Back on Earth (Portland Faction)

[Aiden]

Aiden frowned when Art ignored the first part of his question, simply talking about the steam. His original description had been a bit vague, and quite obvious--of course they were called criers for a reason, and it was pretty blatant that they slayed you. But what were they and how did one go about killing them, why was the blood so harmful? Was this a post-apocalyptic creature, or did they roam the earth now? Sitting in his chair, he watched Art pull up another table and begin tracing a design onto it in chalk, something he'd never seen anywhere before, in none of his books--he wondered what it did as Art continued to produce it with perfection.

What would Malcolm do? It was a question that he kept asking himself over and over, because he knew that there was little to depend on from the douche bag that used magic as a scape goat to win against Aiden, the same one that distracted Aiden from his task at hand, which was returning his faction members to their time safely. He went through a list of what his mentor would do, and checked off what had been done. Find a hideout. Check. Find out how they got there. Check in progress. Assure the safety of the others. Blank. Aiden had gotten so caught up with his anger towards Art he had disregarded the well being of those he was supposed to protect with his life. He took a quiet moment to survey Yuki and Teagan, and deemed they were okay, but probably just as confused as he was.

Finally Yuki was the one to play the intelligent role, asking the questions, and arriving at the cliche question about what point in time caused this. It was a question that was surely on all of their minds, and he knew that they wanted to know for the reasons that Yuki described. "Yeah, answer the girl and get on with this. Let us know what we need to change to prevent all this, hell, spare you the damn grief so you can drop your shoddy tough guy crap," Aiden huffed, crossing his arms in his chair. "And hurry up; Teagan's arms are getting tired, and Ariel and a number of other things are in Portland while you're keeping us stuck here because you want to reminisce with your girlfriend," he added, waiting for things to pick up.

[Casey]

Arthur sat down and placed a hand under Teagan’s to give it support. As for feeling stupid, yeah he could see that. Downsides of being out of the loop.
He looked up at Yuki and listened carefully. Why she had to wait until the last second to ask some all important question he’d never know. Maybe it was for dramatic timing.

“The ritual,” he explained dryly, “Is to see what sent you here. Seeing as your arrival was kind of traumatic I doubt it was angels, which means it has to be a spell either cast by a human or demon. In that case all I have to do is remove the magic or break the spell basically. Then you should snap back to where you started out. Side effects may include headaches, nausea and jetlag.”

He sat back slightly, close enough to support Teagan but far enough away to create the illusion of distance between him and the group.

“It’s,” Arthur paused and pressed a finger to his lips briefly, “Complicated. After the Winchesters died the role as hunter in the spot light shifted around. At the moment it’s mine to bear which means that humans think I’m some mass murdering psycho and the supernatural aren’t my biggest fans either. Those up top are pissed that I don’t follow their every whim either. So basically I generally make friends and influence people. Used to have a partner in crime, but,” he glanced at Aiden, “now I’m more of a Lone Ranger.”

At Yuki’s next question he became quiet. Not because he didn’t want to answer but because he was trying to work through his memories. While everything was happening the big moments passed by with little notice. Twenty-twenty hindsight was dangerous in those regards, but even with it he couldn’t think of one specific event.

“Well for starters,” his muttered as he continued thinking, “don’t trust the demon, after that, listen to Casey. Dude was a pain but I can tell ya, you’re better off with him then without. And whatever you do, don’t let the blacksmith keep the weapon.”

“And Yuki,” he said coming out of the fog of memory, “If I didn’t want you to change the past I wouldn’t have told you a lick of info, starting with my name.”
Arthur lowered his eyes, “I wanna change it like something fierce. By telling you guys what’s going to happen I’m effectively committing suicide so Aiden,” he turned to his former friend and leader, “If you don’t like the way I turned out, make sure I don’t live again.”

“Oh and by the way,” the smile crept back onto his face, “I could keep you here for three months and not a second will have passed by since you left so don’t test me boy.”

