Summertime Blues [Yuki/Teagan]

[Aiden]

As if things hadn't been bad enough for Aiden Wood, the day he was living at the end of the typical June day in Portland, Oregon would have made anyone assume that it should be a horrible place to be. The whole day he had been on edge and snappy, spending time cooped up in his room and only appearing for minutes at a time. He rejected food when Lori tried to offer him some, growing more despondent as the day progressed. He was focused and distant at the same time, but not in too much of his usual broody fashion. Instead it was as if he was wrestling with something in his head, noted only by the conflicted expression that he wore on his face.

Portland and surrounding areas were lacking supernatural activity, which meant that there was no need to spend time with Yuki and Teagan. He wasn't even sure if they were even at the tavern in the time he was spending in his room, the occasional clicking at his computer being heard, or the faint, faint scratch of a pencil on paper.

Lori, having feelings for Aiden in their hidden, complicated relationship, was pained to see him in such a state, and was trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Perhaps he was beginning to see the light with the whole ordeal with Jefferson. Maybe there was something with a demon, or that Ariel monster. But whatever it was, he was keeping her out of it, and there was only one way left to try and cheer him up.

Calling attention to Yuki and Teagan, Lori leaned across the bar when they filled two of the vacant stools. "Listen, maybe you guys know more than I do, but I can't figure out what's wrong with him. He was fine last week, and its like ever since Sunday he got in a worse and worse mood, you know? But usually he drinks it off, I mean, you saw him at his birthday," she said, her blue eyes trailing to the stairs and staring for a moment.

"I'm giving you a mission, or job, or whatever you guys call it," she said after a moment of silence. "Cheer up Aiden Wood, and find out what the heck is behind is stupid mood swings, will you? It's tiresome sometimes," she said, standing back and grabbing a glass to wash. The sound of loud rock music was muted by the flooring above them. "Better hurry, music means its usually getting worse," she said quietly, the notion of her inability to help bothering her showing in her eyes.

[Yuki]

The day had been uneventful. No supernatural activity, little contact with the outside world. Just her, in her room. Reading a book. Yuki let out a yawn, turning the page of a book on Greek mythology which she had already read on multiple occassions. Gods. Why was it that whenever there were multiple deities present in a culture, they were always so damned dishonorable? They always had these huge egos as if they were superior to the rest of the world. Which...she supposed they were spiritually superior. But even so, she didn't think divine beings should have such lousy attitudes.

...Speaking of lousy attitudes, Aiden had been acting strangely annoyed and frustrated lately. Yuki was never keen on sensing disruptions in personality, herself not particularly concerned with the personal lives of others, but she most definitely caught the bad mood Aiden was in. Likely, that was due to the fact that she knew him and Teagan quite well. That, or Aiden was just in that much of a bad mood. He had just been down right pissed off and snappy.

So she wasn't surprised when Lori interrupted her reading and called her and Teagan to discuss their faction leader's behavior. Yuki figured the whole thing would just blow over with Aiden. Like Lori, she thought that he would drown his issues with the consumption of alcohol. He always did. But clearly, the woman was concerned for Aiden and wanted them two to dig up what the issue was. Yuki wasn't sure how to cheer people up, and she didn't like getting involved in what could be a lovers' quarrel. But maybe this wasn't something between the two of them. Maybe it was more.

Obviously, Lori didn't know and neither did they. But she had frankly had enough of a moody Aiden for one week, and if there were any people who could turn his mood around when Lori couldn't, they were Yuki and Teagan. Lori was kind enough to Aiden, and he with her, but they seemed to have a complicated relationship, from what Yuki had observed. She noticed that they were romantically interested in each other, yet not openly dating or going out or seeing each other whatever the hell it was called. She wasn't sure what they were, actually.

In any case, potential drama set aside, the mission was simple. Alleviate his mood and find out what brought it down. Yuki's eyes drifted up as the rock music upstairs blared through the walls. "I, for one, will not stand for any more of this irritating depressive countenance Aiden has depicted as of late. We cannot afford to have him screwing up a mission, should one come up, because he's going through a mood swing."

