"Oh please Isabelle, it takes ages to get out of here. Even if you're eighteen, they still have to do shitloads of checks and not to mention the fact that you have to spend extra time if you've misbehaved a lot. Which you should worry about." Cally sat up and shook her head at Isabelle, who turned away from the window to face her, one eyebrow raised. She watched as her friends long black hair fell to the bed and pooled around her waist. The tips were a soft violet, and when she stood, nearly reached her ankles.
"No Cal. I won't. I'll lie like hell, I'm getting out of here at eighteen whether they like it or not." She touched her own red hair, twirling a piece of it in her hand with a sigh. Cally was a good friend, but she didn't always understand her. Where Izzy was wild and rude, Cally was calm and sweet. Well- most of the time at least. One good thing about her though was that she never pried on tough subjects. If Bella didn't want to talk about something, Cal would respect that and drop it, only asking Isabelle to do the same in return. Both of the girls had had hard lives, but the difference was that Cally could remember hers. Sometimes Isabelle thought it was a good thing she could never truly remember her past. What if she were like Cally, who could remember watching her parents murdered?
She glanced down at Tilly and Rajah with a sigh, dropping her little piece of red hair again. "And when I get out of here I'm taking you with me." She whispered, grabbing Cally's little hands in her own. "You know that. I'd never leave you here to wait it out for two more years." At this, Rajah lifted his head and looked up at her, his aqua eyes saying everything. Rajah was always telling her not to make promises too fast. But she couldn't just let her friend think she was going to abandon her. How dare Rajah even think that!
"IIIIIIISABELEEE!!!" Came the loud screeching voice of the orphanage owner. Isabelle winced at the noise, and watched the wickedly tall, thin lady stalk up to her. "Isabelle Charlotte Striker. You know you're not supposed to be up and talking at this hour. If you're awake, you're doing chores." The woman tsked at her before placing a cold hand on her arm and dragging her up into a standing position, ripping her hand from Cally's. "Come on now. Say goodbye to Cally. Someone has asked for you." The woman faced her roughly towards Cal, and Isabelle bit her lip. No. What was going on? She wasn't being adopted was she? That would ruin everything. "Bye Cally-" She barely got out before the hand at her arm yanked her away and down towards the little door at the end of the room. She could feel every eye from every bed pinned on her and Rajah. Were they getting out?
Isabelle was shoved roughly into another room and stumbled forwards, almost falling flat on her face. But Rajah was there. He always was. He glided up beside her faithfully and allowed her to regain her balance on him before she looked around. On a little couch in front of her sat a man she'd never seen before. Certainly he couldn't be her long-lost father coming to rescue her, for he looked nothing like the man in her dreams, nor did he look like the one in the dream she'd just woken from moments ago. So who was he and why did he want her? "Who the hell are you?" Isabelle barked, straightening up to her full height. Which, sadly, wasn't much. She was a small girl, she knew that, but at least if she didn't look frightening, Rajah did.
She looked the man over again, curiously. What did someone like him want with a teenage orphan girl? Teenagers almost never got adopted, especially one so close to eighteen. It was always the toddlers and babies that were picked first, for if a couple couldn't have children, of course they'd want one they could raise on their own. Not one that was almost fully grown. Plus there was the fact that teenagers were unruly, hard to handle, and closer to the release age than the toddlers were. So why did he want her? Isabelle let her blue eyes rest on him as she twined her fingers in Rajah's silver mane, a nervous habit.
Rajah blinked slowly, half-listening to Tilly, half in his own world of foggy dreams. When the shrill voice of the orphanage owner called out to Isabelle, he was ripped roughly from his thoughts and brought back to the surface of his mind where his companion was being forced to stand. The woman barely gave her a moment to say goodbye to her best, and only, friend before she began dragging her away. Rajah rolled to his paws and turned to Tilly, giving her one little lick on the top of the head before looking up at Cally. "She would have said more if she could have. Goodbye Cally, Tilly." He nodded to the two of them and turned, bounding off after his human and the tall woman who had her in her clutches.
When they entered the room with the couch, Isabelle was rudely pushed and Rajah stepped up to her side calmly so that she could regain her footing. He shook out his thick silver mane before laying his gaze on the man sitting on the couch. Who was he? Rajah searched his mind for a match, but found none. He was random. More interestingly though... Where was his creature? The humans sometimes sent their creatures to do tasks for them, but they usually stayed together.
"Who the hell are you?" Bella spoke, small, but firm. Rajah looked up at her proudly, letting a small purr rumble in his throat for her before turning his slow-blinking gaze back on the man. Why did he want them? Isabelle twined her delicate fingers in his mane, and Rajah could practically feel the wheels in her head turning through her fingertips. She must be thinking the same things as him, asking the same questions. He leaned closer to her, brushing his body against her leg as to let her know he was there. Through the heat of her leg, he could sense her uncertainty, and let his own shine through his blue eyes straight towards the mysterious man on the couch.