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The young redhead was sitting in a chair, one of her many instructors standing in front of her. Like all the rest she had a look of pride on her face, well what could you expect when you managed to create the one perfect girl you have been trying to conceive for years? That's what she was to them. Nothing but a toy, one that once gone they would just find someone new to take her place. Sure, she was important now for being the best there we've was, but one day when she was gone they would just find someone else and she would be old news.

"Now, Natalia you know your mission." The old lady said to her. Her skin was almost paper white, and her hair was thing and gray from her age. Out of all the instructors she's had, this one had been the hardest to please. Maybe because she was older and didn't expect much of Natasha st first. Well, she had proven her wrong. "Recite it." She commanded.

Green eyes locked on the old bat, her gaze intense and unfeeling. Just like they wanted her to be. "I am to break into the enemies company and get close to their son. His father as of now owns the company but will die soon leaving his son in charge. Once that happens I am to kill him and destroy what's left of it." She recited, perfectly. There was no insecurity in her voice that was afraid that she had gotten it wrong. Not that she could they made her memorize it word for word. She couldn't forget it even if she tried.

"Good." The old bat said, giving her nod of approval to Natalia. "Now go, and you don't come back until it is complete.

That had been hours ago. Now the young girl was walking through the cold streets of Stalingrad, her coat closed tight around her to keep out the cold the wheather brought. Now, she herself had never liked the cold. Now to some that might be ironic since she lived in one of the coldest countries in the world. But it's not like she could leave and go somewhere warmer now could she? Muttering a few curses under her breath she knew the place she was heading was only a few more blocks down the way. Now she would've driven, but by law she was not old enough yet. Which for her sucked majorly.

As she continued walking, she could've sworn she heard the sounds of children laughing. Looking up she saw that she was drawing closer to a small elementary school. Children laughing. Huh. That's not something she heard often. Not where she grew up st least. It was a warmer sound. Natalia liked it a lot, reminded her of when she was younger before her training started and her life turned to hell. Walking closer to the school she saw that the school was out and kids were running around waiting for their parents. As she continued on, she saw a little girl. She was cute. She had dark brown hair, and from what Natalia could tell her eyes were green. The thing that tipped her off was her skin. She was tanner than the other kids. Hell, she was tanner than most Russians were. Natasha found herself subconsciously stopping to look at the girl for a few moments. There was just something about her that intrigued Natalia. She didn't know what it was or why.

