someone love you. Love is not a forcing thing. Love is like water. It flows evenly, smoothly, wherever it is needed until some kaq dams it, and then it flows no more.

The girl turned her head so that she was meeting Aralyn's eyes, causing the red beads that trimmed her braids to clack together. Love is what you make it, khenemset. You cannot let anyone else define love for you, or you will never feel it. Listen with your heart and find what love is for yourself. Then you will understand.

The mirrors slid back in place again as a foot reached out deftly and caught up a plain mahogany staff with a steel cap, transferring it easily into a bronze hand. Dark eyes looked up at the Lady, waiting for her.

The old lady smiled sympathetically and gave a small nod to Freya's question. She began to lead the two back to the porch, letting Freya speak before she added on, "Our new friend is right, Aralyn. And know that I love you, darling. Here, you can be safe." She paused, looking to the door she left open, "You need some rest, Aralyn, and maybe something nice to eat? Then we can talk, if you want to do that."

Starlit trailed after the trio after watching Unknown leave. Her head was cocked to the side as she listened to the speech, and she couldn't help but whine now and then at the stench of the alcohol.

"You are more than welcome to stay here as well." The old lady continued, looking briefly to Freya with a kind smile, "We might be a bit crowded, but there is always room for another." It was true the house was crowded; cages and tanks filled most of the little house, where sick and injured wildlife of all sorts were being cared for.

"Starlit!" The were a soft, sharp bark from across the yard. The hybrid glanced over with a faint grin when she saw a lean, rangy-looking red fox sitting in the far corner of the yard. "Mind if I snitch any food?"

"Pepper, you know the rules..." Starlit hedged, then shook her head, "You can have some soon enough, you little theif. Let me see to my master first, alright?"

The fox stood, flicking his ragged tail behind him and eyeing the three humans, "Well don't take too long! I'm hungry. And I've got a family of my own."

Starlit laughed in a happy sort of way, "That's good to hear, Pepper. But you remember the rules around here, alright? Everything alive is off limits. Now I'll get you some food in just a moment, ok?" And with that, Starlit slipped inside and waited for the three humans.

Freya continued to hold Aralyn steady, moving forward slowly into the shelter of the house. Helping the young woman into a conveinient chair, she backed up to stand by a wall. Her pose was a relaxed one, but the muscles were so tense as to suggest concrete, eyes flicking back and forth between the Lady, Aralyn, and the dog. That tan face closed down into a wooden mask that had taken years to perfect: one of polite interest and detachment.

She was shivering. Her whole body seemed to be on fire. Memories wafted through her mind, flickers of each. Tears slipped down her cheeks, twin crystals on her face. Why won't they love me? She whispered softly. She curled up in a small ball wrapping her thin arms around her knees, resting her head upon them. Why cant she love me? She watched the Lady for a moment then looked back down and said softly I'm just another bump in the road. A Screw up that should have never been born.

Her voice was soft again, a murmur almost to herself. Now, that is the drink talking. Bumps in the road have no use, khenemset. A bump has no life, no chance at hope. And she looked up, something feirce in her gentle eyes, the hand that gripped her staff white-knuckled, her voice rising to something more firm, and less gentle. And I'll tell you summat else. Whatever kaq told you that screw-ups were born hadn't the sense of a bump. Screw-ups are made, khenemset. They are made by blood-crime, by deceit. And her voice softened again, looking away as a bit of wistfullness crept into her voice. I do not know you, khenemset, or of she of whom you speak. I DO know that you are binheset, as I am. Shamed, society might call us. But we are never hopeless, and never worthless. Remember that.

And she turned, walking out into the yard, breathing hard and still keeping her death-grip on that unornamented staff, gazing at the coming sunset as she fought to put her anger back in that box inside herself.