After that round of twenty questions was over Arthur was at least ready to get things underway. With his free hand he took some of the ash out of the bowl and let it fall onto Teagan’s arms.

“The ash will darken will this is going on but don’t freak out or anything,” he muttered as he finished covering both arms, “It’ll just tell me what the spell was that got you here, so when you’re ready grab a hold of both of my hands and relax.”

[Teagan]

While she found Yuki's questions all aligned with deeper ones she herself harbored, Teagan wondered if Yuki could have asked them at a time when Teagan didn't have to hold her arms up the entire duration of the conversation. While she felt a slight relief when Arthur helped her, the underlying level of annoyance remained.

Until she found herself caught up in his answers. The Winchesters died? They were the entire reason she had been swept into the world of hunting. If they were going to die, why the heck was she still there? Technically, no one needed her help anymore...although they would when they returned, preventing their deaths, she assumed. That would require knowing when and how they died...

Teagan frowned in concern as he explained his status as the world's most wanted. That had to be a rough life. Now his response to Yuki's question of what they should change-that she had to pay attention to. Demons, Casey, and...a blacksmith? How were they supposed to do anything when he was being so ridiculously vague?

"Don't worry, we'll find a way to change it," she muttered. Last thing they needed was an Arthur who smoked and drank like liquor was milk. And then there was that tiny matter about dying and such. "Did I ever make it to school? Maybe skipping it wouldn't be so bad...."

The face Arthur made to taunt the Portland leader unnerved her. "Aiden," Teagan spout out, slightly alarmed. "While three months wouldn't be boring, I doubt any of us would enjoy it. Except Art, maybe." She threw Aiden a pointed look. Suffer in silence so we can just get home.

She returned her attention to the ash Arthur sprinkled on her arms. Freak out? While she did tend to...sometimes over-react, she highly doubted something changing color would cause her to do that now. With a deep breath, she softly took ahold of his quite larger hands and forced herself to relax.

[Yuki]

Yuki listened intently to Arthur's words, just as she had been doing since she had arrived in the future with Aiden and Teagan, but this time, she furrowed her eyebrows, pondering Arthur's words. Angel? She had never considered their existence, although given the fact that demons existed, it was probably only natural that their counterpart exist as well. Even so, assuming that angels existed, why had they not made their appearance as frequent as that of demons? In fact, why had they not appeared at all? Why had they failed to protect the earth and the humans that inhabited it, and leave the task to hunters instead? Surely, these were angels of a different type than the mythological ones in the Bible. They had to be.

And the Winchesters were dead. These Winchesters--she did not know much of them, other than the fact that they were brothers and hunters of much importance in the realm of the supernatural. It was their disappearance that caused her mother to search for them, and in turn lead Yuki on a simliar chase. The Winchesters were the catalyst for all this, and they had died. In turn, Arthur had subsequently taken up the responsibilities of the Winchesters. Perhaps it had started off as a shared responsibility, between the hunters that remained. However, through time, the numbers dwindled, and Arthur became a primary target. He had lived a difficult life, one that was isolated, full of hate and revenge. She was surprised that he had not become as twisted as a demon itself after everything that had happened.

The advice he subsequently gave was vague, at best. It made no sense, obviously because none of the events he alluded to had happened, as far as she knew. She did not know what demon he spoke of, why they should trust Casey if they did not know who he was, or who on earth this blacksmith was. But she had a feeling when the time came, they would know what he meant. If he was telling them something this important in such a manner, than he must have known that they would figure it out.

As Arthur continued, she understood his motivation more and more. Whereas before, she wasn't sure why he was telling them all this, or why he seemed so nonchalant about the entire situation. It had annoyed her. But now, she knew. He didn't want any of this to happen. He must have hated this life, and seeing so many friends pass away. He wanted everything to change. He wanted to offer this future a second chance. In telling them such information, he was ending his life, his realm. A different thread of time would be opened in the past, one which hopefully did not lead to this bleak future.