Born to Farrah Louise and Gareth Jacob, Rhys came into the world a pureblooded lycanthrope to loving parents. His father taught him how to be a wolf while his mother taught him how to fit in as a child. He did normal human things, learning to ride a bike, having friends over for sleep overs, sneaking into movies he was too young for, joining regional league teams, and enjoyed his youth, up till he was 12. Already he had begun dealing with the fact that unlike his father had envisioned him many times in the past, he was not attracted to females but males, solely. He had been given no clues that this would upset the man, but a general and lingering sense go guilt and apprehension hung on him. On top; of this, his mother found out he had been siphoning money out of their comfortable funds to nowhere they knew. At first she asked coyly, slipping probing questions in here and there, though Rhys knew what she was doing. Later it became more direct. Finally, when he was supposed to be asleep trout, it became shouting matches.
His father, loving husband and all around family man had had an affair. There had been a woman he'd met a little over a year before he'd begun taking the money. Rhys remembered being called by his parents to a family meeting where his father began to cry as he described how he'd fought temptation for months prior, thinking of Farrah and Rhys until he got emotional and caught up and 'slipped' into infidelity. There was more to the story, more explaining and begging for understanding, but Rhys was too mad to listen to a man who'd betrayed him and his mother- until he came to the part about the money. She'd become pregnant. Neither of them meant of it, she had even insisted he wear protection, but it had happened anyway. She told him she would love it if he would come around sometimes and show his facto the child, but she knew he had a family already and told him they would manage either way. He began sending monthly payments, the same amount as legally ordered child-support in an effort to ease the guilt of abandoning them.
There was a prompt and civil divorce. His mother still loved him, not the same way mind you, but she had always been someone with a strong sense of pride. Gareth was allowed to come by only on Christmas and Rhys' Birthday and could take Rhys one weekend each month. Rhys would see him for 14 months after that before he dropped off the map. This is when Rhys really began to think about what it meant to have your life together- to be an adult. For a while he wanted to help his mother- but there wasn't much a 13 or 14 year old boy could really do. Feeling helpless and useless he figured it was in the genes- he'd be a disappointment like his dad, so why should he try? He had a few flings and broke a few hearts. It hurt him to see that he'd made others cry and he knew he wasn't cut out for it. What were his options then? Why was his life so stressful? He used to live so easily... It was her. Some woman he only knew as Mimi from the New Orleans case. Her and her baby. Rhys mulled over this for months, unable to get the thought out of his head. How could she? She knew Gareth had a family. What kind of person was she? What had she looked like to seduce his father? What was she doing now that the damage was done? What was that baby like? That baby was his sister... His sister.
Without giving himself time to think himself out of it, Rhys went and caught a bus not even an hour away to New Orleans. He went to the court house and inquired after 'Ms.Mimi' claiming he had news from the offices of "Martin, Dale & Associates" where his father used to work about a case. It was surprisingly easy to find her, almost anti climactically. She lived in the Quarter and she no longer worked for the law office. She had had to quit being a legal aid, up-and-coming, and take some other job or jobs as a waitress or some such. She couldn't handle the hours anymore, he learned. They gave him her info anyway, (he'd brought a letter specifically addressed to her as proof and they thought he needed to deliver it) and he went to see her. When he got to her home, he found a 4 year old little girl smiling as she answered the door while some woman called out and asked who it was. When he said he needed to give something to Mimi personally, he was reluctantly allowed to hang around outside. The view of the little girl, seeing her face, recognizing traits of his father and new ones, seeing a smile given to him unbidden, looking at how cute she was... He couldn't be mad. In fact, he wondered if he was right coming here. The little girl came out and introduced himself. Her name was Gillian and she wanted to play with him and the other kids. For a couple of hours, he played hopscotch, jump rope, drew with chalk, and hide and seek- a 16 year old running around with a bunch of little kids. He really liked it. He asked her to give her mother the mail, entrusting it to her, and told her he'd come back some time to play. She seemed delighted.
For the almost 2 years, whenever he got the chance, he came around and played with Gillian. Sometimes he brought her gifts, sometimes he'd pay for something to eat, sometimes he was even allowed to take her somewhere, like a public pool or a playground. It was clear she loved him back and now he wondered if he ought to show her what he could do, how he could change. Could she do it too? She did have their father's blood. One visit though, Mimi saw him. A bit over 18, he was beginning to look just like his father, and she could tell who he was. She shooed him away angrily, ordering that he never return. She looked a lot older than he had been told she would end up being by now, frazzled, stressed, tired and agitated, dressed in some demeaning fast food jokey dress that exposed more of her than it was clear she wanted to. Now he felt ashamed of himself. He didn't know why exactly, but he left and he really didn't come back.
He grew into a man, maturing through willpower alone. He saw what the world was like and he wanted for sure to be ready for it. He wanted to be someone nothing like his father. He wanted to be someone Gillian could look up to if she ever came looking for him. She wouldn't have too. News came to him, as he had cultivated contacts in a 2 year span, that Mimi had been hospitalized after a heart attack. By the time he could give a response- now wrapped up in his own life- she had already passed. He knew Gillian would only be 13 and now alone. Indeed when he inquired, she had been put into foster care and then a group home. She stayed there for a while each time he checked. No matter how cute or how sweet or how charming, no one wanted a teenager. What would be the mature thing to do? He sure as h*ll didn't know, but he told his mother what he would do and she said if he did, he wouldn't be allowed to come back to her for anything. Her pride had eventually soured into bitterness on the subject, and Rhys was growing into more and more of his father's image. Still, he was her son. She told him of a place he could go, maybe take her too if she could go. Up in the frigid lands near Alaska and Canada. He said he'd think about it. He left.
Being able to prove that they were related made the adoption process quite easy. He went to get her, and at first she seemed confused. It quickly turned to relive, though she also seemed apprehensive. Not only that, but she refused to leave the home with him. It seemed she had come into having a little brother while they were apart. She wasn't leaving the 5 year old boy behind. With a few changes, Rhys was allowed to take him too.
It became clear very quickly why her mother had died of a heart attack. There was of course the stresses of raising a 4 year old little boy who seemed to have little parental guidance in his life, but there was also Gillian who had the wolfblood and not only did she have no idea how to control herself, but she was angry about it, ashamed of it, scared of herself, and resentful of her problem. They moved 3 times in 4 months after incidents with neighbors or kids in other schools. She cried almost every night. He wanted to teach her but she wouldn't listen- there was a broken trust between them and one not easily repaired. Losing all hope, he remembered his mothers advice. He bought Gillian and her brother coats and long johns and headed into the unknown.
When they reached the gates, it would not let them in. They waited for a while, renting rooms and coming back every day, but it never opened. Hoping he could find someone, he went alone once. The gates opened for him. Quickly, he grabbed the kids and brought them. It stayed closed. While he was walking away with the young boy in his arms- tired of all the walking in the snow and whining- the gates creaked behind him for Gillian who'd hung back. He rushed to get in, but they slammed shut. It was clear. Why? They would come to find out it was her brother. He could not enter.
Rhys formed a plan. He would go in, be gone 2 hours tops, and ask the people inside to allow him access under the circumstances. He left, but he was lost on the path for almost 16 whole hours. Suddenly, though, he found his way out. No time to see anyone inside though, he rushed back to the gate to make sure the kids had returned. They had tried. They got lost. Gillian tried to keep her brother warm, but she couldn't control her transformation to wrap him in her fur. When he found them, the boy was laid on his back with his scarf covering his face and she sat next to him, huddled into her knees, shaking with rage and cold, tears frozen into shiny paths down her cheeks.
They got in after that, and though in the years since, after all of his effort, she isn't as hateful of him as she was, he has not made it back into her heart.