"Do you have any hunches? I'm not fond of the idea of trying to make Aiden feel better because he's too much of a child to get over himself, but if we know what's bothering him, perhaps we can eliminate the nuisance and therefore keep him more focused, instead of moping around uselessly."

[Teagan]

The long summer days pleased Teagan in a way only sunshine to a girl raised in rainy days could do. Gone were the clouds, showers, abundance of fog and the dreariness that resided within it. The high temperatures received a very warm welcome and, as far as she was concerned, so did the crispy, clear blue skies and rays of light. In lieu of the lack of activity, Teagan decided to use her time to try something she'd never quite accomplished before as a Seattle resident. For the past week, she'd started off each morning by slipping into a strapless shirt and the shortest skirt she could find, picking up her music device and humming as she made her way to a small clearing behind the Tavern. Once in her bright location, she'd spread out a red towel (taking care to make sure each edge smoothed out just so) and place a bottle of water on the fading grass next to her.

That's right: sunbathing time.

Teagan had gone as far as to buy a new pair of sunglasses especially for this exciting event. Rarely did any of the girls in her hometown find time or the right setting to receive an authentic tan. Most used a spray-on solution and claimed it to be authentic. A little pinch of the right chemicals stopped that train in its tracks. Nothing compared to a real tan. Sure, it took awhile to tone, but Teagan already noted changes in her complexion. After a week of straight paradise, her pale color had nearly vanished.

Victory was so sweet, but Teagan recognized the change as merely a baby step and pledged herself to longer hours soaking up rays. And that's where dear Lori found her: laying on the fading towel in the supine position, nearly half asleep (time passed by faster when one closed their eyes). Reluctantly she followed the bartender inside, grabbing a tea before sitting next to Yuki on a stool.

And that's when life suddenly became boring.

"Oh, listen to you two go on." Teagan rolled her eyes as she impulsively checked her phone for any updates. Now thiswas interesting. 'Man eats pea, grows in his lungs'. How often did that happen? She let out a small chuckle, completely ignoring the conversation going on around her. Childhood spook story coming to life, huh? Her mom would get a kick out of that if she ever read about it.

Her thoughts jolted out of the story when she realized that the conversation had stopped and both girls were sending her extremely cold glares. "C'mon! He's a teenager! We have mood swings, remember? Maybe some people more than others, given, but this is just one of those things Aiden wouldn't want us to mess with. Let him cool."

And then everyone could go back to their personal business, and she could continue working on her tan.

[Aiden]

Even though he lead a dangerous lifestyle, he was reckless and stubborn, and sometimes insensitive, there was something about Aiden that drew Lori to him. Maybe it was his childish side, maybe it was the bad boy side...heck, maybe it was even the car, but they had always had a chemistry that was denied by the world of the supernatural. Lori knew well enough of it, but not nearly enough as Yuki or Teagan...she was still wondering why salt was a weapon.

With the addition of the music above them, she knew that something was wrong. Call it part of that chemistry, or intuition, but maybe because Yuki and Teagan were just his friends, maybe that was why they couldn't see it. The blond rested her elbow on the bar top and placed her chin in her hand. Yuki always spoke in such a strange way, yet it was understandable. Was that the way they all spoke in Japan? That had to be a little annoying.

But she was going to help. Was it her female link, her understanding of wanting to make the person she cared about happy? Maybe Teagan would understand better, Yuki was...well, Yuki. She looked over to the other girl, waiting for a response, but instead was met by Teagan being buried in her phone. Suddenly the glimmer of hope faded from her face, and a frown formed. "Teagan, did you hear anything I said?"

"Teagan, this isn't a mood swing. You know his mood swings, and if you were paying--" The music died down, and there was the sound of shattering glass. Lori jumped a little, looking up at the ceiling, and then back at Teagan. "Really? Mood swing? When was the last time you saw Aiden break something when he was having a mood swing? You know what? Thanks for the thought, but I'll just do it myself," Lori said a little bitterly, her hair swinging behind her in the loose pony tail it was in as she swept around the bar.