Yuki watched the ritual distractedly, lost in thought. It felt as if his words had raised more questions in comparison to those he had actually answered.

[Aiden]

With the ritual underway, Aiden stopped paying attention to the actual process when he caught one word from Art: Angels. His brow furrowed for the briefest of seconds, and his eyes watched Art as he continued on. Angels? There was no such thing. Surely Art had been tricked by some sort of being. In the world of the supernatural, nothing good existed, it was all evil, and it all deserved to die. If angels existed, the planet wouldn't be in the hell that it was in. This line of thought was part of the basis behind why Aiden wasn't a devout believer in a higher power. There was just too much evil in the world--Aiden knew and saw this first hand--for someone so gracious to exist and do nothing.

He didn't say anything to Art, in fact, he pushed that debate back in his mind so that they wouldn't waste anymore time. Listening carefully, they were finally getting some more answers about future Art and how he came to be. The Winchesters...so all they were doing was in vain? Unless they could change the future, their quest to pick up where the Winchesters left off would fail, and now they knew that. And by the sounds of things, Casey's mission to get some factions going didn't look like it had been that effective, either. And Aiden had been there, too, until Art had been forced to kill him. The world had literally become hell, and Aiden decided that he'd do everything within his power to change that.

"Well that's not vague or anything," Aiden said blankly, stating what was on everyone's minds. Sure, Art couldn't just give them all the details...but some more would have been nice, just saying. "I think you hung out with Casey too much in the past," he added, before he realized what Art was saying. He really was committing suicide. Once they changed the future and prevented the event that would cause this hell, he'd stop existing. The thought of that was...discomforting for Aiden, but he simply nodded quietly to the man. He then sat back, his mind abuzz with so many questions and thoughts as he watched the ritual begin.

[Casey]

“Not from what I remember,” Arthur answered Teagan absent mindedly. He was more focused on trying to make the spell work, only sparring a second to smirk at her comment to Aiden. Never thought he’d be happy to be dying but if they could change it, well it was worth it. Besides the future sucked without pranks and ice storms.

“Probably,” he said to Adien as watched the ash on Teagan’s arms. He had said it would darken but that wasn’t the most accurate description. The ash was actually moving to form the designs like iron to magnet and was darker because it was packed together. So it did darken, and right now he wasn’t liking the symbols he was seeing.

“Shit,” he hissed, “Teagan, whatever you do, don’t let go of my hands.”
He glanced over at Aiden and Yuki, “The good news is that I know how you got here, but you’re not going to like it. Your girl there,” the nodded toward the demon’s body, “was pulling from someone more powerful. She messed up the spell, transported time and space instead of just space. And before you ask, it’s not Ariel. This is like Eighth circle heavy, white eyes.”

Arthur took a second to try and figure out his next move. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Yuki you’re going to take mine and Teagan’s hand. Teagan don’t let go of mine until Yuki has a hold of both of ours. After that’s done, Aiden rinse and repeat. I’m sending you back all at once, not one at a time. The second you are back in your time you bolt, get as far away from where ever it is you land in as fast as you can. Whoever the demon stole the power from will know who it is and likely be on it’s way to see what the big pull was about. I don’t know who it is but it’s no one good.”

[Teagan]

Teagan's eyes widened in alarm at the discovery. She hadn't made it to college? She had spent the past year and a half preparing! Countless hours spent on entrance essays, filling out applications, gathering letters of reference and participating in activities to make sure she stood out from the rest. While she viewed this summer escapade as an educational survival camp of its own, she hadn't expected to make it a lifestyle. Had she so easily thrown away what had been her life for this one of constant danger and evil? What about her parents? Had they been worried when she never returned home? Her friends? Had they gone the rest of their lives wondering where she had gone?