He's got kind of a mellow or soulful vibe when put to music

Standing at his window, staring at the crescent in the sky hidden behind intermittent clouds, Rhys fought to keep his eyes open. The chill off the pane of glass had helped him earlier tonight, but as his face and his body became more accustomed to it while at the same time more tired still, it began to lose it's effect. Thinking quickly against not doing so, he unclasped the swinging feature and thrust the transparent door outward. Immediately he was ovecome by what, in any other part of the world, would be a gentle, pleasant breeze. Not here. Not in Acron land. No, he was accosted by the cold like the slap of someone playing hard to get, he braced for it, but he was not upset. It did what it needed to do and invigorated him. He'd get at least 20 good minutes of focus out of this so long as he didn't stay too long. Supposing he did, when he closed it and went to his desk again, his body would be slowly warming up which would only exacerbate the situation. As he looked up unseparated from the sky, he figured he had a couple more seconds though.

It had been his mother's birthday today. She was still alive- that's about all he knew. She had stopped accepting his calls around 3 years ago, but as long as he sent a card and a letter they would be returned to him, opened and then sent back. Maybe she didn't, but he decided that it meant she read them, and even if she didn't that she cared enough about him to pretend she had. He accepted that she couldn't have any reminders of him and that's why she never kept his well-wishes, but as he looked up at the moon and some of the stars, he wondered if she stared at them too, feeling the same things he felt, missing him as he missed her come this time of year.

Still, he dared not even think to visit. To go back was against her wishes, and there was no way he could bring Gillian, yet there was no way he'd leave her. He couldn't abandon her again especially for someone who had already forsaken him. No, the fact that today was his mother's birthday meant that they were 53 days away from Gillian's mother's death. She would not let him console her that day, but he watched over her carefully anyway to make sure nothing drastic came to pass. Though his last day had been months from now, Rhys also knew Gillian's thoughts were filled with Keelan too. He would take a walk that day, going to the place he had lain and he would melt the snow, sitting there, without moving any of it until the spot where the dormant grass and ground was visible was about his size. He'd leave, so that she could visit too, and eventually they would see each other again. It should have been such a happy occasion today, but... these days, the happiest days he had were the ones not marked by an event in his family.