Crossing her arms, she made her way to the stairway, but stopped when she heard steps coming her way. Aiden appeared, looking her over, and past her at Teagan and Yuki. He was dressed in jeans and a black hoody, with a black backpack slung over his shoulder. "I'm....uh, going out," he said, looking at the expression Lori wore. "Be back later guys. Don't wait up, because I don't know when I'll be back," he said, grabbing his knuckles, and subtly adjusting the loose bandage that was hidden beneath the sleeve of the hoody.

He grabbed a flashlight from the small station of supplies they used, and headed out into the darkness of the night that had fallen in the time they'd been inside. If they paid attention, they would realize that he didn't take the car, and that his door to his room was open. The sound of the glass breaking had produced a small pile of shattered glass on the ground by his desk. His bed was a mess, a drawer was slightly ajar on his desk, his iPod still playing music softly. There was a large picture frame on the wall that, in the right light, revealed that there was a mass of finger prints on the corner of the glass. There was also a gun missing from its usual spot, as well as a small circle where a thin, thin, thin layer of dust should have been, but wasn't.

Downstairs Lori placed a hand over her eyes and let her head fall. "I don't know what's wrong with him. He hasn't even talked to me for close to a week, guys. Barely looked at me. I just don't know what to do anymore." She sank down onto a stool at the bar, folding her arms on the surface and laying her head down. "The last thing I heard when I walked by his room was something about Ariel, a deal, and some hill. It was all mumbling, I don't even know," she murmured through her arms.

[Yuki]

The child had no respect whatsoever. To blatantly ignore Lori and blame Aiden's recent issues on mood swings during a matter that was clearly important to the woman? She gave Teagan a glare which must have been all too familiar by now. Not to get Yuki wrong, she wasn't so much concerned with Lori's feelings towards the matter or Aiden's depressive attitude as much as re-establishing a functional social environment where the faction could resume with their hunting. Professional and business-like. Obviously, such characteristics could not be established with a emotionally distressed faction leader.

However, Lori was Teagan's senior. Were they in Japan, she would be her senpai. A person who deserved respect. How old Lori was, she didn't know, but she imagined her to be around the same age as herself, most certainly older than Teagan. If Yuki should decide so, she could completely tune out the woman, for afterall she was not older. True, Yuki tended to come off as rude, but she merely always stated what she thought. She did listen to what people said, at the very least, before proving them wrong.

A loud crash came from upstairs. The sound of breaking glass and the silence of the music. Definitely not a mood swing. Understandably annoyed with the girl, Lori marched for the stairs. Yuki considered following suit, but her consideration was stopped short when Aiden appeared before them, dressed almost completely in black, hood up and with a backpack slung over his shoulder. She eyed him suspiciously. Certainly, he didn't think they were stupid enough to buy his story, but she didn't try to stop him. Perhaps he needed time to himself. Still, the backpack was a little odd.

Yuki waited for the sound of the Camaro to start. Listening, listening...but the hum of the motor was never heard. That's odd, Yuki thought to herself. She went over to the window, peeking through the screen to see where he was headed. No car, and yet he walking down the road. Strange indeed. As she looked on, Lori murmured behind her by the bar.

...Wait. "Ariel?" She whipped around and exchanged looks with Teagan. The girl better have been paying attention this time. If this was about Ariel, it could be worse than any of them suspected.

"Lori, Iisten," she said, walking towards her. "I am not aware of how much you know, but if you heard those words, it's very possible Aiden is putting himself in serious danger. We shouldn't treat this as a light situation, not when there's...well, a demon like her involved." She looked over at Teagan."You check his room upstairs, see if you can find any leads on where he's going and why. If it's locked, break in. If you find anything, text me. I'm following him. From the way he was dressed, I don't think he wants us to follow suit, so that's exactly what I'm going to do"

Stopping before going up the stairs, she paused and turned around. "Lori, you stay here. I don't have much time, so you need to listen before you protest. I know you must want to accompany me, but I will not put you in a dangerous situation like this. Plus, to be frank, you would only slow me down. Teagan will have to do investigative research, and you will also assist her with that if possible. Should he return, inform me immediately."