What was in this life that was worth the sacrifice of everything she knew and loved? Teagan didn't know how long Aiden had been hunting, but it was clear that he wasn't a beginner. Probably had spent a good few years doing this. Yuki had been thrust into it as well, but she had a goal: finding her mother. But what was her point? Avoiding the trials of real life to play hunter until death did she part?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Arthur's hold on her hands suddenly tightened. "What's going on?" White-eyes? What did that refer to? She didn't remember anything about that in the books she had studied. From his reaction, it couldn't be good. Then again, she had to admit that the ash on her arms didn't paint a pretty picture, even if she didn't know what they meant.

Teagan kept quiet as he relayed the instructions, Yuki and Aiden following suit. Demons? Why did it always have to be demons that played around with them? At least the good news was that they were going back...but there were still so many unanswered questions. She gritted her teeth. No. Questions were unnecessay because everything would change. Everything already had changed.

"Is it going to be a turbulant ride?" she asked, wondering what she should prepare for. Running she had no issue with. But it would be nice to skip the disoriented phase. "...wait, Art. Will you be able to go back with us?" Sure, it might cause some sort of time loop...but wouldn't there be a better future for him there?

[Aiden]

Aiden stayed silent as Art told her that she never made it to college. If she was worried about that, maybe she had never realized that Aiden himself had never made it to even junior high. He’d been home-schooled, but only enough to know the basics for his age. He should have now been a high school graduate, but he never went, and that one was his own choice. Aiden missed his childhood, he’d been a hunter for almost nine years now, so he missed out on a lot that Teagan and Yuki had experienced. He felt that little stab inside of him, one that always came back, but he forced it away, because the look on Art’s face was changing, and Aiden was trying to keep up with the spell.

Symbols and lines began appearing in the ash as it all began to move around on her arms. He listened to Art carefully, trying to find some other meaning behind his words, maybe something that the girls wouldn’t catch. The demon was using power from another demon, a more powerful demon. White eyes? Aiden had never even heard of that, he had heard of yellow eyes and red eyes, of course, and naturally the black eyed demons.

So something was after them? Aiden frowned, looking away for a moment and trying to recall any clues from the past few weeks. Finding nothing, he waited for Yuki to join in, and then Aiden grabbed Yuki’s hand and Teagan’s hand, looking at Art and nodding at him.

“Most likely Teagan,” Aiden answered for Art. After all, their landing here in the first place hadn’t been all that pleasant. Within a few seconds, he felt a strange feeling come over his body, and he knew that pretty soon, they’d be back in their own time. He was suddenly caught off guard, though, by the sound of Teagan’s voice. He listened to what she said, and he couldn’t help but to let out a heavy breath. “Teagan…” Aiden glanced at Yuki, sending her a non-verbal command to help him get Teagan back home should she try anything that might hinder them.

[Yuki]

As the ritual continued, the ash darkened and symbols etched themselves across Teagan's arms. Yuki observed carefully, trying to visually memorize the symbols, yet knowing that the limited time span would not allow for such an accomplishment. Her concentration was interrupted when Arthur cursed. She looked up, knowing full well from his tone that something wasn't right. Alert, she looked around her, but saw no immediate threat. As she turned around, Arthur began to explain what was happening. The demon that had sent them here was not in fact the one that they were chasing. Which meant that there was another demon, clearly more powerful, who had its sight set directly upon them.

Yuki felt her chest tighten with that thought. When they got back to present-day Portland, their task would be more dangerous. They would have to be more cautious. And again, the name "Ariel" was brought up--a name of a demon that had something to do with Aiden. She would ask him about that afterwards. He had never told her or Teagan anything about being involved with demons, and aside from personal curiosity, such an association was something Yuki very much desired to know about. When Arthur dismissed the demon from being Ariel, he pointed out that the demon was on a completely different scale. However, as hard as she tried to search through her memory among the dozens of texts and pages of research she had seen, and recollecting the beings they had eliminated in combat, she could not identify any such being as a "white-eyed" demon. She knew demons had different colored eyes, based upon their given abilities. Black-eyed demons were the most common, and the ones Yuki had dealt with firsthand. The others were ambiguous described, and she was positive there was no mentioned of a white-eyed demon anywhere.