A child of the summer season, Gillian was born in the Louisiana heat in a free clinic as part of an emergency seeing as she was two weeks early. Still, she was healthy, and though her mother, Mimi Garber, had been apprehensive about the child, she was happy about the birth as soon as she held the girl in her arms. It had been discussed with the father, who had gone running back to his own family after the affair had born fruit, that she would take his last name- Gareth told Mimi he was not ashamed of her and when the time came, if anything should happen to him, she would be included in his will. She would not grow up with a mystery about a non-existant father. She was also given a picture to show the baby so that when he came to visit- he could not stay and marry her or even live with her, for he felt he'd already betrayed his 'real' family too much- she would recgnize him. In fact, the first three times he showed up, he got his hair cut exactly the same and put on the exact same outfit as he had in the photo. He only got to see the child once out of those three times.
Only one month passed after the birth peacefully. From then on, life would be an endless cycle of stress for Mimi and a long list of moments of shame for Gillian.
Mimi was still trying to hold onto her job as a legal aid. She'd finally managed to graduate from a community college after 6 years of taking what she could handle because her credit score had been obliterated thanks to her sister who stole her identity to pay for the lavish life and her then boyfriend. She worked hard to become a lawyer with a dream of running her own firm that would give top grade legal assistance to people who couldn't pay top grade prices (as well as some who could) and to be a champion to the lower class. Having a child changed things, but she told herself she could do it- other people did, and she was no worse off than them. That's when she came to realize Gillian was no normal child. Luckily, the first babysitter/nanny didn't see the transformation, but when she went to make a bottle and left the child in her swing, she returned to find the girl not only out of her swing somehow but having torn through part of a couch and eaten part of the stuffing. The claw and toothmarks suggested canine and the woman was freaked out enough to leave. Needing someone to fill the gap until another sitter could be found, Mimi entrusted Gillian to her mother, Lola. Lola saw the baby change. She called Mimi out of work citing not only an emergency but that she was going to take the child to the police and give her to them if Mimi did not come right then. Mimi, of course, raced home and found that in her apartments small living room was a wolf pup, whining and crying in a corner where Lola had cornered her with a broom and part of the now broken coffee table. The crying only stopped when Mimi walked in and the pup tried to get to her, tripping over part of the table and turning back into a baby.
Lola spat at her daughter and the baby. A beast. A demon. Mimi had laid with Satan and produced this unholy wretch. She should be taken out and drowned before she brought a curse and ill will to the family. They should loose her into the wild where things like that belonged. The child itself could be an incarnation of the devil himself, and there should be no association with it. Mimi listened to her mother yell at her in hysterics for nearly an hour making he child, swaddled in her favorite blanket, unconsolable. The stress of work, the shock of what she'd seen, and he mother's words about her child left Mimi all but catatonic. At some point Lola left and Gillian fell asleep, but he next time Mimi knew what she was doing, she was outside, no shoes, looking a mess, walking into the more deserted parts of the city with Gillian in her arms. Quickly, and ashamed of having lost track of herself, she snuck home and cried.
There was no way she could hire another sitter, but then her family was also no an option. Mimi began missing work, and just before she was fired, she quit her job as a Legal aid and took a new one as temp waitress for events which paid better than being a regular waitress and had a lot of time between jobs. It was then that she confronted Gareth.
He apologized profusely for not telling her sooner, but it didn't matter, she was in a rage the more he talked. He wanted to see the child's other form, and thinking he might be able to do something about it, she allowed him to hang around with Gillian for a while. She never knew when a change would come so he ended up playing happily with the baby girl for hours before she changed forms. He seemed elated when he saw her. He called he beautiful and praised her soft fur. He scratched her and nuzzled her, rubbed her ears and got on he floor to play with her. The shock of seeing the baby change was but a dull flash now, but when she did usually all she did was whine or chew on things. The little canine jumped and barked, yipped and hopped and seemed so happy. Mimi felt ashamed of herself for a moment, she had not treated he child like a child 100%. But then Gareth changed too, right in the little living room. A giant wolf that, if it stood on its hind legs, would surely overtake he in height. His fangs were long and his eyes fierce and dark gold. He was dark brown, strong, with paws that might be the size of her face she though and there was no space for her to get away. Gillian happily sniffed at this new wolf's muzzle, licking at him and rubbing herself against his leg, but Mimi, once she'd gathered enough breath, shrieked and fell back, startling both the others. She threw books, magazines, shoes, photos in frames, anything she could grab and in but a moment of reaction and instinct, Gareth snarled at her, protecting his pup who things fell toward unintentionally. He realized his mistake all too late and quickly reverted back and was slapped, kicked, punched and shouted at until he left and was told to never ever come back. He never did.