Quickly making her way to her room, she changed into dark clothing, similar to Aiden's--jeans and a black sweatshirt, as well as black boots--and rummaged through her backpack for essential items. Flashlight, cellphone, gun, knife. She didn't want to carry too much, and she couldn't waste time looking for more to bring even if she wanted to. It had already been a couple minutes since he left, and knowing Aiden, he was probably traveling fast.

Bolting down the stairs, she opened the front door and headed outside into the night. He didn't take the car. He was going by foot, presumably to a hill if Lori had heard correctly. Tracking the supernatural was a piece of cake. Tracking a human, not so much. Taking the same path Aiden took when she had spotted him earlier, her eyes scanned the dirt on the side of the road for footprints, but she spotted nothing. Where are you going, you stupid idiot?

The road led to a couple of buildings further down, that much she knew. Was he going there? ...She had to catch up to him. That would be the only way to keep tabs on where he was headed. It wasn't as if he could go anywhere else unless he deviated from the road and into the surrounding forest, and she was keeping a close eye for human footprints. They would be fresh, relatively noticeable even with the dim light of a flashlight. She would just keep following the road, listening for the sound of her faction leader's footsteps in the distance ahead.

[Teagan]

As the ridiculously foreseen rant against her reaction continued, Teagan sat with her arms folded on the counter, calmly taking the full brunt of each and every word emotionless. They could go on and on about how strange everything was, but after all that Aiden had gone through in his life, she frankly thought he deserved a whole year of loud music and dark clouds if he wanted it. A loud crash from upstairs caused all of the girls to glance upward. The look Lori shot her a moment later screamed I told you so.

That didn't change Teagan's reaction. Yeah, let the kid break stuff if he felt like it...as long as it wasn't hers, it didn't matter.

"You're just overreacting," she stated plainly, her attention drifting back down to her phone as Aiden walked in. She briefly wondered if he had managed to catch even a small portion of the conversation. And, surprisingly, a small part of her hoped that he had. Then Aiden could put to rest Lori and Yuki's concerns, the world revert back to its regular self, brimming with beautiful black flowers and creepy normal evil people and she could waltz outside in the middle of the sappy makeup to soak up rays in peace.

Indirectly, Aiden seemed to be on the same mindset- escape. "Don't talk to strangers," Teagan jokingly waved him off, the humor not quite audible in her voice. He left quickly and the previous conversation picked up just as fast. Until, that is, Lori mentioned Ariel.

Teagan glanced at Yuki with suspicion. Yeah, Lori would manage to keep the most important detail of information from them until now. Maybe if she had started of with 'Hey, something's wrong with Aiden and I think it has something to do with this Ariel person he mutters about in his sleep' the Japanese-American duo could've solved the situation before Aiden even thought of stepping outside his room.

She listened thoughtfully as Yuki took control, her attempts to calm the bar girl instantly doubled. And...wait-did her ears deceive her? Did Yuki just ask Teagan to search Aiden's room? Aiden's off-limits sanctuary? Hopefully the mischievous glint passed by unnoticed to the others.

"Done." Without a second thought, she hopped off the bar stool, tanning and the calm of the forest completely drowned in the idea of digging about Aiden's room. She had only entered once, and that was to prank it the first day they had arrived. Ever since that eventful, groundbreaking moment, he had very clearly prohibited her presence from that specific location.

Yuki tried to enforce the same thing. It never worked.

After a quick pit stop to her room, Teagan pressed her trembling hand against the doorknob. She was probably way too excited at a time she should have felt concern for their faction leader. Oh well, those were concerns of another day. For now, it was time to snoop.

[Aiden]

The city was able to mask his trail, the dry sidewalks and asphalt leaving no sign of footsteps. The only thing he really had to worry about was the echoing of his footsteps as he passed between buildings, but he wasn't worried. He'd only be gone for an hour or two, and then return to the tavern. No questions asked. And a great load would be taken off of his shoulders. It was this one last step, and this chapter in his life would be over. He adjusted the backpack on his shoulders, and slipped through another alleyway, splashing through a puddle that pooled in the middle.