But again, the time at the present was not the moment for questions. That moment had already come. Now was the time to act. Following Arthur's instructions, she wrapped her fingers around Aiden's and Arthur's hands. They would probably be attacked when they got back to the present time, and there was no way of knowing how or by what. A demon, presumably. But they couldn't know for sure.

And then there was Teagan. Ever since Arthur had given her the information that she did not attend college, the girl seemed jumpy and distracted, lost in thought. As a diligent student herself, Yuki somewhat understood the girl's distress. Yuki had always scored at the top of her class, and she had gained a very high academic reputation. Failing to attend college would have been completely out of the question were she still enrolled in high school. Not that she had ever really much enjoyed any aspect of educational institutions. They were pathetically easy, and the people, teachers and administration included, were unbearable, completely pretentious. She was more than relieved to have graduated years early. Not that her degree meant anything now, but at least she didn't have to put up with fake smiles and an abundance of annoying teenagers anymore.

Except there was still Teagan. One annoying teenager. Yuki thought of herself in the child's position, and felt that the girl might start considering leaving the life of hunting behind and continuing her education. If she would go through with it, only time would tell. But the idea must have been running through her mind. Just then, Teagan spoke, asking Arthur to come with them. Yuki looked down. Her time-travelling knowledge was limited, but she knew that if Arthur from the future came to the past, something in the time continuum could become disoriented. It would not be 100% certain. Perhaps everything would be fine. But would they really take that risk? Only Arthur knew sufficient information to make that decision.

Next to Yuki, Aiden drew out a breath of air and muttered Teagan's name, motioning towards the girl. He knew that she could potentially cause a problem when they got back. They would have to stop her if she tried anything. Yuki nodded silently, then redirected her gaze upon Arthur, waiting once again for further instruction.

[Casey]

“Nausea and headaches, most likely,” he explained as everyone joined hands. As the circle was closed he took one last look at the trio. “Wish you the best of luck and for the sake of being redundant, remember to run.”

Arthur glanced Teagan out of the corner of his eyes, “With something this powerful, I couldn’t tell you. I’d say not but there could be complications. All I’m focusing on is getting you home safely. Not really paying attention to anything else.

He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on the hands in his. After a few minutes of concentration he uttered one word. It wasn’t as dramatic as their arrive, no smoke or loud bang. Non the less the spell was broken and for a split second Arthur was left at the table alone.

[Teagan]

Teagan forced her eyes to remain open as Arthur started the spell, but as soon as a word passed through his lips a bright light cut through the scene, causing her to wince. Her stomach lurched as she lost her sense of orientation, the world spinning and twirling until in spontaneously jolted to a stop. The chair beneath her had vanished, causing Teagan to land on the ground in an uncomfortable position.

A splitting headache pounded in protest at the rough treatment.

”…and for the sake of being redundant, remember to run.”

Ignoring the pressure, Teagan bolted up and started running as fast as she could. Footsteps echoed behind her as Aiden and Yuki also picked up the place. They had to get away. But to where? How far?

Teagan quickly surveyed their location, realizing she knew exactly where they were. Art had returned them to the other end of Seattle instead of the area Portland had first entered. Luckily it was still a familiar setting for the native. Having traveled three blocks away from the site they had landed at, Teagan skidded to a stop and waited for her companions. “If something is going to follow us, the best chance we have is splitting up. Turn left in five blocks, and keep running until you reach the ferry. Two streets down is the Needle.” She nodded toward the skyscraper that towered in the skyline. “Nothing would be dumb enough to attack there.”

Leaving no room for argument, Teagan took off to the east.