As Gillian grew, so too did the troubles. As any two year old would be, she was trouble in he human form. Breaking things, climbing in or out of things, hiding things, making messes- the usual set of baby issues. As a pup, she destroyed everything and had 'accidents' everywhere. Gillian could not be left alone as long as she needed to be, so Mimi had to find different jobs with shorter shifts. She had found a baby sitter- a woman who ran a fortune telling business, through craigslist. The woman claimed to have known people like this before and had no qualms about the changing child but she charged an exorbitant fee, knowing Mimi was desperate. She made sure Gillian did not end up dead, malnourished, or injured but otherwise did little else for or with the child. The more jobs Mimi took to support herself and the child, the less time she spent with her. For years, she only saw Gillian between jobs at night for 6 hours while she slept and would otherwise sleep in her car. Gillian grew up loving her mother but also incredibly upset with her all the time. Why did she not spend more time with her? Why didn't she take her to the park? Why didn't she tell her stories or sing her songs or hug her more than once a day? Why did she have to remind her to say 'I Love you'? But when her mother came home, tired and wanting something to drink first, she'd be there with a glass of water and open arms. Whitney, as Gillian was allowed to call her instead of, Lady Emeralda, was never much fun, but she did let Gillian out sometimes. Gillian didn't know when she would change, but she could usually feel it coming. Whitney said if she could keep other people from seeing, she could go out and play with the kids downstairs on the street when she was four. It was around that time the Gill met Rhys. She'd never seen him before, but he came right up to the door. No one ever came to visit. He had this scent on him, this familiar scent that pleased her and soothed her and that she wanted to stay near. She was allowed to play with him, and it was the beginning of the best years of her life.
She was sent to school, and took frequent bathroom breaks or snuck out in order to keep her change from being seen. This got her sent to the principal's office a couple of times and Mimi got called at work a lot. But it was okay, as long as Rhys kept coming around, bringing her candy, reading her books, taking her up on his shoulders, giving her quarters for arcades, letting her swim in the pool with him. He became her favorite thing in life. Thinking days like that would never change was her mistake. Her mother, having been fired for skipping out too many times to go see about Gillian, arrived home early one day and flew into hysterics when she saw Rhys. She shouted at him until he left and ordered him to stay away. This was the beginning of the strain on Gill's and Mimi's relationship. Somewhere, Gillian still wished her mother would pay attention to her- take a day off to spend with her- just sit down and talk with her, but now she didn't meet her at the door. She gave a greeting, but not a smile. She didn't speak to her unless she had to. The distance left Mimi open and at some point she found a new boyfriend. The man wasn't really any harm, but Gillian could see how shallow he was. She didn't think he'd last very long. Sometimes he'd bring her candy when he felt like he needed to win he over, and she took it but threw it in the trash when she was out of sight. She just wanted him to be gone, like the others before him had gone. Mimi got pregnant again and she got her wish.
Keelan Thomas was born nine months later, and Gillian leaned to love again. This little baby didn't care what she was or what happened in he life. Mimi wasn't around enough to keep he away from him when she changed, so he came to love having her in he furry form too. Seeing as Whitney was even more hands-off now that Gillian could basically do for herself, Gillian also came to be mostly in charge of Keelan too. He was a happy child for the most part, if not a whiner and impossibly lazy, but Gillian loved all that about him. She was the one holding out her arms for his first steps, she was the one tickling him and repeating after him the first time he said, "No", and she was the one who kissed him to sleep every night. It was him that made her life more livable when all she did with Mimi was fight. They fought about everything from where she'd gone when Mimi noticed Gill was going out, to her grades, to her chores, to her changes, to what she did with Keelan while Mimi was away. Gill got in trouble more now that she was in trouble all the time anyway, and did nothing to hide it. Mimi was obviously getting more and more fed up. One day, after several successive shifts in a month where she covered for two people, and Keelan had broken a window by accident, Mimi was yelling at Gillian for something no one remembers and she suddenly grabbed her chest, seeming like she was choking and collapsed.
By the time the ambulance arrived she was in critical condition and she was pronounced 12 hours later. Whitney made herself scarce quickly. She had warrants out for he arrest for fraud and purgery as well as one for assault, and while Mimi wasn't aware, Gillian knew that's why she disappeared. But now the kids were alone. Having been told never ever to go to her family for anything before, Gillian thought now might be a time to try. Her grandmother didn't know who she was, but with one terrifyingly chilling "You're still alive...?" from the other end of the phone, Gillian quickly hung up and realized they'd be no help. She was placed in foster care with her little brother with 4 other kids and a fairly nice couple for about a week that is blurry in her memory before she and Keelan were transferred to a group home where they stayed for 2 months before Rhys came.