He was about to turn the corner when he heard another splash. His brow quirked up, and he knew that someone was behind him. It was useless to turn around and check who it was; if it was a demon, they'd make their move eventually. He paused for a moment where he was, and then decided to lose them anyway. He set off in a run, jumped over a small fence, and disappeared into the foliage of the river bank across the street--his original path anyway.

He didn't bother turning on his flashlight; it'd only give his location away. He knew that if his tail (who, if they managed to follow his path with his burst of speed) looked hard enough, they would be able to find his tracks in the wet mud that covered the river bank. No matter. Let them find him. Part of him was itching for a fight tonight.

At one point he stopped and surveyed the distance from his next point of the path, and the space between him and his tail. He didn't hear anything, so he continued to the small bridge that crossed the river at one point, and drew a devil's trap in the mud using a branch, so that if it was a demon, they wouldn't be able to follow him across, once he hid it under some brush.

[]

[Yuki]

It wasn't easy to hear Aiden's footsteps midst the murmur of the city, but the buildings where he was were more or less unoccupied, so sounds echoed a lot more clearly. At first, she couldn't hear anything at all and she thought that she might've passed him. Maybe he had already entered one of the buildings? Or maybe she was on a completely off trail. She paused, swearing under her breath, but after a few seconds, she heard the sound of someone stepping in a puddle in the alleyway right behind her. Quickly, she turned around and dove in, turning off her flashlight lest Aiden see its illumination and make a break for it.

Everything was dark, only dimly lit up by the street light from outside. Nimbly, she darted forward, and soon enough she heard the splash of the puddle underneath as she passed it. It had to Aiden. Who else would come down an alleyway this abandoned at this time of the day in this specific location?

On a whim, Yuki sped up. And then she caught sight of him. She slowed down a bit, but just enough so that he wouldn't see her. She had to be careful. Aiden's style of hunting was similar to hers, if not only because he had taught them, but because he was skilled in this business. But she knew his mannerisms, and if he knew he was being followed, he wouldn't be stupid about it. He'd either shoot or lure his opponent into a trap. Of course, he'd never intentionally shoot at her, but if he didn't know it was her, there was a chance that he would shoot before even bothering to see who he was shooting at.

Aiden stopped at a corner, and Yuki surveyed him in the darkness from a distance. Suddenly, he bolted. Had he heard her? Damn it, Aiden, she thought furiously, chasing after him. She was sure he knew he was being followed. Charging forward, she mentally laughed at his attempt to lose her. Did he really think that jumping over a fence and into the mask of the riverbank would keep her from tracking him? With a huff, she landed on the opposite side. After regaining a sense of orientation, she looked up, with Aiden nowhere in sight.

She sighed, getting out her flashlight in shining it on the ground. With a riverbank, it'd be much easier to spot him. She knew he was here. After a bit of searching, she found them. A bit hard to spot with all the mud, but definitely footprints. "Okay," she muttered under her breath, keeping a close eye on the trail he left behind. Arriving near a bridge, Yuki paused as she looked up to see Aiden, stopped in his tracks. What the hell is he doing? After drawing something in the dirt, he was on his way again. As soon as he was across the bridge, Yuki ran after him, pausing for a moment to nudge the leaves and branches aside to look at the drawing underneath.

A devil's trap?

Yuki nodded her head disapprovingly. Aiden, I'm not a demon, she thought to herself, her boots thumping softly against the wood of the bridge as she sprinted across. At least that told her he was in a hunting mindset. Best not to get too close to him. It couldn't be long before he figured out that whoever was following him wasn't trying to kill him.

[Aiden]

From here, it was a lesser known trail that Aiden took. The mud had turned to hard packed dirt that would show no foot prints, and with the speed and knowledge of where to go, he would slip by his intruder unnoticed. He had spotted the shine of the flashlight behind him, so whoever his tracker was had to be human; most supernatural creatures could see in the dark. And a human meant Yuki or Teagan, if they had kept this close to him the whole time.