[Aiden]

Art was short and sweet about the rest, once they had all joined hands his mission seemed to be to get them back to their own time, and nothing else. No more warnings, no more history, no more arguing. Aiden knew that this meant that whatever it was that caused this was something big, and something bad, otherwise Art wouldn't be so pressured to get them to leave so quickly. Run, they'd be running back to his car when they landed, and from there it'd be a nice, slower drive back to Portland. He watched Art as he left the group, stood back, and uttered one, singular word that would change the future.

Aiden felt the world slip from beneath him, and for a few moments he was flying weightlessly through nothingness. Before anything came into view, his head began pounding like someone was driving a giant spike into it. His eyes squinted with the pain, and then suddenly he toppled to the ground, rolling away from the others roughly. He groaned and rolled onto his back, knowing that by the end of the night, he wouldn't be feeling physically well at all. After a second, he remembered their command, and forced himself up, despite the pain in his head that was trying to drive him back down. He was dizzy for a moment, and then he regained his composure and turned towards Teagan as she turned towards him.

He knew what she was doing. He had an idea that this might happen when he heard the tone in which she responded to Art about not going to college. He couldn't say he blamed her, after all, Aiden had gone through the same thing only a few short months ago, but he was so immersed in hunting that he knew that he could never leave it behind, not even for higher education. Teagan, though, she was still fresh, she could run, and she knew enough to live. Aiden didn't say anything, maybe Teagan would know that he was letting her go. "Right, needle. See you later," he said, pulling Yuki towards a nearby car. He pulled his elbow back and smashed the window in, pulling the door open, and unlocking Yuki's. He slid down, pulled open the fuse box, and started to mess with the wires. Once the car finally started, he pulled out of the area and went south, away from Teagan, and away from her university.

When they were what he thought was a safe distance away, he pulled his phone out, and started a text message. Good luck. If you need anything, -don't- hesitate to call me, I'll come out...and listen the first time this time. Be safe. Deep down he knew that college wouldn't last...but there was still that part of him, the part that he would never be, that wasn't to give it a chance. He sighed, finally, the first audible noise since getting Yuki into the car. "That was...enlightening, to say the least," he said, the fact that he had demon blood flowing into his mind again.

[Yuki]

With a flash of light, Yuki closed her eyes and felt her weight become almost non-existant. It was as if she was floating, only it felt even lighter. And then came the pounding headache. With a sudden thud, she felt herself land on the earth below. Blinking a few times, she got up. Aiden and Teagan were already there. The girl said it would be better to split off and sent them in a certain direction. Ordinarily, Yuki would've protested to following an order from Teagan. But the girl had lived in Seattle. Surely she knew the layout of the city better than her or Aiden had a chance at guessing at.

Yuki nodded, and then turned to run westward, but she felt a tug at her arm and was turned around. "Aiden, what are you doing?" she asked angrily. "We're supposed to split up! Whatever's coming after us will find us easily if--"

Then, Aiden stopped next to a car and Yuki watched as he hotwired it. "Aiden!" she said in protest, although she knew that his method was probably more practical than running to find his car. Still, she was not accustomed to commiting grand theft auto, even now that she was immersed in the life of hunting. She supposed that now was not the time to deliberate such a manuever. Opening her door, she hurriedly got in. All they needed to do now was pick up Teagan and then head back to the tavern, and they could discuss the events that had transpired.

But, as Aiden began driving, he started heading south. "Aiden, what about Teagan?!" Yuki exclaimed, exasperated. "What if whatever came after us goes after her?!"

Enlightening indeed, Yuki thought to herself. Speaking of...

"Aiden...who is Ariel?"

[Aiden]

The window crumbled against the weight he put behind his elbow, but that didn't mean his limb didn't feel any recoil. Now both his arm and his head were throbbing, but they didn't have time. His eyes darted around before he slid into the car, finding no one. At least the car didn't have an alarm system--that would have drawn more attention to themselves. He ignored Yuki's first comment, pulling open the small panel on the underside of the steering apparatus, and disentangling the wires, pulling out a small knife and cutting one apart, and then trying to get it to spark together. Then he decided to answer Yuki's protest to doing so. "Whatever is after us is on foot, and how easy is it to chase after two disoriented people focused on not losing each other in the city?" He still didn't mention Teagan...he wasn't quite sure how to, because he knew that Yuki would be angry with him, even if it was a little, for what he was letting Teagan do. Hadn't camp been a lesson in this very thing?