Rhys was back! There ha been hope long ago that he'd sneak in to see her at some point, but of course that hadn't happened. He'd left. The way her life and her attitude was now, though, she could not trust him like she had before. Who was he? She was glad he kept up with her life to know she was in trouble, but he only wanted her, not Keelan. She wasn't leaving the three year old behind. Rhys agreed to take him too, but she was told why- Keelan was not his relative- she was. Why hadn't he said anything before? She asked if he changed. He said yes. She wasn't alone, but he made her think she was. He tried to teach her about it now, but again, because of her new obstinate personality which had very well solidified by now, she couldn't accept his help and put a wall between him. Unlike her mother, he tried to break it down.
She was still a handful though, and she knew it was because of her that they kept having to move. Now that she knew she wasn't alone, she wasn't as shy about changing in front of others. Maybe someone else was like her and they'd see and they could meet. She'd never know, they were always gone the next day. He said it wasn't punishment, but Rhys moved them to Alaska- the middle of nowhere in the worst kind of cold. For someone from Louisiana, the kind of cold found up there was simply despicable at first. Everything looked the same- white and grey, and no one was ever outside for very long. But they were going somewhere where everyone was like her, like him. She'd be able to meet others. At first it didn't work, but they kept trying. One day finally, they saw the gate that stopped them every other time open. She raced to get in, but Rhys wasn't going to make it, so she held back. He tried after her while she and Keelan went back and it opened. It was Keelan. Keelan was what was stopping them. She figured they'd just go back and find a place in town to live, but Rhys said he'd go and get them to let Keelan in. The people inside would have to after they heard the circumstances. He'd only be gone a little while, and then he'd come back for them. If they said no, he'd just take them somewhere else.
He didn't come back in a little while. After an hour, Keelan wanted to go home. Gillian said they had to wait for Rhys, surely after so long he'd be back any second. Thirty minutes later Keelan was hungry. She gave him the granola bar she'd stashed for just such an occasion. He fell asleep for a little while, almost two hours, but when he woke up he cried. He was cold. It was taking Rhys too long, maybe they could go in after him. She tried several times to trick the fence into letting both of them, but all she did was waste time. Finally, thouh she didn't want to, she decided to walk him back to their motel room in town. She could never get her bearings here, but she had to try, Keelan was crying again. She walked with him until he said his feet hurt and the snow was too deep. This was where Rhys always carried him. She found him heavy and herself sinking more which made the going rougher. He kept complaing about how cold he was and she kept finding heself doubling back on her tracks. She'd glance at the fence whenever she rounded back to where they'd started and found no sign of Rhys. Eventually Keelan stopped crying and he'd just sniff every so often. Trying not to cross her path, everytime she saw their tracks she would turn the opposite way, hoping to narrow down the right path by process of elimination. She just got more lost. Soon, she couldn't hear Keelan sniffing anymore.
It had been 45 minutes and not one little sniffle. She called his name and bounced him. Was he asleep. She leaned him away but she couldn't see the puff of air where his breath was supposed to be. She screamed his name, but he didn't open his eyes. She ripped off her mitten and tried to feel his chest, but while it was warm, she was too numb herself to sense a pulse. She ran back to find her tracks and get to the fence. She screamed for Rhys or for anyone. She shouted until her voice was hoarse and then tried to shout more. She sat him down and nearly busted blood vessels trying to get her body to change. If she could wrap him up in both her clothes and her fur, maybe he'd be okay. She tried and tried, but nothing. Figuring she'd wasted too much time, she tried to strip down a bit and insert him into her shirt and jackets and coat. By the time she'd managed it, his body was cold. Too cold. And when she, shaking with fear, opened one of his eyes, it stared back glassily without movement in the bright light.
Gillian wailed. She was enraged and she was distraught but no one was there. She wailed even though her voice was hoarse and she could do nothing. She laid his little body down and covered his little face with a scarf he didn't need anymore, and she finally realized she'd used up all her energy a long time ago and fell into the snow, bracing against a tree and stared at that gate. Rhys returned just like that. Now that Keelan was dead, he ran right back out. He wanted Keelan gone didn't he? He didn't want Keelan in the first place. Keelan wasn't family, Keelan couldn't change. Keelan was annoying sometimes too. He couldn't do anything about it before but now... well it was an 'accident' and he was 'sorry'. But the gates opened, they should go inside, he said. Who cared? She needed to go inside when someone could still help her baby brother.
Every single day sine then, Rhys came to her and tried to mend bridges with her. Without fail, he never gave up even after how she treated him, how many times she told him to stay away like her mother had to him, like her mother had with her. No matter how much she told him how much she hated him. She learned since then from others about how to control herself and found that being among he own was a soothing place to be and she finally felt she had a place in the world with everyone who treated her kindly there, like a real family might. Rhys was part of this family too. She has been softening toward him. Slowly. But she has.