He told them that he was coming back shortly. There was no sense of trust with him, sometimes. It was irritating.

He silently traversed the trail, remaining hidden from his faction mate. The trail curved back and forth, barely visible even in the daylight, but Aiden knew it by heart. He let one of the straps of the backpack fall off of his shoulder as he neared his finishing point, and when he did reach it, he took a deep breath, and began.

By the time that Yuki found him, Aiden was sitting on top of a small hill in a clearing, the starry sky shining bright above them. There was no light to mask the shine of the stars and moon here, no technology to distract them. Aiden sat with his knees close to him, and playing with an empty object in his hands.

When Yuki approached, Aiden was at a loss of what to say. "Wasn't sure I'd be able to do it this soon," he said, his eyes looking out over the clearing. "He used to come here when he couldn't figure something out, like a job. Nothing to distract us here, and then it would just click. I've come here so many times trying to figure out my situation with Ariel and everything, but I'm just not as good as him."

"I told Deacon I'd find Art, I can't even do that. All my leads turn into dead ends, like he just disappears from where he was, if it was even him. We've completely lost sight of things, like future Art's warnings. Don't trust the demon. Don't let the blacksmith have the weapon. Trust Casey, but even Casey has flaked on us. I'm supposed to be leading you, but I can't even get over a few deaths."

He sighed. "I promised him I'd be a great man, Yuki. Just a naive teenager."

He set the empty urn down next to him. "So it's time to let go of my distractions. Malcolm is gone, and so are my parents. I have you and Teagan to look out for, and we need to start recruiting. Casey gave us a job, one that's bigger than any other job we've taken up. We can even get back to looking for your mom while we're at it. We need to make progress, more progress than just cleaning Portland up. "

He glanced up at her, giving her a strange look. "And if you bring Jeff into this whole life change, I'm going to shank you. That man still isn't forgiven," he said sternly, the first verbal evidence that he had a bone to pick with the man since they left Keystone.

"Should probably get back. Lori was worried, wasn't she?"

[Yuki]

After crossing the bridge, Yuki persisted in following him but was delayed because his tracks had disappeared. The only reason she managed to find where he was stemmed from the fact that she had grown up in nature, at least during her summer months in Okinawa, and had faintly caught sight of places where the brush was displaced. She couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, and when she did find him, she turned off her flashlight and remained hidden from view.

What was he doing?

Her faction leader sat at the top of a hill, staring blankly towards the nighttime sky. Crickets chirped as she observed him from the bit of a distance, the only noise audible to the human ear, except for maybe her own light breathing.

So...where was Ariel?

Minutes passed and Aiden did nothing. He appeared childish, sitting on that hill. Sighing, Yuki got up. Surely by now, he knew she was there. If he had not come out to make a deal, then what? Why had he tried to run from the tavern, from her?

Saying nothing, she sat down next to him and listened silently. He used to come here. Aiden meant Malcolm. Suddenly, she felt as all of this had been a huge misunderstanding. A wave of guilt washed over her. He wasn't trying to make a deal with Ariel, or go on a one-man demon hunt. Far from it. ...He was coming to terms with the decisions he had to make, trying to figure out what to do. The next step in all of their lives.

After he finished, it was Yuki's turn to be at a loss for words. She knew what she wanted to say, but wasn't quite sure how to phrase it. A year ago, it would have been different. She would have thought something along the lines of, "Stop acting like a child, you're being a complete idiot." She probably would have blown up on him, like she did the night of his birthday.But a year stuck with the two impossible faction members did miracles for her opinions of them. To a certain extent.

As she sat under the starry sky, she was reminded of something that had happened to her, long ago before she met any of them, before she came to the United States, even before she finished high school.

"Aiden," she began, resting her arms upon her knees. A cool breeze drifted through the air as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear."I once had a Master. Sensei, if you will. Much older than either of us, a monk with a beard, long and white. He trained my mother and then me too, when I was old enough, in various martial arts and taught me about maintaining balance within yourself and with the world around you."