The car started, so he slid back up into the seat, shifted the car into drive, and pulled away. He glanced in the rear view mirror, still seeing no one. That was good. But Teagan was gone too, and Aiden pulled his eyes away and focused on the road. Stop asking about Teagan! he mentally yelled, he had hoped that Yuki would figure it out by herself, but apparently not. Taking a deep breath, he looked over at her, and searched for a way to get it out. Jerky way it was, as always. "Think about it Yuki!" he yelled back. "She freaked out because she didn't go to school in the future. Where are we?! Her school is right here, and she's going, and I'm letting her. We aren't going after her. Portland is now two hunters, and I don't want you to argue about it. I know how stupid I'm being."

In the silence that followed, Aiden's mind replayed the whole event, and everything that was said. Naturally, the thing that stuck most on his mind was his 'blood condition.' Both of the girls had missed that, but Aiden hadn't. He was a hunter, he knew what demons could do, and he kept playing all the changes in his solo fights off as freak bodily reactions. Yeah, right. Did Malcolm know that he had demon blood in him? Did Jeff? Did Ariel, for that matter? He replayed their last meeting in his head, and more of it made sense with her knowing. Yuki's question cut through his thoughts, and without realizing it, he instinctively slowed the car. "Areil..." he repeated, almost like a question. "Ariel is the demon that killed Malcolm, the guy that trained me, and left me abandoned in this world again. And she showed up in Portland, and then disappeared again." Would he tell her that he was hunting Ariel? No. Would he tell her it was his life's ambition to kill her? No. He kind of hoped she would just leave it at that.

[Yuki]

In the stolen car, Yuki sat in the passenger seat, unblinking at Aiden's response. She didn't know what to feel about the situation, nor how to react. She was angry that Aiden was letting Teagan go, yet she understood why the girl would want to go in the first place, and why Aiden would let her. And yet...the last time the girl had run away, she had almost died. Yuki bit her bottom lip, recalling the events at camp. A chill ran down her spine. What was happening now was resonant of back then. Except, this time, Teagan's leave was voluntarily. And then there was the immediate threat of whatever had teleported them to the future. What if it went after Teagan? What if there was something going after her in the future? The child was a hunter, true, and although she was certainly more aware of her surroundings than she had been only weeks ago, the girl was still vulnerable, gullible...and they were letting her go? Even if there was no threat, even if she could defend herself...could the girl really escape the world of the supernatural? When she read suspicious cases in the newspaper or watched crime broadcasts on TV, commited by mysterious characters, would she ignore what was really happening? Could she really pretend to be oblvious to the facts around her?

She wanted to snap back at Aiden for being so close-minded, not even allowing room for discussion or disagreement on the matter, but Yuki remained unsure of what to say. Perhaps...maybe this was for the best. Yuki nestled back into her seat, keeping her thoughts to herself, and was quiet...until Aiden made a comment about the events and she brought up the question of Ariel.

"I see," Yuki said quietly. Aiden had never really talked about his past, nor had she ever questioned him about it. His personal matters were his business, afterall, but that didn't stop her curiousity. Abandoned in this world again. That's what he had said. Yuki took note of the final word in that sentence, and with that, she begun to realize that Aiden had in fact, like her, grown up in isolation. She didn't know what happened to his parents. She also didn't know how close he had been to this man named Malcom. Even so, she was sure that Aiden felt strong animosity towards Ariel. He may have suppressed his feelings, or perhaps he did not want to discuss such matters with her. Either way, knowing Aiden, he had to hold some form of grudge against her. But for now, she would let the topic slide. Instead, she focused her gaze upon the street that stretched out before her.