Her musical style is usually either upset-but-wants-to-do-something-about-it or really active in litterally any way, as long as its music to move to

The day was hardly begun, but Gill was already awake. There was a nest of birds somewhere near that had kept her up. Baby bids squeeking whenever they needed something. It had been cute at first, but she wished she could get a little more sleep. So did the little birdy parents, probably. Quickly, the 18 year old decided it was time to stop trying to grasp sleep once again, and threw off her blanket, putting her bare feet onto her giant shaggy black circular rug. There was fur all over it, besmirching the pure color, but she didn't care. With her pajamas sliding off of her, she hiked her long pants and pulled he strap back onto her shoulder lazily while she headed to he computer. Waking it up, she checked for any messages since last night. She found only two, but answered them happily working through a couple of yawns before stumbling off to the bathroom. She was fairly quick getting ready for a teen girl- but she liked to do her makeup in her room and would fill a water bottle with hot water to hold in her lap to keep her warm while she worked.
Today was a rare day of rest, and there was no sense in wasting it around here. She already spend so much time in the house if she wasn't working that she wondered if she would pale away all her cocoa melanin. No matter the temperature, she wanted to be outside. Maybe she could play with some of the little ones, or do some fight training or something. For now, she decided not to wake anyone else up.
Despite hating being treated or looked at like the child she appeared, she couldn't stand coffee, no matter how much cream or sugar she added. She went into the kitchen and prepared some hot cocoa for herself in the peaceful morning, filling it with mini-marshmallows, a mini-Everest of whipped cream, a blanket of cinnamon, and closed I up in a reusable coffee cup to come out with her and a bagel she'd slathered in honey flavored cream cheese. She wanted some meat, but didn't feel like peeling anything out and either making a mess or cooking. Something would be left over from lunch, and as long as she replaced it properly, no one'd mind if she swiped something someone already made out of the fridge. The bagel was tasty for the time being anyway.
The morning was spectacular. The sun was shining brightly and clouds were sparse so it was blue today instead of grey when she looked up. Animal sounds were everywhere and she felt at peace with this world. It was different from the buzz of the Quarter, but all in all she was glad to have left that life behind. Now and here, she was happy. She belonged. She had a place she fit in and people who understood. Looking back at the house while washing down a bite with a swig, Gillian looked back at the house at her brother- her half-brother's window. The curtains were drawn. Not unusual in the least for him or anyone who didn't want the light disturbing their sleep, but she took it as an affront. She rolled her eyes, sucked her teeth, and turned back around, trying to get back into that content and tranquil feeling. She'd see him late, he'd be sure of that. Hmph. She'd steal his lunch. Maybe she wouldn't even replace it. She made herself laugh a little,

"Suffer." she smiled and shook her head of heavy thoughts, tromping of happily toward the woods.