"Sensei used to scold me for being too prideful. I'd charge into situations and get mad easily when others teased me, and when I was upset, I acted on my anger. There was a point in my life where, believe it not, I didn't know what I was doing. It's a story for another day, not something I like to talk about. During one of these days, Sensei stated I would be doing a bit of field training. Blindfolding me, we drove out to the middle of a forest, to a concrete wall surrounded by trees. The trees were so thick around the area that I could not see the sky. I was to find my way back home before daybreak."

"I walked along the concrete wall for perhaps twenty minutes, but quickly realized I was walking in a circle. Curious as to what was inside the enclosure, and also deciding to take the height advantage to find my way out of the place, I climbed one of the trees. When I arrived at the top, I looked towards the wall and it was not what I expected. The wall wasn't a wall at all, or even a building. It was a lighthouse. And above, a beacon shone brightly out to the sea, accompanied by the shimmer of the stars in the distance."

"When I arrived back to the temple at nearly daybreak, Sensei was waiting for me. I said nothing, unsure of what the purpose of the spectacle had been. He said only one thing: Darkness reigns at the foot of the lighthouse."

"It's easy to feel like you're lost when you don't have something guiding you. But in fact, that guide is closer than you think, maybe not always in the form you think it will be. The answer will come if you keep searching. You are not Malcolm. But you were trained by him, so your search can't be far off."

Yuki bit her lip at the end of her story. That was the longest time she had ever talked to Aiden without snapping, and she was quite surprised by the ease of it. When he looked up at her, insinuating she would bring Jefferson into the matter, she scoffed. "Mention any of this to Teagan and I'll be sure to do the same."

Stretching, she stood up and looked down at Aiden. "She was worried sick. I was getting slightly nauseous at the amount that that woman cares for you. She was nearly depressive as you," she retorted.

[Aiden]

Yuki sat down beside him, and he figured that she might not understand. Teagan, nor Yuki, had lost someone of such importance like Aiden had. They didn't have the ashes sitting in their room as a daily reminder of what happened. So Aiden had to come to terms with it himself. They could call him depressed all they wanted, but when Malcolm's remains were staring straight back at him, Aiden felt unnerved. Like he wasn't up to the daunting task in front of them, just waiting for Malcolm to come out and give him the answer he was looking for. That wasn't going to happen, so it was time to give up the charade. He made Malcolm a promise, yes, but he failed to keep it. Now was the time to change that.

When Yuki began talking, Aiden followed her story in his head, creating a mental picture of a sour faced, younger version of Yuki lost in the woods. But as she continued, he couldn't help but wonder just what the hell she was talking about. Walls, and trees, and not being able to see the sky? That had nothing to due with what Aiden had been talking about!

Honestly, he lost interest about the time she decided she was going to climb a tree, and came around when she mentioned Malcolm. If Malcolm was to give himself up, that meant he taught Aiden all he had to teach him. He couldn't teach Aiden how to live, merely how to survive and save people. Making his own path was his own job.

"Teagan is going to hear every word of that sappy speech. I assume I'm a man in your eyes now, then? Since you didn't tell me to 'stop acting like an insolent sack of meat the size of a child' or something like that?" He glanced back up at the sky. "I guess we really did change the future. I spread his ashes, and Art isn't here. No photo proof. No need to worry about dying then, I suppose."

He ripped some grass out from the ground, and let it flutter back to the dirt. "You're just jealous that I can get some action when I want," Aiden grinned, standing up. "Besides, if I got rid of Lori, no one would order more sake. You're the only one that drinks that stuff," Aiden remarked. "Come on, I suppose she's waiting. If you aren't going to yell, she is, though it'll be much more monosyllabic," he teased. "Really, do you always gotta be so formal?"

He lead Yuki back down the path, across the river, through the brush, back to the street, and back to the tavern. He opened the door, and let Yuki go disclose what happened to Teagan while Lori dragged him off into another room for a verbal berating.